Vegetable Skewers

Ingredients:

2 Bell Peppers, diced

Red Onion, diced

2 Summer Squash, cut into rounds

1 head of garlic seperated and peeled into individual cloves

1 package of button mushrooms (if they are large cut them in half)

1 package of cherry tomatoes

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Rock salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

Dried Oregano

Directions:

Place chopped vegetables in a bowl (except the summer squash and tomatoes). Coat with equal parts oil and vinegar. Season to taste (it's vegetables so I usually grab a bell pepper and try the mix to make sure I like the flavor). Let sit at room temperature 1 hour. Add tomatoes and summer squash, mix. Cover and let sit 30 minutes (or more).

If you use wood skewers soak them in water as directed on the package. If using metal skewers (or after they have soaked) you can go ahead and skewer your vegetables until you are ready to use them. I usually put them in a dish and pour the marinade back over them if it's going to be awhile.

Grill over low heat 5 minutes (or until vegetables are tender).

BBQ Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

2 racks of pork loin ribs

Grill Mates Montreal Seasoning

2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:

Place ribs fat side up on foil. Season liberally with Montreal seasoning. BBQ over low heat on the top rack of your BBQ for 1 hour. Open foil and brush 1 cup of BBQ sauce over each rack of ribs. BBQ medium heat for 30 minutes or until glaze is tight enough to serve on the meat. Remove from heat and let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

1 package of salad macaroni, cooked and drained

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and minced

1/2 of a can of petite olives, minced

1 red onion, small diced

4 tablespoons of Del Monte Pickle Relish

3/4 cup Best Foods mayo

6 tablespoons of yellow mustard

1 tablespoon garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix ingredients together and chill before serving.

Wicked Quick Beans

My grandmother made awesome Okie beans. That recipe, which I cherish, I will probably never post here. This though is a bastard version using some "similar" ingredients which will make you a pot of yummy beans in less than an hour. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground beef

1 stick of linguica, sliced

1/2 white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can of Rotell tomatoes with chiles

1/2 c of Del Monte Ketchup

4 cups of chicken broth

2 cans of pinto beans, drained

1 Tbl oregano

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili powder

Directions:

Brown ground beef, linguica and onions in a soup pan. Drain oil. Add garlic and pinto beans, stir 3 to 4 minutes. Combine with all other ingredients and season to taste. Simmer 30 minutes.

Poke Cake

So I heard about this key lime poke cake from Betty Crocker and I was like "oh that sounds yummy, I had something like that when I was little with chocolate" so I went to my trusty google and I googled "poke cake" and sweet jesus the recipes they came from every direction. So I stepped back and took out my handy iPhone with the Betty Crocker application and looked up chocolate poke cake and there it was... only I changed it... so this is the recipe I actually used.

Ingredients:

1 butter cake mix with the ingredients to make it as directed

1 package chocolate fudge instant pudding & 2 cups of milk

whipped cream

Directions:

Cook and cool the cake as directed. Take a wooden spoon and poke holes every 1/2 inch in the cake. Mix pudding with milk and let it firm up a little. Spread pudding over the cake letting it fill in the holes. Cool until pudding is firm. Top with whipped cream.

Refrigerate until served.

Wicked Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

18 eggs

Best Foods Mayo

Yellow Mustard

Del Monte Pickle Relish

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Paprika

Directions:

Place eggs in water and bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let set 10 minutes. Place under very cold water and then peel (the change from hot to cold will help the eggs to peel more easily). Cut in half and place all the yolks in a bowl. Throw away 6 eggs worth of egg white (or eat them- whatever).

Mash yolks with a fork. Add 3 tablespoons of relish. Add 3-4 tablespoons of mustard. Add mayo until the texture is creamy and smooth like a deviled egg should be (it's usually around 1/4 cup). Season to taste with seasons listed (and any you want to add)

In the picture (taken with iPhone-sorry) I used a spoon to spoon the mixture into my egg whites. Usually if it's for a BBQ or event I pipe it in using a piping bag. Your choice. Enjoy!

Patio S'Mores

Ingredients:
** I seldom put brands with things but really these make the best S'mores**
Hershey's chocolate bars (1/2 a bar per S'more)
Honey Maid Graham Crackers (1 full cracker broken in half per S'more)
Jet Puff Jumbo Marshmallows (2 per S'more)

Directions:
I don't have a big yard right now so I don't feel comfortable firing up the fire pit. I am also not camping at the moment. But, sometimes a girl just needs S'mores. So these can be done with a BBQ after the food is done. If using charcoal it's a little harder. If you have a gas grill go ahead and fire it up all the way. Place 2 marshmallows on the end of the skewer and hold it over the heat (turning it until it's all soft and gooey and golden brown on the outside). DO NOT SET IT DOWN and WATCH FOR FLAIR UPS.

Place half a graham cracker on the bottom. Then half a chocolate bar. Top with your marshmallows. Then another half a graham cracker. (I usually set the marshmallow on the chocolate and use the top half of the cracker to hold it down while I pull out my skewer).


Eat them warm and without a plate. It's only right. It is a S'more after all!

Sweet Tea

Ingredients:

10 cups of water

3/4 cup of sugar

8 tea bags

Directions:

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add tea bags and boil 1 minute. Then remove from heat. Let stand 15 minutes. Add sugar to warm water and stir until disolved. Place concentrate in pitcher and add 7 cups cold water.

(the picture above is a double batch)

Locavore Love

I have become increasingly interested in trying to eat as locally as possible. For produce that's been easy because I am in the Central Valley of California and there is wonderful produce all year long. For other things it might be a little harder.

I added a new blog tag. It's called LocavoreLove and if you click on it you can see recipes made with local ingredients. When possible I'll provide a link to where I got them from.

Enjoy!