July 20- July 26

This week I received:

• 1 quart peaches
• 1 Oriental Melon
• Bell Peppers
• 1 Sprite Melon  
• Vine-ripe tomatoes (double share)
• 6 ears of corn
• A Surprise item- which is a variety of squashes

I also ordered an Add-On of 1 qt.of  Roma Tomatoes.  The melon will great for snacks and the Roma tomatoes combined with both the Box's and my garden's crop of tomatoes will be turned into sauce.

I have adapted my recipe for Tomato Sauce to my family's preferences adding: shredded carrot, omitting celery, replace spices with 2 tsp each Oregano, Basil & Rosemary, and after 2 hours of simmering I add 2 tsp pepper & 1 tsp of salt. Also I have pureed most of the sauce since my family prefers a less chunky sauce.  I will also be adding one can of tomato paste.

Revised Tomato Sauce

• 10 ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons dried Rosemary
  
• 1/4 cup Burgundy wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2-1 can tomato paste

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop tomatoes and puree in blender or food processor.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften, 5 minutes. Pour in pureed tomatoes. Stir in basil, Italian seasoning, rosemary and wine. Place bay leaf in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in tomato paste and simmer an additional 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and serve.

I'll make Peach Cobbler using a recipe from last season which I found in The Produce Box's newsletter.

Delicious Peach Cobbler
4 cups of peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self rising flour (if you don't have any you can easily make some- I did using a google search: 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour mixed with 3/4 teaspoon each baking powder and salt)
1 1/2 cups milk
ground cinnamon, optional

-Preheat oven to 350
-Combine peaches, 1 cup of sugar & water in saucepan and mix well. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
-Put butter in a 3-qt. baking dish and place in oven to melt.
-Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if desired.
-Bake for approx. 1 hour
Can be served with whipped topping and/or ice cream. Refrigerate left overs. 

Wednesday, July 20-  No cooking tonight since it's Girls Night Out!

Thursday, July 21-  I have family coming into town.  We are doing a movie night with pizza and popcorn.  I'm sure we'll also snack on pieces of melon too.

Friday, July 22- Hamburgers and hotdogs served with corn on the cob.  I will also make a tortellini salad using some of the pepper from my box.  I am hoping to stop by Great Harvest Bread Company and pick up their hamburger rolls to serve the cheeseburgers on.
Tortellini Salad
Cheese Tortellini
Diced mozzarella Cheese
Diced Salami
Tomato
Diced Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Italian Dressing

Cook tortellini per bag directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Add noodles to large bowl. Add cheese, salami, tomatoes and seasonings. Pour dressing over mixture. Mix well. Refrigerate until cold. Before serving, stir salad and add more dressing if needed.

Saturday, July 23-   If their is corn leftover I will use it in this Southwest Salad.  Otherwise I will buy some more fresh corn from DJ's Berry Patch Farm Stand to use in place of the canned corn in the recipe.

Southwest Chicken Salad
1 small can corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar and Monterey cheese blend
3 tomatoes, chopped
Chopped romaine lettuce
Catalina salad dressing
Southwest Style Chicken
Corn chips

In a large bowl, combine the corn, black beans, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Add dressing and mix well. Cut up chicken and placed over salad. Add corn chips before serving. 

Sunday, July 24-  Pulled Pork Sandwiches made in my crock pot will be tonight's meal served on any of the left over rolls from Great Harvest. (if none are left I'll pick up rolls for the sandwiches)This recipe caught my eye because of the apricot preserves!

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• Kosher salt and pepper
• green-leaf lettuce
• rolls

1. In a 5- to 6-qt slow cooker, whisk together the apricot preserves and vinegar; stir in the onion.

2. Season the pork with the cumin and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Nestle the pork among the onions and cook, covered, until pork is tender and easily pulls apart, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours.

3. Using 2 forks, shred the pork and stir it into the cooking liquid. Form sandwiches with the rolls, lettuce and pork.

• Nutrition Facts
• Servings 4
• Calories 595
• Total Fat 15g
• Saturated Fat 5g
• Cholesterol 136mg
• Sodium 671mg
• Total Carbohydrates 63g
• Dietary Fiber 5g
• Protein 51g

Monday, July 25- Grilled Steak with peppers and onions along with homemade macaroni salad and sliced melon will be dinner tonight.  I will use the peppers from my box sauteed with sliced onion and olive oil.

Tuesday, July 26-  If there is left over pulled pork from Sunday night's meal, then I will use the pork for tacos.  Otherwise it will still be a Mexican flavored dinner with chicken fajitas.