Recipe Round-up!

Like I have mentioned before every week I try to add at least 1-2 new recipes into my rotation. While my knack for picking delicious recipes is quite strong, I thought I would share with you a few of my favorites new additions. I am going to start doing this weekly, kind of like a Foodie Friday recap on my culinary adventures in the kitchen. Yay!

First is my favorite new salad of the summer, Cooking Light's Bell Pepper, Tomato, Cucumber, and Grilled Bread Salad. Whoa was this salad delicious!! The combination of fresh crisp veggies combined with the crunchy bread all topped with a tangy vinaigrette are simply mind-blowing. Simply put, salads are my favorite food and this one made it into my top five favorites.

Martha Stewart's Fontina and Herb Flatbread from her Dinner at Home cookbook.  Of course I had to make a shout-out to my girl Martha, love her! This crispy flatbread was salty yet fresh (thanks to the yummy fresh herbs) and it was a big crowd pleaser. Served along side a fresh Greek salad it was what DPS called, "A perfect meal..."

I also tried a new tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes and a bounty of veggies. Based roughly off of Cooking Light's Simple Tomato Sauce I added my own touches to pump up the veggie counts (sauteed onions, bell peppers, zucchini and mushrooms) and add a bit more depth (a splash of white wine AND red wine - trust me, it's key). Since DPS isn't the biggest fan of tomato based anything, I don't get to make this as often as I would like but it is still absolutely delicious.

I actually have about 6 new recipes coming up in the rotation over the next two weeks, I am slightly nervous yet super excited! :) Take a peak at what's on my menu planner for the next week or so!

Friday 16th - London Broil, Green Beans, Roasted Potatoes (I grew up with my mom making London Broil every few months and us kids loving it!! I try every few months whenever I see London Broil on sale, each time with a new recipe, trying to recreate my mom's goodness. Somehow even with her recipe I can't seem to get just right. Or maybe it is just me remembering something totally different, like when kids love Spaghettios and realized how differently they taste as you age...)

Saturday 17th - Slow Cooker Spice Rubbed Ribs (Have never made ribs at home before but they were practically giving them away at the market yesterday and so I couldn't not pick some up to try. This could be interesting...)

Sunday 18th - Chicken Enchiladas (I am so so so excited to try this recipe... I have been attempting to perfect my Mexican dishes and this is the next one up to bat!)

Monday 19th - Chicken Soulvaki (new Cooking Light recipe! Who doesn't love grilled chicken with Greek spice wrapped up in a warm whole wheat pita?)

Tuesday 20th - One Pot Chicken and Turkey Kielbasa with Rice (another new Cooking Light recipe! DPS loves rice, DPS loves kielbasa and I am pretty sure DPS will love this recipe.)

Wednesday 21st - Homemade Pizzas (A favorite of DPS and mine, we create fun concoctions every time!)

Thursday 22nd - Spicy Honey Roasted Chicken Breasts (Guess what... another new Cooking Light recipe! Do you see a trend... This one was so highly rated on their website I couldn't not try it.)

Friday 23rd - Chicken and Summer Veggie Toastadas with black bean salad (Should I even say?!)

Look forward to reporting back to you next Friday with the results of these creations. Wish me cooking success!

Summer Project Time!!

Every summer I try to find a "Summer Project" something to keep me busy in my spare time.  Maybe it stems back from when my Mom used to make me focus on one thing when I was not in school, but every year I still have at least one big project to do during the hottest months of the year. We are into the first few weeks of summer here and I still haven't decided what I wanted to do. Then it hit me... my recipe book!!!

I love to cook. And with that love of cooking comes my habit of spending hours on the internet and thumbing through my favorite cooking magazines finding at least 2 new recipes to try a week. The result - an unorganized and random arrangement of printed, torn and handwritten recipes sticking out of my cookbooks. While the sight makes my natural A-type personality tremble, I just haven't gotten around to doing something better with them. So this year, I am going do it, I am going to organize and beautify my recipe collection.

DPS is excited to help me name some of his favorites, from "Chicken Party" - Chicken Tamale Casserole from Cooking Light to "Stacey's Salad" - a delicious spinach salad with countless variations that the wonderful Stacey Satterlee used to make.

Have any favorite recipes that should make it into my rotation? Send them my way!

"Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon or not at all" - Harriet van Horne

DPS like to tease me because he thinks I am a little nutty for being a menu planner. He can never understand why I insist on sitting down every two weeks and mapping out our dinners every night. Hello, do you know me? I LOVE LISTS! I will find a way to make a list for just about everything, what makes cooking any different? Not only do menu planners help you shop, but they are also great for helping you use up certain ingredients in the fridge that spoil soon or the giant crate of zucchini you purchased at the farmer's market.

I like to tease DPS because I think he is spoiled rotten. Almost every night I cook a delicious and nutritious dinner AND almost always pack his lunch for him. I can never understand why he doesn't see the correlation between these menu plans and his full tummy!

If you want this:

(image via Cooking Light)

You have to be able to handle this:

( image via giverslog)

So when I emailed him this morning about my menu selections for this weekend's 4th of July BBQ with the fam, I was less than pleased with his snarky uninterested response. I decided that fine, he doesn't need to eat then! ;)

Now I ask for your advice, what do you think of my 4th menu? And do you use menu planners?

Appetizer: Low-fat green goddess with crudite´

Salad: Bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, and grilled bread salad

Main: Sirloin kabobs with grilled summer veggies and brown rice with lemon, garlic and olive oil

Dessert: Fruit skewers with low-fat fruit fluff dip