Cucmber Salad

One thing I hate about summer winding down is that all the yummy foods that you normally eat in summer will be gone for awhile. Things like potato salad, ribs, pasta salads, etc.. One of my all time favorite summer time favorites is cucumber salad. It's refreshing, crisp, and oh so tasty! My mom makes the best cucumber salad, but I sadly don't have her recipe. I do have this one, and it's very similar to hers. I hope you enjoy!

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Cucumber Salad:
4 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tbsp dried dill


1. Pour 1 tsp of salt over cucumbers. Cover and let the water come out.
2. Toss the cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Combine the vinegar, water, and sugar and pour over the cucumbers and onions. Stir in dill, cover, and refrigerate until cold.

Cheddar Bacon Hamburgers

Nothing better than a burger on a hot summer day! These are some of the best burgers I've ever had! I never thought about putting horseradish in a burger, but it really works!


Cheddar Bacon Burgers:
1 lb ground beef                                      1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese              1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish           1/2 cup real bacon bits 
1/2 teaspoon salt


1. Preheat grill for high heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, Cheddar cheese, horseradish, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and bacon bits using your hands. Shape into 4 patties.
3. Lightly oil the grill gate. Place hamburger patties on the grill, and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Serve on buns.


Note: Keep the meat cold until you're ready to cook it, otherwise it will fall apart. Make sure to make the patties thinner in the center than on the outside, to keep them from puffing up. 

Ham and Cheese Bowties

Everyone loves macaroni and cheese. It's the ultimate comfort food! And we all grew up eating that beloved mac n cheese in the blue box...it's the cheesiest! Anyway, making macaroni and cheese from scratch for me has been the hardest thing I've ever had to make in the kitchen! I just can't seem to get it right. But I found this recipe..and it works for me! Plus, it has some protein from the ham and my 3 year old loves it! 


Ham and Cheese Bowties:
8 oz farfalle pasta                            2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter                                  1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 clove garlic, minced                        2 1/2 cups shredded Colby cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour                    4 oz cooked ham, julienned
1/2 teaspoon salt                             1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper


1. Preheat oven t o350°.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Saute garlic 30 seconds. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until smooth. Pour in milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Stir in mustard and Colby. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and stir in pasta and ham.
4. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbly and golden.


Note: I don't use julienned ham, I just use cubed ham..works fine and it's a lot more texture that way. 

Fried Zucchini

As I've gone through this pregnancy, I keep hoping that I'll start to crave healthy snacks or meals. So far, it's not happening. The only healthy thing I've ever craved is milk, which is good I guess.
Last night, we had dinner at my in-laws house. They had fried zucchini, pork steaks, mashed potatoes, and peas. I was in love with the fried zucchini! I had never had it before and it was tasty. Today, I found myself craving it again! I'm craving zucchini....so what if it's fried. :D I ran to Wal-Mart just to pick up some zucchini so I could make this tasty snack. My 3 year old even loved this!


Fried Zucchini:
2 zucchini, sliced                     1/2 teaspoon salt
1 onion, sliced into rings          1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour           1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cornmeal                     1 cup vegetable oil, for frying


1. Place zucchini and onions in a medium bowl and mix together.
2. In a small bowl (or ziplock bag) mix flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
3. Pour dry mixture over zucchini/onion mixutre, cover bowl and shake well. Let mixture sit for about 30 minutes; a batter will form on the veggies.
4. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When oil is hot add breaded vegetables and fry, turning to brown evenly.
5. Place on a plate lined with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt as they come out of the oil. Let cool and enjoy!


Note: I added grated Parmesan to the flour mixture for a little more flavor. I also used Italian bread crumbs instead of cornmeal (I didn't have any on hand).

Brownies

For dessert tonight, I made a pan of these brownies. I have never made homemade brownies before without the help of a box haha. Sad, I know. But man I'm glad I waited until I found this recipe. It's seriously to die for! My husband and I had one for dessert tonight and we both were wanting another one, but we had to stop ourselves haha. We added chocolate chips to this mix as well, but the recipe doesn't call for it.

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Brownies:
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnut halves


1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.
2. Melt the butter and mix in the remaining ingredients in order that they're listed.
3. Pour mixture into dish and bake for 20-30 minutes.


Note: We didn't use the walnuts and added chocolate chips instead. And I ended up having to cook my brownies for 45 minutes. Just keep an eye on them and check them with a toothpick in the center. We also sprinkled powdered sugar over the top! Delicious!

Coke Chops

One thing I love about pork is that it tends to be a relatively tasteless meat. Sounds bad, i know. But you can pair it with almost anything and it'll be amazing! Tonight, I found a recipe for something that I thought was completely absurd and strange...I just had to try it! This recipe calls for four ingredients: pork chops, ketchup, "cola-flavored" soda, and brown sugar. A random group of ingredients, but they totally work well together. Don't doubt these and definitely try them the next time you buy pork chops!

Cola Chops:

8 pork chops

1 cup cola-flavored carbonated beverage

1 cup ketchup

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Season pork chops with salt and pepper.

3. Line a 13x9 inch dish with tin foil.

4. In a small bowl, mix the ketchup and cola. Pour a small amount on the bottom of the pan.  Place the chops into the pan on top of the sauce. Pour remaining mixture over pork chops and sprinkle with brown sugar. 

5. Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes or until pork is cooked through and an internal temperature reads 160°.

Sticky Monkey Brains

Who loves cinnamon rolls? I do I do I do! But I love these even more! Plus, monkey bread is so fun to eat! I'm not one to get messy when I eat, but you can't help but get messy when eating this! Enjoy!

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Sticky Monkey Bread:
3 (7.5 oz) packages refrigerated biscuit dough
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 6 miniature bundt pans (or 1 normal full size bundt).
2. In a small bowl, stir together the white sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. use scissors or a knife and cut each of the biscuits into various sizes. Each one can be cut into anywhere from 2-5 pieces.
3. Sprinkle about half of the pecans against the prepared pan. Roll pieces of biscuit in the cinnamon sugar and place them into the pans, distributing evenly. Sprinkle any remaining cinnamon-sugar over the dough balls.
4. Mix together the brown sugar and melted butter. Stir in the remaining pecans. Pour evenly over dough balls.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until biscuits are toasted and cooked through. Invert out of pan to serving dishes.

Note: I don't use a bundt pan (I honestly don't own one). I just use a round cake pan and I fill the whole pan up instead of having the hole in the center. Works just fine! Enjoy!