Fresh: Summer Eats and Ideas

Hi everyone!  I've discovered a new excitement over food in the last few weeks, as the garden is beginning to produce a beautiful bounty.  Eating outside adds an extra layer of relaxation as well so I thought I'd share some of the fresh eats and ideas we've been experiencing lately.

The pictures above are of one of my top favorite recipes ever.  Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos!  I posted these a long, long time ago on the blog and they're so worth checking out again!  Promise me you'll make them, and load them up with the chipotle sauce. Let it drip on your plate even, they are THAT good. You can find the recipe here:.

Another favorite idea of ours for the summer is to grill just about anything.  I'm not sure what it is about the grill that just seems to make food taste better, but it does somehow.  We like to season chicken or salmon well (a multi-purpose seasoning like Cavender's does the trick) and throw it on the grill.  Sometimes my husband will put a bit of olive oil on top of the salmon first, and then season it.  Delicious!
We also like to grill veggies from our garden.  Do you have a skillet grill like this? You must get one!  So handy to have.

The last idea combines my love of crafting/decorating and our garden.  A few weeks ago we had an overabundance of lettuce in the garden so I decided to share with my neighbor friend. I thought it would look better in a jar and bag embellished with cute washi tape. :)  I also added a piece of cute fabric around the onions.  (For the record, my husband thought this was silly, but my friend loved it)

What fresh eats and ideas have you been up to this summer?
Sara

Warm Banana "Boats" - Camping Friendly!

Becca here with a fun recipe for the campfire!  Feel free to use the grill (as we did) or oven instead too.  My family recently camped out in the backyard, and I was wanting to serve a healthier alternative to the traditional s'mores, since we'd had treats at several different occasions that week.  Plus, all three of my kids seem to end up sticky from head to toe with the melted marshmallows, and I was wanting to use ingredients we already had at home, marshmallows not being one of those things.  I remembered watching Pioneer Woman's show on Food Network recently (we don't have any sort of TV hooked up at our house, but you can watch the episodes online) and they made these "Campfire Banana Boats" she called them I believe.  You don't really need an exact recipe, I used what we had what I remembered her doing on the show, and they turned out great!  Our bananas were slightly green on the tips still, and while they were good, I think they would have been even better with bananas that were fully ripe, so you might keep that in mind.  Enjoy!

Warm Banana "Boats" - Camping Friendly!

*Amounts given are per serving (1 banana per person), feel free to substitue your family's favorite ingredients, or things you have on hand.  Right at 3 Tablespoons total of mixture is the perfect amount, we found, with at least half of that being chocolate or something that melts.

1 banana
2 Tablespoons chocolate chips
1 scant Tablespoon roasted sunflower seeds
a pinch of coconut flakes
aluminum foil

With the banana still in the peel, slice through it lengthwise through the top peel and actual banana, being careful to not cut through the bottom peel, leaving it intact. 

Pull the banana 'boat' open, and full the opening with the toppings. 

Wrap the whole thing in foil.

Cook on low heat on the grill, in the oven at 350, or place in a warm spot near the campfire (but not over direct flame) for 15-20 minutes, or until banana and toppings are warm & gooey.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy! 

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Becca here with an amazingly tasty way to eat your veggies!  We love the portobello burger a local restaurang serves, but at $10 a plate for 5 people, now that the kids can eat their own, that's obviously not very practical, and not something we chose to do.   So when I saw these amazing portobello mushrooms 5 for $5 this week, I knew that would be a great splurge for our dinner.  I've tried several different ways of cooking them over the years, both on the stove top and in the oven, but thought I'd try the grill this time, and these were definitely the best we've had!  The important thing to remember about mushrooms is not to soak the 'gills' on the underside of the mushroom, it will be near impossible to cook it properly and get a good texture once that's done.  To clean them, which is a great job for children, use a damp paper towel to gently scrub the top and edges of the mushroom, avoiding the gill area.  While my youngest wasn't sure about the texture of the mushroom, my older two loved them and asked for seconds, always a good sign!  Let me know what your family thinks!

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

5 large portobello mushrooms
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
a dash of salt & pepper

Gently snap stems off of mushrooms, and wash them (see above for washing instructions!)  In a small glass dish, melt butter, then stir in remaining ingredients (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper).  Using a pastry brush (or a clean paintbrush works in a pinch :), generously cover the top of each mushroom with the mixture, and grill, stem side down, on a hot grill for 6-7 minutes.  Flip the mushrooms over, and brush the other side with remaining butter mixture, and grill another 6-7 minutes.  Serve immediately.

grilled corn on the cob

Becca here with my favorite way to fix corn on the cob!  My kids all think it's quite a treat to eat it off of the cob, and the corn this year has been great!  I know that you can grill it in the husk, but you have to pull it back first, remove the corn silk, soak the husks, rewrap, definitely more time and effort than I care to devote to a side dish for dinner, so I've figured out a much shorter way to still get the same great grilled taste.  I often have the kids husk the corn, and I get it all ready in the afternoon or while I'm fixing lunch if I have a few minutes to spare, so when it's dinner time all I have to do is throw the prepared packs onto the grill.  It doesn't get much better than that!  Don't let the onions scare you if you don't normally like them, they're mainly there to add flavor, moisture, and keep the corn from sticking to the foil.  You can leave them out, but will need to turn the corn more often and watch it more carefully to ensure it doesn't burn.

grilled corn on the cob

6 ears of corn on the cob, husk and corn silk free (a great job for kids!)

1 medium onion, sliced into rings

3 Tablespoons butter

salt & pepper to taste

foil

On a large square of heavy duty foil, place enough enough rings of onion for 2 ears of corn to stand on, placing them opposite each other so they fit together well.  Add a tablespoon of butter, and wrap up tightly to seal.  Repeat, until all 6 ears are wrapped up in groups of two, on an onion base, with a pat of butter on top.  Grill on a medium high heat for approximately 30 minutes, or until corn is bright, plump, and tender.  Enjoy! 

Grilled Asparagus

So I mentioned earlier about my newfound love of grilling.  I usually roast aparagus, but when we're outside and the weather is gorgeous, going inside and cranking the oven up to 450 to watch asparagus roast isn't my idea of fun, so I thought I'd try it on the grill.  We really liked it, I'll definitely prepare it this way in the summer.  Since we were eating outside too, I didn't even trim the asparagus. I didn't want it to be too thin to fall through the grates, and the kids thought it was fun to just pick it up and eat it down until it got tough at the end.  

Grilled Asparagus

Asparagus (I used 1 pound)

Olive Oil

Basting Brush (I don't have one, so I used a clean paintbrush of the childrens', which worked, but I thought my arm got super hot, the handle isn't really long enough, ha!  So I wouldn't really recommend that unless you're desparate :)

Salt & Pepper, to taste

1) Heat grill up on high (which is about 450 on my natural gas grill).

2) Add asparagus, and cook about 5 minutes, or until it's starting to turn a nice vibrant green color.

3) Using your basting brush, gently coat the asparagus, rotating it as you go (be careful not to drip the oil all over or you may get a little fire flare-up)

4) Cook another 5-10 minutes until it's starting to brown on the edges.  Add a bit of salt & pepper and serve immediately.  Enjoy!!

Grilled Pizza Bites (on a mushroom)

Becca here with a recipe that was a huge hit with my family!  When I first saw this recipe for Mushroom Cap Pizza Bites (for Mushroom Haters!) I knew it would be something that I'd be trying.  Because we're all mushroom lovers, so if it's a dish even the haters like, we should love it, right?!  The day I was going to fix them for dinner, adding a few twists of my own of course, it hit me that they would be perfect for the grill.  We have a gas grill at this house that's hooked up to our home's natural gas line, like a kitchen stove would be, so it's super easy & convenient to grill.  Last year I decided I was going to teach myself (I had grilled maybe 2 times, hot dogs both times, in my life before this) and with the help of the lovely internet & a Taste of Home Cookbook I'd highly recommend I quickly grew to love it!  (quick note, we're not affiliates or paid by anyone, all opinions are ours & unbiased & all of that.....and the cookbook right now is showing a 'bargain price' of 6.38 on Amazon right now for me!)  I seriously started grilling dinner at least 3-4 nights a week; we were often outside anyway, and it doesn't heat up the kitchen (and whole house!) like even the stovetop does.  So, without further ado, here's my adaption of the recipe.  You could prepare it in your oven at 400 F if you prefer, using the same steps :)

Grilled Pizza Bites (on a mushroom)

24 oz. Baby Bella mushrooms (aka baby portabellas. Mine were $4.49 at Sam's Club & had 36 mushrooms)

1 cup your favorite pizza or marinara sauce

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese (I use part skim)

1) Turn your grill on.  You want it to be about 400-450 degrees.  That's high on my grill, but natural gas doesn't cook quite as hot as propane, so use your judgment about your grill.

2) Wash your mushrooms (I clean them by wiping them with a wet paper towel, you don't want the gills to fill with water, and that removes all of the dirt).  Snap the stem end part of the mushroom off.  I saved mine in a ziploc bag in the freezer to toss in next time I make easy slow cooker chicken stock because it will add great flavor & depth to the stock, and I don't like to waste anything :) 

3) Place the mushroom caps, cap side down (so it looks like an open cup waiting to be filled with pizza sauce!) on the foil covered hot grill grate, oiled if you think they'll stick to your grill (mine didn't). 

4) Cook 5-10 minutes, or until caps are full of liquid.  Using tongs, quickly dump the liquid out of each mushroom cap, and return it to the grill, empty.

5) Spoon each mushroom cap full of pizza sauce, and then top with a small chunk (or grated) mozzarella cheese.

6) Be sure to close the grill lid, and cook an additional 5-7 minutes, or until mushrooms are beginning to brown, and cheese is really melted.  Serve immediately, enjoy!!