Bocconcini Roasted Veggie Salad

What I like about summertime is that anything you make can be changed up so easily by just adding in different ingredients. This is especially true with salads. If the price had been right this week I would have added red or yellow peppers and some asparagus.

I liked this salad both warm and once it had cooled.


Pepper Added by Joey - it is veggies so of course he added some

Ingredients
10 cherry tomatoes
1/2 large green pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, cut into chunks
5 bocconcini, halved
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
3 tablespoons minced basil
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

1. In a bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
2. Brush some of the mix onto the veggie pieces.
3. Grill the veggies (in a BBQ basket) until soft but still with a bit of a crunch.
4. Add parmesan and bocconcini to the dressing.
5. Add grilled veggies to the dressing. Stir to combine.

Bocconcini Tomato Skewers

I normally make this as more of a stacked salad but decided to change it up to make an appetizer while we waited for the rest of Joey's birthday dinner to cook.

Pepper Added by Joey - he didn't even look for the pepper




Ingredients
Wooden skewers
Cherry tomatoes
Bocconcini
Red onion - sliced
Balsamic dressing
Olive oil
Basil
Salt and pepper

1. Cut the bocconcini into 3rds and slice red onion.
2. Place bocconcini, tomato and red onion onto skewers (I did 2 of each on each skewer).
3. Once you have as many assembled as you are making place them in a dish.
4. In a small box mix olive oil, balsamic (equal parts), basil, salt and pepper.
5. Pour over skewers. Refrigerate.

Balsamic Rosemary Potatoes

To compliment the Filet Mignon I made for Joey's birthday I wanted to make potatoes. We normally would do a baked potato or scalloped potatoes on the BBQ but I wanted something a bit different. So I tried this. Let me tell you...these smell heavenly when they are baking in your oven.


Pepper Added by Joey - Some - they are potatoes after all

Ingredients
5-6 potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, halved
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 rosemary sprigs
Salt and pepper

1. Wash and cut potatoes into bite sized pieces (I didn't bother peeling them).
2. Add potatoes to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients.
3. Mix to combine and then spread onto a baking sheet.
4. Bake at 375F for 50 minutes, turning once.

Vegetable Pancakes

I decided to try and clean out the fridge. I had a lot of vegetables to use up and I was in the mood for a new way to eat them. I had this recipe in my googlereader for awhile now and thought I would give it a try.

I changed the veggies up a bit but got a bit impatient waiting for the cucumber to "dry" and I think that affected the way that these cooked. I had to bake them in the oven for 20 minutes to get them to be cooked all the way through. I should have known when I could see the liquid collecting at the bottom of the glass bowl.

I really enjoyed them though. They are even really good cold the next day! Next time I think I may even add some corn to them.


Pepper added by Joey - The response to "hey you want to try one of these veggie pancakes" was "ewwwww"

Ingredients
2 cups grated carrots
2 cups grated cucumber
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper
1 cup grated cabbage
1/4 cup bread crumbs
Vegetable oil

1. Take grated cucumber and squeeze out liquid with hands. Put between 2 paper towels and press down. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and allow to sit on a dry piece of paper towel for 15 minutes. Blot again to remove any remaining liquid.
2. Combine carrots, cabbage, cucumber and green onion in a bowl.
3. Add egg, salt, pepper and bread crumbs. Mix to combine.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a pan and spoon 1/4 cup of the shredded vegetable mixture to the pan.
5. Press down with the back of a spoon until round and flat.
6. Allow to cook until brown on one side and then flip and cook the other side.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

I make this often during the summer when we are looking for a quick and easy side dish. I change it up every once in awhile and sometimes add feta, red onions or peppers. Tonight I just added the tomatoes, green onions and cucumber. It is also a great way to use up extra vegetables before they go bad.

Pepper added by Joey - None (again)

Ingredients
2 tomatoes, cubed
1/2 cucumber, cubed
3 green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

1. Mix the tomatoes, cucumber and green onions in a bowl.
2. Add salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and oil.
3. Chill and serve.

Potato Salad

Seriously who doesn't love potato salad? Not this girl that is for sure. I like my potato salad cold so I always make sure I make it far enough in advance so it can sit in the fridge for a few hours to get nice and cold.

Pepper added by Joey - a nice even layer



Ingredients
10 large potatos, peeled and cubed
3 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup relish
1 1/4 cup mayo
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons celery salt
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and pepper

1. Place potatos in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender.
2. Drain and place in the fridge to cool.
3. Mix the relish, mayo, mustard, celery salt, sugar and salt/pepper in a bowl.
4. When potatos are cool add the egg and onion. Pour the dressing overtop and mix.
5. Place back in the fridge and allow to cool for a few hours.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

We had some peppers to use up and since we were already BBQ some pork I thought we could throw some stuffed peppers on the grill. The only problem is that they kept falling over so I had to wrap them in some tinfoil. This kept them upright and the contents intact but it meant we didn't get that charbroiled look.

Pepper added by Joey - After he cut it open he added a tiny bit



Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1/8 cup pine nuts
3 cups long grain rice
2 garlic cloves, minced
Vegetable stock
1 bunch spring onions sliced thinly
1 cup cherry tomatoes , halved
1/4 cup mozzarella , chopped
Handful each of parsley and basil , chopped

1. Heat the oil in a medium pan with a lid and fry the pine nuts until lightly toasted, then add the rice and fry until the grains are glossy.
2. Stir in the garlic, then add the stock (in place of the amount of water required in the directions for the rice)and bring to the boil.
3. Cover and cook according to the rice's directions.
4. Remove from the heat, cool slightly and stir in the spring onions, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh herbs. Season well and leave to cool.
5. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds/membrane.
6. Spoon some filling into the pepper cavity, taking care not to overfill. Place the top back on the pepper.
7. Put onto the BBQ and cook until pepper skin is a soft and a nice brown (unless using the tinfoil method then cook until soft).

Twiced Baked Potato

O.M.G

These potatoes were unreal. So creamy and good. It is completely worth the amount of time it takes to make them (total of 75 minutes in the oven and about 15 minutes of prep).

It can be annoying trying to get the potato "meat" out of the skins without ruining them so I used a small spoon and took out small chunks instead of trying to scoop it all out at once.

Pepper added by Joey - None! (which is a small miracle considering he always puts pepper on potatoes)

Ingredients
2 large baking potatoes
4 slices bacon
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded marble cheese, divided
2 green onions, sliced, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and bake the potatoes for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile cook the bacon in a pan until crisy. Allow to cool and then break into small pieces.
3. When potatoes are done allow to cool for 10 minutes.
4. In a small bowl mix sour cream, milk, butter, salt, peper, half of the cheese and half of the onions.
5. Cut the potatoes down the center lengthwise. Scoop out the "meat" and add to the bowl with the other ingredients.
6. Mix well then mash up.
7. Add the mixture back into the potato skins. Top with the remaining cheese, onions and the bacon.
8. Place back in the over for another 15 minutes.

***Note - simply omit the bacon if you want a vegetarian version.

Nat's Dad's Scalloped Potatoes

Nat's claimed that her dad makes the best scalloped potatoes in the universe. I have to say that we agree. It took only slightly longer than the kind that comes in a box and were fifty bajillion times better.

Pepper added by Joey - 3 shakes of a lambs tail

Ingredients
8 medium potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold), peeled and sliced 1/8th”
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion very thinly sliced
1 tsp butter (softened for the casserole surface)
¼ cup butter, kept hard and cut into very small nuggets (1/4”)
500 ml container of Half & Half Cream (and milk, as required)
ground white pepper (or black pepper, if preferred)
salt

1. Heat the oven to 325F.
2. Use the softened butter to rub the inside of the casserole dish. Also rub with the crushed garlic, ensuring to remove all the garlic and just leave the "flavour" on the dish.
3. Place the potato slices one-by-one in a spiral manner, starting with the outer perimeter, over-lapping them by half. Continue until no complete slices can fit into the middle.
4. Upon each completed layer, sprinkle the very thin onion slices and dot with the hard butter (cut into very small nuggets), then season lightly with the salt and pepper.
** add shredded cheese to each layer if you would like it to be au gratin.
5. Continue these steps for each layer until the dish is full.
6. Pour the cream very slowly all over the mixture and tilt the casserole gently to allow for even distribution.

***The potatoes should be only barely covered by the cream. Too much liquid will make for a soupy consistency; too little, and the top potatoes will get overcooked, dry and chewy.

7. Put the casserole onto a cookie sheet (lined with foil, to avoid a clean-up) and place it into the middle of the oven.
8. Cover and bake until potatoes are tender, about 60-70 minutes.
9. Let stand 5 to 10 minute before serving.

Broccoli Casserole

I make this for most holidays, it's a great side dish.

Pepper added by Joey - tad

Ingredients
3 large head of broccoli (or whatever amount will fit in your dish)
1 can cream of broccoli and cheese soup
Milk
Bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Steam broccoli until al dente
3. Drain any water and place into dish that will go into the oven
4. Add can of soup and 1 can of milk
5. Mix together until all of the broccoli is coated
6. Add a layer of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese to the top
7. Cook in the oven for 30-45 minutes (until it is bubbling and the top has browned)