Breaded Tomato Pasta

 

I know I posted earlier in the month my Pantry Party dish of the month. But this month my inspiration ran amok. Rather than just post one breaded dish, this month there’s going to be (at least) two. Fried tomatoes are now my favorite things ever. Really, this dish is incredible simple. But sometimes it’s the most simple dishes that taste the best.

This dish dug into my pantry to grab my spaghetti noodles, bread crumbs, and flour. I bought the tomatoes this morning at the farmers’ market, so they were better than usual.

Don’t forget, enter Pantry Party’s breaded theme this month before the 28th! For more info go here!

Breaded Tomato Pasta
(source)

Ingredients
4 oz spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup skim milk
2 tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp basil, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions

1. Cook the spaghetti noodles per package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Place the milk in another shallow dish. Place the flour in another shallow dish.

3. Slice each tomato into three slices. Using the ends of the tomato that are left over from the slices, chopped the tomato. (By the ends I mean the ends of the tomato.)

4. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet. Dredge each tomato slice in flour. Then dip in milk and then cover in bread crumbs. After dipping in the breadcrumbs, dip back into the milk and into the breadcrumbs again. Place each tomato slice in the hot oil. Cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel to drain.

5. In the hot skillet add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil, garlic powder, and salt. Cook until fragrant. Add the noodles and stir together with the tomato, basil, and garlic, making sure to evenly combine.

6. To serve place pasta on a plate. Place three fried tomatoes on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

* serves 2
* Besides Pantry Party, this dish is being shared with See Ya In The Gumbo

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

 

Like I said in my last post, I need to make more pestos. They are just SO good!
This pesto was made to share with Tinned Tomatoes pasta please. The theme this month was peppers and is hosted by We Don’t Eat Anything With A Face.

I actually don’t really like bell peppers. If I can get them sauteed enough they’re tolerable, but for the most part I really just don’t enjoy them. This use of the bell peppers was so good. I got the taste of the peppers, but I didn’t get that weird crunch that turns me off so much.

What kind of pesto should I make next?

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
(source)

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
2 tbsp basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbsp olive oil
8 oz spaghetti noodles

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Cover the bell peppers in aluminum foil. Over an open flame roast for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil, cut the pepper, and seed and vein them.

3. In a food processor grind the walnuts. Remove them and set aside.

4. Add the roasted peppers, basil leaves, and garlic to the food processor and processor until well chopped. Add the walnuts, cheese, and olive oil. Process more until you have a pesto consistency.

5. Mix the pesto into the noodles.

* serves 2
* Besides Pasta Please, this is shared with Mix It Up Monday & Mealtime Monday

Macadamia Tomato Pesto

This month at our very own Pantry Party, the theme is noodles! The goal of Pantry Party is to look through your pantries and use ingredients that are crying out to be used – ingredients that may have been forgotten about. Also, the dishes entered into the challenge should meet whatever the monthly theme is. This month I relied on some macadamia nuts that were hiding in my pantry. You’ll also see I used two different types of noodles, because I decided it made more sense to use the partial boxes than open up a new box.

I have a whole shelf of nuts. I have almonds, I have pine nuts, and I also have macadamia nuts. Well, actually, I don’t have them anymore because I used them – but you get it. I had macadamia nuts and then I used them to make this pasta sauce.

I love pestos and I had forgotten how much I liked making pesto from ingredients other than just basil and pine nuts. This was a delicious sauce and was a very easy meal to make.

So, don’t forget to enter this month’s noodle themed Pantry Party! I’d love to see what type of noodle-y dishes you have in store. Entries are due by the 26th of February.

Macadamia Tomato Pesto
(source)

Ingredients
1/3 cup macadamia nuts
2 tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 tbsp basil leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
pepper, to taste
9 oz noodles

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the noodles per package directions. Once cooked drain and set aside.

2. In a skillet dry toast the macadamia nuts until lightly browned, stirring frequently for about 4 minutes.

3. Place the nuts, tomatoes, basil, garlic, Parmesan, 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil, and pepper into the food processor. Process until pureed, about 30 seconds.

4. In the skillet  over medium heat add the remaining 1/2 tbsp of olive oil. Pour the puree into the skillet and stir frequently for about 5 minutes. Toss the noodles with the sauce.

* Besides Pantry Party, this recipe is shared with See Ya In The Gumbo

Pizza Margherita

I meal plan for 6 out of the 7 days a week. This means that on Sunday rather than buying ingredients to make a meal, I use whatever is leftover in the house to make my meals. This reduces how much I end up throwing away due to things going bad.

Last weekend I went through the fridge and noticed among other stuff:

1. An excess of cherry tomatoes
2. A Boboli pizza crust
3. Mozzarella cheese
4. Fresh basil leaves

I used the website supercook to show me recipes I had the ingredients for and I found this pizza margherita recipe.

I decided to use my premade crust and my cherry tomatoes to make this recipe. It came out so delicious. I’ve never made a pizza without putting sauce on it before and I have to say, it didn’t need it a bit!

You could of course make your own crust. It doesn’t take a whole lot more effort.

Pizza Margherita

Ingredients
1 Boboli pizza crust
20-30 cherry tomatoes, cut into small slices
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

Directions

1. Heat oven to 475.

2. Arrange the tomatoes on the top of your pizza crust, overlapping them slightly. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Bake the pizza for 10 minutes. Remove and top with cheese and basil. Return to oven for 5-10 more minutes, until as crisp as desired.

 * one pizza serves 4
* roughly 387 calories per serving