Amazing Fruit Salsa

I had this fruit salsa recipe for the first time about a year ago and loved it from the first bite.

My mother-in-law, the baker, brought up some up with her and I believe the recipe came to her from a woman in her home church in SouthWestern PA. 

It's pretty basic in it's ingredients and the results are, as I said, AMAZING! 

2 kiwi, peeled and diced

2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 lb strawberries, diced

1 8 oz can pineapple chunks, undrained and cut into smaller pieces {or 1 c fresh pineapple}

3 Tbsp peach preserves

2 Tbsp white sugar {next time I make this I'm skipping the sugar to see how it goes}

1 Tbsp brown sugar {same here}

 

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 15 min.

C'est fini!  

This stuff is great with yogurt, granola, cinnamon chips, as fruit pizza, all on it's own...

MMM... SO GOOD! 

Waffle Iron Cinnamon Rolls

I am in no uncertain terms claiming that these are healthy, just that they are quick and dee-licious!

{P.S. I've read that you can do this with cookie dough too! I'll keep you posted.}

What You'll Need:
refrigerated cinnamon roll dough
waffle iron

 

What To Do:
Plug in waffle iron. Once heated, place individual rolls around the iron. Close. Wait until light brown all around. Frost... or don't. Let cool... or don't. Enjoy! 

Green Smoothies

Miss Mak won't eat her greens.

She loves most fruit, dairy, fish, and poultry but won't touch veggies
...until now!
I can't remember where I first heard the idea of sneaking spinach into smoothies but I thought I'd give it a try.
We put over one and a half cups into each batch and can't taste it at all!

I guess you could say this is my "new favorite" and I HIGHLY recommend you throwing a fist-full of greens into your next morning breakfast smoothie, especially if your little ones don't like their veggies either.

Our current favorites...

Strawberry Orange

1 cup Stonyfields Whole Milk French Vanilla Yogurt
1 cup of fresh strawberries {frozen will work}
1 heaping tablespoon of orange juice frozen concentrate
1/2 cup of milk
1 1/2 cups fresh, raw, organic spinach

Apple and Banana

1 banana broken up into pieces

1/2 an apple, with skins on

1 cup fresh or frozen grapes

1 cup Stonyfields Whole Milk French Vanilla Yogurt

1 1/2 cups fresh, raw, organic spinach

1/2 cup milk

I've heard about Jessica Seinfeld's cook Deceptively Delicious which is about sneaking veggies and other healthy stuff into stuff your kids will eat. Do you have it? Have you tried it? Do you have any thoughts on it?

Coconut Ice Cream {Asian Style}

As I mentioned in my kefir post you can use coconut milk rather than cows milk to make the kefir. For us, this means we have a lot of creamy coco-nutty goodness lying around for the taking.
When I tried to find a recipe for coconut ice cream I assumed they'd all include coconut milk.
I was wrong.
Most recipes call for heavy cream and milk and then you add imitation coconut flavoring and sweetened shredded coconut for the actual flavor.
Bummer.
So after minimal searching I found this recipe and, based solely on its coconut milk base, I tried it and I'm so glad I did.

What You'll Need:
4 c unsweetened coconut milk {2 cans}
1/2 c sugar
1/4 t coconut extract {optional}
1 1/2 c shredded coconut {divided}

What To Do: 
In a medium bowl, mix coconut milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved.  Add extract and 1 1/4 c shredded coconut. You can either put this into a freezable container and let it set in the freezer or pour into prepared ice cream machine and make to manufacturers directions. {For the Cuisinart I was using, I mixed it for 30 minutes.}

 

While ice cream is freezing, heat remaining 1/4 c shredded coconut in a skillet over medium heat, stirring until toasted. I don't recommend walking away from this while it is on the heat. It can burn quickly.
When the ice cream is finished, serve with toasted coconut flakes over the top.

I really like the texture of this recipe. It's more of a sorbet consistency then a creamy one so it's very refreshing without tasting heavy.
Next up is Ginger Maple ice cream.
Sounds exotic, doesn't it?

{Homemade Glazed Donuts}

Using this recipe from The Pioneer Woman I made some deliciously light and fluffy donuts which were so irrisitible that I ate too many.
Yes, as an almost-28-year-old-woman with 2.5 kids I ate too many sweets and got a tummy ache. 
Sad.
But true.
I encourage you to try these for yourself and enjoy them to your heart's delight.
But I caution you... have several others on hand to help you eat them.
You've been warned.

Cornish Hens {Date Night In}

Hubs and I stayed in for Vday, as usual, and enjoyed another date-night-in...

 Butterflied Cornish Hens with Sage Butter

{courtesy of Sunny Anderson}

  Matchstick Potatoes

{Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten with a "Krystle Twist"} 

What You'll Need:

Peanut or Canola Oil

2 large oval Idaho potatoes, peeled

Sea salt or Kosher salt

Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Truffle flavored oil {I added this, not necessary but SO yummy!}

What To Do:

Ina says: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour at least 1 inch of oil into a deep pot and heat it to 350 degrees.  

What I did: Skipped the oven altogether. Used  my deep fry pot with canola oil and set it on 350. 

Ina says: Slice potatoes into thin matchsticks (1/8 inch thick) with a vegetable slicer or mandolin.

What I did: Used my mandolin to make super thing slices and then a chef's knife to cut those thing chips into slices. 

Drop them into a bowl of cold water as you cut.

Drain the potatoes and dry them thoroughly with paper towels. Drop the potatoes in batches into the hot oil and cook for 3 to five minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pot with a wire basket skimmer or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Place on baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest of the potatoes {again, I skipped the oven and kept the finished potatoes on the counter because the process didn't take long enough to justify the oven, for me}. 

What Ina says: Sprinkle with parsley, if desired, serve hot.

What I did:  Put all my potatoes into a bowl and drizzled about 1/2 tsp of truffle oil over the potatoes and tossed to coat. 

These were TOO good!

Chocolate and Raspberry Panini Sandwiches

{Stonewall Kitchen Favorites}

What You'll Need:
8 round slices baguette (about 1/4 inch thick) or your favorite bread
2 T unsalted butter, softened
4 heaping T dark chocolate chips or about 2 oz chopped chocolate
1/2 c fresh or frozen and thawed raspberries

What To Do:
Preheat a panini press or indoor grill on high heat. 
Place the baguette slices on a plate and spread a thin layer of butter on each. Turn 4 slices over and divide the chocolate evenly amon the 4 nonbuttered sides. Divide the raspberries over the chocolate and top the remaining slices of bread, butter side-up. Place the sandwiches in the panin press and cook for 2 minutes or until the bread is golden and the chocolate has melted. 
Service immediately.

 

On another note... 

Hubs surprised me with his creative side and made, you read that right... MADE me a present. It's our anniversary date!
...and I {LOVE} it!

He also took CJ out to buy me a  little something to keep the whole family happy...

...seriously, this purchase was good for everyone! 

What a smart man!

Maple Snow Candy

Okay... I'm taking a sort of break today because I had to share this from Rosy-Posy... 

 C'mon! How cool is that?! 

{Breakfast Granola}

I can't speak for anyone but myself here.
I indulged in a bit too much baking {as I'm sure you've assumed} and far too much eating of all the yummy treats.
Thus... we start off the new year with granola.

There are tons of recipes out there with dried fruits and other flavorings but I happen to really like the simplicity of this particular recipe. I pair it with, my favorite, Stony Fields French Vanilla or plain yogurt and a touch of maple syrup.
The way I've made it is with quick oats, as the original recipe calls for but I've had no problem using whole slow cooking oats. Maybe a little more to chew but the flavor is still good.

Breakfast Granola

{no idea where this recipe is from}

What You'll Need: 

1 c quick cooking Rolled Oats

1/2 c shredded coconut {sweetened or unsweetened work}

1/2 c slivered almonds

3 T vegetable oil

2 T honey

What To Do:

Preheat to 350. 

Mix all ingredients well, pour onto a baking pan with sides {I use a jelly roll pan} and bake for 10 minutes. Removed from oven, stir well, and bake for another 10 minutes or until browned. You'll want to watch the last few minutes carefully since it can burn if in too long. {My oven only requires it to bake for about 18 minutes.}Let cool and store in air tight container.

{As you can see, I quadrupled this recipe. I split it up on two pans for baking.}

{Puppy Chow}

My baking and "all things sweets" is coming to an end this week but I couldn't stop without sharing my all-time-favorite snack that I make tons of, especially at Christmas time...

Puppy Chow

{aka Muddy Buddies}

What You'll Need:

9 cups of Chex cereal {I prefer Rice Chex}

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 c peanut butter

1/4 c butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c confectioners sugar

What To Do:

Measure out Chex cereal into a large bowl and set aside. 

Measure confectioners sugar and place in a gallon size resealable bag.

Mix chocolate, peanut butter, and butter into microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until everything is melted and well mixed. Add vanilla. 

Pour chocolate mix over Chex cereal and stir until all cereal is well coated. I use my hands for this just cause. 

Pour cereal into plastic bag. Seal bag and shake until all cereal is coated with sugar. 

Eat. Eat. Eat. 

{Homemade Marshmallows}

Why, you wonder, would I make my own marshmallows? Easy. Because I can!
Okay, for real, I like to know what's in the food I eat and wondered how hard it was. The reality is, for as often as I eat marshmallows, it wasn't hard. The process was quick and easy but kind of messy.
My conclusions, I'll gladly buy a bag in a pinch but, if I have enough time to plan ahead, I'll probably make my own.
** I'm so sorry... I failed to mention the recipe I used... Alton Brown lent the world this one.

And these go really well with Martha Stewart's hot chocolate mix. 

I read the back of the Swiss Miss container the other night and was a little irked by the fact that the second ingredient listed on the package was corn syrup and cocoa was fourth along the list followed shortly after by "artificial flavoring". Odd.
So we said goodbye to our old standby, bought a few air-tight glass containers from the dollar store and are now enjoying the rich tasting cocoa we get with just three ingredients... sugar, cocoa and a pinch of salt. Beautiful!

Rice Krispies Treat Tip

Yup... I'm apparently hard up for time or content because this, seriously, is today's "tip". I hope it benefits you greatly :) 

When making Rice Krispie Treats... yes, this is about Rice Krispie Treats... the time will come to put them in the pan to cool, instead of using a spoon or buttered spatula, use a large piece of wax paper and press them down with your hands. You can make nice, dense treats that fit the pan perfectly.

And  just in case you are now craving these dilectable treats you only need 1/4 cup butter, 3 cups mini marshmallows or a whole bag of big'uns, and 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal on hand. If you have 5 minutes you could just get out a large saucepan or small soup pot, melt your butter, then add your marshmallows until melted, an then add your cereal and stir. Of course, you'll have to get a baking dish, 9x11 or 9x13 works just fine, grease it a little and use my handy-dandy tip above to get perfectly flat and sticky-free treats! I wouldn't even bother to let them cool but that's just me.

Have a fantastic day!!

{Chocolate Granola}

I found this recipe in the Family Fun magazine.

I love how the chocolate is drizzled over all the healthy stuff so that you won't even notice you're eating good stuff! 

Quick, easy and yummy!

 

What You'll Need:

3 c of nuts {peanuts, almonds and/or pecans}

1/2 c sunflower seeds

1/2 c coconut flakes

1 c raisins

1/2 c dried cranberries or cherries

1 c chocolate chips

What To Do: 

Mix together the nuts, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, raisins, and dried cranberries or cherries. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave. Pour the chocolate over the baking sheet in ribbons. Stir to coat everything. Let the chocolate cool, then break the mix into pieces and pack it in individual containers. Makes 12 servings.

 

Recipe Here 

{No Bake Cookies {Preacher Cookies}}

I still remember the first time I had these cookies. I was in 4th grade at a friend's house. Her mom made these for us and I was enamored with how quick and easy they were to make. For some reason I got to calling them "preacher cookies" but whatever the reason, it is a fact that the two families that I know of who make them are both "preacher families". Anyway, as promised, they require no oven. Just 10 minutes, a stove top, and a little patience to let cool.

What You'll Need: 

2 c sugar

1/2 c butter

3 T cocoa

1/2 c milk

1 t vanilla

3 c quick oats

1/2 c peanut butter {all natural works}

Mix sugar, butter, cocoa and milk in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minutes and remove from heat. Add oats, vanilla and peanut butter directly into pan and mix. Drop by the spoonful onto waxed paper and let cool. 

 

{The most difficult step here is to wait to let them cool. Chocolate and peanut butter are hard to resist!}

{Strawberry Pie}

This recipes comes to you from my dear friend Natalie who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl a short time ago. While pregnant, Natalie told me, on more than one occassion, that she was craving strawberry pie and, catching me at a weak moment, I had to get the recipe.

Oh My GoOdnESs!!! This recipes is So STinKiN GoOD AND QuICk, oh yeah, AND EaSY... so I asked her to share...

1 pie crust
1 lb. fresh strawberries
10 oz 7-up (7 up or the equivalent, not sprite)
3 semi heaping tbsp corn starch
1 cup sugar
1 box of strawberry jello

1. Bake pie crust to package directions, let cool. Slice strawberries, set aside.

2. Combine 7-up, sugar and cornstarch and cook on med to high heat until cornstarch dissolves and mixture turns clear, stirring often. Approx 10 min

3. Add the strawberry jello, stir until dissolved, let cool for about 5 min

4. Place fresh strawberries on the bottom of pie crusts and pour sugar mixture on top

5. Refrigerate for approximately 5 hours