38 Years...& Counting!

I am not sure what happened to this week. Yesterday it was Sunday and today it is Friday. I guess the combination of being incredibly busy at work and moving in a week has made the days fly bye.

Anyway, something special, that I don’t think should go unnoticed, happened this week – my parents celebrated their 38-year wedding anniversary! I am a very blessed person to have such wonderful parents who have unconditionally loved me, and who have represented what love is. I know there are not very many people that can say the same thing, and I know I take it for granted most days, but today I will not.

I am thankful that my parents love each other.

I am thankful that my grandparents loved each other.

I am thankful that my husband and I love each other.

As my grandfather would say, "Cheers!" ;-)

~Until later, K

Caprese Salad Bean Dip

So it went something like this.

My Husband: “Can you make some sort of appetizer.”
Me: “Sure.”
My Husband: “What are you going to make?”
Me: “I’m not sure.”

When it comes to appetizers, that is usually how it goes. We are hungry, and we have nothing planned. What do we do? Search the fridge and pantry to see what we have and what might go well together. Sometimes its a success, and well, other times we do not blog about it. ;-) Regardless, appetizers are a great place to experiment with different ingredients, and throw things together. If your experiment doesn’t turn out, no worries, you still have a full dinner ahead!

Since I still had an abundance of fresh basil, I decided to make that the focal point of my appetizer. All I had for a base were crackers, so I decided I should make some sort of spread-like dip, in which case, I found a can of cannellini beans which makes for a good “dip” base. The rest goes something like this:

1 can cannellini beans
½ cup packed basil leaves
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
⅛ cup olive oil
a few shakes of red pepper flakes
salt to taste
**squeeze of lemon

Add all ingredients to food processor except for olive oil and puree for about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. Process again and slowly drizzle in olive oil. Process until it is a creamy consistency.

Serve with sliced tomatoes and crackers, slices of toasted baguette, or whatever you desire. Have your guest spread the dip on the cracker or baguette, top with a tomato, and try to eat some before your husband devours it all!

**When I made this I did not add any lemon (surprisingly, since I add lemon to almost everything!) but wish I had.

Farmers Market

Sunday is one of my favorite days of the week, in spite of the fact that Monday is right around the corner! As I mentioned in my last post, part of our Sunday mornings is spent at the local Farmers Market. And for the next few weeks (only two more weeks and we’ll be moving!), the Farmers Market we scour is in Dale City, VA. This venue has a wonderful selection of fresh produce, baked goods, and other tasty findings. We have also attended the Occocoquan, VA Farmers Market, but we were not nearly as impressed, as the selection was much, much smaller. Don’t get me wrong, the vendors that were in attendance had a beautiful selection, there were just a handful of them.

As I mentioned, we will be moving, which is not surprising as it is expected to happen every so often when you are married to a Marine. What you wouldn’t expect is that we are moving to Madison, WI…nowhere near a Marine Corps Base. Why? For law school. Anyways, my point for telling you this is because I’ve heard Madison has one of the best Farmers Markets in the country, and I am super excited!!!

Where is your local Farmers Market? It is always fun to see what is in season locally, support the local farmers, and (most importantly in my opinion) eat wonderful food! 

Menu For This Week

Since my husband purchased his new MacBook Pro today for his first year of law school this fall, I decided that I should inherit his iPad. Of course, he is not aware of this yet. Anyways, I present to you my first post on my iPad!

I have found that our key to eating well is planning our menu ahead. Not only do we eat better, we end up having less waste and saving money. Since we got back from our vacation a month ago, we have been very diligent about making our list and sticking to it.

Our week begins with filling our travel mugs full of coffee and heading off to the farmers market to buy our fresh produce. Also done on Sunday is washing all the produce, which I do for two reasons: 1) it saves time later during the week and 2) it will last longer. Here is our meal plan for the week.

Sunday:
Turkey Sliders with Potato Wedges & FM (Farmers Market) Veggies (I buy whatever looks good!)

Monday:
Chicken Ravioli with Creamed Spinach
Tuesday: Go to Wegmans
Fish Burritos with Fresh Salsa & Chips

Wednesday:
Grilled Steak with Mushrooms & Foil Packet of Potatoes & Fennel

Thursday:
Breaded Pork Chops with Angel Hair Pasta & FM Veggies

Friday:
Roasted Cornish Hens with Butternut Squash Risotto

During the weeknights, the hard part (deciding what to eat) is all done! What is on your menu for the week? Its not to late to plan ahead...and you most definitely will be glad you did!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Perfect Margarita

Those of you who have spent some time with me know that I love margaritas. After years of trial and consumption, I have come up with my perfect ratio of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice, and I'm finally going to share it!

 2 parts tequilla

¾ part triple sec

¾ part fresh lime juice

lots of ice

My newest variation, well garnish rather, is to add a few fresh basil leaves and float them on top. For such a simple addition, it really adds a fragrant aroma and another layer of flavor!

Tomatoes + Basil = Goodness

One of my favorite things about summertime is fresh, sweet tomatoes are available. Every time I go to the grocery store or farmers market I load up on tomatoes, and it always crosses my mind that I may have purchased more than we need.  However, that has never been the case! Another fresh ingredient I always have in my fridge this time of year is an abundance of fresh basil. If you don’t grow it in your garden (which is super easy to do btw), you can usually buy a huge bundle at your local farmers market.

Twice this past week, my husband and I wanted a quick appetizer, so I threw together some bruschetta. It is one of the quickest, easiest, not-to-mention healthiest snacks you can make.

My Bruschetta

1 large tomato, diced

2 – 3 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced

1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

Drizzle of olive oil

Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

**A few pinches of FRS herb blend

To serve along its side, I thinly sliced a day old baguette, drizzled some olive oil on top and sprinkled it with my FRS (fennel, red pepper flakes & salt) herb blend, and then popped them in the oven under a broiler for just a few minutes.  Enjoy!


**Combine 1-teaspoon fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes & ½ teaspoon course salt (gray salt is my favorite!) in a mortar and pestle. Crush together. This recipe can be multiplied and kept in your spice cabinet for later use…and it is very yummy on roasted vegetables!