Pea Salad

Yes, I do still exist. If you have seen me lately, you know I am definitely still eating, too! For a few weeks, I didn't get it together to make lunches for the week and have been eating a lot of cucumbers, hummus, and Greek yogurt (guess it could be worse!), but I got myself in gear this week enough to make this. Will be eating with a piece of fruit every day and maybe a few crackers. This would be a great cookout side dish this summer!

 

 

Fresh Pea Salad

adapted from Closet Cooking

Yield: 4 side dishes

2 cup peas
2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Mix everything and chill in the fridge.

Fresh Corn and Blueberry Salad

I'm probably getting obnoxious with talking about how much I love summer produce and how everything tastes like summer, but this is another one of those. I loved this salad and you could really customize it however you want as far as veggies and grain. Don't change the dressing--it's so good and a great balance with all of the other flavors! Enjoy summer produce while it's here!!!

Fresh Corn and Blueberry Salad

1 cup quinoa, rinsed very well (I used millet)

2 cups chicken broth


3 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs
1 cup blueberries
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped small (peeled if outside is thick and tough)
3 Tablespoons chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped basil
1/2 jalapeno, minced


1 teaspoon lemon zest
4 Tablespoons lemon juice (about 2 lemons worth)
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon honey


salt & pepper


Rinse quinoa or millet very well in a fine mesh sieve under cold running water. Add to a saucepan with the chicken broth then bring the broth to a boil. Place a lid on top, lower the heat to medium-low, then cook until quinoa is tender and broth is absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely.
For the dressing: Combine lemon zest and juice, extra virgin olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper in a jar or bowl. Shake or whisk to combine. Set aside.
Combine corn, blueberries, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, basil, jalapeno, and cooled quinoa in a large bowl. Pour dressing over and mix well to combine. Serve with grilled or sauteed shrimp, chicken, or fish.


from Iowa Girl Eats

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Why does my can of "chipotle" peppers say "chiLpotle"????

Made with chipotle or chilpotle peppers, this dressing is full of flavor and a great spicy balance with all of the other ingredients in this salad. As I was assembling it, I was thinking it would be really pretty in a glass bowl or trifle dish for a party or shower. You can adjust the ingredients to your liking. Norris and I both enjoyed this and it's really filling for a salad!

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Serves 4 entree salads
Dressing:
1/3 c chopped cilantro
6 oz sour cream (I used plain Greek yogurt)
1 chipotle pepper in adobo
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
4 t lime juice
1/4 t salt

4 c shredded romaine
2 c cooked, cubed chicken breast
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 or 1 avocado, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
9 oz frozen corn, thawed (could also use no-salt-added canned corn)

Combine dressing ingredients in a food processor until well blended.
Assemble all other items and toss salad with dressing. Stores (dressed) well overnight in the fridge without getting soggy, which doesn't normally happen!!

from Cooking Light myrecipes

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake

I have to borrow Kalyn's line for this: "If you like zucchini, fresh basil, and cheese, you'll love this Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake." Girl is right--this stuff is so good. Like, I was eating it with my fingers when I should have been putting it in a container good. I know, again with the zucchini, but take advantage of what's good in the garden right now and make some of this! It would probably be close to free for some of you--zucchini and basil from the garden and I guess if you milk your own animals and make cheese, you can even save there:) I kept talking about this the whole time we were eating. I could have had just this for dinner. It was totally the star of my plate and took up the most space! It's light and filling and absolutely delicious!

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake

makes 4 side servings (I only made half the original recipe, which said it made six, but those would be gigantic servings even for me, the lover of this stuff)

1 zucchini, cut into half-moons (rondelle)
1 yellow squash, cut into half-moons (rondelle)
2-4 T chopped fresh basil
2 T thinly sliced green onions
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cheese, divided (suggested: pizza blend cheese, mozzarella, or grated Parmesan)
salt and pepper, to taste

Spray 8x8 pan or a small rectangular pan with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine everything but cheese in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup cheese and mix thoroughly.
Bake for 25 minutes uncovered, then add cheese and bake for another 15.



Shrimp Stuffed Squash

This is another great summer dinner (and one that makes me wish I had my own garden since I keep using things from other people's gardens...thanks, friends and family!). It was light, but filling, and bursting with flavor. I kept telling Norris how much I loved it. You could adapt the filling however you'd like...omit tomatoes, add more cheese, use garlic powder instead of fresh, use crab, go meatless, use shallot instead of onion...whatever you have and love will probably work! Enjoy!

Shrimp Stuffed Squash

Serves 1 entree or 2 sides

1 large zucchini or yellow squash, split in half longways and seeds/pulp scooped out
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
3 Tbsp chopped red onion
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
dried or fresh basil, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
dash of cayenne

Preheat the broiler to high and adjust rack to about six inches below heating element.
Brush squash with 1 tsp of olive oil and broil, cut side down, for about 8 minutes, or until it is releasing moisture beads. Remove squash from oven.
Reduce heat to 450 F.
Heat remaining olive oil in small saute pan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion for about two minutes, or until soft.
Combine garlic, onion, tomato, shrimp, 1 Tbsp of cheese  basil, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stuff into the squash halves and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is browned and filling is cooked and hot, about 20 minutes.

adapted from allrecipes

Creamy Radish Dip

After being gone for almost two weeks, I just went to the grocery store for the first time in quite a while! I was checking out summer's bounty in the produce department and got some juicy peaches and cherries. Love this time of year! I also spotted radishes on super sale, so I picked up a bag. I thought I'd just put them on salads, but that gets boring, so I found this dip and it's awesome. I made a dinner out of this with cucumbers and wheat crackers dipped in it. I think even non radish lovers would like this. You could use greek yogurt or sour cream or a mixture of the two, which is what I did. Wish I would have found this before we just went to all of the get togethers that are perfect to bring dips to! (although then I would have had to share....:)

Creamy Radish Dip

1 cup radishes, diced
1/2 cup low fat sour cream, 2% plain Greek yogurt, or a combo of the two
8 green onions, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
dried dill, to taste (optional...I liked it both ways)

Combine all ingredients and serve with crackers and/or cucumbers. On the site I found the recipe, she suggested putting it as a spread on wrap, which I also think would be really great!
Oh, and according to the source I got this from, the whole recipe has under 110 calories, so it's okay to eat up!:)


slightly adapted from Prevention RD and Taste of Home

Summer Corn Salad

I recently got together with some girlfriends for a Pinterest party where everyone brought the ingredients to make something they found on Pinterest. Everyone picked a number to find out what course they got and then picked something from Pinterest (which could really be anything from the internet since you can "pin" from any site). We didn't put a theme to it and wound up with some really great dishes.

I got the side for the main dish and knew I wanted something summery. This salad tasted like summer to me (not like sand and suntan lotion, but the food of summer!) and we polished off a big bowl of it. I've made it a few times since then and some of the other girls have made it--it's a definite crowd pleaser!

Summer Corn Salad

6 ears of corn, shucked (I also supplemented with steamed frozen corn when I didn't have enough fresh and it turned out fine), cooked, cooled, and cut off the cob (I like some chunks...to cook it I boil it for about 14 minutes)

1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chiffonade fresh basil leaves

Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add onions, corn, and tomatoes and toss in dressing. Stir in basil just before serving and adjust salt and pepper to your taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

This is how Bear makes sure he isn't left behind (he hasn't ever been left, but I think sometimes he just wants to be sure). Lay by my stuff and hook his leg in my purse!

Broccoli with pecan butter

This side dish was for a ProStart competition side dish. The kids tried a few different recipes for broccoli and some other sides and decided to come up with their own from a bunch of different ideas they had. It's pretty simple and the toasted pecan butter adds just a hit of extra flavor that makes it go above and beyond your regular broccoli side.

Broccoli with pecan butter

8 oz broccoli, trimmed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped pecans
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper, to taste


Bring olive oil to medium high heat in a sauté pan.




Sauté garlic for thirty seconds, then add broccoli and chicken broth. Season with coarse salt and bring to a boil over high heat and cover.


Reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is tender but still bright green, about ten minutes. Remove broccoli from pan and shock in cold water to set color. Remove from cold water about thirty seconds later.


Add butter and pecans to pan and toast pecans and brown butter.


Add broccoli back to pan, heat thoroughly, and serve.


class-created recipe

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Potatoes

After smashing the first potato, I thought I was destined to be the next entry on craftfail. (If you have ever heard of Pinterest, or even if you haven't, you have to check out that site. hilarious!!) The directions specifically say that you should smash them but leave them in one piece. I am not a very gentle person, so smashing something to me means you should really smash it. It burst and spewed out all sides of the towel. I started using the side of my bench scraper and just slowly pressing down on that and it worked beautifully. Now don't get worried--this is not a difficult recipe!! In fact, I like that it is broken up into three fifteen minute chunks because I had time to do other stuff in between, like respond to a few emails, work on homework, and walk Bear around the block(not a long attention span for the first two items on that list!).
I LOVE vinegar. I used to think salt and vinegar chips and anyone who ate them were disgusting. Now I'm one of those disgusting people who loves them. My roommate in college (hi, Gma!) would tell me that they're so gross, they're good. Well they're totally not gross, but I can finally understand where she's coming from!
Good tip from Ms. Stewart herself (doubt she learned this in prison): you can boil and smash these, then refrigerate them until you're close to service time and bake them off when you're ready. Great for dinner parties or just planning ahead!
Well, enough dialogue about potatoes. I served them with some steamed peas and thyme roasted chicken drumsticks. And a couple thin mints for dessert:)

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Potatoes

serves 4

12 red, fingerling, or golden sweet yellow baby potatoes

Olive oil cooking spray or olive oil (time to get a Misto!!)

Sea or kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Malt vinegar, to taste (~1/4 cup)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, then reduce heat to a "rapid simmer" and cook potatoes in water for 15-20 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain potatoes.

While potatoes cook, preheat oven to 450 F.

Lay a dish towel or paper towel flat and place a few potatoes on it. Lay a paper towel over the top. Carefully (ha!) smash the potato with the heel of your hand or the side of a bench scraper. It should be kind of flat but all in one piece. Do this to all of the potatoes, then carefully place on a lined baking sheet. Spray the potatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 15-20 minutes on each side, then sprinkle with malt vinegar, to taste.

found on Pinterest and traced back to Martha


Had a great time at the Martina McBride/George Strait concert this weekend! We had really good seats and as soon as I figured out the flash, I got some better pictures. Martina is so awesome in person. No zoom on that pic of George walking in...but yes, there was some zoom used on the singing shot! Great concert!



Sauteed Summer Squash

Part of our girls' night menu, this side dish was even liked by one friend who doesn't like vegetables pretty much at all and another who doesn't like cooked vegetables! I was looking for dishes that could be made with ingredients that are in season right now, and squash and zucchini are abundant, so decided to go with them. The onions are from my grandparents' garden!

Sauteed Summer Squash

2 medium zucchini, halved and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices on the diagonal (makes it look prettier!)

2 medium yellow squash, halved and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices on the diagonal

2 small onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

~2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

crushed red pepper

Heat a pan large enough to fit your vegetables without crowding over medium high heat.

Add oil to pan and heat. Add all vegetables to pan at once and cook until crisp tender, stirring constantly. Season to taste, add balsamic vinegar, and cook for about 30 seconds to let vinegar heat. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and serve.

Couscous Tabouleh

I hope it's okay for me to still call this tabouleh even though I used couscous! I love tabouleh with bulgur wheat, but couldn't find it in the store I was in and decided I'd just go with couscous and it was delicious.

My first teaching job was at a school in a really diverse neighborhood with great ethnic restaurants nearby--specifically Thai and Mediterranean food. One of my favorite restaurants in Wichita was caddy corner from the school so we spent many inservice lunches there. I hadn't had tabouleh in a while and ate my fair share in Daytona. I was looking for something for lunches, made a big batch of this, and it lasted me through the week with leftovers to spare. I just made 3 servings of couscous and added in a bunch of vegetables and a dressing, similar to how I made panzanella. Adjust it to your tastes, but if you taste it and it's missing something, it's probably lemon juice and salt!

Couscous Tabouleh

cooked couscous (how easy....boil water, put couscous in water, stir, cover, remove from heat, and fluff after five minutes)

cucumber, seeded and chopped

tomatoes, seeded and chopped

lots of parsley

mint if you have it and like it

red onions, chopped*

green onions, chopped

green peppers, chopped*

feta cheese*

dressing:

olive oil

lemon juice

salt

pepper

*from what I understand, these aren't "traditional" ingredients, but there isn't much traditional about this, so add what you want!

Mix it all together. I think it's best after giving the flavors a chance to get to know each other for a day or so and I like it cold or room temperature.

Panzanella

I don't know about you, but I don't care to turn on the oven much in the summer time. I love the fresh tastes of summer and appreciate light lunches in the scorching Kansas heat. This panzanella salad was a perfect start to a nice day by the pool when we were home visiting my parents. (although I did turn on the oven to make croutons, but we did that at night when it was a touch cooler!) Can't wait to have it again soon!

Bonnie has put out a wonderful new cookbook. It's really beautiful and I am excited to try a lot of things out of it. This recipe is adapted from her new book.

Panzanella Salad

homemade croutons (always make extra because they are really tempting to snack on, especially for men passing through the kitchen)
cucumbers, seeded and diced
tomatoes, seeded and dices
bell pepper, chopped
minced red onion
chopped fresh basil leaves
chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
extra virgin olive oil
white wine vinegar
shredded Parmesan cheese

Yes, I noticed I didn't put amounts. I didn't measure and instead used what I had and then made the dressing to taste. If you love tomatoes, use more of those, if you hate peppers, don't use those. You get it.
For the dressing, as a rule of thumb, it's typically 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. In my world, it's more like 2 parts vinegar because I like vinegar. Add in your garlic, salt, and pepper to taste for your dressing, then drizzle it over everything.
I combined everything but the bread and cheese the night before to let the flavors mingle, then added the bread and cheese about a half hour before service. It would be really easy to eat this all week if you just did that every day. Enjoy!

Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes

The crispy sage leaves absolutely make this dish--do not skip out on them! The Greek yogurt gives it a touch of tanginess but not too much. I think we are all in agreement that these are the best mashed potatoes we have ever tasted!

Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes

Baking potatoes 1.5 lbs, diced
Unsalted butter ¼ cup
Sage leaves 12 fresh leaves
Whole milk ½ cup
Plain Greek yogurt ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp
Sea salt ¾ tsp
Freshly ground black pepper ¼ tsp





Put potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by half an inch.


Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until tender, about 15 minutes.


While the potatoes are cooking, heat the butter over medium-high heat in a medium skillet. When it begins to foam, add the sage leaves and gently fry until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, place on a paper towel and reserve. Continue to cook the butter until it is golden brown and nutty, an additional two minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.


In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium-high heat just until hot, careful that the milk does not boil. Remove from heat and reserve in a warm place.


Drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Rice potatoes using potato ricer. Stir in milk, yogurt, salt, pepper, and brown butter, making sure to get all the dark butter solids.


Garnish with fried sage and serve.

Balsamic Glazed Asparagus

Rather than posting a picture of the meal every time, I'm going to just leave you with the first picture. I just like to post the recipes separately so they are easier for me to find in the search function later! This is great asparagus--even high school students are loving this stuff. One girl went home and made it for her family because she liked it so much, so that's definitely saying something about this recipe! It is very simple to put together. We got the idea from when we made soy glazed sauteed green beans in class and they all loved those. We needed a veggie side for our entree so we experimented a bit and wound up with this! I am so proud of them for getting creative and not just following recipes all the time--I feel like that means they're learning more.

Balsamic Glazed Asparagus

Asparagus ½ lb
Salt Pinch
Pepper Pinch
Butter 3 tbsp
Soy sauce 1 ½ tsp
Balsamic vinegar 1 ½ tsp
Honey 1 ½ tsp


Heat 1 tbsp butter in sauté pan over medium high heat.
Saute asparagus until crisp tender, about 6 minutes.
Remove asparagus from pan and set aside. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, and balsamic vinegar.
Melt remaining 2 tbsp butter in same pan over medium heat. Remove from heat.
Pour sauce over top of asparagus. Keep warm until service.

Hearty Tomato Soup

I have forever changed my opinion of tomato soup. In the past, I have always thought of the orange-y colored Campbell's soup from the can. I don't even know if I've ever tried it, but I always thought I didn't like tomato soup because of how that looked. Everyone else was enjoying their grilled cheese and tomato soup, and I finally get it!!

This is another recipe that's great for reheating. I froze half of the batch with plans to get it back out in a couple of weeks. Since there isn't any cream in it, it will be fine. You can make the creme fraiche garnish, eat it plain, or put a dollop of Greek yogurt on top, which is excellent. The nutritional info is great on this soup (listed below) and it is packed with vegetables. Enjoy some with your grilled cheese!

Hearty Tomato Soup

from Giada De Laurentiis

Makes 6 serings

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, plus 1 teaspoon, minced  (I used 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Optional garnish:
2/3 cup creme fraiche
Zest of one lemon

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon rosemary, and red pepper flakes. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf.

Puree the soup in a blender in batches. (Remember to leave the lid or the little lid insert off and cover it with a towel so you don't trap the steam in and cause a tomato soup explosion in your kitchen!)  Return the soup to a soup pot and keep warm over low heat. Season with salt and pepper.

For the garnish, stir together the lemon zest, a little dried rosemary, and 2/3 cup creme fraiche.

Nutritional Info (without garnish):

143 calories, 4.6 g fat, 22.4 g carbs, 4.8 g fiber, 5.6 g protein

Honey Glazed Steamed Carrots

These will add a little color and a sense of nutrition to your Thanksgiving table, although I plan to make them for dinners all year round. The first time I made these for the kids at school, they gobbled them up, which is always a good sign. After our Thanksgiving lunch, everyone wondered what the spice was on the carrots, and it's just honey! I think even non carrot lovers will enjoy this.


In the original recipe from Sunny Anderson, the carrots are cooked in the water, so if you don't have a steamer insert, you could do that. I prefer steamed carrots, so I steamed them. Up to you! Just don't over cook your carrots and wind up with mushy carrots!!
Honey Glazed Steamed Carrots
serves 4
salt and black pepper
1 lb baby carrots
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
parsley, for garnish
Steam carrots in a steamer insert over ~1 inch of boiling water for about 15 minutes, until carrots are tender but still have a bite. Drain the water and place the carrots in the pan. Add honey, butter, and lemon juice and combine. Cook until the ingredients have formed a glaze over the carrots, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

Soy Glazed Sauteed Green Beans

When searching for a new recipe to use for our dry heat cooking labs, I came across this recipe for green beans. Teenagers are notorious for not eating their vegetables, so I try to present them in every way I can find to get them to enjoy them! After trying these, at least three said they were the best green beans they've ever had. I'd say that was a success! I also really love these and plan to bring them for Thanksgiving this year at my in-laws! Special thanks to my lovely mom for making them for our family feast:)

Soy Glazed Sauteed Green Beans

from localgoodness.com

nonstick cooking spray
2 slices bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb frozen green beans (no need to thaw)
1/2 cup sliced red onion
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
fresh ground black pepper

Spray a saute pan with cooking spray. Cook bacon over medium high heat until it begins to brown.
Add green beans and onions to pan and cook until beans are tender-crisp and onions have browned (about 15 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Combine honey and soy sauce and pour over beans. Stir mixture together, season with pepper, and cook for about 3 more minutes, or until sauce has thickened.

Make-Ahead Creamy Mashed Potatoes

It's a revelation! Mashed potatoes you can make ahead of time that don't turn mealy, starchy, and unappetizing upon reheating.


I knew I needed plenty of mashed potatoes for our family dinner, but also knew I'd have a full stove (which we most definitely did!). My grandma made some awesome mashed potatoes on Sunday, and we popped these in the oven while we were doing all the other prep. I really really loved the flavor of these taters. You'd never guess there was cream cheese in them, so don't shy away if you don't like cream cheese. You can make these up to two days ahead of time, cover and refrigerate, and reheat--how awesome is that???


I didn't get a slathered-in-gravy picture, but believe me, they were great even plain!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

(click on recipe title for link to PW's recipe)
I followed her recipe with these special notes--
I used half Yukon Gold potatoes and half Russet potatoes. I also only used 5 oz of cream cheese and added in about five cloves of roasted garlic. I didn't use any seasoned salt--just plain salt and pepper.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Earlier this summer, I needed a couple of mason jars. Norris brought home a case. I was kind of excited about the excess so I could try something new in them. I spent Saturday morning at the Old Town farmers' market with my grandma and aunt and finally found some tiny pickling cucumbers! This recipe comes from Delicious Meliscious. They taste just like those deli pickles you get with sandwiches! (the ones I always like to steal off your plate if you don't want it :)

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

3 cloves garlic, minced
fresh dill
cucumbers cut into spears or cute little pickling cucumbers

Brine:
3 cups water
6 tbsp white vinegar
3 tbsp kosher salt

Combine brine ingredients and let dissolve. Place some dill in the bottom of the jar, then fill jar halfway with cucumbers. Lay more dill on top and finish packing. Pour the brine over the top, making sure it covers all of the cucumbers. Sprinkle garlic and whatever other seasonings you like on it. Store for 2 days in refrigerator before eating.

**I love these, but Norris doesn't like them. I love cucumbers; he doesn't. (so if you don't like cucumbers, you might not like these. I learned this deductive reasoning in 9th grade geometry:)

Oven Baked Okra

Grandma, I feel like I've gone behind your back having okra not at your house and not fried! Let me say first that nothing will ever beat yours!!:) Once (sometimes twice, if I'm lucky!) per year I go to my grandparents for an okra dinner. I call it okra dinner because I don't even know if there's other stuff served because all I care about is the fried okra!! She makes the BEST!!

Well, I was craving it, and knew I could only do the fried stuff once a year, so I went in search of an oven recipe. I found a bunch of different ones that lookes good, all following what I expected to--the basic dredging, dipping in liquid, dredging, and baking, but I was most interested in this simple recipe from A Year in the Kitchen. It's even more simple than the dredging stations! I put it all in a bag, shook it up, baked, and yum!! Serve with ketchup for the true experience:)
Oh, be warned--just like other breaded foods, if you want to reheat, you should do it in the oven, not the microwave!

Oven Baked Okra

from A Year in the Kitchen

1 bag of frozen cut okra, thawed (or fresh from your garden!)
1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

In a ziploc bag, toss okra with breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Spread in single layer on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.