Dinner, Wine, & My Spare Time

Just a little Holiday Sneak Peak.... to help you beat the heat!

When did scrunchies come back into fashion? They were all over walmart and no not just on the people of walmart website. Don't they seem kinda expensive? Of course I'm sure I had a few polka dotted ones back in the day!!!

It's a fast food dinner kind of night, sometimes nothing is better than a large order of fries. It will cure what ails you. So what's your favorite fast food fries???

I've been on a quest to eat more clean foods, being a vegetarian I am pretty healthy already but I still like to tweak my diet on occasion. I found that the information on eating clean can run the gamut of a few simple steps to about 23 steps, really who has time for that? So based on my research I think what most people need to know about eating clean is to 1. Drink more water 2. Eat more whole grains 3. Eat more fruits and veggies 4. Eat foods with ingredients that you know 5. Avoid processed and pre-packaged foods I'm sure they are some other tips and guidelines out there but these make the most sense to me. And no one is perfect, I like food and I try to eat healthy nearly everyday, but I also will eat an Oreo or some frozen pizza and not feel bad about it.

Ceviche-the hubs has been having a hankering for this. Ceviche is a seafood dish that cooks raw fish or seafood in citrus juice. Of course, you can always prepare this with prepared fish if that is more comfortable for you. If using prepared fish or shrimp I would suggest not marinating the fish, just prepare it more like a fish taco. Salmon is featured in the picture, but Tilapia is a better choice. 1 lb Raw Shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail removed and cut into small pieces 1 C Lime juice 1 C tomatoes, chopped 1 C onion, chopped 1/2 C cilantro, chopped 1 Jalapeno pepper, remove ribs and seeds and chop finely salt and pepper to taste 1 Avocado, chopped Shredded cheese Tostadas Prepare shrimp and put in 1/2 C of lime juice in a glass bowl. Let shrimp "cook" in juice remove after 15 minutes and drain. In a separate bowl mix the remaining lime juice, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Place shrimp on a tostada, top with salsa, avocado, and cheese.

How do you like your hashbrowns? I like them "Waffle House" style smothered and peppered! And that fact that I don't have to go to a Waffle House makes it even better. 4 potatoes, shredded 1 onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped seasoning salt 2 Tbsp olive oil Rinse shredded potatoes and dry in salad spinner or pat dry. Heat oil in skillet over medium, add potatoes, onions, peppers and seasoning. Heat until bottom is browned flip and repeat.

Zucchini Quiche Ok so quiche might be considered a girly food, but it's sooo tasty who cares? 1 deep dish frozen pie crust, thawed at room temp 1 large zucchini, sliced thin 1 Tbsp butter 1/2 C onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced dash salt and pepper 4 eggs 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper 2 C Swiss cheese, shredded 1/2 C Parmesan, shredded dash Greek Seasoning Preheat oven to 375. In a large skillet melt butter and saute onion and garlic over medium heat about 1-2 minutes. Add zucchini and dash of salt and pepper and cook about 5 more minutes. Turn off heat and set aside. In a separate bowl beat eggs, mustard, Italian seasoning and red pepper. Whisk to combine and stir in Swiss. Add this mixture to zucchini and stir until combined. Put into pie crust and top with Parmesan. Bake 30-40 minutes or until center is set and crust is starting to brown.

Oh how I love a little garlic mayo spread on my sandwich, or my burger or my fries, or my chips, or on everything. Let's begin with a little food history lesson. The word Aoili comes from the Provencal word for garlic which is Ahl and the Latin word for Oli which is oil. Aoili is a traditional Provencal sauce that is made with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and egg yolks (often the egg yolks are left out due to modern mayo use). Without further ado, I bring you my twist on Aoili 3 Tbsp mayo -I use this instead of egg yolks since mayo has yolks 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar Dash of salt and pepper Dash of smoked paprika Mix all ingredients well and sprinkle with paprika. Store in fridge and use it on everything! I haven't tried it on pizza...YET, but it's just a matter of time.

Since I'm such a Francophile, I celebrate Bastille Day. Plus it's a great excuse to leave up all my 4th of July decor and the hubs gets to eat meat. So in honor of Bastille Day, I bring you a Croque-Madame and les frites (Basically it's just a fancy grilled cheese sandwich with ham and egg with fries on the side). 1 large croissant, split in half 1 Tbsp Butter Mayo Dijon mustard Salt and pepper Gruyere or Swiss cheese, sliced Ham, the hubs use Petit Jean peppered ham 1 egg preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put butter in skillet and heat over medium. Add croissant, top with mayo, mustard, salt and pepper. Add cheese, ham and grill on both sides until lightly browned and the cheese is melted. Remove sandwich from skillet, then cook 1 egg over easy. Place sandwich and put egg on top into a oven safe pan and bake for 5 minutes. Bon Appetit!

Ahh friends with gardens, is all I can say. Due to this we ended up with some nice tomatoes and ears of corn. So the hubs made a huge batch of salsa and roasted the corn. And I made some bean quesadillas to go with. What a nice simple dinner and it was even oven-free! 2 ears of corn, de-husked olive oil Salt and pepper Smoked Paprika 1-2 large tomatoes, chopped 1 onion, chopped 2 jalapenos, de-seeded and chopped Cilantro, fresh or dried *see note at bottom of page* Salt and pepper Lime juice Tortillas Olive oil 1 Can black beans, drained 1 Tbsp taco seasoning Feta cheese Colby-Jack cheese Brush the corn with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Roast in a skillet until kernels start to brown about 12 minutes total. Cut corn kernels off cobs. Put corn in large bowl, chop the veggies and add to bowl, Mix in cilantro, salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste. Drain beans and put in large bowl, add seasoning and heat in microwave for 2 minutes. Mash bea

I love nothing better than a nice crusty baguette. It reminds me of my high school trip to Paris, where dining out was rather costly so we bought a bottle of Evian and a loaf of bread for like 2 bucks! Ok back to the bread, this dip is basically a lazy man's bruschetta. But it is yummy and healthy for the most part and of course super easy :-) 1/4 C Olive oil or flavored oil 3 Roma tomatoes, diced 6 Green onions, sliced 1 pkg Feta, crumbled 3 tsp Greek seasoning Baguette bread, baked and sliced Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake bread for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and slice. In the bottom of a pie plate or small casserole dish, pour oil. Top with tomatoes, onions, feta, and seasoning. Mix lightly. Serve with slices of a crusty baguette.

I always thought that making Jam seemed so laborious, but not when the microwave is involved and due to an abundance of blackberries in our garden I found this easy recipe. Start with 2 C of berries, (I used blackberries, but you could use strawberries, blueberries, or a combo). Slice the berries in half if they are large in size. Add to a large microwave safe bowl. You will need a large bowl since they tend to bubble up when cooking. Add 1/2 C of sugar, 1/8 tsp of salt, and 2 Tbsp lemon juice. Combine all ingredients and cook in microwave on high for 5 minutes. Remove from Microwave and stir. Return to microwave and cook for additional 5 minutes. Remove and mix well. They should be like a sauce and slightly syrupy. If not return to microwave and cook 5 more minutes. I had to do the extra time. Remove from microwave and stir well. Let sit to cool, the jam will thicken. Refrigerate overnight. This makes about 1/2 C of jam.

For the 4th, I made a festive trifle complete with the color scheme of the day. 1 box Red Velvet Cake, prepared as directed and cooled. eggs, oil (per cake directions) 2 boxes jello instant pudding, I used cheesecake 4 C milk 2 cans Coconut milk, refrigerated overnight 4 tsp sugar 2 tsp vanilla 2 C blueberries, rinsed Prepare cake and bake. Allow to cool. In the meantime prepare pudding and refrigerate. For Coconut whip cream, Chill metal bowl and mixers in freezer for 5 minutes. Flip cans upside down and open, drain out liquid (save for another use) and put cream in bowl to mix. Mix cream and beat in sugar and vanilla. Set aside. Crumble half of cake into large trifle or punch bowl. Layer with half of pudding mixture, half of coconut whip and half of blueberries. Repeat layer and chill.

Cheeseburger Dip or Bacon Cheeseburger Dip 1/2 C Sour cream 1/2 C Mayo 1/2 C cheddar cheese, shredded 1/2 C veggie crumbles or ground beef, prepared & drained of fat 1/4 C dill pickles, chopped 1/4 C tomatoes, chopped 1/4 C onion, chopped 1 Tbsp mustard 1 Tbsp ketchup 1 tsp Steak or Hamburger Seasoning *(Optional) 1/4 C bacon about 2 pieces, cooked and crumbled Mix together sour cream, mayo and cheese. Add in prepared meat or substitute. Chop veggies and add to mixture. Stir in mustard, ketchup, seasoning and bacon if desired. Let chill in fridge at least 1 hour or overnight. This is seriously good, I mean slap your mama, shut the front door good! The picture does not do it justice. Put this on chips, dip your fries in it, add more meat and put in on a bun! YUM! I guarantee that I will be making this more than once this weekend and it's just in time for the 4th!!! It's so good I'm not sure I want to share it! But I love you guys! :-) Thanks to T for th

What is breakfast without pancakes? We have a blackberry bush, that is producing like crazy this summer so what better way to get your daily intake of fruit than to add it to pancakes. Start with your favorite pancake mix, we used Hungry Jack's Complete Wheat Blends Pancake and Waffle mix, add water as directed or we've added yogurt instead and it is might tasty. Add smashed blackberries and cook. Top with maple syrup and some coconut whip cream found here: http://dinnerwineandmysparetime.blogspot.com/2014/06/whip-it-whip-it-good.html