Looking for a new summer cocktail for a party or BBQ? Pimm’s Cup is the PERFECT choice! I had this at the beach over the weekend and it is light, refreshing, and delicious!!! I had this for the first time last summer, and LOVED it! Pimm’s Cup is the classic English cocktail that’s a summer staple at Wimbledon and parties across the UK. We drank this in Scotland, and we often make it at parties on a hot summer day.








Pimm’s Cup
makes one pitcher

3 cups Pimm’s No. 1 Cup, available at liquor stores
2 cups lemonade (or ginger ale or lemon-lime soda)
lemon slices
cucumber slices
orange slices
mint leaves
apple slices

Half-fill a pitcher with ice, sliced cucumber, mint and remaining fruit. Add Pimm’s, and lemonade or soda. Stir gently and add additional ice if necessary. Serve and garnish each glass with slices of lemon and cucumber. Yummy!!!

This is a delicious, easy chicken stir-fry with a spicy peanut sauce. Usually, I serve this with white rice, or as lettuce wraps (for a healthier version).

My trick to really good chicken stew, curry and stir-fry recipes (especially when making it quickly, and have little time to marinate) is to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are much more tender and tastier than breasts. And for a stir-fry? Peanut sauce is my favorite!









Stir Fry
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in small cubes
5 cups mixed veggies, cut in cubes (onion, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms all work well!)
2 tablespoons spicy sesame oil (use whatever oil you have)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 head butter lettuce, cups (optional)
1/3 cup nuts (toasted slivered almonds or pine nuts work well)
salt, to taste

Peanut Sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp spicy sesame oil
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
chili sauce, to taste

Stir Fry
Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Add sesame oil and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes on low heat. Add the veggies and cook until mostly tender. Add the chicken and cook until mostly done (about 4-5 minutes), stirring constantly. Add the soy sauce and stir-fry another 2 minutes. When the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are tender, remove them from the pan and drain the liquid.

Peanut Sauce
Add garlic and oil to a small sauce pan and heat on low. Add peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, chili sauce and coconut milk, and cook for 4-5 minutes on low, stirring well. Add salt, if desired.

Mix 3/4 of the peanut sauce with the drained chicken mixture. Place spoonfuls of the chicken mixture into a piece of lettuce or on a plate, add additional sauce and toasted almonds (or nuts) to the top. Serve with white rice and enjoy!!

Serves 2

This is the perfect side dish with a bbq or picnic! Sweet Summer corn is the best, and this recipe is absolutely delish! The kids will love it too!!!














8 ears corn, husks and silk removed
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sugar
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Remove kernels. Do this by cutting off the tip of each cob; stand it in a wide shallow bowl, and with a sharp knife, slice downward to remove kernels.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add corn kernels,and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook, until corn is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Add cream and sugar; simmer, uncovered, until cream has thickened, 4 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

This recipe is a great, easy dish. You can use any type of sausages (I like to use hot and sweet). Serve this with crusty Italian bread and use leftovers as sandwiches the next day!

3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1¼ lbs hot Italian sausages (or use a mixture of sweet and hot)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 medium peppers, (red and green) cut into thin strips
28 oz can diced tomatoes; with juice
4 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp thyme
pasta (optional)
5 sprigs fresh basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sausages and onion; cook, turning the sausages to brown all sides, until onions are just tender, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and bell peppers and cook another couple of minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Raise heat to high and cook until liquid starts to boil. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the sausages feel firm about 25 minutes. Cut the sausages into slices or leave whole for serving. Serve with fresh pasta or bread!

Serves: 4

I especially love this recipe because it is so easy to prepare but it has fresh, good quality ingredients packed with with lots of flavor! This is easy, quick, tasty and delicious! It’s a perfect side dish for pork, beef, chicken and seafood!










1 head broccoli, cut up
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
1/2 lemon, juice only
4-5 tbsp shaved parmesan cheese
salt

Sautee broccoli on medium low heat with garlic, olive oil and salt. After 5 minutes add lemon joice and parmesan. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until cooked to taste. Serve and Enjoy!!!

Serves 4

Grilled gruyere sandwiches are really really tasty! Make this a complete meal by serving it with hot tomato soup and/or adding sliced deli ham to the sandwich. Good quality cheese is essential for this dish! Feel free to also use an aged white chedder for this recipe!






Twelve 1/2-inch thick slices Brioche
8 to 10 ounces thinly sliced Gruyère (Roth Käse reserve Gruyère is a nice choice)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Chips (i like sweet potato chips), or soup on the side!

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Lay 6 slices of bread on your work surface and divide the cheese among them. Top with the remaining pieces of bread and cut off crusts (optional).

Heat a skillet over medium heat.

Add 2 tablespoons butter and cook to brown the butter. Add half the sandwiches and cook until browned on the first side, about 1-1/2 minutes.

Flip the sandwiches and cook on the other side for another 30 to 45 seconds. Place on a sheet pan and spread 1 teaspoon of butter over the top and bottom of each sandwich. Repeat with the other sandwiches.

Put the baking sheet in the oven for 2-5 minutes. Remove from oven and slice sandwiches in half.

Serves 6

This dish is a real treat! It’s simple to make and very impressive for guests! Serve this with a tomato and cucumber salad or with grilled asparagus.












8 large scallops
Olive oil
Juice of 1-2 limes
1 head cauliflower
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup butter
Grated nutmeg
salt
Garnish: Fried Onions (homemade or French’s French Fried Onions)

Boil the cauliflower for 7 minutes in salted water, then cook in the cream for 5 minutes. Put the cream and cauliflower into a food processor and blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve. Cook the butter until golden brown and add to the puree. Season to taste with salt and a pinch of nutmeg.

Heat a little olive oil in a very hot sauté pan and add scallops and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side (until just cooked through!). Remove and season with lime juice, salt and pepper.

To serve, arrange a scoop of cauliflower purée on each serving plate. Top each with 2 scallops, add onion garnish and serve!

Serves 4

This dish is just as tasty as it looks!!! I love chicken and I love garlic! Most 40 clove chicken recipes call for a whole chicken but I find that chicken breasts are not quite as tender as drumsticks and thighs (Feel free to use boneless thighs if you want!). So instead of using a whole chicken, I use drumsticks and thighs resulting in a succulent bite each and every time.

2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs (bone in or boneless, with skin)
40 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup half and half
chopped fresh parsley

Special Equipment: Round French Oven

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or other oven proof pot over medium heat. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. In batches, cook chicken until browned. About 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a separate platter. Set aside.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of pan drippings, add in garlic, thyme and rosemary. Cook until garlic browns slightly, stirring often, about 2 minutes.

Return chicken to pan, pour chicken stock and wine over the top. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 10 minutes. If you would like the chicken skin crispier turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes.

Remove chicken from oven. Transfer chicken to a serving platter and cover to keep warm. Place dutch oven back on the stove and turn heat to medium. Bring to a boil. Stir 1 tablespoon of hot pan drippings into the half and half to temper it. Reduce heat and slowly whisk tempered half in half into sauce. Cook 3 – 5 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Spoon sauce over chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Serves 5-6 people.

This dish is melt in your mouth, delicious!! It is the perfect recipe for using up leftover pulled pork from the night before! Pulled pork is my sweetheart’s favorite dish!! For this dish, you can certainly buy the pulled pork from your grocery store already made, if they have it. The homemade pulled pork is so worth it though!Make this for lunch or dinner for the family and serve it with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream! You can also make this with shredded rotisserie chicken, if you don’t have shredded pork.

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for cooking quesadilla
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups pulled pork
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
1 1/2 cups shredded Asadero cheese (you can substitute monterey jack if you prefer)
1 cup guacamole
4 burrito size flour tortillas

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook just until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in pork and green chilies. Cook just until warmed through. Reduce heat to low.

In a large skillet heat enough olive oil just to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.

While oil is heating, assemble the quesadilla. Place one tortilla on a flat surface, layer half of the cheese, half of the pork mixture and half of the guacamole and place another tortilla on top. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Cook in the heated skillet until flour tortillas have browned and cheese has melted. About 2 minutes per side.

Slice and serve!

Makes 2 full quesadillas. Serves 4 people.

Turkey burgers are the best! I think I actually prefer them to beef burgers. I like that they are lighter in flavor and to me they aren’t as greasy. This burger with spinach, feta and a pinch of nutmeg is so tasty that it is sure to get you ready for summer!! For a low carb version, serve without the bun, and over lettuce with grilled onions or mushrooms. Yummy!!!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
3 cups loosely packed baby spinach
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
fresh cracked black pepper
Hamburger buns
lettuce
tomato
mayonnaise

Special Equipment: Portable Gas Grill

Preheat grill to medium-low heat.

Heat olive oil in a skillet add onions and cook just until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach and cooked just until it wilts. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Combine turkey, nutmeg, salt, and bread crumbs. Add in the cooled spinach and feta cheese. Mix well. Make two patties. Season both sides with black pepper.

Once grill is heated cook until turkey is cooked through. About 7 – 10 minutes per side.

Toast buns if desired. Top with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 2-3