Summer Swing

We have been SUMMERING IT UPPPPPP this past week.

We’ve been peepin’ the nest situations around our house.

The gardens are poppin’

The flowers are bloomin’

And I’m overusing apostrophes in a major way here.

I made a new recipe this week and it’s something I’ll definitely be remaking once I have my own garden zucchini and tomatoes. It’s simple! It’s light! It’s zoodles with roasted tomatoes and sausage! If you don’t have a spiralizer, do not worry. If you *do* have a spiralizer but don’t feel like taking the time to use it, do not worry. You could just as easily chippity-chop up the zucchini into slices and roll with it that way.

Zoodles with roasted tomatoes and sausage

-4-5 medium-ish zucchini (I used four but if yours are on the petite size, go with 5), spiralized and gently pressed with a towel to remove excess moisture

-2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved the long way

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-1 package (4 links) sun dried tomato/Italian-ish flavor precooked chicken sausages, sliced

-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

-1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1 cup part skim ricotta cheese

-Crushed red pepper, if desired

Preheat oven to high broil. Toss the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Broil for 3-5 minutes. The goal is for some of the tomatoes to get slightly blistered.

Turn down oven to 425 degrees. Add sliced sausages, return to oven for about 5 minutes. Add zoodles and toss with remaining olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt. Return to the oven for ~10 minutes. Divide into four servings and top with a nice ¼ cup dollop of ricotta, and if you’d like, a sprinkling of crushed red pepper.

A perfect summer meal, minus the use of the raging hot oven, haha! Makes four heaping servings. Per serving: 332 calories, 18 grams carbohydrates (including 4 grams fiber), 20 grams fat, 23 grams protein, 697 mg sodium

Memorial Weekend

If you think I go a little overboard with matching my kids, YOU ARE CORRECT.

We're having a DIY-filled weekend around the house, but I am planning on making our usual Memorial Day dinner of fried chicken strips and triple berry pie (a treat meal- why not?).

In honor of summertime now being unofficially here, I'm recapping ten of my favorite go-to warm weather meals!

Strawberry Chicken Salad

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Shrimp Faux Ceviche

Faux-tato salad

Chicken avocado tomato salad

Cheeseburger Salad Dressing

Shrimp and corn salad with avocado lime dressing

Tilapia tacos

Cowboy Caviar

Shrimp tacos with cabbage corn slaw

Happy summertime planning!

When the pretty meets the tasty

Ahhhh, weekend, when the parenting ratio is a gloriously manageable 1:2.

I started off with a jog with the dog and an iced coffee on the porch (I just mix in a teeny vanilla and liquid stevia and almond milk).

After some home DIY project progress, we hit pause to go out to my in-law’s lake.

Fishing...

Boating (the sissies still haven’t quite mastered an actual thumbs up, lol)...

Contemplating life...

I brought dinner ingredients to make out there. What is it about summertime that makes me want ALL THE COLORFUL PRETTY FOOD? I mean it’s not like I’m eating blah food all winter or anything, but man alive, look at the colors of these tacos. But what is pretty food without deliciousness to back it?

The ingredient list may look long, but really these are simple and the filling can be made up to a day in advance.

Shrimp Tacos

8 tortillas (I used Mission mini street taco tortillas, but I also love basic corn tortillas)

12 oz colossal deveined shrimp, thawed according to package instructions, with tails removed

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 ½ cups purple cabbage, finely chopped

2/3 cup frozen corn, heated to package instructions

1 bell pepper (I used red but it doesn’t matter)

1/3 cup chopped green onion

1/3 cup olive oil mayonnaise

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 lime, halved

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon chili powder

6 oz shredded/crumbled queso fresco

Optional toppings: pico de gallo, sliced avocado, hot sauce

In a large bowl, combine cabbage, green onion, corn, and bell pepper. In a smaller bowl, whisk together mayo, yogurt, half the salt and pepper, all the garlic, smoked paprika, and chili powder, and the juice of half the lime. Stir into veggie mix. You can refrigerate for up to a day.

When ready to eat, heat up a saute pan over high heat. Add olive oil and shrimp. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Let cook ~3-5 minutes per side. Shrimp is done when pink and no longer translucent. Remove from heat, squeeze remaining lime half over. Chop up into more bite-side pieces.

Assemble the tacos by first putting on shrimp, then cabbage mixture, then whatever toppings you'd like!

Makes four servings of two tacos each. With tortillas: 466 calories, 36 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 24 g fat, 25 g protein, 991 mg sodium. If eaten as a salad without tortillas, they are 316 calories, 10 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 21 g fat, 22 g protein, 786 mg sodium