Grilled Zucchini

Zucchini
Olive Oil
Salt
 Pepper
Garlic
Italian seasoning

Slice zucchini in long thin (1/4in) slices. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spices, rub them around to make sure all slices are coated. On a hot grill quickly grill on both sides, then serve. Super easy!!! Super deliciouse, this is my absolute favorite way to eat zucchini and it goes well with lots of dishes!

Black Bean Corn Salsa

1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Corn, drained and rinsed
3 Roma Tomatoes, small dice
1 Red bell pepper, small dice
2-3 avocados, diced
1 Serrano pepper, minced
1/2 red onion, small dice
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 lime or lemon, juiced
1/3c. Italian dressing
Salt, pepper, garlic to taste
opt. Cayenne pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, and chill or just dive in!!! Really great with Tostitos hint of lime chips. To quote my nephew Hunter "This stuff is sooooo addicting!!!" We made this for Father's Day Dinner and it was GONE QUICK. Mahonri(who normally hates tomatoes) and I were craving some the next day so we made another bowl and it too was GONE by the end of the day. I think this is going to be our summer favorite!

Broccoli Slaw

Everything comes in the bag at Costco and Wow is it delicious!!! It kind of has an Asian flavor and comes with Chinese crunchy noddles and sliced almonds. It's great just the way it comes or I bet if you wanted you could add green or red onion and chicken chunks too.

I first tried this at our ward Mother's Day dinner and it was my favorite thing there! Then I used it at our cousin Garden Party tonight and again it was so yummy!!! So if your out of time an need a great salad give this a try, my mom and I love it!

Hawaiian Edamame

1 pound edamame in the pod (you can buy these frozen and thaw
by running cool water over them)
3 Tablespoons sesame oil, divided
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Heat a large wok over medium-high heat (or use a large skillet).
Add 2 Tablespoons of the oil, then the edamame. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until wellcoated with the oil. Move the edamame to the sides and add the remaining 1 Tablespoon oil, garlic, and ginger in the middle. Stir-fry for 20 to 30 seconds, until barely light golden brown, then add the sesame seeds. Stir to mix evenly, coating the edamame. Sprinkle the sugar in and toss several times, allowing the sugar to melt and coat the edamame. Add the soy sauce and red pepper flakes, and mix well. Season with salt if needed. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately.

I found this recipe online at http://tammycirceo.typepad.com. I wanted to do something extra special with edamame for our cousin Garden Party and found this recipe. Well lets just say... AMAZING!!! It is defiantly my Favorite of the evening.and will be making this again soon! Maybe tomorrow for lunch ;)

Bruchetta

2 C diced tomatoes (squeeze out seeds before dicing)
1/3 C diced red onion
1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
a few cracks black pepper
1/4 C chopped fresh basil leaves
1 french baguette or bread of your choice
Butter & additional olive oil
1 large garlic clove
optional- fresh mozzarella cheese


Combine tomatoes, onions, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and 1 tsp olive oil in a bowl and mix to combine. Add basil and gently toss to distribute. Give it a taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Cover and chill.

Slice baguette into half inch slices. Lightly spread both sides if sliced bread with real butter. In a lg pan over medium heat drizzle a little olive oil and then brown both sides of the bread. Remove from pan. Slice garlic clove in half and rub cut side down on each piece of bread. Top with about 2 tablespoons of the tomato mixture.

Recipe by Our Best Bites

I made this tonight for our cousin Garden Party and they were a HIT!!! Rubbing the garlic on the bread was great and the kick of balsamic vinegar was a great addition all together the flavors made the PERFECT BITE!!! I can't wait to make this all summer with garden fresh tomatoes! Even my son Mahonri loved this and he usually HATES tomatoes!

Green Smoothie

1 Banana
2 1/2 c. Cold Water
2 Tb. Flaxseed
2 Tb. Oatmeal
1/2 Tb. Chia seed
1 tsp. Maka Powder
1 Tb. Acai and Gogi Berry Powder
2 BIG handfuls of fresh Spinach
1 1/2 c. Frozen Mango Chunks
1/3 c. Frozen Pineapple Juice Concentrate
1 heaping c. Ice

Blend all together in a really good blender, til smooth. Enjoy!

My cousin Kristina Agren shared this recipe with us. I tweaked it a little by adding the oatmeal and pineapple juice. Our family really LOVES this smoothie and all of Mahonri's friends rave about it! Even Kulesa asks for it daily and usually any green vegetable is Kriptonite to my Superman! This has really been a great way of getting some really good stuff into our diet that we wouldn't normally eat!

Best Broccoli

2-3 Large bunches of Broccoli
2 TB Butter
Drizzle of Olive Oil
2 TB minced Garlic (I buy a lg bottle in grocers section at Walmart)
1/2 c. hot water
1 TB chicken bouillon powder

Cut into florets, I like to leave the stems long. Melt butter in olive oil then saute garlic a little before adding in the broccoli, stir and saute broccoli. Then dissolve chicken bouillon in water and add to hot pan. cover and let steam until broccoli is tender.

I LOVE the broccoli from Carraba's Italian Grill and decided to try it myself. Now I can't make broccoli any other way!!!! Try it you'll love it. You can adjust the amount of garlic and bouillon for your taste. At Carraba's they add a little chopped red bell pepper, but I don't usually have that on hand.

Broccoli Salad

6-8c. Broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1 lb. Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2c. Red Onion, small diced
3/4c. Raisins
1/2c. Sunflower Seeds or Chopped Pecans

Dressing:
1c. Mayo
1/2c. Sugar
2 Tb. Cider Vinegar

Combine ingredients and toss with dressing, Chill and serve.

Once I used some leftover Poppyseed dressing I had in the fridge and it turned out great.