Okay, it's not really a surprise. Is anybody reading this who is NOT friends with me on Facebook? If so, here are some recipes. If not, here are those recipes I already posted.
Tonight, we thought about ordering pizza, but...well, that is always problematic. Justice and I can't eat cheese, and Kaia will only eat plain cheese pizza, with not much sauce...oh, and Hallie likes extra sauce... Besides which, I had some things in the fridge that needed to be cooked before they went bad so, as attractive as Shane's offer to call the local pizza man might have sounded (it did sound attractive, considering that the thermometers around here hit 105 today, and I was not looking forward to slaving over a hot stove), I decided to do the right thing and actually cook dinner for my family.
I had a roll of prepared polenta in the fridge that I had been planning to use, and the expiration date was July 19, so I figured that ought to make the menu; and the cauliflower had been there for a while, but still looked pretty good, so it made the cut, too.
I also had a LOT of eggs, so I started by putting on 6 of those to boil.
Next, I heated a good amount of olive oil in a large skillet. Sliced the polenta into 1/4" thick slices and fried them in the oil, turning once, until they were just barely golden and hot through. I drained them on paper towels and arranged the cooked slices on a serving platter, sprinkled them lightly with ground black pepper and garnished with basil ribbons.
Then, I cleaned out the skillet and heated a bit more olive oil, tossed in about 3-4 cloves minced garlic, turned off the heat and swirled it around in the pan until the garlic was starting to soften, but not brown. Added the fresh cauliflower florets (it was 1 smallish head), a couple of tablespoons of water and a sprinkle of salt, covered the pan and cooked until the cauliflower was just tender. Tossed that on to the platter and topped with a few more ribbons of basil. Done.
By this time, the eggs were done. Hallie doesn't like deviled eggs, so I put aside a couple for her, which she mashed up with a bit of mayonnaise and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. The rest, I deviled. Everybody has their own recipe for this. Mine is very simple. First, run cold water over the hardboiled eggs to cool them. Peel under running water (makes them easier to peel), then slice each egg in half lengthwise. Carefully remove the yolks to a small bowl, and place the whites on a serving dish. In the bowl, mash your egg yolks with mustard and mayonnaise. I use more mustard than mayonnaise, but you can adjust it to suit your taste ~ some people like it more creamy, some less. (Today, I ran out of plain yellow mustard, so I used some lovely whole grain dijon mustard, and it was just fine.) Using a teaspoon, spoon the yolk mixture back into the whites, then sprinkle with paprika. Once, recently, I accidentally sprinkled them with cayenne pepper, instead. Wow! Were those eggs DEVILED!! Actually, we kinda liked them that way, and we'll probably do it again sometime (on purpose) ~ but we decided to stick with the mild paprika this time :)
I think, with the addition of a green salad and a glass of wine, I might have achieved Summer dinner perfection. Nevertheless, for a hot, lazy night, this was not bad at all.
Now, let's see if I can figure out how to add pictures...
And now...dessert!
Today, the kids and I discovered a fantastic no-bake treat. I wish I could remember where I found this recipe originally, but I know I saved it a long time ago because I knew there would be days ahead when we would want a sweet treat that didn't involve heating our sweatbox of a house. It was PERFECT.
Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
* 1 cup butter or margarine, melted
* 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 cup peanut butter
* 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 4 tablespoons peanut butter
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.
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