Hey, Scallywag!

We did it. We finally got some pirate ship shaved ice. And...disappointment. I wanted the workers to be dressed as pirates, maybe speak a little pirate lingo, the whole nine yards. Nothing. Actually, the customer service was below average, the ice wasn't as "shaved" as we like and the sugary, syrupy, juice stuff tasted watered down. Boo! Next time we'll go to our trusty ol' Shiver Shack! They might not be in a pirate ship, but they're super duper friendly and everything is delish!

Possibly the worst meal ever...

It sounded different and good enough to try. It came out of the cookbook I cherish and have never had a bad dish out of yet. This proves that nothing is perfect. That cookbook is not perfect and this recipe was far from perfect.

What was in it? Squash, zucchini, pasta, onion, rosemary, Dijon mustard, mozzerlla, proscuitto, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Doesn't sound too bad? Ugh! It was! I'll never make it again. On to the next recipe!

Blue Cheese Dressing

This isn't really a recipe, it's just something I've started doing that's absolutely delicious and I thought I would share. Joe makes a super yummy grilled salad  that he tops with blue cheese. I was eating salad for lunch the other day and really wanted one of Joe's grilled salads with gooey, melty blue cheese...then it came to me. I microwaved the blue cheese for a few seconds, got it all ncie and melted and stirred it into my salad. The outcome was a delicious "dressing" that coated every bite. Also, I used reduced fat blue cheese, so it was less fat and calories than most light dressings!

Jalapeno Pasta with Calabacitas Sauce

We bought fresh jalapeno linguine at our local farmer's market this past weekend and I searched the web for a recipe and came across this.: Pappardelle's Green Jalapeno Pasta with Calabacitas Sauce
I literally cut, pasted and then edited this recipe to exactly what I did.

Calabacitas Sauce
1 lb. Jalapeno Linguine
1 (11 oz) can of summer sweet corn, no salt added
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, sliced
3 medium zucchini, diced
3 Poblanos - roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
Garlic Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. After all of your vegetables are prepped and ready to go, cook pasta in pot of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente (about 8-10 minutes). Drain and transfer to heated pasta bowl.

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. Add zucchini; sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. Add corn and chiles, sauté until corn is cooked, about 2-3 minutes. Add broth, salt and pepper. If it needs more liquid, add a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water.

3. Serve sauce over pasta and top with grated cheddar cheese.
Serves 4-6

Next time I'll try it over rice!

Indian-Style Okra

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound sliced fresh okra
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• chili powder
• diced tomato, canned
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

*I added these.

Makes 4 servings

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender. Stir in the okra, and season with cumin, ginger, coriander, pepper and salt. Cook and stir for a few minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the pan. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until okra is tender.               

Nutrional Info Per Serving Calories: 126 | Total Fat: 8.9g | Cholesterol: 23mg

I served this over white rice & I found this recipe here:
AllRecipes.com Easy Indian Style Okra

Simple Salad

I don't have a picture, and this is by no means a gourmet dish, (or even a very creative one) but I've been enjoying something lately I thought I'd share with you. Just last week we had steaks and sweet potatoes. The asparagus I intended to cook had gone bad and I was in need of serving a vegetable but I didn't have much on hand to choose from. I ended up throwing all of the below in a bowl, mixing it up and it was very much enjoyed by all...especially Hana and myself!

There is no exact amount as this just happened, so use as much or as little as you like. Add some things, subtract some things, use a different dressing if you so desire.

grape tomatoes
chopped carrots
green onion
celery
Lite Ranch dressing

The second time I made this I didn't have green onion, only yellow, so that's what I used. Red would also be yummy! That time I also mixed in a little garlic powder and a pinch of shredded Colby Jack cheese because it was not served as a side but for lunch for Hana and me.

*Slow Cooker Beans & Rice

It is hot. H-O-T, hot. We're talking 100+ degrees outside, people. Welcome to summertime in Texas! As a native, I don't really mind it. Well, I don't love it, but I am used to it. Okay, okay, I'm as used to it as I can get. During the summer in Texas we sweat a lot, swim a lot, play in any kind of water a lot, own lots of shorts and flip flops and revive in the shade. This is the time of year when it's 95 in the shade and you cannot believe you hear yourself say, "Man, this feels nice!" When you've seen the outdoor thermometer read 104 several days in a row you quickly learn how to keep the inside as cool as possible. And since I like the inside of my house cold rather than cool, I've got a lot of tricks under my sleeve; keep the blinds closed, fans on high, lights off as much as possible, exhaust fan on when washing/drying clothes or showering and NOT TURNING THE OVEN ON! I don't know about yours, but my oven seems to heat my house in a heartbeat. It's probably because our kitchen opens into our living room, where we spend a lot of time. This time of year we eat lots of fruit, I make lots of sandwiches and salads - it's almost too hot to even care to eat! But I also lean on my crock pot quite a bit in the summertime when we need a hot meal. Mine doesn't give off much heat at all and not only do I not have to crank the oven, I don't have to slave over a hot stove either! So here's a yummy crock pot recipe:
3 c water
1 c dried red kidney beans
1 c chopped onion (I always cook with yellow)
1 c chopped green bell pepper
3/4 c chopped celery
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 (14 ounce) package turkey smoked sausage
1 bay leaf
5 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
3 c hot, cooked long-grain rice
1/4 c chopped green onions

Combine first 12 ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover with lid; cook on high 5 hours. Discard bay leaf; stir in salt. Serve over rice; sprinkle servings with green onions. Makes 4 servings (1 cup bean mixture, 3/4 cup rice and 1 tbsp green onions)

I think a little cheese sprinkled on top would be delicious, but I am an over cheeser and I refrained.

*From that favorite cookbook of mine: Cooking Light: Cook Smart Eat Well