A Jenn Original Recipe, using red potatoes and fresh rosemary tossed with garlic and Parmesan cheese. Adjust the seasoning to suit your tastes.

2-3 lbs red potatoes, washed and scrubbed
3 large sprigs rosemary
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F

Cut potatoes into quarters and arrange in a single layer in a baking pan. Separate rosemary leaves from stems. Toss potatoes with rosemary, garlic, and Parmesan cheese with enough olive oil to coat potatoes (about 2-3 tbsp). Season with salt and pepper.

Bake 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Rearrange potatoes ever 15-20 minutes to keep them from sticking to pan. Add more olive oil if needed.

Another Jenn Original Recipe, and another adventure in Paprika-thon. If you do not have sweet paprika, add a small pinch of brown sugar. Thyme can be substituted for marjoram.

8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Over medium-high heat, saute mushrooms in a pan coated in cooking spray. When mushrooms are almost done, add honey to mushrooms and saute 1-2 minutes. Add paprika, marjoram, and salt to pan (pepper will burn) and saute an additional 2-3 minutes or until mushrooms are done.

Serve as a side or on top of chicken or pork.

This tasty side dish comes from Real Simple magazine and uses seasonal vegetables and flavors with minimal prep work and cooking time. Perfect for lunch or dinner on a hot day.

1/4 lb green beans, trimmed
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cucumber

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cook green beans for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Whisk together mustard, lemon juice, salt, oil and zest in a large bowl. Halve and seed cucumber length-wise. Combine green beans and cucumbers in bowl with mustard mixture and toss well. Can be served immediately or chilled for 1 hour.

In general, I am against peeling or seeding fruits and vegetables if the skin and seeds are edible. It wastes time and food. I did not peel or seed the cucumber, but you certainly could. I also cut the green beans into 1 inch pieces, which makes them easier to eat.

There were several recipes for this type of beverage online, but this one is most based on one featured by AOL Food. This drink is interestingly refreshing and quirky, definitely something different but tasty. If you are feeling daring, try some Cucumberade!

2 large cucumbers, peeled
2-3 large lemons
2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar, or more to taste
cucumber slices and/or lemon wedges, for garnish

There are several different ways to get juice from a cucumber, the easiest being a juicer or food processor. Another way is to grate the cucumber with a cheese grater and puree the pulp in a blender until smooth. Strain the puree well. 2 large cucumbers should yield 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of juice.

Juice the lemons to yield 1/2 or 3/4 cup juice. Make sure to have 2 full cups juice between the cucumbers and lemons.

Stir sugar into water until dissolved. Combine 2 cups cucumber-lemon juice with sugar water in a large pitcher and stir well. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Serve over ice and garnish with cucumber slices and lemon wedges. Adjust sugar and lemon juice to taste. Recipe can be doubled.

Here is the third iced tea recipe from Real Simple magazine. A fun twist on an old favorite, the mint sprig refreshes this peachy iced tea.

8 cups boiling water
8 tea bags
4 ripe peaches 
1 bunch mint 

Pour boiling water into a heat resistant pitcher over tea bags. Seep tea for 10 minutes and remove tea bags. Allow tea to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Chill 2-3 hours.

Cut peaches into slices and place in glasses. Pour tea over peach slices and ice. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint and enjoy!