Greetings, I hope this post finds you well. I am happy to share with you some more Belle-approved kitchen finds: Mutti® Double Concentrated Tomato Paste and Mutti® Finely Chopped Tomatoes available at Albertsons, which reminds me of my NaNa. She was caring, sweet, but knew how to demonstrate just the right amount of sass. My PawPaw and her had a garden every year, and she loved tomatoes. You all know we plant a garden every year as well and the one thing my husband must absolutely have is tons of tomato plants. Well, fast forward to the Louisiana heat and we have lost all our crops in record time this year. That still doesn’t stop me from craving fresh tomatoes. If you are feeling the same way, I am happy to share with you my Roasted Tomato Caprese dedicated to my NaNa and husband.
The Double Concentrated Tomato Paste has such a rich, intense, and sweet taste; it takes 1.5 lbs of tomatoes to make each tube. I also incorporated some of the Mutti® Cherry Tomatoes into this recipe, and they are sweet, succulent and so fresh you can taste it straight from the can. Oh, and roasting them takes the bold robust taste to another level. Mutti® tomatoes are made with just two ingredients: sun-ripened Italian tomatoes and a pinch of Mediterranean sea salt. Did you know that many other brands add Citric Acid and Calcium Chloride? Be sure to check your Albertsons app for availability and coupons. I utilized the grocery pick up and it was such a smooth and convenient process. I’m sure these tomatoes and my recipe will get me NaNa’s approval too. Preheat the oven to 350. Drain cans of tomatoes and place in a bowl. You can save reserved contents and make a great tomato soup base.
Mix together tomato paste, half of the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and sugar. Pour mixture over tomatoes and coat tomatoes.
Place coated tomatoes in oven and roast 20-25 minutes until tomatoes begin to burst. Meanwhile, cut fresh mozzarella into large chunk size pieces and place in a serving dish. Salt and pepper to taste.
Immediately pour roasted tomato mixture on top of mozzarella pieces and mix lightly. Top with fresh basil and serve immediately. Perfect with a crusty baguette.
Belle’s tip: Place over your favorite pasta to make this a full meal. You can also opt to serve straight out of the can and skip the roasting as they taste just as fresh.
I hope this recipe brings you as much joy as it brings my family. Don’t forget, Mutti is available at your local Albertsons. As always, thank you for following along with me as I share recipes from the soul with memories of my NaNa sprinkled throughout. Be Well-Omniley
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This post has been sponsored by Mutti®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I must admit the best Butternut Squash soup I have had in my life so far was at 5th & Taylor located in Tennessee while on a business trip. It was the perfect blend of sweet and savory and perfect for the November outing we were having at the time. I have been making it every fall since then and it will be making a lot of appearances in my home this fall, so I decided to share the recipe with you all. Typically my recipes have some memory of my NaNa and while this one is not directly from her; she used to make a stewed summer squash out of this world. I am still working on that recipe so for now, you have Belle’s Spicy Butternut Squash Soup.
Sometimes the easiest secrets are in the spices. I added a pinch of turmeric (for color and spice), cumin, and smoked paprika to elevate the taste of this dish.
Sometimes the easiest secrets are in the spices. I added a pinch of turmeric (for color and spice), cumin, and smoked paprika to elevate the taste of this dish.
You all should know by now I’m all about working smarter not harder, so I opted to use butternut squash from the frozen section already diced. If you have time and want that extra freshness you can dice up a fresh squash. And yes, this sage is from my herb garden. Add vegetable stock, garlic, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, onion, salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, and cumin to an Instant Pot pressure cooker. Toss to combine. Close lid securely and set for soup settings for 30 minutes.
Then allow pressure to vent naturally, and wait until all of the steam has released and the valve has dropped. Remove the lid. Wait for everyone to come to see what that smell is!!!
Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Taste, and season with additional salt if needed.
One of the fun things about this soup is choosing your garnishing. I’ve had it with toasted granola with pecans it was so delicious.
Serve warm, with your choice of garnishes. Topped here with pumpkin seeds and coconut milk.
This soup is perfect for a cozy meal by the fire or watching your favorite Lifetime movie. I hope it brings joy to your home this Fall. As always thank you for taking the time to follow my journey. Be Blessed-Omniley
This spicy butternut squash soup is smooth and creamy. It's loaded with spices for a bold and flavourful soup!
Prep Time10mins
Cook Time30mins
Total Time40mins
Course: Main Dish, Side
Cuisine: Thai
Servings: 6people
Calories: 119kcal
Author: Belle Omniley
Ingredients
2cupsvegetable stock
3clovesgarlicminced
1bagbaby carrotscut in half
1Granny Smith applediced
24ozButternut Squash, frozenIf you opt for fresh squash medium size 3#--peeled, seeded and diced, uncooked
1fresh sagesprig
1purple oniondiced
1/2tspsalt
1/4tspblack pepperfreshly ground
1/8teaspooncayenne
1/8teaspoontumeric
1pinchground cumin
1pinchground cinnamon
1pinchnutmeg
pinchsmoked paprika
1/2cupcoconut milk
Instructions
Add vegetable stock, garlic, carrot, apple, butternut squash, sage, onion, salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, and cumin to an Instant Pot pressure cooker. Toss to combine. Close lid securely and set for soup settings for 30 minutes.
Then allow pressure to vent naturally, and wait until all of the steam has released and the valve has dropped. Remove the lid.
Remove and discard the sage. Stir in the coconut milk.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Taste, and season with additional salt if needed
Serve warm, with your choice of garnishes. Topped here with pumpkin seeds and coconut milk.
Greetings. I hope everyone is staying safe. I’m so ready for the fall and I am in full swing of putting up fall decor. I’m sharing with you all today my All-Star Homemade French Fries recipe. I think I have cooked these at least once a week since the pandemic and shared on my other channels. This recipe definitely deserves its own spot here on my blog. All of my family members love them when I serve them, so I am happy to be sharing with you all today. A couple of things I have changed over the years with my homemade fries is what I think is the game changer–leaving the skin on, self-rising flour, and flaky sea salt. Leaving the skin and the self-rising flour have taken the crunch factor to another level. I also love to add flaky sea salt as soon as they come out of the oil. You will see later I hand cut my fries everything is that love or just plain crazy. You tell me?
Belle’s Tip: Leave the skin on the potato; Just scrub the skin well with warm water.
Easter is fastly approaching and I’m beginning to think about all the leftover eggs we will all have from all of the Easter Egg Hunters. I love to use the leftover eggs for my famous “Belle’s Loaded Deviled Eggs”.
These are sure to be a crowd-pleaser and with the eggs already boiled this cuts the prep time down to 10 minutes. These eggs can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I love to top mine with paprika…I mean I don’t even consider them deviled eggs unless they have paprika on them. What about you?
Boil 6 eggs and peel. Slice the hard-boiled eggs in half and remove the yolks and reserve into a small bowl.
Prepare your filling: Mash the yolks thoroughly with a fork, then add cheese dip, mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, salt and pepper, and 1/2 of the green onions and 1/2 of the bacon until completely combined.
Use either a sandwich Ziploc bag or small ice cream scooper and fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture.
Top each of the deviled eggs with the leftover bacon and greens onions if desire, and sprinkle with paprika and chives. then serve while they’re nice and fresh!
Place leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Add 1 Tbsp of EVOO, 2 yellow onions-sliced, salt and pepper to taste sauté on low for 10-12 minutes stir frequently.
Add beef broth to moisten. Once the onions are softened add 1 Tbsp of white sugar and turn up heat for 1 minutes stir constantly to avoid burning.
Add in remaining beef broth and cook on low-med heat for 5 minutes.
Add in mushrooms and cook for 2 additional minutes. Cut heat off; add in 2 Tbsp of butter additional salt and pepper if needed and stir well. Serve over meat of choice.