Summer Goodies! Meals + Treats

June 27, 2017

Summer Goodies! Meals + Treats

Another hodge-podge of a post with different snacks, desserts and meal ideas...keeping it simple over here- lots of grilling and simple sides!

First one needs no explanation- just a delish s'mores !

We took the kids to a cabin in the Blue Ridge, GA area for the weekend and it was lovely- of course, these had to happen while we were there!

Here is my disclaimer with this post--- we get a big Costco check each year and with it we stock up on meats we don't normally buy- the filet mignon, flank steak, frenched lamb, etc...we are not eating this super often and don't buy it much!

Filet mignon, mashed potatoes and side salad- This was Father's Day dinner- we brought out the fancy stuff : ) !

And Ben loves mashed potatoes and I don't make them a whole lot- he was a happy camper.

How to Grill a Perfect Filet Mignon

Basic Mashed Potatoes

NOTHING fancy about the mashed potatoes- really just some butter and I actually used almond milk because that is just what I had- they were super creamy!

THIS was a huge leap for me- A while back a friend ordered some meat from White Oak Pastures- a somewhat close by farm in the Atlanta area and I thought, what the heck, I will order some duck. I had never cooked with duck before and it turned out so well!

Duck Breast with Cherry Port Sauce

*Bon Appetit*

Except I just used a red wine instead of the port-

AND made a simple mashed sweet potatoes to serve on- I just used a little bit of butter, cinnamon and a little bit of almond milk. That is also some roasted butternut squash...

An oldie but a goodie...

Korean Flank Steak -

Marinade:

1-3 T. sesame seeds

1/4 c. salad oil

1/2 c. soy sauce/tamari

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. ginger (scant)

1/4 c. brown sugar (I will honey instead sometimes) and I usually just use 1/8 brown sugar and it is still good!

2 green onions sliced (I don't always have these on hand and it is fine without them I think!)

Place steak in a glass dish. Pour on marinade and let stand overnight in refrigerator- flip occasionally-

Broil or BBQ 5. min each side-

Served with...

Coconut Rice, Roasted Purple Cauliflower and freshly picked corn- courtesy of a sweet friend!

Next, is EASY Sunday eating-

I took out...hummus, tapenade, blueberry goat cheese, watermelon, carrots, rice crackers, chips + salsa and some multigrain crackers- dinner done. The kids actually loved it! Make yourself a "tapas" plate and you don't have to turn on the oven at all!

Chimichurri Grilled Shrimp

*Fannetastic Food Blog*

For Ben and the kids served over rice, which I just wasn't feeling that night, so I just combined it with some golden beets for me and then made sweet potato wedges as well!

At the cabin, we kept it super simple- focus on a protein and veggies...here is one creation.

Brought kielbasa, raw sauerkraut, roasted some potatoes + a Salad!

Y'all, I made this straight up full of gluten and all the things blueberry pie so I went Betty Crocker style...

Classic Blueberry Pie

*Betty Crocker *

Luke helped with this one and first time with lattice work action!

With our blueberry bounty from blueberry picking, we made Blackberry Coconut Oatmeal Muffins

from the Heather Christo Blog- BUT true to Cristina-style, I used blueberries instead and left out the coconut and didn't put the topping on...don't be afraid to make it your own! They turned out well!

Random creation-

This is Trader Joe's Frozen Cauliflower Pizza Crust-

I just followed the directions on the box and then added fig jam + sliced peaches + goat cheese...pretty good!

Now to combine the blueberries + peach theme I have going on- we made these Peach + Blueberry Popsicles and I seriously can't remember what recipe we used...just google it and there is a plethora of options! They were eating these for breakfast : )

*Kid feedback* They prefer the blueberries to be blended in and not kept whole- duly noted.