Sun-dried tomato jam

Whenever I use sun-dried tomatoes I only use a handful since they are so flavorful, which means I am often left with most of a bag that I don't know what to do with. This savory jam recipe uses up leftover dry (non-oil packed) sun-dried tomatoes and creates a delicious topping for whipped ricotta crostini or as a flavor-packed sauce for a pan pizza or even as a dipping sauce for arancini. When you start making the jam it might look like the balance of onion to tomato is off, but just remember that the onion will cook down and the tomatoes will plump up.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup sun-dried tomato halves, thinly sliced
1/2 a small sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine
1 1/2 tablespoons mild vinegar (rice vinegar or white/red wine vinegar)
3/4 cup veggie stock
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon honey
salt, as needed
pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat, then add onion and tomato. Stir to coat everything in oil and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened and become translucent and the tomatoes are starting to just barely caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the wine and scrape any caramelized bits off the bottom. Add the vinegar and the bay leaf and cook until the wine has reduced a bit, maybe 2 minutes. Add the veggie stock and honey, taste for salt levels and add more if needed then season with pepper. Cover the pot and turn heat down to low. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and give everything a good stir. The tomatoes should have softened and plumped. Remove the bay leaf and then either use an immersion blender to pulse a few times to break up large chunks or transfer to a food processor to pulse 2-3 times. Return mixture to pot and allow it to simmer for a few minutes to continue to thicken. Remove from heat when it is the thickness you'd like. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve warm or cold.

Whipped ricotta crostini three ways

This might become my new go-to appetizer recipe for when I need to make something in a hurry. It seems so simple, and it is, but it is also so much more delicious than you'd expect from something that takes about 5 minutes to throw together. I topped mine three different ways but my hands down favorite is the honey topping, it is salty and just a little sweet and would be perfect for before or after dinner.

Ingredients:

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 ounce cream cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons oil
toppings: lemon zest + olive oil + coarse salt; za'atar spice + olive oil; a drizzle of honey
1 baguette, sliced 1/2" thick on an angle

Directions:

Place ricotta, cream cheese, salt, and oil in a small bowl and mix with an electric beater on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, or until it is no longer grainy and is nice and fluffy. Take your baguette slices and toast them in a 350* oven for a few minutes until you've reached your desired level of crispness. Top each baguette slice with a dollop of whipped ricotta, then add a sprinkle of lemon zest, salt, and olive oil. For the za'atar topping just sprinkle za'atar on top and drizzle with a little olive oil. For the honey topping just drizzle a small amount of honey over top of the cheese.

Cheesy polenta with spinach, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes

This recipe was born out of one of those "cook whatever you've got in the fridge" nights and I was surprised at how much the boyfriend liked it. The title pretty much gives away everything that's in it and I ate mine like it is in the picture, but if you want a little more protein in the meal it is delicious with an over-easy egg on top as well.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup corn meal

3 1/2 cups veggie stock

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1-2 dashes cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

4-5 cracks black pepper

salt, to taste

1 ounce cream cheese

2-3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tablespoon oil

1/4 of an onion, chopped

1/2 a box of mushrooms, sliced thinly

5 sundried tomato halves

1/2 cup hot water

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 large handful spinach leaves

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1-2 dashes cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large sauce pot, bring 3 cups veggie stock to a boil. Combine the corn meal with the leftover 1/2 cup of veggie stock and stir until it is smooth. Stir this into boiling stock and whisk to prevent lumps. Turn the heat down to low and add garlic powder, cayenne, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Cover and simmer this mixture for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally. While this is simmering, heat the oil in a separate pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until it is tender, about 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook until they have lost most of their water and have started to turn golden brown. While you are waiting for this to happen, soak tomatoes in the hot water for a few minutes, then chop them into pieces. When the mushrooms are nice and brown and starting to caramelize, then add the tomatoes and a splash or two of the soaking water. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add the spinach, garlic, garlic powder, cayenne, and Italian seasoning and cook until the spinach is tender. Add more of the soaking water if necessary and then season with salt and pepper. When the 30-35 minutes of simmering is finished, stir in cream cheese, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella and stir until everything has melted together. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, place a few spoonfuls in the bottom of a bowl and top with the veggie mixture. Top with more parmesan and potentially a fried egg. 

Lentil sloppy joes

Sloppy joes always look so good to me. They just seem so warm and comforting and filling, but rarely do you see them without ground beef so I decided to try making my own with lentils instead of the meat. It turned out really well and came together faster than I expected, especially since I used lentils that I had cooked in advance. If you don't have cooked lentils on hand just boil them for 30 minutes while you're making the sauce.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil
1/4 of an onion, chopped
1/4 of a green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4-5 baby carrots, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce (look for a vegetarian one)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1-2 dashes of crushed red pepper flakes
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 cup of cooked brown lentils

Directions:

In a medium sauce pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Saute onion, green pepper, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add ketchup, mustard, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and paprika and stir to combine everything. Add tomato sauce, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes, then stir to incorporate. Bring everything to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce is nice and thick. Taste the sauce a few times during the cooking process and adjust the seasonings to your liking being careful not to add too much salt to early since the sauce will continue to reduce as it cooks. Put lentils in a separate small sauce pot and turn burner to medium heat, then add some (not all!) of your sauce, stirring frequently until it is as saucy as you'd like. Allow the lentils to warm up in the sauce for a few minutes, then remove from heat and serve on buns with any toppings you'd like (red onion, pickles, mustard, lettuce, etc).

Apple butter

Nothing says Fall to me more than apples and cinnamon. This is the perfect thing to make in early fall when the apples are inexpensive and it is just starting to get cold out. This recipe is so easy it almost shouldn't count as a recipe. The hardest part about this is waiting to eat it while your house smells amazing. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your liking - I'm not a huge fan of nutmeg so I went really light on it but you could easily add more if you like that flavor.

Ingredients:

Roughly 3 pounds of apples, cored and chopped (I used a mix of honey crisp and green apples)
1/2 rounded teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Add all ingredients except vanilla to a large crock pot and stir to combine. Cover the crock pot and cook on low overnight. In the morning, take the lid off and give it a good stir, making sure to scrape down the sides of the pot. Using an immersion blender, blend the apples until they are completely smooth and thick. Add more water if necessary to get the consistency you like. If it isn't thick enough for you just leave it in the crock pot and let it cook, uncovered, for a few more hours. Add the vanilla when it is finished cooking and stir to combine. Ladle into mason jars and store in the fridge if you'll be eating it within a week or two and freeze the rest of the jars.