Tomato Theif

Up until last week, my grandpa still had red, homegrown tomatoes from his garden. He sent me home with a huge sack full of them and several sacks of green tomatoes to ripen indoors.

Sweet P (who LOVES tomatoes) found the bowl of ripe, red ones on the table and this is what I walked in on:



I grabbed my camera to get a picture so I could show her grandpa while the husband cleaned her up.



She's a goofy girl.

Salad with Fried Goat Cheese

With the record-breaking heat wave hitting Oklahoma, I don't care to add extra heat to my house because something's cooking in the oven. So for dinner we had dinner salads topped with one of my favorite things: fried goat cheese.

I've had salads and sandwiches at restaurants with fried goat cheese but I've never made it myself. Until last night! Now that I know how easy it is, it will definitely be on the rotation.

Two days ago I tried a recipe for "fauxtisserie chicken". Another attempt at not using my oven for dinner and it came out perfect! Super tender and very juicy. I had half a chicken leftover so I wanted to use that chicken for our dinner salad last night.

Then I remember seeing a recipe I pinned on pinterest (pin no longer available) for fried goat cheese. So I decided to give it a try.


Now, I didn't completely follow the directions. Surprise. I tried staying close to the recipe but I didn't have a lot of panko left so I just used what I had, which was probably close to a 1/4 C so I just went with that and cut everything else down. I used about 4 oz of goat cheese, I skipped the flour, left out the thyme and didn't measure anything and it came out DELICIOUS.

For the salad, I used green leaf lettuce, sliced homegrown onions, shredded carrots, sliced strawberries and sliced cucumbers and topped it with balsamic vinaigrette. Then I topped it with three little fried goat cheese rounds and oh my, my.



This one's a keeper.

Homegrown Tomatoes

It's that time of year when we eat tomatoes every night with dinner and I love it. There's nothing like a homegrown tomato. They are so juicy and full of flavor - unlike the kind you find at the store.

Growing up, I was spoiled by my grandpa because he always had plenty of tomatoes to share from his garden. Now I'm older and my husband is spoiling me with our own.



They are so red, juicy and sweet. Even Sweet P likes them!

She was my little helper yesterday while I was picking tomatoes. As fast as I could get them in the bowl, she had them back out and in the grass. At one point I looked over and she had taken a big bite out of one and juice was running down her chin.

It was hot so I finished gathering all the tomatoes and took her inside to let her finish off her find.

She was a mess. The floor was a mess.



I didn't mind. She had her first homegrown tomato and LOVED it.



Her great-grandpa will be so proud.

Lemon-Basil Shrimp with Veggies

One of my favorite things about summer are all the garden fresh veggies. We typically plant zucchini and squash but didn't get around to it this year. Sadness. But, it's okay because we have plenty of onions, tomatoes, herbs and garlic. So, what do you do with your vegetables after you harvest them?

Here's a super easy and pretty healthy recipe I came up with that uses a lot of summer veggies. If you don't love to chop, slice and dice things, this recipe isn't for you. Fortunately, I LOVE cutting up stuff when I cook. Call me crazy but it's kind of relaxing!

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic - minced
1 small white or yellow onion - diced
2 zucchini - sliced into little strips
2 yellow squash - sliced into little strips
1 yellow pepper - diced
1 tomato - diced
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 a lemon - zest (save a little for garnish) and juice
5 fresh basil leaves - sliced (save a little for garnish)
whole wheat spaghetti
1 lb. large shrimp - peeled and deveined
a couple handfuls of feta cheese crumbles

Boil some water in a pot and cook the spaghetti.

Meanwhile, in a tall walled skillet, heat 3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until tender (not brown). Add the zucchini, squash and yellow pepper and cook for about 6 minutes - stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes.



Then add the artichokes, lemon juice and zest, tomatoes and basil and cook for another couple of minutes until everything is heated through.



Put the pasta into bowls and spoon the shrimp and veggies over it. Top with a little feta cheese, fresh basil and lemon zest and enjoy.



I love how light and summery tasting this meal was, not too mention healthy and colorful!

She's a Fast Learner

Who's glad it's Friday!?

She is and she's pretty happy she figured out how to help herself to the strawberries!

Don't worry, I had a bowl of water to wash it in before she ate it.

Happy Friday, have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day!

Sweet P Trys Fish

Our adventures in baby food continues.

The husband has been doing some fishing lately and has been bringing back some really good saugeye. If you've never had it, it's kind of like cod. A thick, white fish.

Anyway, we decided to let Sweet P have some. She seemed really excited about it.

 

I baked her's and made a pecan-panko crust for ours.

Her dinner.

And the reaction.

Not so sure she loved it, but she did warm up to it and ate it after I mixed in sweet potatoes.

And our dinner. Sorry, no reaction, we gobbled it up.

We have already hit that time of year where it's garden fresh salads with dinner every night! I love it!

Signs of Spring

I went outside to cut a little lettuce for a salad and was shocked when I saw all the little greens sprouting up! I guess I shouldn't have been shocked since we planted everything over a week ago, but still, I was.

Our radishes, mesclun mix and tons of herbs have starting growing their first leaves! YAY! And, we even have flowers all over our strawberries. I don't remember them ever blooming this fast in previous years.

I'm starting to salivate as I think of all the tasty strawberry concoctions I'll be making soon!

Another fun thing about gardening this year...

a new little helper! I'm so glad she loves being outside and isn't afraid to get a little dirty.

I'm also thankful I have a husband that really enjoys gardening. And I'm pretty sure he's going to enjoy it a lot more this year since he has a cute little helper.

Oh Spring

I saw this quote and thought it was very fitting for our family.

And with spring comes one of my favorite things: fresh garden salads!

Bring on spring and bring on the weekend!! Happy Friday!

Embrace the Camera - Daddy's Girl

I saved this photo from our afternoon of gardening for today's "Embrace the Camera" post.

The husband teaching his girl all about gardening.

I love everything about it.

Happy Thursday!

Bacon and Feta Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

This is a really easy recipe with few ingredients. I usually made this in the spring when we have fresh spinach and green onions from the garden and we like to grill it so the house doesn't get hot using the oven. But, it's just as good in the oven.

Ingredients:
salt and pepper
1 t. rosemary
1 pork tenderloin - 1.5-2.5 lbs.
several leaves of fresh spinach
2-4 strips of bacon
a handful of crumbled feta cheese or 2 slices provolone cheese (halved)
1 bunch sliced green onion

Here's what you do:
Butterfly the pork tenderloin and season the outside with salt and pepper and rosemary. Then, put 1 to 2 strips of uncooked bacon on one side. Top that with several leaves of fresh spinach, followed by either cheese, then sprinkle the sliced onion over the cheese and top with another strip, or two of uncooked bacon slices.

This one has the spinach layer first but it's better if you start with a bacon layer.


Next you need to close the tenderloin like a sandwich or taco by pulling the sides together. Then you need to run a skewer through it so it stays intact while it's cooking. Either weave a long skewer through the whole thing or take a wooden skewer and break it into several pieces and run each one through. I have found that it's easier to use the wooden pieces.



Now either put it on the grill or stick it in the over. If grilling, cook for about 30 minutes - this will vary depending on the heat of your grill so stick a meat thermometer in it and make sure it's 150 degrees. If baking, cook at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Once cooked, let it rest 5-10 minutes, then slice into medallions and serve!

Catching Up

Totally random picture post, special thanks to the Campbell's! For those of you that don't know, my sister gave me one of her "back-up" cameras and I've gone a little crazy since. I apologize for not being able to add titles but the formatting's all jacked up. So, there are pics from Christmas, our dogs, our fish, our herbs and dinner. I hope you enjoy. Thank you so much Campbell clan!

Day 6 of 365

Views from the Garden

I love spring! Here are some pics of my growing garden.