4th of July Recipe Roundup!

If you’re anything like me (which I’d like to think you might be since you are reading my inner-most personal thoughts after all), you are looking forward to 4th of July weekend and drooling over all the yummy food you will be eating!  4th of July is seriously bigger to my family than Christmas is – we are from the Fireworks Capital of the America after all.  New Castle, PA: home to both Pyrotecnico and Zambelli fireworks.  I don’t suggest visiting except for one day of the year:  the Fireworks Festival, which occurs the weekend AFTER the 4th of July where Pyrotecnico and Zambelli battle back and forth each year to outdo each other with some of the best fireworks in the country.  I digress.  And seriously, don’t go to New Castle.

I thought I would share some of my favorite summer holiday/picnic recipes in one quick post:

1.  Strawberry Salsa & Cinnamon Chips

This recipe has been EXTREMELY popular on Pinterest, is probably one of my most popular posts – and for good reason!  It is seriously delicious, sweet, and summerific.  You can make it the day before your picnic, double or triple it very easily to take to multiple picnics, and it’s all-ages friendly.

 

2.  Cheddar & Spinach Chicken Burgers

I mean, what is better than delicious, healthy, fresh burgers on a hot summer day?  Skip the pre-made mystery beef burgers and get something healthy on that grill!

3.  Cranberry-Pecan Quinoa Chicken Salad

This chilled salad would be amazing to make the day before and take to a picnic – the best part is, people won’t even realize it’s healthy!

 

4.  Maple Lime Chicken Skewers

Another great, easy recipe for the grill!  HOOBOY would these Maple Lime Chicken Skewers be great with an ice cold beer and some music blasting your favorite tunes.

 

5.  Apple Pie

Because what’s more American than apple pie?  PS – my little brother made this recipe, that’s how easy it is.

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What is your favorite recipe for 4th of July?

Are you going to see fireworks?

Pear, Mushroom, & Prosciutto Pizza

So it’s Saturday and you might be having one of those “My-girls-are-coming-over-to-drink-wine-but-I-need-to-make-a-classy-pizza-so-at-least-I-look-like-a-classy-lush” pizzas, this one is for you.  Seriously, this pizza makes you seem like you know way more about pizza than you probably do.  It’s sweet and salty and just generally delicious.  Indulgent enough to make you Insta-famous in your circle of friends, but not indulgent enough that you feel guilty about it. 🙂

Pear, Mushroom, & Prosciutto Pizza (recipe by Yummy Addiction)

• 2 T. unsalted butter
• 1/2 semi-ripe pear, sliced very thin
• 1 t. honey
• 6 cremini mushrooms, steps removed and sliced thin
• 1 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 3 oz. Prosciutto, torn into pieces
• 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese
• 2 handfuls baby arugula
• this pizza crust (or store bought)

Preheat the oven to 400*F.

Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  When melted, reduce the heat to low and add the pear slices.  When they begin to get softened, add the honey and a pinch of salt and continue to cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.  When they are ready, remove them from the pan and add the mushrooms to the same pan.  Cook until the mushrooms are slightly browned.

Brush the pizza crust with olive oil, then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly.  Add the pears and mushrooms, then put the prosciutto on top of that.  Sprinkle the blue cheese crumbles on the very top and bake for about 20 minutes.  When the pizza is done, top with the arugula and serve.

I recommend a Pino Grigio if you were wondering – cheers! 🙂

Friday Five: Five Things About Me

This week’s Friday Five linkup (an awesome weekly event hosted by Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC, Mar @ Mar On The Run, and Cynthia @ You Signed Up For What!) is themed: 5 Things About Me.  This is my first week linking up with some of my favorite bloggers, and it just happens to be a perfect theme to introduce myself!

1.  I love to read, but don’t make nearly enough time for it.  I absolutely refuse to go e-reader.  There is absolutely nothing more pleasurable to me than thumbing my finger along the pages of a brand spanking new paperback.  If they ever stop printing books, I swear an oath to all that right and holy that I will never read another new release!  I will not relent!  Save the printed word!  Anyway…this summer, I bought several new reads and promised myself that I would get through a few of them.  Right now I’m almost finished with Orange Is The New Black (yeah, I’m a bit late to that party!) and I can’t WAIT to sink my teeth into The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman.

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2.  My dream in life:  to run a small urban farmette.  I’m in love with the idea of being self-sufficient, growing my own food, canning, and raising small domesticated animals.  People think of this concept as terribly out of character for me because I’m the type of girl who kind of hates to get dirty.  I make exceptions! 🙂   Eventually I would like to turn my front yard into an edible foodscape and if I can convince my borough that it’s a good idea — get some chickens for my backyard.  I’m pretty sure my cost of living would drop exponentially if I had a farmette.  I need to make this happen!

3.  I am currently training for my first official 10K – Pittsburgh’s Great Race.  I ran 6.1 miles in the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay back in May, so hopefully my training will pay off and I will have an official 10K PR of around 1:05:00 or less.  <– Throwing that goal time out there like it ain’t no thang!

4.  My favorite thing to eat and make in the whole wide world is key lime pie.  I have a very distinct memory of a trip I took to Key West with my grandmother and 2 of my cousins.  I think we ate so much key lime pie on that trip, we were all at risk of turning into key lime pie.  They had it everywhere and in all of these glorious variations.  We even got a piece of key lime pie frozen on a stick.  Heavenly!  I remember making them often in high school and even into college.  I haven’t made one in a long time, though…no time like the summer, right?!

5.  I love what I do for a living – owning a small business has been the most character-building, hard, frustrating, exhilarating, gratifying, terrifying experience of my life.  I have learned so much about myself in the last few years (not all of it is good!) and I’ve also seen glimpses of the person I am destined to become.  Some days I feel like I still haven’t found my niche in life, my passion.  I’m okay with that.  Eventually I will figure it out, but for the last few years it has been such a blessing to develop, launch, and grow a successful company.

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I hope you enjoyed this Friday Five linkup, I had fun writing it and I can’t wait to participate in more of them!!

Horseradish Crusted Salmon

I don’t often find excuses to eat copious amounts of horseradish, but when I find one I make it count.  Besides, I’ve been all about recipes which are healthy, easy, and simple to complete and this one is basically a no-brainer!

Horseradish-Crusted Salmon (original recipe by Country Living)

• 1 clove pressed garlic
• 2 T prepared horseradish
• 1 t. egg white
• salmon filet
• 1/4 c. Panko breadcrumbs
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 t. lemon zest plus a squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 425*F.  Mix together the horseradish, garlic, egg white, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper to taste.  Once combined, stir in the breadcrumbs and about 1 t. olive oil.  Add more olive oil if you need to remove any clumps.  Set this mixture aside as you heat 1/2 T. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Salt and pepper the flesh of the salmon, then place it flesh-side down in the pre-heated oil.  Pan sear for about 3 minutes, then carefully shift the salmon in the skillet and cook 1 minute longer.  Place the salmon skin-side down on a sheet pan and top with the horseradish mixture – pat lightly so that the horseradish mixture sticks to the filet.  Broil until you get a nicely golden crust.

Wordless Wednesday