The running theme of my blog posts of late has been sheer disbelief at how fast the year is zooming by. The next time I look up it will be October and I’ll be buying Halloween outfits for my daughters. In fact, I’ve already seen the Halloween stores popping up and it’s frightening. It’s just a subtle reminder that, yes, summer is indeed slipping away. The next thing I know, I’ll be buying gifts for the holidays and then celebrating 2011. Right now, though, it’s technically still summer even though the school year is already underway.

If you’re like me and want to hold onto the very last sliver of summer try these tips. I’ll be doing the same.

Get Out in Nature: The best way to savor the last remnant of the summer months is to actually get out in it. Even if the weather is hot and humid where you live, get out and appreciate it because it will be gone before we know it! Discover the birds that migrate to your neck of the woods and watch them before they’re gone during the winter months. Learn their songs and look for them next year when they come back. Listen to the insects, especially the cicadas, during the evenings. Take time to notice the butterflies when they flutter by. And don’t forget the trees. They will drop their leaves in a blink of an eye and when those are gone, fall will really be here.

Take a Trip: If you have time and little extra money take a weekend trip to a fun destination for a final, quick summer jaunt. Your trip doesn’t have to be far away or too expensive, but try to get away and enjoy summer in a vacation spot like the mountains, the beach, a campground, or amusement park. Check out the travel sites for rental car and hotel discounts. Now that Labor Day is around the corner, there are a lot of travel sales as the vacation industry looks to take advantage of families traveling during the last weeks of summer.

Take Tons of Photos: Whatever you do during the waning days of summer, make sure to take plenty of photos so you won’t forget how much fun you’ll have with family. Not only do I and my husband take a lot of pictures, our daughters have their own cameras so they can take photos as well. It’s always interesting seeing our vacations through the eyes of our children.

Hit Up the Summer Sales: If nature is not your thing and if your family has already taken a summer vacation, this is the perfect time to hit up the summer sales. Summer sales are another way of commemorating the end of the season. Head out to the retail stores and turn their sale racks upside down and inside out. You’ll be able to find some of the cutest summer clothes for you and your entire family at a fraction of the cost. And next year, you’ll be all set when summer rolls around again.

The next time I write a post here, it will officially be fall. Even though I’m looking forward to cooler temps, it’s always sad to see the summer roll away. It’s one of my favorite seasons of the year.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices Land O’ Frost smoked ham
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 Tablespoons grape seed or olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded Colby jack cheese
• 3 eggs
• optional: jalapeno, green chile, mushrooms

Directions:

1. Preheat grape seed oil in a nonstick frying pan on medium heat while dicing onions.
2. Add onions to pan and stir occasionally while dicing the sliced ham.  Once the onions begin to brown, add the ham and any other optional ingredients, and stir to brown the ham.
3. Add eggs and stir to mix ingredients, don’t over stir or the ingredients will not bond together.  Sprinkle cheese over top.  Once the eggs are mostly firm, fold the omelet over in half.  Cook on both sides to taste.  I always throw the cooked omelet in the microwave for 30 seconds after I remove it from the pan to ensure all of the eggs are fully cooked without burning the outside.

Ingredients:

• 14 slices of Land O’Frost Ham
• 1 package refrigerated French Bread dough
• 1 package cream cheese softened
• 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese shredded
• 2 Tablespoon melted butter
• sprinkle of Garlic Salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Roll refrigerated French Bread dough onto baking sheet.
3. Evenly spread cream cheese over bread dough being careful to leave 1″ on long ends to secure when rolled.
4. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over cream cheese.
5. Lay ham slices evenly over cheese.
6. Roll tightly and pinch the ends closed and move to middle of cookie sheet.
7. Brush top with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.
8. Bake for 30 min. or until brown.
9. Slice into 2″ slices and serve hot.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bread, toasted  (any kind)
• 1 slice cheese (your favorite)
• 4 – 6 slices Land ‘O Frost ham

Directions:

1. Place your favorite slice of cheese on one of the toasted bread slices while still hot.
2. Place stacked ham slices on a paper plate or paper towels in the microwave, covering top with a paper towel. Heat on high 1 minute. Quickly top cheese toast with hot ham and second slice of toast. If cheese is thick sliced, place entire sandwich into microwave and heat 12 seconds.
3. Cut diagonally and serve at any mealtime or for a quick treat after school.

Ingredients:

• Land O’ Frost turkey, ham or chicken
• cheese cubes
• Clausen  pickles

Directions:

1. Slice each piece of meat in half, fold and place on a toothpick with a cheese cube and a chunk of a Clausen pickle.
2. Refrigerate and Serve

What does fall mean to me? Fall means hearty meals and comfortable walks with my family. It means I can wear cute sweaters again and boots! And it also means I will be cooking a lot more. I admit, I don’t cook as much as I’d like, but one of the promises I made to my daughters this summer is we’ll be making many more meals together, even if it’s a sandwich with gourmet mustard and unique cheeses for lunch.

Fall also means a lot more parties with friends. Now that the year is slowing down a bit from the craziness of the summer months, I will be hosting more parties and that means meaty hors d’oeuvres like rolled up lunch meat with cheese and veggies. What’s great about these hors d’oeuvres is they are really easy to make. My daughters can get right in there, make them and then finish them off with a fancy toothpick. I love it!

Fall also means, you guessed it, school lunches! While my daughters are homeschooled, I make sure our day is very structured just like traditional school. They have a definite lunch hour and this is one of their favorite moments of the day – naturally. They’re little foodies, so whenever they get a chance to get into the kitchen and show their culinary skills, they’re truly happy campers. They go through the refrigerator, choose their lunch meat (their favorite is Land O’Frost Brown Sugar Ham), their veggies, cheese, and condiments. Sometimes they even get adventurous and put fruit on their sandwich or make simple platters of lunch meat, cheese and veggies like tomatoes, carrots, and lettuce. And don’t forget the herbs. I let them sprinkle until their heart is content just to let them take in the various flavors of unique herbs and spices and how they taste with different meats. They have so much fun with the variety, I love watching them making their sandwich creations.

It is hard to believe I was just talking about the beginning of spring, then summer and now I’m anticipating the coming of fall. Truly, this year is flying by. Before I know it I will be talking about the busy, bustling holiday season. The holidays are quickly approaching without a doubt. Once fall arrives, the holidays are right around the corner. But first, I want to savor the last few weeks of summer.

Ingredients:

• One jar of tomato sauce or make your own.
• Land O’ Frost ham slices
• ground beef
• ricotta cheese
• mozzerella cheese

Directions:

1. Take 2 slices of ham and fill it with ground beef. Roll into a ball. Repeat until you run out of ham.
2. Poor some tomato sauce into a casserole dish to form a thin layer along the bottom. Place stuffed rolls in a row until pan is full.
3. Top with more tomato sauce. Then cover with ricotta cheese. Pour another layer of tomato sauce over the ricotta, then sprinkle with mozzerella cheese.
4. Bake at medium temperature to ensure that the meat inside the ham cooks (a good indicator that the meat is cooked is when the sauce starts bubbling in the pan). Will take approximately 1 hour.
5. Cover your pan with aluminum foil so the cheese doesn’t melt down and burn.
6. Serve with pasta or garlic or herb bread.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of Land O’Frost Ham
• 1 toasted English Muffin
• 1 scrambled egg
• 1 slice of favorite cheese

Directions:

1. Put ham, cheese and egg inside english muffin.
2. Grab a drink as you run out the door!

Ingredients:

• Muffin pan lined with 12 liners
• 1/2 a package of premium Land O’Frost smoked ham chopped up
• shredded cheese
• Roma tomatoes sliced 1/4 inch.
• 6 eggs scrambled

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in the following order: Ham, Tomato slice, Cheese
2. Pour egg over top till liner is full
3. Sprinkle cheese on top
4. Bake at 350 for 20min.
5. Eat immediately or let cool and place in the fridge for easy microwave heat-up.  They can also be frozen, just allow them to defrost in fridge before heating.

Other variations:

turkey, tomato, broccoli
ham, hash browns, cheese
ham, mushroom, tomatoes

Let your imagination RUN….and make mornings easier for everyone!

Ingredients:

• Land O’Frost smoked turkey
• Spinach leaves
• Salted tomato
• Olives
• Cilantro
• Lime juice
• Homemade Ranch dressing
• Whole wheat tortilla

Directions:

1. Lay tortilla flat and spread ranch over it.
2. Lay meat, spinach, salted tomato,olives (I use green and black), & cilantro in the center of the tortilla.
3. Squeeze lime juice (I add a little more ranch on top) and then wrap it up like a sandwich wrap and eat.