Monthly Archives: July 2010

July 28, 2010 · 10:40 pm

Fresh Blueberry Sauce

This is a very tasty and very versatile sauce and a great way to use some of those summer blueberries…

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of cinnamon

Instructions:
Wash blueberries, place in pan and crush them with the back of a spoon. Add sugar, lemon juice and salt to pan, mix well and bring blueberry mixture to a boil. Boil for one minute. Add vanilla and cinnamon, chill and serve over ice cream, waffles or pancakes.

What did the family think? Our oldest and I LOVE this is. It is so yummy and so easy to make. We first had it as a sample at our grocery store. Our favorite way to eat it is mixed with just a little bit of vanilla yogurt and then using a graham cracker to spoon it into our mouths. Summer goodness!

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Filed under Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Make Ahead of Time, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

July 27, 2010 · 10:24 pm

Summer Chicken Burgers

These were some super messy chicken burgers…napkins were a must. 🙂

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed
1 T butter
1/2 Vidalia onion, sliced into rings
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat
Salt and pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns
4 T mayo
4 slices provolone

Instructions:
Lightly oil grill and preheat on high.

Heat butter in a skillet on medium-high heat. Saute the onion until they are soft and caramelized.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken on grill and cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until thoroughly cooked. Place buns on grill just long enough to toast them.

Spread buns with a little mayo, then layer with chicken, onion, provolone and mashed avocado.

We had this with corn on the cob and grapes.

Did I change anything? The only think I did differently from the original recipe is smash the avocados to try and make the sandwich easier to eat.

What did the family think? Everyone liked it. I don’t grill chicken very often, so it was a nice change of pace. The kids had their sandwiches without the onion and avocado.

from allrecipes.com

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Filed under Chicken, Everybody Ate It, Sandwich

July 26, 2010 · 11:07 pm

Deli-style Pasta Salad

We love cheese tortellini around here…

Ingredients:
8 oz. cheese-filled tortellini
1 1/2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 tspn. dried Italian seasoning
1 tspn. Dijon mustard
1/4 tspn black pepper
1/8 tspn garlic powder
1 bell pepper, chopped

Instructions:
In a large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions omitting any oil or salt. Add broccoli and carrot the last three minutes of cooking. Rinse with cold water; drain again.

For dressing, is a separate bowl, whisk together vinegar, Italian seasoning, mustard, black pepper, and garlic powder.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, bell pepper and dressing. Toss gently to coat.

What did the family think? Hubby and I liked it. It’s a nice summer side salad. The boys liked the pasta part of the dish, but weren’t too keen on the dressing.

from grouprecipes.com

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Filed under Salad, Side Dish, Vegetarian

July 25, 2010 · 11:10 pm

Easy Italian Style Chicken

I can’t figure out my mom’s recipe for Italian Chicken, so this one will have to do until I give her a call…

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup butter

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine parmesan cheese and bread crumbs in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Dip chicken in eggs and then dredge through cheese/bread crumb mixture making sure chicken is thoroughly coated.

Place chicken on a greased baking sheet. (Make sure baking sheet has sides.)

Drizzle each piece of chicken with salad dressing and then top each piece of chicken with a pat of butter.

Bake for 45 minutes.

We had this with a baguette and a salad.

What did the family think? Everyone loved it. It got two thumbs up from our oldest and our youngest ate it with zero complaining.

from Southernfood.about.com

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Filed under Chicken, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Six Ingredients or Less

July 24, 2010 · 11:30 pm

Mango Lassi

A year or so ago, I had some leftover frozen mangoes in my freezer and I was trying to figure out what to do with them….

Ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen or fresh mango chunks
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 T sugar (more or less to taste)

Instructions:
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

What did the family think? I don’t know because I didn’t share with them. 🙂 Okay, I did let my hubby have a sip and he liked it and our oldest likes mango juice, so I am sure he would like this, too. I usually make these after the kids have gone to bed.

from bigoven.com

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Filed under After School Snacks, Beverages, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

July 23, 2010 · 10:28 pm

Pasta, Tuna and Roasted Red Pepper Salad

A cool summertime salad…

Ingredients:
6-oz. can chunk light tuna in water, drained
7 oz. jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and sliced, divided
1/2 c. finely chopped red onion OR green onions
2 T nonfat plain yogurt OR light sour cream
2 T chopped fresh basil
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 tspn. lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, crushed and peeled
Salt and pepper to taste
6 oz. whole wheat penne

Instructions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cool water when it is done cooking.

While the pasta is cooking, combine tuna, 1/3 c. peppers and onions in a small bowl.

Combine yogurt (or sour cream), basil, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth.

Combine the pasta, tuna mixture and red pepper sauce. Toss to coat.

Did I change anything? I left out the capers.

What did the family think? Hubby and I were the only ones who had this for dinner tonight. Hubby didn’t like it at all. He ended up having pb and j for dinner. I think it would have helped if I had warned him ahead of time that it was cold. It looks like a warm bowl of spaghetti with regular spaghetti sauce, but it isn’t. His taste buds never got over the shock. The kids ate leftover pizza. I liked this dish, by the way.

from Food Network

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Filed under Fish, Italian, Lent, Salad

July 22, 2010 · 10:22 pm

Asian Grilled Salmon

I have been grilling salmon like mad around here the past few weeks…I don’t think I will ever eat it any other way.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. salmon, cut into two servings
2 T Dijon mustard
3 T soy sauce
6 T olive oil
1/2 tspn garlic, minced

Instructions:
Prepare grill by brushing the grilling rack with oil to prevent the salmon from sticking.

While the grill is heating up, whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade on the salmon and let it sit for about ten minutes.

Place the salmon skin side down on the grill and discard the marinade the salmon was sitting in. Grill for about five minutes, then use a wide spatula to flip the salmon over and cook for about another five minutes.

Transfer the salmon to a plate, skin side down, and drizzle the remaining marinade on the salmon. Let the salmon sit for ten minutes and serve.

We had this with a baguette, a salad and some fresh fruit.

What did the family think? I really liked it. Hubby thought it was good, but he also said this was not his favorite salmon dish that I have fixed lately. It might have helped it I had followed the recipe and only let the salmon sit in half of the marinade and saved the rest for later, but I didn’t pay attention and used ALL of the marinade for marinating. Whoops. Either way I thought it was good. The kids had shrimp for dinner, which they ate without any sort of fuss.

from Food Network

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Filed under Easy, Fish, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less

· 9:37 pm

Popcorn, Apples and Cheese for Dinner

Okay, I know this isn’t a recipe idea, but it’s about food and it’s about dinner and I thought it was a really cool idea, so I had to share. I am reading Coop by Michael Perry (which is a delightful book) and part of the book is about him sharing anecdotes about his life growing up on a farm. He comes from a large family and one of the traditions his family had was that every Sunday they would have popcorn, apple slices and cheese for dinner. The coolest part about their Sunday tradition though, in my opinion, is that on those Sundays, while they were munching on their popcorn around the dinner table, everyone was allowed to read during dinner. They could bring a magazine, a book, a newspaper, whatever, but everyone read, no matter how old. I love it! The author also goes on to talk about how now that all of his brothers and sisters are grown and many of them have their own kids, they all meet up at their parents’ house each Sunday and guess what’s for dinner???? You guessed it. They don’t read anymore, there’s too many people, but it’s time that the adults get to spend together chatting and the cousins run around the house. It’s simple things like this that memories are made of.

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Filed under After School Snacks, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

July 20, 2010 · 7:54 pm

Summer Corn Salad

Easy and great with either corn from the cob or canned corn…

Ingredients:
2 cans of corn or 5 ears of corn (either boiled or grilled)
3 T olive oil
1 tomato, diced
Fresh cilantro, to taste
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lime, juiced

Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir well. You may want to place in the frig for a while to let the flavors mix or you can serve it right away.

What did the family think? Hubby and I liked it…very summery and fresh. Kiddos were not impressed.

from Food Network

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Filed under Salad, Super Easy to Make

July 19, 2010 · 11:14 pm

Spanish-Styles Noodles with Chicken and Sausage

I liked this, but if I make it again, I will make some changes. This is how I made it:

Ingredients:
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 lb. Italian sausage, cut into 1/2 in. chunks
Pepper to taste
1 tspn. dried oregano or marjoram
1/3 c. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 bay leaves
2 cans diced tomatoes
12 oz. spaghetti, broken into 3-in pieces
Grated parmesan

Instructions:
Season the chicken with pepper. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and Italian sausage and cook for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. When cooked, remove the chicken and sausage from Dutch oven with a slotted spoon.

Add the oregano/marjoram, onions, garlic, bay leaves and tomatoes to the Dutch oven. Reduce the heat and cook for about six minutes.

Add the spaghetti to the onion mixture. Add water to Dutch oven to just cover the spaghetti and cook for about six minutes. Add the sausage and chicken back in to the pan and simmer for about ten minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Garnish with parmesan after being served into individual bowls.

Did I change anything? I didn’t change a lot, but if I make it again I will change a few things. I would leave out the chicken and add more Italian sausage. I would change the diced tomatoes to Italian-style diced tomatoes.

What did the family think? Everyone liked it. Our youngest REALLY liked it.


from Food Network

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Filed under Chicken, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Stew/Soup