Summer is Here! and so is the Family

Happy Fathers day! We had an awesome day here in SoCal. Beautiful weather, great food and good laughs.

Blake and I pulled of a pretty successful BBQ lunch despite my procrastination. I decided to make grilled zucchini spears,  fruit salad and a french fry recipe I've been wanting to try. Paired with the tasty burgers  and onions that Blake grilled up, it was a pretty yummy lunch menu. It turned out to be 12 instead of 18 that we were cooking for which was a nice downsize since we could all sit and eat at one table. I was a little disappointed with my french fry trial but I did have to triple the recipe so that might have had something to do with the result since I didn't make very accurate adjustments.

Here's the experiment:

Slice up large baking potatoes like so and pat dry with a towel. Whip up 2 egg whites until they are frothy/foamy and then toss the potatoes in the egg whites. Here's my favorite part... spices!!!!

Toss together:
4 tsp of breadcrumbs (I used pank0)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Toss the potatoes in the with the spices and shake around until they're coated. Spread them out on a baking sheet or pan in one layer, spray with cooking spray or Olive Oil and bake for about 20 mins. @ 400 F.

Done!

The rest was pretty simple and basic. The zuchini I cut into quarters lengthwise and sprinkled with olive oil, garlic powder and italian seasoning and tossed them on the grill with the burgers for about 6-8 minutes. I brushed them with balsamic right after I pulled them off for a little extra flavor. Of course my brother was grill master and camera shy so I only got apicture of the grill chalk full of goodness.

 

My beautiful niece helped me finish the fresh fruit salad.

Time to sit down and eat! I requested a small burger so I could feel justified in eating the whole thing and still fill up my plate with the other yummies.

Look at those excellent grilled onions. They tasted even better than they look!

I made sure to fill half my plate with fruits and vegetables (fruit salad and  the zucchini hiding behind it) because that's what I tell my students day in and day out. :)

Tomorrow is my day off. The first real full day off I've had in quite a long time so I'm very excited. I have no plans and I'm relishing that fact. My sister and brother-in-law and my adorable niece are coming into town tomorrow and staying the night. I can't wait to see them and give that baby girl a squeeze.

Good night!