Flatbread Friday - It's gonna be a thing.

Every now and then I have more than 2 minutes to construct my lunch. Today was one of those days, and oh my, was it glorious. Recently I've had a "thing" for flatbreads. You know, little fancy
pizza-esque creations on a piece of flatbread. Today the lunch gods smiled upon me as I had just the right leftovers to make myself a tasty treat. I had some Flatout flatbreads left in the fridge. I also had some baby kale, leftover steak from the other night, and some goat cheese. I know, I know...what kind of person doesn't eat all of their steak, and more importantly, who doesn't eat all of the goat cheese? Don't worry, neither of those are the norm. Now let's talk sauce. I picked up this delicious roasted pineapple and habanero sauce at Costco a while back. Those Costco sample ladies probably see me coming a mile away now. If I like what I taste, it almost always ends up in my cart. This sauce though -- can't be too mad about it. It goes well on EVERYTHING. Chicken, fish, vegetables, an old shoe, etc.

I toasted the flatbread for about 4 minutes at 350. Took it out of the oven, slapped on some sauce and the rest of the ingredients, and popped it back in for 6 minutes. I probably could've left it in longer either time to get a crisper crust, but by this time I was salivating, so I ate it anyway. And guess what!! I remembered to take pictures this time. Go me.

 

 

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!



Summer Veggie Salad

I have a really bad habit of not living "in the now". Most notably, with seasons. Being from Northeast Ohio, I have had the pleasure of experiencing all of the seasons. The good, the bad, the EXTREMELY humid, the icy-snowy, and everywhere in between. But, when its spring, I can't wait for it to be summer, when its summer I get excited for fall, and so on. This past week I was planning our menu and realized I was thinking of all fall foods. I don't just means soup. I'm a lover of all soups, so I eat soup when it is 100 degrees outside. I mean braised short ribs, beef stew, shepherd's pie, etc. I realized I need to snap out of it. Hello??!! Weren't you dying for summer just three months ago? Its only the beginning of August! So, in trying to sloooow down time and enjoy the days of summer that remain, I vowed to grill more days than not, and take advantage of all the amazing fresh vegetables available now.

On a side note, I got said fresh veggies at the Lucky's Market they just opened near us. What a fabulous grocery store. They had so much local produce, a great meat department where I scored some delish nitrate-free bacon, and a killer beer and wine section. If you've never been, do yourself a favor and dial up your internets to Lucky's Market and see if there is one near you.

Ok .. now back to my veggies... I made this recipe from Cooking Light the other night, and HOLY MOLY it was good. It uses mushrooms, red onion, corn, red bell peppers, zucchini, and yellow squash. I used all of those, but you could switch it up and add or remove whatever you prefer. The thyme in the dressing really stands out, and the light char on the veggies from the grill made them so flavorful. I didn't have Manchego cheese, so I used parmesan. I don't think the two are even remotely related, but it still tasted really good with the dish. I also didn't use the pine nuts. They can be pretty pricey, and the only other thing I used pine nuts for is in pesto. My basil plant died while we were gone for two weeks this summer, so no basil = no pesto = no pine nuts in the heezy.

Also, I'm a notorious carb-a-holic. I'm definitely not on a diet, but I am trying to be more conscience of what I eat. I'm obviously not into the low-carb thing, but if I were forced to call it a "diet", it would be called "Don't eat as many carbs so you can really enjoy the ones you do eat". This recipe is a great option for us folks that were raised thinking you had to eat a meat, veggie, and carb at every meal. Guess what. You don't.
What things do you like to keep in mind when preparing a weekly menu?

Let me know if you if you try this recipe and the variations you make. I'd love to hear how yours turn out.

Love,
Jenn


P.S. In true newb blogger fashion, I forgot to take a picture. The photo in the magazine was obviously better anyway, and believe it or not, mine looked pretty darn close.

Welcome to my blog!

Holy boring blog name, Batman. But hey, I've been putting off starting a blog for over a year and a half because I couldn't think of a good name. I finally decided the world needs to hear my every thought, and how am I supposed to make that happen if I don't start blogging???? I kid. But seriously. I put some feelers out on Facebook to see who would read a blog if I wrote one, and the response was flattering. And then I couldn't think of a good name. You see, this isn't a mommy blog, a lifestyle blog, a food blog, or a fashion blog. I will probably post about all of those things (aside from fashion -- eek!) but its not one singular type of blog. So, my name is Jenn, I like to bake sweets / this blog is sweet (see there?...witty double meaning!) and this is my blog. Welcome!!!! Now, please tell me what you'd like to read my opinion / amateur advice about. Thanks for the support and for stopping by!