new love

We're in Havasu right now with our friends Matt and Stacy, but I've had this blog post sitting around for a while so I figured now is as good a time as any to put it up!




When Alex and I started dating, I started cooking dinner for us pretty regularly. At first, I really didn't know what I was doing and mostly cooked really easy things from Trader Joe's. Alex isn't picky (for the most part) and so that worked fine. The longer we were together, the more I experimented with my cooking, and realized that I actually enjoy it! I never would have thought that before, but the more I experiment with new recipes, the more comfortable I get (shocking, I know!). I have pretty much mastered most of the mexican favorites from my mom's kitchen. I must say, my spanish rice rivals hers! Crispy tacos, rice and beans is definitely Alex's favorite although I can't quite bring myself to make it very often since the shells are fried and my waistline definitely doesn't need that!

Since we just recently were married in May, the entire length of our marriage (all 2 months of it) have been during summer. Well normally that wouldn't mean so much except for the fact that if I cook for longer than oh 10-15 minutes, our house warms up to an unbearable temp. Sooo....I started looked for simple summer recipes. I tried Nicole's Taco Salad which was honestly the first time I've ever cooked beef...EVER! It was so yummy and Alex loved it and the leftovers! I also found a lot of simple, summer recipes (that beat the heat) in the latest Real Simple magazine. I've tried a few of the recipes and we especially liked the ravioli with zucchini and the pasta with peppers and mozzarella. yum!

Sooo...to help satisfy my new love....what favorite summer recipes do you have?