PW's Katie's Roasted Corn Salad

(Sorry for the blurriness, I was in a hurry.)

 Tis the season of endless vegetables and lots of grilling.  So why not combine the two?  The Pioneer Woman has a wonderful cookbook out full of yummy recipes, beautiful pictures, and lots of stories.  On of her recipes is for a Roasted Corn Salad.  Soooooo GOOD!

Makes 6 cups (but I ended up with closer to 10!)
Ingredients:
Vegetables:
Olive Oil
8 fresh corn ears
1 red onion, quartered
2 yellow squash, halved lengthwise
1 red bell pepper
2 medium tomatoes
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
12 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
1 tsp kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat outdoor grill, or grill pan.  Drizzle grill with olive oil.  Place the corn on the grill and liberally drizzle with olive oil.
2. Grill for 5-8 minutes, until the corn is beginning to brown.
3. Drizzle the onion with olive oil and grill just until it starts to become tender.  Do not overcook, as you'll want the onion to remain somewhat firm.
4. Repeat with halved summer squash and red bell pepper.  Allow vegetables to cool slightly after grilling.
5. Roughly chop the onion, squash, and pepper.  With a sharp knife, scrape the corn kernels from the cob.  Dice the tomatoes and add them to the mix.
6. To make the dressing, in a separate bowl, pour the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and whisk together until combined.
7. Finally, add the basil, salt, and garlic and whisk together.
8. Place the vegetables in a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over the top.  Stir to combine.
9. Serve as salad, with tortilla chips or crackers, or spoon on top of grilled chicken.

Variations:

• I pam-ed the outdoor grill instead of drizzling with OO.
• For the dressing, I used 1/3 cup OO instead of 1/2 cup (slightly healthier, right?)
• I prepared the salad the night before.  Kept the dressing separate, but excluded the basil until right before serving.

S'mores Stuffed Brownies

Ummm...YUM!  Run, don't walk, to the kitchen to make these!

Ingredients:

1 box of your favorite brownie mix
4 1/2 full Graham Crackers
3 1/2 Full size Hershey’s Bars
16 large marshmallows

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  
2. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions.  
3. Line foil into an 8×8 inch baking pan and spray generously with cooking spray.  
4.  Pour half the brownie batter into lined pan.  Layer graham crackers over brownies following Hershey Bars and marshmallows.  Pour remaining brownie batter over marshmallows.  
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes mostly clean from center.  
6. Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Carefully remove foil and brownies from pan.  Peel any foil from away from edges and cut into squares.

12 brownies

I think my pan was a 9x9, I ended up with 16 brownies.  The middle stuff is the best, especially when it's still a little gooey.

Thank you for the recipe Picky Palate.

Summer Corn Salad

I made this salad for 4th of July.  Corn = a summer staple.  But I don't like eating corn off the cob, so this recipe was perfect!

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: ~10
WW:  2 pts/serving

Ingredients:
6 ears corn, husked and cleaned
3 large tomatoes, diced (I used romas)
1 large onion, diced  (I used red)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted (optional) water to a boil.  Add corn and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until desired tenderness.  Drain, cool, and cut kernels off the cob with a sharp knife.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the corn, tomatoes, onion, basil, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Chill until serving.

So good.  So refreshing.  Perfect summer side dish!

1800 Tequila Sunrise Sangria

Ummm... You can pretty much bet that I'll be making this this Sunday.

Ingredients:
1 Orange
1 Lime
1 full bottle of Prosecco
1 cup Tequila
2 cups Ginger Ale
1/2 pint Raspberries

Instruction:
Slice half the oranges and limes into circles, then slice in half to form half moons.  Squeeze the other halves of both fruits into a large pitcher filled with ice.  Add the Prosecco, Ginger Ale, and Tequila.  Stir, adding whole raspberries and remaining orange and lemon pieces.

Sit back and enjoy.  (The recipe didn't say that part.  I added it.  'Cause doesn't it look like a sit back and enjoy kind of beverage?)

Orange Dreamsicle Cake

My Bloggy Buddy, Bluegrass Belle, posted this recipe a few weeks ago and I knew I had to make it.  This is the perfect summer cake. especially if you're bbqing or have friends over for dinner.  And that's when I made it, when I had some friends over for dinner.  Everyone loved it!

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1 small box vanilla jello instant pudding
2 small boxes orange jello
16 oz. cool whip
1 cup milk

Instructions:

1. Bake cake as directed.  While cake is still warm, poke holes in cake with the end of a wooden spoon.  Mix one box of orange jello according to package directions, and pour the liquid mixture over warm cake.  Cool before adding icing (can be refrigerated overnight before adding the icing, or just let the cake cool).
2. To make the icing:  mix the remaining box of orange jello with the pudding and one cup of milk.  Add to thawed cool whip, and spread on the cake.  Refrigerate overnight and serve.

Optional Alterations:

• To cut calories:  bake the cake with applesauce instead of oil, use reduced fat and/or sugar free pudding and jello mixes, use light cool whip, and use 1% milk.
• I didn't have orange jello, so I used raspberry.  SO good!  I bet it would be good with lemon or strawberry as well.

Sorry I don't have a picture.  I made it in a rush (oops, didn't read the "refrigerate overnight" until I started making it, 2 hours before serving. 

Thanks Jill for sharing the recipe!