Oven-Roasted Parmesan Tomatoes

I needed a veggie side to go with our parmesan tilapia dinner, and I had some extra tomatoes in the fridge, so these delicious little treats were born :)

They are roast-y on the outside and juicy on the inside. They have a delicious golden parmesan crust and a little sprinkle of basil adds a big complimentary punch of flavor. Absolutely beautiful.

Tomatoes are even better for you when they are cooked anyway! A lot of people are worried about losing nutrients when they cook their fruits and veggies, but tomatoes are actually more powerful for you when they are cooked. That's why it's commonly recommended to include red pasta sauce into your weekly menu rotation, or canned tomatoes, tomato soup, ...any form of cooked tomatoe... like these warm little roasted tomatoes! :)
One of the great nutritional components of tomatoes is 'lycopene', and it is lycopene that is activated when heated/processed/cooked. In fact, the lycopene in a tomato is roughly 4 times more bioavailable when it is cooked (i.e. pasta sauce) rather than when eaten raw (i.e. in a salad). Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and is believed to possibly help prevent cancer -especially prostate cancer. It is found in several fruits and veggies (mostly red-orange colored ones) but is most well known in tomatoes since they contain such high levels of lycopene. Lycopene is also fat-soluble, which means the more olive oil you eat with it, the better it is absorbed into your body :)
So let's start oilin' and cookin' our tomatoes!...

Ingredient List:

• Tomatoes (I used Romas, but I suppose you can use any firm ones that you like or that you already have on hand)
• Olive Oil
• Basil (I used crushed dried Basil, but you could use fresh as well)
• Parmesan Cheese
• Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Slice the tomatoes into about 1 inch slices. (To use the ends, slice just a tiny tip off each end of the tomato to give them a footprint to stand on and the open slice on top; see picture below)

Line a baking sheet with foil and drizzle with olive oil. Lay the tomato slices on the olive oil, and drizzle the tops of the tomato slices with olive oil as well, and a good sprinkling of basil.

Now top each tomato slice with a hearty pinch of Parmesan, and a little dash of black pepper.

Roast the tomatoes at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes so that the tomatoes get roasty and heated through, and the cheese melts on top. Then finish them off under the broiler for just a few minutes to give the cheese a golden, bubbly crust on top.

They are so simple yet so divine! Look at that beautiful roasted skin, the warm juicy inside, and the bubbly basily cheese :)

I served mine alongside parmesan tilapia and creamy risotto:

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia

Tilapia is a great fish if you're cooking for a mixed group; it is tender and flakey enough for fish-lovers, yet mild enough that non-fish-lovers definitely enjoy it too. Tilapia is a very mild white fish and doesn't taste 'fishy' at all. It is usually a great one for beginners. 

Parmesan cheese has a strong sharp flavor that is perfect for flavoring this mild filet of fish. The paprika and parsley are more for color and visual appeal than for flavor. Interestingly enough though, dried parsley is a surprising nutritious source of lycopene- the antioxidant most well known as one of the great health components of tomatoes. (Which reminds me that I also served these tasty filets with roasted tomatoes -another post where I discuss lycopene in more detail).

I accompanied this tilapia with creamy risotto and roasted tomatoes. If you have all your ingredients ready to go, you can make this entire meal in 30 minutes start to finish. We'll start with the fish...

Recipe (makes 4 tilapia filets):

• Four 4 oz. Tilapia filets
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground Paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Parsley
• a couple shakes of ground Black Pepper
• Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and drizzle a little olive oil on the foil so that it's ready for the fish.

Mix the parmesan, paprika, parsley, and pepper in a dish.

Gently pat the fish filets dry with a paper towel, and drizzle with some olive oil.

Sprinkle the parm-mixture evenly over each of the filets, gently pressing it into the olive oil on each side -especially on the top :)
Lay the filets on the olive-oiled-foil ...trust me, do not skip the olive oil here! Fish is tender and flakey and it would be terrible if your beautiful filets fell to pieces because they stuck to the foil while trying to get them off.

Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes or until the parmesan topping is golden and the fish is cooked through.

They are GORGEOUS, HEALTHY and DELICIOUS. And SO easy! Who knew!? 

That is a delicious crust on the fish, and see how beautifully the paprika colored it!

Just look at how wonderfully flakey it is! No mushy fish here :)

I served my tilapia filets with creamy risotto and roasted tomatoes. You can have this entire healthy, fancy meal on the table in just 30 minutes!

Roasted Garlic Hummus

Hummus is a super healthy snack. I don't have a lot of 'snacky' stuff in my house- I just keep a lot of ingredients stocked up in my kitchen, so if you get snacky you better be willing to wait for something to get made. I know, "poor Peter". But HUMMUS- now this is something I don't mind having on hand for snacking! Peter has loved having this homemade hummus in the house. It even helps me to get him to eat carrots and celery :)


Hummus is so healthy because it is high in iron, vitamins, & fiber... but most uniquely, it is a good source of a 'complete' protein. Our body uses over 20 amino acids to make protein and perform various functions in our body. Our bodies can actually make most of these amino acids on their own. However there are 9 that our body cannot make sufficiently for growth, so it is essential that we get them from the foods we eat. This is why they are called 'essential amino acids'. 
Certain foods compliment each other to create a complete protein. For example: 

• Chickpeas have sufficient amounts of all the essential amino acids EXCEPT tryptophan and methionine. 
• HOWEVER, seeds and grains happen to be rich in tryptophan and methionine, and low in some of the other ess. amino acids that the chickpeas do have. 
• THEREFORE, when we combine the chickpeas with tahini (sesame seed paste) and serve it with grains (from the pita bread) you have sufficiently rich levels of ALL the essential amino acids.

i.e. you have a complete protein!





Recipe (makes about 2-3 cups):
1 can Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained
3 heaping Tablespoons of Tahini
Juice of one small Lemon (1/4 cup)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon Cumin (depending on your liking)
a few dashes of Paprika
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/4 cup Water (as needed)
1 small head Roasted Garlic (about 12 cloves)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

It is super easy to make your own roasted garlic. Just slice your head of garlic in half, cross wise, then drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle lightly with salt. Wrap each half in a square of foil and roast at 400 degrees F for about 40 minutes. 

Place all ingredients, except olive oil, in food processor and blend until it becomes a thick paste.

Then AS THE PROCESSOR IS RUNNING drizzle in the olive oil until you get the desired consistency, though it should be thick.

Serve with pita bread, carrots, bell pepper slices, and/or celery sticks.

Garnishing options:

Drizzle with olive oil

Sprinkle with Paprika

Sprinkle with Cayenne

Top with chopped Parsley

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

My niece, Kinley, had a picnic party at the park to celebrate her 2nd birthday this month. I was in charge of bringing a pasta salad side dish. This is somewhat of a difficult task in our family, only because my Aunt Diana Lu is the queen of awesome pasta salads. I played around with different ingredients until I found a combination that I was happy with. I think even Aunt Diana Lu would approve of this one :)


A lot of pasta salads use mayonnaise as the base of their creamy dressing, but because this was for an afternoon picnic and I wasn't sure how long it would be sitting outside before we ate it, I wanted to avoid any mayo in this one. Also, as an added bonus, the salad would be healthier without the addition of mayonnaise. The end result was a very flavorful but light dressing. The feta even mixed well with the dressing to create a little creamy texture in the absence of mayo :) I loved it and I hope you enjoy it too!


Recipe List:


Salad Dressing:

• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp minced Garlic
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 1/2 tsp Honey

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of Farfalle or 'Bow Tie' pasta, cooked and cooled (I like bow tie pasta for pasta salad, but you can use 1 lb of whichever pasta you prefer)
• 1 cup Marinated Artichokes, roughly chopped
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 small can (4 oz) of sliced Olives, drained
• 1/2 small Red Onion, diced
• 6 oz. Sundried Tomato & Basil Feta Cheese (regular Feta would be just fine too)
• 1 pint (2 cups) Grape Tomatoes, halved

Mix together the salad dressing ingredients with a whisk.

Add all of your chopped/prepared salad ingredients with the cooled pasta in a large bowl, and toss together with the salad dressing:

 Transfer to your serving bowl and enjoy!

This is also a great dish because you can make it the night before. Just cover your bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight. This will let the flavors marinade together even more, and give you more free time on the day of your event to make more dishes or set up for your guests.

During the birthday party, a very smart ice cream man circled his truck around the park with his luring music calling out to all the children. Kinley LOVES the ice cream man. In fact, sometimes she hears music, whether it's the ice cream truck or not, and she yells with excitement, "Ice Cream Man!" Of course, that was the drill at the park this day. On our way running over to the ice cream truck, she told me that she wanted 'pink ice cream'. I asked the man for his most pink ice cream, and he handed me a 'pink panther'.

 Isn't she SO cute eating her pink panther ice cream.

And while all the children played with their friends at the park... so did the men:

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This night, I had every intention of making something completely different for dinner. I had a whole menu planned, but plans changed after I browsed through the grocery fliers that had come in the mail. When I saw all the beautiful produce items featured in the mailer, I decided that I would make a recipe to  use those ingredients instead. These beautiful and SUPER HEALTHY stuffed bell peppers were the result.

Recipe List (for 2 large servings):

• 1 large Red Bell Pepper (or 2 medium Bell Peppers)- Our bell peppers weren't that big, so it needed the extra half of our second medium bell pepper... Peter didn't complain :)
• 1/2 medium Yellow Onion, diced
• 1/2 lb lean Ground Turkey
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Lemon Pepper
• 1 cup Rice, precooked
• 4 tbsp (or 1/4 cup) of either tomato sauce or tomato paste
• 1 large Roma Tomato, diced

First, preheat your oven to 350 degress F. Then, saute your diced onion in extra virgin olive oil:

Then add the ground turkey, minced garlic, and seasonings:

When the turkey has browned and cooked through, add the rice and tomato sauce/paste and mix well:

Then gently mix in the diced tomato:

Now grab the bell peppers that you have cut in half and deseeded:

Stuff them with your rice mixture:

Top with some parmesan cheese:

Fill a shallow oven-safe dish or a jelly-roll pan with water until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Stand your stuffed peppers in the shallow water. 

Bake in a 350 degree F preheated oven for 25 minutes or so, until the bell pepper looks soft and sweet and the parmesan is golden on top:

 

Plate it up with a side that will compliment these tasty and nutritious stuffed peppers

 

Alterations: 

• I have seen some other versions where the bell pepper halves are blanched before they are stuffed. This will give them a little head start on the cooking process and will result in even softer and sweeter peppers. I might recommend this for those who aren't big bell pepper fans (I used to not be a bell pepper fan at all... a seemingly cardinal sin as a Nutritionist; when I was in college, all the nutrition majors would show up to class with water bottles and baggies of home-packed snacks: celery sticks, carrots, and bell pepper slices... I wanted to fit in, but I wasn't a bell pepper fan yet). 
• You can also follow this same recipe, but use it to make stuffed zucchini or stuffed tomatoes!
• You can make this healthy recipe even healthier by substituting brown rice for white rice :)