I felt like a real genius with this one, you guys.

This crazy Thai/Mexican fusion taquito idea just popped into my brain and would not leave until I made it happen. All I could think about was peanut sauce for days. Days! Then another idea called Chicken Satay Lettuce Wraps became best friends with the taquito idea and I had no choice but to go full force with it.

Here’s how it’s gonna go down.

You’re going to put some chicken in a crockpot with some coconut milk and forget it. Then you’re going to remember it, shred it, mix it up with some other goodies and stuff it into some lettuce and then into your face. And you’re going to have to set aside half of the filling before you dig in because you will probably eat it all without thinking about it, then be super-bummed when you remember the whole taquito thing. So set it aside, for the love! Then the next day, remember it again, roll it up in some tortillas and dip those gems into the peanut sauce.

Go visit MPMK for the Lettuce Wraps and Peanut Sauce recipes.

 This is a double duty crockpot dinner, people! You don’t want to miss it.

  As I declared and made official in my last post, summer is not over.

It’s still August (I think?). And it’s still warm. And Labor Day is still a few days out.

Since I know you don’t mind, I will carry on with my summer-related nonsense. Sorry I didn’t get my act together for you guys about three months ago, but you can just pin this little number on your “Summer 2013” board and get pumped for next June.

I usually don’t eat salad with dressing (I know, I know, it’s weird), but when I make salads for dinner, I feel like I should provide Nick with a dressing option that actually complements the salad (he will typically just balsamic-vinegar-and-oil anything in a bowl). And then I just do a teeny, tiny drizzle on mine just to test it out.

The last time my mom was in town, she took me on an amazing throw-anything-in-the-cart-because-I-am-the-best-mom-ever Whole Foods shopping trip (love you, Mama!). While we were there, she recommended the O Citrus Champagne Vinegar that I used for the dressing. It’s light, fresh and not too sharp- you can taste it, but it doesn’t interfere with the other flavors of the salad.

What can I say? My mom and I are a couple of geniuses.

Before I go, have we talked about getting kids to eat salad?

It is one of my great quests as a parent to have my children enjoy salads. I was completely against salads as a child. My cousin used to eat lettuce straight from the bag and I thought she was IN-SANE. (Turns out she was the smart one and the healthy one- can’t imagine why.)

Sometimes the whole idea seems futile, but I hope they’ll appreciate the effort someday.

I try to make salads as meals pretty frequently, so when I fix a toddler plate, I just use a smaller bed of lettuce and more of the toppings. Then, gradually, as the kids grow and get used to it, they will get more greens. I also try to sneak spinach or kale into everything- eggs, smoothies, wraps/sandwiches, desserts- I think that helps with flavor recognition (which is totally a real thing, I’m sure).

This particular salad was a toddler win for us- you really can’t go wrong if you’ve got fruit and bacon in the mix. If you want your kids to eat salad, just try adding a leaf or two of spinach to their plate each time. Eventually, they will wonder what it is and put it in their mouth.

It’s still summer, right?

It seems like everyone in the food blogging world (maybe the real world, too?) is already making fall comfort foods and pumpkin desserts and back-to-school lunch ideas.. but in my world, it’s still, like, 90 degrees every day.. so I’ma keep grilling. Cool? Cool.

I like my corn just lightly grilled.. not charred like crazy. Just a personal thing. I also like slathering it in butter. Garlic herb butter. And covering it with cheese. Are you with me?

Garlic herb butter sounds and feels fancy, but all I did while the corn was grilling was grab a handful of herbs from outside, chop them up, mix them into some softened butter and added some fresh garlic. Good to go. All that’s left to do is spread on the butter and sprinkle with your favorite cheese. We chose Romano because we had it in the fridge, but you can go with Parmesan, Feta, goat cheese.. anything you like.

We had plenty of the herb butter left over, so I’m looking forward to using it to saute other fresh veggies this week or make some impromptu garlic bread. You could use it for anything, really. Cook your eggs in it. Spread it on your sandwich. Just don’t waste that precious stuff!

And let’s face it- if you’ve already packed up the grill for the year, you can make the corn on the stove top with perfectly lovely results. We’ll only have fresh corn for a little while longer, so let’s take advantage before fall actually appears.

Here are some things I’d like to say about this heat wave.

It is madness!

Thank goodness for the brilliant JTB for coming up with this gem of an idea. It’s actually very similar to this Corn, Crab and Tomato Salad I made last summer, but is has bacon. Which in my book is light years ahead of crab on the deliciousness scale (which is definitely a real thing). After an hour in our outdoor bath (I can hardly call that thing a pool. I mean really), this was the most refreshing plate imaginable.

I am usually not a big fan of lettuce cups (so messy and usually filled with disappointing ground meat of some kind), but it was the perfect way to serve this salad. There was something great in each bite- sweet corn, creamy avocado, savory bacon- all wrapped up in the cool, crisp crunch of a lettuce leaf. I would eat this anytime, but it would be particularly wonderful to serve in a picnic setting or after some kind of hot, summer activity.

If this heat wave continues, I am stocking up on bacon, lettuce, tomato and corn and not coming out of the house until it’s below 90 degrees.

(So I guess I’ll see you in September!)

Happy May, ladies and gents!

I want to start of the month with a little giveaway for you.. how does that sound?

The lovely folks at Cooking Light have come out with a new cookbook called Way To Cook.  This cookbook isn’t just your typical pretty food photography and written recipes.  The book takes you through various food categories and explains basic techniques through pictures.  And I have two to give away to you guys!

If you’re a fan of Cooking Light Magazine and their visual technique explanations, you will love this cookbook.  Each section explains a technique and then shows a few recipe examples.  It’s all about learning and growing as a cook.  How cool is that?  It’s so accessible.  It actually reminds me of food blogging in a way- it’s like a collection of great tutorials.

I wanted to make a recipe from the book and I picked this fresh crab salad from the “way to assemble” section. If you click the picture below, you can see all of the extra nuggets of information you get in addition to the written recipe.  I love that!  This recipe is perfect for summer lunches, get-togethers and picnics.  You can also use it for Cinco de Mayo this week, but I would change a few flavors- substitute cilantro for basil and lime juice for lemon juice- quick and easy.

The only thing I didn’t like about making this recipe was the price of crab!  I guess I don’t buy crab very often.. but it is expensive!  I cut down the amount of crab in the recipe by half and it still seemed like plenty to me.  I served it over greens, but you could serve alongside a grilled sandwich or with some cool summer soup.

Looks good, right?

Would you love to win the cookbook for your shelf? (Giveaway is closed.)