Hot Blueberry, Brie, & Basil Sammie

This sandwich was soooooo gooooood.  I ate it for lunch three days in a row.  I won't talk anymore, I'll just show.

So the recipe came from the blog, Grilled Cheese Social.  All she ever posts is grilled cheese sandwiches. Clearly my favorite blog ever.  

Her original version of this is a wee bit different, only because I didn't have mascarpone.

I did what any cheese loving human would do and I dug through my cheese drawer.

I came out with white cheddar.

Same difference, right?

Okay, no, but it was still amazing.

Cream cheese would have been a closer sub, but I didn't have any, so you work with what ya got.

Here's the link to the recipe:

Blueberry Baby

Mascarpone, Brie, Basil, and Blistered Blueberries Bagel Grilled Cheese

Oh man, it's all about those hot, juicy blueberries.

(Out of our yard, I might add.)

It only takes like five minutes to make them.

Totally worth it.

I made mine in the morning, then stuck them in the fridge till lunch time.

It made enough for three days worth of eating this.

I was skeptical about the basil.

I love basil, but I just wasn't sure it would work.

Silly me.

Trust the Grilled Cheese Master and go with what she tells you to do.

Use the basil.

Here's heaven coming together at my house:

Seriously.

Oh man, my mouth is having flashbacks.

Just take a good look at that.

Ridiculously delicious.

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Veggies In The Driveway

I've fought for the 13 years I've lived in this house to find a good place to grow veggies.  I'm too attached to my ornamentals to make a place in my flower beds.  I've mixed them in over the years, but things like tomatoes just take up too much dang room. They're bed hogs, those tomatoes.

So this year, I set up shop in the driveway.  Our next door neighbor has a plot of dirt between our driveway and his house, that has just been a big giant weed patch forever.  So with permission, I cleaned out all the weeds and stuck some edibles in.  I also had a big container that I was originally gonna use as a compost bin, but we set it up at the edge of the driveway, filled that bad boy up with dirt, and planted it.

It's not the prettiest part of the yard, but hey, I'm growin' food!  And you wouldn't believe how much everything has grown since I took these pictures!  I have green tomatoes already!!!  So stinkin' exciting.

In the neighbor's little section, I have five tomatoes, corn, and one eggplant.
The ginormous oregano plant was already there - planted by another neighbor years ago.

In our driveway, I have three big black grower's pots with a tomato in each one.

So 8 tomatoes total and they're all REALLY fun ones.

I bought them through a fundraiser at the kids' school.

Don't make fun of my ghetto caging.

In the big container (I can't remember what these are originally used for, but they're holding containers of some sort and mine is one that has been cut in half), I have 4 regular cucumbers, 4 lemon cucumbers, 2 Japanese eggplant, 1 regular eggplant, and two different kinds of basil, 3 plants total.

We also have a strip lower in the driveway, that divides the properties, that's planted with arborvitae.

I stuck some tomato starts that came up in the backyard in between those, as well as a watermelon.

I didn't get any pictures yet, though.

I'm anxious to see how everything does.
I started a new Pinterest board called Edible Garden.
In addition to tips, raised bed ideas, and pretty support structures, I've been pinning dream gardens.
Ya know, for someday when I have my farmhouse on a big piece of property.

Are you eating anything out of your garden yet?

Do you have a designated space, or just poke 'em in where they'll fit like I've always done?

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Edamame Quinoa Salad

I've got a yummy summer recipe for ya today.  This one came out of the Better Homes and Gardens magazine and it's goooood.

The kids hated it.

Well, Baby picked out the edamame and ate those.

The Girl picked out the tomatoes and ate those.

The Kid wouldn't touch it.

What the heck?  It's all things that they like separately.

I can't win.

I can't really say too much though, there's no way I would have eaten mine with the corn in it.

No corn nibblets mixed into my food, please.

The Dad suggested adding jalapenos next time.

Um, yum.

We just threw some hot sauce up on top this time around.

Here's the recipe:

Edamame Quinoa Salad

Printable Recipe

1/2 C quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 C frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 C fresh or frozen whole kernel corn, thawed if frozen
1/2 C cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 C fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil

In a small saucepan combine quinoa and 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Cover; simmer 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.  Remove from heat; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine edamame, corn, tomatoes, and cilantro.  Add quinoa; toss to combine.  Add lime juice and olive oil; toss to coat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Makes 4 servings.

*Add fresh jalapenos or hot sauce if you like a little kick.

We had ours with enchiladas.

It was so easy to throw together and I thought it was delicious.

Here's my corn nibblet-free bowl.  :)

Good stuff, kids.

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