The "picky hubby" list

Move over, Giada!

Okay, while I may not be gorgeous Giada (my husband has dubbed her show "Cooking with Cleavage"), I am trying to get in the kitchen more. One of the goals on my 101 things in 1001 days was to cook five new dishes before the end of summer.




My husband happens to be the pickiest eater ever, eschewing such foods as:
1.) ground beef
2.) anything with veggies (onions, mushrooms, anything green) or flecks of herbs that are large enough to constitute a veggie
3.) potato anything- gratin, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes (although he does eat fries)
4.) whole grain breads/pasta
5.) berries, apples, any other fruit

It's a marvel he hasn't gotten scurvy.

Anyway, because I am such a good wife, we usually eat pretty simple food because it seems too much trouble to cook gourmet meals for one (i.e. me, who will eat absolutely anything). When my sister came into town this weekend, I jumped at the chance to cook something fresh and summery. I ended up making a Mediterranean couscous salad, which was fun to make because there was no measuring and I chopped all these amazing summer veggies (sundried tomatoes, red onion, red peppers, olives). It had such a clean, Greek-alfresco-dinner-at-sunset taste. I put the recipe at the end of this post if anyone is still reading and is interested!

I also made lemon ricotta cookies (Giada's recipe) with lemon glaze that were absolutely perfect for summer- like lemonade in cookie form. The recipe made 44 cookies. By the end of my sister's visit, they were completely gone. The best part: even though that makes us all complete piggies, none of us felt like it because they taste so light and lemony. My sister asked several times if the cookies were "good for you" (because so many cookies are). I'll let you check out the recipe, with its one stick of butter and tons of sugar and cheese, to make that call.

Just call me Betty Crocker:


Even Mr. Picky likes them (although he didn't want to try them at first because of the fruit juice.) Do ya'll see what I'm dealing with here? :)


Oh-So-Easy Mediterranean Couscous Salad
Want an easy salad to make for a future potluck? Here's the very laid back recipe:
* 1 red pepper
* 1 red onion
* 1 jar of slice black olives
* 1/2 a bag of sundried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips
* 1 small jar artichokes, sliced small
* feta cheese
* 1 box coucous- I used pine nut flavored
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
Just cook the coucous, fluff, and cool. Chop all fresh veggies. Put everything in large bowl and add seasoning, lemon juice, and olive oil. Put in fridge to chill. Enjoy! :)

Two new dishes down, three more to go! :)

(I'll post more on my visit with my sis later because I have a few other cute posts in mind. Bethy, I'm not posting the ultra cute photos of you and your boyfriend until you leave a comment on my blog! I'm holding them ransom... ba ha ha ha!)