Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

From fortheloveofcooking.net
serves 6-8

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 ripe avocado, diced
2 ears fresh sweet corn
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
3 T vegetable oil
1 T honey
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper

Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes.  The corn shouldhave some brown spots and be tender and not mushy.  Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices.  Set aside and let cool.  Slice the tomatoes in half.  Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro.

Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Set aside.

Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated.  Be careful not to mash the avocados.  Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle.  Enjoy.

Black Bean & Corn Salad

From the Kroger black beans can
Serves 6

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 C lime juice
1 t cumin

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together until well combined. That's it folks, and it's amazingly good.

Pao de Queijo

These are like the little bread/cheese roll things that you can find at the Brazilian restaurants in the area like Tucanos and Rodizio Grill. They're amazing, and once you start eating them, you'll keep eating!

From Our Best Bites
Makes 22-24 mini muffin sized

1 large egg
1/2 C milk
1/4 C canola oil
1 C tapioca flour (no substitutions!!!)
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender an dblend until smooth. Add the cheese and pulse 2 times. The batter will be VERY runny. Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin, filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan. Serve warm as they do not reheat well.
**Notes from Em**
Tapioca flour was kind of a pain for me to find. I looked at all the grocery stores, and eventually found it at a natural foods type store. (Good Earth for those in the area) You CANNOT use any other kind of flour. It won't turn out right at all.

Spinach & Mushroom Calzones

Spinach & Mushroom Calzones

Makes 4 Calzones

1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups spinach leaves
1/4 C red onion, diced
1 package cremini mushrooms
1/4 C ricotta cheese
1 small can of beets, diced
Fresh basil, thinly sliced
1/4 C Zesty Italian Dressing

Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; using a pizza cutter, cut into 4 quarters. Sprinkle garlic, onion and beets evenly over dough rectangles. Drop a few small dollops of Ricotta cheese on top of the onions, garlic, and beets. Top with mushrooms, spinach, and basil. Bring 2 opposite corner to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center pinching all points together to seal. Bake at 425F for 12 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with Italian dressing and serve warm.

**Notes from Em**
This is something that I'm sort of developing on my own, after being inspired by a couple of other recipes. It's kind of a work in progress. We didn't LOVE it as the recipe above is done, but it definitely has potential. You might want to put a creamy marinara or something with it. If I do it again I'll re-post it with its modifications.

Shauna Millet Meatballs

Don't be thrown off by how weird these sound based on the ingredients. They're FANTASTIC little meatballs. My toddler, who is very picky about eating meat, had 8 of them for dinner last night, and 5 more for lunch today. Yes, they're that good.

1 bag frozen meatballs (about 80)
12 oz grape jelly
12 oz chili sauce
1 T lemon juice
1 T brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Spread meatballs in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

While meatballs are in the oven, combine remaining ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil; reduce to simmer.

Remove meatballs from oven and add to sauce. Toss until well coated and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

**Notes from Em**
These are great for wedding and baby shower type snacks. Make them in a crock pot and serve them with toothpicks.

Brie, Rosemary and Garlic Fondue

This recipe comes from Stephanie. I don't know where she got it, but it's AMAZING.

1 cup Chardonnay
2 shallots, minced
Rosemary stem, leaves removed and minced, stem reserved
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 Oz butter
3 Oz Brie, rind removed and cubed into small cubes
1 Oz Parmigiana-Reggiano, shredded

In a medium saucepan, combine the chardonnay, shallots, rosemary stem and minced garlic and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce by 1/3. Whisk in the butter and the Brie and the Parmigiana-Reggiano. Cook until the cheeses are melted. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and add the chopped rosemary (I actually didn't strain it). Transfer to a fondue pot and keep warm on medium heat.

Use fresh baguette slices or chunks of flavorful artisan breads, lightly blanched vegetables, fruit (i.e. green apples and purple seedless grapes), cooked and sliced flavored sausages or chicken.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

This is one of those really yummy appetizer type dinners. It's also a little sketchy on the measurements (like cheese and toppings) cuz those are really up to personal preference. If you make your dough from the recipe linked here, you'll want twice as many toppings. It makes a TON. I'll give you different baking instructions at the bottom for that as well.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

From Our Best Bites

Via The Girl Who Ate Everything

Makes about 24

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough (or make your own)
pizza sauce
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning
Mozzarella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package, usually 400.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12"x8". you're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. You're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough, it's for dipping after. When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully life up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).


Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter and then sprinkle with the garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.


Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Dough's vary so make sure you check them after 10 minutes. Serve with warmed marinara/pizza sauce on the side for dipping.


**Notes from Em**
If you're using the home made pizza crust recipe that I linked, it's going to give you two full pans of these tasty rolls, so be prepared with lots of extra topping supplies, and double the amount of the herb mixture for the top. Let's face it, that stuff is good and you don't want to be stingy with it. I baked them at 425 for 13-15 minutes. Personally I really hate the taste of store-bought pizza doughs. As far as the sauce goes, I've tasted a bunch of brands of pizza sauce and have found Contadina to be the best.

Oven-Roasted Canned Tomatoes

Oven-Roasted Canned Tomatoes

Serves 4-8

2 28 oz cans peeled whole tomatoes, drained, halved, and seeded.
1/2 to 2/3 C extra-virgin olive oil
14 large fresh basil leaves, torn
2 4-inch branches fresh rosemary
1/2 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 300F. Spread out the tomatoes in a large shallow pan (a half-sheet pan is ideal) and sprinkle with other ingredients, turning to coat them with oil. Bake 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours, basting and turning the tomatoes several times. They're done when their color deepens to dark scarlet and they taste mellow and very rich. Don't let them brown, nor allow the garlic to brown -- it'll turn bitter.

Transfer the tomatoes and their oil to a glass or china bowl. Let them mellow at room temperature up to 6 hours. The flavor will ripen in this time.

Refrigerate the tomatoes up to 4 days, or freeze up to 3 months. Serve the tomatoes at room temperature, or tossed with hot pasta.