Skillet Squash & Pepper Pasta

This dish was a surprise.  And it's a huge hit in our house, the perfect summer side, that comes together quickly while your chicken or steaks hit the grill.  Lots of late summer veggies come to the table to make this dish fresh and bright.   The late summer brings lots of summer squash and bell peppers to the CSA boxes and this is a great way to let those flavors shine.  Even though I serve this as a side dish with dinners, it's certainly hearty enough on it's own and I've definitely loaded up an extra large sized portion of leftovers for lunches.  If you're still overrun with zucchini, that would also make a perfect addition or substitution to this dish.

Campfire Cookies

Well, the weather is starting to turn and there are few weekends left for comfortable camping, the best part of which is gathering around the campfire to toast marshmallows and make s'mores.  You know I love those marshmallow treats coupled with graham crackers and chocolate, and these cookies are a nod to that essential summer snack.  A chocolatey cookie stuffed with marshmallow bits and crushed graham crackers, these cookies a nice way to enjoy these last few days of summer before fall officially sets in later this month.  And of course they're a simple recipe because these cookies start with my master cookie mix.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

It's Friday so that means we're probably having pizza for dinner tonight.  Maybe even this pizza.  We probably have more pizza in the fall and winter because it's easy to put together after work and it makes great football food.  This is one of our favorites that I've been making for years.  I'm a big fan of buffalo wings and all things buffalo flavored (like this snack!) and this pizza is the perfect interpretation of those flavors.  A sauce that's a cross between pizza sauce and wing sauce, perfectly seasoned chunks of chicken, a blend of mozzarella or Monterrey Jack and blue cheeses and a smattering of scallions to finish it off, this pizza has all the elements.  I even serve it with celery and carrot sticks with ranch dressing for dipping to get the full on effect to turn a bar food appetizer into a full on meal.

Pretzel Rolls

Pretzel rolls are all the rage in restaurants now.  Even the cafeteria at work has been bringing them in from a local bakery for sandwiches.  I first made these a little over a year or so ago and adored them.  Dave and I love soft pretzels (remember these?) and these big rolls are awesome for sandwiches.  Dave made a ham and cheese slathered with mustard (after all, it is a pretzel), but I topped mine with fresh basil, mozzarella, beautiful ripe tomato slices and lettuce.  Not only delicious, but hearty and fresh.  The pretzels have a beautifully browned crusty outside and a soft, chewy interior, just as the perfect pretzel should.  Don't be intimidated by a yeast dough--these are so easy.

Homemade Sweet and Salty Snack Mix

A few weeks ago I made Snack Mix Cookies using the M&M Sweet and Salty Snack mix and last year I made rice krispie treats using the mix and a salted caramel swirl.  I love that snack mix so much, but it's not cheap.  As I looked at the combination of mini cookies, mini pretzels, peanuts and M&Ms, I couldn't help but think I could mix together something similar.  The trick was finding the right replacements, particularly the right sized pretzels and a mini cookie.  A bit of trial and error later, and I've come up with a pretty tasty alternative to the store bought version, yielding about twice as much mix for just about the same cost.  And I kind of like this version a little better because I think my mini cookie substitute has a lot more flavor to bring to the party.