Fun Summer Recipes to Try Out

I can't believe that summer is getting closer and closer to being over!!!  In such a short time it will be fall!  Can't belive it!  Summer is a great time to try out some new recipes especially if you have the summer off.  Want to try out some of my favorite recipes this summer?  Here's a link to my top 10 favorites so far!  Just click on the name to take you to the page with the recipe!

1. Pasta Al Pomodoro This has turned into one of my favorite go-to recipes.  I have no need to buy sodium-laden canned pasta sauce when this one only takes me 30 minutes!  Try it out!
2. Baked Goat Cheese and Chicken Two of my favorites, goat cheese and chicken, can't get much better than that!
3. Roast Italian Chicken  A spin off from the regular roast chicken I used to make.  This is now a staple in my house!
4. Grilled Mediterranean Veggies Perfect for cooking summer veggies like zucchini and squash on the grill!
5. Feta and Sundried Tomato Biscuits  Un-healthy but simply delicious!   A must try!
6. Sara's Pot Roast Great for one of those busy days.  Throw this in the crock pot and come home to wonderful cooked dinner.
7. Greek Tzatziki Sauce A light refreshing dip... perfect for summer!
8. The Easiest Lasagna Ever  Want an easy quick dinner that will feed a crowd?  Find it here!
9. Healthy Muffins  Now you don't have to feel guilty for just grabbing a muffin and heading out the door.  These are packed with the good stuff!
10. Cake Balls  Since everyone needs to splurge every now and then why not do it in style with cake balls?  Fun to make and delicious!

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Slow Cooker Black Beans and Rice

“Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook”

For those of you who know my husband (Shale) and I, you probably know that both of us have a passion for those who are non-Christians and/or struggling with extreme poverty.  We both have friends in India that are missionaries and we get updates weekly on some of the extreme situations there.  In fact one of my friends recently told me there are more orphaned and abandoned children on the streets of Bombai, India than there are people in the city of Tampa.  That means approximately more than 340,000 children on the streets of one city.  I can only imagine what that is like.  I tell you all this to share with you an idea that we recently came up with.  He was talking about how the people of India mainly eat rice and beans every day (cheap) and how we could also do that one night a week so that we might be able to have a little more money in our budget to share with those in need. It was a great idea and to be honest you can easily make a pot of rice and beans to feed 6 people that doesn't cost you any more than $5 total.  Plus if you use brown rice it is a healthy, protein and whole grain meal.  So my goal is to try out different rice and bean recipes each week which I will also share with you along with a quick update from some friends in India on their different needs.  I know there is such extreme poverty over there they could definitely use our prayers and thoughts, since we have all been so blessed in the US.  So here's the first recipe it is a super simple black bean and rice recipe that is delicious!

Salsa Grilled Chicken

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.

Russel Baker

Cute Beach Tote

This recipe is the perfect summer recipe and I have to admit it was one of those that I just completely stumbled upon.   I was cleaning out my freezer the other night (I make and freeze a lot of stuff) and came across a huge pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I needed to cook.  I looked in the pantry and new I wanted to make something that had a bit of lime in it so I threw this concoction together and it turned out wonderfully!  I made it along with a big crock pot full of black beans and rice (recipe coming tomorrow) and it made an amazing dinner!  The color of the chicken is gorgeous and the flavor just perfect for a summer cookout!  Most of the ingredients you probably have in your pantry except maybe the Sazon.  However, if you haven't ever used Sazon I highly encourage it.  A few years back when I was in college I became best friends with Erika.  Erika is Cuban and began to teach me how to make some amazing food.  In one of her grandmothers Picadillo recipes it called for Sazon.  That was my first experience with this fabulous Spanish spice.   Not only does it deliver great flavor but it turns everything a beautiful orange color.  It is great in everything from rice and beans to chicken or beef.  If you're anything like me you're probably intimidated by new spices (one reason I still haven't posted an Indian recipe on here... curry completely intimidates me).  However, with this spice I encourage you to throw all caution to the wind and try it.  It's mild enough that it won't ruin your meal but the color is so beautiful it will definitely pump up the appeal factor. 

Tuesday's Tip...Eating Seasonally

 Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.  ~Henry James

I love eating vegetables and fruits in season.  Not only are they more affordable but they always seem to taste sweeter, fresher and look better.  It is probably because I live in Florida where seasonal vegetables grow in abundance but I just honestly don't feel like a strawberry shipped from out of state tastes the same as a strawberry grown in season in Florida.  Sorry I think I'm a little biased because while I would trade you the Florida heat any day I definitely wouldn't trade the Florida produce farms!  Recently I was browsing RealSimple.com (one of my favorite magazines/websites) and found this amazing article on produce that I just had to share.  Due to the fact that I do not want to steal anyone's information you can find the article by clicking here.  They also have some amazing recipes for each ingredient!!

Growing an herb garden part 2

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.

SpoonerZ garden spoons

I have learned a lot from growing my small porch herb garden.  I've learned the self control of not picking off a basil leaf but instead waiting until it is full grown to use it.  I've also learned that watering once a day is a must in a hot environment like Florida.  I've learned thyme, oregano and parsley take FOREVER to grow but Basil shoots up like a small forest.  I've come to learn that tomatoe plants grow HUGE and can take over a little porch.  But most of all I've come to learn that simple pleasures in life can be found in a simple garden.  Things such as a new bloom, the beginning of a tomatoe, sprouting of a new herb become small little things that make me smile when I get home from a busy day at work.  So far I am loving keeping this herb garden and especially loving how easy it has been to maintain (water once daily and let God do the rest).  Below are some new pictures of how things are coming along!  By the way how cute are these spoons.  You just stick them (handle side down) into the garden and they label the plants!  To find out how to get them check out SpoonerZ on Etsy or click on the link below the picture above!

 

As you can see the Basil is quickly becoming a small forest




My swiss chard and cilantro have really started to grow

 My Parsley and Thyme seem to be growing very slowly and the chives and onion are so thin.  For all you gardners out there... any clue why?  I would love your input!

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Best Breakfast Recipes

"Breakfast is a notoriously difficult meal to serve with a flourish." Clement Freud

If I have one hard to break flaw it is that of an overachiever.  While this is a great quality to have at work it sometimes interferes with everyday life.  A great example of this is last week.  For those of you who read my blog regularly you know that I haven't written in about a week and here's why.  Last week I was preparing for a high school camp that I had organized and found out mid-way through the week that my husband had "signed me up" to make breakfast for his office.  Not only was my week busy but I had a ministry I served with until 8 PM on Thursday and I had to be at work at 5 AM Friday and the breakfast was Friday morning.  Needless to say I ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep Thursday night because yes, I am an overachiever.  While most people could have said go pick up some doughnuts or grab something from Publix.  I would have been horrified for my husband to show up at his office with something store bought (trait #1 of an overachiever).  So instead I stayed up all night making what I thought would be good to take to his office.  I then had to figure out how to keep it warm from the time I left my house at 4:30 until he left at 8:30 (yes I was immensely jealous of the fact that he slept 4 hours longer after I left the house).  Due to this I decided to leave some of the items in the oven with the oven on off (after I had used it to bake) and my egg casserole was a little overcooked, however, I convinced myself not to make another one (trait #2 of an overachiever) and just let it be.  Shale did tell me the office loved the breakfast and I figured I would share my recipes with you.  I hope you get to enjoy them on a leisurely Saturday morning while you get to sip your coffee and read while they bake preferably in the fabulous little turquoise nook area I found in the picture above (instead of running around the house baking while throwing on makeup like I did). 

New Survey

Summer Blog Facelift

Country Living

 In case you haven't noticed the blog has gotten a "facelift" for the summer!  It was crying out for something a little more fresh and seasonal to go along with the abundance of summer recipes you'll have heading your way!  For starters here's a great summer pizza recipe you can make on the grill outside while hanging out with your family and loved ones!  On a side note check out the picture the the right.  Isn't that a cute little beach house featured in Country Living Magazine?  I don't know if I would be able to go that bright of colors for everyday as I tend to get bored of the colors quicker if they are bright.  Seeing as how much he LOVED painting the other day (insert sarcasm here) I don't think Shale would like it very much if I did something where I would get bored faster, but I do think it is very cute!  Enjoy the pizza recipe!

Step By Step Easy Lasagna Recipe

Jon Arbuckle: Garfield, did you eat all four boxes of lasagna?
Garfield: [hiccups] It's not my fault. They started it. 

This lasagna has quite a story.  It is a recipe my mom would make all the time growing up.  She also would give it to me before I went back to college whenever I came home to hold me over until the next time.  As I got older I found out her recipe and started making it myself.  When my husband and I were talking before we dated I made him this lasagna to thank him for helping me with something (honestly can't remember why), and as they say food is the way to a man's heart.  Little did I know that lasagna was his favorite meal ;-).  So both the quote used and the recipe are a nod to my husband (Shale).  He loves lasagna and loved Garfield growing up.  I made this recipe a lot (because it is so simple) and then stopped making it for a while as it was getting a little boring.  However, when I told Shale I was making it the other night he was so thankful.  I knew I needed to share it as it is simple, feeds a lot and can be frozen.  The nice thing I like about the lasagna is you can throw in anything you like.  I've used mushrooms, fresh spinach, hot italian sausage, ground beef, chicken, you name it you can pretty much use it.  For this particular time I used roasted garlic and ground turkey breast in the sauce.  For the directions it really helps if you can visually see how to complete the recipes so I've done step by step pictures to help you out.  Enjoy your Italian dinner made simple!!!

Goat Cheese + Chicken = A Recipe I Can't Wait To Try

I LOVE goat cheese and I LOVE chicken and I LOVE Barefoot Contessa and this is her recipe, so what's not to love about this recipe?!?!  When I found it on the Food Network website I knew I had to share it with you.  I can't wait to try it out and let you know how it is!!!  I'm thinking it would go great with a baguette, a salad, and maybe even some grilled asparagus.  If you try it before me let me know how it is...

Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese
recipe found at www.foodnetwork.com
By Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa)
Serves 6

Ingredients
3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
12 ounce sherbed goat cheese, with garlic and herbs
Fresh basil leaves
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet.
Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, leaving one side attached.
Cut 12 thick slices of the herbed goat cheese and place 2 slices plus a large basil leaf under the skin of each chicken breast.
Rub each piece with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Bake the breasts for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked through. Serve hot or at room temperature.

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I apologize!!!

  I sometimes think the chef end of cooking is not the real end of cooking. Cooking is all about homes and gardens, it doesn't happen in restaurants.

Delia Smith

I want to apologize for the fact that I haven't written in so long.  It has been over 2 weeks since my last post!  To be honest I almost didn't put this one up as I typed the WHOLE thing with pictures and all and then google blogger decided to freak out on me and delete it all... so discouraging.   But here I am and I apologize for taking so long to post something new on here but if you know me well enough to know about my job you understand that summer is the busiest time of the year for me.  I currently work as a student ministry event coordinator for a large church.  This means I plan all the camps, mission trips, etc... and since students are out during the summer that means more events for them and more planning for me.  I had a camp last week and another one next week but I promise I'm not dead and I will be posting more.  I wanted to take this post to catch up a little bit with what's happening with me cooking (and non-cooking wise).