Cottage Cheese Stuffed Avocado with Two Options

Perfect for eating on the deck with some pretty flowers nearby.

It's getting hot around here, and I don't mean in the good way.  I mean in the frizzy hair, damp underarms, I'm cranky and have lost my appetite kind of way.

Generally I don't eat a heavy lunch anyway because I get home from work late.  So I eat a light lunch around 1:30 and then eat supper around 5:30.  Most of my lunches are some form of leftover from the previous night.  However sometimes there aren't leftovers, or now that it's hot, I don't feel like messing with heating anything up.  On those days I make myself a salad, a pimento cheese sandwich, or my latest obsession - an avocado stuffed with cottage cheese.

Peach Blueberry Garden Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinegrette

Okay, I have a small confession.  While I do love vegetables (I was that crazy kid who at age 5 would gobble up a plate of steamed broccoli and ask for more), I sometimes prefer fruit even more.  So if I can find a way to combine them into one meal, that's just about the closest thing to perfection I can get.

Creamy Cole Slaw

Cole slaw is one of those things I've struggled with trying to make for a long time.  When I was 16, I worked in the kitchen at a camp in a small town near the North Carolina - South Carolina state lines.  The head chef was a woman in her 60's everyone called Mama Ruth.

Broccoli Salad

My very favorite vegetable is broccoli.  Even as a young child, I'd get excited to learn my mother was fixing broccoli for supper, and because I was excited about it, she'd make sure I got broccoli as much as she could buy and fix it for me.  Normally I prefer my broccoli pretty much unadulterated.  Just a little butter and salt for me, please.  It's also good in fettuccine Alfredo and because I like it so much, I often add broccoli to that dish when I make it.  But I'm not crazy about raw broccoli.  Sad, but true.

Mock Chicken Salad

Many years ago I was very active in an online community for women and had a tight-knit group of online friends that I spent time with in chats and on message boards.  On one of those boards, we often shared recipes.  Many of the members of that community were also vegetarian.  Probably the most well known of those recipes, and certainly the one that was most requested, was one of our member's recipe for mock chicken salad.  The recipe changed each time it was written down and each time another member made it so that there are probably more variations of this recipe than anyone can imagine.

Cucumber Apple Salad with Fennel

When I made the Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders, I wanted a light, refreshing salad using a similar flavor profile as the marinade for the dressing.  We had lots of cucumbers from a friend's garden and a granny smith apple that needed to be eaten soon.  Thinking about what else might go nicely with a lemon juice based dressing, I immediately thought about fennel.  Fennel and lemon juice just seem to fit perfectly together.

Garden Vegetable Salad

Every summer our family goes (tent) camping with three other families for an extended weekend.  Each family is responsible for one meal during our trip.  It's a fun way to try new things and to enjoy our trip without having to cook every meal.  However, of the 13 of us, at least half are vegetarian.  This is a challenge I look forward to every year - how to make a crowd pleasing vegetarian meal that even the meat eaters will enjoy.

Fourth of July Round-Up

To make things easier for you to find, here is a round up of recipes for your Independence Day celebration.

Watermelon Shrimp Salad

When we were in Virginia Beach a few weeks ago we ate at a lovely local breakfast and lunch place called Doc Taylor's.  It was so difficult to choose one thing off the menu, but I did finally narrow it down to a grilled veggie wrap that was to die for.

Macaroni Salad

Growing up macaroni salad and potato salad were staples on our table in the summer time.  They were also standard fare for picnics and covered dish dinners.  My mother had a special insulated bowl with a tight fitting locking lid that was reserved for these two dishes.

The Big Salad

There is a Seinfeld episode revolving, in part, around a Big Salad that Elaine asks George to buy for her.  (Yes, I'm fully aware that shows my age.)  Since that episode, when my husband and I opted for a salad as a main course, we've always called it "A Big Salad."

Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

I have no idea where I came across this recipe.  I've had it in my infamous "to make" file for years.  We use this over spinach strawberry salad.  The directions call for pouring all the ingredients in the blender, but if you wisk well while pouring the olive oil into the rest of the ingredients, you can make this by hand.  And really, there is something satisfying about making an emulsion properly by hand once you get the hang of it.

Since this will not be cooked, try to use a good quality olive oil.  The flavor will be greatly improved if you do.