Roasted Tomato, Red Pepper, and Basil Soup

15 Aug IMG_3216

As most of you who have gardens know very well, it’s prime season for tomatoes… to the point where you have so many of them you have NO idea what to do with them all!

Pat & I belong to a CSA in Madison, and it’s our first year doing it so we didn’t quite know what to expect. Here’s what we’ve found: the pure quantity of veggies we get weekly is astounding, and we split a share with my sister and her husband… I can’t imagine what a full share looks like!!  I am absolutely loving all the fresh veggies and it’s just now started to catch up with us, so I think we’ve done well so far.

Right now, this means currently we have bags full of tomatoes, garlic, basil, and onions sitting on our counter. Continue reading →

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Red, White & Blue Trifle Jars

8 Jul

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July (and were able to stay cool)! It was nice to have a day off and have no set plans. Any plans we had were kyboshed by the heat! It was really difficult to find anything to do outside for more than 5 minutes at a time… 105+ degrees is just unbearable for me! I suppose that is why I live in Wisconsin and not Arizona, right?

A bunch of us had planned on going to Concerts on the Square- a Madison summer tradition, where music acts play on Wednesday nights on the deck of the Capitol and everyone lays out blankets and drinks wine. But, we decided against it this week; we weren’t going to sit outside when it was still 101 degrees at 7 PM! Bleh.

So, I had originally made these desserts for everyone to eat during Concerts. I thought they would be super convenient in their own little containers and spoons- great to take to potlucks, pool parties, etc.  Since I didn’t get to share them with everyone like I had planned, Pat & I just got to enjoy them a few days longer (they kept nicely for a days, and the cake stayed quite moist). Continue reading →

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Caprese Bites & Chicken Veggie Pasta

1 Jul

I love cooking for other people! I take any opportunity I get to make food for others, it’s my favorite way of showing love for friends & family! Every week, some friends and I try to get together and take turns making dinner for each other, and I love it. It’s also a good way to utilize some recipes that have been sitting around that I’ve been waiting to try. Turns out, these two recipes were perfect for a mid-summer dinner get together. Continue reading →

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Salad in the Sun

17 Jun

Edit: I’ve been informed we used to make this at Girl Scout Camp, under the name Salad in the Sun… maybe that’s why it tastes good, brings back good memories :)

Fruit- Nature’s candy! I have to take advantage of fruit while it’s in season.  Strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, pineapple, grapes…. My fridge is loaded.

Blueberries are so dang expensive- they JUST came down to $2.50 for a large carton. Before, they were $4 for a tiny little container.  I could eat 2-3 big cartons a week… Heck, I could eat one in a sitting, if I let myself. Most of the year, I can’t be spending that much on a handful blueberries!  So I mow them down while they’re cheap.

I gathered up some glorious fresh fruit and threw it all in a container, like my mom used to do for just about every summer dinner I can remember.  And then I searched Pinterest to get some inspiration.

Instant vanilla pudding mix? Sounds weird, but okay, I’ll try it.

Victory! I don’t know what it is about this, but I just can’t stop eating it. Soooo tasty, and very refreshing! Continue reading →

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Home Sweet… Madison! (& Frozen Dark Chocolate Covered Banana Bites)

29 May The Capitol building on a beautiful Saturday in May

Whew! So, settling in took A LOT longer than I thought it would. The first week or two consisted of going to work, coming home and unpacking, taking a break to make dinner with whatever we could muster up in the fridge, and going to bed.

We also didn’t have couches delivered until May 11, so I didn’t do a whole lot of sitting down in the first two weeks! Continue reading →

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Seafood Stuffed Portabellas

22 Apr IMG_1931-001

So, I’m in the (painful) process of moving… back to Madison! Finally! And it’s at a perfect time, too, because the outdoor Farmer’s Market started yesterday!! I’m so excited, it should be a city holiday, for gosh sake!

I already know there will be minimal cooking in our apartment this week. I have to prepare to get a little creative this week with food. We’re trying to clean out the fridge, freezer, and pantry as much as we can! To be honest, cooking is the last thing I want to be doing… and making more of a mess in my already disastrously messy apartment.

There are boxes, clothes, etc. laying all over everywhere. Shandy is none too happy about it- she has just been walking around whining at us, like, “What is going on, Mom?!” Continue reading →

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Make-Ahead Salad in a Jar

2 Apr IMG_1921

Since I took a step back and started looking a little more closely at the way I eat, I have tried some things that I definitely wouldn’t have even considered before… I ate salads every single day for lunch last week, I used spaghetti squash in place of pasta, and I made chocolate pudding out of mashed avocadoes (sounds odd but it tastes like brownie batter). Crazy!

It’s funny, because anyone who knows me pretty well knows that I don’t really do salads…. I LOVE salads, but I don’t digest leafy greens very well… too much information? Ha!

So, I found this idea for salads in jars on Pinterest (no surprise, with their crazy obsession with Mason jars); it’s really great to spend a little time on a Sunday and not have to worry about planning lunches all week! From what I heard, they can last up to 5 days if you pack them pretty tight. It’s an easy concept: you put the dressing on the bottom of a 1-quart mason jar, layer with veggies, and top with lettuce or spinach so it doesn’t get soggy. Pretty brilliant if you ask me! And you can make all sorts of varieties and flavors!

UPDATE 4/14/12: I made the salads on a Sunday, and they stayed PERFECT throughout the whole week- through Friday!

Continue reading →

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