Crockpot Corn on the Cob

This is by far the simplest meal you could ever think of preparing. And not only that but cleanup involves...ummmm...throwing away the tin foil and putting your crockpot away. How awesome is that?! I had a thought the other day as I watched the weather forecast for the week. The temperatures were skyrocketing and taking humidity right along with them. I knew I didn't want to heat up the house by turning on the oven or even boiling water, but I had 4 ears of fresh corn I really wanted to use up. Then it occured to me--why not use the crockpot? And I'm so glad I did! Now, I'm not sure how many of you would consider corn on the cob a "main course" but in my house we did. And though I wouldn't serve it to guests, Kevin and I had no problem with this meal--especially topped off with the Black Bean Salsa and chips!

4-6 ears of corn
Remove husks.
Wrap individually in tin foil.
Place in a dry crockpot.
On high.
for 2-3 hours.

Butter and enjoy!

Garlic Deviled Eggs

These deviled eggs are not for the faint of heart. I set about making this lovely little appetizer in hopes of making my husband very happy. He loves deviled eggs! I do too! However, I have never made them before (which is weird actually) and I wasn't exactly sure what the protocol was for deviling eggs. So rather than search for the perfect looking recipe, I decided to make up my own. Risky, I know! The result is perfectly delicious for my tastebuds and I'm certain Kevin will be totally geeked about them too! But if you don't like spice you'll definitely want to limit the garlic. and the mustard. and the cilantro. :)



6 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1/4-1/2 cup mayo (I used light Hellman's)
salt
pepper
paprika, for garnish
cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Place 6 eggs in a 3 quart saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a rolling boil. Turn heat off immediately and let the eggs sit on the burner for 20 minutes. Drain hot water off and cover with cold water. Let cool completely and then peel the eggs. Cut eggs in half, lengthwise and scoop out the yokes into a small bowl. Combine yokes with garlic, mustard, mayo, salt and pepper until desired flavoring is achieved. Use a small spoon to fill the egg whites with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and chopped cilantro.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I have been dying to try my hand at homemade cinnamon rolls for quite some time now, but I knew making them when just Kevin and I were home was probably not the best idea. :) So when six of my best girl friends were spending Friday night at our house I decided it was the perfect opportunity! Now, I realized far in advance that I was not going to be getting much sleep at this slumber party/reunion night so when I stumbled across Alton Brown's Overnight Cinnamon Rolls recipe I was pumped! Out of 250+ reviews his average star rating (1-5) was a five and everyone from novices to experienced bakers were raving about this recipe! I started the dough Friday evening and after rising and rolling and slicing they were put away in the refrigerator until morning. How perfect is that?! These were surprisingly simple to put together and absolutely fabulous to eat! I think everyone had to have at least 2 of these glorious rolls and couldn't stop talking about how great they were! Britt even said they were delicious and her mom makes the best cinnamon rolls! So don't be afraid! Try this recipe soon! Since I made no alterations to the recipe I am simply providing a direct link to the Food Network recipe card.

Alton Brown's Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Stuffed Zucchini with Turkey Sausage

I came across a fantastic new food blog called Simply Recipes and one of the featured recipes recently was this stuffed zucchini. Seeing as how I had 4 large zucchini in the fridge that I found for $0.10 each at Ciolino's I knew I needed some unique ways to use them...you know methods other than "mix with loads of sugar and flour and eggs and make into an amazing loaf of goodness." This was simple to put together and I had all the ingredients on hand (minus the fresh herbs, but I substituted dry ones.). It was really tasty. The zucchini flavor is not at all overpowering...in fact the flavors are quite mild. I'm not sure I would add the egg next time simply because it made the insides taste more like a breakfast casserole than I would have liked. Also, don't forget you can alter the spices to your liking and, if you love cheese as much as we do, you can add some shredded Muenster (or other variety) to the turkey mixture. I hope you, too, will enjoy this healthy meal.

1 zucchini about 12 inches long, or 6 medium ones

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 pound ground turkey

2 diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving shells about 1/4 inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides.

Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides, and sauté another 2 minutes.

In a separate skillet heat a Tbsp of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the ground turkey. Lightly brown the turkey, stirring only occasionally. After the turkey browns on one side, stir it so that it has a chance to brown on other sides. Cook until the ground turkey is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the onion and mushroom mixture from the other pan. Add the wine. Stir in tomato, basil and rosemary and cook 1 minute longer. Drain any excess fat. Remove mixture from heat and set it aside.

When mixture has cooled, add cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Fill zucchini shells with mixture. Fill a baking pan with 1/4 inch of water. Place filled zucchini halves in pan and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove zucchini from pan and serve while hot.

Serves 4.