Another bucket of summer squash was set outside our front door a few days ago!! My neighbor is going crazy with this summer squash business! After making the risotto the other night, I needed to make something simple and uncomplicated (aka-I just got home from work and don’t feel like cooking!) So here’s what happened: I sauteed zucchini & summer squash in a pan with onions & thyme. I browned them a bit and added garlic at the very end (so it wouldn’t burn). It all went on a lovely plate and was topped with crumbles of goat cheese. We made a main course out of it with some yummy toasted french bread. The goat cheese crumbles melted on top of the squash; adding a scrumptious creamy/tangy element to the dish!
Feel free to substitute the goat cheese for feta or Parmesan. I’ve been on a great goat cheese binge lately, haven’t I? Sorry! If you aren’t into cheese, the squash is fine without it!! It would make any vegan happy. Thank you Ann for the best summer squash I’ve tasted! I’ll will let you know when we’ve had enough! At this rate, it could be soon!
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Executing this recipe the other night reiterated two things:
1. Making risotto is not hard. It just requires a bit of attention. A drawing pad, crayons & a high chair made this possible!
2. I should never take for granted having neighbors who drop off buckets of homegrown vegetables at my door. NEVER.
My friend Lana seduced me with her batch of pattypan risotto last week. Her son Alden is a week older than Cooper, so we commiserate in the battle of getting veggies into our carb loving sons! If you need to hide some veggies in a dish for your children, this is a good one to try! If you have a significant other who LOVES risotto, this will not disappoint! Casey ate A LOT!
This risotto is very light & creamy. The zucchini & summer squash melt right into the risotto; adding a bit of sweetness. The Parmesan & lemon juice additions at the end are key! They jazz up the risotto perfectly! It’s OK to go heavy handed on them! Thank you Lana & Helen for the inspiration. This will definitively be in our rotation!
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I don’t know about you, but I’ve been overdosing on fruit right now. I take all the fruit I have in the house, chop it up, toss it in a bowl and pop it in the fridge to cool! I’ll walk pass the fridge during the day and poke my fork in to get a few bites before I start an activity. Yes. I am totally THAT person. Last night I had a bright idea to eat fruit for dinner! I wanted something savory, substantial & simple with what I had left, so here’s the salad I came up with.
In this bowl of fruit you’ll find kiwis, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes & plums!
I added crumbled goat cheese, a bag of spinach & the remains of the salad dressing used in my Mom’s salad to the fruit.
I realized that it was missing a crunch factor. Enter SUNFLOWER SEEDS!
Everything worked really well together! Casey loved it too. WIN!
So here it is. Our dinner. Served with some crusty toasted bread. DEEELISH!
Have you been into fruit too?
Two nights ago I made Molly’s Quick Black Beans recipe and fell madly, truly & deeply in love. I seriously could eat the whole batch straight out of the pan. But I have a boy & my man to feed, so I figured I’d do something substantial with them.
We had a Black Bean Taco party! Outside!
The cumin & oregano are wonderful additions to the beans! They become so creamy & tasty!
I started to make some salsa. Decided to put it in a blender. We don’t like chunky salsa here.
It got really foamy and scared me. But it tasted great! I added chunks of avocado.
Here’s the spread! Tacos were just a good excuse to have Coronas!
I thought they would be good as tostadas, but then I saw Casey picking up his and eating it.
So they became tacos! I guess that’s what happens when I’m too busy to supply us with knives. YUM!!!
Thanks for the Black Bean recipe, Molly! Be sure to check it out. It’s a winner!
Oh! My friend Whitney made some too! Check out how she fixed them!
Being from the anti-mayo camp, I delight in a vinegar based potato salad! This one is probably the best potato salad I’ve ever had! I’m floored at how amazing Yukon Gold potatoes are in a potato salad! They knock the socks off the traditional red potato. They’re a little bit creamy, a little sweet, and they have the best texture EVER. A good contrast with the crunchy marinated red onion slices.
I also bow down to the wonderful taste of the Old Bay seasoning. One bite of this potato salad, and you’ll find an excuse to put Old Bay on everything. So ZINGY & GOOD! I love when I get a little hint of celery seed in a bite. Just wait til you try the leftovers the next day. You might find yourself eating directly out of the bowl! Don’t worry. It’s cool. You are in good company!
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I whipped up this simple recipe last night for dinner. We ate large bowlfuls outside on our back patio with some scrumptious red wine. What I like about this dish is that the heat of the pasta melts the goat cheese crumbles, making a creamy & tangy sauce. I also love the simple, yet complex taste of the fresh herb mixture paired with the buttery wine sauce & sweet heirloom tomatoes. It’s tastes light AND rich at the same time. How is that even possible? The dangerous part is that it’s hard to stop eating the pasta. Perhaps, you’ll see what I mean….
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Imagine you are out to dinner at an Italian restaurant and you’ve ordered Shrimp Scampi as your entree with a side of Alfredo sauce and Garlic Bread. Wow! Look at you! You are good at ordering! Now take those 3 things and put them together on an open faced sandwich and you have this smart little recipe! Yup. You heard me. How does it taste? Insanely fricking good, right?!
I could have eaten all 4 servings of this recipe. You think I am exaggerating? I’m not. No joke. The crispy crunch of the bread is well matched with the creamy sauce-saturated bread! Then you have the garlic! The shrimp! The ricotta! Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.
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Here’s a little recipe that produces a very pretty & tasty result! I found it in a recent issue of Better Homes & Gardens. I am really starting to get into that magazine! Does that mean I’m a grownup? It’s a nice & light dinner option for summer. It would also be a hit at brunch with the ladies! The real star of this dish is the corn and the sliced tomatoes with basil! The recipe says the tomatoes are optional, but I beg to differ! They made the corn pop with sweetness. If I had it to do over again, I’d splash a few goat cheese crumbles on top! But that’s just me!
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This week Shutterbean is being featured on Foodbuzz’s Family Bites section!!
What is Family Bites?
“A weekly collection of 9 convenient recipes your family will love. From lunch to dinner, and healthy snacks in between, family meals just got tastier.”
I had the opportunity to test out a few Newman’s Own® products and create a few family friendly recipes for you!
Here are a few:
Baked Falafel
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Hamburger Grape Tomato Pizza
Turkey Meatball Subs
Tuna Celery Salad
One of my favorite products is the Newman’s Own® Balsamic Vinaigrette. I don’t always have the time to make my own salad dressing so it totally works when I’m in a pinch! Now I really have no excuse to not eat one! I used some of the dressing in the recipe below for a tasty Green Onion Dill Dip! I often whip up a batch so I have something to dip veggies in for work lunches! Hope you enjoy and please visit me over at Foodbuzz this week!
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