strawberry lemonade

(I came looking for this recipe and found I posted it on my main blog, not here, so here is a reprint from over there, from last June)

Cold blender drinks and smoothies are some of my very favorite things. The boys and I usually make a smoothie a day for snacks, and when it’s hot we love getting out the VitaMix again for ice cream, smoothies, whatever. Yum, yum, yum. I figured out the best ever strawberry-lemonade slush last week. The one at Carraba’s is close to perfect – a tad too sweet for me. This one is cold, sweet, a tad tart, slushy – my mouth is watering right now.

1 pound fresh strawberries, halved
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups ice cubes

Simple Salads

In the New York Times, Mark Bittman lists 100 Easy Salads for Summer.  Article here.

Crab Tacos

We love love these.   They’re easy and are fresh and perfectly summery.

4 Roma tomatoes, halved, seeded and sliced (I used 2 ample handfuls of grape tomatoes)
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 large jalapenos, halved, seeded, sliced, divided
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, divded
3 T fresh lime juice
1 t olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
8 ounces cooked crab, shelled
8 taco shells or tortillas
1 cup lettuce, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded jack, cheddar, OR mozz cheese
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped gr onion

Put tomatoes, garlic, one jalapeno, 1/4 cup cilantro and the lime juice in food processor or blender and combine to desired thickness.  Add salt and pepper. Set aside.

In large skillet, heat oil, saute onion and remaining jalapeno until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add crab, cook until warm (2 minutes).

Warm tortillas, fill with crab, top with lettuce, cheese, avocado.  Sprinkle with green onion and cilantro.  Add salsa.

from Sunset Magazine, April 2008

4 pts per taco

Potato Salad with Artichokes and Asparagus

We LOVED this.

makes 6 healthy salad-side servings

Can be made up to 4 hours ahead of time and chilled.  Stir in asparagus just before serving.

8 oz asparagus, ends trimmed, spears cut into 1″ pieces
2 lbs red potatoes, cut into 1″ thick chunks
2 strips bacon, chopped
2/3 cup chopped shallots
2 t fresh chopped fresh rosemary
5 t olive oil
1 1/2 T red wine vinegar
2 T plain yogurt (I used the vanilla yo baby we had in the fridge)
1 1/2 T coarse grain mustard
salt and pepper
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 T capers, optional

Boil salted water and cook asparagus until barely fork-tender, about 3 minutes.  Remove asparagus and run with cold water to stop ccooking. Add potatoes to water and cook until tender when pierced, 8-10 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Cook bacon, crumble.  Toss with shallots and rosemary.

In a bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, yogurt, mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk well, until blended and creamy.

Toss asparagus, potatoes, shallot mixture, artichoke hearts, capers (optional), and dressing.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Per Serving: 323 calories, 19 g fat, 3.5 g fiber, 6 g protein, 32 g carb

Ice Cream Cupcakes

(image and recipe from Joy the Baker)

Wouldn’t this be fun to make for a frozen dinner swap?

Cool Drinks for Spring – from Family Fun

LimeBerry Crush

2 pints of hulled strawberries
1 1/2 cups of crushed ice
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Pineapple Crush

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1/2 frozen very ripe medium banana

Misty Melon Cooler

2 cups diced very ripe cantaloupe
1 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons sugar
Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

Peanut Butter Blast

1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
3 to 4 scoops vanilla ice cream

Bee Sting

1 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup honey
1 quart water
Frozen lemon slices to float in the glass

Watermelon Popsicles

It’s raining today, but we have a big ol’ bucket of watermelon in the fridge that isn’t going to last much longer.  When Costco gives you a large watermelon, make watermelon popsicles.

Make a simple syrup with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar, and cook on the stovetop just until the sugar is dissolved.  Put the simple syrup in a blender with 4 cups of cubed watermelon.  Give it a whirl and freeze in your popsicle molds.

Loaded Baked Potatoes

I think we’ll do loaded baked potatoes for dinner tonight.  It’s still cold and snowy and something warm and low effort sounds perfect. I thought I’d make a list of toppings that we like and that sound good – did I miss your favorite?  Let me know!

broccoli
melted cheddar
bacon crumbles
tomatoes
green onions
chili
black beans
kidney beans
bleu cheese (with the bacon – yum!)
mushrooms
sour cream
butter
small cubes of ham
peas
shredded taco chicken or beef

(Can you tell I just went through the Sweet Tomatoes line in my mind?!)

We just decided to plant potatoes in our garden for the first time.  I wonder how much better these will taste in the fall with FRESH homegrown potatoes.

Easy Key Lime Pie

My friend, Heidi, made this for me one night and it was so good.  Also, I went into labor the next day, so her husband now calls this “pop it out pie”.

1 – 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 – 6 oz can frozen limeade, still frozen
1 cup heavy cream
1 – 6 ounce graham cracker pie crust
Zest of 1 lime for garnish

Beat the milk, limeade and cream until you get soft peaks.  Pour the filling into the pie crust.  Refridgerate until chilled – at least 4 hours, or up to overnight. Can also be frozen.  Sprinkle with zest before serving.

Baked Couscous Casserole with Summer Squash and Herbs

This is a great casserole for the summer time because it takes advantage of the summer veggies, but also because it can be assembled in advance and cooked at the last minute, plus it is healthy.  I always add shredded carrot and use some green squash too (for color…otherwise it is pretty much the same color). Using the Fontana cheese is a MUST. There isn’t much of it, but the flavor is so intense a little bit goes a long way.

1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
3/4  cup uncooked couscous
Cooking spray
2  cups sliced yellow squash (about 2 small)
1/2  cup sliced green onions
2  tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1  tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1  garlic clove, minced
1/4  cup (1 ounce) shredded fontina cheese
1/4  cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4  cup egg substitute
1/4  teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°. Bring 1 cup chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in uncooked couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork.Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add squash, onions, basil, oregano, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until squash is tender. Set aside.Combine fontina and Parmigiano-Reggiano; set aside. Combine couscous, squash mixture, and half of cheese mixture in a large bowl; stir in remaining chicken broth, egg substitute, salt, and pepper. Spoon mixture into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray. Top with remaining cheese mixture. Bake at 400° for 35 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 161(31% from fat); FAT 5.6g (sat 1.9g,mono 1.6g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 8.1g; CHOLESTEROL 9mg; CALCIUM 112mg; SODIUM 351mg; FIBER 2.2g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19.9g

Raspberry Buckle

I had my sister make this with Jake while she was here last month.  Super easy and SO good.

Raspberry Buckle
½ c butter, room temp
1 c granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 c flour
½ t salt
½ t baking poweder
2 containers (½ pt each) raspberries (2 3/4 cups)

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter a 2 quart dish.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, beating after each to combine.  Add flour, salt and baking powder.  Spread batter in baking dish, scatter raspberries on top.  Bake 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool 20 minutes; dust with pwd sugar.  Serve with ice or whipped cream.

from Martha Stewart

Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Tarragon

Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Tarragon
2 lbs beefsteak or plum tomatoes, cored
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ c finely chopped shallots
3/4 lb spaghetti
1 T coarsely chopped fresh tarragon or basil
½ c grated Parmesan cheese

While water for pasta boils,, halve tomatoes lengthwise.  Squeeze gently to remove seeds.  Chop tomatoes into ½” pieces.  Set aside.  Heat oil over medium-low.  Add shallots; cook until golden, stirring occasionally.  Remove pan from heat, stir in tomatoes until coated with oil; season generously with salt and pepper.  Cook pasta until al dente.  Drain, pour tomato mixture over pasta; add tarragon and Parmesan.  Toss to combine.

Last Minute Summer Salad

I needed a quick veggie to throw on the side with our bbq pork sandwiches, so I had Nathan stop after work for some quick ingredients to throw together a quick salad.  I laughed when the Barefoot Contessa, who I was watching just before dinner, was fixing a very similar salad.  I’m definitely throwing in fresh basil next time.

Our last-minute Summer Salad:

1/2 cucumber

1 tomato

2 oz basil-tomato feta (crumbled or you can rough chop)

just a bit of (extra virgin olive) oil and vinegar (I had balsamic)

a pinch of kosher salt (not too much – the feta’s salty)

Chop everything and toss.  Couldn’t be easier, and it was very yummy.