365 Diner Recovers

So Simple Dinner

Sometimes when it is SO hot, and your life is busy recovering from vacation and what-not, you need a simple dinner. When DaGirlz and I came back from Mackinac Island that was how I felt. Time to whip up something simple that would not heat up the house, and would not tax my brain. The perfect solution?

Grilled Sandwiches!! The classic standby of many mothers, and truly a comfort food to us. Of course, everyone wanted their favorite type....

#1 wanted her's barely grilled and white mozzarella cheese, #2 wanted the House Special - peanut butter and choclate chips, and I went with the classic sharp cheddar. We threw some chips and fruit on the plate and called it dinner! So good..... :0)

Enjoy!

AS

Eating on Vacation....

The 365 Diner Takes a Vacation!

Eating on Mackinac Island

With mandatory practice about to begin for high school athletes, the girls and I thought we would squeeze in one last escape. A couple of quick phone calls to check the availability of our friends, and a room to sleep in and the stuffing began! It started with the decision to try to stuff 3 bikes (along with our bags) in the back of my minivan as we headed out the door to Mackinac Island. We managed to do it, caught the 5 o'clock boat like we hoped, checked into our room and then began the culinary stuffing!

Culinary highlights of our trip included: strawberry cheesecake from the GateHouse, the Asian Chicken salad from Turtle's Soup and Salad, grilled chicken sandwich from Mary's Deli, and the pizza at the Village Inn.

One thing that has remained constant on the Island is the fudge.

There is LOTS of it, and it is everywhere you look. People walk around in a catatonic state from all the fudge they eat.

<------freshly poured fudge cooling

The fudge being cut -------->

Of course, I knew that we could not live on just fudge; so we ate a variety of things and being the good mom I am I made sure that the girls had some fruit as well!

The Diner is Closed for Book Club!

August 2nd, 2011

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Tonight Book Club will be at my house, which mean that The 365 Diner will be closed. (Sorry kids, you'll have to eat somewhere else.)

In order to reprise myself with all of you, I am adding a 365 Diner Breakfast! The kids like muffins, and one of their frequent sleepover friends really likes chocolate chip muffins, so we make these often. I feel like this is also a really good muffin base recipe if you would like to explore other "add-ins". Remember full fat milk yields much better results when baking! If you don't have any in the house - do what I did - I mixed 1/4 cup fat free milk with 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream. These are healthy since there is chocolate in them, I also skipped the corse sugar sprinkled on top - that makes them healthy....right?

Here is the recipe I like:

Chocolate Chip Muffins

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/golden-chocolate-chip-muffins-recipe

Catch of the Day!

August 1st, 2011

Grilled Salmon, Corn on the Cob, Panzanella, and Lemon Jasmati Rice.

It was another beautiful day here in West Michigan, and I was anxious to spend our evening outside. It was a perfect night for Wild Salmon! I could grill it outside so the house wouldn't smell like fish, and it would be yummy! The fresh corn at farmer's market right now is so good, I've been sneaking that in often before it's gone. Also, I've had some leftover french bread that we toasted in the oven just sitting here waiting for garden tomatoes! Tonight I decided it was time and made a pananzella with the leftover bread and fresh tomatoes. It was so good I almost ruined my dinner nibbling at it all afternoon! :0)

Here are the (not true recipes, more of suggestions) recipes I used tonight:

Grilled Salmon - I marinate the salmon (tonight's was a white balsamic basil citrus) and then grill it skin side up at first. Make sure you oil the grill! I think you get better grill marks this way. I threw some lemon slices on top after I flipped it.

Lemon Jasmati Rice - My kids prefer Jasmati or Basmati rice, so that is what we usually have. Tonight, I wanted it to have just a hint of flavor and something light to go with the salmon. As the rice boiled, I threw in several lemon slices to give it just a hint of lemon.

Grilled Corn on the Cob - this is my new favorite way of doing corn! I soak the corn in the husks for several hours. Then I throw them on the grill (indirect heat or top shelf), and let them cook for 30 minutes or so. Once you pull them off the grill, let them sit for a few minutes, then husk. All the corn silk peels away with the husks!

Panzanella - all I can say is YUM. This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh garden tomatoes! There are many different versions, and recipes. It really depends on what you have on hand and what flavors you feel like. As I said earlier, I am on a big fresh corn kick, so ours had fresh corn in it tonight as well. I doubled the amount of balsamic/honey, and added a little bit of mozzarella for protein. I did not refrigerate this, but let it blend on the counter.

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/panzanella-recipe/1/

365 Diner Grills!

For those of you keeping track - no dinner pics from July 30th, as we ate over at my mom's and I forgot to take pics! :0(

July 31st, 2011

Grilled Italian Chicken, Cheesy Julienne Potatoes, Salad, Garden Green Beans, and Grilled Peaches!

So Hubby, Oldest Daughter and I spent most of the morning walking around a HUGE antique fair which is held monthly near our house. It was HOT and we were all ready to jump in the pool for awhile and cool off. Dinner would have to be: early to accommodate everyone's schedule, and be able to be cooked outside! I had some chicken marinating so that would be our meat. It pulled together OK, and it was the perfect day to float and eat outside.

Later my parents and brother stopped by for a quick dip, and I invited them to share dessert with us - Grilled Peaches. They were pretty good, not as great as I had hoped, so they will need some tweaking. Mom thought they were good, and said they tasted like homemade peach pie - minus the crust!

Here are the recipes I used:

Italian Chicken (dump chicken and marinade in Ziploc when freezing - that way it marinates and thaws at the same time!)

http://www.food.com/recipe/grilled-italian-chicken-breasts-227912

Green Beans - fresh green beans canned in a pressure canner.

Salad - romaine lettuce, garden tomatoes (thanks Jen H. and Mom!), cheddar cheese, blueberries, almonds, and Asian sesame dressing.

Cheesy Julienne Potatoes - I "cheated" and used a boxed dish that was leftover from camping. Made in a cast iron skillet with lid over the outside burner.

Grilled Peaches - I used this recipe, although at first I mixed them with balsamic vinegar and honey. Then I added some brown sugar to the tops as they grilled on the final side. This recipe still needs a "little something" more, but I am not sure what yet. Worth trying though!

Enjoy!

AS

365 Diner Picnic

July 29th, 2011

Picnic Pops!

Each year, we head to our local ski hill on Friday nights in July to listen to the Grand Rapids Symphony. Friday night's dinner consisted of sandwiches, chips, pop and beer! Low key but oh so tasty!

Hubby (ever the meat eater) was not interested in going meatless again, so his sandwich was turkey (lots o' turkey!), bacon, provolone, super yummy garden tomato, and mayo.

I decided to go meatless again and had a great sandwich made with grilled portobello mushroom caps, fresh mozzarella, a couple of slices of a garden tomato, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It was super good!

We polished off the sandwiches, chips, and drinks before we knew it - they were that good. The music was pirate based for the 1st half and a Beach Boys tribute group for the 2nd half.

Enjoy!

AS

Really July 28th!

(not sure how yesterday's post got named the 28th...)

July 28th, 2011

Fettuccine Alfredo, Salad, Garlic Rolls

I have been trying to focus on having a "Meatless Monday" each week, but with our schedules that doesn't often happen on Monday! :0)

This week, we had Meatless Monday on Thursday. I made Fettuccine Alfredo, garlic rolls and snuck a salad in to make it a little healthy! We also had watermelon, but that was on a separate platter at the time of the photo. (Sometimes I am not very organized!)

I find that Fettuccine Alfredo is quick and easy to make, and all but one of the picky eaters at my house will eat it. Here are the recipes I used:

Fettuccine Alfredo (purchased the pasta, haven't tried making my own - yet!)

(I leave out the parsley - throw back to the "what's that green stuff" years)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/fettuccine-alfredo-v/detail.aspx

Garlic Pull Aparts (make your own dough - it is SO worth it!)

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/11/wedneday-baking-pull-apart-garlic-bread/

Salad - no recipe, but tonight's was romaine lettuce, chopped tomato, sharp cheddar cheese, blueberries, and sliced almonds. (We're trying to eat the rainbow!)