Fresh Tomato and Basil Salad

Whenever we go to a good Italian restaurant, my husband and I always order "Caprese". It is a delicious mix of fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese with a yummy dressing. I tried to copy it, but I don't know how close it is to the real thing. However, Mike and I downed this salad and only one of the kids got a piece, and he really liked it. The others had watermelon and we didn't encourage them to eat the tomatoes because we wanted them. Totally selfish, I know, but it was really good. Fresh tomatoes and basil are 2 of my favorite products of summer.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 large, ripe tomatoes

1/2 pound mozzarella cheese (I prefer the kind that comes in a ball, packed in water, but you can use a block of cheese too)

10 basil leaves (or more if you like) torn

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes and cheese. Layer tomatoes, cheese, and stick part of a basil leaf between them. Whisk oil, vinegar, garlic, and sugar together (I mix it in my magic bullet). Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle dressing over tomatoes and cheese. Top with any left over basil. This is so good over garlic bread. Enjoy!!

At Least She Was Listening

During lunch I try to tell scripture stories to my kids using the pictures that we have. We came to the picture of Peter trying to walk on the water, and then sinking when he sees the big waves.

That evening while my 5 and 3 year old were in the tub I was cleaning the bathroom (the multi-tasking crazy lady that I am at times) and I hear my 5 year old saying, "Help me, Jesus. Save me, save me" over and over again.

I peeked around the corner and she has the bath toys (a boat and captain of the boat) in the bath and she is holding the captain under water. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "It's the story we did today, you know, the guy sinking in the water." At least she was listening. I guess you never know when what you say and do will make a difference. I guess I should keep on doing it then.

Blueberry Morning Cake

So incredibly easy, and VERY moist and tasty. I made this and ate about 1/3 of it before anyone else got any. So sad, but none the less, true.

Ingredients:
Blueberry muffin mix, enough to make 12 muffins (I got a sweet deal on the fiber one triple pack)
Water, oil, eggs, or whatever the directions call for to make the muffins
1 pint of fresh blueberries, or 2 cups of frozen berries, thawed
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and spray an 8 by 8 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Prepare muffin mix according to package directions. Add blueberries and pour mix into pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. Check to make sure cake is done by inserting toothpick or knife in center, and if it comes out clean it is done. In a saucepan melt butter, add milk and sugar and mix well. After cake has cooled, poke it several times with a fork. Pour glaze over cake and let it sit for a few minutes. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

Peach Ice Cream

I love making homemade ice cream, one of my favorite parts of summer. I found this recipe on line, "Deluxe Peach Ice Cream". For some reason the link won't work for it so I posted it below, but I got it at www.food.com. I had to cut it in half for my ice cream maker (I have one that is 1.75 qts), the recipe I posted makes 1 gallon. I think next time I will leave out the eggs and skip the cooking step, just to save time. It was really good and I could have just had it as a shake after it cooled in the fridge. This very refreshing, I want to serve it with peach cobbler sometime, sounds good.

Ingredients for 1 gallon of ice cream:
6 cups mashed peaches (I boiled them for a few minutes, peeled and pitted them then mashed them)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 quart milk
1 cups whipping cream (I used a full 1 cup in mine, and then only used 2 cups of milk)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract.

1. Mix mashed peaches and 1 cup of sugar in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until they are frothy
3. In another bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, flour, and salt
4. Gradually add sugar mixture to eggs, mixing until thick.
5. Add milk, mix well.
6. Pour egg mixture into a large pot, cook over low heat stirring constantly (I had mine at heat level 7 and it took about 5 minutes to thicken), about 15 minutes until mixture thickens and coats a metal spoon.
7. Remove pot from heat and set in cold water, stir gently until it is cool. (I just put mine in the fridge and stirred it when I remembered it was there, tasting it several times to make sure it was still edible (It was really good!!!)).
8. Add cream and vanilla, mix well.
9. Add peaches, mix well.
10. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to directions for ice cream maker.

If you skip the eggs and just do the milk and cream it would make the recipe much easier. But it was really good this way too. Enjoy!!

Hot Ham, Cheese, and Pepperoni Roll-ups

It has been one of those days. Not a whole lot of time to plan dinner and not a whole lot of motivation to go all out (you know a normal day). I had crescent rolls, ham, cheese, and pepperoni in the fridge and decided to try something new. And, it was a hit.

Ingredients:
2 packages of crescent rolls (8 count each)
Ham
Cheese
Pepperoni

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a cookie sheet. Roll out crescent rolls. Top each roll with 1 slice of ham, 2 pepperonis, and some shredded cheese. Roll dough up as you would to make regular crescent rolls. Bake for 13 minutes.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread and/or Cake

I got this recipe from my friend, Julie, that I met in Madison. She got it from our friend Bev, also a fellow Madisonite for awhile. I miss those days of playing out at the playground with all of the kids all afternoon. But, it is also very nice to be done with school.
This bread is like cake and my kids love it. I put 4 cups of Zucchini in instead of the 2 cups it calls for. You can make 5 mini loaves or 2 large loaves. Make sure to have some milk close by. I made it as a cake also and baked it in a 9 by 13 pan for about 40 to 45 minutes. I topped it with chocolate butter cream icing (recipe is listed under the recipe for PB cup cake) and it was awesome.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
6 Tablespoons cocoa mixed with 2 Tablespoons of oil (or 2 oz bakers chocolate, which I never have)
2 cups Zucchini (I use 4 cups)
1 cup oil (or applesauce)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flour (I have used 1/2 whole wheat before and it turned out well)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I never add this, not a fan of cinnamon and chocolate mix)
1 cup of chocolate chips (I usually use 1 1/2 cups, because I like too)

Preheat oven to 350, grease pans. Beat eggs, add sugar, oil, stir in vanilla and cocoa/oil mixture. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients together. Add liquid ingredients to dry (I think that is what you are supposed to do to avoid lumps, or do it the other way if you wish). Mix until well blended. Pour into greased pans. Bake large loaves for 45 min, smaller loaves about 35 minutes. Test with toothpick, if it comes out clean they are done.

Chef's Salad

Another crazy day, not a lot of time to plan a meal. I had some salad left over from last night, and a head of lettuce. So, I used that to double the salad and made the dressing that my kids have come to love from Jayna's Junior League Salad. I had some lunch meat that if it didn't get used in the next few days was going in the trash. So, mix it all together and you have "Chef's Salad" and it was so easy and everyone (even my 2 year old who wants nothing more to drink milk all day) ate it. I love this dressing!!!

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Croutons
Cheese, shredded or slices
Lunch meat

Dressing:
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic (or 1 1/2 teaspoons of the garlic in a jar)
3/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix salad dressing (I use my magic bullet or blender). Mix salad together. Just before serving add dressing and mix well.