this is our happily ever after

Greek Salad with Shrimp

In an effort to transform my eating habits, lighten up, and make simple summertime meals I came up with this super easy supper.  

It all started when I bought some shrimp cocktail at Costco....and feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, and kalamata olives at Trader Joes.  

I made a Greek Salad Dressing in a mason jar...because any reason I find to use a mason jar makes me happy!  I've loved mason jars long before they were so chic!  Just sayin

Anyways, I used some Penzey's Greek seasoning to make the dressing, but here's a great recipe anyone could use.  

Greek Dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp garlic powder, black pepper, and salt

3/4 tsp Italian or Greek Seasoning

I like to toss my greens with dressing and then layer everything else on top.  You can serve dressing on the side if you would like

Now add feta, halved grape tomatoes, diced cucumber, kalamata olives, shrimp.

Enjoy for lunch or a light supper!

 

 

BLT Pasta Salad--a great summertime recipe

In the summertime I like to have a few really easy recipes each week.  This is one that everyone loves and could certainly be used as a side with some grilled chicken or burgers. 

Download BLT Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

¾ cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

¼ t. garlic powder

2 T. BBQ sauce

16 oz. rotini pasta, cooked, drained, and cooled

1 small container grape tomatoes, halved

1 lb. bacon, cooked to very crispy and cooled, chopped

A few handfuls of lettuce or mixed greens

Directions:

Mix mayo, sour cream, garlic powder, and BBQ sauce together.  Mix with cooked and cooled pasta.  Carefully mix in tomatoes and bacon.  Place some greens on each plate and serve pasta on top. 

Summer Corn, Tomato, Crab and Avocado Salad

It's no secret that I love crab...as in it's probably one of my favorite foods...ever!  This recipe was somewhat inspired by what I had at Ouisies Table a few weeks ago as an appetizer.  This is a perfect summer recipe because it's easy, light, and you don't have to turn on your oven or stove. 

Download pdf Download Summer Corn and Crab Salad

12 oz lump crab meat (found in seafood section of grocery store)

1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced

Roasted or grilled corn from 4 cobs of corn

1/3 cup finely diced red onion

2 limes juiced

¼ cup Ranch salad dressing or any other creamy dressing.  Green goddess would be great

¼ tsp Black Pepper

Greens (I forgot to include this in the pdf, but I did serve it on a bed a greens)

In a bowl combine first 6 ingredients.  In a mason jar combine lime juice, ranch and black pepper.  Shake to combine.  Drizzle dressing over salad mixing gently combine.  Serve cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Italian Vegetable Salad

I love vegetables, probably more than fruit, although lately Karsten and I can't get enough blueberries and strawberries.  The thing is, though I love vegetables, lettuce based salads are not my favorite.  I like certain ones and I think when other people make them they taste so much better than my own.  I'm weird, I guess.  So, with all of this said...I frequently make vegetable salads.  Just a bunch of different vegetables chopped up, sometimes I add beans, pour on some salad dressing,  and then I can eat on it for a few days. 

The only reason this is really called an "Italian" Vegetable Salad is that I used a vinaigrette.  I'm hardly buying bottled dressing anymore...it's full of preservatives and I really find it easy to make homemade dressing.  I use the Penzey's Italian Salad Dressing as a base, then add a whole clove of garlic and 3 T. of parmesan cheese.  I shake it up and store it in a mason jar. 

I (heart) mason jars! 

Here's the recipe Download Italian Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 orange bell pepper, diced

2 kirby* cucumbers, peeled and diced

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and diced

1 can chick peas/garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed

¼ cup fresh basil, chiffonade

½ cup grilled corn (one ear)

½ cup favorite Italian vinaigrette (I use Penzey’s dressing base and add a whole garlic clove and 3 T. shredded parmesan)

Directions:

Toss everything together in a bowl.  Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve.  Makes great leftovers. 

Great for a picnic because there’s no dairy.

You could add or eliminate any vegetable.  I only call this “Italian” because of the dressing.

*Kirby cucumbers are small, pickling cucumbers.  Look for ones that are firm with no defects.  Store them in fridge without any kind of packaging. They are my favorite cucumber...very very crunchy!

 

 

Roasted Beets with Orange Vinaigrette

I've made this several times lately because beets are in season here in the South.  If you don't think you like beets I'd challenge you to give these a try.  They don't taste anything like pickled beets and they are so healthy for you. 

Roasted Beets with Orange Vinaigrette  Download Roasted Beets with Orange Vinaigrette

6 medium beets (red, striped, yellow or other variety), trimmed of greens and washed well

Zest and juice of one orange

¼ cup olive oil    

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

Optional: thin slices of fennel

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place beets on a baking sheet with sides or in a large, glass baking dish. Pour the orange juice, oil, maple syrup, and ¼ cup water over the beets and season with salt and pepper.  Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and roast the beets until they’re tender when pierced with a knife, 40-45 minutes.  Uncover and let the beets cool to room temperature.  Reserve cooking liquid.

3. Peel the beets (you may want to wear gloves to prevent staining) and quarter them.

4. Add orange zest to cooled cooking liquid and drizzle over peeled and quartered beets.   

5. Optional: sprinkle in some thinly sliced fennel

 

And if you happen to have beets with the greens still attached and looking vibrant here's a link to a recipe and article you could use with the greens.

Beet Greens Recipe from Simply Recipes

What to do with Beet Greens

Egg Salad

The other day I was home, Karsten was sleeping, and I needed something for lunch.  Egg Salad seemed to be the winner for that day.  This is not something I make often, but when I do make it, I love it...and make enough to have for lunch the following day. 

It's hardly a recipe, but regardless it's good. 

First, I want to share my almost fool proof way to boil eggs.  It's from a post a few years ago...

I think I finally figured out how to boil an egg and make it perfect.  Here's how.  Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water.  Bring water to a boil with lid off.  When water comes to a boil, turn off heat, cover with a lid, and let sit for 10 minutes.  Drain off water and then shake the eggs in the pot to crack the shells just a little.  Submerge eggs into ice water for a couple of minutes to stop the cooking.  The water will seep under the shells making them very easy to peel.  Pull out of the water and peel.  Perfection.  One tip I read in the same book If found these instructions in is this:  If you're trying to make deviled eggs, turn the carton of eggs in it's side and the yolks will go to the center of the eggs, so even when you boil them the yolks will stay in place.

So here's the "recipe" for Egg Salad and the printable of course Download Egg Salad

Ingredients

4 hard boiled eggs, cooled and peeled

1 ½ Tbsp Hellman’s mayo

1 tsp yellow mustard

1-2 tsp sweet pickle relish (or if you’re lucky enough to have my Mom’s zucchini relish use that)

A few shakes of paprika

Optional: 1 tsp Fox Point Seasoning (Penzey’s)

Directions:

Mash up eggs using a pastry blender. (I find this works best, plus this is the way my Mom did it.)  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir.  Serve on bread, in a pita, stuffed in a hollowed out tomato, or on a lettuce salad. 

 

 

Fresh Mozzarella, Avocado, Roasted Corn and Grape Tomato Salad

So this salad is very high on the YUM scale.  I served this to our company on Saturday and they enjoyed it.  This recipe is originally from the Fresh Everyday cookbook, but I used a different dressing and adapted it a bit.  I also used bocconcini from Costco that comes in a marinade, but you could certainly use bocconcini from your grocery store that comes in a container with water.  We grilled some corn last night and I plan on making another batch of this today for lunch!  It's SO delicious!!!

Download Fresh Mozzarella Salad with Avocado

2 ears of sweet corn, husks removed

8 oz fresh bocconcini, small mozzarella balls (found in gourmet cheese section of market)

1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled, and cut into slices

½ pint grape tomatoes or other small tomato variety

8-10 fresh Basil leaves, cut into thin strips

Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste

Several Handfuls of baby greens

Italian vinaigrette (I make Italian dressing using the Penzey’s Italian dressing base)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Soak the corn in a bowl of water for 10 minutes.  Place corn on baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, until the kernels are tender.  Cool to room temperature and then cut kernels off the cob.  You could also used grilled corn

Add the mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper in the bowl with the corn.  Drizzle ¼ cup of vinaigrette over mixture and mix.  On a platter create a bed of baby greens.  Top with mozzarella mixture.  Top with avocado slices and drizzle with a touch more vinaigrette. 

 

Green Goddess Dressing

Download Green Goddess Dressing

1 tsp anchovy paste (I buy mine in a tube in the Italian section or canned fish section of the grocery store)

2 small cloves garlic, peeled

2 green onions, including white and three inches of green, cut into 1 inch pieces

3 Tbsp fresh parsley

2 Tbsp fresh dill

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar

½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup mayonnaise (I use Hellman’s)

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp half and half or milk

¼ tsp ground black pepper

 Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and combined.  If it seems a bit thick add a touch of milk or cream.  Place dressing in a mason jar or other clean container and refrigerate for up to one week.  Serve as a salad dressing, as a sauce for fish or chicken, or as a spread for sandwiches. 

**This a bit spicy.  If you are serving it to children I would cut the amount of green onion in half. **

 

 

Greek Orzo Salad

 

Download Greek Orzo Salad---Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups dry orzo, cooked in salted water and drained(I prefer Giada De Laurentiis brand orzo found at Target)

1 cup quartered grape or cherry tomatoes

1 English cucumber, diced

½ cup finely diced purple onion

3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

¾ cup crumbled feta

Optional: ½ cup kalamata olives

 

Cook pasta according to directions.  While pasta is cooking chop vegetables and herbs.  Toss all ingredients together.  Toss with dressing.  You may have a little extra dressing. 

 

Dressing:

¼ cup red wine vinegar

Juice of one lemon

Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

4 Tbsp of agave syrup or honey

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

 

Put all ingredients in a salad dressing bottle or in a mason jar with a lid and shake well. 

Food Network Magazine

One of the many magazines I subscribe to is the Food Network magazine and I love it! 

Some of my favorite articles/features are

• Interiews with Foodnetwork Stars and glimpses of their personal kitchens
• Mix and match recipes,
• 50 feature book (such as 50 dips, 50 summer drinks, 50 things to make with pesto)
• Copy That! (where they try to recreate favorite recipes from chain restaurants)

Others may say Saveur, Cooks Illustrated, or Bon Appetit' are a foodies dream magazine, but I really like this one.  The recipes they feature are relatively easy and you can find most ingredients.  Click here to subscribe or give a subscription as a gift to the foodie in your life.

Here are some recent recipe finds I've cut out and placed in my recipe binders. 

Capellini with Spicy Zucchini-Tomato Sauce

 

 Grilled Vegetables with Couscous

Agnolotti with Artichoke Sauce

Coconut Popsicles

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

Fried Chickpea Hummus, Pizza Dip, Tomatillo Salsa

Almost Famous Broccolii-Cheddar Soup (Panera)

Salami-Mozzarella Calzone

Tilapia Masala with Rice

Triple Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Chicken Enchilada Suizas

 

Sweet Minted Iced Tea

Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto

Almost Famous Cheddar Biscuits (Red Lobster)

Bell Pepper Slaw

and to end on a sweet note:

Five Layer Bars

all photos are from the foodnetwork website