tomatoes Archives - Simply Sells Kitchen

Chickpea, Tomato, & Cucumber Salad

Sandra Sells — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 17:03:25 +0000

Spring is here and summer is on the way, so it’s time to start making those fresh salads! We love a greek salad which is what I have made versions of this chickpea tomato and cucumber salad for years. However, I’ve never written down the recipe until now as it can be made in so many different ways. Fast & Fresh I think a fresh salad doesn’t always have to be just lettuce and ranch dressing. Salad can have many textures and vegetables, and a depth of flavor that will have you begging for seconds. One of the benefits of this recipe is that it can handle being stored in the fridge for several days. In fact the chickpea tomato and cucumber salad gets even better over time. This salad is so simple it can be made right in your favorite wooden salad bowl or an easy to store container. We sometimes store ours in a mason jar, especially when food prepping for the week. We love pouring this salad over a hearty grain like farro, quinoa, couscous, or even brown rice. Other times, we like to throw a few Kalamata olives in and pour it over a bed of lettuce to make a delicious cool salad. Recipe Start by washing your vegetables and peeling and chopping them. Drain the chickpeas (dry them if you prefer). Combine everything in a bowl or container, add the feta cheese and mix or shake it all up. Put all the Greek salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar, and then shake it to mix. Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad and stir or shake the dressing and salad mixture until combined. Wow! The lemon and garlic in the dressing makes this salad so fresh and flavorful! One of the amazing things about it is the lemon in the dressing helps delay the browning of the avocado. I hope that you make this for your next meal or gathering!

The post Chickpea, Tomato, & Cucumber Salad appeared first on Simply Sells Kitchen.

Tomato Soup

Sandra Sells — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 13:48:15 +0000

So, we had our friends over this past weekend and decided to indulge in a childhood favorite. The inspiration for tomato soup came from our friend Josiah. He requested a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with tomato soup when a group of us went out to eat. His choice caught everyone’s attention and left us craving the comfort food that he had ordered! We are always looking for ways to please a crowd. Our home has always been an open door to amazing people that we do life with. Feeding them is our love language. I have learned in my tomato soup journey that it is very different from marinara sauce. The texture and levels of flavor are very different, and should be. For me, it’s ok to have some texture and a little spice in my tomato soup. To me it lets you know that it was made from the heart and from scratch. Although I love tomato soup, I had not really made it from scratch before. Campbells has been the tomato soup of most our childhood. However when expressing our art and love of food it had to be home made and a little more grown up. Recipe I started by dicing 2 large, sweet onions and about 6 medium peeled carrots. Next, I sautéed the onions and carrots in a fair amount of butter and olive oil. When it was browned, I added some garlic. At this point the aroma coming up from my pan was dreamy! I added some salt, pepper and spices to the pan, making sure I didn’t forget the secret ingredient—red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes take the soup up a few notches. When everything looked lightly browned and caramelized, I added the diced tomatoes. This helps to deglaze the pan and mix all the flavors together. Once combined, I put the mixture in my Instant Pot and added the chicken stock. I set the cooker to slow cooker, the temperature to medium heat, and the cook time to about 5–6 hours. This soup is done at any point you would like it to be. However I do enjoy letting the soup cook and flavors deepen over time. This soup was a make ahead meal for us for an after church gathering. When we were ready to serve it, I placed the soup in my Vitamix blender. I made sure the center hole of the lid was open. This is to prevent a hot soup explosion. Due to its hot temperature make sure to cover the center hole with a towel. I then blended the soup to our desired smoothness. Another way to blend the soup is to use an immersion blender if you have one available. When the soup was blended, I put it back into the pan and added one cup of heavy whipping cream. Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Party At this point it was looking like the most indulgent tomato soup I have ever had. Upon taste test I knew it was. A tip is to arrange a few different types of bakery style bread with an array of sliced cheeses. Maybe even some deli ham, turkey, or chicken. Our cheeses we used ranged from a mild mozzarella to a spicy pepper jack. The countertop griddle was heated up and the butter was ready to spread on the bread. Everyone that came over got to pick their cheese and bread. We then joined the line for the make-your-own grilled cheese sandwich buffet. This was a fun party and having the activity of making your own sandwich created a great memory. Our guests were able to be creative and custom make the grilled cheese sandwich of their dreams. Obviously, there were also a variety of mustards, pickles, jalapenos, and mayo condiments and even some hot sauces to add a special touch. This meal was familiar to everyone and, though simple, it caused some great smiles and full bellies. The cheese pulls and tomato soup dipping had begun. I am sure we will do this again!

The post Tomato Soup appeared first on Simply Sells Kitchen.

Simply Greek Salad

Sandra Sells — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 22:44:15 +0000

I’ve always loved a good salad – the fresh flavors and endless delicious toppings that you can incorporate in a variety of ways. To me there seems to be no bounds to what you can create. Lately, I’ve really had cravings for Greek flavors. You know, those little pepperoncini peppers, salty chunks of feta cheese, and that briny olive flavor. There’s nothing like it! So I dove in and started creating my ideal Greek salad recipe. A Greek salad is traditionally made with large slices of onion, tomato, feta, cucumbers, and green peppers and topped with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of oregano. In the US we’ve adapted the Greek salad, especially in the south, by putting a scoop of potato salad on top, which makes the salad very delicious. I wanted to come up with something flavorful and healthy like the traditional salad but made in an American kitchen. My husband loves a good Greek salad too so together we decided to make our Greek salad a little leaner but still with the same flavors of feta cheese and kalamata olives. We started out by freshly washing crisp romaine lettuce and chopping it into bite size pieces. I know that a traditional Greek salad doesn’t use lettuce but a little extra fiber never hurt anyone, right? We first layered the serving dish with the lettuce, and then began to assemble the toppings of chopped hard boiled eggs, chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, kalamata olives, red onion, pepperoncini, and cucumbers. The hard boiled eggs were our nod to southern American flavors. We could have topped the salad off with a dressing of choice, however, we created a delicious lemon oregano dressing that’s hard to beat! We’ve included the dressing recipe with the salad recipe below. The ingredients and flavor in the dressing makes this salad healthy but still yummy and indulgent! This Greek salad is very simple and easy to put together, and takes no time at all. I’m very sure that you will enjoy it just as much as we do!

The post Simply Greek Salad appeared first on Simply Sells Kitchen.

Lemon Curry Lentil Stew

Sandra Sells — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 05:45:40 +0000

The post Lemon Curry Lentil Stew appeared first on Simply Sells Kitchen.

Simply Salsa

Sandra Sells — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 02:30:35 +0000

Chips, Salsa, and salsa music were a common theme in my home growing up. We always had a crowd at my parents home multiple times a week. We have a large family from cousins to aunts to uncles to friends that became family. My dad was an AC technician for many years. He would often go to factories for jobs. One particular job led him to a tomato plant. Let’s just say we had a lot of salsa. I mean he was blessed with cases of tomatoes! My mother’s salsa recipe was the inspiration for this simply salsa recipe. You gotta have the cilantro, the onion, the lime, and the jalapeño for the freshest salsa you will ever have! Salsa can be made in many ways. This particular salsa is our go to favorite because it has simple and fresh ingredients that we always have on hand. This recipe agrees with many diet plans as it has vegetables, is low calorie, and has zero fat. It’s healthy! What you pair it with is up to you but it can alter the health factor. Some great ideas to pair with this salsa recipe are of course tortilla chips, over chicken, or on tacos. Sometimes I slice cucumbers, sprinkle them with a little salt, and scoop this salsa right on top. It is a delicious and healthy snack with no guilt and tons of nutrition. We hope you enjoy! Please enjoy making this recipe as much as we do and remember to create long lasting family memories around that delicious chip bowl. Enjoy!

The post Simply Salsa appeared first on Simply Sells Kitchen.