Grilled Corn Salad

Nothing beats summer corn.  Nothing.  And there's no better way to prepare it than by grilling!  (Plus then, the hubs is in charge of cooking, haha!)

Here's a little grilled corn salad I whipped up.  Packed with protein and taste, it doesn't get any better than this!

Grilled Corn Salad

4 ears of corn, soaked in water for 20 minutes and grilled
1/2 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
6-8 oz shelled frozen edamame
1 ripe avocado
2 tbsp honey
juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

With a sharp knife, cut the corn off of the cob into a bowl.  Cook edamame according to package instructions and add to salad.  Slice avocado into 1/2 inch pieces and add.  Add tomatoes.

In a separate bowl, whisk water, lemon juice, and honey.  Pour over salad and mix.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

So YUM!

Zucchini Bites

Wow!  Yesterday's post about my spinach ricotta pinwheels got a ton of views!  Seems like I'm not the only one searching to ways to get my toddler to eat veggies, so...

Here's another winner!  I got this recipe from the April/May 2012 issue of Kiwi magazine, submitted by the blog author, Kelsey Banfield. Since I can't seem to just follow a recipe exactly, I'll write in italics what I modified:

Summer Zucchini Bites

butter to grease pans
2 large eggs
2 cups grated zucchini from one medium-to-large zucchini (I didn't measure, rarely do, I just used two medium zucchinis)
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped (I used a whole small onion)
1/2 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese (Like I have time to grate my own cheese?  Sheesh.  I used a cup of packaged shredded sharp cheddar.)
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley (Sadly, I didn't have fresh parsley on hand.  I really need to get that herb garden going.  I also ran out of dried parsley the other day.  Oh well.)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.  Coat mini-muffin tins with butter. I only have regular sized muffin tins, so instead of 24 minis, I made 12 regulars and increased the cooking time.  Next time, I might use cupcake liners though as they were difficult to remove.

Lightly beat the eggs.  Add the remaining ingredients and fold together, making a loose, sticky batter. 

Spoon into each cup, and bake for 15-18 minutes. I increased this cooking time to 20 minutes for regular sized muffin tins.  Tops should be browned and set, ans should no longer jiggle when shaken. 

Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.

These were great reheated too, just pop in the toaster oven for a minute or two. 

So, while I can't get T to bite into a slice of steamed zucchini (my favorite!), she tore into these!  You know these pass the toddler test when she asks for more!

p.s. I took a hint from the original blogger and made these while K was napping and then just reheated them for dinner. Perfect!

Naps are the best!

I don't remember the nesting thing coming over me when I was pregnant with T, but I think it's finally hit me with BG#2!

T is the greatest sleeper of all time!  I know I'm cursing myself by saying that out loud, but I think we earned it after her first four months when she never slept.  Anyways, she'll sleep 12 hours at night and still take a three hour nap during the day.  I'm really going to miss those afternoons to myself when #2 arrives and their schedules are all out of whack.   

I normally reserve nap time for my lunch, a little cleaning, maybe catching up on a show (or two!).  Sometimes, I try to get some crafting in and put up a tutorial for you guys.  On Thursday last week, I was a whirlwind of activity!

All last week, poor little T was sick, sick, sick.  She would cough so hard that she would get sick and everything in her little stomach would come out.  Unfortunately, in these instances, she loves milk, which I have learned turns to cheese almost instantaneously in her stomach.  Too much?  Sorry.  Anyways, during this wonderful Thursday nap I managed to remove her carseat and clean it out.  While it was out, I figured I'd vacuum the car too.  After that, I dusted inside the car and cleaned the windows, windshield, etc.  Since I was putting her carseat back in, I told myself I might as well put BG#2's carseat in too.  Why not, right?  It must have been a funny sight to see 8-month pregnant me kneeling in each carseat and struggling with belts and latches!

With the car all set, I set my sights on lunch.  Mmm-mmm!  An FLT (fake bacon, lettuce and tomato on toasted sourdough bread). 

Refueled, I make some cake pops for my darling.  Whoever thought of making those things must be rolling in dough (haha!  I'm so funny!).  I made two kinds, German chocolate and confetti cake, dipped in pink colored white chocolate (they were supposed to be for Valentine's Day), and rolled in coconut. 

After sampling a cake pop to make sure it passed quality assurance, I washed and dried 2 loads of laundry and folded four.  Yep, I checked my math here, I had an overflowing basket of clean clothes waiting for me already.

Finally, I went through the stash of maternity clothes that were too big before or too springy/summery and refreshed my dwindling wardrobe.

Phew!  I probably would have done more, but I feared cleaning and organizing in T's room would probably wake her!

So, what do you think?  Nesting?  Just feeling motivated?  Probably should have just taken a nap?  Maybe.  But it felt good to get all of that done!



BTW, here is my cake pop "recipe"

Whenever I have to even out cakes for a tiered cake, or I have leftover batter from cupcakes (I cook that separately in a small pan), I mix it with leftover frosting.  No measuring here, I just add more frosting until it reaches a consistency that I can roll it into "meatballs".  I take about 2 tablespoons of cake/frosting mix, roll it in my hands and place it into a container that I can seal and freeze.  There it stays until I'm ready to make it into a final product.  I thaw the cake balls for 1-2 hours on the counter.  Melt some melting chocolates (either microwave or double boiler, be careful not to burn!).  Insert a lollipop stick into the cake ball and roll it in the melted chocolate.  Before it sets up, roll it in coconut or jimmies (sprinkles) or some other little piece of deliciousness.  Hmm, crushed up toffee bar would be awesome!  Let it harden on a plate at room temperature and you're all set!