Brown & White Walnut Bars

This bar cookie is similar to my dear friend Markee's - (*Her yummy recipe is with my coobooks in storage, so I concocted this one!) The idea is easy and I find it's nice to have quick bar cookie ideas on hand, plus it can be adapted several ways depending on what kind of goodies you happen to have; vary the toppings with coconut, toffee, peanut butter chips, slivered almonds, pecans, you name it.

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup walnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325. In a mixer, combine cake mix, brown sugar, eggs, and softened butter. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish and spread batter to edges of dish, about 1" thick. Sprinkle walnuts, milk and white chocolate chips and gently press into batter. Bake at 325 (convection if possible) for ~30 minutes. *The mixture may still look a little soft in the middle, but go ahead and pull it out and allow it to cool completely. You want the bar cookies chewy, and they'll continue to firm up even after you pull them out of the oven. Cool & cut.

Cheddar Corn Dip

I came up with this cheddar corn dip while chatting with mom in the kitchen today. I think my Aunt Rosie was the genesis a couple years ago when she told me about a "cheddar dip" of sorts... With cheese, corn, green chilies, olives, cumin, cilantro & sour cream - how can you go wrong? :) I'm sure you could add or subtract veggies to your liking, but it's delicious as-is and works great with tortilla chips, crackers, or spread on toast points.

Ingredients:

• 2 large cans of corn
• 4 cups shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese
• 3 stalks celery, small dice
• 1 large jar of pimentos
• 1 small can of chopped green chilies
• ~20 black olives, small dice
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
• fresh cilantro to taste and garnish (about 2 Tbs, chopped)
• *1/2 cup crumbled bacon could be nice!
  

Preparation:

Mix it all together!

Avocado, Tomato & Feta Salad

It's fun to eat fresh veggies! And just about any combination of additional veggies would improve this simple recipe. As is, this quick summer salad is well-balanced with vitamins & nutrients, and essential fats. Creamy avocado satisfies a hungry tummy & makes for a wonderful rich dressing.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe haas avocado, large dice
  
• 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup small diced, gently blanched broccoli
• 4 oz. cubed feta cheese
  
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• juice of 1 lemon or lime
• *could also add black beans, fresh corn, sliced okra, red bell pepper, etc
  

Preparation:

Combine veggies in a bowl. in a smaller bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon/lime juice, salt & pepper to create a vinaigrette. Drizzle over veggies and gently toss so as not to break up the avocado too much. Gently toss in feta & enjoy! We also like this with cool cottage cheese.

Summer Chop Salad

Troy & I eat some version of a chop salad almost every day in the summer time (also coined my seattle salad from our summer in seattle last year). The idea is to combine fresh veggies, chicken, beans, feta, whatever's on hand, with a light lemony or really any kind of vinaigrette for a quick & savory salad, nice for lunch. Adaptations & variations are welcome :) This one came about after we grilled lemon Dijon chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 grilled lemon dijon chicken breast, diced finely
  
• 4 red romaine lettuce leaves, chopped finely
  
• 1 cup of garbanzo beans
• 1/2 diced red onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced cucumber
  
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (roast red pepper works, too)
• 1/2 cup diced grape tomatoes
• 4 oz cubed feta cheese
  
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 minced clove of garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• *anything else you want to thrown in; would be nice with grilled focaccia bread!
  

Preparation:

This ones super easy - I simply combine the veggies/protein, etc in a bowl, then combine the vinaigrette in a smaller bowl and whisk with a fork until emulsified. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the chicken/veggies, etc. Sprinkle in the feta, lightly toss & enjoy with grilled focaccia bread.

Grilled Lemon Dijon Chicken

This chicken turned out nicely - tender & juicy, very flavorful, a true winner in our house. And what's even better, I used a leftover chicken breast the next day for my summer chop salad (recipe to come).

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbs of Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbs of chopped red bell pepper
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the grill to medium. Combine the marinade ingredients and reserve 1/4 cup for basting. Marinate the chicken in the remaining marinade for 20 minutes. Place chicken breasts on the grill for 5 mins, baste with marinade and grill for ~3 more mins. Turn the chicken over and grill for 3 more mins, baste with extra marinade. Chicken is done when juices run clear or an internal thermometer reads 170 degrees. Save the leftovers for my summer chop salad :)

Mom's Whipped Chocolate Cream Cake

This cake is amazing - that's a big word for a cake, but seriously, it's super easy and the most moist & delicious chocolate cake recipe I've found to date. Try it out if you're a fan of chocolate & whipping cream :)

Ingredients:

• 1 moist chocolate cake mix
• 1 pint whipping cream (full fat)
• 1 cup of milk (full fat)
• 1 box of instant chocolate pudding

Preparation:

Preheat the oven and prepare the chocolate cake according to the cake mix's directions (*you'll likely need eggs, oil & water in addition to the ingredients above.) Pour the cake batter into 3 equally divided cake pans and bake for ~17 mins or until done. Allow the cakes to cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, whip the cream, milk and pudding mix to soft peaks/whipped cream state. Ice the cakes & refrigerate. Serve chilled! This is a cream cake, so keep the leftovers in the fridge... the cake layers soak up the cream and get better & better :)

Roasted Summer Corn

We've loved being back in Texas with a patio & grill for dinner outside! We find ourselves grilling almost every night of the week. This corn is super easy and you just about can't get it wrong, no matter the variation... here's the idea:

Ingredients:

• long fresh ears of corn still in their husks
• extra virgin olive oil
• maple bbq rub (or any dried seasoning of your liking: garlic salt, chili pepper, red pepper flakes, steak seasoning, etc)
• fresh cracked pepper & kosher salt
• fresh lime

Preparation:

Heat an outside covered grill to medium (the temp I use to cook my bbq chicken, so it works for the corn, too). Peel back the corn husks and remove the corn silk. Rub olive oil on the corn and season liberally. Wrap the husks back around the corn and wrap in foil. Roast on the grill for ~5 mins turning once. *The corn effectively steams itself and doesn't need much time on the heat. To serve, peel back the husks, roll in butter & squeeze with lime. Enjoy!