Staright from the Garden Marinara with Prawns

                                   

Hi Everyone! Are you trying to figure out what to do with all of those summer veggies? It all seems to be ripe at the same time. At our house we like to make a homemade chunky marinara sauce. It can go over the top of any pasta you have on hand. Last night we used macaroni. Really anything goes.

We had a bumper crop of tomatoes and squash. If you happen to have an onion on hand and some olive oil you are all set to go. We love shrimp at our house and I purchased a bag of shrimp pre-cooked and pre-cleaned to save on prep time. Just be careful not to over cook them.



What you'll need:
3 medium sized summer squash-cut into spirals and then fourths
6 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1 yellow onion-diced
4 tbsp. EVOO divided
2 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tbsp. fresh oregano
6 cloves garlic (diced or minced)
1 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. garlic salt
pinch cayenne
grated parmesan or other hard Italian cheese
1 lb. large shrimp or prawns deveined (I remove the tails but its up to you)




Pasta sauce without shrimp is tasty too!

Directions:
Simmer the chopped fresh garlic in a sautee pan for about 60 seconds and remove from heat. In a large pan add the remaining olive oil and sautee the onions and squash. Cook 3-4 minutes over medium high heat and then add in the tomatoes and garlic. Next add salt and herbs and let simmer on low for 30 minutes. I added a can of stewed tomatoes for their flavor. The sauce will be healthy and chunky. After sauce is done add in the shrimp and let simmer for 3 minutes. Top over your favorite pasta and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Tip: For finicky kids we often add several cans of marinara sauce and chop the veggies super fine. You can even blend them if needed.

Chunky Mango Salsa

Are you looking for a perfect accompaniment to the fresh fish you caught?

Mango Salsa is my favorite topping for fish. Which makes sense this time of year when everyone is enjoying those summer camping vacations. Those who don't like fish will certainly love this salsa topped on a salty tortilla chip! Grab the ingredients at the store and bring a knife. You can still eat healthy, fresh, delicious food while camping! Now isn't that refreshing?


The recipe is simple.  Here's what you will need:

1 jalepeno (diced)
5 mangoes (chopped)
6 cloves garlic or more (minced)
2 limes (juiced)
1 bunch cilantro-chopped with the leaves de-stemmed

Combine all ingredients and let flavors meld for a few hours for the best taste.

ENJOY!!!

No-Bake Strawberry & Graham Cracker Pie

No-Bake Strawberry Graham Cracker Pie

Right now strawberries are in season and plentiful. The stores have some great buys. We love their many uses at our house and sort of stumbled upon a new dessert.

Whenever my kids go camping we have to have S'Mores. I must say that they are not one of my most favorite things due to the dryness of the graham crackers. So when we get home and unpack...we end up finding we have roasted all of the marshmallows, and the chocolate is long gone. So what do we do with all of those grahams?

Make a pie crust!

I found some disposable pie tins in the cabinet and an entire tub of non-dairy whipped topping in the freezer from a prior dessert that we had never used. So we made a layered pie.  

The ingredients you will need:

1 box Honey Grahams (generic is fine)
6 pints fresh strawberries
1 large tub whipping topping
9 tbsp honey or agave syrup
(Makes 3 pies)


Feel free to test this out by making only one pie. I used just one of the packs of grahams per pie so it's pretty easy to adjust to taste,

To prepare:
The bottom layer of grahams need to be crushed and I did not mix them with butter as we are trying to be healthy. I simply drizzle 2 tbsp. of honey over the top for the sticky and sweet factor. This also gives the strawberries something to adhere to!

To make this healthy it's smart to triple the fruit factor and use a non-fat or sugar free topping. You know what's best!

Layer the strawberries over the grahams and then smother them with whipped topping. Do this again and finish off the top with sliced strawberries on top. Make a pattern if you would like it to look pretty. It's up to you!

Hint:  This would also work well as a trifle.