Easy Livin' on a Summer Night

When I was a little girl, we kids used to get pretty lazy in the mornings.  We'd watch Hogan's Heros and I Love Lucy reruns followed by the Price Is Right!  My mom would clap her hands and say, "Now kids!  Go get dresssed!  Let's start the day!"  She'd load us into the Cadillac--all our friends--before seatbelts--and take us down to the beach where we'd spend a perfectly lovely day being "productive" since, after all, this is summer.  Dinners were pretty simple as they have been with my girls during the summer. 

Marybeth

This week's family dinner highlight:   Slip 'N Sliders, Baked Sweet Potato Chips, Strawberries with Basil and Balsamic Vinegar, and, for the ever-present dessert . . . Pudding at the Beach.

Slip 'N Sliders


Ingrediants:
12 oz. ground sirloin
1 (4 oz.) link Italian sausage casing removed
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
Cooking spray
16 (0.4 oz.) dinner rolls
4 slices reduced-fat sharp cheese (Cheddar) quartered
3 Tbsp. ketchup
16 dill pickle slices
16 baby spinach leaves

Directions
1. Preheat broiler
2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Divide the mixture into 16 equal portions; flatten each into a 2-inch-wide patty. Place patties on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil in upper 1/3 of oven 3 minutes on each side or until done.
3. Cut buns in half horizontally; place rolls, cut side up on bottom oven rack. Top each patty with cheese. Let rolls and patties stand in oven 1 minute or until cheese melts.
4. Top bottom half of each roll with patty, about 1/2 tsp. ketchup, 1 pickle, 1 spinach leaf, and top with half of roll.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

2 lb. yam or sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/8 inch thick
4 tbsp. canola oil
Salt to taste

Place the sliced potatoes in a bowl. Sprinkle with oil and mix thoroughly. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet and sprinkle with vegetable seasoning. Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar & Basil


Prep time: 10 minutes
Rest time: at least 30 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 quarts strawberries, sliced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1-2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (rolled across to look like cigars and thinly sliced)

Directions:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, toss and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Pudding at the Beach
1 pkg. Vanilla Pudding
Nilla Wafers
Fruit Leather
Teddy Grahams
Umbrella for embelishment

1) Place pudding in individual serving bowls.
2) Sprinkle sand (crushed Nilla Wafers) over each bowl.
3) Lay fruit leather towel and sun bathing Teddy Grahams over sand.
4) Place umbrella.

Stay tuned for our "Easy Livin'" Playlist