Marinated Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad

This is a great way to use those garden items that tend to overtake your kitchen during the summer.

Grill up some chicken breasts....and you've got a great meal.

3 medium cucumbers, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

3 medium tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

I slice up the cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes and throw into a large mixing bowl. 

Then I mix up the remaining ingredients and pour over the veggies.  Toss well and pop it into the fridge for a couple of hours....at least.

I visit the fridge three or four times during the afternoon and toss the contents around to make sure everything is soaking well. 

Great the next day, too!!!

Steak Spaghetti

Every now and then I need a dish I can fix with very little effort. I like this dish because it uses staple items I generally have on hand – spaghetti, onions, tomatoes, and garlic.

It’s a great use for leftover steak Dear Daughter and I might bring home from a restaurant visit. For example, we had dinner at Ted’s Sunday night for my mother-in-law’s dinner out. I only had 1/3 of my steak and Dear Daughter brought home a substantial piece as well.

We both had ordered Delmonico Steaks……I trimmed them a bit and then sliced up the meat. Of course, if you don’t have steak leftovers you can prepare one quickly and slice it. You only need one Strip or one Delmonico steak.



I added a little olive oil to a non-stick skillet along with approximately two tablespoons minced garlic and one chopped medium onion…..I use Vidalia onions. I sauté the onions and garlic for a little bit and add some black pepper and a pinch of salt.



In the meantime I get a pot of water on the stove so that I can prepare a package of spaghetti noodles according to the package directions.

I open two cans of chopped tomatoes…..the Italian kind are best. I drain a little liquid off one can and the other can I drained entirely. Mix the tomatoes in the skillet with the onion and garlic mixture. Saute another five minutes. Of course you can use fresh tomatoes……4-5.



Add the sliced steak and stir until the meat is heated through.



Serve the steak mixture over spaghetti along with some Parmesan Cheese and a slice of your favorite bread.

Ham and Tomato Pie

I took this recipe from Southern Living (April, 2007). It really is a great way to use leftover ham after Easter, or any other time you have ham. While it would be real easy to use deli ham to make this dish the magazine states that since the moisture content is very high in deli ham it won’t work out right.

This is always a hit around here. I serve with a salad as you can see in the picture.

Unfortunately the salad overpowers the quiche in this picture. You can see it a little better below.

1 (8 oz.) pkg. sliced cooked ham
½ cup sliced green onions (about 4 onions)
1 (9-inch) frozen unbaked pie shell (you don’t have to thaw it beforehand)
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Mozzerella cheese, divided
2 medium plum tomatoes, sliced
1 large egg
1/3 cup half-and-half
1 T. chopped fresh basil
1/8 t. pepper
Garnish with basil sprigs and tomato slices

Saute ham and green onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for five minutes or until ham is brown and any liquid evaporates.

Brush bottom of pie shell evenly with mustard; spring with ½ cup mozzerella cheese. Spoon ham mixture evenly over the cheese, and top with single layer of sliced tomatoes.

Beat egg and half-and-half with a fork until blended; pour over tomatoes. Sprinkle evenly with basil, pepper, and remaining ½ cup cheese.

Bake on lowest oven rack at 425 degrees for 20-23 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Cool on a wire rack 20 minutes. Cut into wedges to serve; garnish, if desired.