The original version of this recipe was given to me by my mother and started out with, “Plant several tomato plants…”
Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it does call for a half-bushel of fresh garden tomatoes. Now, I am not much of a gardener anymore, so I’ve created my own adaptation that uses canned tomato juice or V-8. We prefer the flavor of purchased tomato juice instead of growing, picking, and processing the tomatoes yourself.
You can make a lot, if you like to freeze leftovers, this will work beautifully. The recipe below is for an evening’s meal.
Tomato Soup
serves 4-6 / prep. time: 10 minutes / cook time: 10-20 minutes
2 (12 oz.) cans of tomato juice or V- 8
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
dash pepper
dash onion salt
dash celery salt
1 T. butter
1 T. flour
milk
First you’re gonna heat the first six ingredients in a saucepan on the stove. In the microwave, melt the butter in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the flour to make a paste. Add a cup or so of the heated juice, a bit at a time, to the paste and stir it together. Now you can pour it back into the pan of juice and whisk. Glug some milk into it if you like it thinner and creamier, as I do.
Do not forget to serve with grilled cheese.
December 23rd, 2005
Sandwiches can be as simple or as complex as you want. I can have a lot of fun dressing up a sandwich. We have sandwiches for dinner at least once a week. If sandwiches make you yawn, keep reading…
The recipe below is a little more complicated than most, but worth the extra effort. This is definitely not a “hands-on” sandwich, so get your fork out. The cheese sauce is on top instead of in the middle.
You can experiment with different cheeses and meats. My favorites are turkey with Swiss and ham with cheddar. No matter what your tastes, you can adust to suit your liking.
Monte Cristo Au Gratin
serves 5 / prep. time: 20 minutes / cook time: 5-10 minutes
10 slices of bread
10 slices of deli meat
4 eggs, slightly beaten with 3 T. water
3 T. butter or oil
2 c. shredded cheese of your choice
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. mayonnaise
As with most sandwiches, put the meat in between the slices of bread. Heat the butter in a skillet, then dip each sandwich in the egg mixture and fry on both sides until brown, (just as if it were French toast, weird, huh?) Place all the sandwiches, single layer, in a baking dish. Sometimes I need to cut one in half to get them to fit right. In a saucepan, combine the milk, cheese, and mayonnaise. Stir and heat until the cheese melts and gets smooth. Now pour this delicious, low-calorie
cheese sauce over the sandwiches. Put them under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese starts to brown and bubble. Serve immediately.
Until tomorrow… Happy Eating!
December 23rd, 2005