Tasty Tuesday: Summer Treats

With the official first day of fall being Saturday, summer is sadly coming to a close. And while this post may be a little more appropriate at the start of summer, I just haven't been able to give up on summer just yet! So, in honor of this time of year coming to an end, I've decided to share a few of my absolutely favorite summer recipes! ENJOY!

Chicken & Bacon Kabobs
Bacon makes everything better, right?

*You can really make this for as many people as you wish so the qty of ingredients is really up to you.
- Chicken Breasts
- Bacon
- Red Onion
- Green Pepper
- Red Pepper
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Old Dutch Sweet and Sour Dressing (this is the secret ingredient that makes these!)

Cut your chicken into cubes and wrap a half a piece of bacon around them (if you put a whole piece, it won't cook through and then you have half cooked bacon on the inside and it just isn't very pretty). Then cut up your peppers and onion into little square cups so they will nestle nicely around the chicken (yes, I am extremely OCD about this stuff haha). Then, just stick all these onto your skewers - of course, in a nice, pretty pattern. :) Cook them on a pretty cool grill. If it is too hot they will burn really easily. Just cook them low and slow and throughout the cooking, slather those puppies with the Old Dutch! Seriously, we use the whole bottle!
*And, if you are like us and always have leftover ingredients, you will notice it is all the same stuff you need for fajitas the next night!


Tomato Pie
I don't even like tomatoes, and I LOVE this!

- 1 Vidalia Onion, sliced
- 1-2 Large Tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- Frozen deep dish pie crust
- A small amount of mayonnaise (just enough to get the cheese to stick together)
- Fresh basil, chopped
- Fresh oregano, chopped
*Use as much as you want of the herbs. We are huge basil freaks so we use more than most. :)

Go ahead and cook the pie crust as the package directs. Slice the tomatoes and onion. Chop the herbs. Mix the cheese in a bowl with the mayo - this gets messy bc you usually have to just mix together with your hands until the cheese sticks together. Layer in pie crust: Onion, Tomato, Herbs, then pack cheese on top. Cook on 350 for about 20-30 minutes or until cheese is good and melted on top.


Baked Vidalia Onions
Picture doesn't do this a bit of justice!

*Again, this recipe you can just make for as many as you wish so exact ingredients differ. But, go ahead and plan on 2 onions per person... you will want seconds.
- Large Vidalia onions (they must be vidalias... we have tried to make them with just generic sweet onions and it just isn't the same.)
- Beef Bouillon Granules
- Squeeze Butter
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Cut just a very small amount off the bottom of the onions so they will sit flat in the dish. Then, using a knife/spoon hollow out the top of the onions to make a bowl. Be careful not to go all the way through the bottom, you don't want any of those yummy juices to escape! Then layer inside your little onion bowls: bouillon granules, squeeze of butter, Parmesan cheese. Repeat a few times until the onions are full and cheese is on top (Usually 2-3 times max). Place the onions in a glass baking dish and fill the dish with water (about halfway up the onions) and cook on 300 for about 2-3 hours until they are tender and slightly brown. Sometimes I cover them for the last 30 minutes to brown them a bit more.


So, there ya have it! After writing this, we may be having all of these one last time this week before the cold weather officially hits.