Hot Pockets

The weather was a little cooler the week that we made these recipes so it was not too bad to have the oven going in the house at night (these recipes queued up the week before we left on our trip).  Our kitchen gets HOT in the summer.  Between the inefficient light fixture that is like a heating lamp over the sink and the non-venting oven...we keep it toasty in that 1970's kitchen.  When we moved in last year it was a warmer than average summer and I was pregnant.  Normally my thermostat runs on the cooler side, however, last year I was a hot mess from the time we started cooking until I went to bed at night (with the windows open and ceiling fan on).  I never drink ice water but our ice trays couldn't keep up with Dozer and I.  Fortunately we had a lot of help with the meals right after we moved in thanks to our amazing families and the time they spent settling us into our new home.  After that we used the grill as much as possible and ate outside every night - meal planning was a little less formal at that point!

Speaking of hot, our first meal, Savory Sausage, Spinach, and Onion Turnovers, flash me back to those microwaveable Hot Pockets we used to enjoy growing up.  My sisters and I really didn't have any problem with chowing down on Hot Pockets (though I always burned my mouth on them...). 

These are pretty straightforward to make and there is no need to get hung up on the shape of the turnover.  Our turnovers never come out looking like turnovers so just shoot for getting the dough sealed up - circle, square, half-moon - they all taste the same and you won't be disappointed!

One recipe that we are enjoying for the second summer in a row is Grilled Zucchini Caprese Sandwiches.   All the cooking is done on the grill and it takes very little time to pull together these veggie filled sandwiches.  I recommend getting some good bread for these as it adds a lot to the meal.

This week we welcomed back Mac n' Cheese alongside a Baked Cod Filet.  For a quick grammatical interlude - as I was typing this entry I went back and forth between "Filet" and "Fillet" before resorting to my old friend, Google, to ensure that I was not misrepresenting the spirit of the meal.  I came across a blog that indicated the terms can be used interchangeably (both mean "a boneless cut of meat") and that Americans and Canadians are the most inconsistent in their usage.  I also happened upon this article published in the Boston Globe regarding the AP's guidance on food related words.  I found it to be pretty amusing and if I ever go pro with my food writing I am going to have some serious studying to do - in the meantime, stash a few of these nuances away for trivia night!

Back to the food: the crumb on the fish is made from Ritz crackers (or Zips if you are like us and buying generic) and lends a nice buttery flavor to the fish.  I cannot wait until Ellie can have Mac n' Cheese so we have a good reason to keep a few (more) boxes on hand.

The summer squashes are starting to pop up in the grocery store at "in season" prices, so we made Baked Ziti with Summer Vegetables.  For the pasta connoisseurs out there, you will notice that those are penne in the picture - any short pasta will do for this recipe (we always seem to have 1/2 boxes of pasta hanging around).  Dishes like this don't need a specific shape so cook up whatever short pasta you are looking to get rid of. 

Finally, Chicken with Lemon Leek Linguine.  I was skeptical at first about leeks and linguine coming together.  It seemed too stringy to work, but the flavors are great and we both really enjoy the mild onion-y taste of the leeks with the pasta and chicken - it is a great summer-time meal.  Keep it cool out there and if you are hanging out with a pregnant woman this summer, by all means, bring her a glass of ice water!