this is our happily ever after

chocolate zucchini muffins

Yesterday I made a batch of these so I could eat some, share some, and freeze some.  They are so tasty and because they have zucchini in them you feel healthy eating them!  You can also use the batter to make a bundt cake, just bake for 50-60 minutes.

Download Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

2 cups sugar

¾ cup canola oil

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups shredded zucchini (1 medium to large zucchini)

2 ½ cups flour

½ cup cocoa

½ cup chocolate chips

2 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup milk

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 cupcake pans with liners.

In a large bowl, beat sugar, oil, and eggs.  Stir in vanilla, zucchini, and milk.

Mix dry ingredients together.  Add 1/2 dry ingredients to wet mixture until incorporated, then add the other half.  Mix well.  Scoop batter into cupcake  liners.  Bake for 18-22 minutes or until cooked through.   

 

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

Herb Roasted Red Potatoes

Inspired by the homegrown red potatoes at the farmers market last week I threw these yummy spuds together to accompany the Grilled Chicken and salad with Green Goddess Dressing

Download Herb Roasted Red Potatoes

6-8 medium red potatoes or 10-12 small red potatoes

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary

2 Tbsp fresh thyme

2 Tbsp fresh dill

½ Tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

3 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Quarter medium potatoes or halve small potatoes and place in a bowl.  Finely chop herbs together.  Sprinkle herbs over potatoes.  Add salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Mix to coat the potatoes.  Place potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until tender and golden brown. 

Spinach, Artichoke, and Mushroom Quesadillas + Salsa

Back when Chili's was a new restaurant they had these scrumptious quesadillas that were stuffed with spinach, artichokes, and mushrooms.  This is what I had everytime I went...and then they took them off the menu...which always seems to be my luck!

As a part of creating quick and easy dinner this summer I whipped these up last week....and served them with homemade Pioneer Woman salsa.  I have vowed to always make this salsa...it is delicious, fresh, and easy....it makes a lot so plan a few Mexican meals the week you make this. I'm not quite sure how long it will last in the fridge, we ate ours up in a week!

Here's her recipe and photo of it...I highly recommend it!  I chose to only use a handful of cilantro because I don't care for it all that much, but the little I did use was great in the salsa.

photo from Pioneer Woman's super, awesome blog

Ingredients

• 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
• 2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
• 1/4 cup Chopped Onion
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
• 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
• 1/2 whole Lime Juice

Preparation Instructions

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like---I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

Quesadillas Download Recipe Here

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (10 oz) package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed and drained

1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 (4oz) can chopped green chiles

1 Tbsp Southwest seasoning

1 (8oz) block of Monterey jack cheese, shredded

1 package flour tortillas

Olive oil

 

Saute garlic, spinach, artichokes, chiles, and SW seasoning over medium high heat for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Place some olive oil in a skillet and heat over medium high heat.  Place one tortilla in skillet.  Sprinkle some cheese on tortilla, add a ¼ cup of veggie mixture, and place a bit more cheese on top.  Top with the other tortilla.  Cook until one side is golden.  Flip to the other side and cook until the other side is golden.  Repeat process for as many quesadillas as you want. 

 

If you ever have extra vegetable mixture it would be great mixed with eggs or tossed with pasta the next day.

Roasted Cauliflower and New Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower, broken into small florets

1 small bag of red new potatoes, halved

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1 T kosher salt, divided

1 tsp ground black pepper, divided

1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped and divided

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Spread potatoes on one baking sheet and the cauliflower on another baking sheet.  Toss each vegetable with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary.  Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and beginning to get golden brown. Remove from oven sprinkle parmesan cheese over the vegetables and return to oven for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown. 

finally got it right....Mexican Rice

I have been trying to perfect the art of making Mexican Rice for years and could never quite get it the way I wanted it...until Saturday night. I served it with some chicken enchiladas I had in the freezer...but this could be served with fish, chicken, tacos, fajitas, or just as a vegetarian night with some Black bean and Corn salad. or Lily's Cheese Enchiladas

Download Mexican Rice for your files

Ingredients:

2 tbsp canola oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 green bell pepper, finely diced

¼ tsp salt

1 ½ cups long grain white rice

1 tsp Southwest seasoning or ½ tsp cumin and ½ tsp chili powder

1 (10 oz) can tomatoes with green chiles, mild

¼  tsp cumin

1 bay leaf

2 ½ cups liquid (water and juice from canned tomatoes combined to make 2.5 cups)

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat canola oil over medium high heat.  Add diced onion and bell pepper and salt.  Saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add rice and continue sautéing over medium high heat, stirring occasionally for about 3-4 minutes. 

The rice should begin to turn golden brown. (This is the key to good Mexican rice!)  

Add Southwest seasoning and cumin, stir. (My Mom sells Pampered Chef and I always have a few bottles of this on hand for taco meat, rice, beans, salads, etc.) 

Strain the tomatoes, measuring the liquid in a glass measuring cup.  Then add enough water to make 2 ½ cups liquid total. **I don’t measure very much when I cook, except when I make rice.  Too much liquid makes for mushy rice** Pour liquid over rice and vegetables, add tomatoes and bay leaf, bring to a boil. 

Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20-22 minutes. 

Rice should be cooked through, but still have some texture.  Remove bay leaf, fluff rice with fork, and serve.

 

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