Rosemary Potato & Veggie Skewers

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As the summer goes on, Eric and I are getting more and more comfortable with using the grill on a regular basis. We’ve finally started branching off into grilling our side dishes on occasion as well. So far, so good!

I’ve done kebabs and skewers in the oven for years and I’ve been anxiously awaiting for Eric to be comfortable enough to try his hand at grilling. Once that happened, we opted for a side dish, just because it seemed like a safer bet. We are definitely converted now!

One tip that I’ve relied for a long time when cooking potatoes on skewers like this, whether in the oven or on the grill, is to boil them for about 15 minutes first. That way, all they have to do is finishing cooking, which results in a nice creamy, fully-cooked inside and a crispy skin. Plus, it keeps the potatoes from taking a lot longer to cook than the other veggies. (And if you want to take advantage of some stolen moments, the potatoes can be boiled earlier in the day and just stored in the fridge. For that matter, the skewers can be assembled completely ahead of time as well.)

Rosemary Potato & Veggie Skewers

  • 2 lbs. baby red potatoes
  • 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and quartered
  • 1/2 lb. mushrooms, halved
  • 1 – 2 red peppers, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/3 c. butter, melted
  • 1/4 c. olive oil
  • Coarse sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • Fresh rosemary, minced
  • Bamboo skewers

1. Place potatoes in a large pot with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil for about 15 minutes, just until fork tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.

2. Thread potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and red pepper on bamboo skewers.

3. Stir melted butter and olive oil together and brush on skewers. Sprinkle generously with sea salt, pepper and Rosemary. Grill or bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are crispy and veggies are tender.

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Green Pea Salad

We go through a lot of peas in our house! Even though the kids would gladly eat them straight out of the freezer, Eric and I need a bit more variety. So since it’s summer, a pea salad seemed like the perfect alternative for a side dish. It was a hit with everyone, which I completely expected.

I used frozen peas for our salad, although I’m holding out hope that I’ll be able to use some peas fresh from our garden before the end of summer. I haven’t talked much about our garden, but it’s doing great and everything seems to be flourishing, although we haven’t yet been able to harvest anything. Hopefully that will change someday soon!

Green Pea Salad

  • 1/2 c. mayonnaise
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 1 T. vinegar
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 1/2 t. thyme
  • 1/4 c. sliced green onions
  • 5 slices bacon, diced and cooked
  • 3 c. peas (frozen or fresh)

1. Combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper and thyme in a large bowl. Stir in green onions, bacon and peas until completely mixed. Refrigerate until serving.

This couldn’t be any easier, yet it tastes so good! It’s best to make at least a few hours ahead of time so that the flavors have a chance to develop fully. And it’s easily doubled or tripled for a crowd.

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Peach & Blackberry Sundaes

I think one of my very favorite things about summer is the abundance of delicious fresh fruit. I wait for it all year and crave fresh berries, watermelon, peaches, and pretty much any other fruit you can think of. I absolutely refuse to buy our usual stand-bys of apples and oranges during the summer. It helps that the kids love all those fruits as much as I do. You better believe that a big fruit salad serves as dinner for all of us at least a few times each summer.

We also love to incorporate those fruits into desserts as often as possible. Since we have really been enjoying the combination of peaches and blackberries lately, I thought it would make a wonderful ice cream topping. I added a little cinnamon to give the syrup a little something extra and it was just the right amount of spice to give the whole sundae a delicious and almost unexpected flavor. We loved it. (And the extra syrup spooned over pancakes was a huge hit too!)

Peach & Blackberry Sundaes

  • 2 peaches, divided
  • 1 1/2 c. blackberries, divided
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 c. water
  • 1/4 t. cinnamon
  • 2 t. cornstarch
  • 1 T. water
  • Vanilla ice cream

1. Cut the peaches into slices. Reserve 8 slices for the sundaes. Cut the remaining slices into cubes. Reserve 12 blackberries for the sundaes.

2. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat to boiling over medium heat. Stir in the peach cubes and remaining blackberries. Continue simmering, stirring frequently, until peaches and berries can easily be mashed with a spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in cinnamon.

If desired, mash some of the fruit with the mixing spoon while stirring for a less chunky sauce.

3. Stir together cornstarch and 1 T. water until smooth. Slowly pour into the simmering sauce and stir well. Continue to simmer the sauce until thickened to the consistency of a thick syrup. Remove from heat and let cool at least 5 minutes before spooning onto ice cream.

4. Scoop ice cream into 4 serving dishes. Spoon on the berry syrup and top each sundae with 2 peach slices and 3 blackberries. Enjoy!

Refrigerate any leftover sauce and use for more sundaes or as a breakfast syrup.

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