Cherry Tomato Crisp; delish!

 

Yes, I know, ANOTHER cherry tomato recipe? You just don't realize the bumper crop of cherry tomatoes I've had this year! I have frozen bags and bags of them, and still have new ripe tomatoes every day! I found this idea on , of course, Pinterest...it sounded so simple and yummy; and it was!

Cherry Tomato Crisp 

5 cups cherry tomatoes
2 slices white sandwich bread
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley leaves (or one Tablespoon dried)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a food processor, combine bread, Parmesan, parsley leaves, olive oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.  Pulse until bread is coarsely chopped.  In a baking dish, arrange cherry tomatoes in a single layer.  Sprinkle with crumb mixture.  Bake until "crust" is browned and the tomatoes are tender; about 20-25 minutes.

 

I used panko bread crumbs instead of white bread and it turned out great; cheesy, and tomatoe-y!  Yum!

Today's Brilliant Idea:  Freeze Cherry Tomatoes!

 

So, my cherry tomato plants have been VERY HEALTHY this summer, on the branches of the plants they look like bunches of grapes - yikes! I eat some with dip, throw some in a salad and make a Putanesca sauce with some of them, but THEN what? Well, after some research online, I discovered a crazy simple solution: wash them, remove the stems, put a few handfuls into into a freezer bag and toss in the freezer. Done. No blanching to remove skins, no cooking/stewing, nothing. The frozen tomatoes will, upon thawing, be a little gooey, so they will need to be made into sauce or juice. I love EASY solutions!

 

I was SO excited, I illustrated the bags with "happy cherry tomatoes"!

Salted Caramel Pretzel M&M Blondies...omg!

 

Oh yeah, you heard that right! Let me repeat: Salted Caramel Pretzel M&M Blondies...and yes, they do taste THAT good! Damned Pinterest! Very rich, salty, chocolaty, etc. PERFECT for my company picnic today, as it was all women! Some of my coworkers said this was a little too rich....whatever....I had "thirds"!

I am DEFINITELY making this again!

 

 

Salted Caramel Pretzel M&M Blondies 

 

1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups Pretzel M&Ms

1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)

a 14-ounce bag caramels, unwrapped

1/4 cup milk

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.  Cream butter and sugars together in a large bowl.  Add vanilla and eggs and mix well.  Add baking soda, flour and salt, stirring until combined.  Fold in M&Ms and chocolate chips.  In prepared baking dish, press 1/2 of batter into the bottom of the dish.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just beginning to set, but not golden brown.  While the "crust" is baking, put the unwrapped caramels into a microwave-safe bowl, along with the milk.  Microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring every minute until melted.  When the "crust"is done, remove from oven and pour melted caramel on top.  Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top of the caramel, and spread as well as you can. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. 

 

*I didn't have the "cubes" of wrapped caramels, I had a partial bag of meltable "caramel bits".  I combined them with 2 tablespoons of water and microwaved for about 2 minutes, until melted.