Mediterranean Wrap with Chicken, Quinoa and Feta

This was surprisingly satisfying. I had Greek salad leftovers and was trying to think of something different to do with them, so I threw some quinoa, hummus and tortilla into the mix. My first bite was kind of bland (mostly due to the undressed quinoa) so I added a squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt, and it was perfect. Dressing the quinoa with lemon juice, salt and olive oil would be another approach.

White Pizza with Broccoli Rabe, Peppers and Mushrooms

I had pizza night with my sister and brother-in-law. We made pepperoni, white, margherita and this tasty vegetarian one. The broccoli rabe really makes it.

Soft Pretzels

So this was exciting. I was inspired by this post on the Kitchn. Despite being time consuming, these actually weren’t too difficult. I’m not great at shaping them, though. I wanted a darker color like the photo in the blog, but maybe I needed to cook them longer or use the barley syrup.

Jon’s Chili-Coffee BBQ Rub

One of my best friend’s husband (ggah, I wrote husband!) is the best griller we know. We had the honor of attending their wedding over the weekend, and they gave out the perfect favor for them – Jon’s chili-coffee bbq rub. We’ve had it several times before, and even have a stash of our own, but now we have a recipe! It’s particularly good on pork loin, but works for steaks, fish, etc.

Pumpkin Cookies (with Fresh Pumpkin)

Thanks to Jen for sending over this recipe – it’s a good one. The cookies are soft, almost spongy, and quite addictive (they go great with coffee for a not so healthy breakfast). The recipe’s recommendation of using a quarter cup for the cookies resulted in giant ones (see: that one in the foreground that looks like a pancake), so I switched halfway through the process to John’s standard cookie scoop and that was better.

Crispy Turkey Wrap with Avocado, Arugula and Hummus

Just what it sounds like. Taking advantage of leftover turkey strips from the other night’s Cobb salad for lunch today. You probably could get away with either omitting the hummus or the avocado if you’re watching calories, but a little bit of fat does help keep you full, in my view. 

Cobb Salad with Crispy Turkey, Corn and Buttermilk Dressing

You guys know I love me a Cobb salad. This one deviates a bit from the classic based on what we had in the house (turkey tenderloins, feta cheese, corn, leftover buttermilk). The crispy chicken is a bit more caloric than grilled but mine isn’t deep fried or anything. We like doing the create-your-own-Cobb thing so we can each customize our salad and so that the leftovers don’t end up soggy (corn not pictured because I originally forgot to put it out).

Spatchcocked Chicken & Salsa Verde with Squash, Potatoes & Bread Salad

“I could eat this on Thanksgiving instead of turkey, any time.” High praise for this dinner from John. And I thought it was pretty great, too.

This was inspired by a few recipes I’d seen online/in magazines but I ended up kind of just doing my own thing. And it worked! I’m not convinced the salsa verde is needed, but we had it on hand and were trying to use it up, and it does pair well with the chicken.

Mussels Marinara

We had some leftover tomato sauce from when I made pizza on Friday (pepperoni and banana pepper deep dish; yum!), and John had the great idea that we should use it to make mussels marinara. Couldn’t have been an easier dinner, provided you have homemade or good quality prepared marinara on hand.

Crab and Corn Bisque

John actually made this soup for me a couple of years ago, so it came to mind when I had an excess of corn on hand (which has been pretty much every day this summer – so much corn in the CSA!). Luckily he had saved the recipe! I thought it turned out slightly better when he made it – it’s possible he had a heavier hand with the seasoning, but I also think the corn I used wasn’t all that flavorful.