Tomato sweet and easy!

One of my firm beliefs is that we all need to eat healthier. We live in busy times, but our health is so important and taking care of our health is vital to our happiness.  As a child, I remember well my mother's fondness of tomatoes, but especially of those ripe juicy off the vine summer tomatoes that store bought can't compete with, so this is in honor of her. Today I am sharing an easy salad to have along side  a sandwich or with an evening meal. Enjoy!

Slice a ripe tomato into 1/4-1/2 inch slices
sprinkle with kosher salt
cut 4 basil leaves into thin slices (kitchen shears work the best, but can be accomplished with a knife)
grate 1/2 ounce of mozzarella cheese over tops
sprinkle with the cut basil
drizzle with olive oil

Simple! Delicious! Healthy!

Beer Butt Chicken

Here is the second whole chicken recipe as promised. This is beer butt chicken! The picture does not do justice to how crispy and golden the skin on this chicken turned out, but cooking one this way makes for a fully browned and deliciously moist chicken.

Again, for those of you who have never prepared a chicken before, please check out this site for step by step preparation instructions: http://www.helpwithcooking.com/cooking-poultry/roast-chicken.html It is really important that you have that clean work surface and that you clean thoroughly once finished. I always prepare mine in the sink. I clean it well first, then ready the chicken. Once I put it in the crock pot or oven, I then go back and clean the sink again with a bacterial cleanser to be sure I have left no juices behind to contaminate something else.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. After you have prepared your chicken, stuff the seasoning of your choice under the skin. I used garlic on this one and some kosher salt. Open a cheap can of beer, drink 1/3 of the contents (or pour out that much) and then, in an oven proof deep skillet or roasting pan without the rack, slide your chicken onto the beer can and arrange the legs so that you have a tripod effect with the chicken standing up. Rub the skin with a little olive oil, and place in hot oven for 15 mins. Turn temperature to 350 degrees and cook an additional 1 3/4 hours, or about 20 minutes per pound total. That initial 425 degrees is to crisp up the outer skin a bit.

When chicken is done and juices are running clear, remove from the oven being careful not to tip the bird over. Allow chicken to sit for at least ten minutes to settle the juices. Then take either a pot holder or several layers of paper towels in one hand and heavy tongs in the over and while holding the bird with the tongs over the pan, pull the can out from the chicken. There will still be beer in the can so this is a bit messy. This is easiest if you have a helper, but you can do it yourself. If someone is helping me, I usually grab the bird and lift it up as someone pulls out the can.

Place chicken on serving platter and carve. I like to serve this with rice and a vegetable, and you can make a gravy from the drippings in the pan if you like. Use leftovers for sandwiches.

This is a tasty, moist chicken and fun to make. Kids especially like to see the chicken sitting up in the pan so be sure they see the fun!! Enjoy!!

Ricotta Cheese Bread

I grew up, like most of my generation, on store bought sandwich sliced white bread. My mom did, however, make Parker House rolls from time to time, and an occassional sweet bread. I loved the smell of bread baking in the oven, and even more, loved the taste of a hot roll with butter! (Though, I'm pretty sure we ate margarine in our home.) As an adult entering the grocery buying world, and being the beginning of the "health food" craze, I discovered there was a world of difference between white bread (I soon dubbed "killer" bread) and wheat bread, and switched instantly to wheat sandwich bread. Those breads have come a long way now, and you actually can find fairly healthy bread in the stores, but there is nothing like the smell and taste of homemade bread, slathered with REAL butter! Though the recipe I'm sharing with you is not whole wheat (I am experimenting to find one for the bread machine; it's tricky) and not as healthy as I might prefer, it is delicious. Baking bread will definitely bring some happy faces into the kitchen and is a great way to treat your family or yourself. (Just a side note: slathering with butter is NOT healthy, so occassional is a good word to remember here!)

So as promised, I will post one new recipe each week. My friend Betty requested this recipe for Ricotta Cheese Bread after I posted on Facebook that I had just taken it out of the pan. Though I created this for my bread machine, you can make it regardless of whether you have one or not by simply mixing the ingredients together, kneading your dough, letting it rise until double in size, punch it down, place in loaf pan and allow to rise again, then bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 mins. (this is a small loaf, so that will be my best guess for time) or until golden brown. Bread machines are fairly inexpensive these days and if you like homemade, no preservative bread, then it is a great investment. It is also an investment in yourself, as it definitely will save you time. Buy one with a timer so you can walk in from a long day and smell your bread nearly finished and ready to eat! 

Ricotta Cheese Bread

1/4 c. milk
3/4 c. ricotta cheese (part-skim is what I used)
1 egg
2 1/4 c. unbleached flour
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg or 2 tsps yeast
4 tsps butter

Place milk and cheese in a microwave proof cup and heat to 80 degrees. (This will only take about 20 seconds on high or one minute on half power) It should feel just slightly warm.

Pour into machine; add egg; measure in flour, sugar and salt; make a small indention in the center and add yeast; place one tsp of butter in the four corners of the pan. Follow manufacturers directions for one pound loaf. On mine, I set it to medium color and used the sweet bread setting. This is a fairly light bread, but oh so tasty! Enjoy!

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