Roasted Asparagus

When I was growing up, my grandma had a garden bed with beautiful asparagus growing in it...but I don't remember ever eating any of it.  hmmm... I was probably a picky eater back then.  I do remember eating yummy bottled peaches and the BEST homemade pickles at her house.  I have her pickle recipe and someday....if I get my hands on some good cucumbers to pickle I will post it here :)

Anyway.....now I love asparagus and wish I had a garden bed of my own beautiful asparagus.  I think I will plant some this spring.  I especially love roasted asparagus.  SO simple and yummy!!  

Mmmm...fresh asparagus is so pretty!

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

Asparagus

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the tough part(~1-2 inches) off of the bottom of the asparagus.  Place asparagus on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Bake for approx. 25 minutes until it starts to get crispy and asparagus is tender.

Pasta Salad

I love pasta salad!!  It is SO easy and so versatile....you can add whichever veggies you like and leave out the ones you don't. 

 

Also, use whatever noodles you prefer.  I usually use the tri-colored noodles to add a little more color, but you can use anything.....whole grain, bow-tie, spiral....even spaghetti noodles if you want.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

Pasta, cooked according to directions

Sliced olives

Cubed cheese....I use Monterrey Jack

Sliced carrots

Grape or cherry tomatoes, whole or cut in half

Sliced/cubed cucumbers

Italian dressing

 

Directions:  Add as much of each ingredient as you like....according to taste and how many servings you are making.  Mix all ingredients together and enjoy.  

Roasted (Ranch) Potatoes

 

These potatoes are simple and delicious!  Seriously, I rarely cook anything that is not simple! :)

Roasted (Ranch) Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes, washed, peeled and diced

1/4 cup canola oil

1 - 1 oz packet ranch dressing mix (approx. 3 Tablespoons)

 

Directions:  Place potatoes in a gallon zip-lock bag.  Add oil and toss to coat.  Add dressing mix and toss again until coated.  Bake on an ungreased baking pan for 25-35 minutes.  I baked mine for 15 minutes, stirred them around and baked another 15 minutes.

Black Beans

Today I am going to share with you a couple of my favorite things....black bean flakes and instant black beans.  We LOVE these!!!  Especially for backpacking!  We took these with us when we hiked to Havasupai(you can read more about that here, here and here) and ate them everyday.  Black beans are SO healthy....you can read more about their health benefits here.

 

 

I love these because they are light for backpacking and SO easy to prepare!!  To prepare the flake, you simply add 1/3 cup boiling water to 1/3 cup of the bean flakes....stir and let sit for 5 minutes! 

 

For the instant beans you boil them in water until they are tender....the amount of water depends on how 'soupy' you enjoy your beans.  If you add too much water, you can boil them until the extra evaporates.

 

We love these for backpacking, but I also love to cook up the flakes at home.  I spread them on a tortilla(after preparing the beans), add cheese and make quesadillas.  My boys love them!!

 

We order ours online at Barry Farm Foods.  They have all kinds of other dried, dehydrated, etc. foods.  We have tried their beans and also some of their dried peppers.

My favorite summer dinner

I ♥ a good salad!!  I especially love salads in the summer!!  There is always so much delicious produce in the garden or on sale at the grocery store!!  I use whatever is in my refrigerator needing to be used up....I especially love strawberries, but they weren't on sale this week.

 

Summer Salad

 

Pictured above....sunflower seeds, pecans, feta cheese, cucumbers, diced peaches, blueberries, carrots, avocado.  We also love to add strawberries, craisens, mandarin oranges, bell peppers....really you could add anything you have sitting in your fridge.  Just add dressing(I prefer a squeeze of fresh lemon juice..some salt and pepper).  Serve with some grilled chicken, steak, or pork chops and there you go....a delicious, quick and healthy meal that won't heat up your house :)

 

What is your favorite go-to summer dinner?

Biscuits

Mmmm....homemade biscuits!!  Love ♥♥♥  These biscuits are seriously THE BEST!!  My family devoured them.  This is a recipe from Paula Deen.  I found the recipe here.  I love most Paula Deen and this one may be my favorite!

 

Mostly because.....I love anything and everything that is cooked in a skillet :)  Is it just me...or doesn't everything look better in a skillet?

Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, cubed
3/4 cup milk, (more or less if needed)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 425°F.  In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, I like to whisk my dry ingredients together. Cut butter into mixture.  Slowly add and mix in milk.  Knead dough with your fingers and add more milk if necessary. Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to desired thickness. Cut with small biscuit cutter, I use a drinking glass to cut my biscuits....since I don't have a biscuit cutter.  Butter bottom of skillet and place biscuits in pan. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Pie Crust Chips

I found this recipe at Crazy for Crust.  We LOVE strawberries at our house!!  SO....when I saw this recipe I knew we would need to try this at our house!!  AND....just as I thought....it is/was delicious :)

 

Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Pie Crust Chips

 

Strawberry Salsa

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups diced strawberries

1-2 teaspoons of sugar, (I used 1 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon orange juice

1 Tablespoon frozen limeade concentrate (thawed)

zest of 1/2 of a lime

 

Directions:  Mix all ingredients together.  Serve and enjoy!!

 

Cinnamon Pie Crust Chips

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts (homemade or from the refrigerated section at the grocery store)

melted butter (I used 2-3 Tablespoons....I love butter)

1/3 cup cinnamon sugar (I also really love cinnamon sugar)

 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush melted butter onto your pie crusts, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Cut your pie crust into strip and then into triangles, a pizza cutter works great for this.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place your 'chips' on the baking sheet.  Bake for 6-8 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

**I used more butter and cinnamon sugar than crazy for crust.  Feel free to cut back, if you would like.



Cheesy Garlic Bread

Mmmm....this cheesy garlic bread is delicious!!  Did you know that when you buy a loaf of French bread from the bakery at the grocery store they will slice it for you?  Maybe I am the last one to know, but it is awesome!!!  My bakery will slice it half lengthwise(like I did for this recipe) or into slices.  Since I have found this out, I have had many loaves of French bread sliced for French toast.  I think it is especially great for crusty bread, since crusty bread seem to send crumbs everywhere when I slice it at home!

 

 I have other pictures of this cheesy garlic bread on my computer, but for some reason my computer is having issues and won't let me load them.  I thought....I'll just wait until tomorrow to post this recipe when my computer figures itself out....but then I thought.....haha....then that would mean next week or maybe next month.  SO, this will have to do for now and maybe I'll add more pictures when/if I figure my computer out :)

 

 

Cheesy Garlic Bread

 

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread, cut in half lengthwise

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened

1-2 teaspoons of crushed garlic...I used 2.  If you don't LOVE garlic, you may want to use less

1-2 cups of assorted cheese...I used a mixture of Provolone, Monterrey Jack and Mozzarella

 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix the softened cream cheese and crushed garlic together until mixed very well.  Add in the assorted cheese 1/2 cup at a time, until you can't mix in any more :)  Spread mixture onto each half of French bread.  Cut each half into slices.  Place each half of French bread onto a piece of tinfoil and push up against edges of bread, as seen in the picture above.  Place both halves of French bread onto a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown on top.  Serve with something yummy to dip it in....soup, marinara, alfredo sauce, salad dressing, etc. :)





Bacon Fried Rice

My son made this fried rice in a class at the Junior High...minus the bacon.  When he asked if we could make it for dinner one night, we decided to add some bacon...and I'm telling you it was DELICIOUS!!

Seriously the BEST fried rice I have ever had!  You can add as much or as little bacon as you want...or even leave it out all together...BUT I think you should add some, the smokey flavor makes the stir fry...over the top!

Bacon Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1/2 T sesame oil

1 onion

4 T soy sauce

2 large carrots, diced or shredded

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 large red bell pepper, diced

1/2 large green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup peas

4 cups cooked white rice

2 eggs, scrambled

1/2 - 1 package cooked bacon, chopped

Directions:  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until soft, add 2 T soy sauce.  Stir in carrots, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, peas and stir-fry another 5 minutes.  Add rice and stir thoroughly.  Stir in scrambled eggs, bacon and 2 T soy sauce.  Heat through and serve hot.

I baked my bacon and used one package, minus two pieces that didn't make it to the chopping board ;)

Roasted Corn

This stuff is DELICIOUS!!  seriously...like candy :)  I have bags of frozen sweet corn in my freezer.  We always buy LOTS of sweet corn when it is ready in the summer.  We blanch it, cut it off the cob and freeze it so that we have that deliciousness all winter long.

This is my new favorite way to cook it.  I take it from the freezer, spread it on a cookie sheet, sprinkle it with salt and fresh ground pepper, mix it around with my hands and then cook it.....seriously SO good!!

Roasted Corn

(no measurements...you can make a large batch of small)

Ingredients:  

Frozen Corn

Olive Oil

Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions:   Preheat oven to 450.  Spread corn onto baking sheet.  Drizzle with Olive Oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mix with spatula or hands :)....Bake for 10 minutes(on rack in middle of oven), stir and bake for approx. 10 more minutes or until the corn starts to brown up nicely.  I really keep an eye on it the last 10 minutes.

Ruby's Creamed Corn

We were asked to bring two side dishes and a dessert for Christmas dinner last week.   We decided to take stuffed mushrooms, creamed corn and S'mores bars.  I found the recipe for the creamed corn here at bluebonnets + brownies.  Everyone LOVED the corn (and the others too:)).  The best part about this recipe, other than the taste, is that you make it in the crock pot.  Very easy and very delicious!

Ruby's Creamed Corn

Ingredients:

4 lbs. frozen sweet corn
2 8 oz blocks cream cheese, diced into 1 inch squares
1 stick (4 oz) of salted butter
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt 

Directions:  Throw all the ingredients into a crock pot on medium or low for at least 4 hours. If you need it done faster, cook it on the stove or on high in the crock pot, but be prepared to sacrifice a little of the savory goodness that results when corn is allowed to soak in dairy for hours. All of the cream cheese pieces should be completely melted and will easily break down and combine with the cream and butter to make the ‘gravy’.

Do not over-salt. There is plenty of salt in the butter and cream cheese. Over-salting will ruin this dish.

Chicken Ranch Dip

My Sister sent me this recipe and we LOVED it!! 

Chicken Ranch Dip

Ingredients:

2 8 oz packages softened cream cheese

3/4 cup ranch salad dressing

Tabasco sauce

2 chicken breasts chopped or shredded or 2 cups of shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken

1/4 cup chopped green chili

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

Directions:  In 9x13 baking dish spread two 8 ounce package of softened cream cheese ( I usually put them in the microwave for a few seconds to make it spreadable). Squeeze approximately 3/4 cup ranch salad dressing over the cream cheese. Add some drops of  Tabasco sauce(a small amount goes a long way). Layer shredded chicken over the dressing. Next add a layer of green chili. Finally, cover with shredded cheese and bake on 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the cheese melts. ENJOY!!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. These are SO yummy!!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 24 oz, white button mushrooms (I used 32 oz. and still had some leftover filling)
• 1/3 pounds hot pork sausage (I used some habenero hot sausage)
• 1/2 whole medium onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 8 ounces, cream cheese
• 1 whole egg yolk
• 3/4 Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (I used beef broth)

Directions: Brown and crumble sausage. Set aside on a plate to cool. Add onions and garlic to the same skillet; cook for 2 minutes over medium heat. Pour in wine(beef broth) to deglaze pan, allow liquid to evaporate. Add in chopped mushroom stems, stir to cook for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set mixture aside on a plate to cool. In a bowl, combine cream cheese and egg yolk. Stir together with Parmesan cheese. Add cooled sausage and cooled mushroom stems. Stir mixture together and refrigerate for a short time to firm up. Smear mixture into the cavity of each mushroom, creating a sizable mound over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool at least ten minutes before serving.

Broccoli Salad

My sister made this for us while she was visiting a couple of weeks ago. It is SO yummy!!

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 crowns of broccoli
• 12-14 slices of cooked, chopped bacon
• ~1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 T Red Wine Vinegar

Directions: Wash and chop broccoli into bite size pieces and put in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix together 'dressing' ingredients: mayo, sugar and vinegar. Pour 'dressing' over broccoli and toss to coat. Stir in bacon and Parmesan cheese. Adjust the amount of bacon and Parmesan cheese to your taste.

Pasta with browned butter and Mizithra cheese

When my husband and I lived in Beaverton, OR, we used to LOVE to eat this dish at The Old Spaghetti Factory. It is SO yummy!

First of all, I have made this a couple of times lately (it is SO good and SO simple), but haven't been able to get a decent picture! Second, I didn't use Mizithra cheese. I used to buy the Mizithra cheese at AJ's Fine Foods (I think that is the name), but now I live FAR from the city and am not sure where to buy it(to be honest, I haven't looked too hard). I substituted Sargento grated Parmesan cheese and it is still WONDERFUL!! Let me know if any of you that live here in the White Mountains of AZ know where to find Mizithra cheese.

This pasta is a wonderful and simple side dish! Mmmm and cook up some fresh green beans in some chicken stock and garlic salt. Cook the green beans uncovered and let the stock reduce.

Pasta with browned butter and Mizithra cheese (or Parmesan)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of your favorite pasta
• ~3 T butter
• 2 generous handfuls or grated Mizithra or Parmesan cheese (give or take according to your taste)

Directions: Cook pasta as specified on the box. Brown butter large frying pan over medium heat, this will only take a couple of minutes, keep an eye on the butter so that it doesn't burn. Add the drained pasta to the frying pan with the butter and toss to coat the pasta. Add the cheese and toss again to coat the pasta. Serves 4.

Onion Rings

I LOVE onion rings!! I really love battered onion rings. This is a super simple batter to mix up for your onions. If you want to make onion rings and homemade corn dogs, I would just use the corn dog batter for the onion rings. I was making burgers, so I used this quick batter.

Onion Rings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup complete pancake batter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2-5 T Tapatio (adjust for your taste)
• ~3/4 cup milk (enough to make batter consistency of cake batter)
• 1 large sweet Vadalia onion, slice into rings
• Deep Fryer or pan with at least 3 or 4 inches of oil to fry in

Directions: Mix first 4 ingredients together and let sit for ~30 minutes. Dip onion rings into batter and drop into hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Remove from oil, place on a paper towel to drain. I like to sprinkle a little salt on them as they drain on the paper towel.

Tapatio Sauce, in case any of you haven't used it before. My sis-in-law told us about it and now my husband puts it on EVERYTHING! He especially likes it on his scrambled eggs.