SANDRA’S SILKY RASPBERRY MID-AFTERNOON SMOOTHIES

My favorite smoothie that has
just the right amount of tartness without
being too sweet ~ simply delicious...

Servings: 2

Prep: 10 Mins.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups frozen raspberries

1 cup cold water

12 ozs. (2, 6-oz. containers) berry yogurt 

--(I used 1 strawberry, and 1blueberry)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon wheat germ

1 tablespoon honey

METHOD

Place all ingredients in blender in order listed, cover, and pulse a couple of times.  Switch to puree setting, and blend for 3 minutes.  

To remove seeds, strain mixture through a sieve into a 4-cup glass measuring vessel, using a spoon to push puree mixture through sieve while retaining seeds.  Pour smoothie mixture into glasses and garnish with fresh raspberries, then serve. ~ Enjoy!

BTW: This is my friendly porcupine that came to visit when I was picking the fresh raspberries last evening to garnish these smoothies...he was gently snorting 1' away when I discovered him visiting, and he acted like he was happy to see me and hung around for about 15 minutes; he kind of likes his picture taken ;)

SANDRA'S FRESH TOMATO BASIL SOUP

A perfect silky soup when married 
with a nice hot grilled cheese sandwich...


[Featured on 9-13-11 at 
http://www.laurieconstantino.com/
resources/alaska-food-blogs/ 


And, on 3-19-12 at
http://cook.sevnav.com/we-cook-soup/
sandras-fresh-tomato-basil-soup ]

Servings: (4 to 6)
Prep: 10 mins.
Cook: 50 mins.

Posted: by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 large tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
3 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
sea salt and pepper to taste
--Garnish options:
Croutons
Chopped basil

METHOD
Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, and sea salt and pepper to taste, stirring well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.

Carefully puree the hot soup with an immersion blender, regular blender, or a food processor. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot, and serve with julienned basil leaves and/or croutons.

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Tip: Some like to use cream, and if so, you can add about a cup of half-and-half just before pureeing.

SANDRA'S CARAMELIZED ONION and BACON PIZZA - HOMEMADE

This recipe was inspired when I created my 
Silky French Onion Soup recipe...

Servings: (6 to 8)
Prep: 20 mins. |
Baking: 25 mins. total + rising time

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS:

***Dough:
1-1/2 cups warm water
½ teaspoon sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more in other steps
1 teaspoon cornmeal

***Sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 (14.5 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh basil
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

***Toppings:
1 slices of bacon, cut into ¼” pieces
1 onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
6 crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons finely chopped jarred sun dried tomatoes
1 (4 oz.) pkg. of goat cheese, crumbled
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

METHOD:

***Prepare the dough:
In the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes until yeast blooms. Add flour, kosher salt, and olive oil. Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes, just until the dough is smooth elastic. Spray a medium-size bowl with oil, and place the ball of dough in it, rubbing it around in oil, and then flip over and cover with a clean towel. Place bowl of dough in a warm place until it has doubled in volume, about 1 hr., and place dough on floured surface and roll out into a 12” round, building up the outer edge slightly. Transfer to an oiled pizza pan that has been slightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Brush the entire top and outer edge of unbaked crust with olive oil. Par-bake the crust in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside.

***Prepare the sauce:
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, add the onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano, and then sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. Remove and let cool to room temperature before spreading on pizza crust.

***Prepare the toppings:
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and the bacon; cooking until brown. Reserve the drippings, and remove bacon to drain on a paper-towel lined plate. Add onion to the skillet; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown, while stirring frequently. Once onions are caramelized, add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle the sauce over the pizza, and then with the bottom of the ladle use a circular motion to spread sauce evenly over crust within ½” of edge. Arrange the caramelized onion mixture over sauce, sprinkle with chopped sun dried tomatoes, bacon pieces, and then the crumbled goat cheese. Place pizza on middle rack in oven, and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Remove and sprinkle with chopped fresh basil, and cut into slices - Enjoy!

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Tip: Prepare the sauce so it can cool, including the caramelized onions, and other topping ingredients while pizza dough is rising.