Green Bean Glory

Gorgeous green bean plants early on, with not much spacing.

 

There’s nothing fresher than picking for dinner minutes before.

 

 

Two thick rows of green bean plants stretch across my garden, very close to the middle. Every year I vow to plant with keeping ample space in mind and then the idea gets lost….so once again there’s no room between plants, which is okay because they still will produce nice beans. Yet if you are an experienced gardener you’ll know that the space is vital for drying. If you plant too close together it takes much longer to do this. It rained two days ago and yesterday was kind of cloudy so when I ventured out to the patch to pick beans, I couldn’t. They are still wet and we all know that’s taboo to pick when the leaves are wet because it will rust the rest of the beans. Sometimes I’m impatient and end up with rusty beans anyway! Even though there is a lesson to be learned, the beans look healthy when I snap them off the plant.

 

 

 

 

Green rich fibrous beans, just the right size and grown in my backyard! Amazing and how gratifying! I love the fact that you can eat them raw or cooked a bit. At an early age my son Dylan would pick and eat them right from the plant. Just the other day I washed and sent some beauties home with him. They didn’t even last the trip and all Lexie found was an empty plastic bag!

 

 

Right now I’m thick in the green bean season and I share with my son and his girlfriend, friends and family and incorporate them in my menus a few times a week.Tasting them at dinner as a fresh side dish, I’ve learned over the years to hardly cook them so they snap with every bite.  Some ways I use green beans:

The other night I diced potatoes and fried them with onion and garlic. Once the potatoes were cooked, I threw the beans in just to cook for a minute or two. It was delicious!

Who doesn’t love a nice colorful healthy stirfry with fresh garden veggies? In summer I make one with green beans, squash, basil, green pepper, onion,mushrooms and broccoli. I serve it with rice pilaf or spaghetti noodles. It’s delicious!

Throw fresh green beans into a  tossed salad, with beef instead of broccoli or sautéed with olive oil and slivered almonds.

Fresh garden green beans are delicious however you prepare them. If you don’t have a garden, visit your local farmer’s market and support local growers.Now is the time to frequent these markets and veggie stands while fresh organic grown food awaits! It’s important we all do that instead of buying all our produce at a chain supermarket.

 

 

All My Best,

Heart and Soul

Plenty of Summer Squash And A Few Recipe Ideas

 

This mornings picking. I realize the big ones went a little too long but will be good for stuffed squash.

 

 

 

One of my favorite summer morning activities is rising bright and early to watch my garden thrive beyond its bordered fence. The squash leaves strut with glory  and keep growing ,as bees dance from blossom to blossom. While the busy humming bees travel busily, the majestic gold sun warms my skin. As a young child I feared their presence, now I carry a stark opposite reaction. The gardener in me thanks God for bees and how they help my plants. Sometimes I crouch weeding or tending to a plant while a morning fog encloses me and I feel like I’m immersed in a cloud. It’s just me and the bees in this small patch.

 

 

Yesterday afternoon it was much too hot and steamy to be in the garden but there I was in capris and a tank top, tolerating it so I could pick. With a big mixing bowl and little herb snipping scissors I began in the squashes. Six strong summer squashes take most of the space as butternut squash  vines intertwine among them.  Mmmmm…bright  yellow veggies are ready to pick and entice my appetite for dinner later. I noticed some have a bumpy skin with a curled shape, must be a crookneck variety. Others have smooth flesh with stems just ready to snip.

Sunlit leaves growing with grace.

A garden grown with love and a lot of hope.

 

 

 

 

A beautiful sight of the squash sisters

 

 

Every year when the garden starts its grand performance, it’s time to plan dishes to use all these fresh veggies. One great resource that I use that never fails is Pinterest. If you haven’t experienced this site before, I highly recommend it. At first it’s overwhelming and as you scan through the pages, pictures are everywhere of all different things. It’s a nightmare for ADD tendencies, but if you stick with it and learn it, it’s a valuable search engine for garden veggies dishes. In this case I would type in summer squash recipes and hundreds would pop up.

 

 

 

One of our favorite summer squash dishes is frying it. Simply slice the squash in rounds. Dredge with flour, dip in beaten egg, and then panko bread crumbs. I use plain or Italian, both are really tasty! Heat canola oil in frypan and place squash rounds in. Fry for a few minutes on each side so that they are golden brown. Once fried, place on plate with paper towels to soak up extra grease. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and fresh Basil from the garden. This is a great side dish with anything, fish, chicken, even seafood.

 

Another delicious idea to use that summer squash surplus is a casserole. Slice squash in rounds. ( You can use just summer or mix it up with zucchini or even both with fresh tomatoes for a unique taste) sliced Vidalia sweet onion and layer with the squash. Make a cheese sauce and pour over. Top with crushed ritz crackers and a dot with a few tabs of butter.

 

My husband loves it when I stuff summer squash or zucchini. There are many different ways to do this. One way is to hollow out the squash and set aside. Prepare stuffing and add cooked crumbled sausage. Fill the squash boat, top with cherry tomatoes and sprinkle cheddar cheese atop. Bake 350 F for about 20 minutes or so.

 

With all my extra squash I’ve decided to start a new project, Pay it forward Veggies. It involves a small rickety table placed in our front yard, adorned with deep yellow squash and a simple cardboard sign saying, Free squash! Please pay it forward! Every time I pick I’ll choose a few for the table and help others complete their meals and maybe spread a little kindness in doing so.

All My Best,

Heart and Soul ❤️

Your Best Friend, the Crockpot

Its easy and quick and with a little morning or evening prep time, your crockpot can be your best friend . Basically it involves planning, prep time and it finishes the rest of the job for you. If you browse the Internet or Pinterest, you will discover hundreds of possible recipes to make for your family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In our little corner of the world, summer is upon us. Not only do I love cooking with the outside grill but use the trusty crockpot too. This way dinner cooks for you and you don’t heat your kitchen up as much by putting the oven on. Crockpot cooking is useful any time of the year!

 

 

Did you know that you can not only cook but bake a cake in your trusty crockpot? Yesterday I happened to stumble upon a chocolate peanut butter cake on Facebook. I apologize for no picture…it was so good we didn’t stop to snap a photo! The ingredients are simple,

Mix the following ingredients.

yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup water

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup butter, softened

Once it’s smooth and creamy, take 2/3 cup batter and drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Grease crockpot. Put yellow batter in, followed by chocolate batter.

This recipe says to cook on high for four hours. My crockpot cooked it on high for two. You may have to experiment to see.

Next cool cake. While cooling, make frosting

3 Tbsp butter, softened

3 Tbsp milk,( I recently found out that I’m lactose intolerant. I substituted milk with almond milk and it turned out well. My husband and son couldn’t even tell the difference.

1 cup powdered sugar

Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, optional to top the frosting. I skipped this step and it was even wonderful without it.

Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, to drizzle over frosting

Blend ingredients for frosting. Spread upon cake. Drizzle chocolate syrup.

This was a quick weekly night dessert. I found no need to pop the cake out into a serving platter. I simply sliced the cake out of the pot and served.

 

Although we love cold summer desserts such as fresh fruit salad and ice cream, our family relishes in cake as well.This recipe met favorable reviews and the best part was that I didn’t need to heat up our kitchen. It’s been about 70 to 80 here so I limit my baking when it’s hot. Try it one night, you’ll be surprised at the great results!

 

 

All My Best,

Heart and Soul ❤️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Family Favorite: The Sandwich Maker

                Do you own a sandwich maker and use it frequently?

 

Proctor Silex sandwich Maker

 

A couple of years ago my husband and I bought a little sandwich maker. The first one we owned was a waffle and sandwich maker. There were different plates you snapped in and it was convenient to wash. Now we own a Proctor Silex, a gift from a coworker.

 

 

We started out making grilled cheese sandwiches and evolved into making deluxe sandwiches with soft muenster cheese, baked ham, turkey or even hard salami nestled in bakery bread with tomatoes, avocado or onion slices.

 

I brought my maker to school to share with my coworker. We would have outside recess on frigid winter days and come in to have lunch. It was a comfort to cook our sandwiches as the delicious aroma filled our room and snaked down the hall. Teachers and students all loved the smell!

 

 

 

 

It’s a great lunch tool for making it delicious when you have company or warm and toasty when weather is frigid and unforgiving. Even though its perfect for winter, we cook sandwiches any time of the year, winter, spring, and even summer. My oldest son uses it when he comes home for lunch.

 

 

Sandwich suggestions

 

Turkey and cheese
Virginia baked ham with cheese
Hard salami with cheese
Roast beef
Bakery bread,must if, ciabatta, pumpernickel, rye, wheat

Veggies to try in your sandwich

Tomatoes (garden ones are the best)
Avocado slices
Onions
Cucumber slices
Green pepper slices

Cheeses to try

American cheese ( I buy mine from the local deli, if you buy the pre-packaged cheese it’s artificial)
Muenster cheese
Provolone
Cheddar
Havarti ( a very rich creamy cheese)
Swiss cheese

Meats to try

Baked ham
Roast turkey
Roast beef
Hard Salami
Corned beef

 

 

 

 

Start with your choice of bread.

Butter both sides. ( I don’t always do this, but it’s pretty flavorful) I used bakery wheat bread for this sandwich.
Line bread with cheese first, followed by meat slices, veggies in top. This particular sandwich had sliced red peppers.

Place in preheated sandwich maker. Cook 2-3 minutes, depending on how toasted you want it. This sandwich is a little puffy but once you place the lid down, it does cook

 

It’s hot when coming out, use a small spatula or knife to slide on to plate.

Unplug cooker, you are done.

 

 

 

Now enjoy that fabulous cooked sandwich!

It cleans up nicely. Sometimes the plates click out to wash in the sink. The newest one I have you simply wash the inside plates without taking them out and then towel dry.

 

I suggest to unplug after use and keep on counter to cool off. Then put away in its storage place. I keep mine on a corner cabinet shelf in my kitchen, next to my crockpot.

Crockpot Nights

 

 

 

 

 

Calling all busy occupied moms…have you discovered the trusty crockpot and it’s conveniences? If not, you will want to read this!

Fleeting memories of a steamy brown little crockpot in a kitchen with metal yellow chairs and vinyl pads brings me back to 1980, when my mom used this cooking method when she was working all day at our little family store. Even back in the 80’s women used their trusty crockpot. This metal contraption with a glass lid made life easy and still does years later after its invention.

 

 

 

 

Simply prep the food the morning of and even better the night before. Spoon all the ingredients into the cooker, plug it in, turn it on low and rely on it’s powers that seven to eight hours later, dinner is done! Voila!

 

 

 

 

What I love about crockpot nights is the freedom to do things past four thirty, the usual meal preparation time. With our meal simmering, delicious smells hover over the kitchen and waft pleasantly into the rest of the house. I can use this time in various ways, catch up on lingering laundry, go for a walk in our yard or write in my blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have gotten into a routine of having crockpot meals once or twice a week and a lot on weekends. Lately I’ve discovered that cooking in a crockpot on a Saturday or Sunday is the perfect way to prepare supper, especially if I’m visiting family or friends. In the past, when I visited or went shopping, the dreaded curfew of four or four thirty in the afternoon hung over me and affected my visit. But a simmering meal working in my crockpot does the work for me!

 

 

 

 

 

This fine Sunday morning I prepped:

1 pound steak tips or nice underblade roast beef

1 packet of Lipton onion soup mix

2 cups of water

sliced onion quarters

6 carrots sliced

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add all ingredients in the pot. I put it in at 10:00 on a low setting and it would be done by 4 or 4:30. I roasted potatoes in the oven, but many times I add the potatoes to the mixture. To complement the meal, I served ciabatta rolls from the supermarket bakery. Those rolls you bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, creating a fresh baked crunchy edge and soft bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Great Crockpot Ideas

 

 

 

 

Other great easy  crockpot meals are chicken and either cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken and added carrots, potatoes or green beans. A tender corned beef with carrots and potatoes and pickling spice is simply delicious and so easy to do in the crockpot. ( We don’t use cabbage because we really don’t like it, but if you do like it, that goes with corned beef too.)

 

 

 

 

 

I have made simple chili in the cooker, as well as baked beans. Any type of stews, such as beef stew cooks wonderfully in it.

 

 

 

Whatever you choose, make sure you have all the ingredients and the time to prep it. If mornings don’t work for you, prep everything the night before and place it in the fridge. In the morning simply take out, scoop into the cooker and you’ll come home to a delicious aroma and meal waiting for you! Enjoy!

 

 

 

All my Best,

Heart and Soul ❤️