Quick update and long vacay

Hi guys! It’s been awhile, I know. I’ve had a couple of amazing weeks of vacation interspersed with hard work, and have maybe cooked one night. Cah-razy, right?

Even more cah-razy….this blog is one year old. It’s been one year since I was immersed in packing and planning for a move, wanting to stay in touch, and recipes galore. It feels like far longer than just one year since we packed up that big ol’ moving truck and arrived in paradise.

All of which brings me to today’s topic. I promised myself I’d make try this whole thing out for one year and see what happened. And I’m mighty pleased with the results. Now, hold on a second, don’t stop reading, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve just decided that summer up here is far too short and I need to be focused on enjoying it between the multiple jobs! I mean, look at this, there’s FUN to be had…

 

Dino pic and dino shirt! Playing tourist! Winning! So, you’ll forgive me while I go on summer vaycay, right? I’ll be thinking and stewing and dreaming up all kinds of new recipes in the meantime. Now get outside and enjoy yo’self!

S’mores krispies

Right. So who’s ready for some serious summer fun? I know, I know, I sound like the oldest of ladies, but can you believe next week is July already?! Here I am dreading the summer’s passing, but then again, we’ve got some great plans lined up for the Fourth and the week to follow!

That means for you, my loyal and loving reader, that these here posts are about to become more sporadic for the next two weeks. As Himself and I travel to points north of the border, we unplug all the electronics. ALL. Then with our staycation + camping to follow, we’ve agreed no electronic distractions there either ! We’ll see if I shall survive.

I jest of course. We’ve been unplugging from the Interwebs for the most part on Sundays already, and I have to say, it’s pretty dang awesome. It pretty much reinforced a. how glued I am to my phone and b. what a distraction that is.

But before I leave for vacay, my lovelies, I have an awesome dessert you should be bringing to all your Fourth cookouts. What travels better than barsssssss? (Yes those extra esses belong there, try it, say it out loud, there you go, you sound just like a Minnesotan) These are not your average rice krispie bars, oh no. These are like a chilled s’more, ready to pop in your mouth, no campfire required. And they’re dad approved, so you *know* you’re going to love them!

Enjoy!

4 cups rice krispies
2 cups cinnamon toast crunch
5 tablespoons butter
4 cups mini marshmallows
⅔ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips

Line a 9×13-inch pan with foil or grease lightly with butter. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together rice krispies and cinnamon toast crunch. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter and marshmallows over medium low heat. Once marshmallows are completely melted. Remove from heat and add marshmallow mixture to cereal mixture. Mix together thoroughly. Add in semisweet and white chocolate chips, mix thoroughly.

Pat into prepared pan, let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Easy cheesy potatoes

I hope you guys have had an amazing weekend. Like me, you should be sitting back, relaxing, patting yourself on the back for getting those few pesky chores done and smiling on all the fun you just had. Because like me, you just had the perfect summer weekend. That totally happened for you too, right?

This gal got to go to Duluth and see her indomitable brother not only complete Grandma’s Marathon, but do it with a smile on his face. In a word. Amazing. Oh and one more. Inspiring.
It was great to see him and our friends push themselves past their limits. Also super fun was cheering on all those runners, friends or not.

Then today on a foray for breakfast, we met a couple of amazing small farmers, selling produce fresh from their greenhouse. They had everything we were looking to do (albeit on a much larger scale). They were certainly the nicest couple, and willing to share some pointers and fantastic produce. Brekkie was quickly followed by a nap in the hammock and now I’m re-energized for more.

Now, fill in the gap in time (and space) between those two paragraphs and fill it with talking, laughter, and foodie love. Yeah that was my very perfect weekend. And now to top it off with the easiest side dish in all the lands. Now keep in mind, I live in the frozen tundra so even in June, it’s no big to have my oven on for 30, but if you live in warmer climes, pop these into a well oiled foil packet and toss ‘em on your grill. Easy, cheesy, comfort food, and the simplest side dish imaginable.

Enjoy!

2 lbs potatoes
½ cup onion, chopped
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
¾ – 1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.

Clean, trim, and peel potatoes (if desired). Slice potatoes into ¼ inch pieces and place in 9×13” pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Top with onions and green pepper. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Bake uncovered at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and potatoes are pierced easily with a fork.

Comfort quesadillas

So here I have the easiest of recipes for you. So easy the ingredient list consists of you opening your fridge and taking a gander at just what is hiding (and perhaps languishing) in there. These are my go-to comfort food, especially when it’s a solo dinner, and they are so crammed full of all those favorite veg that I always, always over buy. In my mind everything can go into a quesadilla fresh mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes – heck yeah. Maybe you found that jar of banana peppers you’ve been meaning to use up, or those green chilies looking for a vehicle to your tum, or maybe its those last two delish olives taking up all that space. Yup, they all belong in there too. And I suppose, you could even throw some meat in there. You know, if you had to.

As a comfort food, they can’t be beat. Easy, delish, and the avocado on top will melt away the worst of days. And I’m putting that to the test. Someone made a rather large mistake, certainly not the end of the world, but I am a pretty harsh critic when it comes to this gal. But you know, I did find out I’ve got an audience. A big one. So there’s that, right?

That said, at least I have tons of fun to distract myself from all of that (and before you start gnashing your teeth wondering, “what the heck did you do, Jess?!” It was a typo. A small typo. But on a big stage). But yeah, fun! Next week marks the start of my summer hours. Yeah, you read that right, summer hours! So that’s pretty rad. But even more immediate is getting to watch my brother cross the finish line at Grandma’s Marathon on Saturday and then another trip to the bear bar! Yeah, bears. In real life.

In the meantime, let’s go comfort ourselves with quesadillas. Quesadillas oozing with cheese and dripping with salsa. Yeah. That.

Enjoy!

per quesadilla
1 tortilla (the size is up to you, how much comfort are you feeling?)
¼ cup or less shredded cheese
assorted vegetables, raw or cooked
butter for tortilla

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Butter one side of your tortilla and place in pan. Add vegetables to one side of tortilla. Sprinkle cheese over entire tortilla.

Just as cheese starts to melt, fold tortilla in half. Continue to cook, flipping frequently, until both sides are lightly browned.