Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Finally a few minutes alone with my computer! It is a beautiful fall day in the Midwest and I am still feeling blessed to have fresh produce from my garden! I am still harvesting peppers and tomatoes. Today my plan to can some salsa but I have been busy roasting tomatoes. This is a great plan if you are short on time or you don't own any canning equipment. When we were camping a couple of weeks ago, I brought some roasted tomatoes and we had the fanciest sandwiches ever, well the children thought so! I'll share our fancy sandwich recipe in a few days.
I absolutely love to freeze the roasted tomatoes to make sauces at a later date or use them during our cold winter months for pasta sauce, chili, soup, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, ketchup and tomato soup. I like to season mine slightly but you don't have to. The key is to roast them on a low heat in the oven.
Steps to roast tomatoes:

1. Wash and rinse tomatoes (as many or as few as you like).
2. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush olive oil over the top of the paper.
3. Preheat oven to 275F.
4. Cut the tomatoes in half or chunks. I use different varieties and sizes of tomatoes.
5. Place tomatoes on the baking sheet.
6. Sprinkle some of your favorite seasonings or herbs over the tomatoes. I use Italian Seasoning or fresh thyme, fresh basil, rosemary, kosher salt and pepper.
7. Using a Misto, I spray olive oil over the seasoned tomatoes or just drizzle the oil over the top.
8. Bake 1 hour at 275F then turn tomatoes with a spoon or spatula.
9. Return to the oven and bake another hour.
10. Remove from oven and place pan on cooling rack for about 30 minutes or until cool.
11. If you are freezing the tomatoes, place them in a Ball jar or freezer baggies.

I hope you try this process and like it as much as I do, it's also the least messy!
 
Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Re-Purposing an Old Cabinet

This old cabinet has been passed around our family for YEARS! Everyone has had it, grandparents, parents, my sister, even my niece. We all used it for different things and then when one of us was tired of it, or didn't have room, someone else would take it. So I now have it and have finally decided to give it a new look. I use it for my canning and preserves cupboard. It took my 3 coats of paint and a whole day but I got it done! It's amazing what a coat...or 3 of paint and a little sandpaper can do!

Before

After

         
~Simply Angie

Pecan Muffins

If you are looking for a tasty little treat, or an easy little breakfast idea, you will love these little muffins! They are super quick to make and you probably have the ingredients already. I got this recipe from my mom, who hardly every watches the food network, but saw this on Trisha's Southern Kitchen show. They are like mini pecan pies but in the form of a muffin.
Here's what you need:

• 1/3 c butter, softened and set aside
• 2 eggs, beat into the butter
• 1/2 c flour
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1 c chopped pecans

This recipe makes about 9 muffins depending on how big you make them, but I'm going to warn you, you might want to double it because they are going to be GONE fast!
Mix the 2 eggs with the softened butter then add the dry mixture of flour, brown sugar, and pecans, stir together.
Grease your muffin pan, papers, really well...they are sticky little buggers.
Bake 350 degrees about 22 minutes.
They don't really rise much so don't be alarmed. (I panicked and called my mom) They are goey in the middle and a little sticky and chewy on the outside.
Enjoy!
~Simply Angie

Organizing the Pantry

Before..shocking, I know!

After

Happy Labor Day Everyone! I hope you are all getting some time to relax and enjoy your family. I am still in the process of getting unpacked and organized from our move to Washington from Minnesota. One of the first things I had to do when I moved was get my kitchen functional, which means getting the pantry organized. In our MN house, I didn't really have a pantry, it was more like a deep cupboard. Now I have an actual walk in Pantry. If you have a cupboard pantry, check out our other posts on  Organizing the kitchen.  So on to... different pantry, different challenges. I wanted to use my pantry for food and things I don't need to use on a daily basis. (roasting pan, canner, crockpot etc.) I set it up in sections, baking, cooking, snacks, breakfast foods, things I don't use everyday but need to get to. So decide what you use a lot and put it in sections that are easy to get to. If you keep things together that you use together then you don't have to be searching all over when you need them...pasta is with the sauces,  etc. I always use plastic shoe bins, cardboard boxes, baskets, etc. I have a couple little turntables for spices and all those small containers. I hung my baskets on the wall for easy access...and also to remind me that there is in fact a sloping wall(that I have hid my head on several times already!) I "decorate" the pantry like it's another room in the house. I also put a couple plastic mail bins right inside the door. One is for papers to file(or forms from school to sign) and the other is for bills to pay. Then we don't have papers laying all over the counter getting shuffled around and lost. I found a cheap little rack with hooks and hung up my strainers and colanders. Use wall space if you have it. Put things you use most in an accessible place so you aren't knocking things over or digging in the back. Donate things you don't need, or have duplicates of...be realistic..if you don't use a coffee press, don't keep it, if you have 3 bundt pans, you can probably get rid of 2...or at least 1 of them. Organize your pantry how you use things, and for your lifestyle. Not everything works for everyone..and remember, it's a process not an hour long episode!
~Simply Angie