Zucchini Fritters

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Yum... I really like these.  Back in the day at family picnics (or as we would say "down in the yard") , my grandmother would make these fritters but would use pumpkin flowers.  Well, I don't grow pumpkins and have seldom seen them at the farmer's market, so I substituted grated zucchini and thought the flavor was still great!

The recipe is quite simple:

• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup flour
• "handful" grated parmesan or romano cheese
• S&P
• 1/2 tsp baking power
• ~2 cups grated zucchini (that has been squeezed pretty dry)

Mix and then drop about 1/4 cup batter (it looks like a thin pancake batter) into a skillet that has about 1/2" hot oil.  Cook until golden brown, turn and when done sprinkle with some extra salt.

With all the zucchinis that are still available, here's a new way to use them up!  If you give them a try, I hope like them as much as I do :-)

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Canning Tomatoes

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The last few days I have been under the weather - summer colds - they are the worst - I've had no appetite so that means no cooking.  The Fisherman has been very understanding and I hope to get back to some meal preparing soon!

In the meantime, a couple weeks ago, I canned some tomatoes.  This really brought back memories.  When I was a kid and the rest of the kids were out playing that last day before school started, I was with my mom in our basement putting up many quarts of tomatoes.  Of course that was not how I wanted to spend my last care-free day of summer, but I do have many fond memories helping my mom and now that she is not here, I think of her whenever I do any canning.

The tomatoes were from our garden and I had just enough to make six quarts.  Here are the steps I followed:

First washed the tomatoes and prepared for the scalding step

I placed the tomatoes in my second sink and poured boiling water (plug in!) over them and let them sit for about 3 minutes

Jars were washed and then I placed them in the boiling water for a bit before using that water to pour on the tomatoes

The tomatoes were peeled and sliced up in jars.  The plum tomatoes (as shown in first picture) are good to go - if you are using regular round tomatoes, you need to squeeze some of juice out so your tomatoes aren't too liquidy after processing

 When the jar is about 1/2 way full, add some salt.  Also, run a knife down in the jar to release air bubbles. 

 I leave about a 1/2" of space before putting the lids on (I keep in lids in boiling water until ready to cap).  Be sure to wipe off threads and top of jars to remove any pieces that might have stuck.

 Lovely hands and the scraps!

The jars are set in the canner and filled with water about 1" over the tops of jars

I used my mom's canner this day

After it comes to a boil, boil for 35 minutes.  Remove and when you hear a PING, you know the lids are sealed.

I was pleased that I got 6 quarts this day!  I use these to make homemade spaghetti sauce and pizza.  I'm hoping to get a few more before the garden is done.

For my mom and grandmother, thanks for the memories!  I would give anything to be back in the basement!

Do any of you have canning memories?  I would love to hear them!!





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Lemon Chicken with Ricotta and Olives

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Here's another quick and easy meal that you can whip up in about 30 minutes with one of my favorite ingredients - lemons!

I'm attaching the original recipe but if I made it again, I would use different pasta.  This called for no-boil lasagna noodles that you boil and then set aside while preparing the chicken.  Well, I didn't really have good luck - I think they are no-boil for a reason - LOL - they were weird when done.  I would substitute maybe a bit of those small mini lasagna noodles and mix it with the ricotta and then serve the chicken on top.

Recipe Source:  B&HG 30 Minute Dinners
(printable recipe)

Overall the dish was quite tasty - I could also see kalamata olives instead if you like those better.

 





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Grilled Honey-Orange Chicken Salad

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Here's a tasty salad that comes together quite quickly!  The original recipe called for whole chicken breasts to be marinaded for 6-8 hours.  Well, coming home from work I did not have time for that unless, of course, we wanted to eat at midnight so instead I cut them into strips and only marinaded for about an hour.  The results were great!  Chicken was nice and moist and really absorbed the flavor.

Recipe Source:  adapted from BH&G Low Calorie meals
(printable recipe)

The red pepper was from our garden and with a few other ingredients, dinner was served!

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Stuffed Pasta Shells

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Here's a twist on stuffed shells that I had never seen before.  The meat and cheese is mixed together along with the sauce before stuffing.  It was like eating lasagna but only in a shell!  Easy to put together and this recipe makes enough for 2 people to have about 6 meals!  I froze some and we had leftovers one night. 

Recipe Source:  BH&G September 2011
(printable recipe)

The Fisherman was a fan of the shells!








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Spiky Cucumber Salad

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Tonight's side salad uses up some of these pesky cucumbers that are still lingering around.  I know from experience that even one mound can produce enough cukes to feed a small army (which is why we did not plant them this year).  We like cucumbers but buying a couple at the Farmer's Market helps keep my sanity!

This salad is light and refreshing with an asian twist.  I really have enjoyed having a mandoline for making julienne cuts - I could not imagine doing by hand, nor would I :-)

Recipe Source: Cooking Light
(recipe link here)

The ingredients

Make a dressing from above and pour over the cucumbers

Chill and enjoy!





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Mini Road Trip

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Today my friend Steph and I made a date for lunch.  I work year round (minus Fridays) but for her, the summer is winding down quick - only a couple weeks until school is back in session.  So off we went on this beautiful day 30 minutes south to the town of Spring Valley, MN.  I had heard of this vineyard and winery from a few friends about how nice it was and I had been wanting to check it out.

We arrived and found a table outside to enjoy the day.  First we had a couple glasses of wine - Reisling  for Steph and Frontenac Gris for myself.  Both were clean, crisp and easy on the palate.

Next up lunch - of course we could not decide because everything looked so good so we ended up sharing a chicken pizza with cabernet chipotle BBQ sauce on a thin crust - so good!  Second was a grilled cheese with carmelized onion jam and brie - another great choice.

After eating, finishing our wine and getting burned in the sun :-), we walked around a bit.  It was so peaceful.

Click here if you would like more information about Four Daughters.  It is definitely worth the drive!  Well, a little far if you live in NY :-)  Next up - would love to visit the other winerys that are around the area - any takers out there?  I'll drive!

Well, Steph at least we had 2 lunches this summer!  June and August - next year we'll need to try for 3!  And a Happy Birthday on the 20th! and Happy 29th Anniversary on the same day!  Does Brian just get you one gift :-) ?  Girl, you should have planned better!





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Chicken with Orzo and Zucchini

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Hmmm.....what can you do with 20 minutes (or 1200 seconds)?- read a couple chapters of a book, watch a tivo'ed sitcom zapping out the commercials OR you can make this meal!   Yep, this entire meal came together in that amount of time and you don't need "octopus hands" to make it happen.  And not only that, but the bonus is this serving, as shown, is about 390 calories.  I love quick meals that are good for you (and use up some zucchinis I know you must have lying around!)

Recipe Source:  BH&G 30 Minute Meals
(Printable recipe)

I'm a fan of fresh dill - help me to remember to plant this next year!

A great week night meal!

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Brownie Trifle

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Tonight's post is short and sweet! and easy!  As I was going through one of my food magazines, I came across this recipe that said "When cake or brownies start losing their yummy goodness, turn them into a lovely trifle with spoonfuls of whipped cream and drizzles of dessert sauce."  Well, I just happened to have some brownie bites leftover from a previous dinner party, raspberries, a jar of hot fudge sauce (I mean who doesn't have this always on hand!) and some whipped topping.

Crumble the brownie bites

And next layer them in any kind of serving dish - a layer of cake, top with sauce, layer of raspberries, some whipped cream, repeat and dust with cocoa powder.   Super easy and the best part - super yummy!  Make this for company and they will think you fussed allllll day long :-)

Grab a spoon and dig in!

You could also be creative and use canned cherries or whatever else you might like!

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The Fisherman's Domain...

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This is The Fisherman's favorite hang out place located in the basement of our house.  I wish I had remembered to take some "before" pictures - but all you have to visualize is no pictures on the wall over the couch and aquarium... OK - got that in your mind?  Blank walls and blank they were for about 2 years.  Neither one of us could decide what to do - there is a pool table in the room but didn't want to make the entire room pool themed. So it sat, kind of naked.

Last weekend I was wandering around Hobby Lobby which I do when I'm looking for some inspiration.  I maybe had an idea of using some tickets I saved from games - Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves and making some sort of collage.

I found these letters so that was a start

and this picture frame

I sprayed the frame, removed the hooks from the letters, rehung the hooks on the frame and had The Fisherman buy a sheet of metal in place of the glass.  Final assembly was using some pictures, tickets, hats, rally towels and a signed Twins shirt from the former player Jason Kubel. 

I also picked up 4 albums frames and The Fisherman selected what he wanted to display.

We were both happy with the results!

Though you can't read it, the middle certificate above is from the last regular game at the Metrodome.  But as it turned out, that was the year they needed a "playoff" game to see who won the division.  Also hung up are some pictures of us and friends at games.

The man cave is now complete!!

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