A few recipes I'll be trying this weekend.....

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette

Ingredients

2 pounds medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 ears corn, husked (or frozen kernels)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 scallions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped( I may leave this out....I don't care much for cilantro...maybe parsley instead?)

Chile-Lime Vinaigrette, (recipe follows)

Directions:

In a large pot cover potatoes with salted cold water by 1 inch and simmer, covered, until just tender, about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on size of potatoes. In a colander drain potatoes and cool to warm. Cut the potatoes crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Prepare grill. In a small bowl whisk together the oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Brush both sides of the potato slices with the oil mixture. Brush the ears of corn with the remaining oil mixture. Grill the potato slices

for 1 minute per side and transfer to a large bowl. If necessary, the grilled potato slices can be halved or quartered into bite-size pieces at this point. Grill the corn for 3 to 4 minutes rotating once a minute and transfer to a plate. When the corn is cool enough to handle, remove the kernels with a sharp knife. Add the corn to the potato slices. Add the red bell pepper, scallions and 1/4 cup cilantro leaves. Pour half of the dressing over the vegetables and gently toss to combine. Add the remaining dressing and carefully stir again. Cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to combine. Sprinkle with remaining chopped cilantro.

Chile-lime vinaigrette:

6 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce

1 teaspoon chile flakes

1 teaspoon toasted ground cumin seeds

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sugar
Directions:

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients. Yield: approximately 2/3 cup

*I am so excited about this recipes! I adore sweet potatoes. Sweet potato fries, sweet potatoes on the grill, sweet potatoes with marshmallows and brown sugar.....

Apple and Carrot Salad

2 large apples, 1 red and 1 green, cored, thinly sliced, cut into matchsticks
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or less to taste
3 cups carrots, cut into matchsticks (or the pre-cut ones)
1/4 cups chives, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, or more to taste
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
*I'm trying this salad to go with a grilled pork loin. Can't wait!*


Henry woke up with a fever the last couple of days and I took him in to the doctor yesterday and he has strep. Poor boy! He's actually been acting pretty well though and today at noon he'll no longer be contagious. Thank goodness babies can't get strep so I don't have to worry about Harper! They've both been up by at least 6 all week. Oy. That makes a mamma tired.

RJ left at 5 this morning to go to Waterloo where his grandma is having surgery to remove a tumor at the base of her brain. She has very aggressive melanoma. She had surgery to remove some from her lungs a couple of months ago, but now it's back in both lungs, her blood, and her brain. Please pray for her!

Have a Happy 4th of July!!