Marinated Garden Tomatoes

I am not a big fan of raw tomatoes. I cook with them all the time, but 'fresh' tomatoes usually do nothing for me. Except this recipe!!! I could eat these tomatoes 3-4 times a week and never get tired of them. I know that tomatoes are going out of season for much of the US, but I had to post this anyway.

Ingredients:

• 6 large tomatoes, cut into slices or wedges
• 1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions
• 1/3 c. olive or canola oil
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 c. minced fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 TBS fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

Directions:

1. Place tomatoes and onions in a shallow serving bowl.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, parsley, garlic, salt, thyme, and pepper. Mix well.
3. Pour over tomatoes.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight

serves 10

Bisto French Onion Soup

Fall keeps teasing us here on the west coast. We have these fantastically cool evenings and mornings, a few days of lovely cool weather (hey, when summer averaged 105, 72 feels really cool!) we've also had some days in the 80's to remind us that this is not normal weather for our area! This soup, however, is fantastic for those cool evenings. My husband was even pleasantly surprised to find that it's very filling too. Go figure!

Ingredients:
3 large onions, sliced and separated into rings
1/4 c butter, melted
2 TBS flour
5 1/2 c water
3/4 c dry white wine
1/2 c red wine
4 chicken bouillon cubes
4 beef bouillon cubes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp pepper
4 slices toasted, french bread, cubed
4 slices Monterrey jack cheese

Directions:

1. Saute the onions in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 15-20 minutes or until golden. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add water, white wine, red wine, bouillon cubes, bay leaves, salt, sage, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves.
3. Ladle soup into 4 individual oven-proof soup bowls. Place on a baking sheet. Add a slice of toasted cubed french bread to each bowl and cover with a slice of cheese. Broil for 4 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serve immediately

Serves 4

Glazed Apple Strudel

Today, I heard that there is supposed to be rain in our forecast by the end of the week. Our fall like weather continues (OK, it's 88 here, but after 110 all summer, 88 is fantastic) here, and so I was inspired to look for a fall desert that was a little more Weight Watchers friendly. Ta da! Of course, I may have cheated a bit - it's in my weight watchers magazine :o)

Ingredients:
1 granny smith or Winesap apple, peeled and thinly sliced
1 golden delicious or Fuji apple, peeled and thinly sliced
3 TBS granulated sugar
3 TBS dried cranberries
2 TBS all purpose flour
1 TBS grated lemon zest
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
6 (9x14) sheets frozen phyllo, thawed
6 TBS confectioners sugar
2 tsp apple cider

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray
2. To prepare the filling, combine the apples, granulated sugar, cranberries, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Keep the thawed phyllo dough covered with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
4. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a work space; lightly spray with nonstick spray. Repeat, layering the remaining 5 sheets and spraying each one lightly with nonstick spray. Spoon the filling in a 3-inch wide band evenly across the long side of the phyllo near you, leaving a 2-inch border on each short side. Fold the short sides over the filling and gently roll up to enclose the filling.
5. Place the strudel, seam side down, on the baking sheet. Lightly spray with nonstick spray and with a sharp knife lightly score the top of the strudel diagonally to indicate 4 portions, being careful not to cut all the way through. Bake the strudel until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, combine the confectioners sugar and cider in a small bowl; beat with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the strudel; slice and serve warm!

201 calories,

serves 4 - 4 points per serving.

** Note! To thaw phyllo dough quickly, cut one end of the wrapper. Microwave on Defrost for 1 minute. Cover the open end and let stand for 30 minutes.

Spiced Butter Cookies

Fall is around the corner. Usually, we stay hot until late October. But this year, there's already been a slight cooling trend in the weather. I can only hope it will continue! But just to tease, here's a great fall cookie for you :o)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract (real extract is MUCH better than imitation for these!)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamon
2 cups flour

Directions:
1. Beat the butter, sugar, egg and spices in a large bowl until light and fluffy (an electric mixer is really ideal for this). Gradually add in flour until well incorporated. Refrigerate for one hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Shape dough into one inch balls . Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden around edges. Cool on a wire rack for until they are completely cool.

Tips
First, let me state that I do not sell Pampered Chef and I am not endorsing them in any way. That being said, I think they are the BEST. I use their baking stone for all my cookies, and it's almost impossible to burn them. Also, they have a dough scoop that I swear by - they come in 3 sizes, and the medium sized one is perfect for this recipe. Here are some links to the products I'm talking about, straight from their web site:

Mimi's Cafe Buttermilk Spice Muffins

Mmmh, almost as good as their bran muffins, these are a treat I indulge in only once in a great while!

Buttermilk Spice Muffins
Muffin Batter:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspsoons baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk

Nut Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg


Directions:

Grease the baking tins with butter or margarine


Method

Preheat oven to 375°. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer. When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute.

Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon.

Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. To avoid lumps in the batter, add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts.

Make the nut toppping: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.


Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine. You can also use paper baking cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry. Home ovens heat differently from commercial ovens so you may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time accordingly.

Recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins, or six Mimis size muffins. If using the jumbo muffin pans, reduce the oven temperature by 25° and increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.