Summer Squash Spoonbread (with Pimento cheese)

Hello friends and Happy Monday!

And it's also the first day of JULY...that's just unbelievable.
~
So I have a recipe that I'd like to share with you that I made over the weekend.
Have you ever been leisurely paging through a magazine and a recipe just jumped off the page

and stopped you in your tracks...and you knew right away you had to make it?

Well, that's what happened to me a couple of days ago.

I won't tell you exactly where I was when I was paging through said magazine...

...I'll just leave that one right there...😉...ahem...

Not only did the recipe look super easy but I love anything with squash in it.
I thought it was unusual that it called for pimento cheese and we always have some on hand...
...even better!

I also love baking in an iron skillet and the directions were to preheat the pan.

The recipe also called for two cups of diced onion...two cups?

At first I wasn't going to put in that much but I decided to follow the recipe and I'm really glad I did.

Not too appetizing at this stage is it?

My 10" skillet nearly overflowed as you can see...YIKES!

I was just hoping it wouldn't bubble out while it baking, which it did not after all. 

Next time I do think I will use my 12" skillet though.

So here's the recipe...

Actually, I was pretty happy about how beautiful it looked after it baked...

...and I dug right in...and it wasn't even suppertime yet.

Now keep in mind that I make stuff like this when Jim's working so I can dig in whenever I want!

Oh mercy...it was SO good y'all!

So I just had to have me a little snack!

And a couple hours later I had a little more with a side of my "pickles".

And in keeping with the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, 

there was also a little bit of red, white and blue action going on.

This dish is just perfect for an easy summer supper...actually, anytime at all.

I don't know about you, but I am learning more and more that I don't need a meat with every meal.

I had some again for lunch on Sunday with a baked sweet potato...really a great combination!

I am sometimes a little hesitant to post a recipe that I thought was really good 

for the fear that someone might try it and think it was really gross.

But isn't that always a chance we take whenever we try a new recipe?

Life is a gamble!

Anyway, I do hope that if any of you decide to give it a try, it will be to your liking!

HAPPY JULY!

A Paper Medley

Well here we are on the last Wednesday of June...
...can you even believe that??

And what's more, can you even believe that a day has been set aside to honor
PARCHMENT PAPER???

If you want to find out more about parchment paper...or maybe you already know all about it,
Terri has a wealth of information on her blog and it's the subject of this week's
Wednesday Medley.

So just copy the questions from Terri's blog and paste them to yours....
...add your answers and link up to the Medley!

1.  Who knew there was a day to celebrate parchment paper?!  Do you ever use parchment when you bake or cook? Tell us about your favorite way to use it, please.

I can't say I've never used it but normally I don't...and until I read this, I wasn't really familiar with all of the reasons to do so. I guess I have a lot to learn! Excuse me for a few minutes while I run down to the store and pick me up some!

2.  When Terri thinks of parchment paper, she usually thinks about special writing or artist papers. She loves using specialty papers for creating cards or other art projects. Tell us about a creative way you have used parchment paper other than to bake with!

I'm with you, Terri! I love me some fancy parchment papers for crafting and stuff. Have you ever wanted to create some kind of an award or certificate for someone? It can be a gift certificate of some kind for a service you want to give or just to honor someone for an event...they have some really cool ways to make certificates on most PCs. Printing them out on parchment paper makes them way cooler than regular printer paper. I have used it for card making as well and have also printed out a favorite poem in a lovely font making it suitable for framing.

3.  Terri used to be in the cake business and has piped many borders and roses and leaves and letters, etc., etc.  You can make a pastry bag from parchment paper!  Have you ever tried decorating a cake with a pastry bag and specialty tips?  Do you have a picture to share?  Don't be shy, now!

I have never done this with parchment for sure. I have tried a plastic pastry bag before but it has been a long time ago. What I do remember is that it was a messy experience and I didn't do a very good job. That's why God invented those tubes of colored icing with the screw on tips, right?

Tell us about something you baked or cooked in the past week or so that turned out great, parchment or no parchment.  Will you share the recipe?

Hmmm... I have not done much cooking over the past week or so but I will tell you what I have plans to bake in the very near future...but I doubt it will include parchment paper. I have been hoarding bananas in my freezer that have gotten too ripe...I just cannot bring myself to eat one that does not still have a little bit of green showing on the peeling. So in to the freezer they go for some future banana/nut bread! Those yummy breads will be traveling with us as we make our way to visit our Tennessee bunch for July 4th next week!

5.  The last Wednesday in June!!  How can that be? Has your June flown by or have you been able to enjoy each day and make it slow down for you?

Don't I wish it was possible to make time slow down just a bit! Terri, do you know a secret to make this happen? I am absolutely stunned at how fast time in general is marching on, let alone June.  They say this happens the older we get. There "they" are again. 😉

6.  Tell us something about your week so far, if you will.

Just a regular old week for me...not much going on...yet. I did pull off the first fruits of my cucumber vine!

These are not actually pickles, more like marinated cucumbers and this is the way we like to eat them. Just a little onion slices in the bottom of the jar, a little apple cider vinegar, sugar and water.

There's nothing prettier that fresh produce in or out of a Mason jar! I have several green tomatoes on the vine and normally I would fry me up a batch of fried green 'maters...only I'm not sure how those would set on my tummy. And speaking of my tummy, I found out a week or so ago that I will be having surgery sometime in August. They are going to fix those bile ducts of mine once and for all! (we hope) More about that later....

So...that's it for this Wednesday.

Next week it will be July and we'll be on our way to enjoy Fourth of July festivities

and birthday celebrations in lovely Tennessee!

See you next month!