Mushroom-stuffed Zucchini

AAAhhhhh...... We are in that sweet spot of summer when it's cooled down enough to open the windows and turn on the oven but still warm enough to crave fresh, crisp produce straight out of the garden. Even better, my seasonal allergies haven't kicked in yet so I can still enjoy the amazing flavors!

For all you meat lovers out there, the mushrooms in this dish can easily be swapped out for ground beef, turkey, chicken, or sausage.

Mushroom-Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:
-1 large zucchini
-mushrooms, chopped
-2 sweet onions, chopped
-1 red pepper, chopped
-1 head of garlic, minced
-tomato sauce or marinara
-shredded cheese (I used a mixture of parm and motz)
-bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cut the zucchini in half, the long way, and scoop out the seeds and center flesh until it looks like a boat. Shave the smallest amount possible off the non-cut side of each half so the zucchini will sit flat on the pan without rolling over.
3. Lightly brush a rimmed baking sheet and the zucchini with olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tender-crisp.
4. Meanwhile, saute the chopped veggies and garlic in olive oil until soft.
5. When zucchini is done, remove from oven. Fill your cooked zucchini boats with the veggie mixture. Pour tomato sauce over the veggies. Top with shredded cheese and a dusting of bread crumbs.
6. Put assembled boats back into the oven until the cheese melts, then pop them in the broiler for about a minute to crisp up the top.

Burger Bar

This last week we had my family over for dinner and I wanted to do a classic summer meal, but I also wanted to get a little creative and out-of-the-box. Here was my solution... Offer a burger bar with a variety of toppings. Nick also spiced up a few of the burgers as well. It was a hit!

Burger Bar

Grilled burgers:
We've really gotten used to the yummy flavor of a grass-fed organic ground beef. I highly recommend it.
Nick did plain burgers for most, but he did grill up a handful of patties that had chopped jalepenos and shredded cheddar mixed in - they were enjoyed by those who like a little spice!

Toppings:
Our bar included the following, but you could get really creative here. Post in the notes and let me know if you have any other ideas for unique toppings.
-Sliced cheddar
-Sliced swiss
-Lettuce
-Garden tomatoes
-Sliced jalepenos
-Salsa verde
-Guacamole
-Sauteed mushrooms

Salsa Verde

There is nothing like fresh salsa. Nothing. Period.





Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
-6-10 tomatillos
-1-2 small onions, quartered
-1 jalepeno, halved, seeded, and deveined*
-cilantro**
-1-2 cloves garlic, minced
-salt and pepper to taste

1. Remove the husks from the tomatillos and boil the fruit for about 5 minutes, until it softens.
2. Put all ingredients in the food processor and process until desired chunkiness/smoothness.
3. Refrigerate to chill.
4. Serve. Straight up with chips. As a sandwich/burger topping. Mixed with mashed avocados and lime juice to make guacamole. The options are endless.

*Unless you like it REALLY hot, then leave in the seeds and veins. That's where most of the heat lives.

**I didn't plan my garden as well this year when it comes to cilantro. Ours is all gone to seed before our tomatoes are in :( I do like this freeze-dried option in a pinch, available at your local grocer.

Roasted Ratatouille

Hello, readers! I'm feeling kind of bad because I haven't been doing much posting. Truth is, with the abundant harvest from our garden and CSA paired with the super hot temps, I haven't been doing a lot of cooking. We've simply been enjoying the fresh produce straight from the earth - yum yum! This one, however, is an awesome dish when you care to taste some of that summer harvest cooked up.

Roasted Ratatouille

Ingredients:
-1 eggplant, chopped
-1 zucchini, chopped
-2 large tomatoes, chopped
-1 sweet onion, chopped
-1 red pepper, chopped
-1 green pepper, chopped*
-head of garlic, minced
-olive oil
-Small cut pasta
-Marinara**

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Toss all chopped veggies in a large bowl with garlic and olive oil until coated.
3. Spread coated veggies on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 22 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, boil pasta to desired tenderness, and once done mix the cooked pasta with the marinara.
5. To serve, mix pasta & sauce with roasted veggies and top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

*If you want to add some heat to this dish, you could use a chile pepper instead. I'm not able to do that since my kiddos won't go for it. I used an Italian Frying Pepper we got from our CSA this week.

**There are lots of ways to achieve this... You can make your own from scratch (my personal favorite recipe for doing so will be forthcoming once our tomato harvest is in full swing!), you could buy the jarred version at the store, or when you realize you have neither of those available, you can mix in 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 can of tomato sauce.

Grilled ratatouille? As I was completing dinner my husband walked through the kitchen and said to me, why didn't we grill these instead of turning on the oven? Great question. Grilled ratatouille would be equally delicious. You could skewer the veggies, baste them olive oil and garlic, then serve as noted above. Next time...

Super Simple Garden Salad

I haven't been posting much lately and that's because this time of year my table contents are usually super simple. Fresh vegs, fresh fruits, raw, roasted or on the grill, I don't usually do too much to them because they are so delicious just how God made them! I do like this particular combination, though, and thought it worth sharing! And just in time for garden harvests. I don't know about yours, but ours is exploding with fruit - yum, yum!

Super Simple Garden Salad

Ingredients:
-Chopped tomatoes
-Chopped cucumbers
-Olive Oil
-Balsamic vinegar
-Parmesan cheese, shredded
-Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Best if you have time to let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

BBQ Spare Ribs

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you guest blogger and my hubby, Nicholas Buse:

When I make ribs, I tend to take the same approach as I do when making beer: do the minimum amount of work need to make something delicious! Do I appreciate a good Belgian Triple? (YES) Do I want to take 4-5 months to make my own? (nope)

We have a grilling cookbook, How to Grill by Steven Raichlen, that usually requires lots of fancy ingredients that we don't have. Tonight was no exception, so the deviations are noted below.

BBQ Spare Ribs

Ingredients:

Marinade
6 cups - apple cider
1 - lemon juiced
(or just 2 cans of sparkling lemon water, basically just need sugar and acid...)

Java Rub
6 tbsp - ground coffee
2 tbsp - coarse salt
2 tbsp - brown sugar
2 tsp - garlic power
2 tsp - ground cumin
2 tsp - cocoa power
(left out coriander, onion powder, and others)

Barbecue Sauce (Trader Joe's All Natural)

1. Prep the ribs (remove the membrane from the back of the rack)
2. Put in a non-reactive container with marinade (1-2 hours)
3. Coat front and back with rub and let set for another 1-2 hours
4. Grill on low heat for 2-3 hours. Spray with apple cider every 1/2 hour or so. (used apple juice box)
5. About 20 minutes from the end, coat with barbecue sauce.

Proof that they were still good: watching Sam suck the marrow out of the ribs after cleaning off the meat!

Enjoy!

Salty Dog

Great drink for a hot day. Especially good for this girl who got a ton of grapefruits from her CSA and doesn't really care to eat them. Drinking the juice is yum yum though!

Salty Dogs

Ingredients
-1 1/2 c. grapefruit juice
-1 oz vodka
-pinch of salt or salted rim, if desired