Summer Tomato Salad Recipe

My sister first inspired this recipe. Now, it is a weekly staple during the summer.  Serve it when tomatoes are at their peak.  Using fresh feta is a key component.  The red of the tomatoes contrasts well against the white feta and green basil, making a lovely presentation. Another plus, this salad can be premade. Add the basil chiffonade at the very end, but the tomatos seem to taste better if they marinate in the balsamic for a couple of hours.

2 - 3 ripe tomatoes, sliced into rounds, about 1/4 inch thick
1/4 c. Crumbled, fresh feta cheese
1/4 c. Kalmata olives, pitted and chopped
3 - 4 Basil leaves, chopped
2 Tbl Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Arrange the tomatoes on a plate, slightly overlapping the rounds for a nice presentation. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add the balsamic over the tomatoes.  Swirl the balsamic around on the plate, making sure each tomato soaks up some of the balsamic.  At this point, the salad can be covered and refrigerated for several hours.  The tomatoes will soak up the balsamic, making them tastier.  Before serving, remove from fridge, evenly top tomatoes with  the olives, feta and basil.  Drizzle with olive oil.  A good quality, finishing oil, puts this simple salad over the top.

Menu for week of April 29, 2012

I haven't posted for a while. I have still been making menus, just a busy spring. In Texas, we have started swimming, so I won't turn the oven on until probably September. Tonight my husband and I are celebrating our anniversary at St. Emillion, my favorite restaurant. Tried to make a relatively light menu for the days following the stick of butter that I will probably consume in a few short hours.

Sunday - grilled Buffalo chicken thighs with blue cheese salad and carrots. 

Monday - grilled Tomato caprese sandwiches

Tuesday - Asian style pulled pork lettuce wraps with water chestnut salsa

Wednesday - Grilled brined whole chicken with butter lettuce salad and grapefruit

Thursday - Bison sausage and peppers 

Friday - Hamburgers

To prep for a busy week, I will brine the chicken, slow cook the pork, and make the water chestnut salsa on Sunday.

Menu for week ofMarch 26, 2012

We are having lamb this Sunday. Costco has a pack of lamb chops that I am going to freeze half and cook half. Lamb and mint are a perfect match, I make a mint pesto that is a step up from the traditional mint jelly. I am having technical problems with creating recipe pages, but will keep trying to get them resolved. I am going to try my hand at brining a pork tenderloin to see how it turns out. The coke sauce is a big experiment, I hope I don't ruin a perfectly good pineapple in the trial.

Sunday - Lamb chops mint pesto eggplant manchego basil stack

Monday - Grilled brined chicken with red pepper chimichurri and grilled zucchini salad

Tuesday - Brined coke pineapple pork tenderloin w/ grilled broccoli and brown rice

Wednesday - Spinach salad w/ crumbled bacon, crostini and fried egg and grilled asparagus

Thursday - Jamaican Jerk chicken thighs w/ pineapple salsa

Friday - Grilled shrimp scampi w/ wild mushroom polenta, mixed green salad

Week of March 19, 2012

Asparagus is in season. It will be on lots of menus for the coming weeks. We can't seem to get enough of it. it is a busy work week. On Sunday, I will make the roast pepper and chimichurri sauces, cook the salmon, prep the cakes and brine the chicken. That should reduce the daily dinner prep to about 30 minutes. I am working to include one vegetarian night into our week. I seem to have no new ideas on that subject, just a pasta fallback.

Monday - Grill Pork chops with asparagus

Tuesday - Salmon cakes w/ pepper dressing brown rice and  salad

Wednesday - Flank steak with cilantro chimichurri grill pots and tomato salad

Thursday - Lemon spaghetti with strawberry spinach salad

Friday - Grilled rosemary brined chicken with grilled broccoli

Spring Break!

I am not making a menu this week. We are on spring break. Tonight, I am making seared shrimp and scallops with roast pepper sauce, arugula salad and crusty bread. I am working on cleaning out the freezer, which always lends to an interesting week of meals. Clean the freezer week happens about every three or four months. I go through the freezer and cook up everything that I wouldn't want to leave in the freezer beyond 4 months. Lots of recipes have been born during clean the freezer week. It is a time to get creative. The best part of clean the freezer week, though, is the Costco restock.