The BLT

Anyone need some tomatoes? I planted 3 bushes this spring. Just 3. And I've got so many tomatoes they are going to waste! It's criminal.

However, someone, or should I say, SOMETHING, has been helping itself to what I'm not using. I noticed there were big holes in some of my roma tomatoes, like someone had opened up the side and eaten just the guts. Weird, I think to myself. Birds, maybe? I've seen the local cardinals going in and out of the bushes. But you wouldn't think they'd be so messy. I mean, they're just little birds, right? But I've found the gutted bodies of tomatoes dragged out to the front yard! How mysterious.

Well, low and behold, I come home one day early from work, and guess what I see? Squirrels. Squirrels, resting on the tomato cages, having themselves a grand old time! I got out to ask if they'd like some basil and mozzarella to go with that, make a nice caprese salad. Afraid they took off before I got the chance to ask, however. Oh, well. I'm not going to put nets over my plants to keep them out. Apparently they do that for water. Can't begrudge 'em, if they're thirsty. And I've got plenty to share.

So, BLTs. The Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato. A jewel of a sandwich, that summertime essential.

Hard to mess this one up. Bacon, (done extremely crisp as John likes it), lettuce, and fresh tomatoes, either from your garden, somebody else's, or from a local farmer's market. The taste of summer, as far as I'm concerned. Look at that deep red color!

Mine sandwiches were made with Nature's Own Oatnut toasted bread. Have y'all ever had that before? Very good stuff. I highly recommend. A little light mayo on both pieces of bread. (If your having bacon, might as well go for broke and put plenty of mayo on, too.) Then cut it down the center. Serve.

Ugh, the mouth is watering right now, and its 10 in the morning!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

It's been a long time since I've blogged! Not since the end of June... I should feel bad about that. But, I've been busy, busy, busy. All kinds of things happened in July, including John and I getting engaged!

I can't tell you how excited I am about that last bit. It was a wonderful surprise, and I'm thrilled to exchange vows with the man I love, committing ourselves to something bigger.

On to food! I've done some cooking over the past weeks, but not much. Too much summer fun going on around here. John and I have been boating quite a bit. Hard to argue with going out on the boat on a hot summers day.

This recipe - Buffalo Chicken Salad - is one I found and adapted from Pinterest. Who doesn't love Pinterest? I used to laugh at friends who couldn't stop talking about things they discovered on the site (the fools!!), and then, what do you know, I've become just like them! 'Do you see this? Yup, found the idea on Pinterest!' Karma. She always comes back around.

I love me some spicy food. The spicier, the more I tend to like it, too. I'm a glutton for punishment. If you want less spicy salad, use less buffalo sauce. I used Texas Pete's Buffalo Sauce, but I'd also highly recommend Tabasco's Buffalo flavor sauce. Good stuff, either way.

Instead of using just mayonaise, I've substituted half of it for no-fat Greek yogurt. Also added bits of celery and carrots, like you'd get with you chicken wings. (Plus, vegetables are good for you. Sneaky, sneaky.)

Cracked pepper, some green onion, and two cans of pre-cooked white chicken meat. This is actually a fairly lazy recipe. Perfect for hot summer days, when there is so much to do, and the warm weather only lasts so long!