4th of July Menu

This year we'll be celebrating the 4th of July at my in-laws home about 40 miles away. But before we get to and grill out - we have to go to a Spider Man Pancake Breakfast!! Yep, our local science museum, known around here as "COSI", is hosting a 4th of July Breakfast with Spiderman. How cool is that for a three year old? (Not very cool for my 12 and 14 year olds - but I enjoy watching them squirm!!). Anyway, here is a list, with recipes or links to recipes, for what I will be serving this holiday weekend.

4th of July Menu

Homemade Lemonade (recipe follows)

White and Blue Chips with (Red) Salsa (my favorite store bought)

South Street Tortilla Roll-Ups with Salsa and Guacamole (recipes follow)

Hamburgers and Hot Dogs (supplied by my in-laws)

Four Bean Salad (Costco - sorry - I really like their brand!)

Paula Deen's Fruit Bowl (recipe follows)

Barbecue Macaroni Salad (recipe follows)

Jazzed Up Baked Beans (recipe link)

Potato-Egg Salad (recipe link)

Barefoot Contessa's Flag Cake (recipe link)

Sorry I don't have a photo of my lemonade, but I'm sure you know what it looks like!! :) I love fresh lemonade, but I only make this a couple of times a summer. The price of lemons is just way too high. This is a slight modification of a recipe I got from Allrecipes.com a few summers ago.

Homemade Lemonade

1 3/4 cups white sugar

8 cups water

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

cherries with stems still attached

ice cube tray

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil ans stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refigerate until chilled.

Meanwhile, rinse cherries, keeping stems still attached. Place one cherry in each compartment of an ice cube tray. Fill about 1/2 - 3/4 full with water and partially freeze. Cherries will "float" to the top. When frozen, add a little more water to cover cherries, leaving stems sticking out.

Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In a pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.

When serving, fill glass with regular ice cubes, but add one "cherry" ice cube at the top. Fill with lemonade and serve.

South Street Tortilla Roll - Ups

I like to make these for special occasions, like birthday parties and get-togethers. They are very simple to make, but taste fantastic!! Make sure you "pat dry" your chopped tomatoes so the roll-ups don't get soggy. Also, it's best to make these either early in the day or the day before, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. The cream cheese is much easier to cut.

8 oz pkg cream cheese

1 lg. onion, chopped

8 oz sour cream

1 1 /4 oz pkg. taco seasoning

8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

4 1/2 oz can chopped green chillies, well drained (and "patted" dry)

2 tomatoes, chopped and drained (and "patted" dry)

hot pepper sauce to taste (I like about 1/4 t)

10 flour tortillas

Garnish: salsa and guacamole

Combine cream cheese, onion, sour cream and taco seasoning until smooth. Fold in cheese, chillies, tomatoes and hot sauce, blending well. Spread mixture on tortillas, the roll tortillas. Refrigerate until cream cheese mixture is firm. Slice and serve cold with salsa and guacamole.

Isn't this picture a hoot!?! No, I didn't make it (I'm not THAT creative!!), but I don't have a photo of my homemade guacamole, and I ran across this one on the internet. Guess you really can find just about anything on the 'net!!

It's pretty easy nowadays to find good guacamole, but that wasn't always the case. I do like guacamole with the South Street Tortilla Roll-Ups. If you want a great recipe, heres one for you:

Homemade Guacamole

2 c (2 lg) avocadoes, mashed

2 T lemon juice

1 tomato, diced

2 green chillies, finely chopped

1/4 t Kosher salt

1/4 t chili powder

1 T onion, grated or finely chopped

1/8 t garlic powder

Combine all ingredients, chill, and serve.

Paul Deen's Fruit Bowl

This recipe is for this upcoming week's My Girl Paula recipe. I'm really happy it was chosen. I'm just wondering what I'm going to do with all the extra Tang!! ;)

3 T orange Tang drink mix

1 - 15 1/2 oz can pineapple chunks, drained, juice reserved

1 - 3.4 oz box instant lemon pudding mix

1 - 16 oz can chunky mixed fruit, drined

1 - 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained

1 - 6 oz jar maraschino cherries

3 large bananas

Stir the Tang into the pineapple juice. Add the lemon pudding mix and stir well. Combine the pineapple, mixed fruit, oranges and cherries, then mix the fruit and pudding mixtures together; toss well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before servign, slice and add the bananas.

Barbeque Macaroni Salad

In the Summer Grilling edition of Cook's Illustrated I found an interesting recipe for Barbeque Macaroni Salad. It's a new twist on an old favorite, by adding barbeque sauce to a traditional macaroni salad. I especially like Cook's Illustrated because they test so many different brands of products to let you know which one "works" better than the rest. For this recipe, they highly recommend (drumroll please......)

Yep, good ol' Bull's Eye original for it's smokey flavor. I used it in this recipe and thought it was quite good. I've never heard of a barbeque macaroni salad before, and thought it was really, really good (so good I had to raid the fridge after everyone went to bed for a little more!!)

Barbeque Macaroni Salad

Table salt

1 lb elbow macaroni

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine

1 celery rib, chopped fine

4 scallions, sliced thin (I used green onion)

2 T cider vinegar

1 t hot sauce

1 t chili powder

1/8 t garlic powder

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Ground black pepper

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 T salt and macaroni and cook until nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water until cool, then drain once more, briefly, so that pasta is still moist; transfer to a large bowl.

Stir in bell pepper, celery, scallions, vinegar, hot sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne and let sit until flavors are absorbed, about 2 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise and barbecue sauce and let sit untl salad is no longer water, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve. (Salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Check seasonings before serving.) As the salad sits, it can become dry; just before serving, sir in a few tablespoons of warm water to bring back its creamy texture.

The remainder of my recipes are links (thank goodness - I'm getting carpal tunnel typing all this!!). For my baked beans, I'm going with Cookin' Mimi's Jazzed Up Baked Beans. For my potato salad I decided on Love at First Bite's Potato-Egg Salad. And (finally!!) for the dessert we are going with Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa's) Flag Cake.

Now if that isn't enough to keep you all busy - check out a great craft website that I just LOVE. Skip to My Lou is doing 4th of July crafts all week to get your table (and home) ready for the 4th!! But remember, if you run out of time (or energy!) you can always make a run to the Dollar store!

When Hubby Gives You Trout....

Uhh...cook it within three days! No, really if you've read any of my previous posts, you'd know my husband loves to fish. I can't imagine the fascination, but whatever makes him happy!! Anyway, last week he came home with a lot of trout, and a lot more smoked trout. Now, the fresh trout I know how to fix, but what to do with all this smoked trout? I asked him what he wanted me to do with the smoked trout, and he said, "Feed it to me". Brilliant, isn't he? ;)

After a little thought, I decided to make a Smoked Trout Frittata. I've seen recipes for a Smoked Salmon Frittata, so I figured I'd just substitute the fish. After a little more rooting around in the refrigerator, I ended up substituting out most ingredients (except the eggs, of course!). I really think that's the beauty of a frittata - kinda rustic and use what you've got on hand! Heaven knows, with this egg CSA I've gotten myself into, I sure have enough eggs!! So, here's a photo of my Smoked Trout Frittata with the recipe:

Smoked Trout Frittata

3 T vegetable oil

Flaked trout from 1 -2 smoked trout fillets (1 if large, 2 if smaller)

6 green onions (1 bunch) chopped, both white and green parts

1 small container of mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

8 eggs

2 T milk

2 T heavy cream

1/2 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cubed

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heat oil in a large, oven proof skillet (I used a 10" cast iron skillet). Add green onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring until onions are soft. Add the smoked trout , cook briefly to release flavors.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs together with milk and cream. Pour over the trout and vegetables and stir gently. Scatter cubes of cream cheese over the top. Cook over medium heat without stirring, until the edges appear firm.

Place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and puffed. If you prefer, slide onto a serving platter. I just serve straight from the cast iron pan.

Just in case you've never cooked trout before, here's my favorite recipe (or really method) for serving it. Trout is excellent served with homemade coleslaw and cornbread, but last weekend we grilled a thick steak and had a "surf and turf" meal.

Pan Fried Trout

In a small dish, pour some milk (I like to use buttermilk). In another dish, pour some cornmeal. Season the cornmeal lightly with a dash of cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt. Dip cleaned trout in milk, then roll in cornmeal. Collect all your trout fillets and fry in about a 1/4" vegetable oil (again, a cast iron skillet is excellent for this). Fry about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove to a paper towel lined dish and serve immediately with fresh lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Garden Update

Wow, my garden is really taking off!! I've come to realize my tomato cages aren't big enough!! Uh-Oh! :) Anyway, here are a couple of fun update photos - hope you enjoy!!

My first zucchini (the part just behind the flower). I've learned alot about zucchini this year. The plant has both "male" and "female" flowers that need to be pollinated. Usually bees do this, but with the shortage of bees anymore, it may be necessary to hand pollinate them yourself (this is true of all the squashes). So each morning out I go with little cotton swabs. This is the first one I got to pollinate (I feel like a fertility doctor!! LOL!!)

Here's the beginning of my first cucumber. Isn't it adorable? (I'm such a proud parent!!). I didn't have to pollinate them - they know what to do!! I can't wait until I can make some bread and butter pickles!

Tomorrow I'm going to post my menu/recipes for the upcoming 4th of July. I don't have photos of all the recipes, but I don't think you'll be disappointed!!

Costco Chicken Salad

I just love Costco's Rotisserie Chicken Salad Croissants. My husband thinks I make a better chicken salad - which is sweet of him to say - but I think Costco's beats mine hands-down. I knew my husband wouldn't be home until late last night (after fishing), so I decided to get a Costco chicken salad croissant. Problem was, when I got to Costco they were all sold out (bummer!). But as luck would have it, for the mere price of $14.95 I could buy a tub of their chicken salad. Slap on another $5.95 for a dozen croissants, and another $3.95 for a package of six Roma tomatoes (you can't have chicken salad without tomatoes on it), and I could have a Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad Croissant. Ugh. And I wonder why I'm broke all the time!!

Now as much as I love Costco's chicken salad, I do have to doctor it up a bit. I like to add a little "dash" of Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle to each sandwich.

This stuff is great on any kind of sandwich (OK, maybe not PB&J, but turkey, ham, you name it!). It's a combination of salt, garlic, black pepper, and a bunch of herbs. Really "picks up" a sandwich. Buy some, you won't regret it!!

So last night at about 10:00 pm when hubby finally shows up, we sit down and eat two (that's one apiece) chicken salad croissants. What to do with all this chicken salad???? I don't have my garbage-disposal older boys around to help rid me of this problem. Well, I got up early and made a big plate of chicken salad croissant sandwiches for my husband's office staff. I sure hope they stop asking for a raise!! ;)

Aren't they pretty? Just to give you an idea how big that plate is - it's my turkey platter at Thanksgiving!!

Now I couldn't just send sandwiches - they needed something to go with them. (I should start a catering business and actually get paid to do this!!) I dug around in my ever-filled pantry and came up with Veggie Straws.

If you haven't had these yet, you've just got to try them - they're "da-bomb" as my boys say. I don't know if they are actually "good" for you, maybe just a little less "bad"? I don't know. They're made from spinach, tomato, carrots and potatoes. Yea, and they taste great!! I guess they also make them in a "chip" form, but I've never had those. We like ours dipped in Ranch dressing, but they are great plain, right out of the bag too. So off went my bag of Veggie Straws :( But it was for a good cause I suppose. Guess that'll teach me not to buy a tub of Costco chicken salad!!

A Hodgepodge of Thoughts

I found a recipe for Crab Meat Lasagna recently in a really good cookbook called Favorite Recipes From Quilters. I love to quilt, but that joy will have to wait until fall - when it's a little cooler out! Anyway, I thought the recipe would be a nice summer alternative to the traditionally heavy lasagna. But when I went to the cupboard to pull out my "crab meat", this is what I discovered: Yep, salmon, not crab. But that didn't stop me! I'm from Ohio and we don't know crab from salmon in these parts!! At least that's what I was hoping. So I proceeded with the recipe, just substituting. Well, it couldn't have been better!! My husband LOVED it and said he wanted it again tonight for dinner. That's fine by me - he can have leftovers!! :) I served it with some artisan bread and a tossed salad. I do recommend using "light" cream cheese and the fat-free cream of mushroom soup to keep the calories down. I couldn't tell any difference in taste using them.

Crab Meat Lasagna

(my version uses salmon)

1/2 lb lasagna noodles

1 t olive oil

8 oz pkg cream cheese (light), softened

2 cups cottage cheese

2 10 3/4 oz cans (fat free) cream of mushroom soup

1 egg

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 t basil

1 t salt

2 cups crab meat (I used two small cans of salmon)

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cook lasagna in water and olive oil according to package directions. Drain.

Combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, mushroom soup, egg, onion, garlic, basil and salt in a large bowl, mix well.

Drain crab (salmon) and break into small pieces. Fold into cream cheese mixture.

In a lightly greased (sprayed) 9 x 13 baking dish, layer 1/2 lasagna noodles, 1/2 crab meat mixture and 1/2 of cheddar cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

I think there was some kind of ESP thing going on earlier this week with me and Michelle from Something New is Cooking. We both must have read Sandy's blog from I Love Sweet Treats and decided to make the taco ring. I know this photo does the recipe a disservice - I was suppose to have two cans of crescent rolls and I only had one. This is an excellent recipe and I'll be making it again (the right way!!) when my kids come home from camp. I served it with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream and guacamole, with Mexican Rice on the side. Click here if you'd like the recipe. Very yummy!!

About once every couple of months I like to fix a ham. They're expensive, but the leftovers are fantastic in scrambled eggs, omelette's, and breakfast casseroles. My favorite way to cook a ham (other than the holidays) is to get one that I know will fit in my crock pot and, well, just stick it in the crock pot. Yep. I don't do anything else. I let it cook all day and by evening it's made it's own "broth". In the winter I'll use it to make bean soup, but in the summer I like to use the broth when I fix rice. It keeps the house cool, too, which is a big plus in the summer!!

So, did you watch the "big show" last Monday with Jon and Kate? Honestly, I've never watched them before, but I couldn't miss that one. I have to admit I liked the first episode better - the one with the Crooked Houses

I was "googling" crooked houses for about an hour - I think the company had to take their website down because of all the moms and dads trying to find a crooked house for their kids!! I showed my husband this picture and he just laughed. He's an architect and said there is no way he'd have something like that in his back yard!! I should have married an attorney! ;)

I did feel sorry for them during the last episode, though. I'm glad the network decided to take them off the air for awhile. I really think they need to get their lives straightened out and forget the cameras. The funny thing is I hear there is talk of "Jon and Kate - The Musical"!! I've worked really hard not to have a completely messed up life, only to find out that's where the money is!! LOL!!

Well, I'm off to declutter the storage room in the basement - hope you all enjoy your day!

Garden Update

Sorry this photo is so small and blurry - it's a picture of the cabins (called Ka-bens) at Camp Fitch, where my older sons are this week. They're really cool - open during the day and in the evening they have these flaps that come down and tie!!

Wow, it's been a busy week around our neck of the woods. From checking in to some of my friend's posts on My Girl Paula, looks like we're all pretty busy. Poor Alwayz Bakin' is studying anatomy - you go girl!! I just don't have it in me any more for that!!

My two older sons are off at camp! Praise God!! :) It was a long drive (3 1/2 hours each way!!), but the camp is incredible. On the shores of Lake Erie (really, right on the shore!!), and they are learning computer programming, web design, horseback riding, archery, you-name-it!! I sure wish I was a kid again!!

Our little guy is going to a local daycare this week. This week is "Bug Camp" and he's just loving it! He squeals when he sees the building and starts clapping his hands - he's just so cute!! Plus, it wears him out and he goes to bed early - yippee!!

So that leaves me - lonely? NO WAY!! I'm decluttering and organizing. I have my oldest son's room finished and today I begin my middle son's room. I'm about halfway done with the kitchen (and I'm amazed at the stuff I have that I'd completely forgotten about!!). I wish it went faster, but at least it's getting done. I'm not cooking a whole lot this week (well, maybe tonight - I want to try a crab meat lasagna), so I'll leave you with some pictures of my garden. I'm truly amazed at how well everything is growing in my boxes - just take a look:

These are my potted tuberous begonias with the herbs tucked in between. It's an early morning picture when the sun is the brightest in that area.

Here's a photo of my first pumpkin blossom. I think I'll have pumpkins in August!! Looks like there are a lot more coming just behind this blossom.

Here are some cucumber blossoms. I'm hoping to get a lot of cucumbers so I can make Bread and Butter pickles!

Here's an early morning photo of my first eggplant blossom.

Here's a zucchini blossom. Honestly, I had no idea zucchini leaves got so big!!

I just love this little orchid. I got it at our local Home Depot. It's a miniature orchid. I love this photo too - it's early morning, but it looks so soft. That's my composting bin behind the orchid. I'm composting almost everything!!

You know it's summer around here when the pansies begin to get spindly. I hate to see them go, but they just didn't look so good.

Here's their replacement - two varieties of coleus. This area doesn't get any direct sun, and these leaves give the front of my home a nice, neat look.

Hope you enjoyed the photos. I'll update on my progress a little later in the week!

I Won an Award!!

How cool is this - I got an award!! A big "Thank You" to Alwayz Bakin' for nominating me!! That just made my day!! Here are the RULES of this award: 1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award. (Check) 2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog (Check) 3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award. (Check) 4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting. (Uh-Oh) 5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers (See Below) 6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate (See #5) 7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated. (On my To-Do List for today). So, the seven people I am nominating for the award are..... Stacy Snacks Grin and Bake It Cooking During Stolen Moments Real Mom Kitchen Frosted Garden Closet Cooking The Food Librarian Now for my Uh-Oh. Seven things you "might" find interesting about me (good thing they used the word "might"!! LOL!) 1. I have three sons, ages 14, 12, and 3. All three of my sons are adopted. My 12 and 14 year olds are from Russia, and my 3 year old is adopted through our county Children's Services. 2. I hope (pray!) to live long enough to hear my now 12 year old son Christopher one day admit in wonder that I'm the smartest person he's ever known!! (As opposed to today when he thinks I'm the dumbest!!). *Note annoyed look on his face in this photo for my proof! 3. My favorite flower to grow right now is the tuberous begonia. I have three large pots of them on my back deck with herbs mixed in between. I hope to begin an heirloom rose garden next year. 4. I hold my breath when my son swims competitively. My lungs are grateful he is beginning to swim faster!! ;) I know, that photo's not really my son swimming, but I hold my breath when Michael Phelps swims too! LOL!! 5. I check Pioneer Woman's website each day to see how many comments she gotten (like some days are 17,000!!), then I check the recipe! (I also check out this photo of her husband in chaps!) 6. I just taught myself how to make a homemade pie-crust (and I'm 46 years old - see Christopher, you can teach me a new trick!!). 7. I made 93 coffee cup holders and Lemon-Blueberry Muffins for Teacher's Appreciation Day this year - and I refuse to ever drink another cup of coffee (but I'll keep eating muffins!! LOL!). Thanks again for my award - that was really fun!!

Blueberry Pie

My neighbor is trying to grow blueberries in his backyard - and I don't think it's going very well. I'm not sure what he's doing wrong, but in the last four summers, we haven't seen any blueberries at all. I could tell yesterday he seemed pretty defeated, so I did the only thing I knew to do - I baked him a blueberry pie! He laughed when I brought it over to his house last night - and he came back telling me that was a pretty darn good blueberry pie. I'm glad I could cheer him up a little!!

Blueberry Pie

3-4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (without syrup)

One 9 inch deep-dish pie plate

5 T corn starch

2/3 cups sugar

1/2 t cinnamon

3 T water

1 T lemon juice

1 graham cracker pie crust

Topping:

1/4 c sugar

1/2 c flour

1/4 cup butter

Make graham cracker pie crust as per back of graham cracker crumbs box. Refrigerate one hour. Rinse blueberries and drain. Go through and pick out any mushy ones.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl combine 2/3 cups sugar and 5 T cornstarch and mix well. Add 1/2 t cinnamon. Add water and lemon juice.

Add blueberries to the piecrust. Pour the sugar/juice mixture over the blueberries.

In a seperate bowl, make the crumb topping. Mix together the sugar and flour, cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two forks. Sprinkle over the pie.

Place the pie on a large cookie sheet and bake for 50-55 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.

I belong to an "egg" CSA. Kind of weird, I know. I use to belong to the traditional CSA, but it just wasn't that much fun. I never knew from week to week what I was getting, and half the time I didn't know what I got when I got home!! It made menu planning really tough. So this farmer has a traditional CSA, but he also has free-range chickens. Each week I get two dozen free range eggs, and every-other-week I get a whole chicken. This week was just eggs - and I think they're beautiful!! They look like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog. The farmer says that different kinds of chickens lay different color eggs. Each week I always have one green one, with the others varying in shades of brown. Here's a photo of this week's eggs:

Hope everyone has a great weekend!! I'm cleaning and decluttering, and looking forward to making Paula Deen's Strawberry Shortcake!!