Amy's Grilled Garden Veggie Salad

Amy's Grilled Garden Veggie Pasta Salad

Prep: 40 Min.
Grill: 10 Min.
Yield: 26 servings (3/4 cup each)

1 lb fusilli or pasta of your choice
2 medium zucchini
2 medium yellow summer squash
1 large red onion, cut into 1/2 in. slices
1 medium red sweet pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 Roma plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup shaved Parmesan cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

Parmesan Vinaigrette:
3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and
rinse in cold water. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini, summer squash, red onion,
and red pepper into 3/4 in. cubes. Sprinkle veggies with oil,
salt, and pepper. Stir to coat evenly. Grill vegetables, covered,
over medium heat for 6-12 minutes or until crisp-tender.
Allow to cool slightly.

3. Add the tomatoes, cheese, parsley, and grilled veggies to
the pasta. In a small bowl, whisk the vinaigrette ingredients.
Pour over salad; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

As a side note, I think I actually grilled the tomatoes with the
other veggies. I also made the dressing first and let it sit, melding
flavors together until the rest was ready.

We made this salad for a dinner party at our house. It was a hit! The recipe makes a HUGE amount though so, a couple nights later we added the left-over grilled chicken to it and had it for our main dish. Delicious!

Freeze Drying Party

A couple friends and I had an idea to make a home freeze-dryer and preserve our own food that way.

So, we had a freeze drying party, of course!!

It was really fun!! We chopped so much fruits and veggies that day!! I did a little of everything from sweet potatoes to onions to strawberries to asparagus. Put it in a cooler with dry ice and ... we got the recipe from the internet. And, well, it did not work :-( So, not to be deterred so easily, we spent the remainder of the week trying this and that, and in the end... no go. :-(

We put the food into the freezer and it is still usable but it is most definitely NOT freeze dried.

We had such a blast doing it though, it was well worth the time, effort, etc. And now I feel like I know a couple awesome ladies better! :-) I am a blessed woman!

HELLO FEBRUARY!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT IS FEBRUARY!!

 Mini Chip LOVES sweet potatoes!
(He looks good in them too, don't ya think! LOL!)

 He and I played with blocks on the floor while the big kids did the big floor puzzle in the other room.

 This Melissa & Doug 4' Human Anatomy floor puzzle is PERFECT for our unit on the human body and it's systems! It's a two sided puzzle. One side is the skeleton and the names of the major bones of the body and the other side is of the circulatory system and the major organs of the body.

The kids love puzzles!
And I do too! :-)

I made this Italian soup for supper. It was super easy and pretty tasty too!

Mr. Cookie is driving home from a jobsite that is 7+/- hrs away.
DRIVE SAFE Mr. Cookie! :-)

So... that is some of what we did on the first day of the new month...
How did you start your month?

Bountiful Baskets and Trying New Stuff

Have you tried some new kind of food lately?

We have! Lots actually!

Since becoming part of Bountiful Baskets here, we have enjoyed trying some new things that we would most likely never have tried otherwise. It is interesting to find out what new thing we might be exposing ourselves to each week we pick up our basket. Things like parsnips, Asian pears, persimmon, collard greens... these would never have hit my dining room table. Some simply because I didn't know about them, some I have eyed up in the grocery store, but honestly, I probably never would have spent the money. We have also learned that we love California oranges right now! I didn't even know oranges  grew anywhere except Florida!

And so, I challenge you to try something new this week. Something that has caught your eye and may be interesting to you! Tell me about what you try. Maybe we will try it too!

Our Week

Monday we took school pictures, carved pumpkins, and roasted seeds.

I know it's hard to believe, but I forgot to take pictures of their finished pumpkins! :-} Butterscotch Chip's has a castle, Oreo's has a funny face with hello in the mouth, and Chocolate Chip's was BOO with a ghost in the second O. They were pretty cute. And the SEEDS, oh my!! Love them! We saved Mini Chips pumpkin and the pie pumpkins to carve later, maybe next week, so we can roast more seeds! LOL! They really are that good! I think the secret is to not rinse them. The pumpkin juices, strings, and pulp give such a nice flavor. Here's my recipe, if you think you don't like roasted pumpkin seeds, I dare you to give this recipe a shot!



Spread the seeds (About 1-1/2 cups) in a single layer on a cookie sheet. (Do not rinse the seeds and it's okay to leave some strings and pulp; they add flavor.)
Drizzle with 1/2 Tablespoon melted butter
Sprinkle with salt or other seasoning
Bake at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes or until the seeds are golden brown. You really want to roast them until they are REALLY crispy, maybe even a little on the darker side, but not burnt.

Tuesday we went on a field trip to Chino Valley. The kids got to experience ear popping while driving up the mountain. The first elevation sign we pointed out was 2000 feet and we had already been driving for a while.
Chino Valley is at 5200 feet.
It was fun to be able to live the lesson, not just teach the lesson. :-)

This is a work trip for Mr. Cookie, so, this is how we often find him. He is the hardest working man I have ever known. He is very thorough, knowledgeable, problem solver, and he has this wisdom about him that is hard to explain. He is truly amazing and I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to accompany him on these trips where the kids and I can learn so much and be able to enjoy more time together too. We are so lucky to have him! And he's SOOO handsome too! I'm a lucky, lucky lady!

You may recall a picture like this one from a previous post. You may or may not know that I have had a thing for crosses since having found Him. This one in particular seems to draw me to it. I think of it often and strangely couldn't wait to see it again. Jim surprised me by pulling off the road on the exit ramp to look at it and take a good photo. He told me that one day he would make me one like it, on a smaller scale, for our yard. He said he used to really like welding and this would give him a project ~ so exciting!

This is the project that he had to visit and what brought him up the mountain.

The thing that brought me and the girls up the mountain was closed ~ very sucky! I was very sad! I really wanted to see my friend from the Old Farmstead. And I really wanted to show the girls the awesome bookstore ~ also closed on Tuesdays. :-(
Instead, we went to a thrift store called Oohlala that we had seen on our way into town. It really looked like a fun place to check out. When we walked in the front door, I couldn't believe it, but that voice was unmistakable! My friend, Natalie, was checking out! Thanks God! Anyway, we had a wonderful visit with her and then had to head home. We stopped for a late supper in Prescott and headed back home. We had to drive separate on the way back because we had to transport another vehicle back. It worked out okay though because Mini Chip and Chocolate Chip fell asleep and The older girls and I laughed ~ ALL the way home!! TeeHee! Still funny too! Something about Beethoven... I think you had to be there!

Wednesday night the girls went to AWANA. It was Calamity Night. The kids dressed up in bandages and slings like they had been hurt in an accident... kind of goofy, but the kids loved it!

Thursday we had well doctor visits for all of the kids. I searched and found a doctor who is willing to do a well baby visit without pestering me about no shots for the little guy. It is a 30 minute drive to get there but we will be using it as a reason to go on a field trip across town every couple of months. :-)

Here are the stats:

Butterscotch Chip - 13 years and 8 months old, 92.4 lbs (21%), 62.2 inches tall (40%), with a BMI of 16.78 (16%).

Oreo - 11 years and 7 months old, 67.7 lbs (7%), 55.1 inches tall (13%), with a BMI of 15.66 (15.8%)

Chocolate Chip - 7 years and 8 months old, 52.9 lbs (43%), 48.8 inches tall (38%), with a BMI of 15.61 (48%)

Mini Chip - 4 months and 19 days old, 16 lbs 12 ozs (71 %), 26 inches long/tall (71%), 17 in. head circumference (81%), and healthy as can be.

Yup! That foot is good! MmmMmm!!  
 :-)

Friday was a normal day, plus catch-up, plus get ready for the Chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat on Saturday. Also, I have decided to try baking Artisan bread (aka French, Italian, etc.). My first batch was started on Thursday and will be ready to eat on Saturday... can't wait!

Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

Mmmm! I love a good soup! Especially one that comes together quickly and tastes great. I got this recipe from another blog. I didn't add the extra basil right off, but I did when it was done for the added flavor. Next time I will just add it from the start.

Here is the link: http://www.mylifeonataffypull.blogspot.com/
From there go to the recipe label and you will find it. She has lots of great recipes on her blog too.