Angel Food Flag Cake

Great for Memorial Day or Independence Day!

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS
1 angel food cake bar
5 strawberries
12 blue berries
whip cream

DIRECTIONS
1) Place your angel food cake bar on a plate.

2) Frost the top with whipped cream, then add berries in a flag formation on the top.

Bruschetta

Easy, quick and tasty appetizer on a summer day!

SERVES: 6+

INGREDIENTS:
1 french baguette
3 large tomatoes
1/2 large red onion
1/2 large zucchini
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 c olive oil
basil
salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1) Dice tomatoes, onion and zucchini. Place in a medium bowl and mix together.

2) In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, basil and salt & papper to taste.

3) Pour oil over the tomatoes, mix together and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

4) Slice baguette thinly and place on a foil covered baking sheet. Put in the broiler for a few minutes until slightly browned.

5) Serve tomato mixture on top of the crispy baguette slices.

Burgers or Bust

Love grillin' up a good burger. After years of making them, I think we've come up with a nice tasting seasoning that is easy and very yummy!

SERVES: 6

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs of lean ground beef
1 tbs Kikoman Roasted Garlic & Herb marinade
1 tbs Thick Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c bread crumbs
garlic powder
onion flakes
rosemary
sesame seed buns
lettuce
cheddar cheese
ketchup and mustard
red onion

DIRECTIONS:
1) Start up BBQ grill.

2) In a medium bowl add ground beef, and mix in Kikoman marinade and thick Worcestershire with a wooden spoon. Next add in the bread crumbs, to help bind the beef. Lastly, add in to your liking garlic powder, onion flakes and rosemary.

3) With clean hands, mix everything together, beat it down and half the amount. Then with half of the beef, portion into three equal balls of beef. Mold into a burger patty and place on a plate. Do this same thing with the rest of the beef.

4) Place on the grill on indirect heat and flip every 10 minutes for a good half hour. Add regular Worcestershire sauce for more seasoning if you like.

5) After the burgers are complete, toast the buns on the grill for a few minutes, slice some cheddar and add all toppings to the buns and eat!

Grilled Chicken and Veggies w/ Pasta

One of our favorite meals when we were first dating in 2004. This is a staple in our house and we've continued too bring new things into it and make it a bit healthier than how we used to prepare it.

SERVES: 2

INGREDIENTS:
2 chicken breasts
1/2 box whole wheat rotini or penne pasta
1 whole yellow squash
20 grape tomatoes
Worcestershire
parmesan cheese
garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:
1) Prepare your outdoor grill to start cooking. Once ready, place chicken on indirect heat and flip every 5-10 minutes seasoning with Worcestershire sauce for 35-40 minutes or until chicken temperature reads 170 degrees at center.

2) While grilling, about 20 minutes in, start to boil water in a medium sauce pan in kitchen. Once boiling add pasta, stir, bring to boil again then reduce heat to low for 10 minutes.

3) Wash vegetables. Cut squash horizontally into circles, then cut those in half. Next take out 2-3 metal skewers and alternate the tomato and squash on them.

4) Place on grill for 10-15 minutes.

5) When pasta is complete, drain and place in a large bowl then top with parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Take off chicken and vegetable kabobs from the grill and serve with the pasta.

Chicken & Veggie Egg Rolls

Great appetizer for a group of friends.

SERVES 10-15

INGREDIENTS:
Egg Roll wraps
Pre-cooked chicken
cabbage
carrots
vegetable oil
various dipping sauces (ie. sweet & sour, soy, hoisen)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Shred chicken so it is small and not bulky. It helps to buy a pre-cooked chicken at the store, then shred it yourself.

2) Chop finely cabbage and carrots and place in a bowl for easy access.

3) Take an egg wrapper (square shape) and place in front of your diagonally on a chopping board or plate. Take a small amount of shredded chicken and veggies and place in the center of the egg wrapper. Fold the bottom to the top of the veggies and tuck it under the mix tightly. Next, fold in each side, left and right, and roll.









4) Place each wrapped up roll on a plate. When all of them are wrapped add about 1/2 of vegetable oil to a skillet, make sure it's crackling good and add about 5-6 egg rolls, to the pan. Let them fry a few minutes on each side. Turn with metal tons, then place on a plate with a paper towel on top to drain the excess oil.







5) Let cool slightly, then serve with your favorite dipping sauces.

Italian Summer Salad

My grandma made this sort of salad and I made my own variation on it. This is great to set out for a family get together or bar-b-que. You can make it in less than 10 minutes and it's a light refreshing salad. Some suggestions for another time would be to add diced red bell pepper and capers.

SERVES 6-12

INGREDIENTS:
1 can of large black olives
1 bottle of green olives
1 container of Athenos Feta cheese
1 large zucchini
1 head of broccoli
1/3 c of Italian Dressing

DIRECTIONS:
1) In a large bowl mix together all the olives.

2) Next, wash the zucchini and slice. Then slice all the pieces in half. Wash broccoli and cut off the stems. All both to the bowl.

3) Add the Italian dressing of your choice and mix the ingredients together. Lastly, top off with the feta cheese and toss the salad.

Stuffed Ground Beef Mushrooms

I went to a wine tasting party a few weeks ago and the host made delicious stuffed mushrooms. They were made with sausage and filled with flavor. So I thought I'd look up some recipes online and found one using ground beef. I added more things and left out a few others to make the recipe my own and it turned out great. I served it with a side of broccoli and a baked potato.

Ingredients:
12 Portobello Stuffing Mushrooms
1 lb Ground Beef
1/4c Worcheshire
1 lrg Garlic Clove (minced)
1/4c White Onion (minced or chopped finely)
1 tsp Tobasco Sauce
2 tbsp Mrs. Dash
1 tbsp Chili Flakes
1/4c Bread Crumbs
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Parmesean Cheese

Directions:
1) In a large skillet over medium-high heat cook the ground beef. Add in worchestire, minced garlic, onion, and tobasco sauce. Cook until your beef is no longer pink (about 15 minutes).
2) Now pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.
3) Prepare the mushrooms. Wash and lightly scrub them, then cut off the stems so you have room to stuff. Chop up the stems into small pieces.
4) After the ground beef has cooked, add in the chopped mushroom stems, bread crumbs, Mrs. Dash, chili flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Stir together and cook for another 5 minutes.
5) Next, take a cupcake pan and coat lightly with cooking spray. Add the mushroom caps to the cupcake pan. Stuff each mushroom cap with the ground beef mixture.
6) Lightly top each stuffed mushroom with some parmesean cheese, then put in the oven for 20 minutes.
7)Take out and let cool for a few minutes, then serve as a main dish or appetizer!


Notes: Pair this rich flavor with a red wine.
Using a cupcake pan helps keep the mushrooms in place. The mushrooms have a lot of water that drain out while cooking and the cupcake pan helps catch the water.

Want healthy kids? Learn how to cook

Good article I read on CNN this morning.

By Kristen Swensson and Leigh Angel, Special to CNN
March 26, 2010 9:24 a.m. EDT

New York (CNN) -- We hear it on the news like a drumbeat: Millions of kids eat out too much, lack access to fruits and vegetables, and it seems no one's teaching them how to make healthy choices.

Childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes are on the rise like never before. "This may be the first generation that has a shorter life expectancy than their parents," said an author of a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In February, first lady Michelle Obama introduced an initiative called Let's Move! to do something about the situation. She even laid it on the line when she spoke to the Grocery Manufacturer's Association last week, "We need you ... to entirely rethink the products that you're offering, the information that you provide about these products, and how you market those products to our children." The Grocery Manufacturer's Association says it's on its way to compliance.

Click here to continue reading the article.

Have no fear, brussel sprouts are here...

I've never tried brussel sprouts until very recently at Thanksgiving when my sister-in-law brought them over. I somehow think in my mind a kid saying, "EWW not brussel sprouts!" But, since I'm no longer a child and I like to try new foods I was very curious and extremely satisfied with them. This was my first attempt at the recipe, but I changed it up just slightly and they turned out great...unfortunately my husband won't eat them, but who cares more for me!

Ingredients:
6 brussel sprouts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash (or equivalent seasoning)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Rinse off brussel sprouts and cut off the bottoms.
3) In a small bowl combine brussel sprouts, olive oil and Mrs. Dash and gently mix together.
4) Place this on a foil lined cooking sheet and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.
5) Serve hot as a great side dish.

Grilled Shrimp + Risotto

This is an easy dish to make and it's filled with yummy flavors. The risotto is Trader Joe's brand Mushroom & Herb Risotto, and it was my first time making it. It was okay, but I wasn't crazy about it. You can have the shrimp and veggies with any rice of your liking of course.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb shrimp pre-cooked
1 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
10 button mushrooms
1 cup shredded carrots

Directions:
1) Ready your BBQ grill with charcoal.
2) Rinse the shrimp and take off the shell. Chop bell pepper and onions into 1 inch pieces. Slice the mushrooms. I like to place these in a grill basket, but you can use skewers for the same effect.
3) Let this grill for about 20 minutes.
4) While shrimp and veggies are grilling, start your risotto (or rice) according to the box directions. When you're about 1/2 way done cooking the risotto place the shredded carrots into the sauce pan and stir together.
5) Serve risotto on a plate and top with grilled shrimp and veggies.