Summer Veggie Salad

Friday night, I met my friends for a girls night out painting party.  We decided to bring something to share since the painting party was held during supper time.  It's been a busy week with keeping my boys entertained during the summer AND I just finished a calligraphy project addressing wedding invitations for a dear friend.  I had to be creative with the ingredients I had on hand and a friend just gave me some farm fresh summer veggies so I decided to make a salad.

Summer Veggie Salad

1/4 c. orzo, cooked al dente
2 small yellow squash, sliced & parboiled, drained
1 small zucchini, sliced & parboiled, drained
small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, sliced in half
small can black olives, drained
1/3 c. Meyer lemon olive oil
3 T. raspberry balsamic olive oil
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. rosemary sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
can of tuna, drained (optional)

In a large bowl, add the orzo, yellow squash, zucchini, artichoke hearts and black olives; mix gently.  In a small bowl, add the Meyer lemon olive oil, raspberry balsamic olive oil, garlic powder and black pepper; whisk until thoroughly combined.  Pour over the veggies and mix well.  Add tuna, if desired.



Have fun with flavor infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Love our local place in Roswell, called Oli & Ve!

Here's my attempt at a "little house on the prairie" ... LOL!

Bridal Shower

I'm hosting a linen shower for a sweet Roswell bride on Saturday and decided on a "Bed in Breakfast" theme utilizing pink and green, the bride's favorite colors. A brunch menu is in order: eggs strata cups, chicken sausage breakfast balls, fruit, strawberry croissant french toast, miniature cinnamon rolls, coffee, tea, oj and champagne (Mimosas easily prepared with ingredients on hand).

I recently went to a bridal shower held at Atlanta's famous Swan Coach House. It's the girliest place and perfect for bridal and baby showers. I enjoyed their chicken salad in timbales, cheese straws and amazing frozen fruit salad. With fresh fruit in abundance during summer, I decided to make some frozen fruit salad cups for my linen shower. I found the recipe here at ajc.com. I substituted one 8 oz. bar of Neufchatel cream cheese for the 6 oz. of cream cheese and used diced peaches, mandarin oranges, grapes and strawberries.

Here are a few of my tips for preparing individual portions of the frozen fruit salad.

Line your muffin pan with aluminum foil muffin liners. Using a 1-1/2 T. ice cream/cookie dough scoop, add a dollop of the cream cheese-whipped cream mixture to each muffin cup.



Add 2 cubes of peaches, half a mandarin orange, half a sliced grape, and a slice of strawberry.



Add another dollop of the cream cheese-whipped cream mixture.



Smooth the tops with the back of a teaspoon.



The finished product ... freeze well until firm (several hours).



Note: Let the frozen fruit cups stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving.

Frozen Fruit Cups, plated with a fresh raspberry on top!