Summertime!

So, I should definitely preface this post by saying that I have never been a gardener. I don't come from gardening people. I grew a flower or two. Once. When I was 10. But something about having a yard (and living in a place where it's not 105 all summer) made me think that maybe, just maybe, it was possible. 

So I talked to my friend Madeline and we teamed up to start growing some spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and a few other veggies in my backyard. Not everything has taken (you can see some empty spots back there for sure), but I've been really pleased with the results!

Tomato plants that went CRAZY (this was 2 weeks ago - now they're almost as tall as me and have about 20 green tomatoes growing!) Next time I do a garden, we'll definitely be planting these farther apart!

Lettuce (also 2 weeks ago) - Sadly, this is about dead. It's been growing since March though, and I haven't had to buy lettuce for Eric's sandwiches in months!

Red pepper (with some okra popping up behind there). Once again, two weeks old -- it's bigger now!

Our spinach was great for a month or two, but went the way of the lettuce. It's an "early season" plant. We can probably plant some more in late August!

We also have our zucchini plants going crazy. I'm hoping they'll produce something soon. Oh, and there's a jalapeno or two popping out too!

In other news, Eric and I took a [very quick] vacation to Myrtle Beach a couple of weeks ago. We'd never been to Myrtle before, but it was about what we expected - lots of gimmicky stuff, but still a nice beach. We sprung for a room with a balcony over the ocean. Worth every penny!

We honestly spent about 75% of our time just laying our bed with the door open listening to the ocean while watching cable. We're really exciting, right? LoL. 

We went out to eat every night (that's the point of vacation, isn't it?) -- Hard Rock Cafe, Landry's Seafood, and, our last night a little Chick-Fil-A so we could have dessert at the Melting Pot.

While we're not big on all the cheeky stuff, we did decide to go play a quick round of putt-putt at this goofy place called Mount Atlanticus.

I know, you're wondering how we survived with all of the dinosaurs and loch ness chasing us, right? Haha.

What can I say? We're dorks. (But awesome ones).

Anyway, it was fun to get away for a few days. We have another little "vacation" coming up to Atlanta so Eric can take his last big test of med school. The test part's a bummer, but I'm pretty excited about going to the Coca Cola Factory and doing some shopping while we're there! 

This summer's not near as exciting as the last, well, six or seven (Spain, Mexico, marriage, moving, Europe, Hungary), but I'm enjoying our last summer here with Eric in med school. It's kind of crazy that a year from now he will be a resident! So I'm just going to soak up my time while I've got it... before the real work begins!

Delicioso.

Here's a few more things I've tried recently: 

Cauliflower Fritters
What a great side dish!!

• 4 cups steamed cauliflower, chopped (I just use the Steamfresh garlic cauliflower bag and omit the garlic that comes next)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano (or if you're cheap like me, mixed Italian cheese. :-)
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup hot water
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Mix all ingredients except the oil. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Form patties with the cauliflower mixture. Cook in oil until lightly browned, about one minute on each side. These are great dipped in marinara!

(photo shows fritters, poppers and ricotta-stuffed shells)

Cauliflower Poppers

These are almost too easy to be called a recipe.

Just chop up some cauliflower (as always, I use the Steamfresh garlic cauliflower because it's cheaper and I'm lazy), spray it with oil, and pop it in the oven at 450 for 30-45 minutes!

Ricotta-Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo pasta shells

1 8-oz container of ricotta cheese

¼ c. grated parmesan cheese

¼ c. mozzarella cheese

fresh spinach spinach (as much as desired)

1 egg

1 can pasta sauce

Browned italian sausage or hamburger meat (if desired)

Preheat oven to 375˚. Boil shells until almost tender. Drain and allow to cool. Mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and half of mozzarella in a medium bowl. Stir in spinach and egg. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan with pasta sauce (should use about 1/3 of the can). Fill shells with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture each (and meat if you're adding it). Cover with additional pasta sauce (about 1/3 of the can). Bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining pasta sauce. Cover with additional pasta sauce and remaining mozzarella before serving. 

Maple-Dijon Chicken (aka "Man Pleasing Chicken" for my pinterest friends!)

This was soooo good! I served it with risotto and sauteed squash.

1/2 c. dijon mustard

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

1 T. apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar

1 lb. chicken (I used breasts, but you can use any part you desire!)
a few sprigs of rosemary

Heat the oven to 450. Put chicken in a greased pan. Mix mustard, syrup, vinegar and rosemary together and pour over chicken. Bake 35-40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165. 

Cake Batter Bars

I made these for a work party. They weren't super pretty, but they were definitely a hit!

• 1 1/4 cup funfetti cake mix
• 3/4 cup AP flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 5 heaping tablespoons sprinkles of your choice (I used stars)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan.
2. Cream both sugars, butter, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. 
3. Gradually mix in flour, cake mix, and baking soda until just mixed. Stir in sprinkles.
4. Spread batter evenly into greased pan.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is lightly browned and middle still jiggles slightly. Cool completely before cutting.

Nutella Stuffed French Toast

No real recipe here, just awesomeness. Make a nutella sandwich, dip it in an egg/vanilla/sugar mixture, and cook it on a greased pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes. It's a perfect Sunday morning treat!