Well, we finally had our first "hot" day! It reached the high 90's in town, and is usually 10 degrees cooler here. (Got to 87 here). I love it. I love the heat. I love the smell of hot tar on the roads, whirr of the fans, and just being outside drinking iced tea (Good Host imported from Canada, of course!).
I go through phases of eating/making my favorite foods, and this is mine from last summer, and likely this coming summer as well. My cousin M (Adam's Apples blog on my favorites list) put it in our Kurtti family cookbook, but for those of you who don't own one of our family's fabulous cookbooks (which I use weekly), here is the recipe.
Pasta with Feta & Veggies
1/2 pkg. favorite pasta (we like shells or tricolor rotini)
3 T. butter
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. Feta cheese
1/2 lemon
2 c. veggies: tomatoes, peppers, green onions, zucchini (or whatever needs using up)
2 optional chicken breasts or meat of choice (we like turkey pepperoni or ham)
garlic salt
fresh ground pepper
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, chop whatever veggies you want to use (usually a minimum of peppers, tomatoes and onions). Drain pasta and keep in pot. Add butter while hot. Stir until butter melts, then squeeze lemon juice over (or pour from bottle~) Add Parmesan, chopped veggies, Feta, and meat (if using). Stir until cheese coats pasta and veggies. Add garlic salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.
(we also add 1 c. or so of shredded cheese too, if using it for a main dish, which we often do on hot summer nights.)
If you are going to be making it to serve later, add the Feta right before serving so it remains full flavored.
My other favorite is Southwest Chicken Salad, also in the same cookbook. For a couple summers we made it at least once a week.
Southwest Chicken Salad
lettuce/spinach
grilled chicken breasts (with Lawry's seasoning salt and pepper)
canned corn, drained
black beans, rinsed and drained
green onions, chopped
guacamole
tomatoes, diced
cilantro, chopped
black olives, drained and sliced
shredded Mexican blend cheese
tortilla strips
Dressing:
1/2 c. honey
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. salt
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. lime juice
1/4 c. finely diced onion
1 c. canola oil
Grill chicken breasts with seasoning salt and pepper (George Foreman works great). Slice into strips. Then top lettuce with any or all of toppings listed (or add your own). Make dressing out of honey, mustard, salt, vinegar, lime juice and diced onion. Add oil slowly while mixing until dressing is well incorporated. (makes 2 c. dressing) It works good to do buffet style with this salad, so then people can choose which and how much toppings they want.
I go through phases of eating/making my favorite foods, and this is mine from last summer, and likely this coming summer as well. My cousin M (Adam's Apples blog on my favorites list) put it in our Kurtti family cookbook, but for those of you who don't own one of our family's fabulous cookbooks (which I use weekly), here is the recipe.
Pasta with Feta & Veggies
1/2 pkg. favorite pasta (we like shells or tricolor rotini)
3 T. butter
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. Feta cheese
1/2 lemon
2 c. veggies: tomatoes, peppers, green onions, zucchini (or whatever needs using up)
2 optional chicken breasts or meat of choice (we like turkey pepperoni or ham)
garlic salt
fresh ground pepper
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, chop whatever veggies you want to use (usually a minimum of peppers, tomatoes and onions). Drain pasta and keep in pot. Add butter while hot. Stir until butter melts, then squeeze lemon juice over (or pour from bottle~) Add Parmesan, chopped veggies, Feta, and meat (if using). Stir until cheese coats pasta and veggies. Add garlic salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.
(we also add 1 c. or so of shredded cheese too, if using it for a main dish, which we often do on hot summer nights.)
If you are going to be making it to serve later, add the Feta right before serving so it remains full flavored.
My other favorite is Southwest Chicken Salad, also in the same cookbook. For a couple summers we made it at least once a week.
Southwest Chicken Salad
lettuce/spinach
grilled chicken breasts (with Lawry's seasoning salt and pepper)
canned corn, drained
black beans, rinsed and drained
green onions, chopped
guacamole
tomatoes, diced
cilantro, chopped
black olives, drained and sliced
shredded Mexican blend cheese
tortilla strips
Dressing:
1/2 c. honey
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. salt
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. lime juice
1/4 c. finely diced onion
1 c. canola oil
Grill chicken breasts with seasoning salt and pepper (George Foreman works great). Slice into strips. Then top lettuce with any or all of toppings listed (or add your own). Make dressing out of honey, mustard, salt, vinegar, lime juice and diced onion. Add oil slowly while mixing until dressing is well incorporated. (makes 2 c. dressing) It works good to do buffet style with this salad, so then people can choose which and how much toppings they want.
Hope you're enjoying the summer thus far too!
