Balsamic Double Tomato Bruschetta

Balsamic Double Tomato Bruschetta

Hi my lovely viewers, if I have any out there that is! Who knows, but I do this blog for myself so it shouldn't matter right?! (Okay it matters a little, but shhhh that is our little secret).  I am going to try real hard again to post a recipe a week, but again no guarantees.  With working full time, it's so tiring to get home and not only cook, but take pictures and blog about it.  BUT I am going to try my hardest to get back into it!

So I have made this recipe a bajillion times and love it every time.  This time however I made it a little bit more healthy? I basically left out the cheese part of it, but don't worry, that version will come soon enough! This one is super quick and the only real time consuming part is the chopping, other than that, you mix everything up and are ready to go! It's super delicious so go ahead, like RIGHT NOW, and give it a try!

Ingredient for Bruschetta

Ingredients (8-10 servings):

• 6 roma tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup onions

• 1/3 cup basil

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/8 cup pickled jalapenos (optional)

• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1 loaf of French baguette
• 
  

Instructions:
1. Slice the loaf in 1 inch slices.  If you buy from a bakery (I bought mine from Safeway), they will slice the bread for you at no extra cost.
2. Dice the tomatoes and onions, slice the sun-dried tomatoes, chop the basil, and mince the garlic. (I had some pickled jalapenos that I diced up and tossed in as well, but this is totally optional).

3. Mix the tomatoes, onions, basil, garlic, and jalapenos (optional) together in a bowl.
4. Add in balsamic vineger, olive oil, salt, and pepper into the mixture. Make sure that everything is properly mixed. Taste and add more salt and black pepper to your liking.
5. On a baking sheet, lay out all the pieces of the French baguette and broil on low in the oven for about 2-3 minutes. (Mine are a little darker because I forgot about them and had them in for 5 minutes!)
6. Top each baguette piece with the mixture (step 4) and you are ready to go!
7. ENJOY!

Strawberry and Blueberry Trifle

Strawberry and Blueberry Trifle

Hi everyone, I know, I know, I am terrible at keeping up with this! I don't know what is going on?! It's like with work and everything, I end up not having time to cook.  So this is my theory, I used to procrastinate studying by cooking and now that I don't have to study anymore, I have no need to procrastinate on anything! Makes sense?! No, yeah me neither :( No excuses, I need to get back to it!

Okay well I made this dessert a couple times already with different fruits.  The pictures today are from when I made this on Fourth of July! I used strawberries, blueberries, and a tiny bit of cherries just because we had some handy. Other times I have used kiwis, mandarin oranges, raspberries, all of which tasted delicious.  My best friend got me this dish for my birthday this year and it was perfect to showcase this beautiful trifle!  I also happened to see a skinny version of this delicious dessert on skinnytaste.com and had to try it for my self.  Oh one last thing, I always have a theory that good looking food always tends to taste pretty darn good! Anyways, enjoy!

Ingredients (10-12+ servings):

10 oz angel food cake

2 pints strawberries

2 pints blueberries

-----Cream Filling-----

6 tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 package sugar-free white chocolate instant pudding mix

8 oz fat-free frozen whipped topping (lite)

Instructions:

1. Slice the strawberries sideways into long pieces.

2. Tear the angel food cake into 1-2inch square pieces.

3. Whisk together the condensed milk and water in a medium bowl.

4. Add in the pudding mix to the condensed milk mixture from step 3 and let stand for about 3 minutes.

5. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping.

6. In you trifle dish, spread evenly half of the angle food cake on the bottom layer.

7. Add a layer of blueberries (and I had a few cherries that I added too) to the top of the angel food cake.

8. Neatly spread half of the cream mixture from step 6 on top of the blueberries. 

9. Add a layer of strawberries to the top of the cream mixture. 

10. Layer the angel cake on top of strawberries, then the blueberries, and then finally the last of the cream mixture.

11. Make a pretty design on the top of the cream mixture with the remaining fruit.  You can be as creative as you want!  With your trifle dish you will be able to see the different layers of fruits, cake, and cream.

12. Optional: I put my trifle in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes before serving, but you can serve right away!

13. ENJOY!