Tuesdays Tip

A good and yummy way to store pineapple is to cut it into bite sized chunks, store them in a plastic or glass container with orange or pineapple juice to cover. The juice will help keep the pineapple fresh longer and if you use OJ, the pineapple will take in some of that flavor! :)

Tomatoes

Are your tomatoes coming in full force? Ours are coming.....but even if we didn't have a garden I love tomatoes and would buy them just to make the following recipes! Salsas.....oven dried tomatoes, sauces, stuffed......YUM! Here is a collection of yummy tomato recipes from great blogs and recipe sites! Add your own if you'd like. :)

Salsa

Garden Fresh Salsa

Great Salsa.com

Stuffed

Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes

Spinach and Ham Stuffed Tomatoes

Tomato Pie

Pasta with Tomatoes and Feta Cheese

Tomato Basil Elephant Ears

Roasted Tomato Soup

Bruschetta

Tomato Cream Sauce

Sauce

Fresh Tomato Pizza Sauce

Fresh Tomato Enchilada Sauce

Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

Grilled Cheddar, Tomato and Bacon Sandwiches

Step by Step on how to can tomatoes

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

They may not look the prettiest but they are yummy! :)

Combine the wet:
3/4 cup apple sauce
1/2 stk soft butter
3/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg 1 egg white

Combine the dry:
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour (or you could use all whole wheat)
1 cup oats (old fashion, rolled)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Add dry to wet slowly. Mix in 12 oz chocolate. Drop 2-3 Tbl size cookies on a sheet. (or whatever size you like) Bake at 350 for 10-14 or until golden and done. (time may vary depending on the size you chose)

The Lunchbox

Is it just me or did the summer just fly by! School started yesterday for alot of the surrounding area. That means.....school lunches. hhmm....it seems to be hit and miss, I loved school lunches when I was a kid, but, I look at some of the things they serve now and think, "no wonder childhood obesity is crazy in this country." When I worked at an elementary a few years ago, I was shocked at some of the things they served.....but here is the real kicker.....I was even more shocked at what the parents sent with the kids!!!! I remember one kid brought two containers of chocolate milk, a PB & J, and a swiss miss EVERYDAY! Another child....a lunchable, two bags of chips, a little debbie, and a soda!!! What is it going to take for us to wake up and stop feeding our precious children junk! (I'm a sucker for junk food too.....but moderation and self control is the key) Ok....taking a breather and stepping down now.....now to the good part. Here are some great ideas for the lunchbox:

Kids love to dip!

How about packing a lunchbox with dips and dippable foods.
*apple slices with almond butter or yogurt.
*carrots, celery, crackers with hummus or a seseme dressing

Bite sized items
*cheese cubes
*cherry tomatoes
*melon
*snap peas
*grapes

Toppings
*top yogurt or cottage cheese with
toasted coconut
seeds
nuts
granola
fruit

Fruits/sweets
*cut a kiwi in half, wrap with plastic wrap and let them scoop out the center with a spoon
*smoothies
*granola
*healthy chocolate chip cookies
*dried fruit

Main dish
*Sandwiches
try using multigrain bagel, flatbread, tortillas, pita
*Pinwheels
roll filling in a tortilla and cut every 1-2 in. secure with a toothpick if needed
*Mini meatballs with rice or pasta

For more ideas:
The Visual
The Healthy Lunchbox
Laptop Lunches

$1 Subs at Jimmy Johns today (Bellevue,NE)

Just got word of this fantastic deal. It's customer appreciation day today at Jimmy Johns (Harlan location: end of 370 and galvin) and you can get $1 subs from 11-3. You have to order inside but thats the only rule! Yummy!

Zucchini

This is my daughter, Claire, holding her zucchini "bat."

Is your garden overflowing with zucchini? Mine is! My zucchini beast, I mean plant, has pretty much taken over a section of my garden. So, here are a plethora of zucchini recipes. Add yours if you'd like.

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini

Zucchini Pizza

Zucchini Carrot Cake

Freezer Zucchini Soup

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

Veggie Tian

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin

Roasted Salmon with Zucchini

Zucchini Lasagna

Zucchini Quesadilla

Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini Cobbler

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Zucchini Breakfast Casserole

Zucchini Cookies

You can even eat the flower from the zucchini plant

Fried Zucchini Flower

Zucchini Flower Taco Recipe

More Zucchini Blossom Recipes

If this is not enough....you can buy a book!!! The Classic Zucchini Cookbook

And of course I could never forget.......the beloved Zucchini Bread Recipe or how about 20!

Aug Meals Month at a glance

I'm planning my meals for the whole month for August. (yes I know, it's the 10th...but I guess I'll have a head start on September) :)

I have a few reasons for doing it this way.
1. We are working on actually staying on budget this month.
2. School starts soon and I want to make the most of this month.
3. I have some house projects that really need to be finished so I want meal time to be easy.
4. I'm working on a few meal planning projects. :) (more to come soon!)

With these reasons in mind I've decided to roll up my sleeves, tie my hair back and make 15 meals that I can freeze. The rest of the meals are somewhat easy to throw together with few ingredients. So, here is the list. I'll add links/pictures to the recipes after we make em. Have a yummy month!

Freezer Meals

Twisted Meatballs
Monterey Chicken Soup
Italian Minestrone
Balsamic Chicken
Chicken Marsala
Feta Burgers
Honey Lime Chicken
Stuffed Flank Steak
Parmesan Garlic Chicken
Pineapple Lemon Chicken
Sausage Penne w/ Tomatoes & Cheese
Border Chicken Enchiladas
Oven BBQ Pork Roast
Stromboli
Twice Baked Potatoes

Frozen Sides

Italian Veggie Medley
Baked Beans
Mashed Potatoes
Rice
Green Chili Rice Bake

Additional Easy Meals (not freezer)

Speghetti
Quesadillas (freezer friendly)
Brats
Pizza Wraps (freezer friendly)
Zucchini Boats
Hippie Burittos (these are already in my freezer)
Breakfast (we'll do this 4 times this month)