Leftover Dressing and Pasta Salad

Remember that trip to Rugby, TN I talked about a couple of weeks ago?

Well, I went a little crazy.

We were only there 2 1/2 days and I brought enough food for like a week- and that was just me!  My inlaws brought enough to feed an army too, so we ended up bringing home a LOT of leftovers.

One of those leftovers was a bottle of Italian salad dressing that went completely untouched.  I brought green salad along with us, but forgot dressing.  We stopped and bought a bottle of nondescript Italian dressing at the last bastion of civilization on the way out to Rugby- a Dollar General.

Anyway, long story short, my family doesn't really use Italian dressing, especially of the rather bland variety we had sitting in our fridge.  I didn't want to throw it away, though, so I went looking for recipes in which to use it.

Simply Delicious Chopped Ahi Burgers

Asheville, NC is one of my favorite places on Earth.  Tucked away in the mountains, it's a haven for foodies and artists alike.  When my husband and I need to get away from reality for a bit, it's easy to jump in the car, drive an hour over the mountains, and spend the day sipping wine, eating good food, and wandering the countless galleries and stores downtown.

Also, it reminds me of home.  Like really reminds me of home.

It feels very much like downtown San Luis Obispo, CA to me- and I've heard the "it feels like home" comment from other West-coast transplants...

It feels like Portland.

It feels like San Francisco.

It feels like Seattle.

It just has that vibe.  To be honest, my adopted home- though beautiful- is way different than what I will always consider to be my real home, and it's nice to have such familiarity within driving distance.

That and food.  I kind of love food.

I have a laundry list of much-loved Asheville restaurants I've worked through, as well as an ever-growing wish list of places to try on future visits.  One of my favorites is Sunny Point Cafe in West Asheville.

Chopsticks and Stir Fry

My daughter and I have a tradition.

Every time my husband goes out of town on business, I have to make something we can eat with chopsticks off of the Asian-inspired dishes that generally live their lives unused, tucked away on the top shelf of a little-used cabinet.

It all started one year ago exactly with this recipe for Birds Eye® Teriyaki Chicken I made for Allrecipes for an Allstar assignment and apparently never blogged about.  My husband was out of town- Minnesota?  Utah?  Arizona?  lol he's gone maybe 6 weeks out of the year and I honestly can't remember where he was this time last year- anyway, he was somewhere in this great nation, and my daughter and I ate with chopsticks out of the dishes I never use.

Light Summer Pasta

I've tried to start this post like three times.

Each and every time the only words that have come to me are these-

I.  Am.  Tired.

Like, as in I am physically exhausted.  I'm not sure how to explain the toll having a 55ish lb, 3 1/2 foot tall, autistic little man is taking on my neck and back.  He's sweet.  He's adorable.  He's freaking brilliant.  And he's HEAVY and POWERFUL.  I'm seriously just...ugh.  There is a huge amount of physical exertion that goes into every task, from getting him into position to change his diaper to getting him into his car seat.

My back is toast.

Salmon BLT Stacks and Perfect Summers

I love road trips *almost* as much as I love flying.  Call me crazy- maybe I just have amazing kids- but I actually ENJOY being cooped up in the van with them having adventures.  Even reeeally long drives- remember those trips to Texas we take?  I pack some Roadtrip Sandwiches, start Spotify, and make sure I have plenty of snacks, books, and magazines within reach.  Then we hit the open road!

This year we decided to make an extra trip out to Texas to spend the 4th of July with some of my husband's family (16 hours driving is totally worth the chance to restock my favorite balsamic vinegars, right?) and we also were blessed enough to be invited to spend a weekend in historic, quaint, peaceful, all-around wonderful Rugby, TN to celebrate my Father-in-Law's 69th birthday.

Between trip-taking, popcorn-baking, garden-tending, and memory-making with the kids it has been one busy summer!

Garden's Bounty: Zucchini Patties and Homemade Marinara

I'm relatively new at gardening, in fact this is only my third year planting a garden of my own.  I've really been blessed with beginner's luck and a bountiful garden from the beginning.  I've also learned that just because I can grow something doesn't mean that I should grow it...

My first garden was chock full of different veggies- tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, four types of bell peppers, an accidentally purchased lemon verbena plant, cayenne, jalapeños, poblano peppers, banana peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, honeydew melon, and cantaloupe.

I had a LOT of stuff going on out there- to be honest, more than I needed, especially pepper-wise.

My second garden was was just as large but the variety of plants was pretty pared down- tomatoes, jalapeños, banana peppers, zucchini, and cantaloupe.

Garden's Bounty: Zucchini Scallion Frittata Cups

I have absolutely no idea why I continue, year after year, to plant zucchini in my garden.

I don't really like zucchini.  My family doesn't like zucchini.

Yet- until this year- I continued to plant it.  Makes no sense, right?

Perhaps it's the enjoyment I get out of watching those plants grow to outlandish sizes.  Perhaps it's the fun of seeing the squash (that is what they are, right?) grow- seemingly overnight- to the size of my calf.  Perhaps it's those gorgeous, big, leaves that I love (until they're inevitably attacked by squash bugs sometime over the summer...).