Fresh Herb Pizza

I made this to go along with the Chicken, Feta, Blueberry Salads!! Perfect!!


Click HERE for the recipe!

Chicken, Blueberry and Corn Salad

YUM! I saw this on Pioneer Woman's cooking show and had to make it- the perfect summer dinner!!

Click HERE for the recipe! (I served mine over butter lettuce bowls!)

Beet Salad

So, I accidentally grabbed 4 (really large!) beets at the store instead of turnips (oops!) and didn't want them to go to waste. I love Skinnytaste's recipes, so I thought I'd give this one a try! It wasn't something I would probably die to have again, but if you are looking for something to replace traditional potatoes, here's a good option! HERE is the link!

Hot Mini Sandwiches

I made some Bunco Buns a couple years ago that I thought were pretty good- and I was looking for something to go along with my soup, so I was excited to try these (I always see the fun sandwich dressings by the deli, but have never bought them until now!). These are SO good... thanks Pioneer Woman! Click HERE for the link.

Acorn Squash Soup

From: Carrie

I love ginger so when my friend made this for a Wine Night, I could have licked my bowl! I was looking for something different to make for the family, so this was perfect. Although soup in the summer doesn't always sound good, this was really yummy. Here's the basic recipe from Carrie (with some of my notes included):

1. Bake the squash. I only used 1 for this soup but if I did it again I would probably use 2. The baking directions are on the sticker label on the squash. Plan for about 30 minutes. (My sticker label said to microwave it, so I did... and it took about 5 minutes!).

2. Chop up some onion, garlic, Ginger, or whatever vegetable you want in the soup. This is just your decision on how much flavor of each thing you want. This is where you can get creative/make other kinds of soups (Potato? Bell Pepper?)

3. Couple tablespoons of oil (I use grape seed oil these days, but feel free to use olive)... put into a large sautee pan and turn heat on to medium-ish.

4. Throw in your veggies and sautee for about 5 minutes.

5. Next add your broth - either chicken or veggie- and your squash. I would either use almost all of a carton size or 3-4 cans. 

6. Turn heat to low and let the vegetables and broth simmer for around 20 minutes. This is where you can season it too, using salt, pepper, cardamom, etc.

7. Have a blender ready. After all has cooked, put it all into the blender and puree:)

8. Taste it and determine if you want to make it creamy. If so I would add a tablespoon or so of butter and maybe about a cup of heavy cream. You can also add more seasoning in this step, too, if needed. (I put in some coconut milk!)

9. And that's that! There's a recipe using bell peppers and tomatoes and onions that is the same process, and when everything is being blended, you're to add 1/2 cup Almond Butter. It's real good!

Ugly Costco Pasta

I found this in our Costco Magazine. It is a super simple, easy dinner that has become a go-to with our rotisserie chicken for days that we need a quick dinner or we've ben out late grocery shopping!

Ingredients

1/2 rotisserie chicken
1 package "rainbow" cheese tortellini
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms (I leave these out because the hubs doesn't like them!)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 cups half and half
1 cup chicken broth
Cajun seasoning to taste
2 Tablespoons dried basil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Shred leftover chicken and set aside. Prepare tortellini according to instructions on package and set aside.
Add olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Saute mushrooms for 3 to 5 minutes and then add garlic. Add sun-dried tomatoes and chicken, and saute until mixed thoroughly. Add half and half, broth and seasonings.
Add tortellini. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes to reduce liquid and blend flavors. If you need to add liquid, add half and half and chicken broth in a 2:1 ratio.
Serves 6.

Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk, Tomatoes and Cilantro

Another Skinnytaste Success!! Click HERE for the link.