Best of friends

Sorry for the lack of updates, we have been out of town. Above are a few pics of us and our brother Sam. Siblings are such fun, and truly a gift from God!

Balsamic, Brie and Swiss Chard in a Sandwich.....HEAVEN!

We made this lovely sandwich at our mother's special birthday dinner. The balsamic roasted tomatoes and the brie when melted went together like bread and butter.......Ah, so delicious! We got the recipe from a sweet friend we know that goes to our church. She had never made it before but really wanted to, so we decided to use it for our cooking club (ccbakers.blogspot.com)! If you go in that blog you can see other girls pictures and things that they changed. The original recipe does not call for it to be grilled, we added that step. It was definitely a superb change and I would recommend doing it!

So do you like brie cheese? When I was little it was one of those things that I could just not stand. Every Christmas Eve our friends would invite us over to their annual party and the one tradition would be brie cheese coated in brown sugar and pecans served with crackers. When ever I would get close by it I would almost have to hold my nose because the smell was just to intense:) Now after growing up and becoming a foodie I have acquired a taste for that "smelly" cheese. I would classify it as one of my favorites!

So Mrs. M if you read this be sure to make it this year at your Christmas Eve party, I will be looking for it.............so now you answer the question, do you like brie cheese?

Chicken-and-Brie Sandwich with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Adapted From Cooking Light

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 T. low-fat mayonnaise
2 T. sour cream
2 garlic clove, minced
1 (16-ounce) loaf Mutil-Grain Bread, cut in slices
3 ounces Brie cheese, sliced
3 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)

Spinach Dressing
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups fresh swiss chard

Preheat oven to 300°.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes; cook 4 minutes, stirring once. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Sprinkle tomatoes with thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Wrap handle of pan with foil; bake at 300° for 15 minutes. Keep warm.

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over top half of bread loaf. Spoon tomatoes evenly over bottom half of loaf. Arrange Brie over tomatoes; top with chicken. Combine 2 teaspoons oil, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add swiss chard, tossing gently to coat. Top chicken with spinach mixture; replace top half of bread. Brush each side of bread with olive oil and grill till golden brown on each side, and cheese is melted.

Peach picking!

Two weeks ago our family went peach picking at a farm about an 1hour away. When picking peaches you look for one that are not soft, but hard and yellow. If a peach does not have any red on it does not make it bad, the red is how much sun it recieved! It was very fun but really hot! The next thing to come in season are apples and figs. We will picking those the last week in July. Our Mom froze a lot of peaches with the leftover ones we cut them up and ate them fresh! With apples we will be making applesauce and will be dehydrating the figs for later use. Have you ever been peach or apple picking before?

Phillip holding a box before it was filled.

Jon hiding in the peach tree:)

The field of peach trees

All of us kids after we finished

What things have you been making lately?

Please leave a comment, we'd love to know!

Some Yummy looking recipes to try!

Swiss chard Pesto form My Kitchen Addiction

Grilled Pizza

Hummus with a unique ingredient!

Some great looking gluten free ice cream sandwiches!

Creamy Poppyseed Chicken Salad

Poppy Seed Chicken in Pita Bread
(adapted from Food Network)

3 skin-on, bone-in Chicken Breasts (about 2 pounds)
1 Lemon*
Kosher Salt and fresh Black Pepper
1 cup cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Raspberry Wasabi Mustard
1 stalk Celery, chopped
1/4 cup Onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped Pecans, Almonds or Walnuts, toasted )
2 tablespoons fresh chopped Parsley
1 + 1/2 tablespoons Poppy Seeds
1/2 cup dried Apricots, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

lettuce leaves, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Squeeze half of the lemon over tops of chicken breasts in a baking pan. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Bake until cooked through and juices run clear (170 degrees). Remove from oven and let cool.

2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the yogurt, juice of the other half of lemon, mustard, celery, onion, parsley, poppy seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Add the apricots, cranberries and nuts if desired or save the nuts for sprinkling over top.

3. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones and skin, and toss with the dressing. Stuff a few lettuce leaves and some of the chicken salad into each pita. Sprinkle with nuts.

*To get the most juice use a room temperature lemon, microwave for ten seconds and roll against counter using the palm of your hand.

Happy Independence Day Ya'll!