Better late than never....

I’ve had a busy (3 day!!!) week. I have a friend in town from Canada. Haven’t cooked much since they’ve been here….SLACKER ☺

Anyways, here are my long overdue (Grilled) recipes from 4th of July.

First up is the Grilled Corn with Basil Garlic Compound “Butter”
Serves 2
2 ears of corn-husks still on…just remove the stringy things (don’t know the real name of the fibers)

Compound “Butter”
1/3 c softened earth balance
1 T chopped basil (about 12 leaves)
½ T minced garlic
cracked black pepper
sea salt

This is SO simple. Hardly a recipe.

In a small bowl, mix ingredients for compound “butter”.


Spread 1/3 of mix on each ear of corn.


Cover with husks and refrigerate about 30 minutes or until grill is ready.


Heat grill on high. Oil grates lightly and place ears of corn on grill. Cook for about 20-25 minutes turning corn every few minutes to get even cooking. When finished cooking, remove husks and spread remaining compound butter on corn. Enjoy!

Grill-Baked Italian Sweet Potatoes ala Ashley
1 lg sweet potato, scrubbed & cubed
1 T EVOO
1 T dried basil
1 T dried oregano
¼ t red pepper flakes
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper, to taste

Mix oil and spices in a medium bowl. Add sweet potato cubes & toss to coat~allow to “marinate” for about 15 min or until grill is hot. Place cubes on foil sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Crumple up edges to “mirror” a baking sheet.



Once grill is hot place sweet potatoes on and cook 30-40 minutes until tender stirring every few minutes to avoid over/under cooking.



Hope everyone is having a fabulous Wednesday!
Buon Appetito!

Happy Independence Day!

Hope everyone had a fun (safe) 4th of July!

A burger is undeniably one of the best 4th of July eats. So what does one do when they aren’t eating meat? Buy frozen veggie burgers? Nah, make your own! Because the holidays are all about experimentation aren’t they?

Well, mine always are anyways.

Initially I wanted to try making a gluten free burger. However, my local health store had gluten free breadcrumbs at an outrageous price and I decided I’d just use regular breadcrumbs and skip the bun.

Brown Rice & Veggie Burgers, makes 8 patties
3 c cooked brown rice
1 ½ c mixed veggies (I used: 1 med carrot, 2 med portabella mushrooms, 1 green bell pepper, ½ c cooked chopped spinach & 6 sun-dried tomatoes)
3 T soy sauce
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T minced garlic
1 ½ T fresh rosemary, chopped
1 ½ c fresh breadcrumbs
1/3 c golden flaxmeal
1/3 c nutritional yeast

~Pulse veggies (except spinach) in a food processor until finely minced.
~In a small bowl mix soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic, rosemary & pepper.
~Mix brown rice & veggies in a large bowl until incorporated.
~Add soy sauce mixture & toss to coat.
~Next, add breadcrumbs, flax meal & nooch.
~Form into 8 patties and chill until ready to cook (or pop in freezer for at least 30 minutes).

Preheat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once heated, place patties in 4 at a time (or in 2 different sauté pans) . Cook 8 minutes, flip & cook another 8 minutes.



At this point they are done. Add your fave toppings and eat.

But I took them a bit farther.

Balsamic Onions (recipe to follow) & Gorgonzola Cheese. Oh Yes.



Preheat oven to 400. Place patties on a pan sprayed with cooking spray. Top with balsamic onions & cheese and cook until cheese starts to melt.

Since I had to pan cook these I HAD to grill the side items. The 4th of July is all about grilling!

(oops, didn’t get a chance to photo the sides on the grill).

Here they are all together.

“Burgers” + grilled corn on the cob w/Garlic Basil Compound “Butter” + Italian grilled sweet potatoes (both recipes to follow).



Not bad for my first homemade veggie burger. The BF did not ask “Where’s the meat?” I think he is finally getting it!