Corn Salad

Pin It Now! Don't you just love beautiful, colorful food? I do!! This Corn Salad is easy to fix and makes a great, cold, summer dish.

Corn Salad

• 5 ears of corn, large ears, husked (I cheated and just used about 2 cans of corn.)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small bell pepper chopped (I used orange for added color.)
• 2 TBSP basil, fresh, chopped (Yea, I got to use mine from the garden!)
• 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
• 2 TBSP cold pressed olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt (I might have added a smidge more.)

*Grill the corn, turning to cook on all sides, until some of the kernels are slightly charred, 8 minutes total. (I bet this tastes so good, but like I said, I used the canned kind.) If you do grill, then let stand until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.

Remove the kernels from the cobs with a sharp knife. Combine corn, tomatoes, and bell pepper in a medium bowl; stir in basil, vinegar, oil, and salt.

Let marinate in fridge for at least an hour.

This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tuesdays at the Table

It Was Bound to Happen Sooner or Later

Pin It Now! My sister let me borrow a couple of black flashlights . . . because the Arizona inevitable happened. Yes, I found a scorpion in my bathroom - ugh, I just got chill bumps thinking about it. Those things look like demons in the flesh. I wasn't happy.

About 5 minutes before my pinchy discovery, I was cleaning up in the kitchen and felt a light, tickly feeling on my shoulder. I thought it was just a strand of my hair falling out, as that's usually the case. Oh no. When I went to brush off the assumed hair, to my horror, I discovered it was a spindly-legged spider. Eeeek. (And I really did say "shoot" no matter what my kids and hubby think - so it was just second-hand cussing, not real cussing.)

Seriously, AHHHHHH! A spider and a scorpion in one day. Not nice!!!

I prayed before we moved to the middle of the desert that God would pretty please provide us a scorpion-free home. (I know - praying for no scorpions in the desert is like praying for no snow in Minnesota.) I had already lived through a nightmare Brown Recluse experience while living in my first apartment in Memphis, so I knew my marriage would not survive another venomous creature infestation!!! I DO NOT like sharing my living space with critters, especially the evil, poisonous, attack-you-in-your-sleep kind. I become quite irritably irrational and just plain mad.

Well, God truly has been gracious, b/c the area in which we presently live used to be farmland. So what does that mean in regard to scorpions? I guess all of the chemicals in the soil got rid of them. I guess our neighborhood and surrounding areas are as scorpion-free as a desert can be. Like I said, that was the very first one, and I am hoping with all my heart that maybe, just maybe the one in my bathroom somehow just hitched a ride over here from my dad's place, which does have scorpions from time to time. I had the privilege of seeing one over there stuck to a glue board. It had been there for 2 weeks and was still ALIVE. ALIVE! Ick!

A couple of days after my scorpion find, our air conditioning went out. (Not the luckiest of weeks!) I am not changing the subject - you see, we served dinner to our repair guy, (we know him from church) and the subject of scorpions came up. He proceeded to inform me that he's been stung many times, and his wife had recently been stung in her SLEEP. Oh my. That was a newsflash I didn't need to hear!! I'm the girl who pulls back the sheets and checks under pillows before getting all tucked in at night. The thought of one of those in MY BED flat out gives me the heebie-jeebies.

I am thinking about getting brave and actually using those flashlights tonight. I am afraid of what I might see, but I am curious, too. Hmmm, I keep going back to the phrase, "What you don't know can't hurt you." Even though I don't believe that pot of crock, I am not so certain that I, a natural born worry wart, need to know what lurks in my corners in the dark.

I will let you know what I find and if I need to put up a For Sale sign in my yard. :)

Beautiful, Golden Raspberries

Pin It Now! I was "berry" tempted a couple of weeks ago while I was perusing the produce department at Fry's. I did a double take when I saw these golden beauties for the very first time in my entire life. Never seen or heard of a golden raspberry before, have you?

I bought them and ate them . . . and they were good. Tasted just like a red raspberry - maybe a slightly milder flavor, though?

Just to make sure these weren't some unnatural, modified, freaks-of-nature, I did a search on "golden raspberries." Turns out, they are completely natural according to wikipedia. The ones I bought are probably red raspberry derivatives and get their color from recessive genes for some kind of pigment I can't pronounce.

So, eat up! Raspberries contain antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, manganese, and lots of other good-for-you stuff that you don't need to know in order to enjoy and benefit from one of God's delectable gifts of nature. :)

I Like it RAW

Pin It Now! I'll put up with the Arizona summers any day knowing I can buy fresh, RAW milk for my kids. It baffles me that it is actually illegal in some states to sell unpasteurized milk to consumers. (Just to let you know I am not a complete nutrition freak/wacko, I am sipping on an RC Cola as I type. :D) I am all for treats every now and then, but I have an unquenchable passion for whole foods.

I was planning on writing my own post about why I like it raw, but Cara from Health, Home, and Happiness recently wrote a wonderful, well-thought-out post on this very subject. She explains why raw milk is better, what's wrong with industrialized milk, and how to find raw milk near you. I couldn't have said any of it better, and she has a bunch of links worth checking out as well.


This is the local farm where I buy raw milk. I have to admit, the very first time I bought raw milk, I was a little nervous. When you live your whole life being told pasteurized is the only safe way to drink milk, you have a few apprehensions. The owner assured me that their raw milk is safe, and that they are checked monthly to make sure they are meeting safety standards etc. It was so weird, when I opened the top, to see a thick layer of cream. Mmmm, I have quickly become a cream lover, and my kids love it when they are the first ones to pour milk from a new carton on their cereal or oatmeal.

Yep, looks like a farm and smells like one, too!! You can actually watch the cows eating grass, and aren't the babies so cute?

My sweet daughter agreeably posed for a raw milk picture. :) We have been drinking it for a couple of years now, and have happily lived to tell about it.

By the way, this past Friday was Cow Appreciation Day, so this post is dedicated to the faithful farmers and cows who provide my family with nourishing, whole, RAW milk!!

Yummy, Easy Bird's Nest Meal

Pin It Now!

This is our family's new, favorite lunch!!! I love simple and healthy recipes, so when I originally saw this "bird's nest" here, I knew I HAD to try it! (There are more photos on the original post, too.)

You only need 3 ingredients (besides salt and pepper)!!

• Potatoes (2 large shredded potatoes were enough for my 3 kids and me)
• eggs (one for each nest)
• Butter (optional--I used real butter)

** Shred your potatoes. Heat skillet to medium and melt a pat of butter. I use one of those large, plug-in skillets, and I heat it up between 350-400 degrees. Plop shredded potato onto skillet and arrange it into the shape of a nest, complete with a hole in the middle. Cook 4-5 minutes. Now crack an egg over the hole, sprinkle with salt and pepper if you wish, and cook for 3-5 more minutes. Flip entire nest over and cook until done. I like my yolk firmly cooked!! My kids like to add a little ketchup, and my hubby likes to add hot sauce.

This meal would work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It totally works for me!

For more great tips, visit We are THAT Family.

Also linked to Try A New Recipe Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays