Our dinner Monday night came together rather swiftly and was a big hit with the family, so I thought I'd share it here for y'all. And since there's nothing worse than cooking on your stovetop, or even "gasp" turning on the oven, on a hot summer day, we used the brilliant BBQ to do the cooking for us.
BLT Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
Are you a sucker for those food magazines at checkout lines? I sure am, but have been trying really hard to use the ones on my shelf before I bring home any new ones. This recipe is from a 2005 addition of Everday Food magazine from good ole Martha. Since I love BLT sandwiches, this salad looked delicious.
First, let me link you to the original recipe. Then let me tell you how I modified it.
1. When we stayed with Daisy's godparents for an overnight visit last fall they cooked their morning bacon on the BBQ. Just layed it on an old cookie sheet and let the BBQ do the work. Brilliant! Because not only did I not have to use my stovetop or oven, but my house didn't smell like bacon the rest of the day either.
2. Martha, dear Martha. I love you. But you can buy delicious croutons already made for you right at your local grocery store. The only reason to make homemade croutons is if you have extra bread lying around. And don't you know that people with toddlers and ducks nearby never have extra bread lying around. Yup, folks, storebought croutons for us.
3. Since I don't like mayonaise I substituted Miracle Whip in the dressing. And since we never have scallions, I just left those out. The dressing was yummy (especially tossed, gotta do the tossing) but it was a bit tangy with the vinegar and the Miracle Whip. Darin suggested next time just using Miracle Whip. ANd I guess that would save me a trip to the grocery store for buttermilk!
Oh, and those grape tomatoes are a huge hit with the little one in this house. She pops them like real grapes.
4. I served a side of bread with this salad. We love these dark brown rolls you can get at Costco and then wrap individually in tinfoil and freeze. And now I know they warm up on the BBQ just as well as they do in the oven! (One good-sized roll is enough for our little family of 3.)
There's your yummy dinner. Let me know if you make it and how you like it.
Cosmopolitan Jell-O Cups
Feeling rather super-mom-ish on Monday, I even managed to whip up a special dessert for my family. Considering it took all of 5 minutes at naptime isn't much, but having two babies asleep at once is quite a feat around here!
This recipe is in the latest issue of Kraft Food & Family Magazine, which if you don't get, you really should. Having this guy arrive in my mailbox every few months definitely helps with that whole buying magazines at the checkout line issue.
Take a 3oz box of strawberry jello and stir in 1C boiling water. (Guess I did use my stovetop kettle to boil some water for this one.) Instead of stiring in 1C cold water as the package suggests, stir in 1C orange sherbert instead until it melts. Pour into bowls or glasses and chill. Serve with a dollop of cool whip. (I didn't have the fancy kind in a can, so we just dollopped away with the kind in a container.)
I did, however, bust out two wine glasses to pour servings into, making the whole thing seem a bit more festive. I would have used martini glasses, but alas, I don't have a set. They were on my Christmas list this year, and will likely show up again on Birthday and Christmas lists this fall...but until then the wine glasses did just fine.
Daisy's serving was in a nice plastic bowl, which she was just as impressed with.
Immediately after dinner Darin started rummaging through cupboards to see if we had any more strawberry jello. I think it was a hit.
There you go, friends. A nice, easy, summer dinner and dessert. Enjoy!