Why is it so hard to leave the pool lately? For some reason, the closer we get to the end of summer, the harder it is for me to leave the pool to come home. I've even started packing more snacks to take with us to the pool so that we don't have cut our pool time short to come home when we're hungry. (I know - super lazy.) I was at the pool the other day with my daughter and her friend, and it was a perfect July evening. The sun reflecting off the water was spectacular. The sky was turquoise blue with puffy white clouds scattered across the horizon. The girls were having the best time splashing in the cool water and I was perfectly content to sit poolside listening to their happy giggles. It was way past the time that I should have been home fixing dinner but I just didn't want that perfect July evening to end. I had some chicken marinating in the refrigerator and I knew it wouldn't take long for me to grill it after I got home. We stayed at the pool until it was nearly dark when we finally loaded up the pool toys and headed home with wrinkled toes, soggy towels and happy hearts. When we got home, I lit the grill and I decided to turn my marinated chicken into chicken quesadillas to make them a little more kid-friendly. It took about an hour to get dinner on the table but it was totally worth the extra pool time. A prefect end to a great day at the pool. Chicken Quesadillas Grilled chicken (I used tropical island marinated chicken breasts) Tortillas (I used chi chi's corn and flour tortillas) Cheese Grill chicken and slice thinly.
Top with another tortilla and brush the outside with canola oil. Flip quesadilla when browned on bottom. Slice into triangles. Enjoy. This is the very basic (plain) version that my kids prefer. If it were up to me, I'd load up my quesadilla with fresh avocado, salsa, beans, cilantro and sour cream. You could even get really creative and add bacon or ham. Don't be afraid to make these your own. Get creative and send me your fantastic ideas.
Ciao!
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Fruit water is all the rage now. There are all kinds of reports out about how it can help you to lose belly fat and lower stress levels and boost your immunity. I am sure that at least some of those claims are true but the reason that I jumped on the fruit water bandwagon was to simply to get myself drinking more water. I am constantly trying to increase my water intake and I get tired of plain water really quickly. I figured that if I added some fruit to my drink, it would make it more appealing and I would be more likely to drink more of it. I looked through several websites with all sorts of combinations of fruit and herb waters. The first one I tried had a list of ingredients that I happened to have on had: 1 ruby red grapefruit, 1 navel orange, 1 lemon and 1 lime. Add to an empty 2 quart pitcher. Fill with water. I added a few sprigs of fresh mint too. Refrigerate. OK, so I might need to modify my recipe slightly. The grapefruit needed to be either peeled or eliminated because it gave the water a bitter taste. It wasn't undrinkable but it wasn't all that appealing either.
My favorite is actually one that I didn't get a picture of - watermelon water. It's very refreshing. The best part is that I am definitely drinking more water these days - even if it is just to try out new flavor combinations.
Ciao! Casual, last minute summer get togethers are the best. Backyard barbeques, evening gatherings around a campfire and poolside rendezvous are what August is all about. The best part is that most of these casual gatherings require very little planning and organization. A few simple snacks, some willing participants and voila - it's a party. I like to make this Mexican dip for casual summer parties because even though its ridiculously easy, it gets big points for its dramatic presentation. Chips and cheesy dip are a welcome addition to almost any summer time gathering. Mexican Star Dip 2 cup cheddar cheese 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 1 cup mayonnaise 1 medium tomato 1 can olives, sliced ¼ cup green onions 1 can green chilies tortilla chips ¼ teaspoon garlic powder Combine cheese, mayonnaise, 1/3 cup olives, chilies, garlic, powder and hot pepper sauce.
It's obvious from the pictures that this dip is absolutely loaded with olives. If you are a black olive fan - you are going to love this dip. If you're not a fan of black olives, just leave them out or swap them with something else like sundried tomatoes or roasted red peppers. Take this to your next party and I promise that your guests will be impressed.
Some of you may have already noticed but for those of you who didn't - there are some changes coming to My Story in Recipes! Don't worry - they're all good changes. The blog needed a little tweaking and few updates but they should make it even easier for you to navigate through the recipes on the blog. No worries - We'll walk through the changes together. You can start by checking out my updated profile - click on the picture in the top right corner of the page. Ciao! Toffee Crunch cupcakes are really nothing new. The base of this decadent cupcake is a chocolate cupcake recipe that I have referred to over and over again on my blog. For those of you who are new to my blog, I copied the recipe for you below. The salted caramel buttercream that adorns these treats should also not be unfamiliar to my regular blog followers. It is something that I use over and over again to top all kinds of different cakes. The combination of the rich, coffee infused cupcake with the salted caramel buttercream and crunchy toffee bits is what makes this cupcake unique. They are truly decadent and surprisingly simple to make. Chocolate Cupcake 1cup flour 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar 1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons cocoa 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, melted 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 Tablespoons instant coffee 1/2 cup hot coffee 1/2 cup toffee bits salted caramel buttercream chocolate dipping sauce Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add butter, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium for 1 minute. Add eggs and beat 20 seconds. Add hot coffee and beat until smooth. Divide batter among muffins cups and bake 18-22 minutes at 350. Caramel Buttercream 2 egg whites 1/3 cup sugar 12 Tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 6 caramels, melted and cooled Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of mixer and heat over a double boiler. Whisk until frothy and warm to the touch. Move mixing bowl to mixer and whip 1-2 minutes or until the consistency of shaving cream. Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing to beat. Beat in vanilla. Stir in melted caramel with a rubber scraper and fold.
I didn't forget to include pictures of our Colorado adventures - I just thought I would post the recipe first today. I took my very first horseback ride while I was in Colorado. It was wonderful. My horse and I were perfectly compatible. He was a very cautious and patient horse so Romeo and I got along just fine. Sitting on the back of a horse was a great way to experience the Colorado and the incredible scenery that surrounded us. Our ride along the trails was going along quite well, until we stopped to try and take a group picture. The horses must have been camera shy because they really didn't want to cooperate in the group photo shoot. After 10 minutes of trying to turn the horses around we finally gave up. The view from the trail was breathtaking. I think I'm ready to move out west and be a cowgirl. I could get used to that scenery.
Ciao! For my birthday this year, my wonderfully thoughtful husband bought me tickets to a concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. It is an incredible amphitheater - unlike any other that I have seen. Before the concert, my brother, my cousin and his wife and Ben and I all met for dinner at a restaurant that my cousin chose, called The Fort. The setting was a bit quirky but the food was fantastic. (Wow, I don't realize how short I am until I see myself in a picture.) I ordered the bacon wrapped stuffed trout. It was fabulous. It was so good in fact that I had the desire to make trout as soon as I got home. (I made my homemade version without the bacon.) I found some really great looking steelhead trout at the grocery store. It is closely related to the salmon so if you can't find steelhead trout for this recipe, you can swap it with salmon. Steelhead Trout with Honey Glaze 1/4 cup butter 2 garlic cloves 2 Tablespoons honey 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Voila - steelhead trout dinner in under 15 minutes. Even though I didn't wrap my fish in bacon like they did at The Fort, it was still delicious. The little foil packets make clean up super easy too. After our dinner at The Fort, we headed to the Red Rocks Amphitheater to hear the Denver Symphony Orchestra and Josh Groban. The Josh Groban concert was very good. Not sure I would call myself a Groban groupie - but I enjoyed the concert a lot. Ciao!
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