My Sweetness, along with his mother and abuelita (little grandmother) have a delightful garden at their house this year and have bestowed upon me a lovely variety of garden fresh produce and “farm” fresh eggs (yard fresh really with their awesome flock of ladies.) So, what is a girl to do but make a veggie meal out of it!
1 bunch of scallions, large bell pepper, large eggplant
1 jar of Marinara sauce (if you can make it from scratch, kudos!)
1 cup of Cornmeal flour
4 eggs
1 bag of shredded mozzarella or sliced provolone
Coconut or olive oil
Seasoning/spices of your choice
Slice up the scallions and bell pepper into “spears”
Have and slice the eggplant into 1/3-1/2 inch slices, trying to make the thickness as uniform as possible for even cooking
Layer bottom of baking dish with a bit of marinara and half of the bellpepper and onions with about 1/3 jar of marinar
Dip each piece of eggplant into egg wash and cornmeal flour twice and lightly fry on both sides until lightly brown in olive or coconut oil
Layer eggplant on top of first layer of veggies, top with cheese
layer another round of veggies, marinara and eggplant
Top with remaining marinara, a bit of salad and remaining marinara sauce, bake for 30-45 minute as 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until cheese is toasted and melted on top and dish is hot completely through.
If you prep this in an aluminium take away dish or baking tin, you don’t have to bake it immediately but can freeze it as a meal prep for later–bakes nicely from frozen or can be shared as a welcoming dish, a freezer meal for the expectant parents, a warm meal for a loved one recovering or just as a special treat for someone and the aluminium toss pass never needs to be cleaned or returned! (No need for the church ladies to write their name and phone number on the bottom anymore!)
I like to lightly sprinkle McCormick Grill Mates “roasted garlic and Herb” seasoning between each later for a little extra pizzaz. Happy Cooking!
The heat and humidity are high and will only continue to rise as the summer goes–especially here in the South East United States–but every year, the summer sunshine beckons us to be outside, to explore, do and see!
Naturally, this isn’t an all inclusive list or know it all, merely some suggestions for you, your friends, kids and family!
Getting a library card for summer reading, many libraries offer book clubs or reading competitions for youth
Local Swimming Pools, doing laps or water aerobics or swim clubs
Work from home versus sitting in hot traffic
Walk your pet in the early morning or late evening–no membership fees required and Rexy benefits too!
Go on a vacation to a cooler climate–mountains, cabins, or the like are very attainable at last minute
Eating/Prepping cook-free meals are great and don’t warm up the house–salads, garden delights, sandwiches and more!
Picnics are a wonderful way to get out and about and enjoy a day-cation
Waterfalls! Need I say more?
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Adventures are amazing where there is so much beauty!
There is a trail head, just off the shoulder of HWY 11 (near Walhalla, S.C.) that I parked at, feet from the trailhead that lead to the Station Cove Falls–as seen in the photos, there are a several different informational placards, which is super helpful, not holding for “treasuring hunting” the local flora and fauna (seeking only, no harvesting or picking!)
Even with a funky knee, the trail was pleasantly mild and traversed it in roughly 35 minutes one way–it’s not wheel chair or scooter friendly for those whom need assistive devices but it’s family and adventure friendly for sure! Saw families enjoying splash time in the small creeks along the way and other families walking their bull mastiff and other dogs, so everyone one could be included!
Crossing over 4 different food bridges made it more fun (always reminds me of fantastical legends and lore to cross over small bridges!) The ferns, mushrooms and monks caps were fun flora to find along the ways to the Falls, which of course, I splashed around, enjoying the showers falling over myself–coming out looking like a soaked hooligan but well worth it!
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Station Cove Waterfall at the end of a very mild walking trail, 3/4 mile one way (1.5 miles round trip from parking area/trail head to waterfall and back!)
Located on the edge of Clemson, near the university, is a wonderful lake access park. That is a wonderful place just to chill out and enjoy the wonderful springtime weather.
I packed a picnic, okay, well, I used the McDonalds app to get a free chicken McNugget Happy meal with points, so they packed my picnic for me; it was yummy, of course.
An easy, breezy day with a tasty picnic is just what was needed!
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Nicole Maneri is a fellow co-worker and our manager has set up a GoFundMe to help Nicole out.. She had an unexpected medical emergency and has been hospitalized. She was admitted with Mxydema Crises along with a kidney and liver infection. She has been at the hospital for a week and will continue to be there next week. She has 2 young boys that she has to provide for and will not have income coming in for 2-3 weeks. Please help me raise money so she can feed her children and pay her bill-even $5 would help!
A lovely and delightful way to enjoy Spring time in Upstate South Carolina–Clemson hosts a lovely waterfront park, just off of Tiger Boulevard (parking is easily done at the local Wendy’s and the trail head is just a 1/2 block away!)
The trails are all marked and either paved or done with a board walk style, offering many picnic tables and benches and hanging swings over beautiful docks and more! I witnessed many couples and groups of friends using the lovely accomodations along the trail!
I walked a total of 40+ minutes, taking a little break in the sunshine to get some sunshine on my very winter white legs, while I enjoyed a picnic that I purchased at Wendy’s-I chose the $5 grab bag (with a slight upcharge for a larger drink!)
The breeze was blowing lightly off of the Lake while I enjoyed watching the fishermen ply there talents and skills from their boats, thoroughly enjoying the light refreshing days of Clemson, S.C.
A super easy meal to make–with very common, often in household ingredients (and if you purchase ingredients, the items not used can be used in other stuff easily!)
1 large yam, washed and coarsely chopped
2 big carrots, peeled and shredded/chopped
1 medium purple onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (creamy or chunky, doesn’t matter)
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 tsp each, dried ginger, black pepper, Garam Masala, sea salt
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 Tilapia Filets (I like the frozen ones from AlDI)
4 cups of cold water
Put everything in a large, deep skillet or medium sized pan, except fish
Simmer and stir for 10 minutues, put the fish on top, cover and let simmer for 40-45 on medium heat until fish is done and veggies are soft/cooked through. Mix well to break up fish and incorporate everything together.
Can be eaten as is or served over cooked rice. If eaten as it, serves 2-4, if served over rice, served 6-8.
+Can be altered to be vegetarian or vegan by eliminating the fish!
My Travels 