Zucchini and Sausage Summer Grill Packet

My husband and I love preparing dinner on the grill and eating on our back porch during the warm weather season. It’s so relaxing and a great way to catch-up over the day’s events. This Zucchini and Sausage Summer Grill Packet is a simple grilling dinner to prepare. It’s an entire meal in one foil packet and it tastes phenomenal. Somehow the simple flavors of smoked sausage, zucchini, peppers, and onions and potatoes from our garden came together with oil and salt and pepper to make a smoky and savory meal we both devoured.

 

Zucchini and Sausage Summer Grill Packet

Recipe inspired by Pinterest

 

Ingredients:

·1 smoked sausage link, sliced into rounds

·1 zucchini, washed and sliced into rounds

·1 small onion, diced

·1 large bell pepper, chopped

·2 large potatoes, peeled and diced

·Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

·Salt and pepper

 

Directions:

Place sausage, zucchini, peppers, onion, and potatoes on top of a large piece of heavy-duty foil. Drizzle with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Fold up the foil sides and seal tightly to make a foil packet. Cook on the grill over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until heated through and potatoes are fork tender.

Hummus Pizza

Hummus Pizza is my new favorite summer pizza. If these Mediterranean pizza toppings sound whacky, you can rest assured that it’s a tasty change from traditional Italian pizza toppings as my traditional-food-loving-husband said as I was preparing Hummus Pizza, “I was going to say ‘eww,’ but the last thing you made with hummus was pretty good.”  He was hesitant to try the pizza, but after a bite from one of my slices he asked for another bite and another before I stopped sharing and he got his own. Hummus Pizza tastes fresh, savory from the hummus and chicken, and a touch sweet from the fresh onions and basil from our garden.

Hummus Pizza

Ingredients:

·1 Udi’s Gluten Free Pizza Crust
·¾ cup red pepper hummus
·½ cup cooked grilled chicken, chopped

·½ small onion, chopped
·½ green pepper, chopped
·½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
·Handful of fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Spread hummus on top of pizza crust. Top with chicken, onion, pepper, and cheese. Sprinkle fresh basil on top. Cook for 10 minutes on a pizza stone, or until crust and cheese begins to brown.

Disclaimer: Udi’s provided the product for me to review. However, my review and opinions written above are my own.

Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I’ve written about  my love of Caprese a few times in the past (Caprese Skewers, Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage, Caprese Pasta, and Caprese Pizza). My favorite cheese since childhood has been mozzarella; I think there’s no better way to enjoy it than with the fresh flavors of tomato and basil. It’s fresh and perfect for warm summer days. My new way to enjoy Caprese is as a grilled cheese sandwich. – it’s a great way to quickly enjoy some of the basil and tomatoes I have growing in the garden this summer.

Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Inspired by Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

·2 slices of Udi’s gluten free white sandwich bread
·1 TBS basil pesto
·2 slices fresh tomato
·1 slice of mozzarella cheese, or a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese
·Butter

Directions:

Assemble the sandwich by spreading the basil pesto on one piece of bread, top with tomato, cheese, and the second slice of bread. Butter both sides of the sandwiches and place in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes, flip the sandwiches and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately.


Disclaimer: Udi’s provided the product for me to review. However, my review and opinions written above are my own.

Udi’s Gluten Free Everything Bagels

By now, you know that I absolutely love Udi’s products. They make gluten free eating so much easier and tastier. A few months ago, I was talking with my family about how much I miss everything bagels. I’ve tried Udi's GF Plain Bagels; while they’re good, they just didn’t replace my favorite bagel – the everything bagel. To my surprise, my parents informed me that Udi’s does offer gluten free everything bagels. I was ecstatic and rushed to the store. To my disappointment, the store was out of stock – even though they just stocked the shelves a few hours earlier. Apparently, these bagels had to be amazing if they were flying off the shelves. After a few more trips to the store over a week’s time span, we finally found Udi’s Gluten Free Everything Bagels and bought a few packs.

Now, I’ve been eating them for breakfast almost every day since. I’m obsessed. They taste exactly like an everything bagel should taste. These bagels are chewy yet crispy when toasted to perfection. They have the savory flavors of onion, garlic, and poppy seeds. I enjoy mine topped with chive cream cheese. Udi’s Gluten Free Everything Bagels starts my delicious breakfast off right every morning with a side of fruit and glass of milk.

 
I even have my husband hooked on everything bagels now. He had never heard of everything bagels before this experience, so I let him try a bite of mine one morning. He loved it, so I quickly took my bagel back and bought him his own gluten everything bagels to enjoy. Udi’s are too good and too expensive to share. J
 

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. It's a product I bought, loved, and wanted to share with you!

Cheeseburger Stuffed Zucchini Boats

The cheeseburger filling that is stuffed into the zucchini boat is delicious! It tastes like a cheesy, deconstructed cheeseburger without all of the grease. Once it’s poured into the zucchini boat and roasted, the outcome is amazing! I love this new way to enjoy zucchini, which is abundant in summertime.

If you have extra filling, as we did – which I highly recommend you find a way to have extra filling, scoop it up with tortilla chips while the zucchini boats cook. It’s a great appetizer as you’re waiting for lunch/dinner.

The only changes I made to this recipe were to omit the pickle (we didn’t have any in the fridge) and substituted a combination of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses for Gouda (again, we didn’t’ have any in the fridge).

Click here for recipe from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Grilled Peaches with Honey and Vanilla Ice Cream

Grilled Peaches with Honey and French Vanilla Ice Cream are the perfect dessert following lunch or dinner prepared on the grill. They are a light, flavorful, and refreshing dessert perfect for summertime heat.

And, they’re super easy to prepare. Slice peaches in half, remove the pit, and place flesh side down on a warm grill over low heat. Grill for 5-10 minutes, or until juicy and warm. Drizzle with honey and then top with a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Pizza Mac & Cheese

This Pizza Mac & Cheese combines two American staples. This unique mac & cheese dish has cheesy pasta for the mac & cheese base and sausage, pepperoni, and bell pepper as the pizza base. The outcome is an amazingly creamy, super flavorful marriage of Pizza and Mac & Cheese.

 

The only substitutions to the recipe link below that I made were to use Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta Shells in place of the elbow macaroni and brown rice flour in place of the all-purpose flour. The same amounts can be used, so no changes need to be made to the proportions.

Click here for recipe from Betty Crocker

In My Pantry: Schar's Gluten Free Classic White Rolls

In general, I haven't found shelf-stable, packaged gluten-free bread products to be appetizing. The one exception to that is Schar's Gluten Free Classic White Rolls. My parents introduced me to these rolls earlier this year, and they truly are fantastic. No funky gluten free taste and no dry/stale taste from being shelf-stable. I've enjoyed these rolls a variety of ways - as a grilled sausage sandwich, with my husband's secret pulled pork recipe (pictured above), and as garlic bread with lasagna.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. It's a product I bought, loved, and wanted to share with you!

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

This Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad is healthy, flavorful, spicy, and crunchy. My picky husband even enjoyed it. Yummy!

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

Slightly adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients:

·1 cup quinoa
·2  cups water
·1½ cups cooked, diced chicken
·1 cup broccoli
·1 cup chopped carrots
·½ cup cream cheese with chives
·6 green onions, chopped
·½ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
·½ cup hot sauce
·1 tsp season salt

Directions:

Rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and drain. In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until almost all of the water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking together olive oil, hot sauce, and season salt in a small bowl.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the broccoli and carrots for about 5 minutes. Add the cooked quinoa, cooked chicken, buffalo dressing, green onions, and cream cheese to the pan. Stir until all ingredients are heated through and well-combined. Serve warm.

Moscato Spritzer

This Moscato Spritzer is my new favorite party drink. The ingredients – 1 bottle of Moscato, 2L of Sprite, and 16oz. of Frozen Raspberries – are easy to remember when I’m doing last minute grocery shopping. It’s also simple to prepare and tastes great – very fresh, light, and slightly sweet.

 

Click here for drink ingredients from Make It-Bake It-Create It

Reese's No Bake Cheesecakes

Just in case Lemon Mousse Cake wasn’t enough dessert for Mike’s birthday a few months ago, I also made these delicious Reese’s No Bake Cheesecakes. They are naturally gluten-free, so I may have indulged in a few too many of these mini cheesecakes.

I originally came across this recipe on Pinterest, but the link to the original recipe is broken. The concept is pretty self-explanatory, so my recipe and take on it is below. It’s a super easy and very tasty dessert!

Reese’s No Bake Cheesecakes

Ingredients:
·16 regular-sized Reese’s cups, unwrapped
·¼ cup chocolate chips
·½ cup sugar
·8oz. Neufchâtel cream cheese
·8oz. cool whip
·1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Line muffin tins with wrappers. Place an unwrapped Reese’s into the liners. Make no bake cheesecake by beating together sugar, cream cheese, cool whip, and vanilla. Spoon cheesecake on top of Reese’s and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours before serving.

Lemon Mousse Cake

My husband requested a lemon cake for his birthday in May. While he’d be happy with a boxed lemon cake with icing, I can’t do anything simple. So, I came up with this Lemon Mousse Cake recipe. This decadent cake is the outcome of combining a few simple ingredients of white cake mix, lemon pie filling, and cream cheese frosting. 

Full disclosure – I used a gluten boxed cake mix since my husband is not gluten free. However, I’m posting this recipe because it was simply amazing and I’m confident it will be just as delicious with gluten free boxed cake mix. How do I know it’s amazing outside of what my husband and party guests claimed? I was able to taste the filling and icing as I was making the cake. It was sweet and creamy, and I may have been unable to resist licking the spoon, beaters, and bowl. :)

Lemon Mousse Cake
Ingredients:
·1 box of white cake mix, plus ingredients called for on cake mix box (for gluten free, I’d recommend Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake Mix)
 ·1 - 24oz. can of lemon pie filling
 ·1 container of cream cheese frosting 

Directions:
For the cake, pour all ingredients – reducing water by ¼ cup – into a large bowl. Add ¼ cup of lemon pie filling to the bowl and mix until combined. Make, bake, and cool cake according to package directions for two 8- or 9-inch round cakes.

For the frosting, mix together in a large bowl one container of cream cheese frosting with ¼ cup of lemon pie filling.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cake plate. Spread the remaining lemon pie filling on top of the cake, leaving about ¼ inch diameter at the edge. Place the second cake layer on top. Then, frost the entire cake with the lemon cream cheese frosting. Store loosely covered in the fridge until ready to serve. Let cake sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before serving.

Chicken Bacon Avocado Chopped Salad

One more satisfying, flavorful salad this week to round-out the salad kick I was on back in May. This Chicken Bacon Avocado Chopped Salad is a tasty twist on a traditional chopped salad. It combines grilled chicken, bacon, avocado, tomato, and garlic herb vinaigrette. The only revision I made was to substitute grated parmesan cheese for blue cheese because Mike and I don’t care for blue cheese. Deliciously healthy!

Click here for recipe from Gimme Some Oven

Cashew Chicken Mango Salad

Cashew Chicken Mango Salad combines sweet mangos, perfectly seasoned grilled chicken, creamy avocado, crunchy cashews, and sweet-tangy homemade vinaigrette on top of a bed of lettuce. I absolutely devoured this salad! It was delicious with fresh flavors and a combination of creamy and crunchy textures.

I made this delicious salad back in May when I was on a salad kick. Yes, that’s how behind I am on recipes. You’ll notice a theme in all of the recipes I post in July – they were almost all made in May. At least I had some recipes to post for you in June and isn’t the saying better late than never?!  Anyways, this delicious salad uses the same Honey Lime Vinaigrette from my uber flavorful Mango Avocado Spring Salad. Sweet, tangy, amazing!
 

What’s your favorite summertime salad?

Click here for recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

Pickle Wrap Dip

Pickle Wrap Dip takes all of the ingredients in the popular pickle-ham wraps and combines into an easy, tasty dip. This appetizer is much easier than making the wraps and it tastes just as good as the wraps. I made this in May for my niece’s birthday party and it was a huge hit.

The only ingredients you need for this dip are 16oz. softened cream cheese, 12oz. chopped deli ham, 16oz. of diced baby dill pickles, and crackers to serve. I served the dip chilled with Glutino Gluten Free Table Crackers.

Click here for recipe from Game Day