Garden Chat and a Recipe

The best part about living in the middle of two Italian families as well as having an Italian Step Mother, is that we are constantly being given fresh vegetables from their and their families gardens. :)

We get fresh lettuce, fresh tomatoes, fresh cucumbers, the list goes on and on and it never gets old. The recipes you can make with fresh vegetables always taste so much better then what you buy at a supermarket and something about the look of a nicely grown green onion from your neighbour's yard is a good way of knowing that you are nourishing your body as well with fresh produce. :)

I attempted to make a tuna salad with some of the lettuce and onions we received, but I'm not a huge fish fan so I got really grossed out and fed it to my dogs, ha. If you like tuna though, you'll love the salad.

What You'll Need:

• Sun Dried Tomato Tuna (or if you can't find that, a jar of sundried tomatos in oil and a can of tuna)
• One Tomato, quartered
• A fresh head of lettuce, chopped
• Green Onion, chopped
• 2 tbs of Olive Oil
• 1 Lemon, Freshly Squeezed
• Salt, Pepper to taste
• Garlic Salt

Mix it all together and you have a salad. Easy Peezy

A Pug, An Avacado, and a Recipe!

 Egg and Avacodo Sandwich. Simple but Delicious Recipe Idea from Pam

One day, I'd really like to learn to take beautiful photos and edit them to make them even prettier.. but right now I just can't get over the convenience of my cell phone camera. I mean it takes pretty rockin' pictures and it's just so easy to snap a quick image and then get right down to eating!!
Yum.
Anyway, I had a craving for quinoa because I keep reading about it every 5 seconds so I bought a package yesterday along with some chicken.
The thing I like about quinoa is that it's so versatile and you can make a big batch of it and then store it away for future use! Can't go wrong there! HUGE money saver.
Without further ado, a recipe I made up yesterday:

Quinoa Salad

What you'll need:

(serves 1. Add additional ingredients as you see fit) 

(dressing)

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• garlic clove (mashed with a knife)
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp of parsley

(salad)

• 2 Romaine Lettuce Branches
• 1 cup of Cooked Quinoa
• 1/2 Avacodo
• 4-8 Baby Tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 Red Onion, chopped
• 4-6 Cucumber Sliced, quartered
• 1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh, Baked and Chopped

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make your dressing. Combine all ingredients...make sure to mash up that garlic clove and stick it in. Set aside.
3. Season your chicken thigh(s) with sea salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you wish. I used an onion powder and some garlic salt. It's really a matter of preference in my opinion.
4. Put in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
5. Start cooking your quinoa according to the package directions.
6. Once everything is all cooked and ready mix into the salad (make sure chicken is cut up nice and small to mix well also). Add dressing.
7. Not much of a recipe but it sure is delicious...and healthy!
8. YUM!!