You may have noticed….

…that the pictures are looking a little better.

There’s been an addition to our family. A very very nice addition.

Because it’s not my skillz that have gotten better, that’s for sure.

Cucumber, Bell Pepper, and Tomato Salad with Thai Lime Vinaigrette

This was very, very good. Recipe from Andrea Meyers.

With these

I think we’ll be eating a lot of Mozzarella Toasts with Spicy Herb Oil. They were so easy to make.

This week’s meals.

Sunday: Too full from eating steak, corn, and salad for lunch at Miles’ aunt’s house in Wayne, ME. Dessert was particularly excellent–homemade coffee Heath ice cream from Tubby’s on top of Simply Divine Brownies. The brownies were after-market from the manufacturing facility. Just the ends–so they were $7 for a big bag instead of $3.50 for a single brownie. So good that I had to get my own bag on the way home.

Monday: Cucumber Salad with Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, and Thai Lime Vinaigrette from Andrea Meyers with Fresh Mozzarella Toasts with Spicy Herb Oil

Tuesday: Risotto with Sausage, grilled corn on the cob

Wednesday: Cucumber, Tomato, and Feta Salad with those yummy mozzarella toasts again

Thursday: Grilled Sausage Subs with Peppers and Onions, and maybe some broccoli

Friday: Leftovers.

Overrun with tomatoes.

And then not so much. They didn’t turn into a lot, but what’s there is REALLY good.

I slow roasted my first harvest, using this recipe from Andrea Meyers: cooking, gardening, and four hungry guys.

Mine started out looking like this:

Somehow I roasted them too much, though. Eight hours is a long time, and though mine were only in for about six, some of the tomatoes were so burned or shriveled or dried that they weren’t usable. Sooo….I guess next time I’ll decrease the temp to maybe 200 degrees and/or roast for a shorter amount of time. I’m so excited to use these, though. They are really, really sweet and caramelly. I ended up with 2 small jelly jars and one Ball plastic freezer jar, all of which are packed in oil and in the freezer, and then an almost full small jelly jar for this week’s salads.

Chicken in Milk. How does everyone not know about this recipe?

Best chicken ever. Thanks, Jamie Oliver.

Fry chicken in butter and oil.

Add 1/2 cinnamon stick, 10 cloves of garlic (not even peeled!), some lemon zest, sage (I used thyme) and some milk.

Roast uncovered until done, basting occasionally if you remember. It will smell amazing in your house.

Serve. Oh my. So good.

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk

Pregnancy Panini

Everyone I have mentioned this too has said that it is completely disgusting. Except my father in law, who said that he thought it sounded pretty tasty.

The other night I was wanting sweet and savory and cheesy all at once, and made this panini:

That, my friends, is a Peach, Chocolate Chip, Bacon, and Mozzarella Panini.

It was amazing. The end.

This is why I don’t buy eggs from the grocery store.

I mean, among the MANY reasons.

Last week I got into a bind and didn’t have enough eggs. I hope THAT never happens again. I cracked my last farm fresh egg (right) into the bowl, and then an egg from the grocery store (left).

What a pale, sad sight.

Blarg.

The squash enchiladas were WAY too hot.

In the back there is the enchilada sauce. I followed all the directions, substituting 4 dried anchos for the 10 cascabels. I tasted it and it was fine to me, but Miles doesn’t really enjoy things that burn. He likes flavor instead. So do I, but I don’t mind a little burn.

They looked pretty beautiful, though.

Here’s a winner:

Chicken Fajitas yet again, but this time with a Jalapeno, Blueberry and Peach Salsa that I whipped up.

I love PW.

Yes, the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. I am fascinated with her ranch/4 children/homeschooling/photography/cooking life. I am terribly jealous of her giant kitchen with her professional stoves, her eleventy billion pieces of Le Creuset, and her walk in pantry.

Most of all I love her recipes, though.

I made Blueberry Cobbler the other day. I have PW’s cookbook from the library, and I was flipping through, hoping to do something with 7 quarts of berries other than jam and freeze. The recipe is really for blackberry cobbler, but it works with any berry.

Mine looked like this:

Then it looked like this:

And then it was gone.

PW’s Blackberry Cobbler.

This week’s meals.

I made pickles and blueberry cobbler and blueberry jam last week. I’ll post about those later, though.

Monday: Pasta with Chicken, Garlic Scapes, Tomatoes, and Basil from Andrea Meyers: Cooking, Gardening and Four Hungry Guys

Tuesday: Peach and Mozzerella Paninis (with basil and prosciutto).

Wednesday: Spinach, White Bean, and Bacon Salad with Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Thursday: Eggplant Parm This will be a super-duper reach for us, because neither of us really likes eggplant. But, we have two that need to be eaten NOW, and I’m hoping the pound and a half of fresh mozzarella will help.

Friday: Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Saturday: Miles’ Birthday–dinner at The Grill Room with his parents.

I also have three or four more squash that need to be eaten, four ears of corn that are starting to look sad, and a whole lot of garlic scapes that need to be transformed into pesto.