Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Weekend in Review

I am completely in love with summer. Everything is more alive when the days are longer. There's nothing better than sleeping in, spending the day by the pool with my favorite boy and having a few drinks on the porch in the shade. August weekends are full of lazy relaxation and happiness. I completely recharge so I can be productive once again on Monday.

One thing no one wants to do when its hot outside is spend a lot of time in the kitchen. As much as I love to bake and try out new recipes, I just can't do it for hours at a time when its 100 degrees outside. Plus, why waste time inside, when you can be outside enjoying yourself? But a girl's gotta eat! So I managed to have a weekend of tasty meals without spending too much time with the oven on.

Summer Crisp Salad

This salad is crunchy and light. Easily prepared in about 10 minutes, its perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. I used Romaine lettuce, mini cucumbers, Gala apples, Feta cheese, chopped walnuts and Bolthouse's Raspberry Merlot Vinaigrette. 

Polenta with Marinara

Use pre-cooked polenta sliced into strips to create a fun appetizer or light meal. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan on medium high, season polenta with Italian seasoning and cook on each side until crispy. Serve with marinara sauce. 

Sweet & Sunny Breakfast Bowl

Top instant or quick cooking brown rice cereal with a chopped banana, walnuts and honey for a filling and nutritious start for the day. This filled me up for hours and almost felt like dessert for breakfast!

Margherita Pizza

I used a pre-made frozen pizza dough (Gillian's Foods) for this amazing gluten free pizza. Roll out the dough, top with marinara, fresh mozzarella and basil and bake according to directions on package. This is by far the best gluten free pizza I've had to date! It's nice to have it fresh from the oven!

Rice Chex Treats

Of course there has to be dessert! These treats are made by melting one stick of butter in a large saucepan. Add one package of Jet Puff marshmallows (regular or mini), one TBS vanilla extract and melt. Once melted, remove the pan from heat and stir in an 8oz box of Rice Chex. Pour the mix into a greased 13x9 pan, press down (with greased hands!) and let cool before cutting. You'll want to have a couple of people around to share these with, or you will surely eat the entire pan!!

2 comments:

  1. Everything looks so yummy! I loved the chex mix treats, what a great snack.

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  2. looks like tasty weekend of food, i agree with the last post the chex treat looks so yummy

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