THE Cucumber Tomato Sandwich

 My father is an amazing gardener. Seriously the man has more than a green thumb! Growing up one of my favorite things about summer was my Dad's garden. Vegetables and fruits from the garden taste a thousand times better than the store. All summer long for lunch and sometime dinner we would eat one thing, cucumber tomato sandwiches. It is a recipe my father has developed and refined over many years till it has reached ultimate perfection. I have seriously thought of opening up a food stand in the summers to just sell this one sandwich... because nobody would want to eat anything else because it is THAT GOOD.

This summer my awesome Dad came to virginia and helped me start our new garden in our rental house. Sadly, the stupid bugs and fungus ate the cucumbers, but my tomatoes survived! We have been enjoying these awesome sandwiches all summer. I thought I would share this top secret family recipe with you to enjoy! ( It still taste good with store bought ingredients.)

Step 1: Toast yourself some yummy bread and spread some mayonnaise on top (or you can put miracle whip if your weird.) This is an open face sandwich so you will spread it over both slices.

Step 2: Thinly slice cucumbers and tomatoes and put them on the bread.

Step 3: Season with Salt and Italian Dressing. My favorite is the Olive garden dressing.

Eat it all up and enjoy!

Did I just change your life? Your Welcome!

-Bre

Pork Spring Roll Recipe

The first time I ate spring rolls was when I was visiting my adorable sister-in-law Cami in New York.  Cami is a world traveler and a fabulous cook. One bite and I was sold. Sadly, I never got her recipe but I went home and came up with one on my own. It is one of my favorite weekday meals because it is healthy and easy to make.

Mix the sauce ingredients together

Slice pork chops into strips. Heat olive oil in pan, add pork, and  then add the seasonings, plum sauce, and soy sauce and cook all the way through on medium heat.

Slice all the vegetables

Take paper and wet both sides under the sink. Try not to get too much water and only do one at a time.

Place rice paper on plate followed by lettuce.

Add the rest of the ingredients and fold tightly like a burrito. Add sauce and eat it all up!

Pork Spring Rolls

Pork ( I use pork chops and cut them into strips) you can use chicken

Montreal steak seasoning

Plum sauce

Soy sauce

olive oil

Cut pork in strips heat sesame oil and season pork with Montreal. Throw in pan add just a little soy and plum sauce. Cook all the way through

Sauce

1/4 c Fish sauce ( if you don't like fish sauce just add a little water to the mixture below and it is great)

1/4 c vinegar 

 1 Lime 

1 clove Garlic 

2 tablespoons Sugar

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 

Mix all ingredients together ( I sometimes add a little soy sauce to this mixture as well)

Other ingredients 

Rice wrappers

Romaine lettuce

Cucumber 

Carrots

Avocado 

Fresh basil leaves 

Fresh cilantro leaves

Take the rice wrappers and wet both side over the sink. Careful not to get it too wet! Place on plate take large piece of lettuce and place meat and all other desired ingredients inside. Wrap up the rice wrap and put the sauce inside and devour. 150 calories a wrap!

Veggie Mexican Quinoa

I don't know about you, but I find it very hard to find a meal that my 2-year-old will like that is not chicken nuggets or spaghetti. This dish is a family favorite and I love it because it is soooo easy to make and the ingredients are always in my house. The wonderful thing about this dish is you can mix and match the extras ( like add chicken or beef) just keep the spices and seasonings the same.  The recipe has evolved as I have made it and the final product is great! Enjoy!

First get your Quinoa out and start preparing according to the directions on the package. Just swap out one of the cups of water for a cup of Chicken broth. It gives it a great flavor.

Next chopped up all your veggies. Add them to a saucepan with 1 T. olive oil. Sauté on medium heat and add 1/2 tsp. garlic salt, cumin, and Red Chili pepper.

Next, remove from heat and add cooked quinoa, green onions, and cilantro. Squeeze one lime and stir together. Top with tomatoes and avocados. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

This is great as leftovers!

Ingredients
1 c. Quinoa
1 c. Water
1 c. Chicken Broth
2 peppers (red, orange, or yellow)
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1/2 tsp. red chili pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 c. green onions
2-3 Tbsp. Fresh Cilantro
1 lime

Instructions
First get your Quinoa out and start preparing according to the directions on the package. Just swap out one of the cups of water for a cup of Chicken broth. It gives it a great flavor. Next chopped up all your veggies. Add them to a saucepan with 1 T. olive oil. Sauté on medium heat and add 1/2 tsp. garlic salt, cumin, and Red Chili pepper. Then remove from heat and add cooked quinoa, green onions, and cilantro. Squeeze one lime and stir together. Top with tomatoes and avocados. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Veggie Cream Cheese

If there's one thing you should know about me its that I LOVE DIPS! They are my comfort food. I'm pretty sure I've never eaten a raw vegetable by itself. In fact, when there was no veggie dip around the house I would dip carrots in A1 sauce.... yeah, I may have a problem. 

It seems my daughter has inherited the same love of dips so we often feast on Hummus and guacamole for lunch. This week I bought some Asiago cheese bagels and I dreamed of an incredible veggie spread to put on it. Then I thought that I could make this spread happen.

 I chopped up some carrots, peppers, green onions, radishes, parsley, and basil from my garden.

 I stuck it in my food processor on high for a minute.

 Then I put it on the bagel! It was incredible and life changing. Maybe I will dedicate my life to creating amazing dips to put on food. Enjoy this recipe!

Veggie Cream Cheese

Ingredients
8 oz low-fat cream cheese
1/2 c. red pepper
1/4 c. green onions
1/4 c. carrots
1/4 c. radishes ( or celery if you like that more)
1 tsp. fresh basil
1 tsp. fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Directions
Chop up vegetables. Put room temperature cream cheese, vegetables, and garlic salt in food processor. Blend on high for 1 min. Serve.