Pantry Buster

Wednesday is our delivery day for Fair Shares, our CSA. Its usually a surprise as to what we get but I'm rarely disappointed. Since I know that we are going to be inundated with fresh produce, meat and bread then, I try to take Monday's and Tuesday's as "pantry buster" days.
This means I dig around in the fridge, freezer and cabinets to find whatever is left over and combine it into a meal- or several.
Last night I cheated and we went out to dinner because after hauling a couple kids in a wagon all around the zoo I was done in. I didn't have enough brain cells left to think of dinner, let alone enough energy to cook it.
Tonight we're having spaghetti with garlic bread. I know, real original. But it does get rid of a pound of pork sausage, a pound of pasta and the left over garlic bread from last nights dinner. I will probably sneak in some zucchini and yellow squash too.

Bacon in a flash

Yes, I know. I haven't really published any freezable items in a long time. I will share a little tip though...
When you make bacon, lay a cooling rack inside a baking pan. Place as much bacon as will fit without overlapping too much. I usually make a pound at a time. Put this into a cold oven and set the temperature for 400. The cooking time will vary as to how you like yours cooked. This cooking method keeps the bacon from curling up and keeps it from cooking in its own fat. When the bacon is almost (2/3's) done, remove what you know you won't use immediately to drain. Put the rest back in the oven until its to your liking. When the almost done bacon has cooled to room temp, sandwich in single layers between wax paper, wrap in foil and place in a zip-top bag. Don't forget to label with date and name! Stick this in the freezer.
The next time you want bacon, thaw and either oven bake or microwave until done.

You know its summer when...

Tonight we had corn on the cob, sauteed zucchini, squash and eggplant, bratwurst and home made cole slaw. My Mom taught me her cole slaw dressing recipe and I couldn't believe how easy and good it was. Better than the bottled and a whole lot cheaper too!

1/4 cup Miracle Whip, cannot substitute mayonnaise
1 T milk

Blend until desired consistency reached. I like mine kind of thick so you may need to add more or less milk.

1 T sugar
pepper, to taste
couple dashes celery seed (this was my addition)

Whisk everything together and voila! Just toss it with some shredded cabbage.

Roast Chicken with Summer Pasta

Last year for our wedding anniversary my husband decided that he wanted to buy me something really nice, either diamond earrings or new appliances. Baby did right and chose the appliances. I'm that kind of girl. I chose a convection/microwave oven. I love this and would recommend one to anyone who cooks on a regular basis. I've done everything from grill pork chops, bake bread and cookies, nuke leftovers and popcorn, to well, roast a chicken! Mine has a little touchscreen where you just tell it what your want to make and it will take over from there. Very Jetson's. Plus, since it goes over my range, I have a double oven. This really comes in handy around the holidays.

Today was my first attempt at roasting a chicken in it. I had a 4 lb bird, summer squash, zucchini, green peppers, onion, tomatoes and fresh pasta from our local farmer's co-op. Along with a little olive oil and some spices, this made for dinner fixings. And plenty of leftovers!

Summer Pasta

1 yellow squash, chopped into bite size pieces

1/2 zucchini, chopped into bite size pieces

1 small onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

2 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup favorite tomato sauce

1 lb pasta

In a large, deep skillet heat olive oil and garlic. Add the zucchini and squash. When they start to soften, add the onion and green pepper. Finally after a few minutes, add the tomatoes and sauce along with salt & pepper to taste. Mix in the cooked pasta of your choice.

If you are to freeze this make sure to under cook the pasta! Place in a zip-top bag with name & date. To reheat defrost overnight in the fridge and microwave until hot. You may need to add a little water since the pasta will absorb any sauce.

Oh and yes, I know my plating skills suck.

Preview:

Roast chicken
More bread
Zucchini oatmeal cookies

Too busy to do much cooking now.

Major Tom To Ground Control

I'm kind of curious as to who my readers are. Are there even any of you out there?
If you read me, leave a comment! Let me know who you are, if you have tried any of my recipes or have any suggested recipes of your own.
Are there anythings that you would like me to write about? Anything you want me to stop writing about? That is a rhetorical question by the way.

Stuffed Zucchini that stuffed me

My husband has deemed this one "Company Worthy". That is high success, right there. I must say it was pretty tasty and easy.

Rundown:

1 lb ground lamb

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 T olive oil

2 small eggplant, diced

2 eggs

1 cup of your favorite tomato sauce, I used a roasted red pepper one

1 large yellow squash

1 large zucchini

Parmesan cheese

bread crumbs

salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.

Brown the lamb and saute the onion and garlic along with.

Remove from pan and add to a large bowl.

Slice the zucchini and squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the middle. Be sure to leave flesh at the ends to hold in the goodies! Chop the flesh and add to pan with olive oil and eggplant.

Saute this until slightly softened.

Add this to the bowl along with salt and pepper to taste. Dump in the spaghetti sauce and the two eggs. Mix until well combined.

Put the zucchini and squash halves into a deep casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Load the lamb mixture into the zucchini & squash. Really fill them to almost overflowing. Sprinkle on a nice layer of Parmesan followed by a layer of bread crumbs.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are browned and fork tender.

I served them up along side of some rice and it was a fine meal.

The next time I make this I will most likely use ground pork just because I usually have that in the freezer.

Note: if you are going to freeze this, do not freeze the zucchini and squash boats. Just freeze the filling before baking. Thaw overnight in fridge and them fill the zucchini and squash. Or even use this as a filling for peppers or a sauce to go over pasta.