Jolene's Recipe Journal

Once the weather heats up, I look for simple, fresh side dishes to complement our standard summer fare.  I spotted this recipe for Sauteed Radishes and Green Beans on the Taste of Home site, and patiently waited for green beans to appear at my local farm so I could make it.

We are huge muffin fans in this house, but my guys tend to like the same variety over and over again. I marked this recipe for Brown Sugar Oat Muffins to try back when my husband went through a brief phase of wanting to eat oatmeal from scratch, and had bought 2 giant canisters of oats.  They've been complaining about the lack of baked goods in the house, so I pulled out the recipe this weekend.

I've been making this recipe since July 2011, it's a family favorite.  Next to chicken, the thing we eat most around here is ground beef.    My son's an odd duck- he'll eat tacos til the cows come home, but he is 50/50 on eating burgers.    I thought this would be a great meal to please everyone and it really is.

I find that people either love or hate eggplant.  I didn't even try it until I was in my 30s.   Mostly I eat it breaded and baked, but this Spicy Grilled Eggplant from Taste of Home caught my eye a while back so I gave it a try.  Super simple, only a few ingredients. I had Cajun seasoning on hand, but if you don't, you can definitely make a homemade version .

Hot dogs are a summer staple around here, and the more ways I can find to serve them up, the better!  We love sloppy joes, so when I saw this recipe from Taste of Home, I couldn't wait to give it a try.  The only change I made was to use red bell pepper instead of green.

Oatmeal is one of my go-to breakfasts, so filling and good for you. I had been eating lots of traditionally made hot oatmeal, but when the warmer weather hit I stopped.  I've seen so many recipes for overnight oats on Pinterest and Instagram, and finally I dug out my Ball jars and made some myself.

 One of the things I love most about blogging is how it inspires creativity, and forces me out of my cooking comfort zone. When Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla suggested that the Festive Foodies make dishes for Bastille Day, I hesitated.  French food is not something I really cook or eat often.  But then I remembered how my guys bought me a kitchen torch for Christmas, still sitting unopened in the package, and I thought, "What a great excuse to make creme brulee!"

It's Taste of Home Tuesday! It's been crazy hot here in New Hampshire, and one of our favorite ways too cool off has been with ice cream floats.  I made amazing homemade fresh strawberry ice cream , and I searched for a recipe to use it in and found these Strawberry Patch Frost on the Taste of Home site.

July is National Ice Cream month, and the Festive Foodies are having an Ice Cream Social! Grab a spoon and dig in to all the awesome recipes we're sharing today!

Cookies are always a big hit here.  I've been tweaking this recipe since 2005 when I entered it into a local cookie contest.  It's loaded with delicious dried fruit and white chocolate chips.  I go with dried cherries and blueberries when I want to make the patriotic version.   Do buy good quality white chocolate, there really is a difference in taste with the store brand.