Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party!

Welcome back to another party!  I hope you all had a great week and are ready to share some amazing recipes!  Let's take a quick moment to re-cap last week's shin-dig.  We had 134 recipes posted and here are some results!

Top Three voted by you:

#1 Jams and Pans with Apple Walnut and Coconut Cake with Baileys Fudge Frosting

#2 Spatulas on Parade with Hodge Podge Salad

#3 Baked in the South with Margarita Cupcakes

Three Most Viewed:

#1 Flour Me With Love with Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls

#2 Family Food Finds with Hawaiian Style Chicken Katsu (Wow!  Thanks!!)

#3 Diddles and Dumplings with Crockpot Mexican Pork

My personal favorite from last week was the Hummus and Spinach Stuffed Portabellas from A Virtual Essence.  Don't they look amazing!?!

Now...let's get this party started!!  Here is a list of all the host blogs this week.  Remember, like up and your recipe will be shown on all these blogs!!

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsviewathome.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar  http://alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com/  

Sarah at Everything in the Kitchen Sink  http://everythingkitchensink.blogspot.com/  

Michelle at From Calculus to Cupcakes  http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.blogspot.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://wifeofthecolonel.blogspot.com/

Lindsey at Family Food Finds  http://www.familyfoodfinds.com

Cindy at Cindys Recipes and Writings  http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com

Keira at Luscious Delights www.lusciousdelights.blogspot.com.au

Tami at Food Forays http://www.foodforays.com

Step 1:  Make sure that anything you link up is:

• A Recipe...and is made and photographed by you
• Not part of a sponsership/sales/giveaway or other promotions/linky parties
• Linked to a specific page of your recipe, not your homepage
• Please limit your link-ups to 3 per party

Step 2:

• Show some love and link back to my blog and Foodie Friends Friday (http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com ) on the post of the recipe you are submitting.

* for example:  This recipe is featured on "Host Blog Link" and  http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com  Linky Party)

If you want to be the very best Foodie Friend Ever...

• Grab our button at http://foodiefriendsfriday.com and put it on your page and share Foodie Friends Friday!
• Take some time and check out other submitted links and the blogs of all of our gracious hosts
• Come on over and "like" us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter and Pinterest

***Please note that by linking up you are transferring rights to Foodie Friends Friday and any of it's affiliated websites or publications to use photos/links/recipes for any reprint, republishing and distribution without monetary compensation to you.  If photos/recipes are used, proper credit/ linkbacks will be published with them.  We just want to share your amazing recipes and spread some foodie <3 !

Have Fun and Thank You for Visiting!!

Caprese Panini

Last week I showed you how to make the classic caprese salad.  Today I have another way for you to enjoy that delicious combination of flavors - in a panini!!  This is such a simple meal and it is great for lunch or dinner.  It is a wonderful way to give kids an alternative to plain grilled cheese that they are sure to love.  Adults can eat these with tomato slices and bigger pieces of basil, but I choose to dice the tomato and cut the basil into ribbons so it is easier for my daughter to eat.  Enjoy this sandwich with a salad made from other summer vegetables.  

Ingredients
crusty white bread (I usually use a french miche for paninis)
butter
sliced mozzarella cheese
tomatoes, sliced or diced
basil, cut into thin ribbons

Directions

1. Butter the outside of the bottom pice of bread.
2. Place a single layer of mozzarella cheese on the inside of the bread.
3. Layer with tomatoes then basil.
4. Scatter a few more pieces of cheese on top of the tomatoes and basil.
5. Place the other slice of bread on top and butter the outside.
6. Place into a heated panini press and cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden.

Kitchen Essentials - Panini Press

For years I thought having a machine devoted to making "fancy" grilled cheese sandwiches was ridiculous.  That is, until I got one and have become OBSESSED with it!  My family surprised me with this Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler for my birthday last year.  To be fair, this isn't JUST a panini press.  It comes with reversible cook plates.  One side is a grill texture to give you those wonderful grill marks, and the other side is a flat griddle for cooking eggs, pancakes, hash browns, or anything you might cook in a pan.  

I have been very impressed with the evenness of the cooking and the ease of clean-up.  The non-stick plates are very easy to wash, and it comes with a scraping tool that fits in between the grill lines to scrape out any melted cheese that may have escaped from a cooking panini.  There is a drip tray below to catch any excess grease.  

As an added bonus, you can order waffle plates separately that fit perfectly into this machine.  Again, I have been impressed with the finished waffels in terms of their even color and texture.  It makes it so easy to enjoy a breakfast treat of fresh waffles.  So I guess this isn't just a machine for fancy grilled cheese sandwiches.  It does so much more and has become a kitchen essential in my home!

I purchased this unit on my own and was not compensated for this post.  The opinions expressed are completely my own.


Image credit - Amazon.com

Fresh Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad

Nothing says summer quite like farm fresh corn.  It is one of those things we ONLY eat when it is locally available.  Even though you can get it year round in your neighborhood grocery store, I never do because store-bought corn is just not good!  Believe me, once you try local corn picked from the fields the same day, you will wonder how you ever ate anything else!

This salad is such a great side dish to a variety of meals.  It works great for a backyard BBQ, paired with a pasta, or even tacos!  Many corn salad recipes have you boil the corn cob first, but sweet corn is amazingly delicious raw off the cob.  Plus, it makes for easier prep!  The colors are vibrant and the taste is wonderful.  I hope you enjoy this salad all summer long - like I know I will!  :)

Ingredients
4 ears sweet corn, kernels removed
2 tomatoes, discard seeds and chop
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, discard seeds and chop
1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 2 limes
4 oz crumbled feta
pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine corn, tomatoes, onion, red pepper, jalapeno, and cilantro.  Stir to combine.
2. Add lime juice.  Stir to combine.
3. Season with pepper to taste. 
4. Can be made up to this point a day in advance.  When ready to serve, add crumbled feta.  
5. Serve cold.

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Weekly Menu

We got some tasty fruits and veggies from our local farm this week!  We selected green beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, sweet corn, sweet Maui onion, saticoy melon, and yellow watermelon.  As a bonus, we have more cucumbers and basil from our very own backyard!  What a beautiful summer bounty!!  Here is how we will be enjoying these goodies this week:

• Caprese Paninis with a Sweet Corn Side Salad
• using the tomatoes, basil, and corn

• Stir Fry Tofu with Green Beans and Shitake Mushrooms and a side of Japanese Cucumber Salad
• using the green beans and cucumbers

• Penne alla Vodka with a Farmstand Greek Salad using the Red Wine Vinaigrette
• using the tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and romaine lettuce

• My daughter and I will be having sandwiches for lunch this week
• using the tomatoes, lettuce, and onion

We will be enjoying the saticoy melon and yellow watermelon for dessert.