Black bean and corn salad

This is a delicious summer dish that can be used as a dip and eaten with chips or made more into a meal/side dish by eating it over bulgur.  You can really put in whatever summer veggies you like.  I think avocado would be delicious in it but Kevin is now allergic so I leave it out.  I didn't follow all the measurement guidelines in the recipe to a T I just added things until it looked like it was enough.  For example I think I only used like 3/4 of a can of beans.

Ingredients:
1/5 c lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2-1 clove garlic - minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cilantro
small slice of jalapeno - remember you can always add more so I normally add a little at a time
1 ear fresh corn - cut kernels from cob
1/2 red bell pepper - chopped
1small  tomato - chopped
1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
3 green onions - chopped


Methods:
1. Place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, cilantro, and jalapeno in a small blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2. In a bowl combine all other ingredients, pour dressing over, stir, and serve.

To try - Goat cheese orzo

I haven't tried this recipe yet but I am looking forward to it.  This recipe is in the Cuisine at Home magazine and is recommended to go with the grilled ratatouille. It looks delicious.

Ingredients:
4 oz. orzo pasta
1/2 c whole milk
4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh parsley - chopped

Methods:
1. Cook orzo according to box directions
2. Whisk together milk and goat cheese in saucepan over medium heat until combined.  Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until slightly thick, 3 minutes.
3. Stir orzo into cheese and milk mixture.
4.  Off heat stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Summer Orzo pasta salad

This is Kevin creation is a light delicious pasta salad for the summer.  We don't normally use measurements when we make this, because Kevin doesn't cook that way, so the ones below are a best guess.  Normally if there aren't enough veggies we just add some more.  You can really put in whatever summer veggies you love.  The last time we made it we threw in some fresh corn and it was delicious.  This is good with the grilled ratatouille recipe I posted earlier.


Ingredients:
1 box orzo
1 red pepper - chopped
1 cucumber - chopped
1 medium tomato - chopped
1 ear of corn - taken off the cob
1/4 cup kalamata olives - chop after measuring, we have used green olives as well but I prefer kalamata
2 stalks asparagus - chopped - when in season
1-2 TBS of olive oil
1-2 TBS of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


Methods:
1.  Cook the past according to box directions, drain, and cool with cold water.
2.  Mix pasta with all of the veggies, add 1 TBS olive oil and balsamic to start and add more if needed
3. Salt n pepper to taste

Grilled Ratatouile

This is a great healthy summer meal that is perfect for hot days when you do not want to heat up the kitchen. It comes from the Cuisine at home magazine which I can not recommend enough.

Ingredients:

You can sub in any veggies you prefer or have on hand, we used pipian squash instead of zucchini.

1 Japanese eggplant - halved lengthwise - you can use regular if that is all you've got
1 red bell pepper - seeded and quartered
1 red onion - cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1 tomato - halved and seeded
1/2 zucchini - cut lengthwise
1/2 yellow squash - cut lengthwise
3 TBS olive oil
2 tsp fresh chopped thyme - I used dried
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp minced lemon zest


1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Toss all of the veggies in 2TBS of olive oil and salt and pepper.
3. Grill vegetables covered until tender, ~ 3 minutes each side depending on how soft you like them.  We prefer them with a little crunch left.
4.  Chop all vegetables except for the tomato into bite size pieces and place in large bowl.
5. Puree tomato with 1 TBS olive oil, thyme, lemon juice and zest until smooth.
6.  Toss the veggies in the tomato puree.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.

We served our veggies over a light summer orzo pasta salad and topped it all off with mozzarella cheese.  The recipe suggest putting it on a creamy goat cheese orzo that I haven't tried yet.

Buffalo chicken dip

This is really easy and really delicious.  I frequently make it in the crock pot and when I take it to parties it is always a pick hit.

Ingredients:
1 package cream cheese - softened
1/2 c ranch dressing
1/2 c hot sauce (I normally use Frank's since it is not too spicy)
1 10 oz can chicken - drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Mix cream cheese, ranch dressing, and hot sauce in a baking dish or crock pot.
2. Add chicken and cheddar cheese.
3. Heat on low for 2-3 hours in a crock pot or bake in the oven for approx. 25 at 350 degrees

Braised short ribs

This is a delicious Kevin delicacy, it is super easy although it takes planning as the cook time is 3 hrs.

Ingredients:
1.75-2 lbs beef short ribs
1 onion - roughly chopped
2 celery stalks - roughly chopped
3 medium carrots - peeled, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic - roughly chopped
1 bottle red wine - whatever your fav/cheap bottle will do
1 1/2 cups - chicken broth
2 sprig rosemary - if easily available but you can do without and its still delicious
2 sprigs thyme -  if easily available but you can do without and its still delicious

1. Sear the short ribs in a dutch oven or large pot with a lid that can go in the oven.  You could probably cook these on top of the stove if you want as well.
2. Remove short ribs and sweat vegetables.
3. Add wine, chicken broth, and herbs and bring to a simmer.
4. Add short ribs and let simmer on the stove for 15-20 minutes.
5.  Cover and place in oven at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.
6. After 2 1/2 hours, remove bones (it's useful if you count when you put them in so you know how many you are looking for), replace cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes
7. Uncover and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes to allow sauce to reduce.
8. It tastes great with mashed potatoes.

Easy Peasy Pizza/stromboli Dough

This is a great pizza dough when you are getting things together last minute because you only need to let it rise for an hour and you are good to go. I've used this dough for both pizza and stromboli's and it is really good with both.  If you want to make it a little healthier you can swap out some of the white flour with whole wheat.

Ingredients:
1 pkg yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 TBS oil
1 c warm water
3 c flour
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Combine the yeast, sugar, oil, and water in a bowl.  Let it sit until it is foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Combine salt and flour.
3.  Gradually add flour mixture to yeast mixture, mixing thoroughly, until a ball forms.
4.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth about 3-5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary.
5. Oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides.  Cover the bowl and set in a warm place (I normally just stick it in my cold oven) until it has doubled in size, about an hour.
When ready roll out a portion of the dough and either fill and fold for stromboli or put on your fav pizza toppings.  Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for around 15 minutes.