July 31, 2009

Friday Link Love And A Heads Up About Next Week

First up let me take care of a little Dianne's Dishes "business". Next week I won't be posting recipes. It's Miss G's first week of 1st grade and we'll be busy doing 1st grade stuff! I should have lined up some guest bloggers, but in all my preparations for actual school work I didn't think of that! I had hoped to find some time to get some recipes up and ready to go ahead of time, but well that didn't happen either! So next week you'll get What's For Dinner? and possibly Friday Link Love...It will just depend on how the week goes! After that we should be in a routine and then I'll get back to the recipes!

Anyway....

Now let's get down to some Friday Link Love for today!

Dine and Dish is helping out with a fabulous cause...Cupcakes for Cancer! If you don't live in Kristen's area there are still ways you can contribute. Hop over and check it out! The sunflower cupcakes are gorgeous!

Tartlette shared some Myer Lemon & Sour Cream Donuts that really looked great! I'm going to have to actually take the leap and make donuts one of these days!

If you've been reading Dianne's Dishes for a while you'll know I'm a BIG fan of getting kids involved in the kitchen! Elana from Elan's pantry posted a great entry on Getting Your Children to Cook! Not only is cooking fun, it teaches kids valuable life lessons that they'll carry on to adulthood!

OK chocolate and peanut butter...You know I like that! When I saw these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Duos on Picky Palate my mouth began to water! Don't they look zen like? Sort of Yin and Yang? Yum!

Have you got squash and zuchini and don't know what to do with it? The Homesick Texan posted a really great looking Tex-Mex Squash Casserole that I'm really going to have to try!

My blog daughter Ingrid took one of my all time favorite flavors and made some Key Lime Pie Ice Cream! I've made Key Lime Ice Cream myself, but mine didn't have graham crackers. I'm going to have to try that! Looks delicious!

I love quiche. How about a quiche made with caramelized onions? Sound right up my alley! Check out goodLife {eats} and see Katie's Caramelized Onion Quiche.

And last but not least pop on over to the Mystery Lover's Kitchen and take a look at the Low Country Boil. That looks great!

What caught your eye this week?

Posted by Dianne at 1:25 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

July 30, 2009

What's For Dinner?

Tonight is another mixed bag. Jamison is having steak and rice. Alexis and I are having pan seared lime salmon with tomato and avocado relish, along with brown rice.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:24 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

"Fried" Green Tomatoes

I have a confession to make...

Are you ready?

I grew up in Tennessee, but I never had a Fried Green Tomato until I moved to Maryland. There's a lot of those quintessential southern foods that I somehow missed growing up. This is probably because my mom didn't fry a lot of things.

Shortly after we moved to Maryland I was over on the Eastern Shore, because for those of you who don't know I'm a water person. Big time water person! Anytime I have the opportunity to be near the Chesapeake Bay, or more importantly the ocean, then by golly that's where you'll find me! It doesn't happen as often as I'd like, but when we lived over next to the Bay, you'd often find me hopping across the bridge. I can't even remember who was with me on this little jaunt, but I remember we stopped at this little seafood place, right on the water, and they had fried green tomatoes on their menu so I thought I'd give them a whirl!

To be completely honest I wasn't really impressed with that first bite. They were made more like a deep fried/battered concoction and I thought they were heavy and tasteless. But that first bite made me start thinking...What if you seasoned the green tomatoes really well and then cooked them similarly to how I cook okra? You'd have a "fried" tomato, but it wouldn't be as heavy and tasteless. And you know what? It worked!

These tomatoes are really fabulous! They make the perfect side dish. I actually like green tomato cut up and in salads, but this is a great way to use up some of those green tomatoes toward the end of the season, when the days aren't quite long enough to make them ripen, if you're not quite sure about just eating them as is.

What You'll Need:
Sliced green tomatoes
Sea salt and pepper for sprinkling
1 cup of stone ground yellow corn meal
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of dry Ranch dressing mix
Extra virgin olive oil

First you want to slice your tomatoes to about the same thickness:

As you can see this one was starting to turn red inside, but that's ok.

Once you have all your tomatoes sliced lay them out and sprinkle them with sea salt and black pepper:

Once they are seasoned on both sides set aside.

Place a large skillet on medium heat and place a think layer of olive oil in the pan to heat while you do the next step. A tablespoon of oil should be more than enough. You may need to add more as you "fry", but we'll get to that in a minute.

Mix together corn meal, sea salt, black pepper and Ranch dressing mix until completely incorporated and place mixture on a plate or flat dish. Next place one tomato on the mixture to coat:

Then flip the tomato over to coat the other side:

Now you're ready to "fry"!

Place the tomatoes into the heated skillet/oil and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown:

Once done remove from skillet and place on a plate lined with paper towels to "drain":

You won't get a lot of draining since you didn't use a lot of oil, but there may be a little.

In between batches of tomatoes you might need to add a bit more oil to the pan. Just keep an eye on things. Repeat the process until all the tomatoes are done.

Serve immediately.

Notes: No notes for this one. When does that ever happen?? ;oP

Posted by Dianne at 10:33 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 29, 2009

What's For Dinner?

It's a really rainy and dreary day today and I'm in the mood for soup! Alexis and I are going to have some sort of tomato based soup, but I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to put in it yet. Jamison is having a left over steak, with a baked potato.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:40 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Asian Lettuce Wraps

For a while now I've been hearing a lot about lettuce wraps or cups. I haven't tried either, but after taking a look at them I figured they wouldn't be that hard to make! And you know what? They aren't! This recipe is a fabulous, healthy meal in one that you can whip up quickly (after you marinate) and enjoy in no time. Pop the marinate in the fridge in the morning and in 20 minutes or so you've got dinner that night! How easy is that?

What You'll Need:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine
2 scallions chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound of flank steak, cut into strips
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/3 cup of low sodium soy sauce
2/3 cup of cold water
1 bell pepper, cut into strips
1 large portabella mushrooms cap, cut in half and then into strips
Romaine or bib lettuce leaves
Cooked brown rice
Toothpicks

First you want to get the meat marinating. I like to do this in a canning jar:

First add garlic, red pepper flakes, ginger, scallions and black pepper to the bottom of the jar.

Next add steak strips and cover with water, soy sauce and add the sesame oil. (Note: You really want to make sure you use a low sodium soy sauce or this will be so salty you won't want to eat it!)

Give the jar a shake and place in the fridge for at least four hours. Give it a shake now and then to mix things up, or ignore it entirely. It can be done either way.

When you're ready to make the wraps make sure you make your rice and have it ready to go first. Depending on the variety of brown rice that you choose it might take 20 minutes, or even up to 50 minutes to cook.

Add the mushrooms and bell peppers to the bottom of a large skillet:

Next pour in the marinade mixture from the glass jar:

Cook until the marinade is absorbed, the vegetables are tender and the meat is done:

Once your filling is done it's time to make your wrap!

First you need a piece of lettuce:

I used romaine. You might have to break the spine a bit to get it to roll as well depending on the leaf.

Next add 1/4-1/3 cup of brown rice to the middle of each leaf:

And then add a bit of filling and begin the rolling process:

I like to secure one side first and then bring the other side over. It makes it easier than trying to roll it all at once. So roll one side and secure it with a toothpick. This helps hold it in place while you roll the other side.

Bring the other side over and hold. Remove toothpick and stick it through the entire roll:

Then serve!

This makes 4-5 rolls.

Notes: You could use chicken, shrimp, etc. Or you could even just load it up with vegetables for a vegetarian option.

Posted by Dianne at 11:03 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

July 28, 2009

What's For Dinner? And Week 11 Of Our CSA!

Whoa what a day!

This morning I had a meeting so Jamison took Miss G over to camp. I got home and then not too long after that headed back over to pick up Miss G. Alexis ate lunch (which she helped back...black olives, a clementine and cantaloupe...How's that for varied? ;oP) and then laid down for her nap, while I did a few things, and when she got up we discovered that one of her butterflies had "hatched". (She got a butterfly garden for her birthday. It was sort of our "big" science experiment for the summer!) So we had to venture back down the mountain, and back over to the grocery store in the next town over, to grab some carnations to be sprinkled with sugar water for the emerging butterflies! It's been go, go, go!

And now to dinner!

Tonight we're having cheeseburgers. Jamison will have tater (I still hate that word!) tots. I've also made a macaroni salad that I wanted to try out for the weekend. Our Sunday school class is getting together food to take to the shelter on Sunday and I wanted to try out the salad before I made it to send! (It turned out good...You'll see it soon!) We'll probably have some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers as well.

What are you having?

And now what we got this week from our CSA!:

As the bags get bigger it's hard to fit it all into the shot! We got a bag of new potatoes, a cantaloupe, cucumbers, 2 large tomatoes, a bag of cherry tomatoes, another hard necked garlic, more basil (I haven't even touched the basil from last week yet...It's still in a glass of water on the counter!) and a bunch of squash!

I'm going to hang the basil up to dry later today. I'm going to end up freezing part of the squash most likely too. I'll have to find room in the freezer...Somewhere! Everything else we'll enjoy as the week goes along.

Have I mentioned how my CSA surprise on Monday is one of my favorite parts of the week??

I'm off. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a recipe. School starts for us on Monday so I'm up to my ears in planning. I'll definitely be back for What's For Dinner? though so if there isn't a recipe I'll catch you tomorrow afternoon!

Posted by Dianne at 4:03 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

July 27, 2009

What's For Dinner?

How was everyone's weekend? We had a really great one! On Saturday we saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and then ran some errands and had dinner out. On Sunday we went to church and then spent the afternoon hanging out. This morning Alexis started her week long dance/drama/music camp and she had a ball! Can't wait to see the "show" on Friday night! Should be fun! They asked that we bring in juice and cookies for the remainder of the week so Lex and I are making some chocolate chips cookies to take in the morning.

Anyway....Dinner!

Jamison is having steak and roasted potatoes. Miss G and I are having swordfish, corn on the cob and heirloom tomato salad.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:18 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Better Bites: Corn Salad

One of Lex's all time favorite foods is corn on the cob, so I often have a few ears hanging around in the fridge. This time of year corn is so fabulous because it's fresh, so sweet and not to mention cheap! The going rate around here is about 6 ears for a dollar. Now that's what I call sweet! ;oP

The traditional ways of cooked corn on the cob are great. You can grill the ears, boil them, roast them, etc. But as with many things I get bored with eating the same thing the same way over and over and over. The kernels of the corn actually make a great base for salads! Throw in some other vegetables and you've got the perfect, healthy meal in no time!

What You'll Need:
2-3 ears of corn, cooked, cooled and kernels removed from the cob
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 a red onion, chopped
1 green tomato, chopped
1 carrot, cut into small bits
1 cucumber, cut into chunks
2 sprigs of thyme, stripped from the stem
2 sprigs of rosemary, stripped from the stem and chopped
The juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup of parsley, chopped

First you want to strip the corn kernals off of the cob. You can do this several ways. They have handy dandy corn strippers that do the trick (though I don't have one of those) or you can use a serrated knife. Whenever I strip corn off the cob it reminds me of my grandfather who always ate it that way.

Anyway....

Dump the corn kernels into a glass bowl along with the other vegetables and toss to mix. Sprinkle the top of the vegetable mixture with thyme, rosemary and parsley and toss again. Add a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground pepper to taste. Next squeeze the juice of one lime over the top of the mixture, along with the olive oil and toss to coat.

Serve immediately or store in the fridge until ready to use.

Notes: The flavors of this salad become better with time as they meld. You can keep it stored in an airtight container in your fridge for several days.

Posted by Dianne at 9:53 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

July 24, 2009

Friday Link Love

Katherine and the boys are coming over to play today and have lunch. So let's jump right in so we can get our playing groove started!

Pinch My Salt shared a great way to cook a butterflied chicken with her Grilled Chicken Under A Brick. I so need a grill!

The Barefoot Kitchen Witch posted a recipe entitled "Blueberry Boy-Bait". Sounds funny, but looks heavenly! I've never met a blueberry I didn't like!

Leslie from Definitely Not Martha talked about clean foods and posted a recipe for Grilled Chicken in Melon Bowls that really looked summery and fresh!

Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod blogged about Chocolate Chip Cookie Pretzel Bars. That sounds right up my alley!

Coleen from Coleen's Recipes posted a really neat looking Hot Soft Pretzel Recipe. I have yet to make soft pretzels, but I've always wanted to!

My blog daughter Teri posted a Lemon Bar Tart that really made me hungry! I love lemon bars! How great is it that she made them into a tart?

Shirley from Gluten Free Easily posted a fabulous looking Flourless, Gluten-Free Pizza that has a crust made with cream cheese! How neat is that?

Jenn from Jenn Cuisine made some Zucchini "Chips" that I'm really going to have to try!

And last but not least Gaby from What's Gaby Cooking made a really great looking Vegetable Frittata using fresh organic eggs. How fabulous does that look?

What caught your eye this week?

Posted by Dianne at 8:53 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 23, 2009

What's For Dinner?

Tonight I'm going to play around with making some oven baked fish and chips. (Gluten free of course!) I've wanted to try this for a while now, so tonight is the night! Alexis and I will also have more tomatoes and cucumbers.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Bread Salad

I love all the fresh vegetables that are readily available this time of the year. It's so easy to eat fresh and local when you're in the height of the summer season! Most days, at least one meal (and sometimes two), there is a salad, utilizing these ingredients involved. I often eat salad for lunch, and many times there is a salad component to dinner too.

Salads are so much fun because you can have endless variations, using the same ingredients, only tweaking them a bit. Salads also don't have to be boring and if you don't want to use lettuce or some other green, who says you have to?

This salad takes lovely, ripe local tomatoes, and pairs them with other in season vegetables to make a fabulous base. Add in some cheese and the unexpected Callah Bread and you've got the perfect, cool, don't heat up your house summer meal that really hits the spot! What could be better than that?

What You'll Need:
2-3 cups of plum or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cucumber, cut in half and then sliced
1/2 a red onion, cut into strips
1 small bell pepper, cut into strips
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of brown rice vinegar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/3 cup of parsley, chopped
1/2 loaf of Challah Bread, cut into cubes
1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese

First up let's discuss glass bowls. I've gotten several e-mails as of late asking why I often specify glass bowls to use when mixing. That's an easy answer actually...Plastic skeeves me out! Seriously I do NOT put anything that is hot and/or acid into plastic containers, even to mix briefly. I do a lot of storing food in glass canning jars for left overs and such and while I do have some plastic storage containers I use glass far more often that I use plastic. Acid and heat can leach the chemicals in the plastics out into your food. Not sure if you're a fan of weird chemicals in your food, but I'm not. So that's why I specify glass. I also don't use anything that has non-stick coatings, and avoid aluminum for the most part too.

Ok, now let's get started on this salad!

First off put your tomatoes in a large glass bowl:

Then cucumbers:

Red onions:

Bell peppers:

And feel free to use whatever color of bells you have on hand!

Next add sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and vinegar:

I chose to use a fine ground pepper this go around to really let the pepper get into the salad and give it a little zing!

Then the chopped parsley:

And last (but not least!) add the bread and Parmesan:

I picked up the Callah bread at my local bakery, but you can certainly make it yourself if you prefer.

Toss it all together and serve immediately:

And remember this is really an eat it now sort of of salad! You can store everything but the bread for later. If you have left overs I would recommend picking the bread out, because it will just turn into mush as it absorbs the moisture from the salad.

Notes: You can add in any vegetables that you like. Fresh corn would be great, or how about squash and/or zucchini. You could also add fresh oregano, thyme and/or rosemary.

Posted by Dianne at 9:24 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 22, 2009

What's For Dinner?

Tonight Jamison is having left over barbeque chicken and bacon cheese fries. Alexis and I are having pan seared scallops and a tomato and cucumber salad.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 3:11 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Black Bean and Mango Salsa

I love mangoes, but I rarely eat them because they really are a pain in the rear to cut up. I've tried the tricks that supposedly make cutting them easier, but I have never really found one that I like. Often I buy frozen mango for smoothies, but once in a while I'll buy an actual mango to enjoy.

Mango is great all by itself, but it's really a fun component to add to salsa! This version is cool, fresh and really great to compliment a summer meal. Who says salsa has to be tomato based?

What You'll Need:
1 mango, chopped
1/2 a large red onion, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1-3 jalapeños, chopped fine
2 cups of cooked black beans
1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup of parsley, chopped (Note: I am not a fan of cilantro, in fact I despise cilantro, but if you're a fan you could substitute this if you desired. I won't vouch for the over all taste of the salsa though if you do choose this route.)

First chop a mango and add it to a large glass bowl:

Next add the chopped red onion:

Have I mentioned lately how these should be call purple onions instead? There is not red there! I haven't? Well there you go then! ;oP

Next add cucumber:

Then jalapeños:

And then the black beans, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar:

Toss everything together until well mixed. Then add chopped parsley and stir until incorporated:

Serve immediately or chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Notes: This is great on fish or steaks. Also you'll want to use this within a day of making.

Posted by Dianne at 1:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 21, 2009

What's For Dinner? Plus Week 10 of Our CSA!

First up this week's CSA bag!

We got yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and lots of basil!

I'll most likely dry the basil, since I'm not a huge fan of the taste of fresh basil. I thought about making pesto, but the problem with pesto is that after I've had a tablespoon or two I never finish the rest of it. I suppose I could make a batch and freeze what I don't want immediately, but I'm a little low on freezer space right now. The rest of the items will most likely be used before the end of the week!

Now let's talk about dinner!

Tonight we're doing a little heavier than we normally have during the week. We're going to have barbeque chicken, bacon cheese fries, squash/zucchini fritters, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and homemade bread.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:19 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Old Bay Chicken Flat Bread Burgers With Caramelized Onions

Within the last year I have discovered ground chicken. I don't know what took me so long, but it's such a versatile ingredient to play around with! The first time I used it was actually earlier this year in Beggar's Stew. Since then you will often find a package in my freezer.

Burgers are perhaps the most obvious choice when using ground chicken and this burger combines the old timey burger feel, with the zing and pop of Old Bay seasoning. If you're a fan of Old Bay then this burger is for you!

What You'll Need:
1 pound of ground chicken
1 large sweet onion, divided, half chopped fine, half cut into strips
Old Bay Seasoning
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Flat bread
Burger toppings of your choice

In a large bowl mix together ground chicken and chopped onion, along with a tablespoon of Old Bay seasoning. Mix together (it's best to get your hands in there and just squish it all together!) until everything is incorporated.

Shape into three patties and then sprinkle the tops with more Old Bay seasoning:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large skillet cook burgers until each side is browned and then place in a glass baking dish:

Place in preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until done through. (Note: I like to finish these up in the oven to be sure that they do indeed cook through. Raw chicken is not something you want to bite into!)

While burgers are baking start your onions.

Place the onion strips into a large skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Cook, stirring often, until slightly caramelized:

Once burgers are done remove from oven and let sit for 2-3 minutes:

While burgers are resting toast your flat bread until nice and golden:

Top each toasted flat bread with a burger, some cheese (if desired) and onions:

You can also top with any other burger fixings/condiments that you like.

I like to serve this with sweet potato oven fries.

Notes: If you don't care for Old Bay (sacrilege! ;oP) you can omit that and add in thyme and rosemary or some other seasoning.

Posted by Dianne at 8:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 20, 2009

What's For Dinner?

Tonight we're having fajitas because I'm in a spicy mood!

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Better Bites: Chicken Asparagus Bake

I like dishes that have several elements in the same dish. This is especially true of healthy dishes. When you have several components coming together it just makes the flavor pop!

This dish takes chicken breasts, pairs them with onion, herbs and asparagus to give you a healthy, yet hearty dish, that tastes superb! It also comes together very quickly and takes less than an hour to bake. (I like to bake it in my toaster oven!) Quick, healthy and delicious...You can't get better than that!

What You'll Need:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion, chopped
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped
2 sprigs of rosemary, stripped from the stem
2 springs of thyme, stripped from the stem
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place chicken breasts in an 8 X 8 inch dish. Top with onions and asparagus. Sprinkle the dish with sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until chicken is done through and vegetables are tender.

Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Notes: You can use other herbs if you like. You can also add in other vegetables. Squash and zucchini would be good this time of year. Or how about some mushrooms? The possibilities are endless.

Posted by Dianne at 8:27 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 17, 2009

Friday Link Love

Let's jump right in, shall we?

Pie and chocolate chip cookies all rolled into one? I'll take some of that! Check out Picky Palate's Hot Little Chocolate Chip Cookie Pies.

My blog daughter Ingrid shared a Peanut Butter Ganache Recipe. Now if you've been around Dianne's Dishes for a while you know that's one of my all time favorite combos! Can't wait to try this!

Sara's Cucina Bella posted a scrumptious looking Quick Chicken Parmesan recipe. I've always wanted to try my hand at making that at home, but never have.

French Onion Soup and Lasagna combined? Why not! Check out the French Onion Soup Lasagna recipe posted at Hugging the Coast.

How about a soup that utilizes the ingredients of a stuffed pepper? Check out the Stuffed Pepper Soup over at Chaos in the Kitchen. Yum!

Andrea from Andrea's Recipe shared these Campfire Pies that took me back to my childhood. It made me thinks of biscuits on a stick in the mornings over the fire while camping and roasted marshmallows for S'Mores at night. How fun!

Graham Crackers are another thing I've always wanted to try my hand at making, though never have. Check out the Graham Crackers the Purple Foodie made!

Zucchini and blueberries? Looks good to me! The Reluctant Vegetarian shared a Zucchini Blueberry Bread that really looks fabulous!

And sticking with the zucchini theme, did you see the Zucchini Apple Spice Muffins that Katie from goodlife {eats} posted? I'm definitely going to try these when my zucchini comes in!

What caught your eye this week?

Posted by Dianne at 8:54 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 16, 2009

What's For Dinner?

Tonight Jamison is having baked tilapia with rice. Alexis and I are having baked tilapia, some left over corn salad from lunch and "fried" green tomatoes.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Shrimp With Pan "Fried" Chinese Cabbage

I've never been a big fan of cooked cabbage, though I do like raw cabbage. Recently I've had the desire to play around with the cooked variety so when I was at the market the other day I picked up a small head of Chinese Cabbage.

Most of the time cooked cabbage is cooked in a way that just becomes this big, mushy, sort of sulfuric tasting mess, thus why I didn't like it. I have had cooked cabbage in Asian dishes before that didn't turn out that way and actually tasted good, so I knew it was possible. I decided to play around with pan "frying" in a little bit of olive oil to see what would happen and I have to say I was very pleased! Paired with some cooked shrimp it made the perfect meal!

What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 small Chines cabbage, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Brown rice vinegar
1 pound of shrimp, shelled and deveined

Chop cabbage and place in a medium sized pan or pot with some extra virgin olive oil, garlic, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper:

Sprinkle with a few shakes of brown rice vinegar and cook until cabbage is slightly soft and browned, stirring often:

Be careful and don't let it get mushy. No one wants mushy cabbage! ;oP

While the cabbage is cooking you will also begin cooking your shrimp. The last time I made shrimp someone asked me how to actually devein them so I'm including a little "how to" on that. Excuse my green fingernail polish...Miss G wanted to paint our fingernails and she picked the colors. She got "Blu" and I got "Emerald City". The things I do for her! ;oP

Now shrimp...You can buy them already deveined if you can find them that way, if not see below.

First rinse your shrimp well and remove the shells. Next you want to locate the vein:

Now here's the tricky part...Sometimes the vein is on the underneath of the shrimp and other times it is along the back. I guess it depends on the type of shrimp. I've bought shrimp that had them in either location. The removing process is the same despite of where it is located. As you can see the vein is running just below the surface of the under side of the shrimp in this variety.

Take a paring knife and run it along the meat of the shrimp just above the vein:

This will open up the shrimp and expose the vein.

Take your knife and run it under the edge of the vein:

Gently remove the vein and throw away.

Once you've done that your shrimp will look like this:

See the vein is gone!

Repeat that process until the shrimp are all deveined.

Next you want to generously salt and pepper your shrimp:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add some olive oil and then place the shrimp in the pan. Cook shrimp on each side roughly 30 seconds to 1 minute until pink on both sides:

Be careful when cooking shrimp...They literally cook within a minute or two. If you take them too far you'll end up with rubbery, tough shrimp and that's no fun.

Place a bed of cabbage on a plate and top with cooked shrimp.

Notes: You could do this with scallops instead if you preferred.

Update: The next day I still had some left over shrimp and cabbage in the fridge so I thought I'd make a salad with them. Turned out great! I tossed in some mushroom, avocado and cucumber with the cooked shrimp and cabbage and it made a great lunch!

It's fun to take left overs and add to them! Who knew this would be good chilled too? But it was!

Posted by Dianne at 8:43 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

July 15, 2009

What's For Dinner? And Week 9 Of Our CSA!

First up let's take a look at what we got from our CSA this week:

Swiss chard, potatoes, green beans, some more stiff necked garlic, plum tomatoes and some green tomatoes! When I saw the green tomatoes I was so happy. I've been thinking about making some "fried" green tomatoes, but I didn't want to sacrifice any of my own tomatoes to do so...Now I don't have to! I had meant to share this yesterday, but I got side tracked. What can you do?

Now let's get down to what's for dinner!

Tonight we're having steaks. Seasoned for Jamison and Alexis and topped with Mango Black Bean Salsa for me. We're also having corn on the cob and swiss chard (or Alexis and I will anyway) and Jamison will have some roasted potatoes.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Fresh Vegetable Penne

As I've mentioned before Jamison and Alexis are all about spaghetti and at this point after knowing Jamison for 13 years I'm about as spaghettied out as you can possibly be. Once in a blue moon I get a craving for the traditional spaghetti, but for the most part I'd much rather make my own pasta topper.

This time of year it is so easy to whip up a fresh pasta topper with vegetables that are coming into season. You can use fresh tomatoes and pair them with various other vegetables and herbs to make something healthy, yet satisfying. Now that is my kind of pasta!

What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tomatoes, chopped into chunks
2 garlic scapes, chopped
1 cup of peas
10-12 yellow or green beans, chopped
3-4 Brussels sprouts, chopped
4-5 button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 a red onion, chopped
1/3 cup of parsley, chopped
2 sprigs of rosemary, chopped
2 sprigs of thyme, chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce of Parmesan, grated
2 ounces of dry whole grain penne pasta, cooked according to package directions

Cook pasta. Drain and set aside.

Add vegetables and herbs to a glass bowl and stir to mix:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and vegetables:

Add some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir to mix. Cook for 5-10 minutes until tomatoes soften and vegetables are tender:

Add cheese and penne and stir to mix. Cook for 1-2 minutes until cheese melts:

Remove from heat and let sit for 2 minutes and then serve.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Notes: You can use any combo of vegetables or herbs that you like. Carrots would be a good addition and/or asparagus. Squash and zucchini would be good too.

Posted by Dianne at 9:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 14, 2009

What's For Dinner?

Miss G and I are on our own tonight. Jamison has an appointment. So I think we're going to do something fresh and light. Maybe a tomato and cucumber salad or something along those lines. Might have some watermelon and cantaloupe too.

What are you having?

Update: 2:12 PM: FaceBook finally let me back in! Took them long enough! ;oP The "fan" page for Dianne's Dishes is gone though, but I'll take what I can get! I can always recreate that. Onward and upward!

Posted by Dianne at 1:41 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Cocktail Time! Let's Make Lemon Drops!

Last week was one of those weeks. Most people I know were having that kind of week. I saw it with people I know here in Maryland, friends in other cities, people on Twitter/Facebook...The week was just off! Maybe it was the full moon? Maybe it was just a weird alignment of the planets? Who knows! But it was a long, long, long (and did I mention long?) week! On Friday night it was high time to make a cocktail (or two!) ;oP

One of my all time favorite drinks is a Lemon Drop Martini. Most of the time when I make cocktails (which sadly isn't often...The last time I made them was when I was at the beach a few years ago) I'll either make Margaritas or Lemon Drops. Friday was a lemon drop sort of night!

This concoction is the perfect, quick, no fail drink that comes out fabulously time and time again. Sometimes that's just what you need!

What You'll Need:
The juice of six lemons
1 cup of lemon or citrus vodka
1 cup of simple syrup
2 cups of seltzer water
2 cups of ice
Organic cane sugar (optional to rim the glasses)

In a glass pitcher stir together lemon juice, vodka and simple syrup until well mixed. Add seltzer and stir until incorporated. Add ice.

Wet the rim of your glasses and dip into organic cane sugar (optional). Pour drinks into the glasses and serve.

Notes: Someone on Facebook suggested doing this with limes. I'm totally going to have to try that next time!

Posted by Dianne at 8:23 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

July 13, 2009

What's For Dinner? And What's Up With FaceBook.

First off let's talk about FaceBook for a moment....

For those of you who follow me on FaceBook you may have noticed that things are different, and to be honest I don't know what it looks like inside FaceBook because I've been shut out. I don't know if I'm still there, or I've disappeared or what.

It all started one day last week when I logged on one morning and noticed that my picture had been changed and I hadn't changed it. I immediately realized that my account had been hacked so I changed my password and notified FaceBook. FaceBook, effers, finally got back to me two days later to tell me that "Hey you've been hacked!" and that they changed my password for me. Thanks! I would never have figured THAT out by myself! Thanks for stating the obvious! So by reporting that I had been hacked, I also told on myself for having a pseudonym without even knowing I couldn't have one. Lovely!

While they were assessing my account they also decided to suspend me because my account was not under my real name, but under my blog's name. Apparently that's a no no at FaceBook (Who the hell cares if you use a pseudonym or your real name other than the idiots who are running FaceBook?) so they decided they needed to disable my account. I have asked them to reconsider, but here we are several days later and I still haven't heard from them. As you can tell they are slower than molasses in January! I'm hoping they will get back to me today, but that remains to be seen!

I didn't use my real name because I didn't want it associated with Dianne's Dishes after some stalkerish activity that went on on my personal blog a few years ago that ranged from several people stealing pictures of Alexis when I still posted pictures of her face and posting them elsewhere, to one person even going as far as to take those stolen pictures and posting them pretending that Alexis was their child. Who does that?? So you can see why I'm a little leery of posting her face and revealing my real name or my exact location.

I'm not sure where this leaves me on FaceBook since I don't really want an account with my name, or if I had one I wouldn't associate it with Dianne's Dishes anyway. If they refuse then I guess my FaceBook days are over, which is sad because I had just begun reconnecting with some people from my childhood and that was really nice.

Anyway, all of that to say, if you're a friend on FaceBook and notice I'm gone then that is why. I'll miss Facebook if this is the end. Hopefully I'll be able to tell you in the next day or two what they have decided. Until then we wait. Have I mentioned what effers they are??

Now let's talk about dinner!

Tonight is a mixed bag...

Alexis is having black beans, cantaloupe and cucumbers. I am having left over gazpacho and left over shrimp from this weekend. Jamison is having steak strips and roasted potatoes. Alexis may munch on some of Jamison's steak or some of my shrimp, but lately she's been eating more vegetable proteins than that of the animal variety. Whatever floats her boat! As long as she is eating protein I'm not concerned about her not eating as much meat.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 12:44 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Better Bites: Two For One: Gazpacho Salad or Gazpacho Soup

As I mentioned before I'll be contributing over at Allie's Answers once a month or so. Today is the day! So stop over and say hello. It's a great place to get a lot of green tips and ideas!

In the summer it is so easy to eat healthy, local, fresh produce! Some of us don't have the luxury of being able to have fresh, local produce year round, so we really enjoy it when we do! But if you're like me after the initial thrill of having a vine ripe tomato all by itself, or fresh cucumbers sliced for a snack, or any other variety of summer garden goody right from the garden/farmer's market all by themselves has worn off you want to do something else with the natural bounty.

For years I've wanted to make some gazpacho, but I always get side tracked. (And in all honesty try...How is it possible that I had never had gazpacho before now?) Gazpacho is the perfect summer time treat! By taking a few simple ingredients and about 10 minutes you've got dinner in no time! It's cool (which is fabulous on a hot summer day), it's no cook so you don't have to heat up your house to eat (also great on a hot summer day), there are no animal products or by products (making the dish vegan, for those of us trying to eat less meat and thus reduce our overall impact) and it's a delicious, not to mention healthy, way to have a filling meal, without eating anything that is too heavy. Overall it's a very earth friendly recipe and that is always a plus.

Another great thing about gazpacho is that it's quite versatile. You can add in other vegetables that you like, throw in some herbs, or even add in some bread crumbs if you like. If you aren't in the mood for soup you can eat the vegetable combination before it's processed smooth as a salad. Also the proportions don't have to be exactly the same each time. It's a forgiving recipe that allows you to experiment each time. It's quick, easy and delicious and sometimes in the summer that is just what you need!

What You'll Need:
6-8 tomatoes
4-6 small cucumbers, cut in half and sliced (Note: You want the pickling size. If you can't find these you can use one large cucumber.)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 a large red onion, sliced
3-4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of brown rice vinegar

Chop tomatoes and place in a large glass bowl:

Next chop cucumbers and add them in with the tomatoes:

And then the green peppers:

Red onion:

Garlic:

And last your black pepper, salt, oil and vinegar:

The really great thing about this is that everything can be roughly chopped. It doesn't have to be uniform or perfect, just chop and go!

After everything is in the bowl you want to stir to mix everything together and let the oil and vinegar coat the vegetables:

At this point you can do one of two things...You can stop right here and have Gazpacho Salad or you can proceed to the directions below to make soup.

Place vegetable mixture in your food processor or blender:

Process until smooth and place in a serving dish:

Repeat this process until you have processed all of your vegetables into soup.

You can chill this soup or eat it immediately. It's great topped with parsley or fresh herbs.

Makes 4-6 main course servings.

And look at this:

The color and texture is fabulous! Not to mention the taste! You get a zing from the onion, garlic and black pepper, coupled with a coolness from the other vegetables. It's just the perfect combination!

Notes: If you want a chunkier soup then don't process for as long. You could also add herbs in with the vegetables. Rosemary, thyme and/or oregano would be great or how about dill? These subtle changes can make it so you have something different, yet similar every time!

Cross posted at Allie's Answers.

Posted by Dianne at 9:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 10, 2009

No Cook Blueberry Jam

Normally on Friday I post Friday Link Love instead of a recipe, but since I didn't post a recipe yesterday, and in all honesty I haven't had time to read blogs this week, this Friday you're going to get a recipe instead!

As I mentioned yesterday Alexis and I went to the orchard after our trip to the library to pick up some blueberries (and of course peas for Miss G)! I just love blueberry season! Blueberries are my favorite fruit, followed closely by watermelon and fresh pineapple. In fact if you do a search on Dianne's Dishes for blueberries you'll find Blueberry Muffins to Blueberry Ice Cream to Blueberry Cheesecake and everything in between!

I'm a big fan of blueberry jam. In fact I normally get mine from a local company called McCutcheons. I love their jams/jellies/preserves! And as an added bonus they have no high fructose corn syrup in them and use real sugar. That's always a plus in my book. But I've been wanting to try to make some on my own for a while now.

This jam turned out just perfect! The lemon and blueberry go so well together, and it was just the right amount of sweet! It also goes together in no time and you don't have to fuss with canning or anything either since it's a fridge or freezer jam. In less than an hour you've got yourself some fabulous homemade jam!

What You'll Need:
4 pints of blueberries
2/3 cup of organic cane sugar
The zest of one lemon
The juice of one lemon
1 package of Ball Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin

Rinse berries and pick over them to ensure there are no stems. Mash berries well:

If there are a few blueberries that don't get mashed that's ok.

Add the zest and juice of one lemon:

Also add the organic cane sugar:

Stir to mix well:

Add pectin 1 tablespoon at a time:

And then stir until mixed in. Repeat this process until the pectin is completely gone and well mixed in to the blueberry mixture:

Stir for 3-4 minutes and then you're ready to store. I like to use canning jars. Using a funnel ladle the mixture into the jar:

Be sure not to fill the jars quite full, especially if you're going to store this in the freezer:

This will give you about 3 1/2 pints:

The one that was going in the fridge I filled a little more full than those going into the freezer.

Let sit for 30 minutes and voilà...Jam!

Store in the fridge for 4-6 weeks or the freezer for 10-12 months.

Notes: This method should work with other types of fruits and berries too. Next up I want to try peaches!

Posted by Dianne at 8:38 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 9, 2009

What's For Dinner? Plus What We Picked Up at the Orchard!

This morning Alexis and I set off to go over the mountain to the library. While we were over there we also decided that it would be a good idea to stop by the orchard. Her mission: Peas! (And as you can see we found them!) My mission: Blueberries to make some jam! (We got those too! And the jam turned out great...You'll see it tomorrow!)

We also got some small plums, yellow beans, cucumbers, yellow tomatoes and "ugly" tomatoes. What are those you ask? Those are the ones that some people won't buy because they have a vein here or a spot there. Perfectly good, perfectly delicious vine ripe tomatoes that some people are too snobby to buy! So for a dollar more, you get twice as many tomatoes. Works for me!

Now let's talk about What's For Dinner?....

Alexis and Jamison want spaghetti for dinner. At first I wasn't really all that thrilled by the idea (I never am!) but after our visit to the orchard my tune changed! Jamison and Alexis are having their standard (noodles and sauce for Lex, noodles, ground beef and sauce for Jamison) and I'm going to use some of the things I picked up this morning, along with some herbs from my front porch, to make a fresh pasta topper.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 3:30 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Garden Update Three 2009

So this morning we're going to do a garden update. I thought I had a ton of recipes from which to pick to share with you, but after looking at them I'm not really happy with any of them! So it's back to the drawing board on that front, but for now we'll take a look at what is going on in my "garden" so far. I'm very pleased on that front! A lot has changed since our last update so let's get started!

First off let me show you my favorite little water girl (minus her face of course :o)):

For those of you who didn't know you can wear wellies with anything, including your pink night gown. Apparently wellies are an all purpose shoe as far as Alexis is concerned! ;oP

Now let's take a look at the two lavender pots! In pot one we have lavender with a pumpkin plant:

I've never grown this type of plant in a pot before. This is my little experiment. So far so good!

In the other lavender pot I planted a few sunflower seeds and one of them has actually sprouted:

There's also a little faerie cap that keeps popping up there too (i.e. mushroom) that you can see there off to the right. I keep yanking it, but it keeps wanting to grow. Oh well. It isn't hurting anything.

After a slow start the sweet potato plant is really taking off!:

Either the ground hog or some of the deer around here have munched off a few of the leaves. Luckily they appear to have wandered on without actually eating the entire plant, or anything else on the porch. Sometimes wildlife annoys me!

The regular potatoes are moving right along too:

My favorite marigolds:

Sometimes the little things make me happy.

When I can keep Alexis from munching them all the herbs are doing their thing:

Her favorites being parsley and rosemary. She eats them right out of the pot!

The squash in the other herb pot is coming right along:

In fact we've got some little squash!:

And the other herb pots and squash is doing great as well:

I've been using a lot of fresh herbs. I love being able to walk out on the front porch and snip to my heart's content!

We have tomatoes galore! Mostly still green, but one or two have ripened so far. We have a bunch of little cherry tomatoes waiting to become ripe morsels:

Also lots of big tomatoes and some yellow pear tomatoes too:

The zebra stripe tomato plant is growing, but so far not blooming:

It's hanging out between the peas, which have almost done their thing, but are still hanging in there since it hasn't gotten too hot yet. They are starting to show their age though.

Now peppers! We've got bell peppers:

We've got sweet banana peppers, which are Alexis' favorites and she actually munched on right after I took this picture:

And last, but not least Jalapeños:

The eggplants are coming along:

I took this picture a few days ago and that particular eggplant has already tripled in size at least. I love watching things grow! It's amazing how fast it happens sometimes!

I've got a ton of baby cucumbers coming along:

Dill pickles here we come!

The Big Mama Lima beans (also a favorite of Miss G) are growing like gangbusters!:

They just started blooming. The black garbanzo beans are there too, but they haven't done much yet except for be a plant. We'll see how things go.

I finally got the last hanging pot planted too:

The only thing that I know for sure are in this pot is purple green beans, which haven't produced enough to have a batch to cook so I've been snacking on them raw. So good! the other plants could either be zucchini, squash and/or cucumbers. We'll just have to wait until they actually produce to know for sure.

So that's where I am now. How are you gardens doing?

Posted by Dianne at 9:38 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

July 8, 2009

What's For Dinner?

Just got home so looks like it's just going to be What's For Dinner? today!

Tonight Alexis and I are having sliced tomatoes, spinach and pinto beans. I'm not sure what Jamison had for lunch so depending on that he'll either have a grilled turkey and cheese on gluten free bread or left over pizza from last night.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 3:22 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Be Back Later!

I'm on my way to go decorate at church in a little while for camp next week. It's an "extreme sports" theme so we're going to be making a lot of "trees" and "nature" murals. I'll be back later with a recipe hopefully, but possibly just What's For Dinner? since I'm not sure how long this will take.

Have a good day everyone!

Posted by Dianne at 8:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 7, 2009

What's For Dinner on Jamison's Birthday?

For those of you who read my personal blog you may have seen that today is Jamison's birthday! So that means he gets to pick what we have for dinner tonight!

So we aren't quite sure what we're having. We'll either have homemade pizza (which I think he's leaning toward right now) or we'll pick up some Outback. Either way he can have a gluten free dinner! I also made him a gluten free yellow cake with milk chocolate icing. (He likes both from a mix!...I know...I know! ;oP)

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 12:58 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Pineapple Chicken Salad

I love fruity chicken salads. It all goes back to when my Mom worked at a little video store downtown in the small town where I grew up. There was a theater up the street that had a little sandwich type shop that was open every afternoon and we often went there to grab a late lunch or a snack. One of their dishes was a chicken salad sandwich that had pineapple in the mix. I immediately fell in love!

This recipe takes me back to my childhood in so many ways. It is probably my first taste it then go and make it sort of dish. I've made variations of this many times over the years, and while I've liked them all, I have to admit this is probably my favorite take. I whipped up this batch to make finger sandwiches for Miss G's birthday party. I thought I had gotten a shot of the actual sandwiches I made, but I missed that in the hustle and bustle of the day

This truly is a "use everything" kind of dish. You get the added benefit of having chicken stock/broth to use as well. And as you know I'm all about the versatile dish. I just love something that puts you half way to something else!

What You'll Need:
2 small chickens
Sea salt
Black pepper
Bay leaves
Rosemary sprigs
Thyme sprigs
1 - 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved
1 bunch of scallions (Note: I used red spring onions, but you can use whatever you can find.)
1/3 cup of light mayonnaise (Note: I like Hellmann's.)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/3 cup of pineapple juice

Place both chicken in a large pot and cover with water. (You're basically cooking the chicken like you're making chicken stock/broth.) Add a generous amount of sea salt (about a tablespoon), some black pepper (roughly another tablespoon), a few bay leaves, some rosemary, some thyme, etc.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook covered for 30 to an hour until chicken is done through. Remove chickens from stock/broth (they'll probably fall apart) and set aside to cool. You can strain the broth and freeze or store in the fridge for later.

Once the chicken is cool remove skin and bones until all you have is a big bowl of chicken. Chop or grind into small bits. (Note: My mom brought me this really cool tool from Pampered Chef that I used to do this. I couldn't find it on their website though and can't remember what it was called to share with you, but basically it has a handle and the bottom of the tool kind of looks like a water wheel that is sharp. You could do this in a meat grinder or a food processor too.)

Once the chicken is chopped add remaining ingredients and stir well to mix. Chill before serving.

Notes: You can eat this on bread as a sandwich, in a quarter tomato or on a bed of greens. It's very versatile!

Posted by Dianne at 8:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 6, 2009

What's For Dinner?

Tonight we're having pan seared lemon pepper tilapia, brown rice and roasted asparagus.

What are you having?

Posted by Dianne at 1:18 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Better Bites: Zucchini and Squash

It's that time of year, the time where you start having fresh vegetables either from your own garden, or at the Farmer's Market or even your local markets. It is so easy to eat healthy and fresh during the summer!

One of my favorite side dishes during the summer, when squash and zucchini are in season, is a very simple dish that utilizes the naturally buttery taste of the squashes, paired with a sweet onion, that makes the perfect side dish or main course that tastes decadent, but is anything but.

I'll say it again...Who says eating healthily has to be boring?

What You'll Need:
3 zucchini, cut in half and then sliced
3 yellow squash, cut in half and then sliced
1 sweet or red onion, chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

In a large pot over medium heat add zucchini, squash, onion, a pinch of sea salt, some freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. (Note: You don't need more than a tablespoon or two of oil at most.) Stir ingredients to coat and cook over medium heat until squashes and onion are tender.

See how easy and quick that was? Quick, easy and delicious...Now that's my kind of dish!

Notes: You can eat this as a side dish or you can serve it over rice as a main course.

Posted by Dianne at 8:53 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

July 3, 2009

Friday Link Love

Let's jump right in!

Fresh tomatoes are starting to come in to season so why not play around with them? Over at The Adventures of Kitchen Girl she posted a Caprese Pie. How fabulous does that look?

Susan at Stick, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy posted a Crabby Corn Chowder that looks right up my alley!

Make your own Peppermint Patties? Sounds good to me! That's just what Nosh With Me did.

As you know I'm a big fan of chocolate and peanut butter. Dinner and Dessert shared some Gravatt Squares (aka Chocolate-Peanut Butter Squares) that look amazing!

Truffle ice cream? I'll take some of that! Kieran over at Ice Cream Ireland revisits a recipe from the past.

My blog daughter Teri posted a delicious looking Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole that I'm going to have to try soon!

Cheese and pasta...What's not to like? Hop over to What We're Eating and take a look at the Baked Rigatoni with Turkey Bolognese. Yum!

Strawberries and mint are such a fabulous combination. Why not make some limeade with that combination. That's just what The Sensitive Pantry did!

How about a cookie to round things up? Over at Picky Palate she posted Double Chipped Cookies Stuffed with 100 Grand...I think the title for that one says it all!

What caught your eye this week (or last)?

Posted by Dianne at 9:22 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

July 2, 2009

What's For Dinner? As Well As Our CSA Week 7!

Well as you can see I didn't have time to get a recipe in last night. Oh well. Life happens. You just have to go with the flow!

Tonight we're having a slow cooker pot roast, with roasted fingerling potatoes from our CSA, as well as left over corn and asparagus. Alexis is having homemade chicken noodle soup.

What are you having?

And now let's talk about what we got from our CSA earlier this week.

We got snow peas, fingerling potatoes, more garlic, 2 large cucumbers and some green beans. We've already used one of the cucumbers and some of the snow peas. I'm cooking the fingerling potatoes with the roast for tonight in the slow cooker. I plan on using the green beans on Saturday for our 4th of July celebration. (Oh how I wish I had a grill!) Next week our CSA has the week off because they are harvesting wheat, so we'll get back to updating the week after!

Hope you're all having a good day!

Posted by Dianne at 1:37 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 1, 2009

What's For Dinner?

First up let me just say...How is it possible that it is already July?? It seems like just yesterday it was January. Time most definitely flies!

Tonight Alexis and I are having salmon with dill, roasted asparagus and roasted corn on the cob. Jamison is having a steak and roasted potatoes.

What are you having?

I hope to be back tomorrow with a recipe, but it will all depend on how things play out the rest of today. Tomorrow I am going over to church to help start decorating for camp so things will be jumping then. We will see. If you don't see a recipe tomorrow morning then recipes will resume on Monday with Better Bites. I'll post What's For Dinner though and hopefully Friday Link Love if I have time to sit down and actually locate some links!

Posted by Dianne at 1:28 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack