Friday Favorites – Episode 15

It’s Friday again, which means it’s time for the 15th episode of my Friday Favorites! Even after 15 weeks, I still enjoy picking my favorite blog posts each week. Hopefully all of you enjoy reading about my picks each week and aren’t too sick of reading about them!

This week the weather has felt unmistakably like summer. It’s been hot and humid – yesterday the thermometer in our backyard said 101 degrees! I must be honest, I am not a big fan of the hot and sticky weather.  I do enjoy summer, though – fresh fruits and veggies, cooking on the grill, and picnics with friends and family! So, without further ado, here are the blog posts from the past week that reminded me that summer is here!

• This Zucchini Chicken Bake from The Other Side of Fifty looks like it will be a wonderful candidate for using some of the zucchini and squash that I am growing in my garden.  I love zucchini and squash, but I usually run out of creative ways to use it long before the summer is over.  This dish sounds like it may be the solution!
• As I mentioned above, two of my favorite things about summer are the fresh vegetables and cooking on the grill.  This post about Vegetable Panini on the Grill from Two Peas and Their Pod is the best of both. I think I will be making panini on the grill very soon!
• This week The Food Addicts introduced their readers to their garden.  Be sure to head on over there and look at all of the wonderful fruit, herbs, and vegetables they are growing.  The pictures are beautiful and inspiring!
• Finally, if you are looking for some fresh new recipes for the upcoming BBQs and picnics for the Fourth of July, check out these Summer BBQ Recipes from Local Lemons.  I am looking forward to trying the pasta salad with toasted chickpeas, oven-roasted tomatoes, and pecorino.

Finally, I wanted to draw your attention to the $100 Food Challenge that is being hosted  by Susan over at She’s Becoming DoughMessTic.  I think it’s a fantastic idea – who doesn’t want to save money, particularly in this economy?  Plus, I see it as good way to help me use the food I have been accumulating in my kitchen.  I have a bad habit of buying things and letting them sit in the pantry, freezer, and fridge until they have expired and get thrown away. It’s a habit that I really want to break, so I’m hoping this will help me with that in addition to saving me some money.  If you’re interested in participating, head over to She’s Becoming DoughMessTic to check it out!

I have a pretty busy month in July, and there may be one week where I won’t be able to keep up with the challenge. The beauty of this challenge, though, is that you can customize it for yourself!  I will be tweaking the terms of the challenge a bit to fit my situation.  I’ll be kicking the challenge off with a blog post on Tuesday, June 30th letting you know what my challenge rules will be and what’s in my kitchen.  Stay tuned!