Labels, Labels Everywhere!

UGH! I don't like removing labels on any kind of reusable bottle.  These bottles had salad dressing in them and I thought once I washed them out, I could reuse them for my homemade dressings.  They had an adhesive label on them that was easily removed, but the stamped label was still on the bottle.  I was going to try and scrub it off with a steel wool pad, but thought it would scratch the bottle.  Right next to the steel wool pads in my cabinet were my Magic Erasers, hmmmm I'll try those first.  Wet it. wring it out, wipe the bottle and boom baby, clean as a whistle!

Watermelon - That's What We're Having Today!

  Whew! It's HOT outside, humid, and the temperature is approaching closer to 100 these last few weeks.  And a tasty way to cool down when the weather is oppressive, WATERMELON. Watermelons this time of year are so sweet and refreshing.  I bought two big, juicy, seedless watermelons this past week.  I cut both of them up and ate it for snacks or dessert, and I used part of  them in a salad, that's right a salad!  I am  trying to eat lighter with less calories everyday, but who even feels like eating, or cooking in this hot weather for that matter. So to cool off a bit, I made a Watermelon and Mixed Spring Greens Salad With Feta and Balsamic Glaze. I know it sounds crazy, but it was delicious. Easy to put together and served with grilled, herb marinated, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (grilled in the house, in the air conditioning of course!).  That was it, no potatoes, no rice, no other side dishes.  The hubby was very happy, in fact he ate three of those chicken breasts and polished off the salad, I couldn't stop him from eating!

In a salad bowl - 3 cups Mixed Spring Greens, 2 cups cubed seedless Watermelon, 1/2 cup of Feta Cheese, drizzle on 3 tablespoons Balsamic Glaze.  Toss and serve.  As always, if you like more of any ingredient, be my guest, add more.  Sliced almonds are also very good in this, to add more texture to the salad.

 Great looking meal!

 And pretty darn good looking on a plate.  I had my greens and my protein, it was awesome!

The Summer Peach

There is no better fruit, to me at least, than a fresh summer peach.  Juicy and packed full of that peachy goodness I know and love.  I bought a box of fresh peaches on my trip to Trader Joe's this week, and let me tell you, they are so juicy that you need a handful of napkins when you eat them, or the juice will run down your arm and all over your clothes!

I have a lot of recipes using peaches, pies, jams, etc., but again it's just the two of us, so I made a small fresh peach and fresh blueberry crisp with some of my peaches.  It smelled so amazing baking, I couldn't wait to eat it!  It was not too sweet for those minding their sugar intake.  Topping it with a small scoop of vegan ice cream, makes this dessert totally vegan, or top it with a scoop of regular vanilla bean ice cream.

Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

  This peach and blueberry crisp was served after a vegan meal I made for dinner,
 Vegan Bolognese Sauce with Pasta (recipe on this blog 1/6/16), check it out.

I used 3 fresh peaches and 1 cup of fresh blueberries and started layering them in a small casserole dish.  

I made two layers with the fruit.

Now the crunchy part - Oatmeal, brown sugar, a pinch of salt and vegan butter.

Spread the topping over the fruit, cover to the edges and bake.  Easy and simple, that's how I like it!

    

In 40 minutes, this fabulous dessert! Sweet peaches and puffed up blueberries that burst in your mouth!

Peach and Blueberry Crisp

Ingredients

3 fresh peaches

1 cup fresh blueberries

3/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal, uncooked

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Butter, cut into cubes

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a small casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Cut peaches in half and remove the stone.  Leave the skin on if you like or peel them.  Slice each half into 5-6 slices. Layer the slices on the bottom of the casserole dish, and sprinkle on 1/2 of the blueberries.  Make another layer of peaches and the other half of the blueberries.

In a medium bowl, combine the oatmeal, brown sugar, salt and vegan butter.  Break up the butter with a fork mixing it into the oatmeal and brown sugar until its crumbly.  Spread the top of the fruit with mixture and cover to the edges of the dish.  Bake for 35 - 40 minutes (remember all oven temps are different).  Makes 4 servings.

Rub - a - Dub Dub Kansas City BBQ Rub

Things are getting slower around my house these days.  Kids are all working, or they are out and about, no one usually home for dinner.  So I am not cooking much anymore, because it's just me and the hubby.  I have to get to a "cooking for two" mentality, so I don't have a lot of wasted food.  It's a little hard adjusting to that way of cooking, after making meals for a large family all these years.  So last night it was dinner for two.  I served up thick, center cut boneless pork chops with
 Kansas City BBQ Rub, hot off the grill.

Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

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Heat your gas grill.  Rub both sides of the chops generously with the Kansas City BBQ Rub. Place the chops on heated grill.  Cook for 10 minutes on each side if the chops are really thick cut, otherwise about

 6 -8 on each side.  Chops are done when juices run clear.  Look how good they look!

For a side dish - cut in 1 inch chunks, 1/2 large orange bell pepper, 1/4 red onion, 1/2 small yellow squash, 1/2 small green zucchini, and 8-10 baby carrots.  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil,  and salt and pepper to taste. Place in a grill basket on the heated grill, toss occasionally while roasting.

  TIP:  ALWAYS DRIZZLE VINEGAR BEFORE OIL.

Quiet dinner for two.  OH and by the way,  it was delicious!

 Kansas City BBQ Rub

Ingredients for the rub

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Mix together in a bowl.  Sprinkle on food with a spoon then rub it in with clean hands. Store any remaining unused/untouched  rub in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Rub can be used on pork, beef, chicken and fish.  Makes about 2/3 cup.

Outside Summer Time!

Summer time is a favorite time of mine (hmmm, a poet and didn't know it, hahaha!).   Kicking up my feet and  relaxing on the deck or in the yard.  It's laid back, slow, and I feel like I don't have a care in the world.  A tall glass of freshly brewed iced tea, swinging on the swing and listening to the sounds of nothing is a happy thing in my book, the lazy days of Summer.  

During the Summer months I try to cook everything for every meal on the grill, why dirty up the kitchen and heat up the house when you don't have too.  My gears were turning on Friday night as to how I could do a whole breakfast on the grill. Was it a risky thing to do? I didn't care, because if it didn't come out right, we would just eat cereal.  But it did turn out and it was perfect!  Try it, you won't be sorry, it was fun too.  I love eating outside, relaxing, reading the morning newspaper and having a great breakfast on the weekends.

I got the bacon started in the cast iron frying pan.  Invest in a few, they are inexpensive and they work great on the grill.  You wouldn't want to put your good cookware on the gas the grill.  

In another cast iron frying pan, on the side burner of the grill, were the hash browns.  Cook them like you would do inside, a little oil in the pan, season with salt and pepper and that's all they need.  The cast iron frying pan puts a great crust on them, makes them crispy.

 On my lightly oiled griddle (this came with my grill), Texas Toast French Toast is grilling.

 They grilled up perfectly.

 Bring on the pure maple syrup, or flavored syrups I love them too, and what can I say DELICIOUS!  Do not be afraid of the grill, you can cook anything on that thing that you cook inside.  Next I will try baking on it, that ought to be interesting.  Stay tuned!

Sammies On The Grill, Because It's Summer!

OK, this is an easy dinner on the grill.  My family loves these sandwiches, they are easy to make and done on the grill of course, because it's Summer!

I use these marinated roasted peppers. WHY you might ask? Because they are the best darn jarred peppers around!

So this is the sandwich folks, I made four:

Whole grain artisan bread, brush each side lightly with olive oil.

Add two slices of sharp provolone cheese to each side of bread.

Roasted peppers on one side, add top to the bottom.

Grill until nice grill marks form, bread is toasted and cheese is melted.

Now if you want to go a little crazy, spread some pesto on that bread before adding the cheese, that elevates the flavor too!

 Awesome, easy, fast meal and tastes great too. ENJOY!

Yes! Crab Cakes On The Grill

So the really hot weather finally hit us here in the North East. I'm so glad, it was a very long, wet, chilly Spring.  I am so happy I no longer have to cook inside, I am taking everything to grill this summer.  Cooking outside I find is less messy, keeps the house cool and saves me on electricity, you can't beat that!

It was just me and the hubby eating dinner last night, so I made homemade Crab Cakes with a Simple Remoulade Sauce on the side.  I used my trusty grill pan, so the cakes didn't fall through the grate, they cooked up perfect and tasted great!

Recipe below.

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format click on them.

The 16 oz container of lump crab meat made 4 large crab cakes.  They were so good, the hubby ate 2!

I served them with corn on the cob, you guessed it cooked on the grill, and a side salad with fruit and almonds and a sweet sesame/poppy seed dressing. Awesome dinner!

I love my grill pan, I use it all the time.  The handle folds for easy storage.

 Crab Cakes On The Grill

Ingredients

1-16 ounce container of lump crab meat, picked through for shells

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

11/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon hot sauce, use less or omit if you don't like it

3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients with  a fork.  Mix lightly so you do not break up the lumps of crab meat, form into slightly flattened cakes and set on a platter.

Heat grill on high.  Use a grill pan that is flat, but has holes in the bottom.  Away from the heat, spray the pan generously with cooking spray.  Set the pan on the grill, add the crab cakes.  Cook until a lightly browned crust forms (do not try and flip them too early they will fall apart!), flip them over with a spatula and cook on the other side the same way.  These take about 6-7 minutes on each side.  Serve with your favorite sauce or condiments.  

Ingredients for  Simple Remoulade Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Mix together completely and serve along side crab cakes.