Tomato Bruschettas

I LOVE FOOD!!!!!! The problem is that I'm not much of a cook.  Something that I am really good at making is Bruschettas.  They are so easy to make and when you have a garden in your backyard that keeps producing tons of tomatoes, this is my go to snack.  I've seen these made many times and everyone makes them differently, but they are all pretty much made the same.  What I love about this recipe is that I can just throw stuff in without measuring and it comes out great.  Like I mentioned before, I am not much of a cook, so when I cook something, I always need a recipe, which I then follow to a tee. Well, not this one.

Tomato Bruschettas

Tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Chopped basil

Olive oil

Sliced french bread

Minced garlic

1.  Slice the french bread into slices.  If you are in a hurry, like I always am, pop the slices into the toaster.  If you are not in a hurry, brush a little olive oil on each slice and toast it in the oven until they are golden brown.      

                  

2.  Chop up the tomatoes and place them in a mixing bowl.  Pour some olive oil over them.  Make sure it's not too much because then the mixture will be too oily.                                                        

3.  Mince some garlic, as much or as little as you like.  Personally I love garlic so I use a lot! Once you have minced it, place it into the bowl with the tomatoes.                                                                              

4.  Chop up some fresh basil leaves (preferable chiffonade method just because it looks pretty).  From looking at my picture you can tell that I tried to use this technique but because I am not an experienced cook,  it didn't really come out that way (my husband can chop up basil using that technique but he was  on a conference call.)                                                                                                                    

  5. Now add salt and pepper to taste and mix it all up.  Once you mix it all up, take a big scoop and pile onto your toasted french bread and VOILA! Your snack, lunch, appetizer, whatever you want it to be is done. 

That's what I love about this dish, it can be whatever you choose.  The day I made this was my day off so it was our lunch. Hope you like it.

Cajun Barbecued Shrimp for dinner

Last night the hubby made me one of my favorite dishes of all time! The dish is a Cajun dish, Barbecued Shrimp with a side of collard greens. The Barbecued Shrimp recipe is one of Paul Prudohomme's. Let me tell you, it's not one of the healthiest dishes because it's loaded with butter, but it is so DELICIOUS! I was good all week, so it was ok for me to eat it. The collard greens were really good too and that is a recipe that my husband put together after his many trips to New Orleans.

Victor's Collard Greens

Now Remember that this recipe is just estimated because my husband, just like his mother likes to add just a little of this and a little of that (I really dislike that).

Ingredients
1 bushel of Collard Greens 
2 strips of bacon
1 tbsp of sugar
2 tbsp of vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop collard greens, thin (chiffonade) and set aside.
2. Cook bacon to almost crisp and set aside.
3. Discard bacon fat from pan, but leave about 1 tbsp.
4. Chop up bacon and return to pan.  Add vinegar and sugar until it simmers, then add the greens.
5. Toss the greens and cover.
6. Wilt the green for about 20 minutes until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Then serve.