The Garden is starting to produce!

Yay! I get so excited when I finally get to see the rewards for my labor! The cucumbers are rolling in now. My first roma is there....looks like it will be a little while before I see more tomatoes.

The peppers are coming along nicely, but I think I'm going to have to write the green beans off this year---again. Darn bunnies! Hopefully we'll get that figured out for next year---I guess 3rd time's a charm, right?

Homemade French Dressing

We don't buy bottled French. It's not something I use all the time, but I love this recipe on spinach salad and on mixed greens. It's the perfect mix of sweet and tangy.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup catsup
3T White Vinegar
2T sugar
1T worcestershire sauce
1/2t salt
1/2t black pepper
1/2t garlic powder
1/4t onion powder

Place all ingredients in a jar with a lid. Shake well. Serve.

Menu Plan Week of 7/13

We got a coupon and decided to go have pizza and games tonight for K's birthday. I also forgot about Ry's camp night last week, so we moved a few recipes over to this week's menu. I tried to share recipes and links, and I'll have more on the way.

Sunday 7/12
K dinner at Chuckee Cheese

Monday 7/13
Chicken tostadas with salsa verde$2.50
Corn and black bean salad .70
Pineapple .65
$3.85

Tuesday 7/14
Cheeseburgers $3.00
Green bean fries $1.50
Calico beans from the freezer .00
$4.50

Wednesday 7/15
Grilled pork tenderloin $4.00
Corn .40
Spinach salad with strawberry vinaigrette $1.25
$6.65

Thursday 7/16
Family night at camp- bring dinner
turkey, pesto and cream cheese wraps $2.75
Pringles $.75
Mediterranean Pasta Orzo salad $1.50
Sliced apples .50
$5.50

Friday 7/17
Pork fried rice, using leftover pork tenderloin $1.50
Asian coleslaw $1.50

$3.00

Saturday 7/18
Grilled chicken with blueberry bbq sauce $2.50
Roasted potatoes .75
salad
$4.25

Sunday 7/19
Grilled sirloin $5.00
Grilled veggie packets $2.00
Salad $1.00
$8.00

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Ah, yes...the summer of salads. I go a little salad crazy in the summer. It's just a taste I get.

1 cup uncooked orzo
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 can garbanzo beans, drained, or 1.5 cups cooked and cooled ( I keep them in the freezer ready to go)
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half ( if you have you can subsitute sundried tomatoes)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives (optional- I love, family doesn't, so I omit)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Cook orzo according to directions, to al-dente. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain, and then place in large bowl with remaining ingredients. Toss with vinaigrette recipe.

Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup olive oil
3T red wine vinegar
1T water
1T lemon juice
1T lemon rind
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t dried oregano or 1T chopped fresh oregano
1/2t dried or 1T chopped fresh basil

Shake all above ingredients together. Add to salad until salad is coated to your taste.


Check out Share My Recipe Sunday and Simply Delicious Sunday

Strawberry Vinaigrette

It's berry city here at our house right now. I've chopped and frozen the strawberries. Great for smoothies, and for this vinaigrette, which I like to use on spinach salad with red onions, water chestnuts and blue cheese.

1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
3T white wine vinegar
1/2t sugar
1/4t salt
1/4t pepper
1/4t dried tarragon

Place all ingredients in blender pitcher and blend until smooth. Keeps in fridge for about a week, although I wouldn't really know-- it gets used up pretty fast.

Birthday Blueberry Muffins

My lil guy, Big K, is 4 today. His favorite fruit is blueberries. So in his honor today, I made Big K's Birthday Blueberry Muffins.

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sour cream
  
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Combine milk and next 5 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Add blueberries and stir just until blueberries are mixed in. Use a 1/4 cup measure to pour batter into muffin tin coated with cooking spray. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden. Remove muffins to wire racks to cool. Makes 12 muffins.