Thursday, July 23, 2009

Summer Recipes

For as much as I say that I’m not a good cook, I actually really enjoy cooking. (Shhh…don’t tell.) I’ve been inspired this summer to try a new recipe - or two - each week. It’s been fun to browse through my cookbooks and look on recipe websites to find a few good ones. I came across one for a “tomato-zucchini tart” in a Southern Living cookbook that I got as a gift from my mother-in-law (thanks again!). I made it last night, and it was SO tasty! Even Husband, a die-hard carnivore who initially asked “where’s the meat?” when he saw it, enjoyed it. It wasn’t too hard to make, and it had so much flavor. And you could easily modify the recipe to use any sort of fresh veggies. I think next time I’ll add a little bit of onion to it, and maybe even a tad of ground beef. The exact recipe is here. Enjoy! P.S If you have any good recipes, I’d love to hear them!

7 comments:

That Married Couple said...

What a timely recipe! We've had an explosion of zucchini and squash and I've been wanting to try new recipes for them. Any pictures?

Rebecca said...

I tried two new recipes this week. I got both from Rachael Ray's magazine website. rachaelraymag (dot) com. I looked under 30 minute meals and decided to try the honey mustard chicken because it's the only recipe my sister would eat. It was A-MAZING! And so, so easy. All you do is marinate 3 T of honey, 3 T of spicy brown mustard, squirt in some lime juice (I didn't measure it), and then grille.

Anonymous said...

It looks divine except I'm not a fan of tomatoes. I wish I was. I grow them in our garden and I'll cook with them in "soupy" type recipes and eat them in salsa, but that's the extent of it. Who knows, maybe I'll try it anyway just because. I even went to hypnosis once and as an added "bonus" we were supposed to "wish" (for lack of not remembering what it was we were actually doing) for something and I tried to be hypnotized to like tomatoes. Fail. I grew up in the south. Everyone around here eats tomato sandwiches in the summer. I'd love nothing more than to slice one up and have an easy lunch. One other caveat is people eat them with mayonnaise. I don't like mayonnaise, so that poses a second problem..... I'll think about some of my fav recipes and let you know. Rebecca's honey mustard chicken may be on the agenda for tomorrow's dinner.

jlc said...

ouuu yummo!!!!

Amy said...

That sounds so good! I love new recipes :)

Anonymous said...

This was dinner tonight and I thought I'd share with you. Not really a summertime dish, but definitely easy since I've been feeling so poorly lately and Will's expertise with dinner is limited to take out and sandwiches.

Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings

Carrots (I had TONS of baby Carrots so I used several handsful)
2 cups frozen mixed veggies
1 (14-oz) can chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp herbs de provence
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp. Goya adobo seasoning
5 chicken thighs (2 with skin, rest without)
1-1/3 c. Reduced fat bisquick
1/3 c. milk
ANOTHER 14 ounce can of chicken broth
One can of water (use broth can)
Additional adobo seasoning and pepper for later

1. In crock pot, I put the carrots on the very bottom and then the frozen mixed veggies on top of them.
2. In medium bowl, combine chicken broth, flour, spices and blend well until smooth.
3. Pour over veggies in crock pot.
4. Add chicken.
5. Cover crock pot.
6. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked and no longer pink.

I made the dinner in two totally different steps. I cooked the chicken over night and before I went to work this morning, I deboned and skinned the chicken and put the chicken and veggies in the refrigerator. When I came home, I put it in my stock pot and finished on the stove. I skimmed off the chilled fat and added one more can of chicken broth and one can of water.

To make the dumplings, I put the bisquick in a bowl, added some additional Goya adobo seasoning and pepper and the milk mixing well. Once the chicken/broth began to boil, I dropped the dumplings by the spoonful on the top and cooked uncovered for 10 minutes and then covered for an additional 10 minutes.

It thickened up nicely and was pretty well seasoned. I will go a little heavier on the seasonings next time, mainly pepper, but it was pretty good. This is the first time I've ever done it in two steps like this and it's also the first time I've used veggies in my chicken and dumplings.

I'll definitely make again and thanks for such huge use of your comments section :)

Anonymous said...

Mmmm sounds delicious! And i don't even like tomatoes! haha!