Tomatoes, I Love Them, Plus Another Important Vegetable!

      Hello, Friends, I hope your Spring is beautiful and happy for you so far! I'm going to share with you two very simple tomato-based recipes that will have your family thinking that you slaved forever in the kitchen for these dinners!

     Here is just one version of one of my favorite dishes, Mexican Chicken Soup.  This one is made with tortillas, and the tortillas add such a beautiful, corn, Mexican flavor, along with the cornmeal or Masa that is added for flavor and thickening.  I tend to use more tomatoes than chicken broth when called for because I love tomato based soups, so use chicken broth, or canned crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes, or whole tomatoes (I love tomatoes), or half chicken broth and half tomatoes.  So many choices, and you can't make a mistake, it's delicious all kinds of ways!  Don't forget about all of the salt in the broth and canned tomatoes, so don't add salt until you've tasted all of the flavors together!  Click on the picture of the soup with the beautiful avocado garnish for the recipe!
     

Chicken Tortilla Soup!

      Here's a dish that I have been wanting to try for a while, Ravioli Lasagna, and when the occasion came along that I needed to make a good amount of food for friends in a short amount of time, I made it, with much success.  This recipe came from Clinton Kelly and it is lasagna made with frozen ravioli.  In this case, I couldn't find frozen, so I used already prepared cheese ravioli from our local grocer. 

       Another edit I made to Clinton's recipe is I added a mixture of hot and regular ground sausage and added Italian seasonings to that.  I couldn't find any ravioli that I thought my crowd would like because I was fixing for some good ole' country folks who would prefer a meaty dish to a vegetarian dish.  There is such a thing as meaty ravioli, but I couldn't find it when I needed it. 

      Viola!  I made two pans of this for my friends, and because I got carried away with the groceries, I had enough to make a dish for home.  When you add the last layer of cheese and before you put it back in the oven for melting and browning, make sure you sprinkle with chopped parsley for freshness and beauty!  Click on the picture for the recipe!

Ravioli Lasagna!

      This is my latest effort to eat nutritious foods rather than high carb and fried foods.  This is a baked jicama fries recipe that is low in carbs and calories and high in fiber and healthy nutrients.  Let me tell you one, no, two things I would do differently.  I would definitely cut the fries a little smaller, and then put them in a clean dish towel or paper towels so the towels can absorb more of the moisture out of the jicama before baking. I did put them in paper towels but I am impatient sometimes and I did not let the moisture dry out enough.

     These turned out pretty tasty, and even more so because you can eat lots of them without feeling guilty!  I just used a French fry seasoning we had at home, but I am attaching a delicious looking recipe in a link to the picture below, and it also shares more info for those of us who were not really familiar with jicima.  These are pretty and brown, and have a nice texture, and they're good with ketchup, too!

      And now, for closing, a picture of the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world, Sawyer.  Sawyer has learned to dodge the camera and I have no pictures of a smiling baby this time, so I took one when she wasn't looking.  She's 11 months old now.  She and this blog are almost a year old.  Time sure flies, and we thank God for the joy this  baby has brought us! 

      Until next time, Friends, happy eating and be happy!

      Dished With Love, Denise!