Sun Dried Tomato Goat Cheese Balls and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

One of the side effects of cooking for the blog is that my kitchen in now full of random food. I have tried so many new things that I am left with the remnants of meals gone by. I decided that this week I would only cook from what I already have. It will be nice to make space again in the pantry plus it forces me to be creative!

I found half a bag of whole wheat penne pasta, some sun dried tomatoes and half a log of goat cheese. I still have some basil leftover from last week so I figured I could come up with something yummy! The roasted cherry tomatoes were an afterthought but I felt like the pasta needed something on it besides the goat cheese. Once again, I purchased nothing new for this meal! Peter really liked this dish and requested that I add it to the regular dinner rotation!

Sun Dried Tomato Goat Cheese Balls
1/2 log goat cheese
1 ounce sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
olive oil


Add the sun dried tomatoes, basil and red pepper flakes in a small food processor. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a shallow bowl and mix with the breadcrumbs. In another bowl, beat the egg and add a tablespoon of water to form an egg wash.

Form the goat cheese into approximately 20 balls, about 1/4 inch in diameter. Dip each ball in the egg wash, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Coat a non-stick pan in 1/2 inch of olive oil over medium heat. Fry the goat cheese balls for two minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel covered plate until ready to serve.



Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt
pepper

Wash the tomatoes and set aside. Coat a non-stick skillet in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for three to five minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes to the skillet, forming one layer over the bottom. Season with salt and pepper. After about five minutes the tomatoes will begin to pop so you may want to cover the skillet. After all of the tomatoes have popped, remove from the skillet and serve warm.