Labor Day Weekend Barbecue

When Summer has whacked your wallet!

Budget Friendly, Crowd Pleasing

Rosemary Chicken Kabobs

http://coastalpines.blogspot.com/2011/04/rosemarychicken-kabobs-recipe-swaps.html

BLT Pasta Salad

Best Ever Sausage, Peppers & Onions

Watermelon Cooler

Arizona Brand Watermelon Juice

Vodka (flavored or not)

Crushed Ice

Mint and/or chunked Watermelon (optional for garnish)

There is no recipe here, can be made strong or weak, depending on your taste.  A cheap bottle of vodka and large cans of $.99 cans of Arizona from CVS go a long way with a crowd!

These recipes are cheap-ingredient friendly, with most of it already in your fridge and pantry.

I'm hoping everyone had a lovely summer and enjoy this last official summer weekend before school, sports and Christmas shopping begin (I'm kidding, kind of)!

Happy Labor Day Weekend ~ Thanks for Visiting!

 

Soccer Mom

Soccer starts next weekend.  In addition to our almost 9YO traveling soccer star, the little one starts clinics this year.  In the Mid-Atlantic, we play until Thanksgiving and the weather can vary from hot, humid 90's to snow showers; and we can spend h o u r s on the fields per week. So let's be prepared:

Travel Chair. See below for a future WVU Mountaineer {Cabelas}

A bit indulgent, but how nice would a rocker be on the soccer fields {Cabelas}

Great Insulated cup and dishwasher safe {Cabelas}

Rain protection for the kids {Lands End}

For dads {Lands End}

For Moms {Lands End}

I just threw this in! Cute Ipad cover from {Lands End}

Another Mom option - popover anorak {Lands End} On sale for $19.99 + go through ebates and get an add'l 6% back.

I got this Lilly wrap 2 years ago, love it and so warm.

LL Bean Boots ^ and Wellies v

More reasonable than Hunters and quite serviceable.

Our future Mountaineer :-)

Land's End + LLBean + Cabela's

Invite to Ebates

Are your sports programs beginning again?  What are your tips for traveling and sidelining in comfort?

Thanks for visiting!

Skull Scarves {Fashion Prep for Halloween}

{all photos courtesy of Pinterest}

A fun way to fashion yourself for Halloween!

Whether you are out trick-or-treating with the kids, at a haunted happy hour or hosting your own eerie soiree, why not do it in a fun + funky way?

Skull scarves are worth looking into this far out from Halloween.  From a high-end Alexander McQueen to a budget-friendly Target or Afflication Clothing version.  You can always check out eBay too.  I picked mine (SEE BELOW) up at a surf shop last year.  I received a ton of compliments on it last year.  I almost can’t wait for it to cool down here to start wearing it again….

Almost.

You can also look into some gothic costume jewelry to complete your look.  One of my favorite reality TV personalities, Amy Bruni of Ghost Hunters, has her own line of paranormal jewelry.  You can find it at her online store here: http://www.amybruni.net/store/

You can find skull scarves Here, here and here.

Thanks for visiting!

Local Flounder Packets {recipe swap}

On-hand ingredients + 2 Buck Chuck

Bonus - my boys caught the fish on their 1st charter boat trip :)

Flounder Packets with Lemon, Wine & Capers

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

8-12 thin slices of lemon

3 tablespoons dry white wine (or 2-buck Chuck!)

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Couple of twists of Pepper

4 - 4-6 ounce fresh flounder/fluke fillets

Preheat oven to *400

Combine green onions, parsley and capers in a small bowl.

Whisk lemon juice, wine, and melted butter in a small bowl.

Rinse and pat dry fish fillets.  Give a quick twists of pepper.

Prepare 4-sheets of heavy duty foil.  Start layering ingredients on foil 
squares(folded up so the liquids don’t spill all over), like so:

2-3 lemon slices

Fish fillets

Lemon juice, wine and melted butter mixture

Green onion, parsley and caper mixture

Fold and secure foil packets 
(leaving space above fish for steam to rise).

Bake for 20 minutes.  Let stand for 5-10 minutes.

Serve.  With the rest of the 2-Buck Chuck!

Thanks for visiting!

 

13 Creative Uses for Coffee Filters

Protect China by separating each piece with a coffee filter between each dish before storage

Apply shoe polish to those boots & shoes when you take them out for the upcoming season

Line your potted plants.  Place coffee filters over drainage holes before potting.

Prevent a Popsicle from dripping; just poke a popsicle stick through coffee filter

{all photos courtesy of Pinterest}

Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter

Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave to prevent food from splattering all over

Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome.  Lint-free coffee filters are perfect for this (and cheaper than paper towels..hello Dollar Tree!)

Hold tacos and other greasy foods

Put a few in a plate and put your bacon, cheese sticks, chicken fingers, etc., on them. It soaks out all the grease

Keep in the bathroom, as they make great nick fixers

Put baking soda into a coffee filter, secure and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb odors

Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews

Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage

Do you have any other suggestions, please share?

Thanks for visiting!

Meal Recap, Veggies Sides and 2 Quick Recipes

Despite our national reputation, New Jersey really is the Garden State.  We are relishing the fresh, local produce available right now.  Jersey Tomatoes, corn, bell peppers, blueberries, peaches, the list goes on and on....

Grilled London broil, jersey corn, onion rings and light horseradish sauce with a twist

Horseradish Sauce w/a Twist

1/2 Cup of Prepared Horseradish (I use Gold's Red)

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1/2 Cup of Light Mayo

1 Cup of Light Sour Cream

1 Teaspoon Cayenne (or to taste)

Fresh Ground Pepper (to taste)

Mix all and chill for 30 minutes ~ garnish with another sprinkle of cayenne.  Wonderful paired with grilled beef or perhaps a juicy burger!

Deconstructed Caesar salad with grilled chicken and zucchini

Note:  We've been replacing our normal, starchy sides (potatoes, rice, pasta) with additional vegetables. Like this one...

Sautéed spinach with roasted garlic grapeseed oil and smoked mozzarella tomato blend from Wildtree

Sauteed Spinach

8 Cups freshSpinach (or large bag)

1 Tablespoon EVOO

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning (We used Wildtree)

1/3 Grated Locatelli Cheese (or parmesan/romano)

Saute/Frying pan with Lid

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, when its hot, add spinach.  With tongs, swish (culinary term) spinach around so it all gets coated in EVOO. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and swish again. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 minutes, or until it's all wilted.  Once plated, sprinkle with a dusting of cheese.

Dry rubbed grilled flank steak, Mediterranean pasta salad and corn on the cob

EVOO & Season large trays of fresh vegetables and roast.  You can always serve little pots of Ranch dressing to encourage little ones (or their dads..) to dip!

Thanks for visiting!