EASY Summer Cucumber Salad

So lets not talk about how long it's been since I've actually posted? Hmmm. February..maybe:) Any who moving on...last weekend we took a trip to our locale farmers market where we picked up all sorts of lovely's! One being a pretty little basket of heirloom tomatoes and a few cucumbers and an onion. All these tasty little items added up to be the perfect summer salad! I know that there are a ton of recipes out there for summer salad, but here's the one that I came up with! Kind of a little combination of other recipes that I had found, thrown in with the sad fact that I don't have a lot spices and such around the house so my recipe would have to be simple! So if your like me and have a lack of ingredients in your pantry this will be perfect for you:)

Summer Salad:
Ingredients:
Cucumbers (as many as you will need to feed your family)
1 white onion
Tomatoes (I used cherry but any kind will work) 
White Vinager
Dill Weed (you could also use basil or such if you don't have dill, I've already done this and it still taste great!)

Slice cucumber, I like mine pretty thin. Chop up onion. Slice tomatoes. Place all ingredients in bowl and mix. Pour in vinegar to taste, I usually use around 1/4 of a cup but it just depends on the amount of salad you have and how much you like vinegar:) Sprinkle with dill to taste. Store in fridge

Sometimes I will make mine in advance so the cucumbers have time to soak up the vinegar. However, most of the time I don't remember/ don't plan in advance and it still taste just as good eating it 5 minutes after you make it:) Keep in fridge, the leftovers are great!

Yummy Sweet Potatoes, Apples, and Peaches

Even though it is scorching 96 degrees here today on the first day of fall. I've still been loving all of the warm comfort foods that come along with the season. The first is a very simple and very yummy, if I do say so myself, apple and sweet potato bake. I didn't really follow a recipe to share with you guys, but it's pretty easy to mix up. I mixed orange juice (approx. 1/4 cup), brown sugar,cinnamon, and a tad of flour and salt. I then poured it over the already boiled sweet potatoes and apples and baked for 15 minutes or so. This is one of those recipes that you don't have to be exact with as it will still turn out great!
P.S Sorry for the horrible picture it had already gotten dark outside when I took this:(

 

 The second little baked dish I made included some yummy peaches, granola, and honey. It's very simple I promise! Cut up a peach and place it in a baking dish, pour over your granola and honey, then cover and bake until the peaches are tender! You can also do this in the microwave but I have found that this seems to turn out better in the oven:)

Honey Oatmeal Bread

this pic makes it look like I used more butter than I actually did..LOL:)

To fulfill one of my "4 goals," which was to eat something different, I baked a loaf of delicious oatmeal bread. I have to say that this was way easier than I ever could have imagined!! And...considering this was my first loaf of bread that I have ever baked, it was very tasty, if I do say so myself!! The only thing I should have done, that I didn't, was kneed the bread! Hence why it looks a little on the uneven lumpy side....oh well:)

**Added**Here's a link to the recipe, sorry I didn't include it with the original post:)
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/oatmeal-whole-wheat-quick-bread/Detail.aspx


Here are some pictures to prove to my husband that I actually did make it myself:)

yummy honey!!

Homemade Baby Food: Batch Two Pretty Peas

Since my butternut squash was such a cinch and turned out much better than expected I moved onto peas! Peas were super easy! I purchased a bag of frozen organic peas, so that meant all that was left to do was steam and puree! When finished they were so bright and beautiful, they did not have that typical brown tinge that I find that so many of the store bought peas have. They were also very tasty, I'm not a big pea fan and I loved them and so did my daughter! I was very nervous about introducing peas as I wasn't sure that she would really enjoy them, but after I saw how beautiful the peas had turned out I knew they would be a hit!

Homemade Baby Food: Batch One Butternut Squash + Photo Tutorial

After reading many books and discussing options with my doctor I have decided to create my own baby food. This was such a big decision to due the fact that I can not cook!! I will be the first to admit my non-existent cooking skills but I'm pretty sure that it stems from the fact that I truly dislike cooking and I suppose it's hard to be good at something that you hate:) I really enjoying eating however I tell everyone that if I were to win the lottery the first thing I would do would be to hire a personal chef! Forget a nice car, I want good food:)

Anyhoo I went out and purchased a steamer which I figured would be my best bet as far as cooking the food, as it is pretty much plug and play......all you are required to do is add water and set the timer! The following is a picture process of how I prepared my first batch of baby food...which went surprisingly VERY well and My daughter has already enjoyed many servings!

Step 1: Cut squash into large chunks( i hate the word chunks, I'll think of something better later) and hull out the seeds. Do not worry if you miss a few seeds or if you can not remove all the stringiness as this is much easier to remove after it has been steamed:) Also there is no need to remove the skin/shell before steaming as once you have steamed the squash you will scoop the meat out of the shell and into the blender, it's very easy I promise!

Step 2: Once you have steamed your squash, according to the time set by your particular steamer, take a fork and make sure you can easily poke/push all the way through the squash. If the fork easily pushes all the way through than your done steaming and your ready to scoop and blend.

Step 3: Scoop squash meat out of it's shell and into your blender or food processor which ever you prefer:) Make sure you remove and discard the excess seeds that you may have missed. You will need extra water for blending so for this you can use the excess water left in the tray of your steamer, see picture below, this water contains many of the vitamins that may have lost during steaming.

Step 4: Your almost done!! That wasn't so hard was it!! All you have left to do is blend and freeze. Blend until you achieve a very smooth and creamy texture, see picture below. Here's a tip on blending, if it seems as if your blender is churning away yet the squash is not moving than you may need to add more water. I have found that this usually gets things moving. Also with larger foods like squash you will have to scoop and blend a few times as it will usually not all fit into the blender at once.

Step 5: Scoop squash out of blender and into ice trays for freezing, they sell special ice trays just for this purpose that are bpa free and safe for baby food, I have since purchased these. They are also nice for freezing breast milk as they come with airtight lids! Once frozen, approx. 12-14 hours simply pop the food cubes out of there trays and store in freezer bags. Make sure to date and label your bag, most say it will stay good for up to 3 months but I always think the sooner the better:)

To Serve: When serving the food I typically thaw each cube in the microwave for approx. 30 seconds. Always be sure to mix thoroughly to avoid hot spots. You can also thaw in the refrigerator for approx. 4 hours.

Fun Side Note: I purchased this organic butternut squash for approx. $5.50 and it made 36 servings, how wonderful is that! It's yummy, beautiful, healthy, and inexpensive!

Yummy Goat Cheese Omelette's

This Saturday morning has me thinking about a local restaurant that me and my husband recently discovered, it serves some of the best omelette's that I have seriously ever tasted! My favorite being the goat cheese omelet with mushrooms. I don't know if you have ever tried goat cheese but if you haven't you definitely should, it is pure creamy cheesy goodness. After falling in love with these omelette's we soon began creating our own goat cheese and mushroom omelette's at home, I highly recommend creating one of your own! If your like me and can't flip an omelet with out completely destroying it, that's okay, because seriously it all taste the same even when it's all mixed together into a scrambled egg mess...Yum!

Photo Via Here