Orzo Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumber, Feta & Lemon Basil Dressing

This was so delicious I can't even tell you.  It is so light, summery and flavorful.  I mixed a few recipes into one.

Ingredients


1 1/2 cups orzo
1 large cucumber, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup feta cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Lemon Basil Dressing

 3/4 cup basil leaves, packed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
A large splash of white balsamic vinegar

Cook and drain orzo pasta and run cold water over the top to stop the cooking, while in colander.  Transfer to a large serving bowl. 

Make the lemon basil dressing by throwing all ingredients into a blender and blending well.

Toss cucumber, tomato, feta, lemon basil dressing and salt and pepper with the orzo.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

This was a real crowd pleaser!

Grilled Corn with Cilantro Lime Butter

To serve with a spicy burger, I made this cilantro-lime butter to cover our grilled corn with.  I made a smaller batch for us to use on four cobs of corn.  It was SO easy, and way yummier than just plain butter for this type of dinner.  Make this!!

"His" Burgers

We have some jalapenos in our garden so I wanted to use some in burgers.  I used Pioneer Woman's "his" burger recipe (minus bacon) as a jumping off point, and they were SO delicious!

Ingredients for 4 burgers - Adapted from PW

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground pepper
2 squirts Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup milk
Bakery buns (much better than the bagged hamburger buns)

Mix all of these ingredients together in a bowl and then form into four hamburger patties.  Grill them over medium heat and melt cheese over top.

Toppings

Fresh slices of jalapenos, seeded
Hot pepper cheese slices
Ketchup
Tomatoes
Pinch of fresh cilantro leaves

We melted some cheese on top, covered them with fresh jalapenos and then added ketchup and tomatoes because they would have been dry.  I was going to make chipotle mayo for the buns but these were already really spicy and that would have taken them over my limit. 

The burgers themselves were so moist and yummy - and I loved the spiciness. 

One Pot Wonder Tomato Basil Pasta

This turned out way better than I expected it to.  It was super easy and was really quite good.  I omitted the onion since we don't like them.  Great for a weeknight!

Basil Balsamic

I made this basil balsamic last night.  I think I've found the secret to GREAT dressing - WHITE balsamic vinegar instead of just balsamic vinegar.  It's so yummy.  This took minutes to throw together and was the best dressing I've had in a long time.  I'm obsessed with it.  I used fresh basil from my garden and I halved this recipe to make a smaller batch.  I put it over a salad with cucumbers and tomatoes from our garden, too.  Yay for harvest season! Here's the recipe.

Garden Vegetable Enchiladas

Ho-ly cow.  These are sooooo good!!!  I wanted to use some summer squash from my garden to make from-scratch enchiladas & this recipe was to-die-for.  Highly recommend.

I served them with some sour cream and homemade salsa made with garden tomatoes, and I wanted to eat the entire pan. 

I deviated from the linked recipe just a little by adding a can of black beans, rinsed and drained, and instead of using a can of green chilies I used two small fresh jalapenos from my garden, chopped very small. 

See here for the recipe.
 

Basil Pesto and Goat Cheese Pesto Pasta

I have a ton of basil in my garden and that makes me very, very happy.  It smells and tastes AMAZING.  I also have tons of different types of tomatoes coming up.  I get kind of flustered and feel like I need to use all of my garden produce really quickly, all at once, so I decided to make something with both basil and tomatoes.  I've never made my own pesto, so I decided to give it a try.  I used Pioneer Woman's recipe, except I didn't have access to [expensive] pine nuts, so I used walnuts instead.  Here is the recipe I used:

 

Pesto

§  3/4 cups Fresh Basil Leaves

§  1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

§  3 Tablespoons Walnuts

§  2 cloves Garlic, Peeled

§  Salt And Pepper, to taste

§  1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

       Add basil leaves, 1/2 cup Parmesan, walnuts, and salt and pepper to a food processor or blender. Turn machine on, then drizzle in olive oil while it mixes. Continue blending until combined, adding additional olive oil if needed.

 

After making the pesto I added it to 1 pound of cooked wheat penne pasta, with about 2-3 ounces of goat cheese and a couple handfuls of fresh-from-the-garden cherry tomatoes.  I mixed it all together with a little splash of milk.   It was SERIOUSLY SO GOOD!!!  I loved it.  Will definitely make it again soon. 

 

Goat cheese rocks my world.

 

Goat Cheese "Thumbprint" Cookies, with Blueberry Jam Centers

I love goat cheese and I had a block of it I needed to use so I started researching goat cheese in baked goods.  I found this recipe for goat cheese cookies & knew I had to try them.  They were FABULOUS!  The goat cheese made them so soft and delicious - and you can't taste actual goat cheese, in case you don't like it and are worried.  I loved these & will definitely make them again.  Here is the recipe!  I also put too much dough and pressed the cookies down too much on the cookie sheet so mine didn't turn out very "thumbprint"-like, but still tasted great.

Summertime Peach Ice Cream

I made this fresh peach ice cream the other day & it was/is delicious! It makes a TON of ice cream.  It's super easy to make, too.  Definitely give it a try if you like peaches.  This recipe is from Southern Living.

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches (about 8 small ripe peaches)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 (3.75-ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 cups half-and-half

Preparation

1. Combine peaches and sugar, and let stand 1 hour.
2. Process peach mixture in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.
3. Stir together evaporated milk and pudding mix in a large bowl; stir in peach puree, condensed milk, and half-and-half.
4. Pour mixture into freezer container of a 4-quart hand-turned or electric freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon into an airtight container, and freeze until firm.

Lunch Ideas: Cucumber Avocado Sandwich

I'm always looking for something fresh, light and good for lunches to take to work.  I have been eating these sandwiches this week & they are perfect!  I love the veggie cream cheese spread on them... so delish.  If you need a good lunch idea, here is a nice one to try!

2 slices hearty whole grain bread
 1 wedge Laughing Cow Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread
2 - 3 tablespoons mashed avocado
12 thin slices cucumber
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Toast the bread. Spread each slice of bread with the Laughing Cow Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread on one side. Top the cheese on both slices with mashed avocado. Then, layer the cucumber slices on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper (if desired). Eat open faced or place the two halves together.

Recipe from www.goodlifeeats.com

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Bombs

These concoctions are easy to make (although slightly time consuming with waiting for things to freeze/cool/etc.) and are wonderful for chocolate lovers.  They were a bit too much for my taste, but everyone else liked them a lot.  It's basically a ball of cookie dough, covered with a thin brownie and dipped in melted chocolate.  Chocolate overload!  Here is the recipe.

Blistered Tomato, Basil and Goat Cheese Pasta

This is a new favorite pasta recipe... it is SERIOUSLY easy, so flavorful and delicious.  I love it!!!  Here is the recipe:  YUM!

PW's Bruschetta

I had some leftover pasta for dinner but not a ton of it, so I wanted to supplement it with something extra.  I made PW's bruschetta and it was fast/easy/yummy/summery/buttery.  I only used red tomatoes because I made a half recipe.  Which is why mine isn't as pretty as hers.  Among other reasons.

PW's Quick & Easy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

I love new pasta recipes that are easy for weeknights!  I don't normally love red bell peppers but I wanted to try this recipe anyway.  In doing so, I realized I actually like roasted peppers way more than raw.  This was seriously yummy.  Unfortunately, I only had mozzarella at home and didn't want to get Parmesan at the store.  So my pasta was very gooey with melted mozzarella.  I'm positive Parmesan is a better choice.  Still it was delicious!  I also didn't have fresh herbs and used a teaspoon or so of dry herbs.  I bet fresh herbs would make this even more tasty.  Definitely try it.

PW's PASTA RECIPE

 

P.S. I even used too much pasta (16 oz. instead of 12 oz.) and it turned out.  Definitely use 12 oz. though, or else yours won't be saucy (kind of like mine, as you can see). 

No-Tequila Lime Chicken & Mexican Rice

I made Pioneer Woman's Tequila Lime Chicken, but I didn't have tequila and didn't want to buy tequila, so I just omitted it.  The chicken was delicious!  We put it in tacos with cheese, mashed black beans and PW's Mexican rice.  Definitely a hit!  Here is the recipe for the chicken. And here is the recipe for the Mexican rice, which is yummy and makes a ton for leftovers. 

Caribbean Dream Pie

I was given the New Moosewood Cookbook recently and have tried quite a few recipes from it, all of them really good.  This one is probably the best though, since it's a dessert.  It is really easy to make, for the most part, and is delicious for summer (it's served cold).  Here is the recipe.  To make it easier, you could buy a pre-made graham cracker crust. 

 

Oven Tacos

New weeknight standby.  Way better than normal ground beef tacos!  HERE is the recipe!

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

Easy and good for birthday cupcake decorating!  By MARTHA STEWART.

Sour Cream Pasta Bake

Easy & pretty yummy -- great for a weeknight dinner.  RECIPE by Pioneer Woman.

Neopolitan Cupcakes

 

I've been so bad at updating this lately!  But these were such a delicious find on Pinterest that I had to post.  I used THIS recipe, but used strawberry cake mix instead (as the pin I found did).  So super yummy!  I used THIS cream cheese frosting recipe for the topping.  Highly recommended!

Pioneer Woman's Potato Soup

I've made several things since my last post but have been lazy in taking pictures and staying caught up.  So, instead of worrying about all that, I will get back into the swing of it now. 

Last night I made PW's potato soup.  It was very easy to make and so, so good.  The toppings make the soup worthwhile.  Also, I served mine in toasted bread bowls and that made it even better. 

HERE is the recipe.  I definitely recommend it for one of these subzero nights we've been having.