I don't love heating up the kitchen when it's so hot outside!

Let's face it...it's been too hot to cook!! My husband and I have been eating lots of salads lately!! However, I was really wanting something a little more exciting, so I used my crock pot to cook up a beef roast. I added dried red chilies, oregano and garlic to the pot as well. The result was super tender and slightly spicy shredded beef... click here for the beef recipe.

The 1st night, I used small tortillas...

  

With cooked peppers and onions...

And shredded beef to make quick fajitas- served with sweet corn.

The second night, I put beef and  Monterey Jack cheese in a large tortilla. I rolled it up and browned on all sides in a hot skillet with a little olive oil. Served with my Kickin corn Salad!

My crock pot made dinner for two nights with enough leftovers for lunch without heating up the kitchen!


And for those that need a baby fix...Lucas at 8 weeks :)

Playing with Big Sister :)

Bath time in a mixing bowl

 

Robyn brought him all her favorites :)

I love fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market!

I had an ear and half of corn leftover in the fridge and had recently purchased a zucchini and fresh onion at the farmer's market...so I made Zucchini and Corn Topped with Cheese! It sounded easy enough...I just cut the recipe down a bit for what I had on hand.

First, I shredded my Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese. I only used about 1/2 cup of cheese total.

I cut the corn off the cobs and threw in a skillet with my sliced onion, zucchini and about 1 TBS of olive oil. I cooked for about 3 minutes, added half a can of diced tomatoes, garlic salt and black pepper.

I wanted to make it and forget it, so I threw this mixture into 8x8 baking dish.

I topped with the cheese and threw in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes while I grilled our Pork Burgers.

Looks like a lot of cheese, I can't imagine using as much as the recipe called for!

The end result, very tasty! An excellent way to use up some great summer produce!
Next time I make it, I think I'll use fresh tomatoes instead :)

Giving veggies some lovin!

Time for the summer slim-down!! I've been trying to find new ways to incorporate veggies into our meals. I've always been a big fan of roasting, but it was time for something new! I had three ears of corn in the fridge that needed to be used. So, I decided to make a corn salad!
I've created the recipe, Kathleen's Kickin' Corn Salad- and here's how you make it.


Cut the kernels off three ears of corn. This was about 2 cups total and you could sub frozen corn for the fresh.


Remove seeds and dice one red bell pepper. I picked red because it added awesome color!


Chop whites and greens of 3 green onions. Place these three ingredients in a skillet with one TBS of olive oil and cook over medium heat.


While the corn cooks, chop your cilantro. You need about 2 TBS after it has been chopped.


Cook the corn mixture for 8-10 minutes until the peppers reach the texture you like. I like mine a little crunchy.


Season the corn mixture with 1/4 tsp each of garlic salt, black pepper, chili powder and cumin. If I had a jalapeno at home, I probably would have added one to the mix. But this ended up having a nice kick while remaining kid friendly.


Rinse one can of black beans and add to the skillet. Stir in the cilantro and add the juice of one lime.


Stir to combine and serve warm or chilled. I had it both ways and it was just delicious! I thought the flavors were even better the second day. I can't wait for local sweet corn!!!