Eat Here...Your Own Cottage...on a Long Weekend!

Hello Birdies! It’s been a few days since I’ve been able to blog and I feel like I have so much to share! Hubby and I spent the long weekend at his cottage, just north of Toronto. C&K were able to join us for lots of fun in the sun, card games, and most of all, delicious food!

Keeping food at the cottage tasty yet somewhat healthy (I refuse to live off burgers and hot dogs alone!) is always a challenge. Here are a couple of suggestions for some yummy cottage meals:

Pear, blue cheese and walnut salad

-          I carton of pre-washed baby spinach

-          2 oz of mild blue cheese

-          2 bartlett pears, thinly sliced

-          ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted in the oven (sprinkle with brown sugar before toasting if you want some added sweetness).

For the dressing I mixed a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with the juice of half a lemon, some salt and pepper. It was totally simple, and when you toss the salad you get a nice creamy-ness from the blue cheese. Served with barbecued sausages, and cubed watermelon.

BBQ Pizza

This was a great way to make pizza without having to heat up the whole cottage by using the oven. It was quick, tasty, and used minimal dishes.

-          2 pre-made pizza crusts (we used thin crust, though whole wheat is probably best)

-          1 jar of sun dried tomato pesto

-          About 2 cups of spinach, loosely packed

-          ¼ cup chopped basil

-          1 package of fresh mozzarella, sliced into disks

Spread the pesto on each of the pizza crusts, followed by spinach and basil, then top with cheese. Hubby added some leftover crumbled bacon on one of the pizzas to make it more man-friendly (although let’s be honest, it was so good and I definitely had a slice). Heat on the bbq, until the crust is crispy and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Added bonus: With days in the hot sun, the meals above are total skin savers – the watermelon from the first dish as well as the sundried tomato on the pizzas deliver a dose of lycopene, which can protect your skin from sun damage. The walnuts in the salad have omega-3 fatty acids which are great for your brain, skin and overall health!

Finally… a trip to the cottage wouldn’t be complete without the obligatory Doggie shots. Check these out!