Hey everyone! Hope you guys had a great weekend. Ours was one of the best we've had in awhile...mainly because we really had absolutely NO PLANS. You NEED those days ever so often! So we got to do a few things we've neglected the past few weeks, like starting the weekend with a Saturday morning trip to the Farmer's Market...
Which was timely since I was at a negative ZERO on the produce department in our house. So it was the perfect time to STOCK UP on some new goodies....
The produce is absolutely bursting at the seams this time of year. Both plentiful & CHEAP! J
And we were super excited to get our first glimpse of the CORN TRUCK for the season. We almost thought it wasn't going to show up this year!
After gathering the goods, I had to make a stop at the Tortilla Press stand for my favorite breakfast quesadilla....and this week's special was a FANTASTIC peach, brie & bacon! Oh my Lord, sweet & salty deliciousness!
While I inhaled my 'dilla in .4 seconds, Scott kept Katie busy by checkin out the surroundings...
...and making new friendsJ
After the market (and a oppps...VERY late start), my friend & I packed the car with beach chairs & 1 Katie and headed to the Jersey Shore...
Yes, it's the second weekend in August and this was my FIRST trip to the beach of the year. Isn't it crazy how you always take for granted what's pretty much RIGHT in your backyard??
But Miss Katie completely enjoyed her first trip (sticky sand and all!)...so I forsee sneaking in a few more trips before the season slows downJ
After catchin some sun & sand, we headed to the boardwalk for a couple 'summer treats.' Which meant ice cream for Katie...
And a shared funnel cake with my friend. I have been DYING for funnel cake these last 2 1/2 months and this one did NOT disappoint. Crispy around the edges and pillowy soft in the center....with maybe just AN ENTIRE BOX of powdered sugar coating the top for good measureJ Shore summer eats at its finestJ
Sunday morning started off with another treat. Namely that Scott & Katie slept in a bit, while I got to wake up & bake a fresh breakfast treat in the SILENCE...one of my TRUE favorite things on earth, I ain't gonna lieJ hehehehhee
And once the scent of cinnamon reached their respective noses, Scott & Katie woke up to the sight of Cream-Cheese filled coffee cake waiting to be devoured. Crumbly cinnamon topped cake filled with sweet & creamy cheese filling, this thing was ACES!
And after the horrible heat wave a month ago, Jersey has broken through with some CRAZY NICE weather lately. Mid to low 80's and MUCH lower humidity lately have actually made me...dare I say it? Almost ENJOY August?? This is unprecedented, folks!!! It was SO gorgeous out yesterday that we just COULD NOT stay in after breakfast, so we headed to the park for some sunshine...and some wearing out of Katie & Penny by letting them both run around like crazy! Hahahahaha
After our park adventures, I headed to the gym for boxing class...which was extra awesome yesterday when the teacher decided to toss in some weight & cardio "stations" to mix it up along with with punchin the bags. It was a GREAT WORKOUT and one met with a tropical smoothie as soon as I got home!J
For dinner last night, I just KNEW I wanted to make something that tasted SUPER FRESH and used up a bunch of our gathered goodies from Saturday morning...and I think I achieved that goal with this one! Caprese Burgers & Grilled Sweet Peppers!
How are GORGEOUS are these Zebra tomatoes???
I can never get enough of how pretty they are!
So anyway! Tomato gushing aside, to start the burgers I made the 'caprese topping'...
- 6-7 seed & diced tomatoes (grape/zebra/whatever!)
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic (I used sweet white balsamic here)
- Handful of fresh chopped basil
- 3 garlic cloves, diced (remove before eating! Those babies will be potent!)
I tossed the tomatoes in the fridge to marinate for a bit while I worked on the burgers. And in MORE 'caprese fashion,' I gathered up some more chopped basil, diced fresh mozzarella & 2 more diced zebras...
(ps-I got a little overzealous while dicing and only used about 1/2 of that mozz & basil in this picJ)
I seasoned some ground turkey with salt & a couple cloves of pressed garlic and formed them into THIN patties. Next, I topped 1 pattie with some mozzarella and a sprinkle of basil & tomatoes...
Top the filled burger with another thin pattie & seal all of the edges before tossing on the grill. These took maybe about 10 minutes or so to cook though...although Scott & I are both 'well done' folkJ
Once the burgers were off the grill, I topped them with those pretty marinated tomatoes. Now YOU KNOW I'm not a 'raw tomato' fan, but served like this (AND 'deseeded!) I don't mind them here at all.
Well, it also might help once they are served with a CHEESE STUFFED burger! The best bites were the ones with the gooey cheese, salty burger, sweet tomatoes & herby basil all rolled together...DYNAMITE!
As for our side dish of peppers, we took recommendations from the folks at the market and simply drizzled em with olive oil & salt...
And tossed em on the grill to char. You have to remove the seeds & skin a bit before eating them, but that takes all of 3 seconds and an easy price to pay for their easy prep!
We also served our dinner with the corn trucks specialty!
Which were ALSO tossed on the grill and made even more fantastic when topped with ROASTED GARLIC BUTTER!
This flavored butter is SOOOOO easy and SOOOOO delicious that I'm not sure why I don't have GALLONS of it in my fridge at all timesJ All you do is simply roast a head of garlic and once it's cool, mix it with butter, roll in plastic wrap & refrigerate for a bit before serving. The sweet garlic with the sweet corn was EPIC. Just so good!!
And we CRACKED UP when we handed Katie her own little ear of corn and after working for a bit, we noticed she put her hands in the 'proper corn hold' and nibbled 'type-writer style' away.
Watching her pick up things like this is one of my favorite things about having a kidJ I never thought I'd get so much joy out of watching someone eat CORNJ hahahahaha
And after dinner, I just needed to get out of the house ONE more time to enjoy the beautiful night...so we headed for some Uncle Dave's ice cream to finish off the weekend proper...
Toasted coconut ice cream...I heart thee!
And even though summer has been 'ehh' not-so-bad lately, I did get SUPER giddy when I saw the sign of things to come...
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well...all good things must come to an end and Monday, I was NOT looking forward to seeing youJ Here's hopin you guys got to relax and have some fun this weekend. Makes Mondays just a BIT easier once you get to relax and recharge a little.
Have a good one!
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