Blood Orange Slurpees

 

So simple, so fun.  

The kids love these for a summer treat.

All you need is crushed ice and some sort of liquid.
Fill the cup with the ice, then add the liquid.  Top up with more ice if necessary.

For these we used Schweppes Agrum Blood Orange.

Delicious.

Simple BBQ Clams

I know I have been MIA around here for a bit.  Sorry!  You can pop over to my other blog and read this post if you want to know why!

Anyway, I have a long list of recipes I want to share with you.  I'm doing a bit of a re-schedule of my ENTIRE LIFE so we'll see how I go with that.  Today, I'll share a very simple recipe.  It's not even a recipe.  All you need is a BBQ and some fresh clams.

Just put the clams on the BBQ and wait for them to open.  When they open, they are done.

I ate them just like that, but I LOVE clams.  Next time I may do a simple sauce to go with them ... you might like to do that too.

I keep forgetting to take pictures of the food I'm making!!  Grrr...Wanna make this one again soon since it was so yummy and EASY-PEASY, so I'll try and remember to take a picture then.  I found the original recipe here, but made a few modifications.

Spinach Salad

serves 4-6 (with LOTS of extra dressing)

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
sugar to taste
sea salt to taste
Optional: fresh ground pepper to taste (I left this off cause I don't really like pepper)

Salad:
6 cups fresh baby spinach (I just used one bag)

 - NOTE: I didn't actually measure any of the following...just sprinkled and tossed till it looked right, but if you like measurements...

1/2 cup chopped nuts (the original recipe called for walnuts...I had pecons and LOVED the substitute...don't think I'll ever use the walnuts)
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup dried cranberries (the original recipe said you could use any dried fruit but the cranberries were delish, so I'll probably just stick with them)

Instructions

Put dressing ingredients in a bottle and shake well.  The cheaper your balsamic, the more sugar you'll need.  I used about 2 teaspoons and it tasted lovely, so just taste and add as needed. 
Toss spinach with nuts, feta and fruit. Give dressing another shake and drizzle over individual servings.  There was LOTS of dressing left over, but it can sit out on the counter (or in the fridge) for use on other salads.  I may never buy another balsamic vinegrette again because this one was so yummy and easy!

Sausage Apple Overnight Breakfast Casserole

I personally am NOT a fan of sausage, (what I would consider) soggy bread, OR baked egg dishes...BUT...I was looking for a quick, easy breakfast that I could make the night before and feed to a hoard of hungry boys starting VERY early in the morning - and I found this recipe (where, I cannot for the life of me remember!) and thought I'd give it a go.  It made TONS and was very filling, easy (did almost all the prep while dinner simmered), made the house smell AMAZING as everyone woke up, and got the stamp of approval from the hoard of boys! :-)  I highly recommend it...if you're into breakfast casseroles - or are feeding hoards! 

 

Sausage Apple Overnight Breakfast Casserole

1 pkg. (1 lb.) Pork Sausage Roll
6 cups bread cubed into 1 inch pieces (I had a coupon for french bread...so used that - it was under one loaf when cut up)
10 eggs
3 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large baking apples, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
maple syrup, if desired

Brown sausage; drain. Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla. In another bowl, mix apples, sugar and cinnamon together until well coated. In a greased (forgot to grease the pan the second time I made this dish...definitely stuck to the pan!! So don't skip this step!) 9 x 13 inch baking dish, place half of the bread cubes followed by half the sausage, half the apples, and 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Pour egg mixture over the layers making sure to evenly coat it all with the egg mixture. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake uncovered for 55-60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve topped with a drizzle of maple syrup if desired. (the boys ate it plain and with syrup and loved it both ways)