CORN SALAD

This salad is fun to make because you can really add whatever colors and flavors of tomatoes and peppers that you enjoy to play on the yellow and red theme.

You can also add whatever herbs are your favorite (basil, parsley, cilantro (ewww), etc.)

Following is my favorite way to make it---but feel free to “make it your own-dawg”.

Corn Salad:  amounts are approximate—feel free to make more or less

4-6 ears of corn (boiled, cooled and kernals removed)

4-6 red and yellow tomatoes-chopped into bite-sized pieces

     *I usually just see what the store has to offer—including different sizes (grape          tomatoes, roma, vine, etc.) and colors (even orange or heirloom tomatoes-though they don’t taste as sweet)

2  bell peppers –chopped roughly

       *I use yellow and red (sometimes orange)—I don’t like green bell peppers    much anymore for some reason

1 medium sweet onion-chopped roughly or julienned

        (use red onion if you prefer)

2 avocados-roughly chopped and soaked in lemon juice

**Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together.  Add dressing and herbs.  *Add secret ingredient    (( 2 +Tablespoons of sugar))   SHHHHHH

Dressing:  This recipe gives you the ratio you need but feel free to double or triple it based on how much salad you make.  ( I want to experiment using different vinegars such as white wine, red wine or balsamic in place of the lemon juice-so let me know if you try one of these).

6 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

3 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Herbs:

Freshly chopped parsley, basil to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro (if using)

Mix together and put in refrigerator until ready to serve.

The salad tastes best when it has at least an hour to sit in the fridge.  Because of the avocados, the salad only lasts up to 3 days in the fridge.

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

**I hope you enjoy this beautiful recipe that I adapted from Ina Garten.  I have been using it for years---and have made a few subtle changes from the original to make it just right for my family.   That is what I hope you will do with my recipes as I post for you on the daily blog.  Take them, adapt them to fit your family’s personality and enjoy them for years to come!

1 and ½ sticks butter, softened (12 Tablespoons or ¾ cup)

1 and ½ cups sugar

3 extra-large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup sour cream

¼ cup milk

2 and ½ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

Instructions:

*Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. You may use a mixer but I usually mix muffins by hand –because I think it keeps muffins tender and less dense.

 *Add eggs and vanilla.

* Add sour cream and milk.

* In a separate bowl whisk together dry ingredients.  Add flour mixture to the batter, being careful not to overmix.

* Gently  fold in the blueberries with a large spatula. 

*Spoon the batter into muffin tins that have been sprayed just across the top surface with PAM and place cupcake liners in each cup.

*Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until muffins are lightly browned (test for doneness).

**A note about blueberries:

I usually try to buy blueberries when they are in season or at least on sale and freeze them (unwashed) in large Ziploc bags.  Then when I need them, I have them on hand to add to cereal, pancakes, muffins or just to eat!  Remove just the amount of blueberries you need from your frozen stash and wash quickly and look them over to remove any stems.  I also try to add the blueberries to the muffin batter while they are still frozen so that the batter doesn’t turn blue!

FRIDAY PORK ROAST AND PORK BARBEQUE

This roast is a beautiful way to end the work week.   Your kitchen will smell delicious!   Serve it with baked sweet potatoes and the spinach sauté from Wednesday’s blog.  Any pork roast leftovers can be enjoyed throughout the weekend when you make barbeque pork sandwiches.

Pork Roast:

1 pork roast of your choice (it’s not necessary  to use the leanest pork loin-center cut for this dish)

*Place the fresh pork roast into a dutch oven and slightly cover with water

*Add a generous amount of salt

*Bring to a boil and simmer until roast is cooked throughout—the timing will depend on the size of the roast.  If you are in a hurry cut the roast into chunks before cooking to reduce the cooking time.

*Sometimes I cook the pork roast in my crock pot for 4-6 hours instead of on the stovetop.

*Slice as desired when roast is tender.

Pork Barbeque:

*Chop up leftover pork roast very finely-I usually achieve this by using an electric knife and cutting each slice into strips in one direction and then chopping the strips in another direction.  This results in crumbling the meat.

*Stir the meat into the following cooked sauce until it is well coated (or use your own favorite barbeque sauce).

*Serve on toasted buns with homemade potato chips or homemade sweet potato chips.

Barbeque Sauce:

½ cup butter

1 and ¾ cup catsup

¼ firmly packed brown sugar

¼ cup yellow mustard

¼ cup white vinegar

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

2-3 teaspoons of Liquid Smoke

1 and ½ teaspoons lemon juice

1 t. black pepper

 crushed red pepper flakes and hot sauce if desired

Instructions:

Combine all sauce ingredients in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over low heat for 25 minutes, stirring often.

SODA POP CAKE

Here is a fun cake to make with your kids.  I am generally a “cake mix snob” but I do occasionally use them when I am crunched for time. 

1 lemon cake mix

1 small box of lemon flavored instant pudding mix

1 can of Mountain Dew soda pop (or Sprite or Fresca)

¾ cup canola or vegetable oil

4 large eggs (I use extra large eggs in all my baking)

Instructions:

*Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

*Spray a Bundt cake pan generously with PAM

*In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, Mountain Dew, oil and eggs. Beat  until all ingredients are combined and mixture is smooth. 

*Pour batter into the prepared pan.

*Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

*Remove from oven and let sit in the pan for 10 minutes (however I usually run a knife around all the edges and the interior circle immediately upon removal from the oven and then let it sit).

*Remove from oven and enjoy!

**Here are 3 different vegetables that you can enjoy this week.  I’m sure you already make asparagus, zucchini and spinach for your family—I’d love to hear your favorite ways to prepare them.  I like to keep it simple so the real flavor of the main ingredient shines through.

Asparagus Saute:

*Thoroughly wash and break the end off each spear of asparagus (if you bend an asparagus spear near it’s end, it will break off just before the toughest part---then discard the end).  If the asparagus spears are large, slightly peel with a sharp knife to make the spears more tender.

*Heat a drizzle of olive oil and a pat or two of butter in a shallow pan.

*Place trimmed and cleaned asparagus into the pan and sauté until crisp-tender

*Season with kosher salt (and a bit of lemon juice if desired) to taste

Roasted Asparagus:

*Clean and trim asparagus according to the directions above.

*Place spears on a cooking sheet that has been sprayed with PAM

*Splash lightly with olive oil and kosher salt

*Bake at 400 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender

Zucchini Stir-fry:  (pictured above)

1 small sweet onion-peeled and cut into thin strips

4-6 small zucchini-washed and sliced very thinly (peel if you want to but it is not necessary).  I use a mandoline (a hand-held slicer that allows you to make paper-thin slices) in order to slice them very thin.

4-5 stalks of broccolini (very young and tender broccoli) washed and trimmed, then chopped into small sections

*In a sauté pan, heat approximately 3 T. olive oil and one pat of butter.  Place vegetables into the oil mixture and allow to sauté until crisp-tender.  Turn the vegetables often with heat-safe tongs.

*Season to taste with salt, pepper, fresh herbs of your choice or even some freshly grated parmesiano-reggiano cheese.

Spinach Saute:

½ sweet onion, finely chopped

1 large bag or 1 large container of fresh baby spinach

2-3 Tablespoons of sour cream (use fat free or low fat if you wish—or omit the sour cream.

*In a sauté pan, heat approximately 3 T. olive oil and one pat of butter (if

desired). 

*Add chopped onion to the oil and sauté until onions are translucent and beginning to caramelize.

*Place washed and dried fresh spinach on top of onions-turning spinach often.

The spinach will reduce in volume.  Cook until spinach is cooked down but before it gets slimy. 

*Turn heat off and stir in  sour cream (if you are using).  

*Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Red hot pepper flakes are also good in this dish.