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Strawberry Basil Vodka Lemonade

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On a recent trip to Charleston, SC, (Click here to read about the trip) I was inspired by this mighty fine drink at the Vendue Rooftop Bar. It was the perfect cool and refreshing summer drink. Getting a mixed drink in my opinion is risky! Will to be too strong? Too weak? Will I like the mixture? There’s too much to worry about, so that’s why I usual stick to beer or wine at bars.


Something about this drink called my name. I felt like I was in the Pier One commercial and this drink was secretly saying “Megan, Megan, pick me!” Maybe it was the fun color or the perfect summer night and sipping on a lemonade sounded amazing? Who knows, but I’m glad I ordered it! To read about the other bars and restaurants I went to in Charleston, click here.

Strawberry Basil Vodka Lemonade
 
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Recipe type: Drinks
Ingredients
  • 9 cups water
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 1.5 lbs strawberries, washed and tops cut off
  • Lemonade mix
  • Handful fresh basil leaves
  • Vodka or gin (optional)
Instructions
  1. Cut 1 lb of the strawberries in half.
  2. Pour 1 cup water and sugar in pot and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
  3. Add the cut strawberries (save the rest) and cook until they soften, about 12-15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, add the other 8 cups to a large pitcher and add lemonade mixture. Because the strawberry syrup will be sweet, only fill the lemonade measuring cap to the 1 quart line.
  5. Chill the softened strawberries until cool, to speed it up place in freezer.
  6. Slowly pour the strawberry syrup into the lemonade mixture.
  7. Pour desired amount into a glass, add vodka or gin and 1 fresh basil leaf per glass.

 

Fresh Blueberry Basil Summer Salsa

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Homemade blueberry basil summer salsa is sweet with the perfect amount of kick! Serve with tortilla chips or on top of grilled chicken or fish.


Blueberry picking season is one of my favorites.  I could eat them by the handfuls and I usually do.  As a result, I’ll run out of them before I can make something new with them.  This year I told myself to show some self control and not eat them all up right away! I am so thankful that worked and I was able to make this homemade fresh blueberry basil summer salsa.

Sweet with the perfect amount of kick makes this the perfect happy hour snack on a sunny summer Friday night! This would also be great served on top of grilled chicken and fish. If I can hold off from snacking, I’ll make this again with a dinner dish! To read about what else I made with the blueberries, click here to read about my healthy blueberry and banana oat muffins.


Blueberry Basil Salsa
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • ¼ cup red onion, chopped
  • ½ jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
  • Fresh lime juice to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh basil leaves cut into strips
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
  1. Place blueberries into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
  2. Pour into a serving bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, stir.

 

Veggie pizza bars

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Looking for an easy recipe to bring to your Memorial Day Picnic? Then try these veggie pizza bars. They can be made ahead of time and require no prep work or reheating, so you can enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend! 

Veggie pizza bars


Ingredients 

  • 1 8 oz refrigerated crescent roll package
  • 1 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup grated broccoli
  • 1/4 cup grated cauliflower
  • 1/4 cup grated carrots
  • 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 
  • 1/4 cup chopped scallions 

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent rolls onto a nonstick baking sheet, arranging it into a single layer. Press together the perforations, then using a fork, prick the dough all over. Bake dough for 10 minutes until golden brown, remove from the oven and let cool completely.
  2. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and sour cream. Using a handheld mixer, blend together the ingredients until smooth.
  3. Spread the mixture onto the cooled dough, covering the entire surface.
  4. Sprinkle the grated broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, and scallions. Then place a piece of parchment paper or wax paper on top and lightly press down the veggies.
  5. Cover the baking sheet and refrigerate the bars for minimum of one hour. 
  6. When ready to serve, slice into bars.

Thanksgiving

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I have to admit, Thanksgiving is not one of my favorite Holidays. I’m more of a “let’s skip right to Christmas from Halloween kind of girl”.  My favorite “Thanksgiving” food, is my Nannie’s pasta and meatballs.  But this past weekend I celebrated my first Friendsgiving. Six couples, all friends from college gathered and feasted on a delicious meal. Everyone brought a little of their own traditions, I tried new foods, and was very stuffed by the end of the night. I would like to thank everyone who was there and shared their recipes with me. An especially big thanks to the hosts, who welcomed us all into their home and made a beautiful table arragement!

  

THE MENU

Appetizers

The main event

Dessert

  
 

Mini Cheese Ball Bites

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cup pecans

Steps

  • In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, blue cheese, and dried cranberries until smooth. Dampen hands to prevent sticking and form cream cheese mixture into about 24 tablespoon-sized balls. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours
  • In the meantime, toast the pecans by spreading out on a sheet pan and baking in a preheated 350 degree oven until lightly toasted for 7-10 minutes. Allow pecans to cool and finely chop them
  • Roll chilled cheese balls in  chopped pecans, pressing nuts so that they adhere. Keep cheese balls refrigerated until ready to serve

Cheese Plate

Cheeses

  • Cranberry Chevre
  • Gruyere Cheese
  • Double Cream Brie
  • Wisconsin Extra Sharp Cheddar

Crackers

  • Pita Bite Crackers
  • Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps

Additions

  • Sweet and Spicy Pecans
  • Dried Apricots
  • Greek Olive Medley
  • Grapes Red and Green

  

Gourmet Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients 

  • 5 sweet potatoes-cooked, peeled, and mashed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Set aside
  2. In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla, ground cinnamon, sugar, and cream. Pour into prepared baking dish
  3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, and brown sugar. Mix together with a pastry blender or fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over potatoes
  4. Bake for 30 minutes

 

I made the roasted butternut squash side dish. I doubled the recipe listed above, minus the feta cheese. My husband by mistake added the crushed pecans to this dish, instead of the pie! Oh well, it had a little extra crunch!

  

Honey Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries

 Ingredients

  • 2 large butternut squash, peeled, and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste
  • 4 cups fresh cranberries
  • 3 tablespoon honey
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Fresh parsley

Steps

  1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, lightly spray a baking sheet, set aside. I used two, since I doubled the recipe
  2. Add cubed squash to the sheet along with a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with a light layer of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
  3. Roast for 25 minutes. At 25 minute mark pull out the oven rack and add your fresh cranberries. Return to oven for 10-15 minutes, until the cranberries have started to soften and burst
  4. Remove from oven and add a sprinkle of cinnamon and honey. Garnish with fresh parsley

Cranberries seemed to be a theme throughout almost all the dishes. They are a great way to sweeten up a dish and give a nice pop of  color!

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Cranberries

Ingredients

  • 1/4 lb bacon, diced
  • 2 medium shallots
  • 2 lbs Brussel sprouts, halved
  • 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Steps

  1. Cook bacon until crispy, remove from pan, but leave fat
  2. Add shallots and cook until brown, add Brussel sprouts
  3. Sprinkle in brown sugar, saute until tender
  4. Add cranberries and remove from heat after 1 minute
  5. Transfer to baking dish and drizzle honey, toss to coat. Bake in oven for 10 minutes prior to serving

See above for the link for the cornbread recipe. There’s just something about homemade cornbread, that’s much, much better than the boxed kind. Plus this cranberry honey butter is amazing!

  

Dried Cranberry Honey Butter

Ingredients

  • 1 stick of butter, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup cranberries, chopped

Steps

  1. Add butter, honey and cranberries to a mixing bowl
  2. With a speed mixer, whip items together until smooth
  3. Serve along side cornbread

  
  

 

Father’s Day Lunch

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What a beautiful day it ended up being for Father’s Day! Just like Mother’s Day Brunch, my husband and I hosted our families to celebrate our dads! This time we had 9 guests: my parents, two brothers, grandparents, uncle, and my mother and father in-law! Unfortunately, the early afternoon was super humid, so we all stayed inside, but it ended up working out nicely. We fit some extra chairs around our kitchen table and set the food up like a buffet.  Everyone served themselves! Here’s the menu.

Appetizers

  • Greek dip – This was a big hit!
  • Pineapple salsa
  • Pepperoni and broccoli bread- My Nannie makes the best stuffed bread! I’ve never attempted to make broccoli bread before, but I can make pepperoni bread. Of course, it never comes out as good as hers!

Pepperoni Bread

Ingredients 

  • Store-prepared pizza dough
  • 1 package of thinly sliced pepperoni
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. Roll out dough on a sprayed cookie sheet
  3. When preparing, deal with the dough in thirds. Lay sliced pepperoni and cheese down on the top 1/3 of the dough, leaving enough dough to fold over the pepperoni and cheese
  4. Roll dough over the pepperoni and cheese and top with another layer. Now fold over the remaining dough on top of the second layer. Tuck excess dough in to seal pepperoni and cheese inside
  5. Bake for 30 minutes

 

 

Main dish

  • Pulled pork – My amazing hubby got up at 5:30 a.m. to put this in the crock pot! What a keeper!
  • Cornbread
  • Baked beans
  • Coleslaw – I was going to make the McCarrick Family Coleslaw (It’s amazing, my family loves it!), but my mom offered to buy coleslaw from a local restaurant-Shady Glen. When someone offers to bring you coleslaw from there, you don’t say no!
  • Baked squash and zucchini – We originally planned to grill them, but since it was supposed to rain, we decided to cook them in the oven.
    • For the veggies, we sliced them about an inch thick, layed them on a baking dish, drizzeled them with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and baked at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

 

Dessert

 

  
I love when our families get together. We had a great day and some delicious food!

Friday summer BBQ

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Last Friday night we had friends over after work for dinner. It was a perfect summer night to sit out on the deck and grill. The menu incorporated a lot of items I made the week earlier using ingredients from my CSA. I didn’t mind re-using the same recipes because I was familiar with them and knew they would turn out great!

  
 The menu included:

   

We planned to cook more chicken than needed. Being half Italian, I think my biggest worry is running out of food, so I always cook more than needed. In this case we had four left over chicken pieces and pasta salad, which was perfect to re-heat Sunday night for dinner. After a busy weekend traveling and getting home late Sunday night, dinner was hassle free!
We also had two left over ears of corn. Instead of reheating them, I cut them off the husk and made a black bean and corn salad to serve later in the week with tacos. There’s nothing like fresh corn! For those Master Chef fans out there, who else can’t believe the guy last week used canned corn over fresh corn!?!? What was he thinking?! I fully supported the judges decision to send him home!

Good company and good food!