30DayGourmetFreezerCooking] May 2013 Chewin' the News from Carol

 

May 2013 - Welcome Spring!! by Carol Santee  In This Issue: A WEEK IN THE KITCHEN WITH CAROL Welcome Spring!! Spring is one of my favorite seasons. It is great to spend more time outside and fire up the grill for the first time. I am looking forward to making Flatbread Pizza! First, I would like to say how much I appreciate the emails and messages I have received from all of you concerning the newsletter. It's nice to know that it has been missed. Hopefully that will change and I can get back to bringing you news and recipes from my kitchen every month. Life at my house (and in my kitchen) has been crazy for over a year now. One of my sons joined the Marines last year and we have been helping our daughter-in-law take care of our grandson while my son has been away. We have attended several graduation ceremonies as my son moved from school to school (and state to state) to complete his training for his job. We are quickly approaching the end of his training and are so excited that his family can finally be reunited! We have enjoyed every moment that we have spent with our grandson over the past eleven months. He is such a joy! We will miss them once they move to their permanent duty station. Mother's Day is this Sunday, May 12. What recipes do you like to make for your Mom's special Mother's Day brunch? Or what would you like your family to make for you? Here are some of my favorites: Glorious Morning Muffins Ham and Broccoli Frittata Chocolate Chip Zucchini Loaf Pumpkin Pancakes Brown Sugar Cinnamon Coffee Cake Whatever Scones If you are not hosting or you are looking for a great gift idea for Mom, try putting together a gift basket as a Mother's Day gift. The Brown Sugar Cinnamon Coffee Cake can be packaged as a gift mix. Click here for the instructions. The muffins, bread, and scones make great gifts as well. Package them with some flavored butters, honey, jams, a new coffee mug, and some flavored coffees or teas. Voilà - a great gift from your kitchen! BONUS RECIPES We have been cooking with more vegetables the last several months. We really enjoy the flavors and with summer fast approaching there is more and more fresh local produce available. Here are two new recipes we have added to our menu rotation. Garden Vegetable Lasagna This is a recipe that gets better with time in the freezer. This is our new favorite white lasagna recipe. It's very moist and you can change the vegetables to suit your family's taste. Orange Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry This recipe uses lots of fresh vegetables in the stir-fry mix. Feel free to swap out vegetables - just make sure you end up with 5 cups of your favorites. Asparagus is a great spring vegetable to throw in the mix. If you are short on time, you can use a frozen mix instead of the fresh vegetables. Just make sure you do not overcook them.