Pesto Potatoes (GF)

OK, easy, EASY recipe!

This is a recipe that a co-worker made for our back-to-school cookout. She just kinda rattled off what she did and I just took it back and made it without any real measurements. Aren't the recipes where you just throw stuff in the best recipes??? You can't go wrong with this one. These pesto potatoes make an incredibly yummy side dish!

You'll need:

-potatoes (cut up as many as you like)

-red wine vinegar

-olive oil

-pesto

See! Told you it was easy!

Boil your potatoes until they are fork tender. Remove the water, but return the pot with the potatoes to the stove top on low. Let the heat dry the potatoes out some and let the steam escape from them. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and a splash of olive oil (just enough to coat the potatoes). Keep them on low heat for just a little bit longer to let those flavors cook in a bit. Add the pesto (as little or as much as you like....I always like a lot!) and stir it all up. Voila! You're done!

Steak with Blue-Cheese Cream with Onions & Pesto Potatoes

(Look for steak recipe in the near future)

The Home Run King

As many of you know, my brother is currently travelling the world and sharing God's love in 11 countries. He left in July and has been to the Dominican Republic and Haiti so far. Yesterday, he headed to Ireland for a week and his plane had a layover at JFK. Last night, Daniel called us and it was SO good to hear his voice! I miss him terribly these days and I know there's 9 more months until I'll be able to see him and wrap my arms around him in a big hug. I so selfishly want to keep him here to myself, but then I think about all of the people who are getting to meet him and I realize that I'm so blessed to have him all of the other months besides 11 and I no longer feel sad. I'm so happy that the rest of the world gets to meet a man that means the world to me!

If you haven't been following Daniel's blog at danieldurick.theworldrace.org, you really need to. You can read all about the things his team his doing (check out the other members on Team GreenLight to get more detailed blogs), his beer reviews of the world (love that he stays true to himself), his latest illness (most recently Malaria), and best of all his videos. I know I've mentioned before that he is absolutely brilliant when it comes to making videos. He has a gift from God and he's been using it to capture his travels. The most recent video is my favorite by far (I tend to say that each time) and I cried through most of it. I love thinking about the difference he's making and how many people he is able to show God's heart to.

This video takes place in the DR and I'll just include what he wrote about it below. Enjoy!

After spending some time in the Dominican Republic, the crew starts to engage with some of the daily activities with the people in the slums of Las Barres Connes. From weeding, plucking some beans, to picking up trash; the needs in this community are endless.

While spending time with the kids in the community, Daniel befriends one kid who is a little more "special" than the rest. Walkeen had one dream of being able to play with the normal kids on the baseball field. Never having played a day in his life or knowing which direction to run, he spent all week practicing for a moment in his life he will never forget.

(Not sure why it cuts it off on the right side. You may want to open in a new window)

Love.

I'm getting this one framed. I love her.

My Sunshine

I've been insanely busy since school started and I have not truly sat down more than about 30 minutes each night this week. The start of school is always a hectic time, but I know it will get better. My amazing husband has truly helped my survive this week. Him and the new pictures sent to me of my beautiful little ray of sunshine a.k.a my niece.

Oh my gosh, I just want to squeeze her cheeks!!!

I've kept this picture on my phone so I can see her everytime I turn on my phone. Is it possible to miss someone this much when you've never met them before??? It's killing me.

Alright, I've got just a few seconds to show you one more picture.

Yay! Noa's celebrating the fact that I made it through my first week!

I hope to post a couple recipes this weekend sometime between seeing Beth Moore and watching Mark in the firefighter combat challenge.

See you soon!

True Fan

So, I ordered this yesterday....

In the next 3-5 days, I will be the owner of a new (and much more awesome) debit card.

I think that I was most impressed with was the fact that it was FREE!

You don't get much for free at all these days. I feel like this just takes my fan-dom to a whole new level!

While on the topic of the Bengals, you must check out this story that Emily sent me about one of my favorite coaches, Mike Zimmer. He's the defensive coordinator for the Bengals and really turned them around in just his first year (last season). But the article mainly focuses on the unexpected loss of his wife mid-season and how he has had to cope. Very great article and incredibly moving.

Is it obvious that I'm ready for the season? I will be especially ready in 3-5 business days!

Football Time

I can't believe it's that time of the year again!

The Bengals are in town and my world is happy.

There's always such immense feeling of hope at the beginning. Let the football season begin!

Family Photos by M Photography

Back in July, we had our family pictures taken by our longtime friend, Melissa Cooper. We wanted to get some pictures before my brother left to travel the world for a year so we ventured out to the farm where my mom works to snap some photos. Melissa took some outstanding photos and there are so many great ones to choose from, but I am including some of my personal favorites from the day (there's too many for me to load all of them).

Enjoy!

The family

My fantastic parents that raised me into who I am today

My brother simply doesn't take a bad picture!

The three most important men in my life.

Now of course you have to a pic of the ladies!

Seriously, could I have married a more adorable man? I'm smitten by him...

This is one of his favorites so I figured I'd include it.

I am so proud and honored to have him as my "little" brother.

We always said we needed to get one of all of us in our Bengals gear. This is what we typically look like on Sundays in September to January. Sundays will be one of the times I will miss my brother the most.

I just love the sky on this one!



And my personal, absolute most favorite........


This sums up my intense and ever-growing love for this incredibly handsome man that made me his bride several years ago. Sure, everyday life gets in the way of our love and respect for one another at times, but this man is my rock and I am forever linked to him. He makes each day special and meaningful for me. I consider myself extremely blessed and I thank God often for such a beautiful, full life that is full of love and joy.

Melissa, you captured our family beautifully! I can't say thank you enough!

My Ode to Corn

Oh my, I don't think I can tell you how much I love corn!

With our CSA, we've been getting at least 6 ears of corn a week. Some may get tired of all this corn, but not I. I usually run out before I get to try all the recipes I want and have to wait until the next week. There was actually a week where I bought 3 or 4 extra ears of corn at the Farmers Market just because I needed them for all of my ambitious goals for the week.

Corn is such a versatile plant and is truly an amazing thing in and of itself. So much of our world relies on corn since every part of corn is able to be used. I did learn an interesting fact this week. The minute that corn is picked, its kernels begin the process of turning to starch. Therefore, corn is best used (and sweetest) within the first couple days after it's been picked. Does that mean you can't use it later in the week? Of course not. But it sure does make you wonder how long it's been since it's been picked when you buy it at the grocery store. Just another reason to go local and support your friendly farmer neighbors!

I've used corn in at least 2-3 meals a week, but I thought I'd share my favorites that I've repeated a couple times already this summer.

The recipe for Corn with Bacon and Green Onions was definitely a hit on the 4th of July, so we ate it again for my dad's birthday alongside some Spinach-Walnut Chicken. I believe this dish is an excellent compliment to any meal...that is if it doesn't steal the show!

Another absolute favorite is Summer Stir-Fry! This is originally from Pioneer Woman and it is absolutely delicious! You could easily do it with chicken instead of shrimp, but oh boy, that shrimp is so yummy! My friend, Faith, saw this recipe the same time I did and we made it within a week of each other. Once she told me how truly delicious it was, I just had to make it right away. We've both had to limit how many times we make it...it's just that good! You can check out the recipe here on her blog or you can scope out the original over at Pioneer Woman.


Summer Salsa is an absolute must! Got this recipe from Faith last year and it is so refreshing! Please take note that it is not a spicy salsa, but a sweet one full of great CSA vegetables. I recommend it with some organic blue corn chips for an awesome snack!

Finally, I'm leaving you with Fire Roasted Corn Salad. This is a recipe from a little ole gourmet cooking store that I love and I just think this is such a tasty side dish! It's got everything I love in it!

You need:

• Juice of 3 limes
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• Coarse salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 ears of corn
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 lb. feta cheese, diced

NOTE: I halved this recipe and still made plenty for just the two of us. The only thing I didn't halve was the feta cheese because, well, I think feta cheese is fantastic and should be used liberally.

In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, ground cumin, and chili powder. Pour in the 3/4 cup olive oil in a slow, steady stream while whisking to make a vinaigrette. Season with salf and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare your corn. You can either grill it by brushing some oil on them and turning them over a medium-hot fire until lightly charred for about 10 minutes.....OR if it's absolutely sweltering outside and you really don't feel like creating a fire and grilling, boil your corn until cooked. You don't have to do it for too long because you don't want to overcook your corn until it's mushy.

Using a knife (or a corn zipper) cut off all of your kernels and place in a large bowl. Add your tomatoes, onion, cilantro, feta, and the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly. I think it's great when you serve it immediately, but I also like it when it's cooled down. Makes a great side dish.


And yes, all of these recipes were made with organic ingredients and were all gluten-free...except for that Vanilla Porter in the above picture. That's just full of gluten!

I love corn!

Now go buy some and share some more yummy dishes with me!

Thai Green Beans (GF & Organic)

OK, confession....last week, I was in a major cooking slump!

I started working on my classroom to get back into the school year which is all too quickly approaching and by the time I came home...I just didn't wanna cook.

I think this is totally human of me and it was honestly nice to have some days off where I was 100% lazy. We did go out and enjoy some Japanese food one night which was absolutely fabulous! But I'm back in the routine this week and had some pictures/recipes that I wanted to post up here that fell to the wayside also last week. Seriously, what am I going to do once school starts. It's like I have to completely reorient myself with that way of life again!

Made these green beans as a side dish a few weeks back. They were featured as the recipe of the week on Simply in Season's website. My friend, Faith, has this cookbook and I loved it, but I have yet to purchase it. I've been using their recipe of the week for a few months now and they always turn out great. They always feature what is in season at this time so it's very helpful with my CSA.

For this, you need:

• 5 cups fresh green beans
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 Tb. ginger root, peeled and minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 3 Tb. GF soy sauce
• 2 Tb. GF Thai sweet chili sauce
• 1 cup extra firm tofu, crumbled (optional)
  

All vegetables/ingredients were organic. As a side note, the tofu is completely optional and would be just fine without it. I understand being skeptical, but my hubs is always wanting to try new stuff so I went with it and it was very good. I would recommend not only because it tasted good, but because it is so good for you! Totally up to you though.

Steam your green beans 8-10 minutes until they are bright green and lightly crunchy.

Get your onions, ginger, and garlic all chopped, peeled, and minced.

In the sesame oil, saute onions, garlic, and ginger over medium heat until the onion is tender. Takes about 5 minutes.

Add your soy sauce and sweet chili sauce. You can measure it out or just add to taste.

Add your tofu (if you choose) and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add your green beans and stir to coat them with the sauce. Simmer over medium-low heat for 5 more minutes.

You can eat these over rice if you want to make a whole meal out of it, but we served it on the side with some chicken and potatoes and saved all the leftovers for lunch over the next couple days.

Spicy Chicken with Tomatillo and Pine-Nut Salsa (GF)

Mark really wanted to try tomatillos this week. Therefore, I obliged and found a recipe at Tasty Kitchen that I thought we'd both really enjoy. Tasty Kitchen is becoming my "go-to" on great recipes!

This recipe called for the grilled chicken to be marinaded and then you just make the salsa as an addition. I chose this because I already had some pine nuts left over from when I made pesto.

For the first part, you need:

4 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/3 c lime juice (I didn't have enough lime so I added lemon and it tasted just dandy!)
2 T. olive oil

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 dash of salt & pepper each

Mix all of those ingredients together and put in a plastic bag with the chicken. The recipe said to let it marinade for at least 30 minutes. I would let it marinade a couple hours to get the good flavor in there.

You (or your hubs!) will grill this chicken when you are ready to eat.

For the salsa, you need:

4 whole tomatillos
fresh cilantro
1 bell pepper (any color, I chose green)
1 fresh jalapeno
2 T. pine nuts
2 T. lime juice (or lemon)
1 tsp. sea salt

I was thrilled to use some fresh cilantro from my very own herb box! The smell was unbelievable and it was better than any cilantro I've bought in the store.

I am HORRIBLE at gardening, but my cilantro was the most productive in my attempt to grow something outside my kitchen window. I can't tell you how excited I was to use this!

Chop up your cilantro and add it to your diced tomatillos.

Dice up your green peppers and jalapeno and add them to the party.

Squeeze in your lime/lemon juice, add your pine nuts, and your sea salt.

Mix all of that together to make some deliciousness!

Serve the chicken and salsa on some seasoned rice and enjoy!

Mark and I absolutely cleaned our plates on this one. I just kept trying to get bites that included rice, chicken, and salsa together. The flavors went so well together!

When we finish eating, I always ask Mark, "Repeat?" He lets me know if it's worth keeping the recipe or not for another time.

This is definitely a "repeat" in our house.