Creamy Caprese Pasta

This recipe allowed me to use some of the basil and tomatoes I have growing out of control in my garden, which is always nice.  I love baked pastas, they are delightful.  I used shredded asiago instead of parmesan and shredded mozzarella instead of rounds of fresh mozzarella because that's what I had at home.  It worked just fine!  I served mine with a crusty french bread.  Beside it being WAY too hot to have had my oven on last night, this was wonderful and easy.  Here is the original recipe.

Chile Relleno Casserole

 

I was given some chiles and had no idea what I'd do with them.  Luckily someone suggested making chile relleno and I found a recipe online.  It took no time at all putting it all together and it tasted so, so good.  I used fresh peppers instead of canned, and either would work.  I am excited to have a new, easy dish that I really liked.  I served it with refried beans and my little concoction of couscous mixed with a can of Mexican-flavored diced tomatoes.  Yum!  Here is the recipe.

Hamburger Patties & Special Sauce

I heard about a burger recipe from a friend that I really wanted to try but I had to tweak it a little bit.  Here's what I ended up using:

1 lb. ground beef (85/15)
1/4 cup grated hot pepper blend cheese
1/8 cup BBQ sauce
1 T onion flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together with your hands and then form them into 4 patties.  Make an indent in the middle of each patty. 

I served them on grilled sesame seed buns with avocado, tomato, lettuce and special sauce.

Special Sauce is basically just fry sauce, with Worcestershire sauce added and some salt.  I just eyed how much ketchup, mayo and Worcestershire to mix and added a dash of salt.  I like what it added to the burger. 

My friend said it was "restaurant quality".  They were delicious.

Happy BBQing!

Pioneer Woman's Creamy Lemon Basil Potato Salad

We were having friends over for a BBQ and I had a whole bunch of red potatoes I needed to use so I went to PW's website to search for "potatoes".  This recipe came up and it sounded right up my alley.  It is so easy to throw together.  The only time-consuming part is boiling the potatoes.  I made it the night before the BBQ though so I wasn't rushing for them to finish and that way the flavors could meld overnight.  It turned out so, so yummy.  I like it much better than normal potato salad.  I will definitely make this for a potluck sometime.  YUM!  Here's the simple recipe.

Orzo with Basil, Tomatoes and Feta

I just threw this together with things I had at home for a barbeque yesterday.  I love all the ingredients so throwing them together couldn't be wrong. 

Orzo with Basil, Tomatoes and Feta

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 cup of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup crumbled feta
15-20 basil leaves, chopped
About 3-4 Tablespoons (as much or as little as you prefer, really) basil-flavored olive oil (or regular if that's all you have)

Cook the orzo pasta, drain and let cool slightly.  Add halved tomatoes, basil leaves, feta and olive oil and mix.  I served mine cold. 

Fresh & yummy.

Cilantro-Lime Steak Tacos

I fell in love with these steak tacos when I made them camping last year.  These are my husband's favorite meal I've ever made.  I serve them with salsa, cheese, shredded lettuce and grilled corn guacamole with chips.  Delicious and so easy.  I grilled by myself for the first time ever this time around... it was a success!  You should definitely make these - ASAP.  Here is the recipe.

Pioneer Woman's Grilled Corn Guacamole

I fell in love with this guacamole last summer.  The grilled corn really adds something special to it.  Beware: You will want to eat the whole batch yourself.  I think this could easily be halved if you don't want to buy six avocados, but I haven't done it because I love guacamole too much to make a smaller batch.  Must try!  Here it is.  I serve it with my favorite taco recipe (see above).