Summer's Wrapping Up

Salsa Ingredients
Roma Tomatoes
Cilantro
Jalapeno
Lime Juice
Garlic
Salt

Thank goodness I have an amazing trip to look forward to, because, sadly, the summer is coming to a close.  We are going on our last lake trip this weekend.  We'll be on Lake Ouachita with 3 other couples.  Each girl has a meal to prepare, and I've chosen Mexican for Saturday night. I'm happy to say each part of the meal has been made from scratch.  I made everything ahead so that we can heat it up quickly when we come off the water.

Mexican Fiesta Menu

    Salsa

    White Poblano Queso

    Guacamole

    Chicken and Shrimp Tortilla Soup

    Beef Carnita Tacos
    Margaritas
    Strawberry Lime Angel Food Cake

Veggie Sandwich

I have a bunch of veggies that I need to quickly eat before they go bad since I've been out of town for about a week.  So, last night I put together this veggie sandwich.  

I had some tzatziki sauce leftover that I made with a recipe last week, Greek-Style Pork Chops (also one you should try).  So I toasted a Bagel Thin, and spread on the tzatziki sauce.  I sliced some cucumber, red bell pepper, orange sweet pepper, zucchini, red onion, tomato and basil and parsley from my garden, topped the bagel with the sliced veggies, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and smashed down with the bagel topper. 

It was so filling, tasty, healthy and colorful! 

This is the kind of weird recipe I have to try alone first so I don't suffer D through too many bad attempts at creative cooking!  This one turned out well and is one I'll definitely make again for the both of us. 

How to avoid runaway corn kernels

Here's a tip:  When cutting corn off the cob, like for Summer Corn and Nectarine Salsa, the kernels often go haywire, scattering all over the place.  You can keep them all contained by using a bundt pan.  Simply place the tip of the corn cob in the center hole and shave away.  The kernels will fall inside of the pan instead of the floor.

Grilled Pork with Summer Corn and Nectarine Salsa

I made a colorful, flavorful dinner last night.  The recipe was from Cooking Light: Grilled Pork with Summer Corn and Nectarine Salsa

Instead of corn tortillas I served it with grilled corn on the cob, yellow squash and zucchini and salad. 

The corn was a happy accident.  I had some extra minced jalapeno, lime juice and lime zest from the salsa, so I mixed it with a little bit of melted butter and cumin and slathered it on the corn while it finished grilling.

Veggie Bowl

Saturday night I was craving the delicious veggies I purchased that morning.  Grilled summer vegetables are my favorite side dish.  This time I made them the main dish by mixing in some chickpeas and serving it up as a big Veggie Bowl.

                                                      

I grilled slices of yellow squash, zucchini, sweet peppers, and red onion and sprinkled them with red pepper, cumin, brown sugar, and salt.  When they were almost soft I tossed in some chickpeas. 

Meanwhile, I mixed tomato slices with olive oil and fresh cilantro.  When the veggies were finished grilling, I chopped them into bite size pieces, tossed it all together and dug in!  Delish!

National Fried Chicken Day

It's National Fried Chicken Day!  I think I'll celebrate with this recipe tonight. 

Oven Fried Chicken

It's definitely one of my favorites that I've made many times.  Makes quite a mess, but it's worth it.  I'm making mine with chicken tenders which is faster and less messy...and preferred by the one I'm cooking it for.

And here's a tip that will keep you from buying a whole carton of buttermilk for the small amount you need here or in any other recipe:  For every 1 cup of buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

4th of July Weekend BBQ

For the BBQ on the house boat tonight, I wanted to bring a side dish that traveled well, could be served cold or room temp, would appeal to the group, and was somewhat healthy.  So I made this: Marinated Vegetable Salad  Yum!

Fish Soup?

For dinner last night, I wanted to use up all the perishable ingredients I had in the fridge before we head out of town for the weekend.  I had diced up some carrots, celery, onion and squash earlier in the week thinking I would make soup one night.  I also had some tilapia I needed to cook before heading out of town this weekend.  But would fish soup be any good? I found this recipe, so I thought I'd give it a try.
Tilapia Corn Chowder

I made some tweaks of my own.  I didn't use any bacon and I subbed Italian Seasoning instead of thyme, skim milk instead of half and half (which made it more of a soup than a chowder), red potatoes instead of Yukon Gold, and onion, carrots, and squash instead of leeks.  I love recipes that are this flexible!

I had some croutons in the freezer (French Baguette Diced, sprayed with Pam, tossed with garlic salt and Italian Seasoning, then baked at 375 for about 20 min).  So I tossed those in each serving bowl straight from the freezer and topped them with soup.

It turned out really tasty and only took about 20 minutes to prepare.  My picky eater sisters even ate it!  The leftovers were even tastier at lunch today.

Festive Dessert

I'm going to attempt to make my own version of this festive dessert for the lake this weekend.  In this picture, they've made mini tarts. I'm going to try it with mini strawberry cupcakes.  I'll post pics for you when they're ready. 

Here's my version.  Not beautiful, but they were delicious!  I mixed strawberry gelatin mix, frozen berries, with white cake mix and the ingredients it required.  The cakes were really moist and a pretty pink color.

Fried and Delicious

I'm not much of a fryer, but I made this tilapia recipe for dinner last night along with fried zucchini and squash, cheesy broiled tomatoes, salad, and cornbread.  Everyone seemed to enjoy...no leftovers!     Cajun Pan-Fried Tilapia