Favorite Recipes from August

 

                It has been a good month of recipes here in Shafferland! Here are some of our favorites from August.

The Juiciest Marinated Steak and Steamed Green Beans – I knew we had a keeper when Ryan mentioned (twice) how much he liked the seasoning on these steaks! I purchased thin steaks from Aldi and mixed up the rub recipe earlier in the day. I left it for Ryan to apply before grilling, since I had church meetings that evening and got home late.) It was SO tasty. Not too salty, lots of flavor…keeper! We ate the steaks with steamed green beans fresh from our garden!

Summer Stuffed Zucchini Boats – This one was extra fun to make, because I used zucchini from our garden! I could have used cherry tomatoes from our garden, too, if they had been ripe, but they weren’t…sadness. The flavors in this were SO GOOD. I boiled the chicken and usually would shred it in the mixer, but I just chopped it in chunks this time. It was really good!

Grilled Pork Chops – I failed to let the meat sit in the brine as long as I should have, but the outcome was still really, really good. (I worked at the church the day we had these, so I didn’t get home until about a half hour before we started grilling.) We enjoyed the seasoning on this! We had steamed green beans from the garden with these, too!

Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken with Chipotle Parmesan Corn on the Cob – I was skeptical about this one, but it was really good! The homemade BBQ sauce really isn’t hard or time-consuming to make, and these were perfection on the grill. (Thanks, Ryan!) I used my new Pampered Chef grill basket (that I got brand new, in the box, for one dollar at the thrift store) to grill the corn on the cob! Tasty!

Blueberry Crumble – I made this in part to represent my Alaska dish for my 50 Before 50 list, but I also wanted to find a healthier version. This was SO GOOD. Ryan was impressed, and that is always my marker. If I can impress him with a lightened up dessert, it’s a keeper. I actually loved it so much I made it again for company a couple of days later.

Shaved Zucchini Salad – I found this one on a blog, and it intrigued me. Since we planted zucchini in our garden, I wanted to have new options for ways to prepare it. This one was super tangy and got us right in the jaw when we ate it, but I thought it had good flavor and was unique. I used Feta instead of goat cheese, because that’s what we had. I’d make it again!

Grilled Chicken Cobb Pasta Salad – This was easy to make and really good! I used turkey bacon instead of regular, chickpea pasta, and I did not add the avocado. We love avocado, but Ryan doesn’t like it leftover, and I didn’t want it to go bad, so I just skipped it.

Grilled Chicken Thighs – This was a recipe I shared on the blog last year, and it’s become a staple in our home. It’s easy to prep ahead (it’s a marinade) and so tasty. We had company and served it to them – and they loved it!

Coleslaw – Along with the grilled chicken thighs, we served coleslaw, which was another great-find recipe from last year. It’s easy to make a day ahead and really flavorful.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls – This is a golden oldie from the blog, and the recipe came to me from my Mom. It’s not a healthy recipe, but it is a good one! It comes together SO FAST, and it’s always a hit. I made it this month for a meeting at church, and Ryan said he just hoped there would be leftover. (There were!)

Roasted Summer Vegetables – This recipe has been a favorite of mine for a while now – with just one modification. I never add the tomatoes. Ryan likes tomatoes, but he likes them fresh, not cooked. So I try (most of the time) to leave them out of dishes I roast. This one is great for us since we have summer squash and zucchini in our garden. I make it when we need a veggie side dish and have extra of either/both of those on hand! This time we had them with some Tilapia we cooked on the grill!

Guacamole Turkey Burgers – This one surprised and impressed me. I sometimes find turkey burgers dry. But these were flavorful, even with one modification. We moved the cilantro from the burger to the guacamole. We did add a slice of cheese to the burgers too. (I used leftover guacamole for avocado toast the next morning.)

Quick Garlic Lime Marinated Pork Chops – This was yummy! I marinated the chops and then cooked them in the air fryer! While they cooked, I made rice for Ryan and steamed some frozen green beans and frozen mushrooms. It was a fast, easy, tasty dinner.

Grilled Asian Chicken – I struggle sometimes with Asian food because I don’t like all the spices. I like some, but not all. Apparently in this one, I liked them all. SO impressed. I ended up cooking the chicken in the air fryer because it was SO hot, so we didn’t feel like firing up the grill and standing out in the heat to cook. No complaints, though, on the taste! I roasted some Asian vegetable blends to go with it!

Ham and Cheese Sliders – I’ve made these a handful of times and have never bothered to save the recipe. Now that I’m building the official Shafferland recipe box, I will save this for our archives. These are so easy to make for a crowd, so I made them for small group! I did use about half the amount of butter it called for – and honestly should cut it down some more! It’s SO buttery in this recipe! Also – for fun – we purchased a variety pack of cheese, so we used pepperjack, colby jack, cheddar, and Swiss!

Dirt Pudding – Ryan made this for our small group as well. It’s always a hit! He just did half a recipe this time because we had a small gathering (is that a small small group?) but it was so good.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos – I love slow cooker recipes on the super busy days, and this one was a winner. (Ryan went back for seconds!) I threw everything into the slow cooker in the morning, and the house smelled so good when I arrived home from work! Ryan ate his over chips and I had mine on salad greens, and they were YUMMY.

Big Mac Salad – I’ve been making this for a few years and really love it. The sauce/dressing is made from hummus, and I use red pepper hummus to make it. It’s a tasty alternative to the sandwich!

Summer Vegetables with Sausage and Potatoes Skillet – I made this on a lovely Saturday night at home. I used peppers and zucchini from our own garden and added rosemary and thyme from our little kitchen herb garden! I used baby potatoes and cut them small so they’d cook faster. Flavorful and filling!