Does the thought of all those summer vegetables scare you? It shouldn’t, you should celebrate it, and get chopping The problem with veggies is age old; BORING! But it looks so good and healthy in the store, we buy it, stuff it in the bin and forget about it till we clean the frig, feeling OH SO GUILTY!

 Well here are some tips, and some recipes that will get that wonderful product you purchased out of the bin and on to your plate.

1. Invest in a new veggie peeler,  a melon baller and a new grater
2. Buy a selection of clear plastic tubs
3. Pick out 1 or 2 fancy Glasses; wine, beer, tumbler what ever floats your boat!
4. Keep a small selection of a variety of cheese on hand at all times
5. It doesn’t hurt to have some cans of cocktail shrimp or crab, smoked oysters
6. Toss out your old spices, get new ones, even fresh ones!
7. Refresh you yogurt and mayo, get some fancy dressings and good oil & vinegar

Now your ready to get snacking. Pour yourself a nice cool drink in your fancy glass that is reserved for you and the kitchen, turn on some enjoyable tunes (Listening to the News just won’t do) Open the door to your refrigerator and see what you’ve hidden away in the bins.

Stuffed Mushrooms, ummm Fresh/Baked/Broiled/BBQ

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• Use  melon baller to hollow out room for filling, (which you won’t need much of)
• Look in the frig and take out? ANYTHING! Onion, carrot, asparagus,peppers and dice finely. This is where those containers come in handy, leftovers!
• Cheese! creme or feta, blue or cheddar, get fancy and experiment, you only need a little or you can add a lot.
• Want some extra flavour? Add some smoke salmon, or Italian Sausage why not try some chicken curry or dice up that last piece of BBQ Steak
• If you want a crispy topping grate some cheddar, blend in bread crumbs or crushed seasoned croutons, add a dash of olive oil, mix well and top your creation.
• Now BAM add some zip, cilantro or rosemary, course salt & pepper, cumin or allspice let your imagination go

You have now got stuffed, why not try stuffing a tomato,  cucumber, snow peas, new boiled potatoes   

Doesn’t a Thick Cold Slice of Cucumber topped with a prawn on some Thia Chilli Sauce sound tasty? Avocado & lime juice, stuffed with creamy seafood…. a little shrimp, sour creme, diced veggies and Bam!

I just made this for dinner, and oh it was sooo tasty. I had made some of the above earlier in the day, and spotted the veggie bin. (The Shame!) Tough when you live alone, to get all those veggies eaten, but this was so easy.

Into a   pot of water went two ears of corn(unshucked), some carrots (tops and all),and the remainder of an asparagus bunch (Still with the band on). While that came to a boil, I course chopped an onion. Out with the veggies to a plate before they were cooked through, drained off the water and sauteed the onion in butter in the pot. Diced up the veggies (Stripping the corn off the husk with a knife), added veggies, some chicken stock and simmered.

While the mushrooms and garlic bread went in the oven, out came the dishes. An immersion blender into the soup. Done all in under 20 mins. A healthy VERY tasty no meat dinner, my veggie bin empty, me tummy happy and full!

While your at it, how about fruit? Half a peach, add some honey and a strawberry and put that on the Barby. Grilling fruit is a super way to use up the last of the yogurt, makes a great topping.

Use up that bag of spinach by tossing on your left over Veggies and Feta Cheese and any nuts in the pantry. Heat up some Olive oil, Honey, cumin & balsamic vinegar, toss in some grape tomatoes  and pour on top for a gourmet wilted salad. 

OK enough already…I’ve made myself hungry