Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

Nothing makes me more happy than finding recipes with all my favorite things in it.  Avocados, Cherry Tomatoes, and Sweet Corn....YUM!!!!  Summer means sweet corn for me and there are still a couple farms around here that are selling those delicious bi-colored ears.  I served this salad with BLT sandwiches and ears of sweet corn rubbed with butter and sprinkled with salt.  A perfect summer-time meal!

Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
Source: For The Love Of Cooking

1 pint grape tomatoes
1 ripe avocado
2 ears of fresh sweet corn
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. The corn should have 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.

Honey Lime Dressing:

Juice of 1 lime
3 T. vegetable oil
1 T. honey
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper

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.

At The Bakery...Cakes, Cakes, and More Cakes!

Sorry I've been too busy to post any new recipes lately!  Let me take a second (before heading off to dream land) to share some of the cakes I've made at the bakery recently. Each and every one of them are so different. Never a boring day at the bakery! :)

Skillet Chili Mac

I have a confession to make.  I haven't cooked dinner over the past THREE MONTHS!!! Don't worry, my kids have not been starving.  We were just blessed to have our in-laws visit us for 3 months.  Did I mention my in-laws used to run their own Chinese restaurant?  Did I mention my father-in-law makes the best Chinese food ever?  It was so nice coming home from work and having a home cooked meal on the table every night.  It takes a lot of time to plan meals every week and I welcomed the break with open arms.  It almost felt like I was on vacation.

Well, all good things come to an end, and yesterday I had to cook dinner for my family.  My in-laws visit is over and it's back to our normal routine now.

We've had unseasonably cool weather lately so this recipe was perfect and a reminder that Fall will be here sooner than I would like.

Skillet Chili Mac
Source: Deep South Dish

1/2 T. oil
1-1/2 c.  chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
1 or 2 jalapeños, chopped (I left these out.)
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. raw breakfast sausage
1 T. minced garlic
2-1/2 T. chili powder, or to taste
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. dried oregano
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
1 (7 ounce) can green chilies
2 c. of water
1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto or red kidney beans,drained and rinsed
1-1/2 cups of dry medium cut pasta (like elbow macaroni or shells)
1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese, divided, or to taste, plus more for garnish
Optional Garnishes: Sliced green onions,fresh diced tomatoes, sour cream or your other favorite chili toppings

Heat the oil in a large lidded skillet over medium high heat; add the onion and peppers, and cook for about 4 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. To that, add the ground beef, sausage and garlic, breaking up the meat and cooking, until no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasonings.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and green chilies; stir. Add the water, beans, pasta and half of the cheese. Bring to a boil, stir, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes or until pasta is cooked through; uncover, stir and let simmer, uncovered, until reduced to desired consistency. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, cover and cook over low until cheese melts. Garnish with sliced green onions, fresh diced tomatoes, sour cream or your other favorite chili toppings. 

Despicable Me 2

I took the kids to see Despicable Me 2 at the theater last week.  Cute movie! Is it just me or does it seem like there are either no kid movies out in the theater or they come out all at once?  There are two more movies I really want to take the kids to see...Monsters University and Turbo.  Hopefully we'll get to see them both before summer is over.

Thanks to Pinterest, I made these adorable Despicable Me minion cupcakes using Twinkies for the bodies and Smarties for the eyes.  I'm in love with minions!  I bet we'll see lots of little minions running around this Halloween. :)