Caprese Salad

WOW! It's hot outside! Perfect time for a no-cook, refreshing, yet filling salad! The classic Caprese salad is easy, fresh, full of flavour, and really filling!

This makes enough for 4

Ingredients:

A large heirloom tomato
1 ball of fresh buffalo mozzarella (the one in the liquid!)
salt and pepper
1/2 lemon, rind, and juice
a bunch of fresh basil, julienned
olive oil

Slice your tomato in 8 slices. Slice your mozzarella into 8 slices. Place your tomato slices on a large plate and top each slice with a slice of mozzarella. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the zest of half lemon and then the juice. Top with the basil and then a splash of olive oil. Serve cold.

Just as a side note - you can top this salad with grilled chicken or canned tuna for a satisfying, no cook meal!

Enjoy!

Basil Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad

WOW! The heat is on! I am really enjoying this hot weather! This is what I call summer! And, summer is all about bar be cuing! With pretty much anything I bar be cue, I make a fabulous pasta salad to go along as everyone who knows me knows I am all about pasta! So, try this recipe for pesto pasta salad - it's so good! It also keeps in the fridge for up to four days so you can enjoy it over and over again! Enjoy!

Ingrediets:

1 large bunch fresh basil
1 bunch arugula leaves
1/4 cup or so toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup or so grated parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
juice of 1/2 lemon
Olive oil
salt and pepper
1 box of farfalle pasta, cooked and cooled
1/2 red onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, grated
1 large bell pepper, red, diced
1 small container grape tomatoes
1 bunch asparagus, blanched, and chopped to 1" pieces

In a food processor, process the basil leaves, arugula, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, lemon juice and garlic clove. Add enough olive oil to form a loose paste. Put the mixture in the bottom of a large bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients and toss together with pesto. Serve at room temperature, or place in the fridge and use up within 4 days:)

I love this salad so very much - I hope you do too!
Cheers to all
P

It seems I have been neglecting my blog! Sorry everyone! We have a very busy teen ager who seems to take up a lot of our time, add that to work, a 95 lb dog, and a house, and it leaves very limited time for anything else. At this time, I vow to make time for my blog! So, here is a recipe to begin with for the summer - easy, easy, easy!!!! Simple ingredients for a simple week day meal! Enjoy!

Grilled Lemon Chicken with lemon mayo

Ingredients:

Chicken

4 Chicken breasts, bone in preferred (if using boneless, reduce the cooking time)
Juice of 2 lemons
Fresh garlic to taste, minced
Half an onion, cubed very small
Fresh Thyme, chopped
salt and pepper

Mayo

1 Cup Mayonnaise (your favourite)
Zest of one lemon
salt and pepper
fresh thyme, chopped

Place the chicken into a baggie with all the ingredients except some fresh thyme for about a half hour (in this case you don't want to marinade too long as the lemon will begin to cook your chicken). Place on your pre-heated bar be cue and grill for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Place all the Mayo ingredients in a small bowl and mix together. Serve over the chicken. So good!

Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients

2 large Sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sweet golden raisins
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp grated fresh ginger (more or less is okay too)
1 grated clove of garlic
salt
pepper
Juice of 1 lime, fresh if possible
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until tender - about 45 minutes or so, depending on how bit the potatoes are.

When the potatoes are almost ready, whisk all the remaining ingredients into a bowl, excluding raising and onions, making sure the dressing is fully mixed together.

Add the raisins and onions, and let sit for a few minutes.

After the potatoes have cooled, dice them and add them to the dressing and raisin mixture. Gently toss them together. This salad is great if it sits for a few hours!

Cheers!

Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients

2 large Sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sweet golden raisins
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp grated fresh ginger (more or less is okay too)
1 grated clove of garlic
salt
pepper
Juice of 1 lime, fresh if possible
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until tender - about 45 minutes or so, depending on how bit the potatoes are.

When the potatoes are almost ready, whisk all the remaining ingredients into a bowl, excluding raising and onions, making sure the dressing is fully mixed together.

Add the raisins and onions, and let sit for a few minutes.

After the potatoes have cooled, dice them and add them to the dressing and raisin mixture. Gently toss them together. This salad is great if it sits for a few hours!

Cheers!

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tart

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!! One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep up with this blog!!!! I will make up some new recipes for all of us to enjoy! With New Year's Eve approaching, I thought I would post an appetizer idea that I served at a dinner party and I had a friend tell me it was so good she made it herself for her family's Christmas dinner! So here it is - it is easy, and tasty! This one is for you, Val! :)

Ingredients:

2 large onions, sliced (I like large white sweet onions, but this recipe will work with any onion)

olive oil

butter (not margarine)

Good balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

pesto - home made or store bought

goat cheese

flat bread, naan, or home made pizza dough, rolled thinly

Directions:

Place a saute pan on the stove over low - medium heat, splash with olive oil, to cover bottom of pan, and place a few Tblsp butter in pan to melt. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let the onions cook down slowly. Once the onions are translucent, add a splash of balsamic vinegar, and slowly let onions caramelize. The onions are ready when they are sweet to the taste, and light brown in colour. Put the onions aside and let cool.

To assemble tart, brush the flat bread (or naan, or pizza dough) with the pesto. Top with the onions, and spread them out so all the bread is covered, then, top with dollops of goat cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven for a couple of minutes until just warmed through. Cut into bite size pieces, and serve. This can sit for a while as this is good cold as well as warmed.

Enjoy it! and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

Happy New Year to all of you!

Mexican Burgers

Okay, so my last post was the recipe for pizza burgers, and I have heard from several people who have tried it and they loved it, so, I thought, since it is still summer, and a beautifully hot one at that, I would give you another burger recipe, which is "just mix" and with no measuring for Mexican burgers this time.....very yummy!!! Enjoy!

Ground beef

egg

bread crumbs

bunch of fresh cilantro

squirt of lime juice

canned smoked chipotles (or you can take a chili pepper and roast it until charred, peel and dice)

chili powder

salt and pepper

Manchego cheese

jalapenos

salsa

sour cream

Mix all together - remember this entails no measuring so mix in as much or as little of one ingredient and less or more of another - up to you!!! Just be sure the burgers stay together.

Top the burgers with a slice of manchego cheese, chopped jalapenos, salsa, and sour cream...yum!!!