roasted tomato basil soup

i am so not a tomato soup fan, however, i'm thinking i will make this for dinner one night this week...i love watching the barefoot contessa yet haven't attempted to make one of her recipes as many of them, as yummy as they sound, seem a little too involved to make after work while trying to keep a 2-1/2 year old happy until dinner. but this one sounds easy enough for a weeknight meal (yet could be a "fancy soup" for a luncheon). i will probably serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches...cuz, fancy or not, you can't have tomato soup without a grilled cheese sammie!

3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup plus
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 quart chicken stock or water

-preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper.
-spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.
-in an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons
of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. -add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. add the oven-roasted tomatoes,
including the liquid on the baking sheet.
-bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. pass through a food mill fitted with the
coarsest blade.
-taste for seasonings.
-serve hot or cold.

look out martha stewart!

ok, so i highly doubt i'd ever come close to giving martha a run for her money, but i don't think i did too bad! with anthony's birthday being on friday, i wanted to make him some type of snack to take to "school" with him for the big day. after discussing with miss michelle what might be best for all the ages of the kids, we decided i would bring rice krispie treats. ok, now i'm 30 years old, but i have never made these before in my life...at least not by myself, but i figured it was high time i tried, and i owed it to tony! i think they turned out fine with the time i had to do them. in a perfect world i would have had a little einstein's ra-ra-ra-ra-rocket (sung like they do on the show) cookie cutter made, but - oh, welcome to the reality of a working mother - no time, no time! i decided on making them into the shape of stars (think outerspace, rockets, etc.)...only thing is, i didn't have a star cookie cutter, so i made do with what is actually a daisy cutter...so it's now more like an asterisk with rounded edges instead of a pointy star...i wrapped them in blue saran wrap (for the sky) and then made labels with rocket's image on them and wrote the kids' names on the label. i guess it'll work - if not, i'm sure the 2, 3, 4, & 5 year olds at tony's sitter will be the first ones to tell me what they really think of them!

7 cans

we tried this recipe tonight for dinner because it was quick and easy. it turned out to be oh so delicious as well which was an added bonus!! it's what rachael ray calls a "stoup"...thicker than a soup, but not quite thick enough to be a stew.

to make 7 cans and see/taste for yourself you'll need (add up the # of cans you'll need and see how the recipe got it's name)...

1-2 lbs. ground meat, seasoned to taste

2 cans ranch style beans or cannellini white kidney beans

2 large cans of minestone soup
2 cans of italian seasoned stewed tomatoes (breaking up the chunks slightly)

1 large can of mexican seasoned diced tomatoes.

brown and season meat and then add all other ingredients. stir well and bring to a boil.

this makes a ton and i've been told it freezes beautifully. we have a batch for each of us for lunch tomorrow and a large batch in the freezer for later.

pumpkin whoopie pies

fall is my favorite time of year. i just love all the pumpkins, mums, straw bales and corn stalk decorations and the "smell" of fall. i've never been much of baker, but found this great rachael ray recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies and thought i would share it. i haven't made them yet, but know someone that has and said they were great and lived up to the "smell" of fall! enjoy!

pumpkin whoopie pies
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted,1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. preheat the oven to 350°. line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. in a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

3. using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. transfer to a rack to cool completely.

4. meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. add the confectioner's sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

5. spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. top each with another cake.