Throwing It Out There Thursday: Bruschetta

          

Cool and I have been a little off on our posts these past few weeks and will be for the month of August, so hang in there with us!  Today I am beyond ecstatic to share with you my favorite dish: bruschetta. Ok, so did you know bruschetta is defined as toasted Italian bread dipped in olive oil?  The tomato and basil mixture is just a "side" to the bread. When making bruschetta all you need is toasted bread and the possibilities of what it is served with is endless. I could live off bruschetta, no joke. If it's on the menu, I am ordering it. I make it at least once a week all year around because your sides can be seasonal. Today I am sharing with you my seasonal take and how I am eating my bruschetta this week. 

I start off with simple and fresh ingredients. My twist is using fruit in my tomato mixture.

I chose to dice up ripe plums and nectarines. I just cut the flesh around the pit so I am left with nice and flat pieces of fruit. 

Tomatoes mean summer and heirlooms are so abundant and sweet during this time of year, you must try them. They come in a variety of colors and sizes.

I chose the baby heirlooms because I wanted a variety of color for my bruschetta. 

Once the fruit and tomatoes are diced, I mix them all together. 

Spray the mixture with Hy-Vee Olive Oil Spray or mix with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Course ground salt and pepper to taste. 

Now, fresh mozzarella is a must when making bruschetta. I use the pearls, or marble sized balls of fresh mozzarella. Can't find them, no problem, you can always slice and dice a package of mozzarella. 

Gently mix the mozzarella in with your fruit and tomato mixture. Set aside. (This mixture doesn't keep well, make the right amount for you or your guests to consume that day).

Now comes the bruschetta part. Pre-heat your oven to low broil.  Grab yourself a cookie sheet and a loaf of fresh Italian bread, cutting into 1 1/2" slices.

Make crouton size pieces from each slice. Big or small, it's your choice! 

Spray with olive oil or a nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper.  Place in over and broil until a soft golden brown, about 3 minutes. 

Here comes my favorite trick again for pretty herb ribbons. Take individual basil leaves and place on top of each other. Roll the leaves together. 

Then chopped the rolled basil to create thin ribbons.  It is bruschetta confetti!!!

Time to make it pretty. I like to use martini glasses for a fun presentation. Place 5-7 croutons in the martini glass.

Top with the fruit and salsa mixture. 

Sprinkle the bruschetta confetti on top.

Then drizzle a pre-made balsamic glaze over all the deliciousness. It looks exactly like chocolate syrup. You can easily find this glaze by the vinegars in the grocery store. 

There you have it!  My bruschetta obsession for the week!  Feel free to use any fruit you have in the house, berries work great with tomatoes too. I love the sweetness of the fruit, tomatoes and glaze blended with the savory flavors from the cheese, cracked pepper and salt. 

You will probably periodically see more of my bruschetta obsessions but make sure to take advantage of this delightful dish during the bounty of produce in the  summer months. 

-Crazy

Happy National Lasagna Day- Tuesday, July 29th

It's National Lasagna Day!!!  Who's excited?  If you didn't know about this huge holiday I am glad I am the first to tell you.  I like to eat pasta, I like to eat all carbs, and I really do love lasagna.  My problem is that I don't make lasagna very much because it's not a very good leftover food.  

I know what you are thinking.  You make it and you eat it, why would you base your opinion on how food taste the next day?  Well because that's how my mom brain works.  That kind of sounded like the reasoning "because I said so."  But, this is how my family works and eats.  Every week we have about 3-4 meals that we plan to make and eat fresh.  We then plan on leftovers 1 or 2 nights a week depending on what we are having, 1 night for spur of the moment (usually small meal or picnic meal in the summer) and then 1 eat out night meal.  Through my experience in cooking and reheating and making dinner into something new and exciting, I have found that lasagna is one food that does not reheat well.  Because of this no one in my family wants to eat this for leftovers, usually leading to throwing out the food after a week of nobody eating it.  I know, you can just cut it up and add more sauce to make it more of a pasta dish but then I feel like I might as well just make spaghetti.  

I do love to make lasagna when we are having a big group of people over since a pan usually makes enough for 12, but that's the only time.  I know maybe it sounds crazy, but instead I have this recipe for lasagna cups that I make when I am craving lasagna.  They are delicious when fresh and are just as good the next day for leftovers.  Talk about a fulfilling snack, this is it!

You can even call them lasagna cupcakes and then your kids will think you flipped your lid serving them for dinner.

Let's start with the ingredients.  I have used jarred spaghetti sauce just for convenience, please feel free to use your own, if you like to make your own.

First we are going to throw the ground beef in the hot skillet and start to brown it.

 

While the ground beef is cooking I cut the zucchini.  Cut the zucchini in half and set aside the other half since that's all I need.  I dice the zucchini in small dices so that are evenly distributed in the lasagna mixture.

When the ground beef is only a couple minutes from being done, with just a little pink left

add in the zucchini to cook for about 3-4 minutes.

While the beef and zucchini are cooking, dice up the tomato.

Add in the tomatoes the last minute of cooking, and remove from heat.

Add in the cottage cheese, or ricotta if you would like.

Mix until all combined

Add in a cup of marinara sauce

Depending on your liking, taste the mixture and add seasoning if you would like.  I added a teaspoon of Italian seasoning

Viola!  The meat mixture is done.

In a small bowl add the Italian cheese blend and cheddar cheese together.

Open up the wonton wrappers and remove from package.  You can either use water to work with the wonton wrappers or I used olive oil spray this time.  This will help the wrappers mold to the cupcake tin.

In a lightly sprayed pan, start forming the wonton wrappers to the sides of the cupcake tin.

If you are using water, just dab your fingers in the water and start pulling the wontons wrappers around the muffin tin.  Not too much water, you just want the wrappers to be moist not soaked.

As you can see I use the olive oil spray, instead of the water and form the wonton wrappers in the muffin tin and spray over wrappers when they are in.  It will help them to crisp up.

As you can see I skip every other hole to avoid them cramping each other since you will be adding another layer of wonton wrappers on top.

Next you add in the meat mixture.  Here is where less it more, you only want to add about a tablespoon.  You will be adding another layer and don't want it to overflow.  You want just enough to fill the bottom of the wonton wrapper.

Now it's time for the cheese blend.  Just a little pinch goes a long ways.

Now we just repeat the process again, wonton wrapper, meat, cheese.

Layer on the wonton wrapper, over the cheese

Careful when pushing down the wrapper so that the two wrappers stick together in the cooking process, but not creating any holes in the wrapper.

Spray again with olive oil spray lightly

add more meat...

 and more cheese

as you can see the mixture is a little higher than the muffin tin but will bake down and not overflow.

 We are now ready for the oven.  Put it in the oven at 350 degree for 10 minutes.

Turn the muffin tins to ensure proper cooking throughout, and cook for another 7- 9 minutes.

Pull out of the oven when the wonton wrappers are a little brown and crispy and cheese is melted.

 Oh man, don't these look scrumptious?

I know you want to take them out and eat them right away, but they are best when they have sat for about 3 minutes out of the oven so they are easier to remove from the muffin tin.

After 3 minutes, take a couple of the flaps of the lasagna cup and remove from the tin.

Slightly pulling it out.  You can use a knife as well but I think my hands are easier.

Place on the plate and enjoy!

Here's hoping you have a wonderfully tasting lasagna day!!

-Cool

Lasagna Cups (cupcakes)
makes about 12 cups

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
3/4 c. cottage cheese
1 c. marinara sauce
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 c. Italian blend cheese
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
24 wonton wrappers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray 2 muffin tins, spraying every other hole and set aside.  In a large skillet add ground beef and cook on medium high heat for 6-7 minutes.  When there is little pink left, add the zucchini and cook for 3-4 minutes until ground beef is cooked throughout.  Add the diced tomatoes to the meat mixture and cook for 1 minute and remove from the heat.  Add in the cottage cheese and marinara to the meat mixture and stir until all incorporated.  Taste and add seasoning as desired.  In a small bowl mix the Italian cheese and cheddar cheese until all blended.  Take the muffin tin and place 1 wonton wrapper in each hole.  Pressing the wrapper carefully to mold along side the tin.  Spray the wrapper with olive oil spray and add in a large tablespoon of the meat mixture.  Top with cheese blend and repeat process.  Wonton wrapper, spray, meat, top with cheese.  Bake for 17-19 minutes until brown and crispy.  Let it cool for about 3 minutes before eating.  Enjoy!