Grilled Zucchini

Last summer, I attempted to grill some zucchini. I used a tin foil "pouch" I created myself. It all went well, until I tried to bring the zucchini in the house. Half of it ended up on the deck. The rest tasted pretty good :) So, this year, I bought a 8 1/2" x 11" grilling basket. It worked SO MUCH better! This one is from Pampered Chef:

I told my brother in law, Scot, that I was excited to use my new basket, so he gave me some good tips! Here's what I did this time:


* 4 small zucchini squash
* 2 small yellow squash
* 1 orange bell pepper
* 1/4 purple onion
* cracked pepper
* garlic powder
* onion powder
* sea salt
* Parmesan cheese sprinkle


Slice the zucchini and yellow squash. Slice the orange pepper and remove the seeds. Cut into strips, and cut the strips in half. (I used the orange pepper because it's pretty, and has mild flavor.) Peel & slice the onion. Take 1/4 of the onion and chop it into small chunks. Place the veggies in the grilling basket. Spritz generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with cracked pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Use a heat-safe spoon to mix until veggies are evenly coated with the oil & spices. Set on a medium-low grill and close the lid. Stir the veggies while cooking about every 5 minutes until just tender. I cooked my chicken on the other side of the grill at the same time.

When the veggies are crisp-tender, remove from grill. I set the hot basket on a sheet of tin foil I put on top of 2 hot pads. Sprinkle with sea salt and Parmesan cheese & stir to coat. Putting the salt on AFTER grilling keeps the salt from sucking the moisture out of the veggies while they cook. Serve warm! I love the flavor of grilled food!!!

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This week, I tried out my new recipes on my sister and her husband. They were good sports :) Carrie is allergic to food. Ok, not ALL food, but a lot of it. She has a board on Pinterest called "Carrie Safe Food," so I went looking there to see what I could come up with to try today. I'm so happy to say I was pretty successful!

I didn't use a recipe, which ends up in success for me maybe 50% of the time. Today I was lucky! I grilled Bacon Wrapped Chicken, and it was yummy! Here's what I did:

* Boneless chicken breast strips
* Bacon
* Smokey Applewood Rub (from Pampered Chef)
* Sea Salt
* Freshly ground pepper
* Olive oil

I cut several round toothpicks in half, and pre-soaked them in some water. Using a cake pan to work over, spritz the raw chicken strips with olive oil. Sprinkle with Smokey Applewood Rub (or spices of your choice) and use your fingers to "rub" & coat the chicken with the oil & spices. For Carrie, I used sea salt and ground peppercorns. Cut bacon strips in half. Wrap half of a bacon strip around each chicken piece. Use the water-soaked toothpicks to secure the bacon on each end (like a straight pin).

Preheat gas grill, then set on medium-low. Grill the wrapped chicken, turning once or twice, until the bacon is crispy and the chicken is cooked through. Remove the toothpick pieces prior to serving. Mmmmmmm! The grilled veggies and red potatoes were yummy too!

Cricut: Conditioning your new cutting mat!

I don't know why I didn't know this! I just opened a brand new Cricut cutting mat. It was so sticky, it was ripping my paper. After spending more time pulling the paper off than it took to prep & cut, I Googled. Someone else had to know how to fix this, right? RIGHT! I found a little video where "Cricut Dan" shows how to "condition" your new cutting mat. Voila! It works. I like to share things that work. Here's the link to the video:

http://cricutdan.blogspot.com/search?q=condition

Jewelry Organizer

Jewelry Organizer! I've seen several versions of this on Pinterest, so I don't claim it as an original idea. I DID find my own, very inexpensive way to make one for myself, and I LOVE it. It is SO MUCH easier to find matching accessories when I'm getting ready for work. Oh...and it looks pretty cute on my wall too :D

I used a metal and plastic curtain rod from Walmart. I don't remember the exact cost, but it was seriously like $5.00. I got several packages of metal, wire shower curtain hangers for $1.50 a package. Hung the curtain rod on the wall, hung the hooks, hung the necklaces. Voila!

One word of caution! This has also made it MUCH easier for my 22-year-old daughter to find my jewelry, and it gets borrowed. Often. I organized my shoes recently. Same problem. It's a good thing I love her to pieces.

Cream Cheese Frosting

I've never made homemade cream cheese frosting. I know. Until today! I had a mix for pumpkin cake, and wanted cream cheese frosting, but I didn't have any store-bought tub frosting on hand. I don't shop on Sundays...and I had a brick of cream cheese, so I Googled recipes and managed to improvise and make some with what I had on hand. It turned out great!!! Excellent cream cheese taste! Not just vanilla frosting with a hint of cream cheese. It's the real deal.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese (soften to room temperature)
• 1/2 cup salted butter (soften to room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar (approximately 1 lb.)

Note: I use a Kitchen Aid mixer. I grew up with one, and don't know what I'd do without it! Recently, I've been using a sifter for flour and powdered sugar, and I like the results. I also like salted butter. I think the salt helps take away some of the "too sweet" taste. You can also use margarine and 1/4 tsp. of salt instead of butter.

Combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla - beat until fluffy. Sift the powdered sugar, add 2 cups, and blend until smooth. Add another cup, and blend. Continue adding 1/4 - 1/2 cup powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want.

I'm thinking this would also be excellent with a touch of lemon extract, especially on chocolate cake or sugar cookies...I may try it sometime.