Week seven’s theme is recipe from your favorite chef. I’m going to have to go with Martha here. I love her cookbooks, magazines, Web site, cookware, I can go on and on…I also just got my Martha Stewart Living and Body + Soul Magazines today too! This week I decided to go with a recipe of the alcoholic variety for my favorite summer drink, sangria!

Ingredients:
1 ripe peach, pitted and sliced
1 red apricot, pitted and sliced (I used a nectarine instead)
5 strawberries, sliced in thirds
1 seedless orange, sliced in rounds
1/4 c. brandy, Grand Marnier, or Cointreau (I used Grand Marnier)
Pinch of granulated sugar
1 bottle dry red or white wine, such as Spanish Rioja or Bordeaux (I went with a Sauvignon Blanc)
2 T. superfine sugar
2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions
Macerate the fruit: Soak peach, apricot, strawberries, and orange in brandy, Grand Marnier, or Cointreau and a pinch of sugar for up to one hour. In a pitcher with some ice, combine the macerated fruit and liqueur with the remaining ingredients. Mix well, and serve.

My Thoughts
Was the recipe easy to follow? Extremely easy. Chop, mix, pour. I used regular Tropicana and regular white sugar since I am not Martha.
Did it taste good? Yes, amazing. I didn’t even get a picture since it was all gone before I remembered. Its not overly bitter or carbonated like some sangrias I’ve had.
Would I make again? Yes, but I would double it since it is a crowd pleaser. And its easy to use what wines/fruits you have lying around. Its going in my recipe box.

More goodness can be found at Whip It Up headquarters.

This week’s theme is appetizers and I made Avocado and Corn Tostaditas from a recipe I found on the Food Network Web site.

Ingredients:
1 ripe Hass avocado, peeled, pitted, and halved
1/4 c. sour cream
2 t. lime juice
1 T. finely chopped cilantro leaves, plus leaves for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 c. store-bought fresh salsa
1/2 c. canned black beans rinsed and drained
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels, defrosted, rinsed and drained
2 scallions, white and light green parts only, chopped
Dash hot sauce, or more to taste
20 round tortilla chips

Directions
Place the avocado in a bowl. Mash with a fork and add the sour cream, lime juice, and chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well and mix to form a cream. Set aside.

In another mixing bowl, combine the salsa, black beans, corn, scallions, and hot sauce; season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Take 1 of the tortilla chips and add a small dollop of the avocado cream. Top with the corn mixture. Garnish with a cilantro leaf.

My Thoughts
Was the recipe easy to follow? Yes, its pretty straightforward.
Did it taste good? Yes, so good and my friends enjoyed them too.
Would I make again? Yes, but I would double it if I had more than 20 people over. They need to be eaten soon after they are prepared or they get soggy.

More apps can be found at Whip It Up headquarters.

This week’s theme is spicy and I’m was going to a picnic to watch Shakespeare on the Common last night and wanted to bring something to share. I’m also moving in 25 days and need to start eating all the stuff I have in my cupboards. I pulled this together after looking at a bunch of recipes online and what I had on hand. The spiciness can be kicked up a notch since I’m not too crazy about spicy food, so add a jalapeno pepper if you want.

Ingredients:
Black beans (Drained and rinsed)
Tomatoes (I used canned, but if you’ve got fresh ones on hand I’d use those. Roma works best)
Onion (I had a Vidalia onion, but red would have been ideal)
Corn (I had about 1/4 cup of frozen corn that I needed to use up)
Fresh cilantro and parsley from my herb garden!
Garlic
1 Lime
Salt and pepper

Directions
Pretty self explanatory – throw everything in a bowl and mix. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Chill until ready to eat!

My Thoughts
Was the recipe easy to follow? Considering it is my recipe, I’d say yes!
Did it taste good? I think so and I hope my friends agree!
Would I make again? Yes, its quick and simple.

More spiciness can be found at Whip It Up headquarters.

This week’s theme is healthy recipes and I knew I wanted to make one of the salads featured in Mark Bittman’s 101 Simple Salads for the Season article that I bookmarked earlier this week. This is salad number one on the list.

Ingredients:
Watermelon
Tomato
Basil
Feta cheese
Basic vinaigrette (Bittman has a good recipe here)

Directions
Cut up watermelon and basil, add basil and feta, drizzle with vinaigrette. You can also substitute peaches for the watermelon or tomato.

My Thoughts
Was the recipe easy to follow? Yes, it couldn’t be simpler and its easy to make as much or little as you need.
Did it taste good? Yes, I would have never have thought to combine tomatoes and watermelon together. The homemade vinaigrette was good, I should make it more often.
Would I make again? Yes, I’ve got half a watermelon to  use!

Photo coming soon, the camera cord is mia. Check out the other healthy recipes at Whip It Up headquarters.

This week’s theme is regional favorite and pasta/shrimp is not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Boston. However, this recipe is from the cookbook, Boston uncommon. A little off the beaten path, but good!

Ingredients:

3 c. spiral-shaped pasta
2 c. sugar snap pea, trimmed, or green beans
1 T. olive oil
1 pound fresh deveined peeled shrimp
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. oregano
1/4 t. kosher sale
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
4 c. turn fresh spinach
1 1/2 c. cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1 c. crumbled feta cheese

Directions

Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water for 6 minutes, without salt or oil. Add the peas. Cook for 2 minutes; drain. Heat the olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. Combine the pasta mixture, shrimp mixture, spinach, tomatoes and cheese in a bowl and mix well. Serves 6.

My Thoughts

Was the recipe easy to follow? Yes, I used one pot for everything so that made cooking and clean up easy. I used whole wheat pasta and baby spinach to use what I already had in my cupboards.
Did it taste good? Yes, it was delicious and a very colorful dish.
Would I make again? Yes, I’m already planning on making this as a dinner for my family when I move back home next month. It was so simple to make.

Check out the other regional favorites at Whip It Up headquarters.

This week’s theme is guilty pleasures and mine is anything Mexican. This recipe is from the July issue of Glamour magazine.

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 Spanish onion, julienned
1 red pepper, julienned
2 c. broccoli, lightly steamed and chopped
1 12-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 c. mozzarella, grated (I used 1 bag of mozzerella and 1/2 a bag of the “Mexican” mix you find at the store)
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
12 6-inch tortillas
1 jar salsa verde

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In a medium pan, heat oil; saute garlic, onion and red pepper until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

3. Transfer to a bowl; fold in broccoli, beans, 2 c. mozzarella and cilantro.

4. In a non-stick pan on low heat, warm tortillas until pliable (I used the microwave instead). Place 1/4 c. enchilada filling on each tortilla and gently roll.

5. Lightly coat a shallow baking dish with nonstick spray; transfer enchiladas into it. Coat with store-brought salsa verde, then sprinkle with 1 c. mozzarella. Pop in oven for 15 mins. Dot with sour cream and extra cheese; serve hot.

Optional garnish: Chop up and mix radishes, cherry tomatoes, jalapenos (seeds removed), cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Serves 4.

I forgot to take a pic, but you can see an image on Glamour’s site here.

My Thoughts

Was the recipe easy to follow? Yes! However, there is a lot of prep work and dishes involved.
Did it taste good? Yes! It was very yummy and I ate the leftovers for a week.
Would I make again? Yes! I would make sure I had the right number of tortillas as I only had 10 and wasn’t able to use all the filling. Also, I’d use a bigger pan, I had a 9  x 11 pan and it was a tight fit. This would also be a great for a night with the girls served with some margaritas or a group gathering.

Check out the Headquarters for other recipes from Whip It Up, yum!

I’m participating in this year’s Whip It Up Challenge. I’m looking forward to trying new recipes each week and seeing what all the other bloggers cooked up!

This week’s theme was “Holiday” Favorites. With the Fourth of July coming up and blueberries being in season, I wanted to something that had blueberries (one my favorite summer foods) and was a dessert, so I attempted the recipe for Blueberry Buckle from O Magazine.

Ingredients

Crumble:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
4 T. butter (cold)

Batter:

4 T. butter
5 T. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t. baking soda
1/2 c. buttermilk

Filling:

4 c. (2 pints) blueberries
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. flour
3 T. granulated sugar

Directions

1. To prepare crumble: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and break apart with fingers. Refrigerate.

2. To prepare batter: In a medium-size bowl, cream butter and sugar, then mix in egg. Sift together dry ingredients. Add half the dry ingredients to the creamed butter; mix, then add buttermilk; mix, then add remaining dry ingredients; mix just to combine. Refrigerate batter 30 minutes.

3. To prepare filling: Combine all ingredients in a bowl; stir.

4. Grease eight 6-ounce ramekins or soufflé dishes (or one large Pyrex pie pan). Add 1/4 cup batter to each mold, smoothing mixture with a plastic spatula. Add 1/2 cup blueberries, then top each with 1/4 cup crumble. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, until top is browned and filling just starts to bubble. Remove from oven and allow to cool 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My Thoughts

The recipe was very straightforward and easy to make. I used a Pyrex pie pan and wish I had ramekins on hand. It would have cooked easier and more evenly, especially in the middle. Not to mention, it would be easier to get from the pan to the plate. Was it good? Yes! It would also be delish with ice cream. I’m planning to add this to my summer dessert favorites. Enjoy!