comfort food

Sunday Linner

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tomato pie baked

As soon as school starts, I lose touch with many friends until I resurface again in May when school ends for the year. This year, I am going to make more of an effort to be in better contact. It starts today with a Sunday family lunch/dinner. One of my mom friends from swim team is having us over this afternoon for late lunch/early dinner. It is a perfect time. I can still get all of my Sunday chores finished. We will be home in plenty of time to get kids ready to go back to school tomorrow and be in bed at a reasonable time, and I don’t need a babysitter since the kids are included. My contribution to this afternoon’s linner is a tomato pie.

What are other easy ways to stay in touch with adult friends during the school year? Do you feel like you disappear when after school activities and school projects start?

tomato pie slice

Ingredients

  • 1 pie crust (I use store bought)
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1/2 bag basil, chopped
  • 1/2 bag chives, chopped
  • 4 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 c. mayonnaise
  • 1/2 c. to 3/4 c. grated cheddar cheese
  • salt and pepper

Directions

  • Cook pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned. Remove from the oven and let cool. You may need to put uncooked beans or other pie weights in the pie crust to keep it from puffing up while it cooks.
  • Turn the oven down to 350 degrees after the pie shell is finished.

tomato pie tomato slices

  • While the pie crust is baking, cut tomatoes in slices and let drain on paper towel for 30 minutes.
  • In cooked pie shell, layer tomatoes, basil, chives, and green onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and repeat.

tomato pie layers

  • Mix mayonnaise and grated cheese and top the pie with the cheese mixture. You don’t have to spread the cheese mixture too much. Just dollop on the center and push down with the back of a spoon. It will spread as it bakes.
  • Sprinkle the bacon bits on top.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

tomato pie toppings

I would like to give a shout out to the 30306 Book Club without which I would not have this tomato pie recipe. Many years ago when I was fun and single, I had an amazing book club in Atlanta. This recipe is from that book club. I miss you!

Hot Vidalia Onion Dip

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hot vidalia onion dip

It’s a sad day on my friendly little street. One of our neighbors (and primary organizers of the neighborhood potlucks) is moving. Last night we had a casual farewell party for our dear friends. Even though they will not be moving far away, our street and neighborhood gatherings will not be the same.

In honor of this special event, I needed a dip untasted by the group. I pulled out a recipe for a Hot Vidalia Onion dip that I have not made in years. Man, is this stuff good. It falls into the “face food” category meaning you want to stick your face into it to eat. The dip lasted about 17 minutes (after picture below).

Ingredients

  • 3 c. finely chopped Vidalia onions (the Vidalia part is important)
  • 2 c. mayonnaise
  • 2 c. grated Swiss cheese (I combine 1 1/2 c. baby Swiss and 1/2 c. Gruyere)
  • 2-3 dashes Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
  • 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • paprika to taste
  • Wheat Thins

hot vidalia onion dip bite

Directions

  • In a medium bowl, mix chopped onions, mayonnaise, Swiss cheese, and Tabasco.
  • Spread mixture in a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.
  • Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over mixture and sprinkle with paprika.
  • Bake ~30 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden and bubbly.
  • Serve with Wheat Thins.

hot vidalia onion dip after

Fancy Dill Dip

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dill dip in bread bowl

You may not recognize the dill dip in the picture above because I shared the recipe previously as a kindergarten snack idea. Even though it is the same recipe, it looks totally different when presented in the grown up way. I brought the fancy version of the dill dip to a neighborhood party, and the adults and kids dug in. You know it is a hit when even the bowl gets eaten (no after photo available).

Dill Dip

Ingredients

  • 2 c. sour cream
  • 2 c. mayonnaise
  • 3 T. chopped fresh dill
  • 3 T. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 2 T. grated onion
  • 1 T. seasoned salt

Directions

  • Combine ingredients and chill at least one hour or overnight.
  • Serve with raw vegetables, pita chips, pretzels, etc.

dill dip in bread bowl w veggies

Bread Bowl

  • Purchase a round loaf of crusty bread. I think the loaf in the picture was called “Mountain Bread”. Sour dough loaves work well too.
  • Using a serrated knife, cut the top and center off the bread. It is similar to cutting the top off a pumpkin when carving.
  • With your fingers, pull out some of the squishy center, so you have a good amount of hollowed out area for the dip.
  • Cut the removed bread into bite sized pieces and serve with the dip.
  • Pour dip into the center of the bowl.

bread bowl

Twice-Baked Potatoes Two Ways

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mini twiced bake potatoes

I love twice baked potatoes all ways, but I am posting recipes for two of my favorite versions. The casserole is great for pot lucks, tailgating, and casual parties. The mini twice-baked potatoes are a great appetizer, look fancy, but have that comfort food factor, and… are mini. As some of my readers know, I live for mini. Unfortunately, there is no way around baking the potatoes twice, so both recipes require time. It is worth the wait, though!

twice baked potato casserole

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

Ingredients

  • 8 medium-size baking potatoes (~4 lbs), baked and cooled
  • 2 c. (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
  • 1 (16-oz.) container sour cream
  • 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
  • ½ c. milk
  • ½ c. butter, melted
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 T. chopped fresh chives
  • 1 ½ t. salt
  • ½ t. pepper
  • 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Directions

  • Scoop pulp out of potatoes into a large bowl and coarsely mash with a potato masher (discard the empty skins).  Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese, sour cream, and the next 7 ingredients.  Spoon into a lightly greased 13×9-in. baking dish.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese and bacon.  Can garnish with additional chives too if desired.

twice-baked new potatoes

Twice-Baked New Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 12 new potatoes, scrubbed clean
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 4 oz. sour cream, softened
  • 1/2 c. sour cream
  • 1 1/2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese or white cheddar
  • 1 T. minced chives
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
  • 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
  • salt and pepper to taste

scooping potatoes

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and toss to coat. Roast the potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes until tender, and the skin is slightly crisp. If your new potatoes are on the large size, you will need longer roasting time.
  • Remove potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly. Halve the potatoes. Use a small scoop (I like my little gelato scooper) and remove the insides leaving a little margin of potato. Put the scooped out part of the potato in a mixing bowl.
  • Add cream cheese, sour cream, grated cheese, chives, garlic, salt, and pepper to the potato pulp. Mash until the potato mixture is smooth. Taste and add salt as needed.
  • Scoop potato mixture back into the shell (gelato scooper works well for this too). Sprinkle bacon bits on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

twice baked potatoes pre baked

Buffalo Chicken Dip

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buffalo chicken dip

It has taken me several days to write about the final party dip decision for our dip-for-dinner meal while watching the Super Bowl. After considering all of my dip options for Super Bowl Sunday, I opted for a new RoomMom recipe. Several years ago, I ate something like this at a friend’s house. She picked it up in the pre-made section of her grocery store. Then, I started seeing a variety of Buffalo Chicken Dip recipes popping up on Pinterest. If you like hot wings, you will like this.

Ingredients

  • 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 chicken breasts, skin on, bone in (about 2 lbs)
  • 1/2 c. Louisiana Hot Sauce (or Tabasco)
  • 1/2 c. blue cheese salad dressing (or ranch)
  • 6-8 oz. shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
  • Tortilla chips or Frito Scoops
  • Celery sticks

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put chicken breasts on a roasting pan. Rub skin with olive oil and season generously with Kosher salt and black pepper. Cook chicken for about 40 minutes until golden on the top and cooked through. Remove from oven and tent with foil. Let rest until cool enough to handle. When cooled, remove skin and pull chicken off the bone; cut into bite sized pieces and set aside.

roasted chicken breasts   chopped chicken

  • Beat cream cheese, hot sauce, and blue cheese dressing together until smooth.

beat cream cheese

  • Fold in chicken pieces.
  • Spray baking dish with Pam and spread mixture into the dish.
  • Sprinkle Colby-Jack cheese on top.

dip before baking

  • Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
  • Serve hot with chips and celery sticks.

Notes

  • You can use 2 (10-oz) cans of chunk white chicken, drained if you do not have time to cook your own chicken. Although, now that I have perfected roasting a package of chicken breasts, I recommend the method above.
  • A pie pan or a 9×9 baking dish is a good size for serving this dip.

buffalo chicken dip close up