Summer Vegetables are Here!

Our vegetable garden is finally coming alive! 

Last year my family put vegetable gardens in the back yard and put in some "tester" plants to see what worked and what didn't. So this year, we planted everything that worked and left out what didn't. We're also testing out eggplant this year but so far it hasn't produced anything...

We have a lot of spices, like we do every year--basil, cilantro, parsley, mint, etc...

But, we do have some tomatoes that are coming up:

And lettuce:

...lots of lettuce:

And a TON of yellow squash! (so be expecting some recipes soon)

Cinnamon Roll-Up

Sometimes when I get bored and have a few spare minutes, I throw together the first simple ingredients I see and just hope they turn into something delicious. This is definitely one of those recipes--I was bored, I had a half hour until I had to go out, and I saw a pre-made pie crust sitting in the fridge. So naturally, I grabbed some butter, a little sugar, and lots and lots of cinnamon!

I let the butter soften a bit, stirred in a dash of sugar and a ton of cinnamon (I LOVE cinnamon).

I rolled out the pie crust and spread the butter cinnamon concoction:

And then I just rolled it up:

And sliced it longways:

And this is where the "hope they turn into something delicious" part comes into play. I twisted together the two halves and threw it in the oven...

It actually worked! It was a light, cinnamon-y treat:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 pre-made pie crust
1 tbs sugar
3-4 tbs cinnamon (or more if you really like cinnamon like me)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture on the rolled out pie crust. Roll up the pie crust then slice long-wise. Next, twist the two strips together and lay flat on baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Homemade Ice Cream Cake

I love ice cream. A lot. It's definitely among my favorite treats and the summer heat makes ice cream all the better. The thing is, though, I can never decide on just one flavor or just one form of ice cream for that matter. Bowls of ice cream get boring rather quickly. Ice cream sandwiches are delicious but can get pretty messy. And those vanilla popsicles coated in hard chocolate? They pretty much always end up on the ground.

Anyways, I decided that I needed to combine all this into one dessert--the queen of all ice cream desserts. A cake made with everything I would want in the best frozen treat ever: oreos, ice cream sandwiches, three ice cream flavors, chocolate chips, and lots of cool whip. Oh, and a strawberry on top of course.

I must say, the most complicated part of this cake was choosing the flavors. Well, that and not eating all the ice cream before I finished the cake. After standing in front of the ice cream section at the supermarket for a solid ten minutes, I ended up using chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter swirl. There are, however, so many combinations out there and for those of you that want more or less flavors in your cake, that's an option too. 

Since my cake was chocolaty, I went with an oreo crust. But for more fruity cakes and for those rare people that don't like oreos, crushed up graham cracker will work just as well!

So, I started off with a spring-form pan (basically a pan that has sides with a spring that lets them come off). I sprayed the entire pan liberally with cooking spray then I cut wax paper to line the sides.

Then I crushed some oreos and added a little bit of milk and cut up the ice cream sandwiches into quarters.

...so my cake looked like this:

And at this point things got a little melty so I put the cake in the freezer for a little while. I found that this cake required many trips to the freezer between layers. While the first part of the cake froze, I took about 1/2 of the quart container of chocolate ice cream--I like to use the darker flavors on the bottom of the cake--and placed it in a bowl to soften. Once softened, I spread it evenly on top of the oreo crust.

And then I repeated that:

And repeated that again:

And then i topped it with some cool whip, some chocolate chips, crushed oreos, and a strawberry so that it looked like this:

                                                                    

The most satisfying part of making this cake? Well, besides eating it, was taking off the sides of the pan and seeing the final product in its entirety.

                                                                         

1 package of oreo cookies (or generic brand chocolate cookies with vanilla creme)

1 tablespoon milk

1 large package ice cream sandwiches 

3 quarts of ice cream (different flavors--you will only use about 1/2 quart of each flavor, so if you just want 1 flavor 2 quarts should be fine)

1 container of Cool Whip

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Spray the bottom and sides of a spring form pan then line the sides with wax paper. Also, make sure you have space in your freezer!

Cut ice cream sandwiches into quarters and line the outside of the pan with them. They should be close together but not to the point that the ice cream is smooshed. You may have to put the cake in the freezer about half way through to prevent too much melting. 

While the ice cream sandwiches are freezing, crumble about 15 cookies in a plastic bag then add 2 tablespoons of milk. Press this mixture into the bottom of the pan then place in freezer until firm, about 15 minutes. 

While the crust is freezing, spoon about 1/2 quart of the first flavor into a bowl (I usually put the darkest flavor on the bottom, but that's just personal preference) and allow it to soften, stirring as needed. Once it is soft enough to be able to spread, take the cake out of the freezer and evenly spread the layer into the cake. Freeze for about 20 minutes or until firm. Repeat this for the next two layers and for the Cool Whip layer.

Decorate with mini chocolate chips and crushed up oreos, if desired. 

ENJOY!

Mimi's Coleslaw

Whenever there's a barbecue, my mom is always the first to volunteer to bring coleslaw. Not only is this recipe really simple and quick to make, it tastes delicious and has been passed on in my family. It's perfect as a side, as an addition to a quick sandwich, or, even better, as a topping for a pulled pork sandwich (a recipe for the best pulled pork will be coming soon).

1 package coleslaw
1 cup Miracle Whip
2 tbs. vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Add Miracle Whip, vinegar, and sugar to a bowl and whisk until blended. Stir in coleslaw until it is evenly coated. Refrigerate until serving.

Healthy Potato Salad

1 quart red potatoes (about 20)

1 green bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons white vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 8 oz. container of plain Greek yogurt
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste


Add potatoes to water in a large saucepan and boil, covered, 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and can be easily stuck with a fork. Drain and allow potatoes to cool or run cold water over them for 5 minutes. Once cooled, cut potatoes into quarters or eighths and put in a large bowl. Add the bell pepper.




In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, vinegar, salt pepper, parsley and cilantro. Once thoroughly mixed, add to the potato mixture and stir until potatoes are coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Shrimp Stir Fry

1/2 pound shrimp (cleaned)
1 yellow squash cut into strips
1 red pepper cut into strips

1 green pepper cut into strips
1/2 red onion sliced
2 cups broccoli chopped
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs garlic
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp hoisin sauce
2 tbs sriracha sauce

In a large skillet, heat olive oil then add garlic over medium heat. Once garlic is heated, mix in squash, peppers, onion, and broccoli and 1/2 cup of broth. Cover and stir every few minutes for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Mix in remaining broth, hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce. Add shrimp and cover for 3 to 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink and cooked through.

Serve over white or brown rice.

Brownie Reese's Cookie Cupcake

1 roll of chocolate chip cookie dough (or a batch of homemade dough if you have time!)
1 box brownie mix, prepared
1 bag Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Preheat oven to 350. Coat bottoms and sides of 18 regular sized muffin tins. Using fingers, press cookie dough into the bottom of the muffin tins. Gently press a Reese's into each. Pour brownie mix into each muffin tin until the Reese's is covered. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the brownie has set and a wooden toothpick placed in the center of each cupcake comes out clean. Enjoy!

These can also be made in mini muffin tins with mini Reese's cups.

Best Ever Apple Pie

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

7-9 apples, peeled and sliced (use a variation of apples--Granny Smith, Pink Lady, etc.)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon 

2 9-inch pie crusts

1 egg white
2 tsp sugar

Mix apples, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl and set aside. In a 9-inch cast iron skillet, melt butter and then stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat. Place bottom pie crust over brown sugar and butter mixture. Pour apples over crust and top with the second pie crust.

With a fork, beat egg white until frothy and brush over pie crust. Sprinkle with sugar and cut about 5 slits in the top pie crust to let heat escape.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.

*This recipe is from Southern Living Magazine and is best apple pie I've ever had!