Something to keep in mind now that summer is here...

     School's out for the summer!!! Yay! Woo Hoo!

     How long will it last before you begin hearing ,"I'm bored," "What can I do?" or how many hours of video gaming and television watching will your children rack up? If you have a reluctant reader, these can become giant hurdles to get over each summer. Here's an article and list of some titles to get you on the right track!!

http://bookriot.com/2015/05/26/ultimate-guide-books-reluctant-readers-ages-12-13/?utm_source=Book+Riot+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=e21bbc5e34-RIOTRUNDOWN_SUNDAY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ffcca77bbb-e21bbc5e34-320520325&mc_cid=e21bbc5e34&mc_eid=82a79bc9b8

From Our Recipe Box to Yours....Saturday Edition

     Whenever I am out and about in town, all I can smell is grilling food!! Yum! All I want to do is rush home and start grilling my own suppers. Since I am always looking for new food inspirations, I thought I'd look up some new grilling recipes. This one caught my eye on http://thebeeroness.com/2013/07/12/honey-porter-glazed-chicken-skewers/

Honey Porter Glazed Chicken Skewers

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, grated with a microplane (or minced)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup porter or stout beer
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tbs olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped shallots (about 1 medium shallot)
• 6 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into cubes
• oil for the grill
• Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, honey, porter, red pepper flakes, mustard, soy sauce and pepper. Add the chicken cubes, refrigerate for 1 hour and up to overnight.
2. Remove the chicken from marinade (reserve the marinade) thread the chicken through wooden skewers.
3. In a pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil and shallots. Sautee until shallots have softened, about 5 minutes. Add marinade and boil, stirring frequently, until reduced and thickened, about 8 minutes.
Grill directions:
4. Preheat grill to medium high.
5. Brush the grill lightly with oil.
6. Brush the chicken with the glaze, place on the grill. Brush with glaze and turn every 2-4 minutes until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro prior to serving.
Oven directions:
8. Preheat the oven to 400. Place chicken on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Brush liberally with glaze. Roast at 400 for 30-40 minutes, brushing with glaze every 8-10 minutes until cooked through.
9. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro prior to serving.

I really do need some more practice grilling anyway, so why not try something new?:)

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

     While I was out walking our new puppy this morning, I noticed that my daughter's strawberry bed is blooming like crazy!! It's pretty well established this year now, so we may need to find some new ways to eat them!! I love strawberries and I love trying new things!!

Here's a new salsa recipe I ran across that actually uses strawberries....go figure!
http://damndelicious.net/2013/06/10/strawberry-mango-salsa/

STRAWBERRY MANGO SALSA

Prep Time10 minutes

Total Time10 minutes

Yield4 servings

The combination of sweet and spiciness is so good, you'll want to eat this with a spoon!

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup diced strawberries
• 3/4 cup diced mango
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 teaspoons honey, or more to taste
• Juice of 1 lime

Discover the Cheese Lover's Cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large bowl, combine strawberries, mango, jalapeño, onion, cilantro, honey and lime juice.
• Serve immediately.

Here's another, more traditional way to eat your strawberries! Actually happens to be one of my favorite salads to eat at potlucks...

http://reflectingonthesimplethingsinlife.blogspot.com/2011/07/paula-deens-strawberry-pretzel-salad.html

Paula Deen's Strawberry Pretzel Salad

It's Coffee Club/Luncheon time at Mike's work today so I've been super busy this morning!  I made Paula Deen's Strawberry Pretzel Salad and it turned out perfect.  The reason I like her's better than other recipes is because she adds crushed pineapple to it.  It adds extra flavor and is the perfect dessert on a hot, summer day! 

Ingredients:
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar, plus 3/4 cup sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping
1 (6-ounce) package strawberry gelatin dessert mix
2 cups boiling water
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar.  Press this mixture into a 9x13 pan and bake for 7 minutes.  Set aside and allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar.  Fold in the whipped topping and spread over the cooled crust.  Refrigerate until well chilled.
In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water and allow to cool slightly.  Add the strawberries and pineapple and pour over the cream cheese mixture.  Refrigerate until serving time.

Let me know if you have a favorite strawberry recipe or if you find a new family favorite! I think I will have lots of strawberries to work with this year!!!

Libraries

      Have you read this article about libraries on NPR? You should...

Or as Andrew Carnegie said many years ago: "A library outranks any other thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert."

But, I am a bit biased.:) See what you think.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/npr-history-dept/2015/05/05/403529103/do-we-really-need-libraries

Right here in Good 'Ol Iowa...

     When I think about Vacations and time spent with family, I don't often include Iowa on my list of places to spend time. For me, vacations are a getaway to something different. Since, I live in Iowa, it doesn't seem much like a getaway to visit some place within my home state. Not much of a vacation. With an outlook like this, I miss things. Really cool things that can be found right here in Iowa!! My home state!! The next time you are looking for a weekend drive or little vacation, check out some of these literary stops in Iowa...

http://bookriot.com/2015/05/03/literary-tourism-iowa/

A couple recipes in honor of Cinco de Mayo...

Here are a few of my favorite things...Try one and explore the Mexican culture in Honor of Cinco de Mayo today!!

Queso Fundido

Prep Time:

 10 Minutes

 

Cook Time:

 20 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 12

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage (such As Jimmy Dean Or J.C. Potter) Or Chorizo
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 2 whole SMALL Bell Peppers (any Color Combination), Seeded And Finely Diced
• 1 pound Monterey Jack, Grated (OR Mozzarella, Or Other Stringy Melting Cheese), Grated
•  Sprinkle Of Chili Powder
• 3 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
• 1/4 cup Cilantro, Chopped
•  Tortilla Chips For Serving

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large skillet, cook and crumble the sausage until brown. Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel. Pour off any excess fat. Add onions and bell peppers to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the veggies are soft and golden brown, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

To build the skillet, place 1/3 of the cheese in a medium-sized ovenproof skillet. Add half the sausage. Add another third of the cheese, then as much of the veggie mixture as you'd like (you may have a little left over.) Add almost all of the remaining cheese, the rest of the sausage, then whatever cheese you have left. Sprinkle the top very lightly with chili powder.

NOTE: Depending on the size of your skillet or baking dish, you may have some ingredients left over. Just build so that the ingredients roughly reach the top of the skillet; they'll shrink quite a bit once the cheese melts!

Place into the oven and start watching it about 4 to 5 minutes in. You want to bake it until the cheese is totally melted, hot, and slightly bubbling...but before the cheese starts to firm up/harden. (In other words, you still want the cheese to be extra gooey.)

Remove from the oven, top with the diced tomatoes, sprinkle on the tomatoes, and serve immediately with tortilla chips!

NOTE: Be sure to have everything ready so you can serve the queso fundido pretty much right out of the oven. It's best when piping hot!

IMPORTANT: Wrap a cloth around the skillet handle so guests won't burn themselves.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

My very own Guacamole recipe

1 avocado, mashed with a fork

tomato, diced

onion, finely diced (about 1/4)

chopped garlic, about 1 tsp.

lemon juice, couple splashes

salt, couple shakes of the shaker

cilantro,about 2 tsp. dried or a handful fresh, chopped

This recipe is very much to taste. I like more tomato than some in my family and I like the onion to be very finely chopped. Too much garlic stays with me all night :) But, I love cilantro, so probably put m ore in. Slowly add and taste test, so you get it just like you want it. Stir all together and serve with Doritos or Tostitoes if you prefer.

Here are a few of my favorite things..... Chicken Fajitas 

from: 

(http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/01/chicken-fajitas.html)

Servings: 4

ingredients

• 1 pound chicken breasts (cut into thin slices)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 lime (~2 tablespoons of juice and zest)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin (toasted and ground)
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 onions (sliced)
• 1 green bell pepper (sliced)
• 1 red bell pepper (sliced)
• 1 handfull cilantro (chopped)
• tortillas
• salsa (optional)
• guacamole (optional)
• cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)

directions

1. Marinate the chicken in the oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper in the fridge for 30 minutes to a few hours.
2. Grill the chicken over medium-high heat until cooked, about 2-3 minutes per side. (Reserve the marinade.)
3. Heat the oil in a pan.
4. Saute the onions until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the peppers and the remaining marinade and saute until the peppers are tender, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and mix in the cilantro.
7. Assemble fajitas and enjoy.

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

How about a new recipe to try and use up some of that rhubarb coming up in your yard? I personally love rhubarb, but I do know it is a bit of an acquired taste.  Here's a different recipe I ran across on Pinterest that sounded yummy! The honey in this one should help to temper a bit of the tartness of the rhubarb and really make it good.

 The recipe can be found on Midwest Living's website...http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/muffins/honey-rhubarb-muffins

Honey-Rhubarb Muffins

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Honey-Rhubarb Muffins

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• Yield: about 21 muffins
• Prep 20 mins
• Bake 35 mins

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ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup cooking oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sour milk*
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1 recipe Whipped Honey Butter (see recipe below)

directions

1. For topping, in a small bowl, cut butter into granulated sugar until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.
2. For muffins, line muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg, brown sugar, oil, honey and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with sour milk, stirring after each addition until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Gently fold in the chopped rhubarb and the chopped nuts.
4. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle with topping. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Remove from pans. Serve warm or cool with Whipped Honey Butter. Makes about 21 muffins.

note

• * To make sour milk, place 1 tablespoon vinegar in glass measure. Add enough milk to make 3/4 cup.

Whipped Honey Butter

ingredients

• 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
• 1/4 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
• 1/4 cup honey

directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine butter and lemon peel. Gradually add honey, beating with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Let butter spread stand at room temperature for about 1 hour before serving.

nutrition facts

(Honey-Rhubarb Muffins)

sodium (mg) 172, cal. (kcal) 270, fiber (g) 1, Fat, total (g) 14, calcium (mg) 20, vit. C (mg) 1, chol. (mg) 24, iron (mg) 1, sat. fat (g) 4, vit. A (RE) 52, pro. (g) 3, carb. (g) 35