Yummies: We heart (as you already know...) BBQs!!!!

Oh gosh we uber heart a good BBQ...

Not only is a BBQ filled to the brim with friends or family...

But it symbolizes our most favorited season eva! Warm weather season!!! Wooo hooo!!!

And the bestest reason we heart BBQs....um hello? The FOOD!!!!

OK...now yes we are super aware we did a fantastical post about Labor Day barbecues already but seriously how can you really not want to get more amazing ideas for your next BBQ bash?

Exactly!!!!

And now...your fave gals of Things We Heart bring you the official...can't go wrong...impress your guests (even the shmanciest)...Memorial Day BBQ menu. Wooo hooooo!!!

Before we begin...meat is SOOO super NOT necessary at a great BBQ party.

This is our friend at Animal Acres! She was sooo sweet! She thanked us for cleaning her stall...oh that and not eating her.

There are soooo many other things to eat that are way more tasty and crazy satisfying.

And here they are!!!!!!!!

You can never go wrong with chips and dips...Oh god! We would die for Ruffles and French Onion Dip right now!....

But we digress... You can't go wrong with a good, hearty mouth watering, nacho in a bowl, 7 layer dip!!!!

Seriously..it is a fiesta en la boca!!!!

Ingredients

• 2 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup salsa
• garlic salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 4 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can black olives - drained and finely chopped

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mash the avocados. Mix in lime juice, cilantro, salsa, garlic salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and taco seasoning.
3. Use a 9 x 13 dish or a clear bowl like the one above

Layers

1. Seasoned Beans

2. Spread the Salsa

3. Drench in Sour Cream

4. Coat with fresh Guac (directions above)

5. Top with Tomatoes

6. Spread Olives

7. Sprinkle Green Onions and Cilantro and Cheese

Step 1....Take tortilla chip, dip and devour!!!

Our uber koo koo crazy lurve for the avocado has once again reared its gorgeous green head!!

We are dying...literally our stomachs are aching at the thought of this avocado, tomato and corn salad from Paula Deen.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked corn, fresh or frozen
• 1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Combine the corn, avocado, tomatoes and onion in a large glass bowl. Mix together the dressing ingredients in another bowl, pour over the salad, and gently toss to mix.

Oh hello! How are you grilled potatoes with salt and vinegar...how's it going? Good? Yeah no shit! You are unbelievably delish!!! Well of course you are...you're from Martha's kitchen!

It's kinda like the shmancy version of the English's salt and vinegar potato chips that we heart so very much!

Martha, Martha, Martha....Why must you do this to us? No seriously...WHY!!!!

We are trying to be good and then you show us your Grilled Pizza with Avocado and Spinach!!!

Oh! It's not bad for us? Well then...Wooooooo hooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Here's how do make your own!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• All-purpose flour, for shaping dough
• 1 pound store-bought pizza dough, fresh, or thawed if frozen
• 2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
• 1 log (5 ounces) soft goat cheese, crumbled
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 bag (5 ounces) baby spinach
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium. Brush a large rimless baking sheet (or an inverted rimmed sheet) with 1 tablespoon oil. On a lightly floured work surface, roll and stretch dough to two 8-inch ovals or rounds. Transfer to prepared sheet. Brush tops with 1 tablespoon oil.
2. Transfer dough to grill. Cook, without turning over, until undersides are firm and begin to char, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs and a large spatula, place crusts on baking sheet, grilled side up.
3. Scatter crusts with tomatoes, scallion whites, and cheese; season with salt and pepper, and slide back onto grill. Cook, rotating occasionally, until cooked through and cheese begins to melt, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.
4. In a medium bowl, combine spinach, avocado, scallion greens, vinegar, and remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Pile mixture onto pizzas; halve, and serve.

Remember that ridiculously yummy fruit pizza we gave to you that our very own mommy used to make for us? No?

Well you are super in luck! Here it is again! It is literally the best BBQ dessert ever created in all of dessertville!

Ahhhh we are super obsessed with French Sparkling Lemonade...the crispy tart flavor wrapped up in these gorgeously chic French Bottles from Lorina!!!!

But why go thru the hassle of ordering them? Or fighting the crowd at your local TJ's.

Make your own Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade!!! It's almost too easy!

We saw these amazing "French-esque" stopper bottles at IKEA and just about fell over from the cuteness....Throw your homemade Sparkling Lemonade in these and honey...you are GTG!

Need to spice up your bash?? We heart Bobby Flay's Rose Wine Sangria. It's lighter and sweeter than it's red wine older sister and just as much fun!

Uggh...we could use a glass (pitcher) of this right now! But we will practice restraint and wait a few more days...

Well...that's all folks. Have a great Memorial Day what ever you do! Tell us if you make one of these recipes!

P.S. Don't forget all the appropriate accoutrements like table ware, citronella candles, and sunscreen!

P.P.S. Before you party the day away remember why you have Memorial Day off...

P.P.P.S Don't drink and Dive!

xoxo things we heart

Yummies: We heart Labor Day BBQ Parties!

WOW! Where did the summer go!? It's almost Labor Day again???

Is it just us or is this super weird to be at the end of summer? How sad!

We still get those Back-to School pangs and odd nervousness around this time when we see those end of summer sales and our fav bikinis go back into the back of our undie drawers.

But there is a super shiny silver lining to the end of summer...waawaawaawaa...UGH...even saying that makes us cry!

OK, sorry...so the silver lining to the E.o.S. are all of the Labor Day parties!

How fun are those BBQs? The sun, the fun, the drinks, the fresh food, the friends, the amazing food, the pools, the super yummy BBQ food...did we mention how much we heart BBQs and food?

So we decided to help you out with your super cute L.D (Labor Day) BBQ by bringing you a fantasmic L.D. menu to make your planning a wee bit easier..you're welcome!

Let's get cracking! There is not much time!

First let us start with a super refreshing and satisfying salad...you may recognize this one from our Summer Salads post...but we only bring you what we heart and we def heart this salad.

The delish Tuscan Bread Salad.

Small box of cherry tomatoes- Quartered

Small container of Bocconcini (bite-size fresh mozzarella)- halved

4 Diced golden and green Heirloom tomatoes (the same size pieces as the cherry tomatoes)

1 avocado, diced

Roughly torn basil

Croûtons - Made from torn Sour Dough Bread toasted a bit in a 350* oven for 5-10 min.

Toss all of that with a little olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar.

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Put in your serving bowl, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and toss in some S & P... tada! Perf!

Now let's move on to the heart of the meal...the mains!

These 2 yummy sandwiches are sure to please. They are both uber easy to make but look really hard and extremely chic with out looking fussy...if that makes any sense ;)

When we came across this beauty on our new fav foodie blog we couldn't resist..even though we are mainly Vegetarians. But it passed our BF (Boy Friend) test...he was salivating...

The fish sandwich with scallion aoili...yumm!

Go here for the complete recipe and WOW your crowd!

For all of you veggies (and even your meat lurvers will rejoice) look at this TDF grilled eggplant sandwich...um..YUMMMM

• 1 large eggplant, (1 1/4-1 1/2 pounds), cut into 12 1/4-inch-thick rounds
• Canola or olive oil cooking spray
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 3 tablespoon(s) finely shredded Parmesan, or Asiago cheese
• 1/2 cup(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 4 focaccia, or rustic Italian bread
• 2 teaspoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 ounce(s) baby spinach
• 1 cup(s) canned crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
• 3 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh basil, divided

Directions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.
2. Place eggplant rounds on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Coat both sides lightly with cooking spray. Combine Parmesan (or Asiago) and mozzarella in a small bowl. Brush both sides of focaccia (or bread) with oil.
3. Place spinach in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and punch several holes in the wrap. Microwave on High until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Combine tomatoes and 2 tablespoons basil in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave until bubbling, about 2 minutes.
4. Place all your ingredients on the baking sheet with the eggplant and take it to the grill. Grill the eggplant slices until brown and soft on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Grill the bread until toasted, about 1 minute per side. Return the eggplant and bread to the baking sheet. Reduce grill heat to medium.
5. Place 1 eggplant round on top of each slice of bread. Layer 1 tablespoon tomatoes, 1 tablespoon wilted spinach and 1 tablespoon cheese on each slice of eggplant. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, sauce, spinach and cheese. Sprinkle each stack with some of the remaining basil. Place the baking sheet on the grill, close the lid and grill until the sandwiches are hot and the cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes.

OK, now that your mains and starter are taken care of...we bring your our 2 most favoritest sides. Now most tend to do a potato salad..which BTW we super heart...but this is a special day so let's go all out and keep the shmance going.

Both are fresh grilled vegetables and both are amazing!

First we bring you our mouth watering, sweat inducing Indian Spicy grilled corn...you will crave this every summer!

Grill fresh corn until fully cooked and browned.

Mix sea salt and red chili powder in a small dish.

Rub lemon wedges all over corn to wet and then dip lemon wedge in the chili powder mixture and rub the spiced lemon wedge over the corn...YUM!

Don't forget the napkins to wipe your brow after biting into this spicy dish.

Now for a crowd pleaser...grilled asparagus with pink Himalayan Salt! Sounds fancy..but uber easy.

Coat fresh asparagus with Olive Oil and grill until cooked and a wee bit blackened. Sprinkle with Pink Salt and pepper.

Done and done and delish!

Now for our fav part of any BBQ...DESSERT!!!!

Let's keep this shmancy chic feeling going with these next 2 dessert dishes..why not!??! You and your friends deserve it!

Please be careful not to drool on your computers while reading these recipes....

Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream...um...I'm sorry...what did you say?

Uh huh...Grilled Peaches.....with ICE CREAM!!!!

Go here for Bobby Flay's unbelievable recipe and blow your guests away with how super official you are.

OK, now you super know how crazy we are about ice cream and ice cream sandwiches...well we found a new ICS and it is TDF!

Our friend made these the other day and put us to shame! So now it's our/your turn...

Lemon Ice Cream Sandwich with a Blueberry Swirl...sounds hard? Not at all! Chic and easy breezy.

Plus you can make these a few days ahead so you don't have to stress out.

So checklist time...

Salad- √

Entrees- √

Sides- √

Desserts- √

hmmmm, what's missing??? Oh yes...the thing that brings everyone together...

Last but for sure never least...drinks!

Here are 2 amazing recipies we searched high and low for that are soooo good your guests might ask you to make these at their BBQs...sorry!

The Watermelon Insandiary and Watermelon Mojito. Both are crazy refreshing and crazy yummers.

Watermelon Insandiary- Sooooooo good and surprising

Ingredients

Chili Salt

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• 
  
• Cocktail

• 1 lime wedge
• Ice
• 2 ounces blanco tequila
• 2 ounces watermelon juice
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/4 ounce Simple Syrup

Directions

• Make the Chili Salt: In a small bowl, mix the kosher salt, sugar and ancho chile powder.
• Mix the Cocktail: Moisten the outer rim of a highball glass with the lime wedge and coat lightly with chile salt. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the remaining ingredients and shake well. Fill the highball glass with ice and strain the drink into the glass.

These would be sooo cute if served in these vintage inspired glasses by CB2!

Super heart Mojitos but want to mix it up a bit? Try the Watermelon Mojito!

Go here for the delishus recipe.

Serve your Mojitos in this Chemistry inspired bev beaker...tres chic!

P.S. Don't forget all of the accessories! Napkins, Plates, Citronella Candles, Utensils, Sunscreen, Water, Ice....

P.P.S. Plllleeeeaaassseee wear white after labor day! It's sooo 2000 not to. (more on that later we bet)

xoxo t.w.h.

Yummies: Bellissimo Portobello!

It is totally that time of year again, the time for super fun pool parties and B.B.Q's!

So, we have been thinking about, and craving and then thinking about again and then craving some more portobello mushroom burgers! Because yum, yum and yum again, what a great meat free way to celebrate summer! So easy to B.Y.O.P (bring your own portobello)  to a friends party and be the no hassle veggie lover friend and not the, "Jeesh, I guess I will just eat some potato salad and lettuce, because all you have is meat at your party." kind of friend! 

How amazing is this little stack of mini mushroom burgers? 

So cute, so delicious, so perfect for a cocktail party. 

Want to make some for your next shin-dig? Check out the how-to here. 

Known as the "vegetarian meat" portobello mushrooms have a high amounts of Vitamin B & potassium, plus they are low in calories! (That is, until I smother them in cheese!) 

Besides the health benefits, they taste great and are super easy peasy! 

Despite being easy to grill and cook, they seem really fancy pants and gourmet, so it is simple to impress your friends at dinner parties. 

Try whipping up some of these scrumptious stuffed portobellos for your guests. 

Chock full of yummy spinich, sundried tomatoes, bread crumbs, tomato, garlic and parmesan (see what I mean about the cheese?). 

Serve these with a baby greens salad and a nice white wine and presto, instant hostess with the most-ess status achieved! 

Another favorite of the T-W-H girls is mushroom risotto, Miss Me and Ms. Things we heart have been known to try and order this as a "side" to share with each-other  in addition to our main meal... But we found out pretty quickly that was a no bueno idea, this stuff is pretty heavy and quite filling, so make this your main course! Our black tights-boots-flowy top- uniform can only hide so much! 

Besides we can always split that chocolate cake for desert! 

Enjoy the summer eats readers! 

XOXO- T.W.H

P.S. - Just because my crazy brain works in such a way, that whenever the word summer comes to mind, this song runs through my head for the rest of the day... I will let you enjoy it with me! 

Summertime