 How's your summer going? I feel like mid - July is a good time for a summer check in. I hope that you're living your best life - poolside and not counting the days until school is back in session. ✏️ 🤣 As for me and the rest of the people who chose to live in the South, we'll be sweating it out over the next couple of months. July in Georgia can turn the simplest of tasks, like watering my garden, into a sauna like experience. 😰😅  Most afternoons in July and August I don't even consider going outside to grill our dinner. If my deck is hot enough to melt the soles of my shoes - it might be too hot for me to stand in front of the grill.🍳 The only other option for summer grilling is to do it before it gets to hot - you know, at like 7:00 am.🤣 When I'm not organized enough to get outside just after sunrise, it's indoor cooking for me in July. 🍔🤣 This Sherry Braised Chicken is actually a delicious summertime meal for indoor cooks like me. This is a dish that can be prepped ahead of time and stored in the frig until dinner. It makes plenty --- enough for dinner AND leftovers for lunch. And it's delicious. 😋  Sherry Braised Chicken 8 bone in chicken thighs 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika 2 teaspoons salt 4 ounces chicken sausage, cut into 1/4" slices 6 garlic cloves, sliced thin 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 pound small red potatoes, halved 1 onion, sliced into 1/2" thick slices 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces 1 Tablespoon flour 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon dry sherry 1 cup chicken broth 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
 Serve chicken over vegetables and garnish with thyme.
Ciao!
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 Roll with it. My motto for the summer. My plan was to spend leisurely summer afternoons, lingering by the pool, sipping lemonade and getting lost in my favorite mystery novels.👙🍹📖 But, I really should know by know that things hardly ever go according to my plan. 😅 Even though my days haven't been as relaxing and tranquil as I might have envisioned, my summer has been full of fun and adventure. The first week of June, I made the decision to dive head first into a new project (more on that later) which has allowed me to have some new experiences and meet lots of new people. This new undertaking is scary, fun and exhilarating --- all at the same time.😂  I've taken my Roll With It motto quite literally this summer. To the extent that I've carried it into the foods that I've made.🤣 Pepperoni roll is something that I've never made before but I was inspired to give it a try my my pepperoni loving daughter in law. My pepperoni roll was actually intended to be a side dish, but we decided to turn it into lunch instead.😅 I pulled this pepperoni roll out of the oven at noon and it smelled so good that instead of saving it to serve with our evening meal - we ended up sitting around the table nibbling on the warm bread almost immediately. A side of pizza sauce or marinara is the perfect compliment to this yummy treat.  Pepperoni Bread 1 pizza dough 3 ½ tablespoons salted butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon oregano ¼ teaspoon garlic powder 4 ounces sliced pepperoni 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
 Bake 20-25 minutes at 375. Let cool 10 minutes. Slice and serve with pizza sauce or marinara.
Ciao!  I do my best thinking when I'm walking and I do my best walking - early in the morning.🚶🏻♀️ It's not that I just love lacing up my tennis shoes as soon as I roll out of bed, but I live in the South, so walking (and all other outdoor physical activity) is best completed early in the morning - so as to avoid any unnecessary heat stroke.🥵 Morning walks aren't so bad though.👟 Early morning exercise really helps set the tone for the rest of my day. And it's no coincidence that the number of steps that I take around the neighborhood in the morning is directly related to the number of things that I have to sort out in my head.🤯  Heading out the door, first thing in the morning is the goal but that means that I don't often take time to drink a cup of coffee or even sit down to eat breakfast before my walk. Most mornings I grab a granola bar to nibble on while I'm lacing up my sneakers, but on special occasions - I go to the freezer for some much needed pre-walk energy biscotti. And by special occasions, I mean, Tuesday. Walks are sweeter with biscotti. 😂 Chocolate and Mint are a match made in heaven. Don't even try and debate me on this issue.🤣 I also love biscotti so it only makes sense that I would make a Mint Chocolate Chip Biscotti. The only thing that I wish that I would have done differently would be to add a drop of green food coloring to the mint dough to tint so that it looks more "mint-like."  Mint Chocolate Chip Biscotti Mint Dough 6 Tablespoons butter, room temperature ⅔ cup sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons vanilla ½ teaspoon mint extract 2 large eggs room temperature 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ cup andes mint chips Chocolate Dough 6 Tablespoons butter, room temperature ⅔ cup granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon vanilla 2 large eggs room temperature 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder 1 teaspoon espresso powder ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
 Bake 15 minutes. Flip. Bake another 15 minutes.
 Ciao!
 Here I am in a it's not as bad as it looks scenario again.😅 I feel like I'm in this situation more often than not lately. Most of my meals are accompanied by a "taste it before you judge it" disclaimer lately because the presentation has been lacking. We can all agree that it takes extra effort to make food appear as delicious as it tastes. And recently, I've been consumed by other projects and I just haven't dedicated the time to highlighting the appearance of my meals. And since you can't taste this amazing avocado chicken salad, you're going to just have to take my word for it that it's soooo much better than it looks. 😂  I feel like I've applied that motto to other areas of my life as well. Not just food. I have a tendency to downplay injuries with the justification that it's not as bad as it looks. That's also what I say when I want to downplay the minor scratches or dents in my car when I describe them to my husband.😅 When I bring home so many grocery bags that they don't fit on the kitchen counters. When I let a pot of pasta water boil over onto the stove because I wasn't paying attention. Or when I accidentally drive the tractor over a pile of rocks and into the stairs in the backyard. 🤪 Yes, that really did happen and I actually started explaining the situation to my better half with "it's really not as bad as it looks." 🚜 (He hasn't let me drive the tractor since that day. 🤣) Clearly, I utter the phrase it's not as bad as it looks a lot.😅 In the case of this Avocado Chicken Salad - just don't judge it by it's appearance. If you're a guacamole fan - you will LOVE this chicken salad recipe.🥑 And bonus - the recipe makes more dressing than you will need for your salad so you can scoop up the leftover guacamole with chips.  Avocado Chicken Salad Dressing 1 1/2 ripe avocados 3 Tablespoons buttermilk 2 Tablespoons sour cream 1 1/2 Tablespoons lime juice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 teaspoon onion powder Chicken Salad 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded 1/4 cup roasted corn 1/4 cup red onion, diced 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
Process dressing ingredients in food processor until smooth.  Add chicken to dressing and toss to coat.  Add remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper.  
Ciao!
Happy 4th of July!!!
Beer is one of those things that looks super appealing to me but I've just never acquired a taste for it. And yes, before you start emailing me - I've tried the fruity and the seltzer beers too.😅 Beer is just not something that I enjoy. Fun breweries are super trendy now and I'm not above visiting and ordering a hard cider or even a glass of wine at a brewery when it's available.🍷
My summer drink of choice is a boozy lemonade.🍋 To me, there's nothing more refreshing than an ice cold, homemade lemonade with a shot of vodka or rum and a garnish of fresh fruit. I like to order a spiked lemonade when we go out but I also enjoy making it for myself at home on a hot, summer day. A lemon, some sugar and some rum is all I need to make a refreshing summertime sip. 🍹  Lemonade Rum Punch 2 ounces Jamaican Rum 4-6 ounces fresh squeezed lemonade ice orange slice fresh strawberries
 Garnish with an orange slice and a fresh strawberry.
Ciao! |
