Chicken Tikka Masala with Indian Spiced Masala Zucchini

 

Chicken Tikka Masala with Indian Spiced Masala Zucchini

Don't mind the chip in the plate.....it gives it character. 

I made the Chicken Tikka Masala almost exactly as written. The only difference is that I didn't measure how much chicken thighs I used, I just grabbed a few....and I used jarlic instead of cloves and refrigerated squeeze ginger instead of chopping fresh. Oh and I had to use red onion because I was shockingly out of white/yellow.  It's delicious of course because yum!

The Indian Spiced Masala Zucchini I made because we still have so many tomatoes & zucchini from the garden, so I headed to Pinterest to look up "Indian spiced zucchini". I found this recipe that I had all the ingredients for! Well almost, instead of the cumin seeds I just used dried cumin. I also didn't measure the veggies lol. I used 2 tomatoes, half a red onion because I was out of white, and probably 3 cups of zucchini. It was really good too!

I love these flavors and want to make them more often, but Craig's not the hugest fan.....he likes it but not that often. Some homemade naan would of been good to sop up extra sauce..... if I had the energy! I'm due any day and I'm so excited/nervous :) 

Click here for the Easy Chicken Tikka Masala recipe by Damn Delicious

Click here for the Indian Spiced Masala recipe by Tarladalal

Ground Turkey Pita Pockets

 

Ground Turkey Pita Pockets

I had the best intentions for making this as the recipe said to lol. I had planned on just buying a tzatziki sauce because I'm due any day now and even cooking takes it out from me. I bought a pound of ground turkey, and I also had a 1/2 pound of ground beef leftover from making beef stroganoff, so I added that to the ground turkey. Which meant I added more spices too. I normally am not a fan of feta but it really does work with these flavors.

The first issue I had with this dinner is that I could not get the pita's into pockets, probably because I just bought the Walmart brand and they are too thin. So I thought oh well we'll have pita tacos, that's fine. The second issue is when I went to make the pita pockets.....I realized I forgot to order the tzatziki sauce! I was so bummed because I love tzatziki sauce. So instead I spread the pitas with a layer of hummus and a thin layer of garden veggie cream cheese. I also put some ranch on my sons pita pocket. Overall they still were delicious and really fresh tasting, and I'd like to make it again but actual pocket style with tzatziki sauce. Oh yeah and the cucumbers & tomatoes were from Craig's garden!

Click here for the Greek Pita Recipe from Jar of Lemons

Tortellini Salad

 

Tortellini Salad

This is another "it's too hot to cook" meal. Super easy and I wanted to use up a few ingredients from the garden. I was inspired by this tortellini salad recipe by Love & Lemons and I just randomly added stuff that I had already. I also used bottle dressing because I really wanted a super quick meal lol

Ingredients:

- 20oz bag of tortellini

- 2 tomatoes from the garden, diced

- 2 zucchinis from the garden, diced

- 1/2 red onion, diced

- 1 5oz container shaved parm

- 1 14oz can of white beans

- 1 14oz can artichoke hearts, diced

- 1 bell pepper, diced

- 1/2 cup maybe of pepperoncini, diced 

- a few handfuls of an arugula/spinach blend

- 1/2 bottle of Kens Zesty Italian dressing. I don't like it too wet so I added garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and a smidge of cayenne to taste and mixed it into the salad

I just cooked the tortellini, chopped all the veggies and just combined everything. Super fresh and tasty, it would be amazing with some fresh herbs. The zucchini I diced and air fried with a little EVOO/salt/pepper/garlic at 400 for about 6 minutes. 

Veggie Sandwich with Garlic Butter Fries

 

Veggie Sandwich with Garlic Butter Fries

The guys were here finishing up the flooring today and I wasn't sure how late they'd be here. So I got some Dave's Killer Bread that I toasted and I spread some garden veggie cream cheese, & topped with: arugula, pepperoncini, tomatoes & cucumber from the garden, avocados and red onion. We had some bacon too that would have been yummy.

I also air fried some of these garlic fries from Kinders, they are super good

Hello Fresh Pork Chops in Cranberry Shallot Sauce with Garlicky Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans

Hello Fresh Pork Chops in Cranberry Shallot Sauce with Garlicky Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans

   These were pretty good, the cranberries were perfect today because it was the first time it felt like Fall here today. It wasn't really a sauce though, at all. It was delicious but I wish it was saucy. Maybe I cooked it too long, but it didn't seem like I did. I'm not sure I'd get this recipe again, I think I'm coming to the realization that none of us really care for pork chops! I always had picked them for Hello Fresh because I never make them, but I think I won't get pork chops anymore.

My son grew a watermelon in the garden! I think we started it too late because it's not very sweet, but it was still fun to do!

 

Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie

    We have a ton of tomatoes this summer, so I made some tomato pie. This was only the second time that I've ever had it, but I love it. Unfortunately, no one else in my family does. My son says he doesn't like tomatoes unless it's a sauce, and my husband just didn't really care for it. Oh well, luckily it's just like a once a year thing. I combined these two recipes. Basically I salted the sliced tomatoes and let them sit for like 10 minutes. Then I layered the tomato slices with a bit of cooked bacon between each slice. Then I topped it with the cheese/mayo mixture that had fresh basil!

Tomato Pie #1 

Tomato Pie #2

 

BLT's with Homegrown Tomatoes

 

BLT's with Homegrown Tomatoes

  My husband grew tomatoes this year, and of course they super multiplied and we have tooons of tomatoes. I grew tomatoes 2 years ago and got 1 tiny cherry tomato. Oh well, he's been tending the garden so I like that I get the reward without the work lol. We had BLT's tonight to try and use some up. They had tomatoes, bacon, lettuce, pepperoncini, mayo, onions, dijon, pepper, and cheddar. So more then a BLT but they were amazing!