We are officially in my favorite food season. All the fresh vegetables! I have to say, in Florida we are in this season most of the year, but when the weather is as hot as it is right now all I crave is cool, refreshing salads like this Cucumber Avocado Salad.

I have made this simple salad several times over the last few weeks and each time I make it my daughter and husband dish out the compliments. They are currently the only salad eaters in the family (in addition to me) although my oldest son does like his veggies, just served in a more deconstructed version and not in salad form. I’m good with it.

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This recipe and post were created in partnership with Shuman Farms’ Real Sweet Vidalia Onions.

This Three Bean and Vidalia Onion Salad has to be one of my favorite salads to make when we are barbecuing over the summer.  It’s a classic salad that you probably have seen more than once on a salad bar – but homemade is so much better! Wow, can you taste the freshness. I love to add sweet Vidalia onions for extra flavor, especially when they are in season mid-April to early August.

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I’m pretty obsessed with grilling all the veggies right now. I have been loving experimenting with different veggies on the grill from this cauliflower to this grilled broccoli I made a couple of summers ago.

A few years ago, I picked up a simple little grilling basket/wok at Target. Since then, I’ve been grilling vegetables in it like crazy. I normally stick to peppers and onions or some kind of squash medley, but this grilled cauliflower is definitely one of my favorites.

Before throwing it on the grill I added sliced Vidalia onion to it and seasoned it up with some dried oregano, salt, pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil. During this time I made sure I was preheating my grill basket. Preheating your grill basket is like preheating your wok on your stove, it ensures your vegetables will get a good char and stay a bit more crisp. I just started doing this recently and love the results.

We loved how the grilled cauliflower turned out!

Honestly, we could have eaten just as is. It was delicious and a side dish that I will definitely be making again. But since I had some leftover quinoa in the refrigerator begging to be turned into a salad, I went that route. Using up some odds and ends in the fridge, this Greek Grilled Cauliflower and Vidalia Onion Quinoa Salad recipe was born.

It was light, fresh but still substantial enough to stand as a vegetarian meal (I enjoyed leftovers for lunch the next day!). We served it along some typical barbecue fare: grilled steaks, chicken sausages, corn, potatoes, a tomato and basil salad. It really worked well as part of our meal and would be a great addition to barbecue or picnic this summer.

Enjoy!

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When I said I was ready to start using my grill again, I wasn’t kidding. All I can think of lately are new recipes to make specifically for grilling – anything to change things up and get me out of the kitchen at dinner time works for me. I would much rather be in the fresh (hot) air with the kids running wild playing in the yard, sipping on an iced adult bevvy, than in my kitchen over the stove this time of year. (Check back with me in August.)

Even Amber loves it when I’m out grilling. She’s smiling at me, see?

This particular Grilled Broccoli and Vidalia Onion recipe was inspired by my friends at Produce For Kids and their mission to get more fruits and veggies in your shopping cart this spring and summer to benefit Feeding America. A campaign like this can only be a win/win, wouldn’t you agree? (Read more about it and participating brands below.)

You can pretty much always count on sweet Vidalia onions being in my house while they are in season, they are my absolute favorite. And broccoli…well, we are a family of broccoli lovers so I bring some home from the grocery store weekly. I typically like to roast my broccoli, but I think grilling it is the next best thing honestly. I just love that little bit of smoky char the grill gives it. I just picked up an inexpensive wire grill basket at Target, but I have used (and prefer) one like this (affiliate link).

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My kids went back to school this week. I find it incredibly hard to believe that another summer has flown by, I’m actually still processing the fact that I now have a 4th grader, 2nd grader and 10 month old. How in the world did that happen?

Back to school week always energizes me. I don’t know about other moms, but summer leaves me feeling a little ragged. I love the laid back relaxed feeling of summer break, but by now I’m starting to crave a bit of routine and order around the house. I’m also craving time to cook and blog more, so hopefully you’ll start seeing posts and recipes a little more frequently again.

This past weekend I attended my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower. My “baby” brother is getting married next month and I am so excited for the both of them. Bridal (and baby) showers are always fun to be a part of, not only for the obvious reason of showering the bride with gifts and love, but let’s be honest…the food is always something to look forward to. I love party food! When I started to make my plate my eyes spotted a good looking bean and pepper salad on the table. It was made by the mother of the bride and I helped myself to it a couple of times. It was so simple and that’s what I loved about it. I was inspired to recreate it immediately to serve as a side dish for one of our dinners this week. I made it earlier in the day and stored in the fridge so it was ready to go – to help with typical school night dinner prep madness. This Pinto Bean and Pepper salad is a perfect side dish recipe for tacos, quesadillas or even grilled chicken. It’s also a great (healthy) potluck dish (obviously since that’s how I first tried it), so consider making it for the next barbecue or get together you are invited to!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

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This post is sponsored by The Mushroom Council via Kitchen Play.
I don’t know about you, but I really appreciate a good spread of meatless options at any party or get together – especially appetizers. I have nothing against meaty snacks, but I just love veggie snack food better. Maybe because mentally I think I can eat more of it?

To me mushrooms are the ultimate compromise when it comes to satisfying both meat and veggie eaters. When cooked, they make a substantial addition to any recipe, and you can really flavor them up with fresh herbs and spices to pair up with cheese, breads, rice and pasta – among many other ingredients. You can stuff them for bite sized munching, saute them with savory garlic and herbs for a topping to a sandwich or main dish or use them as the star ingredient in a recipe like a grilled portabella mushroom burger or a stuffed portabella mushroom cap. I tend to use a good handful of chopped mushrooms to bulk up recipes like sloppy joes or stuffed peppers to keep them on the lighter side. The ideas are truly endless and I find myself always wanting to experiment with them more and more.

I love cooking with mushrooms so much I have a Pinterest board dedicated to them.

When I was asked to come up with an appetizer recipe to contribute to the “Swap It or Top It” Kitchen Play event with The Mushroom Council, this grilled summer meatless flatbread pizza immediately came to mind. Flatbreads are a great option for entertaining because they are so easy to whip up. I prepared these by first sauteing the sliced portabella mushrooms with a little olive oil, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. The flatbread pizzas (I used Naan for the bread since they hold up so nicely on the grill) were quickly warmed up on the grill then taken off and topped with a shmear of fresh pesto, the sauteed mushrooms and of course cheese. Throw them back on the grill (or into the oven) until the cheese melts and gets bubbly and you have yourself an impressive little appetizer with minimum effort.

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