Everybody makes 3 Bean Salad, right? Well, I am proposing that we step it up a bit and add a fourth ingredient.

1.One can of beans-I use pinto beans, but others use kidney or black beans

2.One can of green beans-I use the French cut and yes, I use canned

3. One can of well rinsed garbonzo beans-These add a real texture and crunch if you lightly toast them in the oven for about 5 minutes.

4. My last ingredient? You know that I love corn, especially in the summer. Add a little can of kernel corn, scrape two cobs of fresh corn, or if you love corn too, add a bigger can.

I dress this with Newman’s Own Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing. This is yummy and I take it everywhere in the summer!

Yes, Pooh likes honey with his muffins, but also, how about making those muffins with pancake mix? I used Krusteaz but I bet you could also use Bisquick or any other pancake mix as far as that goes. Give it a try!

Pancake Muffins

1. 2 cups pancake mix-As I said, I used Krusteaz, but I think any pancake mix will do, but watch the envelope mixes like Martha White because they do not equal 2 cups.
2. 2 Tablespoons sugar-I used 4 but I like things pretty sweet
3. 1 large egg
4. 1 cup milk-I use 2%
5. 1/4 cup melted butter or marg.

Combine all ingredients and pour into greased muffin pan or use paper muffin cups. Bake at 400 for about 15 min. Enjoy with butter and jam!

One of my favorite things about summer is zucchini. Yes, those big long green things are among my favorite veg. They can be used in salads, stuffed, made into breads, and pureed into any vegetable smoothie. One of my favorites is this easy recipe for Zucchini Casserole that I found a long time ago in an old cookbook. I love to share it, so here goes!

Zucchini Casserole

1. 1 1/4 cups cracker crumbs-I like to use RITZ, but any kind will do.
2. 1/4 cp. melted marg. Do not use vegetable oil!
3. About 2 large zukes or 3 small. You need about 2 1/2 cups grated
4. 1 cup very sharp shredded cheddar cheese-add a bit more if you like a cheesy flavor
5. 1 beaten egg
6. A little finely chopped red onion (Optional)
7. A couple of dashes of garlic powder or salt

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Combine cracker crumbs and butter but save out a bit of the crumbs for topping,. Stir together the remaining ingredients and combine all. Pour mixture into an 8 inch square baking pan and sprinkle with remaining cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 for one hour and 10 minutes or so. Tap the center to check for doneness. ENJOY, and use up your zucchini while you are at it!!

Two Is Better Than One!

This is just an idea and it worked for me. I make chicken pot pie although not with cauliflower crust, but with lots of veggies and my QUORN vegetarian chicken pieces. So today I was making a big veggie salad for lunch, and it dawned on me that I was cutting way too many vegetables. So, why not make two dishes while I was at it.

1. thin sliced carrots
2. broccoli
3. cauliflower potatoes are optional BTW
4. snow peas
5. green onion sliced thinly
6. spinach
7. corn
8. yellow squash out of my garden

As I chopped away I simply kept on chopping as I did each item. At the end of it all I had ingredients for not only my salad (I added romaine lettuce, of course) but all of the chopped veg I needed for pot pie. I steamed the pie veg and layered that with low sodium cream of broccoli soup and added a bit of parm. cheese. If you are a vegetarian and you use soy products or whey based products, add some c’ken and I like to top with a crust that I make out of Bisquick. You may prefer some type or biscuit dough or pop biscuits too. I like Pillsbury Grand myself. This is a quick healthy dish and sooo good.

Why not let your veggies do Double Duty?