Spicy Summer Casserole

Summer summer summer! I just love it. Gardens are flourishing and all the Farmer Fred's of town are out to sell their bundles. It's so easy to get carried away at the local farmer's markets all over town. There's just too much to choose from. I find myself buying it all up only to have a good chunk of it go bad before I can use it. I have a hard time limiting myself to a few things every week. I want it all! So this week, I had a plan.

This is Grace

A few weeks ago I was getting together with my friend Grace. We were going to rectify a little speeding ticket I acquired and I was meeting her at her place. She said to come over early to help her eat a casserole she made. She had lots of veggies that were going to go bad if she didn't use them. It was really good! I couldn't stop eating it. So this week I bought extra produce just so I could make it. It's super easy, and you can use whatever produce you like. Just another yummy idea to get all those vegetables eaten. After all, they make you grow up big and strong.

I used several different peppers, onion, tomato, and asparagus. The great thing about this dish is you can add what you like. There's no "recipe".  But I'll tell you what I did anyway. Mostly because I have pictures...

I sliced and diced:

1 zucchini

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 tomato

Toss that with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Added 2 big handfuls of shredded pepper jack cheese.

Put it in a greased baking dish and topped it with more cheese.

Then I covered it in panko bread crumbs.

Drizzle some olive oil over top and bake at 350 degrees.

The end result should be bubbling and golden. 

I turned on the broiler for a few minutes to get it extra golden. 

Enjoy as a side dish or as a main course. Either way, it's tasty and easy and something everyone will love! Sorry there's no after picture, I ate it all...

Chocolate Oatmeal Energy Bites

I've come across some pretty nifty recipes in my pinteresting days. This one has to be one of my favorites. It's so easy, delish, and it's healthy. These are so much better than the energy bars you buy at the grocery. They take minutes to make, you know what goes into them, and you can add whatever you like. No guessing about this or that ingredient. So you know they're good for you. And with ingredients like oatmeal and flaxseed, how could they not be?

These little bites are perfect for those of you always on the go. They perfectly portable.
Breakfast, snacks, desserts. I could eat them all day long. This specific recipe comes from Ali and her blog, Gimme Some Oven.

The best part about these little tasties, they're no-bake! So now you have to make them.

Start with one cup of oatmeal. 

I used old-fashioned oatmeal.

You need 1/2 cup of ground flaxseed. 

I found this one in the organic section of the grocery store.

One cup of coconut, toasted. 

Just over medium heat until it's lightly browned and fragrant.

1/2 cup chocolate chips. 

I used dark chocolate but, like I said, this recipe is all about what you like.

You'll need 1/3 cup of honey and 1 teaspoon of good vanilla extract.

Add 1/2 cup of your favorite peanut butter.

Stir it all together. 

Then pop it into the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Once the mixture is chilled take a big pinch and roll into balls. 

As big or as little as you like. 

Chocolate Oatmeal Energy Bites

(Recipe from Gimme Some Oven, No-Bake Energy Bites)

1 cup (dry) oatmeal 

1 cup toasted coconut flake

1/2 cup chocolate chip

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. 

Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  

Once chilled, roll into balls.

Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. (If they even last that long.)

Coconut Truffles

One word: DIVINE! 

So let's get right into it.

One cup of sweetened flake coconut goes into one can of sweetened condensed milk.

One vanilla bean.

Split it open, all the way.

Take the back of you knife and scrape out all the little pods.

And I'm telling you, there is absolutely nothing better than this. 

Add all the vanilla to the coconut mixture.

You can see all the little bits of vanilla. 

So good!

Put it in a dish and pop it in the freezer.

Get some really good chocolate. 

I used a milk chocolate but dark chocolate would be fantastic.

Take the coconut mixture out of the freezer and roll it into balls.

About 1 inch will do. 

Then pop them back into the freezer.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. 

Now comes the fun part! 

And I didn't take pictures because it's a messy process. Messy = Fun

And it needs to go very quickly. The milk doesn't freeze completely so when you put it in the hot, melted chocolate it likes to get gooey. 

Just drop one of the coconut balls into the chocolate.

Make sure it's completely coated and then tap off the excess and drop onto some wax paper.

I used buttered foil. 

The chocolate will start to firm and trap all that yummy, sweetness inside.

I'm telling you, if you love coconut, you're going to love these! 

They are so simple and just absolutely divine.

You're going to want them all the time.

Coconut Truffles


1 cup sweetened flake coconut
12 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 vanilla bean
16 ounces melted, good quality, chocolate

Mix the coconut with the milk.

Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out all the vanilla pods.

Stir into the coconut and milk mixture.

Freeze mixture for about 30 minutes.

Take out of the freezer and roll into about 1 inch balls. Put back into the freezer.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

Take the coconut balls out of the freezer. Coat with the melted chocolate.

Tap off the excess chocolate and set on a piece of wax paper to cool and let the chocolate set.

Lemon Chicken

Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa is one of my fave shows. While some of the food she cooks is a little, umm, not my cup of tea, some of it really is! While I was perusing the TV Guide, I saw she was cooking chicken, so I flipped on over and well, let's just say I had to make a last minute trip to the grocery.

This lemon chicken is right up my tasty trail. Also, it's super simple. LOTS of garlic is kind of an understatement. But I love garlic, and lemon, and chicken so I was in heaven. And when it's cooking you just want to sit back and let the olfactory sense do it's job. It's intoxicating.

This dish is quick and perfect for last minute dinner ideas. It's great for entertaining. People will think you're a culinary genius. It's just a few ingredients, takes 5 minutes to throw together, and probably two minutes to eat. Because it's so tasty.

Chop lots of garlic. I used about 9-10 cloves.

Heat up some olive oil.

Add the garlic and cook until tender. Watch it carefully, you don't want it to burn.

Add some wine! This one is my new favorite.

And wine makes everything better, just like garlic. 

Bring it to a bubble and let the wine reduce.

Add lots of yummy lemon zest and juice. 

Stir in your herbs. Lots of savory goodness!

I used dried herbs, I didn't have fresh.

Pour everything into a casserole dish.

Place the chicken on top of the garlic.

Drizzle olive oil over top of the chicken.

Season with salt and pepper.

Top with lots of lemon slices.

Eat it!

I loved the rice. Just plain, salted jasmine rice. With the juice from the chicken, all that garlic and lemon, it really takes it to the next level. 

It's a simple meal, but it's so delicious.

Feel free to use which ever part of the chicken you love. 

I just love boneless, skinless breasts.

Lemon Chicken Breasts

(Recipe from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, Lemon Chicken Breasts)

• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each)
• 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Apparently, according to someone, being gluten free is the new "in" diet in Hollywood. I don't see how a diet that stems from an allergy can be twisted into a Hollywood fad, but what I do know is being gluten free isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's actually quite a healthy lifestyle. A lot of people find themselves living gluten free thanks to a little disease called, Celiac disease. It's a manageable disease however, if it goes untreated can lead to some pretty serious stuff. A friend of mine recently was diagnosed with Celiac disease so I've been researching a bit here and there.

On the upside of all this nasty gluten allergy stuff, there's really yummy cookies. I don't post cookies a lot but when I saw this recipe I had to try it. And since it's gluten free and really easy, I thought I'd share. I found it on Pinterest and well I love peanut butter so I decided to give it a go. This recipe is so super simple I might not make another cookie with flour ever again. Check out Joy the Baker's website for more goodies.

Here's how you make them. Like I said, ridiculously easy.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
(Recipe courtesy of Joy the Baker)

1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl cream together the peanut butter and sugar until combined, about 2 minutes.

Add the egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes.

Roll into 1 inch balls then lightly flatten with your hands.

Place on a buttered cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.

Eat, love, eat some more...