Simple Broccoli & Pasta

I made this recipe last night as an attempt to recreate a dish my husband's grandma made him when he was little. She was 100% Italian and an incredible cook, but this dish was just so simple. It's not very strongly flavored, so if you want more spice, salt and pepper it or add red pepper flakes.

1/2 pound short cut pasta, any shape
2 heads broccoli, cut into small florets (or you could substitute 1 pound of asparagus tips)
4 Tbs. olive oil (or 2 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. butter)
3-4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. About half way through the cooking time, throw broccoli in with the pasta. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute garlic until softened and slightly browned. When pasta and broccoli are done, toss in the skillet with the garlic and olive oil. To serve, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and black pepper.

This tastes good hot, room temperature, or even chilled as a pasta salad.

Broiled Parmesan Salmon

This is Easy, Fast, and super delicious!


6-8 oz. portions of Salmon- (one per person)
Butter or Margarine
Lemon Juice (abt. 1 TBSP per portion)
Dill
Parmesan Cheese (the canned kind works best for this recipe)


Turn oven on broil. Place salmon portions in baking dish. Spread tops with butter, lemon juice, sprinkle with dill, and completely cover tops of salmon with parmesan cheese.

Broil for about 10 - 15 minutes on middle rack of oven. Tops will be golden brown and bubbly, fish will feel semi-firm, but not dry.

Best served with rice pilaf or couscous. (sold in rice section at grocery store)

Salade de Maison

The name means "house salad" in French, but we just call it "THE salad". Don't worry, though, it's definitely not fancy or hard to make.

Start with the dressing, which tastes best if you make it early and let it sit in the fridge:

3/4 cup olive oil or salad oil
juice of 1 large lemon
4-5 garlic cloves, pressed (or chopped finely)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Put everything in a jar or tupperware and shake to combine. Once the dressing has been sitting a while, shake it again and toss over the following:

2 bags pre-washed hearts of romaine mix
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
3/4 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 cup garlic-flavored croutons

This amount will use up all the dressing and feeds about 8 people. Feel free to double it for a party or halve it for a smaller group. However, if you're making it for a smaller group (like when I make it for just my husband and me), I'd still make the same amount of dressing so there's leftovers for salads the rest of the week. Enjoy!

Jen's Summer Salad

I love salad...probably an inherited trait from my mom, although she thinks of salad as a meal and I think of it is a side dish. :) I always offer to bring a salad to pot luck occasions because they are a staple and so quick and easy to throw together when we are inevitably running late. On one such occasion, I had planned to grab a Parisian salad kit from Costco, and take that as my dish, but didn't make it to Costco. I had some lettuce and summer fruit in my fridge so I tossed a bunch of stuff together that sounded yummy and it was. It is now a staple salad at our house and gets raving reviews when I take it somewhere. Enjoy!

1 head of Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf or Spinach lettuce, chopped
1 cup fresh sliced strawberries
1 cup fresh sliced grapes or whole blueberries
1/2 cup slivered almonds or halved walnuts, sugar toasted*
1/2 cup feta or gorgonzola cheese (optional)
Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Combine lettuce, strawberries, grapes or blueberries, nuts and cheese in a large salad bowl. Immediately before serving, add dressing to taste. Toss and serve.

*To sugar toast nuts place 1-2 spoonfuls sugar in a small pan and add nuts over top. Let sit over med-low heat until sugar melts, stirring occasionally. Stir nuts to coat with melted sugar. The sugar can burn easily and quickly, so watch carefully.

Pink Lemonade Pie

This couldn't be simpler, and tastes so refreshing when it's hot outside.

1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1/2 to 1 whole can of frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 regular-size container of Cool Whip
red food coloring
fresh strawberries or lemon slices for garnish, optional
additional Cool Whip for garnish, optional

In a large bowl, combine the vanilla ice cream, the thawed lemonade concentrate (use the whole can if you like things lemony), the container Cool Whip, and a few drops of red food coloring (to make the mixture extra pink). Stir until smooth. Spread in pie crust, and freeze 4 hours or until firm (I usually let it freeze overnight). Right before serving, garnish with additional Cool Whip, strawberries, and lemon slices.

Grilled Onion Lemon Salmon

This one of our family favorites at summer events!

1 fillet of salmon
1 cube butter (not margarine)
1 envelope onion soup
1 to 2 cups lemon juice

Combine butter, soup mix and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to about half.

Meanwhile place salmon fillet on Aluminum Foil and fold up the sides to contain the juices. Pour sauce over salmon no more than 30 mintues before grilling.

Preheat the grill to medium high. Place salmon (still in aluminum foil) on the grill and cook for 8-10 minutes. Watch closely because it will cook fast and burn easily. Serve with rice, pasta, potatoes or grilled veggies. Enjoy!

Grilled Corn with Chili Lime Butter

Since summer is officially here, if I feel like cooking at all, I usually do it on the grill. This recipe is so easy and always comes out great.

4 ears sweet corn
3-4 Tbs. butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
zest of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp. cilantro, minced

Prep corn for grill by peeling back husks and removing silks. Be sure to leave the husk on, though, because it will protect the corn while grilling. Preheat grill to medium heat, or you can also do this indoors with a stovetop grill pan. Before grilling, spray grates with no-stick grilling spray (I use Pam for Grilling). Pull husks back up around corn cobs, then grill for 10-15 minutes until slightly charred and cooked through.

While corn is grilling, prepare the chili lime butter. Mash together chili powder, butter, cilantro, and lime zest. When corn is finished, remove husks and spread butter on corn.

You can change this recipe up a million ways--other yummy variations are garlic powder & parmesan cheese or lemon zest, chives, & thyme.