Happy Sunday, reader friends! And welcome to my home diary from July. This is a little monthly/seasonal series that I want to start here. In these posts, I thought it would be fun to invite you into the happenings of my home from the previous month/season and share some of what I've been up to. Perhaps I'll share meals I've cooked, healthier treats I've baked, projects I've been working on, and any other homey sorts of bits and bobs. So, this is the perfect time to grab a cup of something delicious and settle in for a little look back at July in our home...
Early in the month, I was craving a batch of these no-bake turtle brownies. I am no doubt obsessed with this recipe and it was the second time I've made them. Not only are they delicious, but they are also sweetened with dates and honey or maple syrup and seeing at it is summer, having a no-bake recipe is perfect because I don't have to heat the oven up. The recipe originally says to make these into cups by using a muffin tin, which is what I did the first time. However, this second time, I opted for a 7x11 pan lined with parchment paper and just made little brownie squares. Either way, they taste divine!
No summer is complete for me without a few foods...watermelon, peaches, strawberries, and bruschetta. I made a bowl of the tomato, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar mix to go with our July 4th meal. And as a special treat, I used some wonderfully deliciously fresh heirloom tomatoes from the farmers' market that our neighbor gave to us. They added a bit of a different color scheme to my mix and tasted so incredibly yummy...summertime on a piece of a crusty bread. Yes, please.
Our July 4th meal consisted of oven-baked seasoned chicken (it was WAY TOO HOT for a cookout), bruschetta, roasted asparagus and corn straight off the cob (that's how I like it best). It was such a scrumptious meal and felt so summery, too.
We spent several hours on the night before July 4th going to watch fireworks. It had rained all day and stopped early in the evening, which made for perfect firework weather...hot, humid, sticky, and just that real July feel. A plus, though, was that none of us got a single mosquito bite, even though they were everywhere, seeing as how we were sitting in a grassy field. That was thanks to my new homemade, all natural, essential oil-based mosquito spray. It was put to the test and passed with flying colors.
As much fun as we had watching the incredible fireworks show with patriotic music in the background, complete with homemade snacks and watermelon to munch on along with mason jars filled with water and lots of ice, I got an insane headache from the heat, which is the norm for me. Have I mentioned how I'm so not a summer girl? Anyway, we decided to postpone our homemade patriotic dessert until I felt better, so we opted for these all-natural fruity popsicles we picked up at the market. No complaints from us...they were yum!
So, a couple days later, when I felt better, we finally got to enjoy a patriotic dessert...strawberry tiramisu. I found this recipe on the Half Baked Harvest website which you can find here if you're interested. I've got to say, this recipe is absolutely, hands-down superb. The ginger chamomile syrup you dip the lady fingers in really made it extra special, and different. We left out the Aperol, simply because we don't use any alcoholic ingredients, and I found the strawberry jam to be totally unnecessary. Next time, we all agreed, it would be better to simply leave that out. Other than those minor changes, this recipe was a huge hit!
Look at the gorgeous layers! I can hear Mary Berry saying that. {{winks}} Kudos to my sister for making this super yummy and beautiful dessert.
Another fun meal we had, which was a super special treat since we only have deli meats a few times a year, was making homemade adult Lunchables. Hee! We had been out all day running around and such and this was the perfect easy, lighter dinner...whole grain crackers and cheese slices, uncured salami and pepperoni, organic turkey slices, pickles, carrots and veggie dip...with a little piece of dark chocolate for dessert. So. Much. Fun.
And finally, one of our most favorite (and delicious) meals of the month were these lemon and garlic butter pork chops. I served them with brown rice seasoned with an herb mixture and some green beans. Pork isn't a meat that we eat very often, but I was beyond pleased with how this recipe turned out. Now, whenever we see pork chops on sale, we can get a pack and have a new way to enjoy them. I thought they also looked really pretty in the baking dish with the lemons on top. I think this recipe could also easily work great with chicken. Hmmm...I may have to make that soon.
And to end this post, here are couple photos of the flowers I received for my 30th (ah!) birthday. My mom and sister really made my day special and perfect. And you cannot imagine the absolute sheer excitement when I woke up to R A I N on my birthday. It rained nearly all day, and it was pure bliss. The last time I remember it raining on my birthday, I was turning six. Usually, my birthday is hot and sunny and to have a rainy birthday was just the cherry on top. {{smiles}}
So...now it's your turn...
what new recipes did you try in July? Did you make anything super yummy?
Let me know!
Thank you so much for joining my for July's Home Diary. I hope you enjoy these homey sorts of posts, as I know I love reading this sort of thing on other blogs.
May your day be an absolute beauty!