Seaside Simplicity

Tailgating Time Continues

2011-10-16T12:30:00.002-04:00

I'm taking a break here at Seaside Simplicity.
In the mean time Tailgating Time will remain open until Super Bowl Sunday, keep those recipes coming!

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It doesn't matter if you are a football fan or not, festive party food is always a good thing! Football season is the perfect excuse to have a party every week, and you don't have to be gathered around your tailgate in the parking lot to participate, you can just head over here to Tailgating Time to join the fun. Bring along your grilled goods, chips and dips, appetizers, chili and chowders, and of course those refreshing drinks and desserts too!
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Don't forget, we have made a little change in the way Tailgating Time will work this season. We will be using the same linky to keep all the great recipes in one place. This will provide easy access to the recipes and create one big awesome recipe index collection. There is no limit to how many you add.

If any of you would like to host along with us you can click --> get the InLinkz code to add the linky to your blog too. You can post it once in awhile or every week during football season, that's up to you. The only thing we ask is that you leave a comment here to let us know you are co-hosting.

I can't wait to see what you will bring!

Scrumptious Bean Burgers with Cholula Hot Sauce

2011-10-08T12:20:00.009-04:00

A couple weeks ago I got an email offering me a 4 pack of Cholula Hot Sauces. Of course I couldn't wait to get my package, we are a hot sauce loving family!

I was expecting a package with some little sample sizes, but was nicely surprised with a four pack of full size bottles. It came with Original, Chili Lime, Chili Garlic, and Chipotle. Cholula Hot Sauces rock!

I had just made a big pot of garlic and herb lentils when the package arrived. I decided to try an an experiment and make some lentil burgers.

Ingredients:

Dried lentils with garlic and herb seasoning (packet included)

Stuffing bread crumbs

Fresh finely minced onion and garlic

Fresh parsley
Italian Seasonings

Eggs

Cholula Chili Garlic Hot Sauce

I cooked the whole bag of lentils according to the directions on the package - this made a huge pot. While the lentils were cooking I sauteed the garlic and onions (amount to your liking). Once the lentils were done and cooled I mixed about equal amounts of bread crumbs and lentils adding additional liquid from the lentils as needed. I made enough of a mixture for 8 burgers so I added 2 eggs (adjust according to how many you are making). I added the sauteed garlic and onion, Italian seasonings, a handful of fresh chopped parsley, and kicked it up by adding a couple generous shakes of Cholula Chili Garlic Hot Sauce. Mixed well and then pan fried in a little olive oil on medium until done.

I served them on whole grain sandwich thins with a baby spinach salad on the side. Talk about a nice healthy meal! Guess what? Even the guys ate them, but not without first eying them suspiciously. They agreed that they were delicious - what a shocker! We all topped our burgers with additional oh-so-good Cholula Hot Sauce, Mmmmm!

These burgers would be great served with the traditional Felafel toppings, and speaking of I have a funny little story to tell today...

I had taken one of the burgers to work for lunch the next day. One of my vegetarian food fearing friends was asking about the lentil burger, but how do you explain how it tastes to someone who has never even had lentils never mind any kind of veggie burgers? So we finish lunch and go back to work. A few minutes later I turn from my computer and ask her if she had ever had Felafels (thinking I would compare the lentil burger to that). She turns around and says "I don't think so, do they give immunizations for that?" I almost fell out of my chair and haven't stopped laughing yet! Just had to share :-)

A big thank you to Cholula for the wonderful collection of hot sauces. I'm looking forward to creating more recipes with them to share!
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Pasta with Pesto and Chickpeas

2011-10-01T13:48:00.006-04:00

Last week I was craving pasta with pesto and craving chickpeas as well. I wanted to throw it all together but wondered if it would all go together. I decided to Google it and see if there were any recipes out there with that combo. I found exactly the recipe I wanted over at Family Fun - Angel Hair Pasta with Pesto and Chickpeas. It was delicious and very likely a new addiction for me!

Of course if you are pressed for time or just want to do it the easy way you don't have to follow a recipe at all - just cook a pound of pasta, add a can of rinsed chickpeas during the last minute of boiling, drain. Pop the top on a jar of store bought pesto, mix, top with fresh Parmesan and enjoy.

Another time saver is to prepare large batches of homemade pesto and freeze for those quick weeknight meals instead of store bought.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and wishing you weather as beautiful as we are having here in Florida today - 75 degrees and sunny, perfection!
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Caprese Sliders

2011-09-25T15:37:00.012-04:00

Caprese Salad Sliders

It's that time of the week again - are you ready for some football?!!

For the early games today I kept things simple since the boys are at their friend's and it's just me and hubby watching our Dolphins play.

Caprese salad is one of my favorites and since I always like nice fresh bread to go with it, I thought why not on a roll instead - yum!

Start with fresh slider size hard rolls, add a nice thick slice of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and top with fresh basil leaves, drizzle with olive oil, add a little salt and pepper to taste. Makes a perfect and delicious little vegetarian slider!

What do you have on your football food buffet today?
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Beef Enchiladas

2011-09-18T13:15:00.007-04:00

We're going with Mexican for the games today. I can't really call this Tailgating food but it's great for the at home football buffet, and so easy to throw together.

Beef Enchiladas

1 pack corn tortillas

2 lbs ground beef

2 cups shredded cheddar and jack cheeses

2 cups enchilada sauce
(or 2 cans)

Mexican seasonings

Hot sauce

Brown ground beef with Mexican seasonings, drain. Add one cup of cheese mixture to the ground beef, blend until melted. Pour one cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish. Stuff corn tortillas with beef and cheese mixture and place in casserole dish seam side down. Pour remaining cup of enchilada sauce over the top, add a few good shakes of hot sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbling hot.

Serve with yellow rice, re-fried beans and black olives for topping.

Now it's time to bring over your football party food.

I can't wait to see what you'll add to the collection this week.

It's Tailgating Time - click to play along!
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Tailgating Time!

2011-09-11T18:11:00.019-04:00

Yummy! Does it get any better than slow cooked ribs?

Today is the first Sunday of the 2011-12 NFL season, and time for the second annual season of Tailgating Time!

I know I'm very late posting today but with good reason, late yesterday afternoon we adopted a new family member! Meet little Peanut...

Update - Peanut has had a name change, he is now Beefy (don't ask) but he likes it better anyway.

Isn't he precious? He's really a good boy too! Of course all attention has been on the new baby and lots of running around to get all the necessities for him. So that's my excuse for being late today ;-)

Back to the food - My husband always makes our ribs on the grill. He starts with a nice dry rub, stacks one rack on top of other and alternates them a couple of times during cooking. They are grilled at 250 for about 3-4 hours depending on how often the grill is opened.

These are always so good and perfect for Tailgating Time!
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Are You Ready For Some Football, Food, and Fun?

2011-09-04T12:00:00.025-04:00

This week on Thursday September 8th NFL football season officially begins.
You know what that means don't you?
Yes, it's time for the second annual season of Tailgating Time!

It doesn't matter if you are a football fan or not, festive party food is always a good thing! Football season is the perfect excuse to have a party every week, and you don't have to be gathered around your tailgate in the parking lot to participate, you can just head over here to Tailgating Time to join the fun. Bring along your grilled goods, chips and dips, appetizers, chili and chowders, and of course those refreshing drinks and desserts too!

We have made a little change in the way Tailgating Time will work this season. Instead of a new linky for each week we will be using the same linky to keep all the great recipes in one place. This will provide easy access to the recipes and create one big awesome recipe index collection. There is no limit to how many you add - of course we hope you will add a new recipe each and every week! Tailgating Time will generally be posted each week on Sunday afternoon.

I can't wait to see what you will bring.
Let the games begin. Whoo-hoo!

Let's Make Hot Sauce!

2011-09-03T10:00:00.024-04:00

My friend at work has been keeping me stocked with a great supply of homegrown hot peppers for months now. I still had a nice big container sitting in the fridge, and afraid I wouldn't be able to use them up before they went bad - that's when the idea to make my own hot sauce came into play. I started with about 50-60 little hot peppers...

This is my signature hot sauce so of course I wanted it to have a bit of an Italian flare. I started by roasting whole heads of garlic at 350 for a little more than an hour - does it get any better than roasted garlic?! I mean really! Thankfully I roasted a whole tray of garlic or there would have never been a couple heads left to add to the hot sauce.

As soon as the garlic came out of the oven I turned the oven to broil and put the hot peppers in spread on a large cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I watched them carefully and turned them along the way until nicely roasted and starting to pop open - yum...

These peppers were too small to deal with peeling so I just cut off the tops and threw them in the pot whole with skins on, seeds and all. I added the roasted garlic, a can of diced tomatoes, and added maybe a cup of distilled white vinegar (just enough to cover the mixture), a pinch of sea salt and some additional Italian spices. I decided to try adding about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar to sweeten things up for that little surprise when it's first tested - "oh, this is a little sweet" - and then the intense heat kicks in!

I simmered it for an hour or so and then used a potato masher to mash it all up, added a little more vinegar (again just to barely cover) and then simmered for another hour...

I cooled the mixture and refrigerated for 24 hours. The next day I strained in a mesh strainer and just used a spoon to push through all the good stuff. Here's all that was left - just some seeds and the pepper skins...

Here's the final pot of hot sauce - not too thick or too thin ...

It turned out just like I wanted in consistency and flavor. Between the roasted garlic, the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar it has that initial mild taste, but with the totally kick your butt intense heat that creeps up quickly and lingers for a few minutes. The heat fades fairly quickly and then the lovely roasted garlic flavor lingers. This is definitely a great hot sauce, but one to be used sparingly!

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Have you ever made your own hot sauce? It can be made using such a huge variety of ingredients. What would your signature sauce be? Also, anyone have any idea how long a homemade hot sauce like this will keep? I'm thinking of bottling and canning for holiday gifts. This would make a great gift for guys or for any hot and spicy food lovers in our lives!

Linking up to:
Seasonal Saturday ~ Savory Sunday
Mangia Mondays ~ My Meatless Mondays
Masterpiece Monday ~ Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays
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The Hour That Matters Most

2011-08-31T19:15:00.022-04:00

Most of you who visit here at Seaside Simplicity love to cook. I just assume that means most of you are likely to share your wonderful creations with your family around the table together. Unfortunately, I don't think that's a common thing among the average family these days, and what a shame that is!

I truly believe sharing a meal together with our family daily or as often as possible is of the utmost importance, these days more then ever when that may be the only time we have together most days.

I was more than happy to accept the offer to have the opportunity to get the book The Hour That Matters Most prior to it's release to present a review. I knew just from reading the cover that I was going to have similar views, and I was certainly right!

I'd like to introduce you to all the coauthors for this book
(Author info taken directly from the website)

Stephanie Allen, Co-Author

Is a recognized pioneer in the meal-assembly industry. She first began to making fix and freeze meals for her own family in 1986 and gradually began developing a collection of specialized “dream dinner” recipes. When the demand to share her time-saving meal assembly solutions became overwhelming, she and longtime friend Tina Kuna hosted the first series of large-scale meal assembly sessions, which became the catalyst for opening the first Dream Dinners store. A popular speaker and educator, Stephanie spreads her vision to make people’s lives easier and restore the tradition of family dinners.

Tina Kuna, Co-Author

A recognized leader in the meal-assembly industry, was instrumental in creating the innovative Dream Dinners business model. A working mother of three, Kuna adopted the assemble and freeze method for her family in 1996. A strong advocate of families eating together, she plays a key role in bringing the Dream Dinners solution to communities across the nation. In 2006, Tina and Stephanie were awarded Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneurs of the Year in the Pacific Northwest.

Les and Leslie Parrott, Co-Authors

Co-directors of the Center for Relationship Development on the campus of Seattle Pacific University and the best-selling authors of the award-winning book Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts and many others. The Parrotts are sought after speakers and hold an average of forty relationship seminars across North America annually. Les and Leslie live in Seattle with their two sons.

How can you go wrong with such a great group of authors? I was impressed with their views and all the helpful hints, tips, and recipes to help anyone get back to the family dinner hour. I honestly believe it can make a huge difference in our family dynamics and the future of our children.

This is a book for everyone with children no matter what age. It has tons of great ideas for those with younger children, but even if you have teens it can be extremely helpful. The earlier we start the easier it will be, but even if your children are already in their teens it's not too late. I thought the following paragraph was one of the most important facts presented...

"Among teens who had dinner with their families five or more nights a week, 86 percent reported they had never tried smoking, compared with 65 percent of youth who had dinner with their families two or fewer nights a week. Similarly, teens who ate dinner with their families five or more nights a week were less likely to have tried alcohol or marijuana. Teens who had frequent family dinners were also more likely to get better grades."

When we read things like that it's so obvious just how important that little bit of family time each day is, especially in this time where technology tends to rule our lives. I know in my house with two teenage boys at home even when we are all at home we are all either on our computers, video games, texting, TV, etc. All together but all doing different things - that isn't real family time even if we all happen to be in the same room.

The difference comes with spending time together without other distractions. It isn't so much about the food, home cooking, setting a beautiful table, etc., even if we are having take out it's sitting down to eat together and have that bonding time that is the important part.

I would like to add that my thoughts and prayers go out to coauthor Tina who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer just weeks within wrapping up the book. As it reads in a note at the beginning of the book - "Strong and unshaken in her passion to change America, Tina has found that this diagnosis only further galvanizes her reasons for writing this book: to strengthen America from its core - the family." - That really says it all.

I very highly recommended The Hour That Matters Most to all my readers!

The Hour That Matters Most launches September 6, 2011

For more information visit, www.thehourthatmattersmost.com

Available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Price: $15.99
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That's Italian!

2011-08-29T20:45:00.020-04:00

In my last post I talked a little about menu planning and having intentional leftovers. Today is another example of how thinking ahead a little bit can turn one meal into three. Tell me that doesn't make life easier!

We cooked some nice Italian sausage on the grill on Saturday. We were eating poolside so dinner was sausage on bakery sub rolls with a nice Italian antipasto to go with it. I added a couple extra links of sausage on the grill beyond what I thought we would finish off that evening for some intentional leftovers.

I only had three links left, I had to think "meal stretching" with two teenage boys in the house. Normally 3 links of sausage would barely feed one of them, never mind the whole family. So the next day (menu planning day) I took a look at what I had on hand in the fridge, freezer and pantry, paying special attention to any fresh refrigerated foods I needed to use up.

In the fridge I found a couple beautiful little bell peppers a friend gave me from her garden. I also had sweet onions, and a package of mushrooms - Italian sausage and peppers it is!

You will have to excuse my presentation here. I was going to show it served all fancy schmancy, plated up with the pasta on the side and the fresh french bread spread generously spread with caramelized roasted garlic - but the guys were at the table with forks and knives in hand, banging their fists on the table chanting "food, food, food" - ok, that didn't really happen, I just forgot to take a photo of the final results, but it sounded dramatic and blog worthy didn't it? ;-)

Italian Sausage and Peppers

Cooked Italian Sausage

Bell Peppers

Onions

Minced Garlic

Mushrooms (optional)

Pasta Sauce (homemade or your favorite from the jar)

Olive Oil

Slice and saute veggies in a few tablespoons of olive oil until completely wilted and just starting to lightly brown.
Add sliced cooked sausage and just enough sauce to lightly cover the mixture.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Grate some fresh Parmesan over the top and it's ready to serve!

This is great all by itself with some crusty fresh bread, or serve with/over pasta.

If you have any left, this makes a great calzone stuffing or pizza topping for a third night of Italian food bliss! (it can also be frozen for use another time).

Buon Appetito!
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Food and Family Matters

2011-08-27T14:10:00.013-04:00

When I first started Seaside Simplicity it wasn't because I spend all my time in the kitchen cooking up all kinds of complicated recipes and creating amazing meals, it was quite the opposite - I am a full time working mother, one that loves to cook and appreciates good food, but with little time for those things I had to find creative ways to prepare good meals for my family that don't require a lot of time or expense...

Italian Hot Dogs

I have always been determined not to fall into the unhealthy routine so many others do these days of picking up fast food or cooking prepackaged frozen dinners or something from a box on a regular basis. It's always been important to me, and part of how I judge myself as a wife and mother to have home-cooked meals. It's not only for the nutritional value and enjoying good food, but even more important is keeping the family dinner together each evening alive and well.

I have observed that families who still sit down for dinner together are closer than families who don't, they tend to work together better in general and have less struggles and issues in all areas of life. I have had friends say to me "What's your secret? How did you raise such good kids? Are you just lucky?" I honestly believe it's the fact that we sit down together just about every night for dinner. It keeps us close and keeps that family bond that is so often lacking in families these days. Think about your own mealtime habits and those of others you know. Talk to friends and coworkers about it. I think you'll also see the patterns and what a difference the simple act of having dinner together each evening can make.

My goal here at Seaside Simplicity has always been to share with others how I create very simple homemade meals for my family that are uncomplicated, quick to prepare, inexpensive, and generally both nutritious and delicious. It does take a little planning ahead, but it's well worth it.

Pasta with Fresh Clams

I spend about 15 minutes every weekend planning our meals for the week. On Sundays I like to do as much prepping as I can for the week ahead, including cooking some things in advance whenever possible. Most of my meals are on the table in under 30 minutes.

Sometimes I like to double or triple the main dish for intentional leftovers to be creative for a different meal the next night...

Giant Meatloaf Puffs From Leftovers

Occasionally meals are only half homemade, using canned veggies or a packaged rice or stuffing for the sides like the meal below - even half homemade beats fast food any day!

Pork Chops - Half Homemade Meal

So what prompted this post today you ask - I was one of the lucky ones who received a free copy of the book The Hour That Matter Most to review. I plan to sit down to read it this weekend and thought I'd give my own thoughts on the family dinner and some samples of some of my own simple meals (click the link in red below each photo to go to the recipes) before I get started on the book. I have a feeling my views will be similar and I'm very excited to have this opportunity.

          The Hour That Matters Most launches September 6, 2011
         For more information visit, www.thehourthatmattersmost.com
         Available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
       Price: $15.99

Be on the look out for my upcoming review right here at Seaside Simplicity.

Have a great weekend!

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Hello Foodie Friends!

2011-08-20T16:30:00.024-04:00

I'm still here, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I've just been on a bit of a blog break while we were finishing renovations, moving, and then before I knew it my summer break was over and I was back to working those long 10 hour days.

I'm back to my regular work schedule now, and we are finally mostly settled into the new house. I thought I better take this opportunity to pop in and say hi since Monday it's back to school time already for the kids too. That means back to the regular hectic pace of life - who knows when I might find time to get back to regular blogging again!

Besides, since we moved we now have a pool! That means less time spent on the computer, and less time spent in the kitchen - no real recipes happening, just lots of grillin' and chillin'...

Assortment of Grilled Veggies

New York Strips with Montreal Steak Seasoning

I'd love to hear from you and find out how you've been doing - I've missed all of you!
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Lime Herb Chicken with Garlic Parsley Potatoes

2011-06-11T12:30:00.032-04:00

This past week was filled with easy main dish salads, sandwiches, and wraps. This Lime Herb Chicken with Baby Garlic and Parsley Taters is the only meal that required cooking this week!

Lime Herb Chicken with Baby Taters

It was a quick and easy meal...

I marinated the chicken strips in a combination of Italian dressing and lime juice for an hour or so and then seasoned them with a garlic and herb seasoning and pan fried them in a little light olive oil along with some thinly sliced green onions and fresh minced garlic.

Meanwhile I boiled the adorable tiny baby potatoes. Once they were fork tender and the chicken was cooked thoroughly, I removed the chicken to a hot platter, drained the taters and tossed them in the pan I had cooked the chicken in - with more minced garlic, butter and lots of parsley.

I served the chicken with extra lime, and garnished with additional green onions.

We loved the tangy chicken and the baby potatoes were so sweet - and absolutely delicious tossed with the garlic, butter, parsley and all the deglazed goodness. I served this with a salad and fresh homemade iced tea. Perfect summer meal!

Linking this post to:

Fresh Food Friday ~ This Week's Cravings ~ Recipes To Run On
Savory Sunday ~ Make a Food "e" Friend Monday

Masterpiece Monday ~ Mangia Mondays

Wanted: Salads

2011-06-01T05:00:00.132-04:00

The month of May just flew by! The Theme of the Month for May was Slow Cooker Recipes. Here's the complete Slow Cooker Recipe Index - Wanted: Slow Cooker Recipes. Visit anytime you need a slow cooker recipe. The link is also posted on my sidebar under Slow Cooker Recipe Index and Theme of the Month Round Ups.

I find it so hard to believe it's June already! The kids are almost finished with school and the weather is really heating up here in Florida. Can you guess what the summer recipe round up theme will be?

Ah yes, nice cool salads! Sounds perfect doesn't it?

Here's one of my very favorites...

This super simple salad is simply Boston lettuce (or I sometimes use baby spinach) topped with a combination of chick peas (drained and rinsed), edamame, and dried cranberries. I use a splash of plain balsamic vinegar as a dressing. This salad has zero saturated fat, it's packed with protein, very healthy, and with the combination of all the different flavors, colors and textures it's like a party on a plate! It's so delicious, hope you'll give it a try!

Here's the best part of the Theme of the Month Round Up - your posts don't have to be new ones, you don't have to link back here (but it would be great if you can to help spread the word). There are no limits to how many recipes you link up. In fact, why not go through your archives, link them all, the more the merrier! The linky will be open all month long. Let's all just work together to create a great recipe index!

Lemony Dill Shrimp over Pasta

2011-05-21T20:48:00.001-04:00

Very busy and very stressful times going on over here. I won't go into details but forgive me if I am delayed in my visits to your blogs. Busy and stressful or not we all still have to eat - sometimes there is nothing left that we can do other than a good dinner (and maybe a couple cold ones) to make things better, at least for the moment.


Lemony Dill Shrimp over Pasta

Simplicity is the key during hectic times. This light but satisfying meal doesn't take much longer than it takes to hit a fast food place - and it's so much better!

I just put a pound of pasta on to boil, meanwhile I combined the juice from 2 fresh lemons, a stick of butter, a clove of mined garlic, a little fresh dill, and a splash of hot sauce in a frying pan on medium until bubbling. I added the cleaned shelled shrimp, sauteed for about 2 minutes or so on each side and served it over the cooked pasta.

It's a quick, easy, and delicious meal - real food fast is better than fast food any day!

Linking up to:

Full Plate Thursday ~ Friday Potluck
Let's Do Brunch ~ Fat Camp Friday
Fresh, Clean, and Pure Friday & Seasonal Saturday
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Italian Antipasto

2011-05-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

It's almost party time! I was up late into the night making trays of Baked Ziti for my son's Le Vochi Chorus party today. This is one of the four chorus groups he belongs to and the first of the four parties. I just finished making the giant antipasto which will be added to the buffet...

Italian Antipasto

A nice antipasto is always a great addition for parties since it has a little something for everyone. It could be served as an entire meal all by itself, as an appetizer, or like today it's a perfect addition for the party buffet.

I make my antipasto on top of a nice big bowl (or in this case a giant pan) of lettuce - green leaf lettuce to line the bottom and sides, filled in with a combo of iceberg, romaine, radicchio, shredded carrots, and a bag of spring greens thrown in. It's topped off with pepperoncinis, cherry tomatoes, black olives , layers of provolone cheese, and rolls of Italian lunch meats. I'm sending along a couple bags of Chicago hard rolls and some homemade Italian dressing to go with it.

Guess what? I'm not even invited to the party! Nope, it's a party for about 60 hungry teenagers. I know they will enjoy the food and hope they have a great time. I made a much smaller version for us here at home tonight, we'll just have our own little party :-)

Wishing everyone a great weekend with lots of good eats - cheers!

Linking up to:

Food Trip Friday ~ Fun with Food Friday
Savory Sundays ~ Masterpiece Monday ~ This Week's Cravings
Make a Food "e" Friend Mondays ~ Garden Variety Wednesday

I'm Ready for Summer Kind of Meal

2011-05-15T21:30:00.018-04:00

I don't know how things are where you live but here in Florida the weather is past warm, we've moved on to sweltering hot. It makes me long for the lazy days in the summer when I'll have a couple of weeks off from work and plenty of time to spend at the beach or lounging poolside with no worries other than getting something good on the grill for dinner.

Right now I don't have a grill, I've been waiting until we move to replace ours. The warmer the weather gets the more I want those delicious dinners off the grill ::sigh:: So when my local grocery store had strip steaks on sale this week I couldn't resist, grill or not. I decided on the thinner sliced steaks to give pan frying a shot...

They turned out surprisingly delicious! This is another of those "quick and easy process more than a recipe kind of meals." If you are more of a quick and easy process type of cook Seaside Simplicity is definitely the place to be - the word simplicity is there for a reason you know!

I oven roasted the corn on the cob - just shucked, buttered generously, wrapped in foil and baked at 350 for about an hour. It's not as good as roasted on the grill but it beats boiled any day! When the corn had about 10 minutes left to go I put the broccoli in the steamer with a squeeze of lemon juice to keep it a nice bright green. I put a splash of olive oil in my big electric frypan and heated to medium high, added the steaks seasoned generously with Montreal seasonings and cooked for about 3-4 minutes on each side.

It was a great meal, but would have been even better on the grill - Hurry up summer!

Linking this post to:
Savory Sundays ~ Make a Food-e-Friend Monday

Melt in Your Mouth Monday ~ Masterpiece Monday

Easy Pizza Night

2011-05-13T19:50:00.021-04:00

So it's not even close to a recipe, just store bought pre-made pizza crust topped with homemade sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, black olives and bacon. Bake at 400 until golden and bubbly. Nope, it's not the least bit healthy but super quick, cheap, and very kid friendly. Add a salad and call it a night...

What do you expect?! It's been a super busy week and contrary to popular belief I am not supermom - close but not quite! ;-)

Let's top things off with what's been going on with Blogger - everything appears back to normal, even the Thursday posts that disappeared have reappeared, but I did notice any edits or comments left on Thursday haven't reappeared yet - not good. All things considered, I'm just glad Blogger is back up and running.

Have a great weekend!

Linking up to:

Friday Pot Luck ~ Friday Favorites
Fat Camp Friday ~ Feed me Tweet Me Follow Me Home
Saturday Swap

Stuffed Baked Ziti

2011-05-10T20:50:00.012-04:00

This one isn't a super quick meal, but it is easy! The best part is you can make double (or more) and stick it in the freezer for another night when you do need something really quick and simple. You can shortcut this and any other meals that call for browned ground beef even more by using one of my tricks - I cook big family packs of ground beef and then store it in the freezer in one pound packs to save a step on those busy weeknights.

Stuffed Baked Ziti

1 pound ziti or rigatoni pasta

1 can of tomato sauce and 1 can petite diced tomatoes
(or two of either, sauce from the jar, or your own homemade sauce)
1 pound ground beef

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 cups mozzarella cheese

2 minced garlic cloves

Italian seasonings

Mince fresh garlic and saute in just a dash of olive oil on medium for a minute or so. Add ground beef and generous Italian seasonings, brown and drain.
Add tomatoes/tomato sauce - oh go ahead and add some more Italian seasonings now, simmer for a half an hour at the very least.

Meanwhile cook pasta, but under-cook by a couple minutes since it will be baking too, you don't want a pan of mush!
Combine pasta and meat sauce mixture. Put half in a large baking pan, add a layer of ricotta cheese, top with remaining pasta and then top with mozzarella.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until heated thoroughly and perfectly golden on top.

Linking up to:

Tuesdays at the Table ~ Tasty Tuesday

Let's Do Brunch ~ Full Plate Thursday
This Week's Cravings #29

Fake it don't make it - Mother's Day Monkey Bread

2011-05-08T13:15:00.028-04:00

"Fake it don't make it" Monkey Bread

2 packages refrigerated cinnamon rolls

1 stick of butter or spread

about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of brown sugar
(add pecan pieces if desired)

Toss out the icing that comes with the cinnamon rolls (or reserve for another use).
Cut or break cinnamon rolls into quarters, put them in an 8 x 8 greased pan.
Melt butter, add brown sugar, stir until dissolved.
Pour mixture over cinnamon rolls and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Carefully flip upside down on a serving plate - Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Linking this post to:
Sweets for a Saturday ~ So Sweet Sunday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday ~ My Meatless Monday
This Week's Cravings ~ Make a Food-e-Friend Monday

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This post was featured at Sweet Indulgences Sunday!

Slow Cooker Mex-i-talian Chicken

2011-05-07T12:45:00.022-04:00

This one was a total "I have to hurry up and throw things together" slow cooker meal earlier this week. I had a pack of frozen chicken breasts with no time to thaw and no idea how I was going to make them. I also had a ton of beautiful peppers fresh from my friend's garden...

I decided to just put the chicken breast in frozen, tossed in a bunch of peppers whole. I added 7 or 8 whole peeled cloves of garlic, Italian seasonings and a can of diced tomatoes...

I combined it all in the slow cooker on Sunday night so all I would have to do was take it from the fridge to the slow cooker base and turn it on Monday morning. I cooked it all day, about 9-10 hours on low.

Mex-i-talian Chicken

Not too shabby for a slow cooker meal! Leaving the peppers whole while cooking worked perfectly so those who don't like super hot and spicy didn't get the full flavor. The chicken shredded so easily, just fell apart and the whole garlic was delicious, very similar to roasted garlic.

This made an easy meal and wasn't too heavy like many slow cooker meals can be. All I had to do was boil some pasta, top with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and dinner was ready. The only thing I would change the next time would be to add another can of diced tomatoes and double those delicious garlic cloves.

The leftovers were even better served in tortillas the next night - this makes an absolute perfect taco, burrito or enchilada stuffing. I will probably skip the pasta the next time and go straight for the tortillas!

Don't forget my Slow Cooker Recipe Round Up is open all month. Be sure to stop by to link up your slow cooker recipes!

Linking this post to:
Friday Potluck ~ Saturday Swap

This Week's Cravings ~ Seasonal Saturday
Savory Sundays ~ Made it on Monday
Garden Variety Wednesday

Submitting this post for:
Presto Pasta Nights hosted this week at Tinned Tomatoes

Slow Cooker Recipe Round Up

2011-05-01T16:40:00.027-04:00

When I was doing my menu plans today and complaining about what a busy month I'm going to have I decided to add a linky to my menu planning post asking others to link up their slow cooker recipes. I'd like to make at least one or two slow cooker meals each week this month. I don't use my slow cooker very often so my own collection is very slim...

Of course I'm posting the linky here too and asking for your help to get a nice Slow Cooker Recipe Index going. In fact, I decided to start a Theme of the Month Recipe Round Up.

Your posts don't have to be new ones, you don't have to link back here, and there are no limits to how many you link up - the more the merrier! The linky will be open all month long.

I'm looking forward to trying some great new slow cooker recipes!

Pasta with Clams

2011-04-30T21:45:00.029-04:00

I had planned to have linguini with clam sauce tonight but when I saw little neck clams on sale I knew the recipe for dinner was going to change a bit. I usually make clam sauce with canned minced clams. It's good but a whole different meal when made with fresh sweet little neck clams...

First things first, in my mad dash to the store to get the clams I totally forgot to pick up the linguini. I substituted with corkscrew pasta which worked out just fine and made the guys happy - they all like a pasta that's a little more "meaty" as they call it.

Here's how I made this quick and easy weekend meal...

I just steamed the clams and tossed the hot pasta with butter and the juice from a fresh lemon.

I topped it with fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and then topped with the steamed clams.
Served with hot sauce, extra lemon wedges and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
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That's it - it's that simple and so good!

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Buon Appetito!

Submitting this post for:
Presto Pasta Nights hosted this week at Once Upon A Feast

Linking up to:
Savory Sunday ~ A Little Birdie Told Me
Let's Do Brunch

Spicy Corn Muffins

2011-04-28T19:37:00.020-04:00

You know I'm all about simple cooking - these delicious corn muffins are another really simple half homemade treat. I had some lovely little Serrano peppers a friend brought me from her garden, just perfect for a batch of spicy corn muffins to go with dinner this evening.

Spicy Corn Muffins

(makes 12)

2 boxes corn muffin mix

2 eggs

1 can corn (drained)

1/2 can creamed corn

2/3 cup milk

Thinly sliced hot peppers
(leave the seeds in for a good kick of hot and spicy)
Mix and fill muffin cups 3/4 way full

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until done

Enjoy!

Linking up to:
It's a Keeper Thursday ~ Full Plate Thursday
Friday Potluck ~ Saturday Swap
Seasonal Saturday & Fresh, Clean, and Pure Friday!
My Meatless Mondays ~ Muffin Monday

Easter Party!

2011-04-23T12:15:00.021-04:00

I just couldn't resist throwing a party after making these adorable stuffed carrots! Tell me these aren't the cutest things ever?!! I originally came across these over at Hungry Happenings, what a great idea!

We always make egg salad on Easter to use up some of the massive amounts of colored eggs we make. When I saw these I knew I had to give them a try!

Slice crescent roll dough into thin strips and wrap around ice cream cones (or use molds for cream horns if you have them). Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Once cooled spray with orange cake decorating spray...

Or brush with a mixture of yellow and red food coloring - or just use an egg wash if you don't like to use food coloring. Of course I had to make them orange for the party!

Stuff the cones with egg salad - I used a couple dashes of cayenne pepper in my egg salad to counteract the very slight sweetness from the cones. Use sprigs of dill for the tops. That's it! So simple, so cute and so much Easter fun!

I'd love to see what you have cookin' for Easter. Link up your special treats, your colored eggs, Easter brunch or dinner, Easter baskets, or any fun springtime favorites. I'm leaving the linky open until noon next Friday to give you plenty of time to link up after the holiday weekend.

Happy Easter everyone!

Linking up to:

This Week's Cravings
Easter Goodies at Suzie QT Pies

My Meatless Monday ~ Just Another Meatless Monday

Midnight Maniac Meatless Monday