Greetings

Wow, my first blog post...EVER. I hope it's worthy enough of some attention. :)

Everyone is always asking me what did I cook for dinner last night which is then usually followed by "i don't know how you find the time?". Then they are always pleasantly surprised how quickly I can just throw stuff together (no one more so than my fiance). I am a huge believer in "use what you got". I don't have alot of time to go to the grocery store and I live across the street from one.

Let's face it-we are have crazy schedules and crazy lives but the saying is very true...you are what you eat. So if you are eating take out or microwave dinners you are not doing yourself any good. It leads to weight gain (which is NOT easy to take off as you get older), health problems, etc. So why not just eat healthy??? Too much work??? Non sense.

So i thought i'd share some quick, healthy easy recipes that anyone can do. Let me know if you've tried them and what you think :)

You should have most of this stuff in your pantry at home but if you have to go to the store you'll most likely spend $10 or less.


Today's Recipe: corn & tomato salad (serves 4 or 2 really hungry peeps)

Here's what you need:

• 2 ears of corn
• 2 large tomatoes (try and get heirloom tomatoes if they are in season)
• 1 large fresh mozzerella ball
• 1/4 vidalla onion
• 1 ciabatta roll
• balsamic vinegar
• light olive oil
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Here's how to make it:

• preheat your oven to 400 degrees. cut up the ciabatta roll into bite size pieces (crouton size). place in a medium bowl. drizzle with some olive oil, salt and pepper. mix with your hands. place on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown (about 12-15 minutes)
• while the croutons are baking, shave the corn kernels off the cob into a medium bowl. (if you can throw the cob into a ziploc bag and in your freezer to use for stock-trust me AMAZING!!!)
• cut up the tomatoes into a large dice and place in bowl with corn. add pinch of salt and pepper.
• cut on the onion into a small dice. you can use a food processor or mini chopper to make it easier. add to tomato and corn mixture. (ps- i chop the whole onion so this way I have it prepped for other recipes for the week. just store the remaining in a plastic container).
• pour about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar over the tomato/corn mixture. let sit for about 15 minutes at room temperature to let all the juices combine.
• take croutons out of the oven and let cool slightly
• cut up fresh mozzerella into large dice add to corn and tomato mixture. drizzle with a bit of olive oil.
• scoop salad into individual bowls and top with croutons.

Great little add-ons:

• chopped basil leaves
• minced garlic for a kick
• diced grilled chicken breast for protein