Summer

Even though it's September and the kids are back in school I still felt the need to make this very summer style salad. I've been eating it as a side dish, on sandwiches as the main event.. pretty much on everything, it's just that good!


Delicious and simple as simple can be: tomato, thinly sliced cucumber, crumbled feta, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a little seasoning in the form of oregano and black pepper. Perfection.

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Saucy Mama Steph

Saucy Mama asked if I wanted to enter a recipe contest, if I did they would happily send me a case of their sauces to experiment with. COUNT ME IN!!!

I was totally intrigued when I saw the jar of cracked pepper marinade and wanted to try it straight away. We only had a few hours before dinner so I stabbed a couple chicken breasts with a fork and slathered on some of the marinade, back in the fridge they went until it was time for dinner. I was amazed at how flavorful they were even after only a few hours marinating.


A quick trip onto a hot grill made for a delicious dinner... but that's not where this recipe is headed. This recipe is best served cold the next day... like revenge... I mean... umm never mind :D


I shredded up the leftover chicken and then topped it with John's awesome chipotle mustard spiked coleslaw!! Served on a whole grain baguette with a little extra sharp cheddar this is the perfect lunch sandwich if you ask me.

Or serve it up appetizer style like above, mini sammies!

John's chipotle coleslaw
recipe by John

Toss together
1/2 head green cabbage
3 shredded carrots
1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped
1/2 red onion thinly sliced

Mix together (nothing exact all by eyeball- come on now John did make it and he doesn't measure!)
Suacy Mama Chipotle Mustard
canola oil (tiny bit)
apple cider vinegar
garlic
franks red hot
celery seeds
pepper

Toss everything together and let marinate overnight.

It's a fiesta!

First off, if you haven't already go sign up for the jam exchange!!! Ok now onto other chow news...


Fiesta Dip is the best thing ever, no really it is. I love the stuff and find myself making it for John and I even when there is no party in site! It's so simple, chop up some things mix it up and let it marinate over night. You can drain it and serve it as a dip, or you can leave it in its sauces and use it like a very chunky salad dressing :) That's what I've got for you today.


Fiesta Dip over baby spinach leaves. Perfect! Actually if you ask John he'll say "umm where's the protein??" so in his case this is more of a side to a turkey burger or something. I say the beans are protein... but he doesn't' agree they are ENOUGH protein. silly man.


Fiesta Dip
1 can black eyed peas
1 can shoe peg corn
1 red pepper diced
1 green pepper diced (John doesn't like green so I use orange...)
1 red onion diced

Rinse and drain beans and corn

Add: 2 tbs Tiger Sauce (secret ingredient) a MUST (it's near the ketchup in Wegmans... if you have Wegmans near you)
3/4 cup white sugar (I use 1/2 cup splenda)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 veg oil (I used about 3 Tbs instead)

Mix and let stand overnight.

Drain liquid before serving with tostito scoops or other veggies or cucumber slices for dipping. Or don't drain it and serve over spinach leaves like I did above!

Steak Salad with stuffed olives

Remember those olives Mezzetta sent me?



Well Steph (my roomie's) John made this salad with them.

"Hickory smoked steak salad with blue cheese stuffed olives, corn, sweet peas, pepperchinis, and cheese "

Rock on John!

BELT Salad

MMmmm belt salad... doesn't that sound so not appetizing?! Ok maybe not... but it makes sense... BELT: Bacon Egg Lettuce Tomato! YUM! I love BLT sandwiches, and I love bacon and eggs, why not smash them together? I love how you add the egg on top and use the yolk almost as a salad dressing, so fancy.

So I had bacon leftover from those delicious cupcakes I made, so I've been eating a few slices every other day... don't give me that look, you know I'm all about everything in moderation, it's not like I sat down and ate the whole pound of it in one sitting... that would have hurt the next day!

OK easy cheese, toss together some baby spinach, or other greens, chop up a nice fresh red tomato, fry up some bacon and crumble it up, then fry and egg and gently place it on top.

Simple, fast, surprisingly filling (and I don't say that often!)

PS. Bacon causes some serious splatter patterns on the stove top... be a sweetie and make sure you clean it all up... otherwise you might drive your roomie nutzo! :D sorry steph!!

Get your shrimp on

Summer finally got here in upstate NY... I must say I was rather enjoying the long days of weather in the 70's... now it's hot and extra humid BLEH. The last thing I want to do it turn the oven on. I made this one up before I had my new grill (more on that to come!). I used the george forman to grill the shrimp... they came out ok... but really nothing great. I bet on the grill this would be over the top good!


Lettuce, tomato, feta, cucumbers, and a little of my creamy balsamic dressing. I grilled the shrimp with a little olive oil and seasoned them simply with sea salt and pepper.

What is your go to no oven required meal?

Lighten it up

I've sure been posting a lot of baked goods... it's about time for a salad wouldn't you agree? To me a salad needs to be easy to throw together, nothing complicated going on here. Some good greens, accents of flavor and color, some good proteins and you are good to go.


This one had romaine hearts, cucumbers, some Mediterranean spiced feta, topped with a grilled piece of salmon (I gave the salmon a little drizzle of olive oil and some cracked pepper before it hit the grill). As for the dressing, I whipped up a creamy balsamic number.

Like I've said before with other proteins, they need to be moist and tender. I wont eat over cooked fish so I make sure to keep a close eye on things if not under cook it slightly. You can always put it back on the grill for an extra minute... but you can't undo overcooking.

For the dressing... it's really not a recipe more a toss it all in a bowl and mix so these measurements are a guess...

Creamy Balsamic Dressing
1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
tiny bit of canola oil
3-4 Tbs balsamic vinegar
freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Chow!