Summer Soltice and Father's Day

The first day of summer!!!!! The longest day of the year.
After that very long, torturous winter I am looking forward to every moment of summer 2010.

Yesterday was Father's Day and I had the incredible luck of being surrounded by three fabulous fathers. My Daddy, as you know, I am certain he hung the moon, my uncle who has always been there for me, and my amazing husband, whom I become more thankful for everyday, the daddy to our daughter.

I wanted their day to be as special as they are to me, so I focused our Father's Day Supper on foods that I knew were their favorites. As I was puzzling over some foods that they would all enjoy, I happened to think of blueberries. All three of them are very fond of them, so I made a blueberry lemon tea. It turned out to be a favorite. It was also gorgeous in the glass. I wish I would have had made a photo to share, but it disappeared quickly. I used frozen blueberries but fresh would probably be even better.

Lemon Blueberry Ice Tea

16 oz. frozen blueberries (or 2 cups fresh)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tea bags
1 cup sugar
water

Bring blueberries and lemon juice to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour into a stainer over your tea pitcher. Press with the back of a cooking spoon to crush all berries and make sure you get as much juice as possible. Make tea as usual for 1 gallon. (I use 3 family size bags and 1 cup sugar.) Once the tea has steeped pour it through what is left of the berries in the strainer to make sure you get all that blueberry goodness. Add sugar and fill 1 gallon pitcher with water. Stir and enjoy.

The rest of our supper went like this:

Shrimp Cocktail
Guava Lime Frosties (more on this in a future post)

Espresso Roasted Tenderloin of Beef
Potatoes Au Gratin
3 Bean Baked Beans
Tossed Salad w/ Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Honey Wheat Bread w/ Roasted Garlic Butter
Key Lime Pie
Lemon Blueberry Ice Tea

So, Until Tomorrow................
S~~~

Grilling Again

Sunday night I wanted to grill. Originally, I was thinking about what I could make with the power off, but since it came back on about 3:00 I didn't need to worry. Warm weather is all about grilling so I never miss a chance this time of year. Grilled lemon chicken is one of my favorites and I was surprised when I checked my blog and realized I had not shared this particular recipe before.

Grilled Lemon Chicken*
Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes
Tossed Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Honey Wheat Rolls with Herb Butter


Grilled Lemon Chicken

3 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/3 cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (never reconstituted)
Zest of ½ lemon
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1Tbsp. fresh rosemary
1 tsp. garlic ~ minced
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 jalapeno pepper ~ chopped fine
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut chicken in 1½ in strips.
Marinade at least 30 minutes or up to two hours.
Place chicken in an aluminum disposable pan and pour most of the marinade over chicken.
Grill until juices run clear. On my grill (indirect heat) it took about 20 minutes.

So, Until Tomorrow...........
S~~~

I Am A Fraud

Yes, it is true. I am a fraud. All this big talk I have about being a "summertime girl"................
Well, all that went out the window this afternoon when the power went off on the hottest day of the year. What I discovered was that I love the heat on my own terms, in small doses, apparently. Now to be perfectly fair here, the temp did exceed 90 degrees. One other small fact to consider is that we live in a house with a glass front 22 feet high, west facing. What were we thinking?

I have lived in "town" all my life until we moved to what I consider "the country" in 2006. I never knew what it was like to have your power off for any extended period of time. Even during the great blizzard of '93 we never lost power. I didn't see much of my husband for about three weeks, but I did have power.

I think there is a generator in our future.

This is a good time for a cold drink. Enjoy.

Arnold Palmer

3 oz lemonade
3 oz iced tea

Pour equal amounts of lemonade and iced tea into a tall glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Fourth of July Fizz

5 oz. Sprite
3 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 tsp. Grenadine

Fill a tall glass with crushed ice. Add all the ingredients and stir. Garnish with cherry and pineapple slice and serve.

Sweet and Sour Sparkler

3 oz. Grapefruit Juice
3 oz. Cranberry Juice
3 oz. Diet 7-Up

Pour over ice in a tall glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.


So, Until Tomorrow........
S~~~

Taco Salad Night

Due to conflicting schedules SideStreet won't be practicing tonight, so we are having a rare Wednesday night supper at our house.

I am married to a man who never complains about what I cook. As long as I stay away from cooked cabbage, greens or black eyed peas that he hates he is a happy camper. He doesn't require fancy food, just simple food makes him the happiest. After experimenting with many different taco salads over our 32 years he is convinced this is his favorite. He would eat this everyday if he could, at least until I fixed him soup beans.

Ronnie's Favorite Taco Salad

1 lb. ground chuck
2 packets taco seasoning mix (low sodium)
1 can black beans
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 small onion ~ chopped
1/2 head lettuce ~ chopped small
1 tomato ~ diced (I leave this off my salad, naturally)
1 avocado peeled and sliced
1 small can black olives ~ sliced
1/3 cup pickled jalapenos (or banana pepper rings)
1 bag tortilla chips
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup taco sauce ~ medium (or to your taste)
Brown ground chuck and drain well.

Add 1 packet taco seasoning mix (with water according to the package direction) and sugar. Stir in black beans and heat through. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix together chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, avocados, onion, jalapenos, olives, and the second package of taco seasoning mix.
Add to cooled beef mixture; toss to combine.
Immediately before serving toss with the combined ranch dressing and taco sauce.
Serve over broken tortilla chips.

So, until tomorrow...........
S~~~

Are You a List Maker?

I am. I love the satisfaction of crossing things off my to-do list(s). Even though I am a "gadget girl" with a Blackberry, a Droid and a laptop in almost every room, all fully equipped with programs prepared to manage my entire life three times over, I still have a paper list and a pen handy everywhere. I set electronic reminders for work and personal, and yes, you get that small sense of completion when you click the completed tab, but it just isn't the same.

My Mother never made a grocery list while I cannot shop without one. I walk out of the grocery store with a buggy full of "stuff" and not one single item that I need. My real treasure is to find a buggy in the store where someone has left their shopping list behind. I love to see what other people put on their lists. Another weird habit I have is looking to see what other people are buying. I hate to get in a line where there is no wait, I want to see what the people in front of me are buying. I know, maybe I should get a life.

I am a creature of habit. I find comfort in doing the same things at the same time every week. On the weekend I make my menu for the week and then create my shopping list from there.
One really neat feature with the smartphones and one I truly love even though it does not involve pen and paper is sending my list to my phone and clicking to cross off items as I put them in the buggy. No more having to keep up with a pen and paper in the store.

Supper last night was another casualty of this stormy weather pattern we are under right now. Once again I had planned to grill out but the rain came at the wrong time. So, we just stayed in.
Same meal just done in the oven.

Dry Rub BBQ Chicken*
Fresh Creamed Corn
Sauteed Green Beans
Roasted Red Potatoes

Dry Rub BBQ Chicken

3 - boneless skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon

3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. granulated dried garlic (or garlic powder)
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Cut chicken into strips (3-4 per breast, depending on size). Coat heavy pan with olive oil. Place chicken in pan and sprinkle with additional olive oil and lemon juice.
Combine dry rub and sprinkle 1/2 over the chicken. Bake at 425 or grill 15-20 minutes and turn over. Sprinkle remaining rub over the other side and continue to bake or grill until juices run clear, approximately 15 minutes.

So, Until Tomorrow...........
S~~~

Gettin' Ya Grill On

This was the chicken I fixed last Saturday night. It turned out so juicy. Great flavor too. So good that you could leave off the dipping sauce if you were so inclined, but I absolutely love this white bbq sauce. The chicken alone is terrific, but if you want to take it over the top serve little individual bowls of the dipping sauce.


The menu went like this:

Summer's Best Grilled Chicken* w/ White BBQ Dipping Sauce*

Bobby Flay's Smoked Chile Cole Slaw

Corn on the Cob - (cooked in half milk and half water, yum)

Baked Sweet Potatoes


Summer's Best Grilled Chicken

1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. Miracle Whip
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 Tbsp. pepper
2 Tbsp thyme
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. onion powder


Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Marinate chicken at least 30 minutes, but up to 48 hours. The longer the better.

Grill or bake at 400* until juices run clear. Remove from grill or oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.


Our grill is indirect heat only and I used huge bone-in skin-on chicken breast. They were done in 1 hour 10 minutes. The skin will actually char, but that is fine, we don't eat it anyway. Grilled chicken is far less abt to be dry if you leave the skin on while cooking.

Serve with:

White Barbeque Dipping Sauce


1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. white corn syrup (Karo)
1 Tbsp. garlic
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. Accent or salt
1/2 white pepper
1 tsp. horseradish


Whisk together and refrigerate at least 30 before serving.


So, Until Tomorrow................
S~~~

Rained Out - or should I say in.........

With yesterday being the official start to grilling season I had every intention of grilling out every night this week, but a rainy afternoon got in my way. I had bought some wild caught salmon fillets and thought I would grill them with some lemon butter and dill. When I realized I wouldn't be grilling I decided to go with a dish I used to make several years ago.

Supper tonight was:
Crunchy Baked Salmon*
Rosemary Potato Casserole
Fried Squash
Cucumber Salad


Crunchy Baked Salmon

2 - 6 oz salmon fillets
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 400

Cover the bottom of a baking pan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Place fillets in pan skin side down. Mix mayonnaise, mustard, lemon pepper, celery salt, parmesan cheese and brown sugar well.
Spread mayonnaise mixture over salmon.

Bake about 8 minutes. Combine Panko and melted butter and sprinkle over salmon. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until fillets flake easily with a fork.

I could have made a meal on the fried squash and cucumber salad. These are summer foods at their finest. Just another reason to love warm weather!

So, Until Tomorrow...........
S~~~