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.

Birthday Sleep-over Snack Food

On Saturday the 8 year old will be having his 9th birthday party at the local skating rink and afterward his 3 closest friends will spend the night with us for an "after party."  The party package includes pizza and sodas, but we'll be eating around 4:30.  So I thought our overnight guests will probably want more to eat later in the evening.  I can't see corralling them to sit down for a meal, though.  That's where heavy "finger food" snacks come in.  I'll be setting things out buffet style and letting the boys eat what and when they want.

Yellow Rice

I realized the other night when I made this fantastic dish by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom that I had never shared my yellow rice recipe with you.  It's such a simple recipe, it's easy to overlook, but it's such a versatile side dish and good starter for more substantial recipes.  The best part about this is, it's cheaper and healthier than those boxes or bags of yellow rice mix in the grocery store.  I know exactly what I'm eating when I make it myself and it takes only an extra minute to or two.

Kettle Corn

You know that sweet popcorn that smells so good when you go to a fair or street carnival?  Here our city holds a street festival in conjunction with our Christmas tree lighting, and there is always a kettle corn vendor.

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.

Chicken of the Woods and Asparagus with Vodka Sauce

I love chicken of the woods.  It's a type of mushroom called a sulfur shelf that generally grow on hardwoods.  My favorite farmer at the local farmers market and his wife are fantastic mushroom foragers.  Anytime we have a day or two of heavy rains, they are out looking for oyster mushrooms, chicken of the woods, and morals. 

No Bake Granola "Cupcakes"

Five years ago next month when the 8 year old was just barely 3 1/2, my mom got terribly sick.  My dad, who is paralyzed on the right side of his body called me after three days and asked if I'd make the 2 hour drive to their house to help care for both of them until my mom was well.  The two of them thought she had the stomach flu.  I, of course, agreed, but I told my dad to make sure my mom was prepared to go to the ER when I got there.  She hadn't been able to keep anything on her stomach for three days, so I knew she was dehydrated.

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.

Bruschetta Crescent Pinwheels

In July or August I ran across a recipe for pimento cheese pinwheels made with crescent rolls and homemade pimento cheese.  It looked delicious, but I wanted something a bit different and slightly more gourmet for a PTA board meeting appetizer potluck near the beginning of the school year.
For inspiration, I wandered the gourmet foods aisle at the grocery store.  The thing that I kept going back to was bruschetta.  I thought the flavors of bruschetta would go nicely with cream cheese and by the time I left the grocery store I practically had a recipe written in my head.

Weekend Recipe Review - Spinach Artichoke Pasta

Not the healthiest dish in the world, but is there anything better than a big plate of creamy pasta topped with spinach, artichokes, and crunchy panko bread crumbs?  Pioneer Woman came up with Spinach Artichoke Pasta - a twist on spinach artichoke dip - and I'm a sucker for her recipes.  (Think she'd adopt me?)

Cheesy Potato Soup

One of the first things I made after I perfected a white sauce, was this warm, comforting potato soup loaded with cheese.  It's great for those lazy fall evenings, served with a big chunk of crusty bread.

Weekend Recipe Review - Spicy Bean Burritos

In reality this weekend I should be reviewing a soup I made yesterday in the slow cooker for dinner.  But what really happened is I woke up yesterday morning with a headache and an upset stomach, came home from work early, and took a little nap before I had to pick up the 7 year old and the other boy I keep.  I got home at 5:30p.m. with the 7 year old, told my husband he was on his own, and went upstairs to bed.  I did come down at some point and have a very small bowl of soup, and I'm pretty sure it was delicious.  My husband said it was.  But there were no pictures taken and after I ate a bit of it, I went straight back to bed until about 6:30 this morning.

Stuffed Eggplant and Patty Pan Squash

A few weeks ago I was looking for our vegetarian meal for the week and went to Allrecipes.com for inspiration.  One of the first recipes I stumbled upon was for stuffed eggplant.  I'd never stuffed eggplant before, but it sounded delicious.  Of course, I can't just follow any recipe exactly and in fact, this recipe I pretty much threw out the window except for the eggplant and the mushrooms.

Tomato Basil Quiche with Potato Crust

Nearly 20 years ago my roommate from college gave me a recipe for a quiche with a shredded potato crust. I don't remember now everything that was in the quiche, although I'm pretty sure it also had sausage in it.  I do, however, remember the crust.  At first it seemed weird, but over time, it seemed interesting and finally very good.

Summer Vegetable Quesadillas

A few weeks ago when the power was out, we stayed a couple nights with my best friend and her family who are vegetarian.  The first night we were all there for supper, she and I quickly brainstormed on something the majority of us would eat.  After checking her fridge for food she and I both owned, we realized I had an abundance of summer squash and tortillas.  She had zucchini, peppers, cheese, and onions.  Summer Vegetable Quesadillas were born.  Both my 7 year old and hers had plain cheese quesadillas with fruit and cherry tomatoes on the side.  Everyone seemed happy with supper.

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.

Weekend Recipe Review - Pasta au Gratin with Vegetables

I've made this recipe by bell alimento twice now, making alterations both times, partly so I could half it and partly because my husband arbores celery and nutmeg. The original recipe serves 6.  Either we've cut back a lot on our serving sizes (I've been trying) or that must be very large servings.  I love this meal, as does my husband. I serve it with a green salad and some nice crusty bread.

Spaghetti with Mizithra and Brown Butter Sauce for Two

When my husband and I lived in Nashville as newlyweds, there was a restaurant in the downtown area called Old Spaghetti Factory.  (Might still be there, but we haven't lived in Nashville for 8 years now).  Old Spaghetti Factory was good and cheap and in a fairly popular area to see and be seen on weekend nights.  For broke newlyweds, it was a perfect place to go and feel part of the scene.

Eggplant Parmesan

When my husband requested eggplant Parmesan for supper one night this week, I was overjoyed.  I love Olive Garden's eggplant Parmesan.  However I didn't want just a copycat recipe of their entree.  I wanted something we could call our own.  Purposely not looking at many recipes for the dish in the blogsphere and other websites, I fiddled tonight and came up with something my husband and I both enjoyed.