GSW::seven



peace love ice cream buy here





somehow i was under the impression that it was not thursday.  i don't know what day i thought it was, but it wasn't thursday in my head.  holidays in the middle of the week really throw a momma off.  i sure hope you all had a good one.  now i am here to give you a plan for next week's dinners.  all of the dinners are quick, veggie heavy, and have some element that can be prepped in the morning or the night before. 

1.  fish tacos with cabbage and confetti salad
{to make the salad combine 1 can of rinsed black beans with 2 ears of roasted corn (kernels cut off the ears), 1/2 a red onion ( chopped), 1 red pepper (chopped), the juice of 1 lime, salt, and a handful of chopped cilantro. this salad keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge.}

2. italian sausage topped with roasted red peppers and onions served with coleslaw
{roast one red pepper and one onion in the oven for about 30 minutes at 425 degrees.  once skins look blistered, remove and put in a ziploc bag for a few minutes.  carefully open and peel off the skin of the red pepper and onion, cut into strips.  can be done up to one day on advance. the coleslaw should be made the night before. grill sausages and top with peppers and onions in a hoagie bun.}

3. grilled chicken* with a blt salad
{*DALS is pretty much the authority on grilled chicken so just go with whatever looks good over there if you need an idea for your grilled chicken*.  if you are going with a marinated chicken, prep the marinade in the morning and let the chicken steep all day. for the salad...cut up romaine lettuce and arrange a thinly sliced, sweet onion on top with some halved cherry tomatoes. in a skillet, fry 1/4 lb. of bacon until crispy.  add 1/2 c. of cider vinegar and 1/2 c. sugar in the skillet with the bacon, bring to a simmer.  cook until sugar dissolves.  immediately pour over lettuce and onions, combine and serve immediately.}

4. egg salad sandwiches with cucumber salad
{make the salad the night before and the cucumber salad in the morning.  and, yes, this qualifies as dinner when it is 1000 degrees outside and/or you have 1000 million things to do...or you have a lot of eggs and cukes.  plus, it is faster, cheaper, healthier, and better than takeout/fast food.}

5. french bread pizza stuffed with summer's bounty
{go to the store and buy a loaf of french or italian bread from the bakery section.  cut in half, lengthwise.  hollow out the slices a bit.  shred or thinly slice some garden or farmer's market goodies...zucchini, kale, onions, eggplant, swiss chard are all good options.  saute in a pan with a bit of garlic and olive oil.  add mushrooms or ground sausage, if you like. you can prep the filling the night before.   spread some marinara or pizza sauce on the bread and top with your fillings.  top with mozzarella and bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  or until the cheese is melted.}

cool treat AND a boredom buster...
make ice cream in a ziploc bag

it's still hot. have a cool drink...
minty orange iced tea

the oven and my nemesis

i don't remember the last time i turned on my oven on.  i have only used the stovetop three times in the past two weeks.  mostly, i have been cooking dinner like it is 1995...on my george forman grill, in the crockpot and in the toaster oven.  i long to turn my oven on to make some pie. but i refuse to do such a thing to myself when it is 100 degrees outside. so what have i been cooking? among others: sausage & peppers, grilled zucchini ribbon salad, pasta carbonara, cheeseburgers, sausage stuffed swiss chard, kielbasa with latkes and shrimp tarragon rolls. only a couple more days and the heat wave will be broken.  hopefully. it brings some rain. the corn needs it.  i need it.  i got big plans to do some breakfast freezer cooking.  breakfast and i have been fighting lately.  i cannot bear to make anymore eggs for hendrix, but i have no backup plan.  if i don't have a plan, then i turn hangry. hangry is a condition where mommy turns crazed and angry with hunger right around 10 am.  it's not pretty.  however, the last two mornings i have made breakfast grilled cheese.  cream cheese, berries, a drizzle of honey on wheat bread grilled on....you guessed it! the george foreman.  what do ya'll eat for breakfast? 

hello, july!



art by katie rodgers of paper fashion found via pinterest





hi, friends.  it seems like july just appeared out of nowhere, doesn't it?  maybe it is just me. we had a nice relaxing, yet productive, weekend.  on sunday, we had hendrix's cousins and friends over...there were 6 children under six...for supper, swimming, tie dye, and watermelon eating.  hendrix had a blast.  however, our poor kitty, whitey, started getting sick over the weekend.  i thought she was really sick, but thankfully it is just some bad teeth. she is in surgery right now and hopefully will be home later today.  we've been surviving the heat wave in our non-air conditioned house, but i am looking forward to a break in the heat.  tomorrow is the fourth and we are planning on laying low perhaps we'll try to hit the ralston parade and, for sure, the fireworks. we'll try to get some swimming and eating in, too.  i think i am going to make this red, white, and blue salsa.   i'll be back soon with a weekly menu plan and more.  whatever you do for the holiday tomorrow...i hope it is grand and spent with all those that you love. xo!

things i love

happy saturday!  here are a few things that i love this week....

it's PRIDE day!  hooray for being kind and celebrating everyone today.

i found this blog through someone who follows clementine's on twitter.  michelle gives us a beautiful look into what family is really like with small children...chaotic and lovely.

avocado ceasar salad with salmon

and, finally, hendrix planted this corn with his daddy....

springfield, ne | june 29, 2012

one more thing...hendrix now says "BANANA CHEESE!" when his picture is being taken.  he used to say "PICKLES!" which was equally funny...

banana cheese!





garden{REVOLUTION}::four



parsley, rosemary, oregano

where: my aunt theresa's backyard in omaha, ne

awesomeness: hendrix and i put together this little herb box for his aunt tree-cee on mother's day. she moved into a beautiful home with beautifully landscaped flower gardens, but there is really no place for veggies.  she loves to cook with herbs for the extra flavor and their ability to eliminate the need for added salt.  we try to give her a ton of veggies and herbs during the growing season, but this allows her to have herbs ready at her back door.  this is a great example of how even growing a bit of food can really elevate your cooking and save you bucks.  by growing her own herbs, aunt theresa isn't forced to buy those $3 clamshells of fresh herbs at the grocery store every time she wants to add flavor to her cooking.  even better...she knows right where those herbs came from. and that is awesome.

....

garden{REVOLTION}:: one, two, three

if you are thinking about adding a garden to your yard or are wanting to get into container gardening, remember that clementine's offers consultations and garden prep.  consultations start at $40, email clementinespandp@gmail for more info.  now is the perfect time to start planning your fall gardens. 



GSW:six {holy moly, it is hot!}

alright, it is officially summer which means that our farmhouse is officially hot.  you know, because we do not have air conditioning. well, we do.  we have one window unit. see here for the explanation.  so this week's menu is all about doing as little cooking as possible...meaning avoiding turning the oven on at all costs. i found have written about this at length when i reviewed the archives.  it is not all bad, though, since hendrix and i have already snacked on four tomatoes from our garden this week!!  good times, good times. onward, we go....

shrimp + sausage kabobs with a green salad + rice pilaf
{boil some extra potatoes to make a potato salad with for dinner later in the week. see what i did there?  saved you some time, is what i did. you're welcome.}

grilled lemon + dill salmon with best potato salad
{this will take you less than 15 minutes to prepare if you make the potato salad in advance}
for the salmon just brush them with a bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and lay lemon slices and fresh dill on each piece.  wrap in foil and grill for about 5-8 minutes depending on thickness or broil in the oven.  serve with potato salad}

japanese pizza
{this looks delicious! if you recieved a cabbage from us this might be just the thing to use some of it for...read this lovely article for more thoughts on the forgotten vegetable, cabbage}
if you live with a man like my husband...i would just add a nice grilled piece of meat to this and i would just eat the pizza as it is.  we all have to compromise in life.

slow cooker chili colorado burritos with rice + beans
{listen here and listen good: the crockpot is your friend even when it is summer.  i'll make an exception for these and turn on the broiler just long enough to make that cheese melt.  throw some cherry tomatoes on top of these burritos, too!}
i really like the VIGO brand of rice and beans for convenience.  they come in flavors like red beans and rice, saffron, black beans and rice, etc.. almost all grocery stores carry them and they can be found in the hispanic foods aisle, usually.  serve any variety with these burritos and you will have a happy belly.

zucchini boats with grilled italian sausages
{hendrix will go to town on this dinner and will really love me if i add some fresh fruit as a side.  also, super easy to prepare, less than 30 minutes}
these zucchini boats are a perfect way to use those cute little zucchini we are already seeing in our neck of the woods/  throw some sausage on the grill and call it dinner!

and you know what?! it's effing hot. so make some of this, too....
raspberry pomegranate sorbet

and as far as healthy snacks go...please read this and consider making a donation to an organization that is near and dear to my heart.

getting it together + a cobbler

it's funny how sweet the mess seems when the mess maker is gone for awhile.  hendrix has been spending some much needed quality time with his aunt theresa yesterday and today.  turns out, my big idea of how wonderful it would be to have him all to myself for three months was not so wonderful all of the time. this momma needs a moment to get some things done in peace and quiet. so, there is no {garden}REVOLUTION picture today, but there will be later this week.  instead, how about a one cup cobbler recipe?  fruits are coming into season and are darn cheap at the grocery stores now, as well.  this is one of my favorite things to do to fruit besides just eat it.  i learned of the one cup cobbler from elle {lien} lynch at our cooking class last year.  after quick research, i learned that i had really been missing out and apparently this is totally a well known way to make cobbler. so in case you have been missing out, too.....

one cup cobbler
1 stick of butter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of fruit {use up to 2 cups if using small fruit like mulberries}
1 cup of milk
in a 375 degree oven, melt the butter in a baking dish.  meanwhile mix the flour, sugar, and milk in a bowl. remove baking dish with melted butter from the oven.  pour the batter into the pan.  in the middle - dump your fruit.  bake for an hour. enjoy.  with ice cream, preferably.