Hot Hot Hot

Well this weekend has been HOT!. I'm sure not down south hot, or even New York City hot, but up here in the New England I expect a cooler summer. Well New England has not delivered. It's hot, muggy, and requiring several outfit changes for both myself and my child (I can't speak for my husband, he either likes feeling his own sweat, or doesn't sweat as much as we do...both possible).

Of course this didn't stop me from cooking and baking, especially since we are now hunkering down and trying to track all of our spending, live by a budget (oh-my-god. This is SO hard for us!) in order to see if we can save to have some sort of down payment so the mortgage people don't laugh at us when we go to get pre-approved...) So my cooking and shopping skills have come in handy, as has the ability to keep my daughter busy while cooking or actually helping me cook (which has become more of a reality the older she is getting.)

So while I'm catching up on what I've been making, I'm STILL making, and, the items are DELICIOUS. Be jealous.

Tortellini Caprese
This is one I stole from my mom, with modifications (as I think everyone should put their own stamp of what they are making depending on what they like, or are in the mood for).
This one is SO easy, SO tasty and everyone ate it. All of it. There were no leftovers. Did I mention Zara helped? Because she did. She actually made a large part of the stove-less portion of this dish. She was so excited and it was nice to be able to talk her through what I was doing as I was doing it and have her pay attention. So here goes;

• 1 package of frozen tortellini

• 1 container grape tomatoes (we actually used tomatoes that some friends brought us from their garden which was super appreciated and amazing. I need to get a green thumb. Maybe that will be my next project. I'll update you provided I haven't killed my violet...)
• Mozzerella Cheese. I used a nice chunk from a piece that was from the cheese section at the grocery store as opposed to the square hunk you can find by the string cheese. I just cut this up in small pieces about the size of a quarter, but to be honest I got a bit lazy and started tearing it by the end, which allowed me to have Zara help.
• 1 bunch of basil. If you can find both purple and green it makes a really beautiful plate, but use whatever you can get your hands on. Fresh basil is a must for this dish.
• Salt and pepper to taste

I made the tortellini per the instructions on the bag, then drained and put back into hot pot. I added the mozz cheese and let it melt and then threw in the tomatoes and salted and peppered. I made sure I seasoned to my taste then I added the basil so it kept it's color and didn't wilt. That's it. Delicious. So what did my two year old do to help? She tore up the cheese and threw it into the pot as I held it, she added the tomatoes and the basil. She also likes to turn the salt and pepper mills. So she really did most of the hard work!

Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes
My daughter loves pink cupcakes (and cake, and well, anything pink for that matter). So when I was cooking for a mom that had recently given birth, I decided to bring dessert, because, well if I had given birth I'd want dessert. Not only that, but we were having some people over for dinner that we had never had over before, so I wanted to make something Zara would eat, something easy, and something that was pretty foolproof to serve as a dessert, but looked impressive (and, something that Z could help me make).
So I used a pink or strawberry cake mix, made per the directions (although I always use a little less oil, just because, I do. I actually don't have a healthful reason for it, I've always done it, my cupcakes and cakes are always still moist and delicious, so I've never seen a reason to deviate.). I sprayed my cupcake tin, and then spooned 1/3 of the way full. I then added a frozen whole strawberry to the center of the cupcake batter, and added another spoonful of batter. I baked per the box instructions and voila! I decorated with chocolate icing (it was what I had) and then covered with pink sprinkles (per Zara's request). These cupcakes were beautiful looking and when you bit into them they had a pleasant burst of strawberry goodness. They were a HUGE hit not only from the mom and her older children, but the people we had over. Double win. So what did Zara do? She helped me mix all of the ingredients together. We do this together. I bought a small whisk and she uses that and I use a fork. That way I can ensure everything is mixed properly, and she can help! She also placed the strawberries in the center and added the sprinkles!

Chickpea Salad
Since moving to Plymouth I have joined a book club (I know, I know SO Suburbia) and there are a ton of different types of people who attend, that have different food tastes as well as requirements. One of the food restrictions is gluten free. Now this doesn't mean you have to only bring gluten free things to book club, but I always feel like if I can, then more people can enjoy more of the food. We were also at the end of the month and hadn't gone grocery shopping in awhile, and my husband had the car, so I was limited to what was in my cabinets. So I found two cans of chickpeas, and decided to make a summer salad.

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• salt to taste
• a good glug of olive oil (about 3-5 tbl)
• 1/4 cup parm cheese (I'm sure other hard cheeses would work well too)
• I've been growing some herbs in a windowbox, and decided to use all of them. So I used; a sprig of mint, chopped, a sprig of basil chopped, a sprig of oregano chopped and a handful of chives chopped. 

I mixed everything together and seasoned to taste. This was seriously so delicious!