Have y’all ever heard of grilled toast? with cinnamon? AND strawberries?? With a banana?? Yay! How cool is that?  Here is a very easy recipe and it’s soooo YUMMY!

1/4 C of sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
8 brown and serve rolls, cut into quarters
4 T of butter, melted (you can melt in the micro in 10 second intervals)
1 pint of strawberries, hulled
2 firm bananas, peeled and cut into chunks

Prepare the grill for low heat.
Toss together the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix them up good!
Brush each of the roll pieces evenly with the melted butter.
Roll the pieces in the cinnamon sugar mixture until they are evenly coated.
Starting with a strawberry thread a strawberry, a roll piece and a banana chunk onto 4 skewers until the skewers are filled. (Remember to soak the skewers for at least 30 min if you are using the bamboo or wooden ones)
Grill for 8 minutes, turning often until the rolls are toasted.

Should make about 4 servings

Hope y’all enjoy!!

Roonie

Summer is here and lots of folks get to grilling! I live in So Cali, so I can grill year round and I do! Make kitchen clean up virtually non-existent! Yay! for the poor kid on kitchen duty!

I have been grilling for about 20 years and one thing I know about grilling is that you can’t rush it, no matter what!! 20 years?? (You would think after all that time I would know how to make one of those pig-in-a-pit deals)

Do your burgers fall apart? Quit messing with them. Let ‘em cook. Don’t over knead the raw meat and when you shape them, make the centers thinner than the outer edges and they won’t curl up! (How cool is that?) Make sure the ground beef is at least 15-20% fat for outdoor grilling.

Are your steaks too tough? Quit messing with them and DON’T poke them with anything! Makes all the juices jump out of the steak and into the fire and makes for a dry nasty steak. Don’t over cook steaks, either. Best way to tell if a steak is done is to push on it. It gets firmer as it cooks, so if you like it more rare, squishy is good. If you want it more well done, wait a few minutes until it firms up a bit.

Now if you have to marinade, do it in the refrigerator in resealable plastic food storage bags. Makes clean up a breeze!

If you are also using a marinade for brushing the meat during grilling, reserve part of the marinade for brushing before adding the remaining marinade to raw meat, poultry or fish. The same good food safety practice applies to a sauce that will be used for both brushing on meat during grilling and for passing at the table. Make sure you divide the sauce for the two uses before starting to cook.

For grilling fruits and vegetables, lightly coat the grill grate with vegetable oil or cooking spray before placing it over hot coals to keep foods from sticking. Never spray vegetable oil directly over hot coals!! You can also lightly spray the fruit/veggies so they don’t stick to the grate.

Enjoy!!

Roonie

Oh My Goodness!! It’s almost JULY!!! 

Y’all need to stay cool on the 4th and I have some easy to make “cool” food ideas. They are cool and refreshing, fun and festive to serve up to your Fourth of July guests!

Red, White and Blue Cheese Salad

Combine 5 cups cubed watermelon, 2 cups sliced strawberries, 2 cups raspberries, 1 cup crumbled blue cheese and 2 tbsp. fresh, chopped mint in large bowl. Drizzle with ½ cup of raspberry vinaigrette. Serves about 6. EASY!!

Firecracker Macaroni Salad

Combine all of the following ingredients in a large salad bowl:

1 pkg. cooked shell macaroni
1  chopped green pepper
1 small can chopped pimiento
1 chopped onion
1 cup chopped sweet pickles
1/2  cup chopped celery
1/2  cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/4  cup sugar or sweetener equivalent

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or chill for a couple of hours.

Fiesta Salad

Combine these ingredients to make the dressing:

3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne to taste
1 small clove garlic, mashed

 Add these ingredients to the dressing:

2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, diced medium
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2  red onion, finely chopped
4 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

 Toss all ingredients together with the dressing.

Cool Veggie Salad

Combine the following ingredients together in a medium sauce pan, bring to a boil. Stirring until sugar dissolves.

3/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup sugar

 Combine the following veggies and mix together with the vinegar mixture above:

1 can (16 oz) French style green beans, drained
1 can (17 oz) English peas, drained
1 can (12 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 jar (2 oz) chopped pimento, drained
1 cup chopped celery
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Cover and place in refrigerator for 12 hours, stirring occasionally.

Hope y’all have a wonderful 4th!!

These grilled cheese sandwiches ROCK! They are great for lunch, dinner or a little snack. I serve them with deli style mustard and the tangy hot mustard mixed with the Swiss cheese is soYUMMY!! Now y’all know I have a big family and I am always cooking a ton of food! This recipe is for 6 sandwiches and it’s SO EASY!!

You could also use a Panini press for this recipe, too! Very COOL!

 Here’s what you need…

12 slices sourdough bread

6 slices of Swiss cheese (don’t you just LOVE Swiss cheese sandwiches?)

1/2 lb. deli turkey, sliced thin MMM!!

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 lb. deli ham, sliced thin

2 tbsp butter or margarine, room temperature (you could even use that butter spray if you are watching calories)

Place a piece of cheese and slices of turkey onto 6 pieces of bread.

Sprinkle the turkey with the garlic powder (don’t use too much!)

Put a couple of ham slices over the garlic powder.

Put the top bread on the sandwich.

Heat up a skillet over medium heat.

Spread butter on both outsides of each sandwich and place the sandwich in the skillet.

Grill the sandwich 4 minutes or until the bottom slice of bread is browned. Don’t squish!

Flip it over and continue grilling an additional 4 minutes or until both sides of the sandwich are browned.

Serve with Deli style hot mustard.

Enjoy!

These meatballs ROCK! Good appetizer food! 

Asian Sweet and Sour Meatballs

½ cup finely chopped water chestnuts (from a can in the Chinese Food section)

1 teaspoon peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger root, divided

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions with tops

1 ¼ pounds lean ground beef (or turkey of you like)

1 ½ cups soft white bread crumbs

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 garlic clove, pressed

¾ cup plum preserves

¼ cup chili sauce

Preheat oven to 400F. Finely chop water chestnuts and slice ginger root. Slice green onions.

Combine ground beef (or turkey), bread crumbs, water chestnuts, ½ teaspoon of the ginger root, green onions, soy sauce and garlic in a bowl; mix gently but throughly.

Shape the meat mixture into balls; place in single layer baking dish. Bake for15 minutes, then remove from oven. Remove juices from baker using a baster and throw away.

Meanwhile, combine the preserves, chili sauce and remaining ½ teaspoon ginger root, evenly pour over meatballs. Put it back in the oven for about 15 more minutes. Give it a little stir before serving.

Should make about 40 meatballs

Little cooking tip on Ginger root…

Ginger root has a really thin, light brown skin that needs to be removed before use. Store it in a plastic food storage bag in the ice box for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months. To use frozen ginger root, just slice off as much as you need.

Hope y’all enjoy!

P.S. I always use a small food chopper to chop all my veggies and cooked meats. Makes my life easier!! You can find one here!! They are really helpful for small chores.