On The Grill

  My in-laws have been providing us with fresh veggies from the garden (since our garden did not fare well this year). One thing I've been wanting to try is grilled red potatoes. Now, I have thrown potatoes on the grill with kebabs and whatnot, but I wanted to try grilling them straight-up. Here's what I did:

  Place whole, washed red potatoes in a pot of boiling water; boil 15 minutes. Remove potatoes from water and let rest until cool enough to handle. Slice potatoes in half. Using a pastry brush, coat potatoes in Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. Sprinkle with dill, salt and pepper. Place potatoes cut side down, on a hot grill; cook on low 15 minutes. Brush potatoes with additional olive oil and grill 3-4 more minutes. Delicious!!!

Photo Credit-jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com

  Because last night was family night, I also made a delicious treat! My sister has been raving about cookies she found on "Jamie Cooks It Up". Here is the link to her recipe for "S'mores Cookies". They were absolutely fantastic! I would suggest making half a batch at a time, however, as we found they were much tastier warm rather than room temperature. These are a very rich cookie, but very yummy.

Mardis Gras Bridal Shower

  Let me begin by apologizing for my lack of posts over the last few days. I am about to make up for my insufficiency, however, as I have a multitude of recipes to share. One of my little sisters got engaged a couple weeks ago, and this last Saturday we through her a "Mardis Gras" themed bridal shower. We chose Mardis Gras because she is using peacock colors (blue, green and purple) for her wedding colors, so we opted to stay with the color scheme. The shower turned out great, and the food even better! This was our menu:

        Cajun Canapes 

Photo credit-Taste of Home

Black-eyed Pea Salsa

King Cake

 

 

 

  Everything was absolutely delicious! For the salsa, we did cut the red onion by 1/2 and use a dash of garlic powder instead of the fresh garlic (none of us likes a lot of garlic in salsa). We also decided the salsa would be fantastic with diced avocado as well.
  Each of these recipes will be made again for sure!

More Great Things For Your Kitchen

  I found more fantastic items for your kitchen! These items are made from bamboo, and an exceptionally great price. When you sign up through this link you also get $10 off your first purchase! With your $10 off you could purchase this beautiful bamboo bowl for only $2 before tax and shipping.

Stuffed Tex-Mex Yellow Squash

Image courtesy marthastewart.com

  I was in a time crunch the other night and decided to try out this recipe for Stuffed Tex-Mex Yellow Squash. Now, this recipe isn't exactly time-saving friendly. How I chose to make it, however, was. I had originally intended to make something entirely different to take to a big potluck social. When it came time to start prepping everything, I found the veggies had gone bad. Standing in my kitchen with no idea what I was going to make in the amount of time I now had, I remembered the recipe for stuffed squash. With yellow squash being in season in Utah right now, I knew I had plenty to spare. The only problem was, I had no time to thaw hamburger or chop veggies. So, I turned to my THRIVE foods. I went to my pantry and pulled out THRIVE Ground Beef, Chopped Onions (I substituted these for the scallions; 1/4 cup worth), Sweet Corn and Red and Green Bell Peppers. All the time I would have spent prepping was now taken care of, all I had to do was rehydrate everything. I did also add some cumin and substituted garlic powder for minced garlic (again to cut time).

  I have to say, the dish was a huge hit! So, if you have a ton of yellow squash hanging around and have made just about everything you can think of with it, try this dish.

 

A Great Find!

   I absolutely love finding a steal on great things for my kitchen, and have decided that I'm going to start sharing those incredible finds with you!

  One of our favorite things to do with friends is what we call "Fondue Date Night". We get together as couples and enjoy a night of stuffing ourselves silly. Hence, today's deal is on fondue pots and accessories.

  Simply sign up for the deal site, Zulily, through this link then click on "Home and Gear" and "Kitchen Essentials". Upon check-out, use code "FAMILY10" to save an extra 10%. I bought 3 sets of the "Trudeau Party Plates" to keep all the food on your plate separate from each other (very handy when dealing with raw meat). And just as a heads up, those are killer prices on the fondue pots!

What Happens When You Can't Decide What To Make

  We had a family get-together last night with my in-laws and I was assigned to bring dessert. After thinking over it for a day or two, I finally came to a decision...I couldn't make a decision. So, I decided to do an assortment of bars so everyone could eat what they like. From left to right: 

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars   Lemon Bars (scroll down a little)  Luscious Layer Bars (here's a gluten-free version)-The thing I really like about this recipe is how versatile it is. I put whatever toppings on it I want, depending on my mood and what I have in the house. This time I made them for the kids, so I left off the coconut and nuts.

Homemade Apricot-Pineapple Jam

   There is absolutely nothing better than a slice of homemade bread and jam to finish off a meal or start the morning. Our apricots just came on, so today's task was to get some jam made. I love apricot jam, don't get me wrong, but if you've never tried apricot-pineapple you are missing out on something truly wonderful! Apricot-pineapple jam has this uniquely tropical flavor to it. I love it! 

   Just follow the instructions on the "Sure Jell" box for making apricot jam, but substitute 1 cup of crushed apricots for 1 cup crushed pineapple (one batch will make 4 pints). Delicious! And so totally Summer-time!

Double-Chocolate Biscotti

  I don't know if you've ever taken the opportunity to try Biscotti; if not (or even if you have), you must try this recipe! One of my sisters is planning a "Murder Mystery Dinner" for some friends and was in need of ideas for things to serve. One of the things that fit well with the theme was Biscotti, however it is something I had never taken the opportunity to try making before. We decided to face the new adventure together. I am amazed at how easy a process making Biscotti is! We tried this recipe from Bon Appetit, but leaving the white chocolate chips out (my sister is not a fan), and they turned out fantastic! The cookie is delicious and they look just like the fancy ones you see in restaurants and upscale stores. We decided, however, in order to take them up a notch we might try dipping half of each cookie in melted milk chocolate.