Black Bean and Corn Salsa

I made this awhile back and it was quite good. I made it to put on top of taco salads we had for dinner one night, but it was also good with just tortilla chips which is what we did with the leftovers.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of corn, rinsed and drained
green onions, chopped
tomato, chopped
avocado, chopped
1 jar of pimentos
fresh cilantro
salt
lime juice
garlic powder

Mix all well and let chill before serving.

Bada Bing Potatoes

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.

Here is what I did, which was pretty close.

Boil potatoes as directed, but for only 15 minutes instead of 20. After reading reviews this seemed to eliminate the too mushy factor. Then smash each as directed. I used the bottom of a glass measuring cup.

In a large bowl, I mixed together melted butter, evoo, fresh basil, some McCormick's Italian Seasoning, fresh garlic, Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, season salt and pepper.

Layout on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes until crispy.

These were so delicious! I will make them again and again!

Oven "Sun Dried" Tomatoes

I love sun dried tomatoes, but I do not love the cost, so I decided to try making them myself. I would love to actually dry them in the sun, but we just have so many critters running around our backyard that the thought of that disturbs me, so I did them in the oven instead and they turned out delicious!

Roma tomatoes
kosher salt
olive oil

Halve and seed the tomatoes and cut into strips. The smaller the strips, the faster they cook. Place on a baking sheet(I used my pampered chef stone) and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 200 for 4-8 hours depending on size and quantity of tomatoes. Just keep checking them. When finished store in olive oil in the fridge for up to a month. I put mine in a garlic infused olive oil that I recently got from Tastefully Simple and is some good stuff.

Tuscan Lemon Chicken & Roasted Italian Vegetables

Tuscan Lemon Chicken
courtesy of Barefoot Contessa

Mix together:
zest of two lemons
juice of two lemons
3 cloves of minced garlic
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon of fresh rosemary( I used thyme because I'm not a big fan of rosemary)
kosher salt
black pepper

Rub chicken well with the above.

Stuff the cavity with a cut up lemon and a couple whole cloves of garlic.

Roast in the oven at 375 for 2 hours or until done depending on chicken size.



Roasted Italian Vegetables

-vegetables of your choice( I used zucchini, yellow squash, red & green bell pepper, baby carrots and onion)
-extra virgin olive oil
-kosher salt
-black pepper
-Italian seasoning

Cut veggies in large chunks and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with spices and toss well. Roast at 375 for an hour.

Shrimp Curry and Crispy Edamame

Shrimp Curry

-garlic, minced
-onion, diced
-bell pepper, diced(prefer it with red, but I had green on hand this time)
-sesame oil

Saute the above in a wok or large skillet until tender.


Add:
-curry paste
-curry powder
-garam masala
-coconut milk
And bring to a boil


Add raw, peeled and deveined shrimp and cook until pink. Add a couple of pats of butter and once melted add a slurry of water and cornstarch to thicken sauce. Stir in fresh cilantro and serve over rice.


Crispy Edamame
-frozen edamame, thawed
-salt
-pepper
-olive oil
Spread out on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

I sprinkled mine straight onto the curry for a little extra layer of flavor.

Red, White & Green!

Taken from Wikipedia:
Insalata Caprese (salad in the style of Capri) is a simple salad from the Italian region of Campania, made of sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil.[1] In Italy, unlike most salads, it is usually served as an antipasto (first course), not a contorno (side dish).

Fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden and fresh mozz made this one of the freshest tasting dishes I've had all summer!

Caprese Salad

Layer slices of tomato, mozzarella and basil leaves. Drizzle with EVOO. I also added just a splash of red wine vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Chill for at least an hour or longer.

Gone Country...

This meal was definitely not lite, but it spoke summer to me. Some good ol' down home country eatin'.


Breaded Pork Chops with white gravy, slow simmered green beans and fried green tomatoes.


Fried Green Tomatoes
-cooking oil
-sliced green tomatoes
-Ky Colonel seasoned flour.

Dredge both sides of tomato with flour. Cook in hot oil, 2-3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Spinach Shells & Cheese

Just a little concoction that I whipped up.
I had a bar of cheese and fresh spinach from the farmer's market that needed to be used, so I thought "hmmmmm"....

Spinach Shells & Cheese
-1/2 box of shell pasta
-8oz of gouda cheese
-1/4 cup milk
-salt and pepper
-fresh spinach leaves
-paprika

Cook shells according to box and drain. Shred cheese. Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with 1/2 the spinach. Mix together pasta, cheese, milk and salt and pepper until combined well. Pour half over spinach. Top with other half of spinach and then other half of noodles. Sprinkle with paprika and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

A little inspiration from Julia...

So I recently watched Julie & Julia which was quite entertaining to me because I love Julia Child. I also love that someone got famous off of a blog. You go girl!
Anyway, this movie had me recently browsing through my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and realizing that I need to dust it off and make something out of it. So I went with the whole artichokes.


These were pure indulgence!



Julia Child's Lemon Butter Artichokes

- serves 2 -
Ingredients

2 globe artichokes
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and chilled
Juice of two lemons to make 1/4 cup
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of white pepper (optional)
Procedure

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

2. Trim the artichokes for boiling: lay each on its side and cut off about an inch or so off the top, break off the small leaves near the base, and cut off all but an inch or so of the stem (you can also snap it off where it naturally breaks, like an asparagus). Snip off the ends of the leaves all around the artichoke with scissors to rid it of any sharp points. Rinse it well under cold water.

3. Boil the artichokes, uncovered, for about half an hour. They are done cooking when the leaves pull out easily and the bottoms are tender when pierced with a knife.

4. In the meantime, prepare the lemon butter. Gently reduce the lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan until about one tablespoon. Over low heat, whisk in the chilled butter pieces, one at a time, until creamy. Remove from heat, and, when ready to serve, whisk in 2-3 tablespoons dribbled hot water to warm.

5. Serve the artichokes with the butter for dipping, and a large bowl for unused stems. The edible parts of each leaf are nearest their base. Bottom teeth are especially good for scraping off the flesh.

Steakhouse Mushrooms

I make these all the time and they never get old to me.

Steakhouse Mushrooms
-button mushrooms
-butter
-worcestershire sauce
-steak seasoning
-parsley

Melt butter in skillet. Toss in mushrooms. Whole or sliced both work. Saute 2-3 minutes. Add 2-3 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle with a pinch each of steak seasoning and parsley and saute another 3-4 minutes until tender.