Strawberry Goat Cheese Balls

Strawberry Goat Cheese Balls
We’ve made fried goat cheese balls before to use in salads, and really enjoyed them.  This twist came about this weekend at a food truck festival where one of the trucks put strawberry jam and goat cheese on a beef slider.  We were intrigued, and the combination was great.  We had some homemade jam at home, and an idea was born.  These are delicious by themselves, and also go great alongside a steak.  Makes 5.

Ingredients

4 oz goat cheese
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
Bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
Canola oil, for frying

Directions

Combine goat cheese and jam.  Form into 2 inch balls.  Dredge balls in egg and coat with bread crumbs.  Cook in hot oil until golden brown all over (about 5 minutes).  Let sit for 5-10 minutes, serve warm.

Stuffed Tomato BLT

Stuffed Tomato BLT

We both really like BLTs, and have tried to make them in different ways.  This was a version without bread.  It was also a great way to use some of the arugula from our garden (which is growing like crazy right now).  Worked great for dinner for the two of us, and we look forward to sharing it as an appetizer with some of our friends.

Ingredients

Arugula Pesto
2 oz Arugula
1/8 c peanuts
1/6 c olive oil
1/8 parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt

4 slices bacon

2 tomatoes
½ c ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped

Directions

Pesto:
Put all ingredients into food processor and puree.

Cook bacon until crispy, and crumble.

Cut tomatoes in half, and remove insides, save juice and seeds. 
Mix ricotta, bacon, tomato juice and oregano together
Spoon pesto inside tomatoes.  Add ricotta and bacon on top of pesto.

Cost

Parmesan Cheese: $0.31
Bacon: $1.25
Tomatoes: $1.20
Ricotta Cheese: $1.00
From garden: Arugula, Oregano
On hand: peanuts, olive oil, salt: $0.50
Total: $4.26
Per Serving: $1.07

Avocado Salad

Avocado and Onion Salad

We really like avocado, but usually just use it in sandwiches and burgers.  This was a great way to do something a little different without too much work.  We will be making this a few more times throughout the spring and summer, as long as Greer is in charge of picking out the avocados.  This makes enough for 4 to share as a side dish.

Ingredients

1 Avocado, sliced
¼ to ½ red onion (depending on how much you like red onions), sliced
¼ cup cilantro, rough chopped
1 lime, juiced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon cumin
Pinch of salt

Directions

Cut all the ingredients, place into a bowl and toss together.  Adjust the amount of onions to your taste.  We enjoy raw onions, but know they can be overpowering.  Toss lightly, making sure not to damage the avocado slices.  You can serve immediately, but try to chill for 15-20 minutes.

Cost

Avocado: $1.99
Red onion:  $0.56
Cilantro: $0.75
Lime: $0.33
Roma tomatoes: $0.57
On hand (garlic, olive oil, cumin, salt): $0.50
Total: $4.70
Per Serving: $1.18

Leftovers

The lime juice helps the avocados last for a night, but it won’t last much longer than that.