Meals on Mondays - Oh so many Cucumbers

The weather this year has been perfect for my cucumber plant.  Yes, I planted one single cucumber plant.  And I've taken 2 dozen cukes off already and there's more that are still growing.  My cucumber has gotten massively big (I staked it when I planted it with a big square tomato cage so that it would grow up rather than sprawling all over my small patch of vegetables.  But let me tell you, it grew up, then overflowed the cage and grew back down... and now it is officially sprawling all over my garden.  At least I delayed the inevitable to let my peppers and tomatoes grow tall enough to get their own sunshine.

So with the copious amounts of cucumbers I have, right now I have two favorite recipes to use them.  So today you get a two-fer!  Try one or both!  I think you'll like 'em!

Recipe 1 - Basic Tomato Cucumber Salad - a spin on one of my favorite Caprese Salads.
1 Cucumber
1 Tomato
2 sticks of string cheese
2 Tbsp You Favorite Italian Dressing

Peel & slice cucumber.  Dice Tomato. Dice String Cheese.  Combine all in bowl and toss with your dressing.  Eat immediately!  How Easy is that?

Recipe 2 - Twisted Sister's Creamy Cucumber Salad - Made Dawn's way :)
2 medium cucumbers
1 Tbsp onion flakes
2 large tomatoes
1/2 green pepper (optional)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
4 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried dill
1 tsp. seasoned salt - more to taste if desired

Peel, halve and slice cucumbers into 1/2" slices.  (Important not to go thinner because cucumbers will then get soggy in dressing.)

Wash and quarter tomatoes.  Take out the seeds and rough dice the tomato meat.

Add onion flakes. (If desired, you can use 1 medium red onion roughly diced)

Thinly slice 1/2 green pepper.  Cut slices into 1" strips.

Combine all veggies into bowl and give a good toss to mix well.

Dressing:  Combine mayo, vinegar, sugar, parsley, dill and season salt in separate bowl.  Mix well.  Pour over vegetables and give a good toss to thoroughly coat all of the vegetables.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours stirring at least once to re-distribute the dressing.  When you first put dressing in, it seems dry... don't worry.  It quickly starts mixing with the natural juices of the vegetables.

You'll love this recipe!  I have a hard time actually putting it in the fridge for 2 hours.  I personally like the freshness of the veggies about 10 minutes after I make it... but maybe that's part of my "red-headed-ness!" :)

This post is part of SLM Petersen's Meals on Monday collection of recipes.  Every Monday we Celebrate Cooking and Sharing time around the dinner table with family.  Anybody is welcome to join us and please, take a moment to click here and check out Stacy's blog and this weeks other Meals on Monday Contributors! :)

Enjoy your cucumbers and I hope your gardens are growing plentifully!
Dawn

The BEST Grape Salad in the WORLD!

A few weeks ago at a family BBQ Chris' mom brought this grape salad.  She had gotten the recipe from a neighbor (can you believe they've been neighbors since 1969?) This is one of those neighbors that became like family - thus she's called Auntie D.  Auntie D had some descriptive words about just how good this salad is... but they wouldn't be appropriate for this G-rated blog. :)

After eating it, I can assure you all her adjectives were spot on!  So I'm sharing the recipe with you.  It's SUPER simple, yet is AMAZING.  Seriously, you wouldn't think grapes could be the star of the BBQ, but they were.  I could have eaten half of the pan!

Auntie D's Best Damn Grape Salad

4 lbs of seedless grapes (mixed red & green)

8 oz of cream cheese - softened

8 oz sour cream

1 tsp. Vanilla

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Spread grapes on bottom of a 9x13 cake pan.  Mix Cream Cheese, Sour Cream & Vanilla.  Spread over the top of grapes and mix in.  

For the topping, mix well - brown sugar and chopped nuts.  Sprinkle on top and refrigerate.

That's it... It sounds so easy because it is so easy.  But it tastes just amazing.  The cream cheese & sour cream blend w/ the vanilla tastes almost like caramel.  This could be a dessert as well as a side salad.  It just depend on when you want to eat dessert! ;)

This post is part of Meals on Mondays started by my good friend Stacy Petersen.  Anybody is welcome to join us and share your links.  Here's a link to Stacy's blog post where she has a super McLinky tool for everybody to share your links!  http://slmpetersen.blogspot.com/2010/07/meals-on-mondays_19.html Thanks for stopping by!

Cold Tuna Pasta Salad

One of the biggest challenges when it gets hot in the summer is making dinner... you don't want to turn on the oven, standing over a stove cooking is nothing short of slave labor, and you can BBQ... but when the heat is on at 90 and humidity is nearly 100% even grilling is too much work.

So this casserole is a make ahead, pasta dish that is refrigerated... so it's ready when you're hungry!

Cold Tuna Pasta Salad
4 Eggs, Hard Boiled
1 Lg. Can Tuna Fish - packed in water
8 oz. wide egg noodles - cooked & drained
1 Tbsp. Minced Onion Flakes
1 cup mayonaise
Salt & Pepper to taste

1.  Drain Tuna.
2.  Peel and quarter hard boiled eggs.
3.  In Large Bowl, mix egg noodles, hard boiled eggs, tuna, minced onion flakes, mayonnaise until well mixed.  Sprinkle in a little salt & pepper to your taste and refrigerate.

This pasta salad is best eaten after being refrigerated for 3 or more hours, even better overnight!

Hope all your summer feasting is delicious!

My Favorite Salad

Some nights you just don't feel like a big, heavy dinner.... especially if you had a big Sunday Morning breakfast, followed by a family style late lunch... dinner is the last thing on your mind. 

SO on nights when I want a lighter dinner, this is my ultimate favorite salad.  I created this salad when I fell in love with Brianna's Dijon Honey Mustard dressing.  Pretty much anything that can get that delicious dressing to my mouth is a Superstar in my food book.  :)  If you haven't tried it, it's really that good!

Here's how I make my Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad for the two of us.

2 Schwan's Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts (grilled in the George Foreman)
2-3 cups organic spring mix.
1 can Dole Tropical Fruit Salad
6-8 fresh strawberries, washed & quartered
1/2 cup dried cranberries, cherries or raisins
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or gorgonzola)
Brianna's Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing

It's so simple.  Plate your lettuce, top with all fruits, sprinkle with cheese, cut your grilled chicken breasts into strips and lay on top.  Drizzle on Brianna's dressing.  That honey mustard is like no other that I've tasted... and believe me, I've looked for something similar because it's only available at 1 grocery store in a 20 mile radius from our house.  So when I go, I get 3-4 bottles! :)

Give this salad a try this summer!  Make it smaller and have as a side salad with another meal!  I guarantee you'll LOVE it!  :)  Happy eating!