I love crockpot recipes! I love being able to throw all the ingredients in the crockpot in the morning and when I come home dinner is ready:) I work a lot of evenings with my day job because of the events that we host, so it is really convenient to have dinner ready at the time that my family likes to eat…no matter what time I get home. My Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork is a good one and very easy.
My dad created a marinate years ago that we use all the time for any meat that is going on the grill. It’s a summer staple. Well since we live in the south, we use the outdoor grill year-round, so I guess for us it is an “All Season Staple.” It is really easy, with only 3 ingredients and works with chicken, steak, pork chops and probably just about anything…I paired it tonight with some of the creamed corn that we put up this summer. If you missed the post on how to cream corn, you can find it here. Then just simple steamed asparagus as our green item.
Don’t you just love summer? All the fresh fruits and veggies…yep, I am a happy girl!! But how do you preserve all those yummy fruits and veggies so that you can enjoy them all year long? Get an extra freezer and freeze your summer love! These blueberries are in season were in season at a local farm here in south Georgia. I just discovered Mallory’s Farm but I love that they don’t use an pesticides, herbicides or anything on their produce. They also are starting to offer some certified organic fruits and veggies at their store, which is pretty good for this area;)
My homemade pita chips always get rave reviews and here is a little secret…THEY ARE SO EASY!!! They are very versatile as well. You can use them for salsas, like my Avocado Cilantro Salsa or just about any dip that you might be serving. They add so much flavor and crunch. They are best warm, but can be made ahead of time and carried easily to any function that you might need to bring some nibbles to…
Here is another family fav! I make a batch of my avocado cilantro salsa just about every weekend and we haven’t gotten tired of it yet! It is the BEST this time of year when we have fresh tomatoes and peppers right out the garden!! Is it just me, or does veggies straight out of your garden or fresh from the farmer’s market just taste SO MUCH BETTER? It really isn’t a comparison…but most of the store produce is picked when it isn’t ripe and trucked 100′s or 1000′s or more miles before it gets to you. Then it might be ripened with Ethylene gas. Yuck!! No wonder straight out of the garden tastes better:)
Did you have leftover pesto from yesterday’s Jerk Rub Grilled Mahi Mahi with Sweet Pepper Pesto? Or like me, have a garden that is over flowing with herbs? Well I have the answer for you! You can freeze your pesto:) And I don’t mean all in one container that you have to thaw out each time you want a scoop or two. I’m going to show you how, I know, crazy right?
This is one to add to the weeknight rotation, a slow cooker spicy spaghetti, that is a one pot wonder! Ten minutes in the morning before work and you’ve got dinner:) Inspired by this recipe but adapted to make it my own.
This one has been a family favorite for a while now. It has even been requested for special occasions, like my daddy’s birthday:) They don’t even mind how many “green” things are in it;) So it is an excellent recipe for getting more green things into your family’s mouth while keeping a smile on their faces!! My Jerk Rub Grilled Mahi Mahi with Sweet Pepper Pesto was inspired by one of the greats, Mr. Bobby Flay. He calls his Barbecued Mahi Mahi with Yellow Pepper Cilantro Pesto. My version uses more of a “jerk” rub and I have done it with both green and yellow peppers. The yellow peppers make the pesto a bit sweeter but the farmer market had a deal on the green ones so that’s what we got. I just LOVE a good deal:) And I would say “10 for $1″ is a GREAT DEAL!!!
To finish off the dinner and go along side of the smoky indoor ribs and creamy potato salad, I added some veggies!! These came in the form of a raw zucchini salad and simple summer corn on the cob. The raw zucchini salad was inspired by this post from Citron Limette. The author of this blog is Chef Marie Poulin. I love that she uses fresh, seasonal and local ingredients. She is also passionate about Healthy Food, so I really enjoy reading her blog. In addition, she provides blogging tips and tips on being a personal chef. This is something that I have ofter thought I might like to explore doing someday.
I made this big bowl of yumminess to go with the ribs that I shared with you yesterday. The inspiration for this was from a vegan recipe that I saw on Pinterest, Creamy Dill Potato Salad by Lunch Box Bunch. I would have been fine with the original recipe as vegan recipes are a great way to find healthier recipes. However, I was cooking for the crew and I think would have gotten a few wrinkled-up noses when I pulled out the Vegenaise (you know who you are). For those of you that have never heard of Veganaise, it is simply vegan mayo so it doesn’t have eggs and is all natural. I actually like it better than mayo but I don’t really like mayo too much.
Welcome to Becky’s Best Bites. I love to cook and have a knack for making recipes healthier without sacrificing the most important part, the taste! I am also on a journey to become a certified health coach. Hope you will join me on these journeys.
