tailgating with a chef...

Have you ever tailgated before a concert or game?  Sean & I usually tailgate at least once each summer...we usually choose a concert to go to for our anniversary, and this summer we saw Tim McGraw (for the 3rd time).  It was a fabulous concert, but the food before & after the concert was to die for!!

We always bring our grill, and a cooler full of amazing treats from the kitchen!  We started our "picnic" with assorted cheese & crackers, followed by tomato~basil~mozzarella salad drizzled with balsamic, couscous vegetable salad, and lemon grilled shrimp.  We had many compliments from those around us, unfortunately for them, I did not leave any leftovers to share!  We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating our 12th anniversary! 

summer dessert

My husband is the chef in our family ~ I do not try to compete with his kitchen skills!  The funny things is, he has never considered himself to be a fabulous dessert or pastry chef.  This summer has opened the door to many new possibilities for us...and his desserts are one of those doors that is swinging wide open!

He made a delicious lemon pie, and topped it with Nana's blueberry sauce (one of our summer recipes).  Mmm, mmmmmm....the tangy taste of the lemon, combined with the sweetness of the blueberries made this dessert a wonderful way to end the night.  Yum!

more blueberries

Today, we washed and cooked more blueberries, to make Nana's blueberry sauce!  It was too hot today to be outside, so we washed & boiled our canning jars, made a few more batches of homemade blueberry sauce (the recipe is posted to the left...), and created some labels for our sauce as well. 
Here's to finding some family bonding time....over food!! 

summer suppers~

I love dinner in the summer ~ so easy to stop by a local fruit & veggie stand, scoop up some fresh produce, and have dinner in no time!

We visited a farmer who lives just around the corner, bought some corn, tomatoes, plums, and squash.  We had chicken marinading at home, grilled it up quick, and put together a delicious salad for supper - yum!!

Our summer salad included:  

Grilled chicken, tomatoes, hearts of romaine, Caesar dressing, and Parmesan cheese to top it all off.  Summer is my favorite time of year for many reasons...but I also love the light & easy dinners that can be made! 

Mmmm, mmm....blueberry picking~

We picked as many blueberries as we could, in about one hour.  The hot, summer sunshine was beating down on us, but we had a goal in sight - blueberry muffins, and homemade blueberry sauce to drizzle over our ice cream!

Michael kept ducking out of the sun, & into any shade he could find.  He was also sneaking as many blueberries into his mouth, as he was putting in the bucket!  Yum!!

Don't forget to check out our Sweet Summer Recipes for blueberries that we added yesterday!  Enjoy!!

new summer recipes posted...Yum!

If you LOVE blueberries, we've got two sweet recipes for you!!  To the left, check out our newly posted Sweet Summer Recipes!  Enjoy, and share with your family...happy summer!  

~

Soon, I'll post pictures of our blueberry picking from this past weekend. 

our anniversary~

12 years ago today...Sean & I were married!  It was a very hot day, just like today!  I'll never forget my mom & dad having the air conditioners going in the house for my bridesmaids & I to get dressed, and when the photographer called us outside for pictures in their gardens, we thought we might melt!  Everything turned out beautifully, and twelve years later, I can say I'd do it all again!!  We are blessed...xoxoxo

science class...or church?

Yikes!!  This is what welcomed us into church last weekend...it stopped everyone in their tracks, to say the least.  My 5 year old, Michael, didn't want to go in to church...he would have preferred to just hang around outside & wait until this bug flew away.

I took my camera out, and snapped his (the bugs) photo, and convinced Michael that we could look the bug up at home in his field guide book of insects.  Needless to say, when we left church, our winged friend was still there.  When we got home, Michael took out his bug book, and found our friend!  This is the Eastern Dobsonfly ~ crazy, huh?!  My little bug man discovered him, and was so proud!  They live around here in rivers, and streams...he must have flown away to find his mate.

Hope you learned a little something from this bug lesson!  Enjoy the week everyone!!  :)

another summer fun activity - accomplished!!

We ventured to the Boston Aquarium, and what a wonderful adventure it was!  We visited many parts of the aquarium twice!!  Michael picked up starfish, hermit crab, and mussels...

He even got to touch a ray as it swam by, in the new ray & shark tank!  He didn't get to touch a hammerhead shark - they never swam quite close enough....but just having them close to his hands was cool!

The look on Michael's face while viewing the sharks, turtles, penguins & other ocean creatures was worth every penny of our trip.  And, to top it all off, I got in for free with my MTA (Mass. Teacher's Assoc.) card!!  That was a nice bonus!  ;)

strawberry picking...

We visited a local farm to go strawberry picking!

We had so much fun...

We snacked on a few fresh strawberries,

We filled our quart containers heaping full...

And, went home to make fresh baked biscuits for strawberry shortcake!!

What better way to spend a summer day...

and the end result was delicious!

Look at this cool old tractor!  Guess who climbed on board before we left?  Yep, my Michael did!  

What little boy wouldn't want to sit behind the wheel?!!