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Summertime and Lunchin' is Easy

Happy start of the week W+A readers! Apologies for being MIA for a few weeks, but we have been busy bees. John is off for the summer and its really fun having him around. Not only is he pretty spectacular at most of the household chores that I don't enjoy doing very much, but he makes the most delicious and healthy lunches too. Since I work from home we try to separate our duties during the day, him in one room, me in the other and its definitely been a bit of a learning curve, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love having him home for the summer!


Breakfast has been scrambled egg bakes with lots of veggies: peppers, onions, potatoes, zucchini and more. Sometimes we'll make these for lunch time eats too because they are so easy and filling. You really can throw any type of vegetables you like in and then slow cook over the stove or bake in the oven in a cast iron pan. 


We've been eating lots of tuna and salads for lunch these past few days and John makes a mean tuna sandwich on toast. He adds 1-2 cans of tuna in water, 1 tbsp of light mayo made with olive oil, 1 tbsp of whole grain dijon mustard, 1/2 of a white or red onion finely chopped and diced celery. Toast up some low calorie bread and top with baby spinach. I love a couple of bread and butter pickles on the side too. Its such an easy, satisfying and light summer lunch.


For dinner the other night we had two perfectly ripe avocados so John whipped up some delicious guacamole. We used our molcajete to smash up 2 avocados, cilantro, 1 red onion, juice of 1 lime, salt and pepper to taste. Avocado is so satisfying and gives you the healthy fats you need in your diet. We grilled up some of our homemade spinach and feta chicken burgers and topped them with fresh guac. It was the perfect topper. No tortilla chips needed ;)


For a Fourth of July BBQ we attended I made one of my favorite go-to pasta salads. Its light, refreshing and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. We always have friends requesting this at their BBQs!

Ingredients: 

-1 box of farfalle pasta
-1 ball of fresh mozz
-2 packages of cherry tomatoes 
-parsley 
-baby spinach 
-oregano
-salt & pepper
-garlic powder
-olive oil
-dressing of your choice

Directions: 

Boil one whole box of farfalle pasta in salted water while you roast 2 packages of cherry tomatoes in the oven on a baking sheet for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. I slice my tomatoes and toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano and then spread out on the sheet making sure none of stuck together. While your pasta and tomatoes are cooking, slice up one whole ball of fresh mozzarella and chop up some fresh parsley. We used ours straight from our hanging herb garden. Once your pasta is al dente, drain and let sit in colander for about 5 minutes to cool. Once done cooling, move into your serving bowl or dish and drizzle some olive oil. This will keep the pasta from sticking together. Then add your spinach and toss well. This will help wilt the spinach a bit. Next, remove your tomatoes from the oven and spoon into your salad. I then add the mozzarella and parsley and let sit at room temperature. About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve add your dressing. I prefer a light Italian or balsamic dressing just to marry all of the flavors and textures together. I then add a little bit of salt and pepper for flavor.


We have been getting in some quality porch time hanging these past couple of weeks with the beautiful weather. Its one of my favorite things to do during the warm weather season. Drink tasty cocktails, listen to music and relax on the porch. Its a simple past time, but we really enjoy it and its a nice way to catch up on each others day and chat about what our next move is in the kitchen ;) Well we have yet another busy weekend ahead. We will be celebrating my brother and soon to be sister in law's wedding and I can't wait! Its going to be a great time and then only a few more days until we are off on our European vacation! Can you tell we are counting down?  11...10...9...8...
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