fruit salsa

Yummy note: Oh, it is almost is almost the start of summer, I can feel it, each day goes by and it gets warmer and warmer. I could handle about 70-80 degrees all the time, I'll pass on the 90+ weather. So perhaps this will be a nice, mild summer in the Midwest. Or perhaps not, I guess we will have to wait and see. With the summer hot weather approaching, this is a perfect little side "salsa" fruit dish we just love here. You can eat it like a fruit salad with a fork, or do it with our favorite, utensil-free dipper - the cinnamon sugared pita chip! They are just delicious with this dish, so I highly advise to eat them together!  I love this dish, it's super simple, easy to toss together, and you have a wonderful side dish to take to that potluck or gathering! Or hide it out in your refrigerator and enjoy it all by yourself to cool off with this summer :-) 

Fruit Salsa

I think I originally saw a version of this recipe on the Today Show similar to this..  

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35928705/ns/today-food/t/creative-peanut-butter-sandwiches/#.T70Az-sV0ig 

Ingredients: 

2 kiwis 

1 pear 

2 apples 

1 lb of strawberries

3-4 tbsp of orange marmalade

8 oz of raspberries - optional  

2-3 tbsp sugar - optional - Depending on the tartness of the fruit, you may need to add in a few additional tablespoons of white sugar to the salsa. Just add this to your taste, though. Sometimes, the fruit is sweet enough on its own without the extra sugar. At most, I think I have added about 3 tablespoons to the entire batch.  

Directions: 

Make sure you have a nice knife handy, as that is about all this recipe needs! It really makes your prep job much nicer, if you can easily chop and dice your fruit with ease. So first, prepare the fruit by peeling and dicing the kiwis. Next, peel, core, and dice up the pear and apples. If you'd like, you could probably leave the skin on the apples here, but the kids seem to like the apples better without the skin, so I removed it for this salsa. Next, dice the strawberries. Toss all of the fruit in a large bowl and stir. In a small bowl, heat up about 3-4 tablespoons of the orange marmalade and add sugar if desired, and heat in a microwave just for a few seconds to warm up the marmalade so it can be pourable and liquid-like. Pour the warm marmalade over the chopped up fruit and stir until well combined. Chill salsa before serving. 

 

 

After a day of sitting in the refrigerator, the fruit begins to macerate more and becomes saucier.The salsa still tastes fantastic, however, it will have a bit more juice in it. Serve chilled and it is best with cinnamon sugary pita chips or tortilla chips. 

 

M&M Cookies

Yummy note: The two most exciting things about our Secret Recipe Club is the day we get our assigned new blogger and of course, the day our blog and recipe is revealed by our mystery blogger. The next best day is the day you make your new sought out recipe and get to enjoy the benefits! :) What a treat it always is to try out a new recipe that a blogger friend enjoys as well. This month another great site, Secrets from the Cookie Princess, came my way. I told my daughter about that blog name and of course she L-o-v-e-d it because nowdays she is all about princesses and helping mommy make cookies in the kitchen! Colleen is the creative mind behind this site, Secrets from the Cookie Princess; I might actually compare my blog style a bit like hers, as she does such a great job doing step-by-step photos in her blog posts which is super helpful! Colleen has so many different recipes to pick from, but I knew I had to select something from this category though...cookies! With the likes of all these great cookie choices, like cake batter sandwich cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars, hotel cookies, and M&M cookies, it was going to be a tough decision, so I brought in my expert.  I had my daughter, Alicia help me pick out this month's choice, because I was having such a hard time deciding! So what did she pick.... She wanted to make the M&M cookies! 

M&M Cookies 

Recipe from: http://www.secretsfromthecookieprincess.com/2010/12/m-cookies.html

Ingredients: 
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
10 ounces M&M candies

The ingredients, plus my trusty ipad which is always a key ingredient!

Let's mix up some cookies!

Directions: 

Mix the first three dry ingredients listed in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat softened butter for a few minutes, until light and fluffy like, and then mix in the white and brown sugar until creamy and combined well. Add in eggs, one at a time, and pour in the vanilla. Then stir in the dry ingredients until all of the flour is incorporated well. Weigh out about 10 ounces of the M&M candies and stir into the cookie batter until chocolate candy is evenly distributed throughout. 

"Mom- we need 10 ounces of chocolate m&Ms... see this is what 10 looks like- 10 fingers!" 

Spoon out cookie dough onto your baking sheets, and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 8 minutes or so until cookies are a getting golden in color. 

I think we ended up with about 4-5 dozen cookies, using a decent sized cookie scooper and probably a bit too much taste tasting going on :)

To see what the Secret Recipe Club is all about, check out our homepage and remember to stop by and see what all of the other bloggers made this month!

Caramel pull-a-part biscuits (aka mini monkey breads)

Yummy note: This Sentimental Sunday post is a recipe that my sister and I used to make a lot with my mom growing up. Some call it monkey bread, others call it caramel pull-a-part biscuits; at my house my daughter calls it quick caramel biscuit rolls. Either way, it's gooey, sweet, caramely goodness. This is a good recipe for extra little hands to help with (like they call pull apart the biscuits, shake up the bag later, or even count out the biscuits as they evenly distribute them into the tins). Either way, just make sure you get your kids involved in the kitchen! Such great memories and lessons can be learned while working together. So this was a fitting recipe for this Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day with all of you out there. 

<3    Happy Mother's Day !   <3

Caramel Pull-A-Part Biscuits (aka Mini Monkey Breads)

Recipe probably adapted from this as I think this is similar to my mom's recipe. 

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/monkey-bread-with-caramel/4a92932f-f795-4813-9800-d6e35e8d5a49

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2-3 tbsp granulated sugar
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 can refrigerated biscuit

Directions:
Grease about 6 muffin cups. Melt butter and stir in brown sugar. Pour butter/sugary mix equally into the greased muffin tin. Roughly, a tablespoon goes into each muffin cup. In a gallon-sized plastic bag, shake the sugar and cinnamon together; then add the cut up pieces of biscuits and shake again until all of the pieces are coated. Distribute the sugary coated pieces into the muffin tins, and bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute; then turn upside down on plate. These are best served warm. If you are like my daughter and want a little extra jazz on top, you may add a quick powdered sugar and milk glaze to drizzle on top of the warm caramel biscuit treat. Enjoy.


*Yummy note: This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make a larger batch. Growing up, we used to make a large batch, and throw all the pieces into a bundt pan and bake it roughly 30-40 minutes until it was bubbly brown and caramely.  

Pumpkin Chai Latte

Yummy note: I know it is a bit off season, but I really love pumpkin. In the morning, I like a nice tea or flavored coffee drink. Usually I go for the cold frothy coffee drinks, but lately, since it has been a bit cooler in the morning, I like a warm drink. Earlier this winter I picked up some pumpkin spice coffee and it was a bit more stronger for my taste, so I didn't drink it very much. So I wanted to try and use it up by mixing it with something to make it more tolerable! :) I thought the spiced coffee might mix up well with the Chai tea I like to drink, and make a nice mix. Hey, and it is like a double-dose of caffeine in the morning, right? haha. It's good for those busy days!  Tea and coffee mixed, at first I wasn't sure, but once I mixed it up, it was delicious!



Pumpkin Chai Latte

Ingredients: Equal parts of each below:
(about 1/3 - 1/2 cup, about 3oz)
Pumpkin Spice Coffee
Chai Tea Mix
Milk

Garnish: Pumpkin Pie Spice Seasoning
Whipped Cream

Directions:

Prepare pumpkin spice coffee as directed. Next, measure out equal parts of the Chai tea mix and milk in a small measuring bowl or large cup, stir and heat as directed on your Chai tea mix. After your Chai tea is warm, stir in the coffee.

Again, you are still using equal parts of each mix in your drink. Garnish with whipped cream and additional pumpkin pie spice seasoning and enjoy.

green almond pear smoothie

Yummy note: I can't believe I am doing a post about a "green smoothie." Seriously. I feel like I just stepped out of the Dr. Seuss book...  I really never thought about drinking or even making my own green smoothie before, it just seemed weird to me. I like my fruit smoothies..strawberry, banana, and orange, you know, nothing too crazy, and usually no vegetables in them. I knew I had to throw out any of my previous thoughts and keep an open mind to it and just try it. I mean I do it with my kids day in and day out, so I should take my own advice and just try it. So an open mind, and a few ingredients later, I had made this delicious smoothie from Get Healthy with Heather. Yes, I admit it, I liked it! and my husband did too! (and he isn't much of a spinach fan.) This green smoothie recipe would even make Popeye proud. This is exactly what the Secret Recipe Club is all about, trying new things you'd never think of and being introduced to some wonderful bloggers, like Heather. I've always heard about how awesome these "green" smoothies are for you though, but I could never get brave enough to take the plunge, until now. Get Healthy with Heather had so many amazing smoothie ideas on her site, you should check it out for your own inspiration. Besides recipes, Heather has some great home fitness and health posts to read up on, too. Go over and check out Heather's site, and give her some comment love and best wishes, as she will have her hands full very soon, as she is expecting a baby in just a few weeks!  Good luck, Heather! and now on to the feature, a Green Almond Pear Smoothie!

Green Almond Pear Smoothie 

Ingredients:
a frozen pear (peeled, cored, chopped up and frozen ahead of time)
2 cups of baby spinach
1 1/2 tbsp of almond butter
1 cup of milk
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
handful of ice

















Directions:
The day before you'd like to make your smoothie, you will need to have some chopped up frozen pear pieces. So make sure you do this ahead of time or just keep some fruit pieces in the freezer for handy.
















In a blender, combine all of the above ingredients. I actually threw mine into my Baby Bullet, basically a smaller version of the Magic Bullet, but cute. :)





















Blend ingredients together for a few minutes, or until smooth. You may need to stop and stir it a few times, if needed, depending on the power of your blender. Once smoothed, Add a bit of ice at the end to achieve your desired smoothie consistency.

Go on.. Just try it. Don't be afraid of the green. Must drink with a cool looking straw, right? I learned this trick from Heather, as she has had some cool looking straws and glasses for her smoothies! :)

Yummy note: Look at the flecks of almonds from the almond butter here, it is one of the more pronounced flavors in this smoothie, so if you are not a big almond fan, make the switch with a different nut! I made one with creamy peanut butter instead, and it was equally delicious and creamy if you are not a fan of the texture. If you have any food allergies, like in my family, you can easily make swaps with the milk and the nut butters and be creative. 

yogurt blueberry muffins

Yummy note: Becky from Baking and Cooking, a Tale of Two Loves guest posted on Kim's site called the Farmers Wife.  I immediately fell in love with these blogs, for some reason, I got a nice welcome home cooked feeling from them, so that is why I had to try out this blueberry muffin for this month's challenge. A challenge you ask, it was from Tina at Mom's Crazy Cooking, where every month a group of bloggers get together and make the same exact thing.. well sort of with our own spins on it. So you'll see here a big ole list of blueberry muffin recipes to try out all in one spot! So what I loved most about this recipe, is that I could easily adapt it to our dairy allergies in the family.  I am seriously Kim's newest fan of her site, as I think I have pinned several recipes to try out already! With an easy soy yogurt substitute, it worked great! Just note, for those new to soy yogurt, not all soy yogurts are dairy-free, so check labels and tiny print very carefully.

Yogurt Blueberry Muffins

Original recipe I used with dairy-free adaptions located here http://www.the-farmers-wife.net/2011/06/yogurt-blueberry-muffins-from-baking.html

 

Ingredients:

Muffin batter:
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg, beaten Could use Egg Beaters
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. milk (I used soy milk)
1 (6 oz.) carton yogurt (I used strawberry soy yogurt)
1 c. fresh blueberries (Original said to use frozen, non-defrosted blueberries.)

















Crumb topping:
1/3 cup sliced almonds
4 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon





















Directions:

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix egg, oil, milk, and yogurt in another small bowl or large measuring cup. Pour into dry ingredients, stirring only enough to moisten.





















Fold in blueberries. Yummy note: If you'd like you could also fold in some of the almonds at this point into the muffin batter as well.  




















If you’d like to add a crumb topping, combine almonds, sugar and cinnamon and keep off to the side. Line muffin pans with paper muffin cups or grease the pans. Scoop out about an ice cream scoop or so (roughly about 2/3 full) of the blueberry muffin batter.















Sprinkle with your crumb topping if desired. Bake in a preheated 400 degrees oven for about 20 min or until golden brown.

Yummy note: What I love about this recipe, is that these muffins stay moist for several days.  



April fool's day egg-cellent brownies

Yummy note: I wanted a fun treat to take to a recent playdate for the kids and with April and Easter right around the corner, I made up a batch of these adorable brownie eggs for them. I thought the girls would get a kick out of them, especially since my kiddo hates hard boiled eggs. I get the "yuck" look everytime, so why not play an April Fool's joke on her and say her treat is a hard boiled egg, rather than a sweet treat!

Egg-cellent Brownies

Ingredients:

7 ounces chocolate, chopped
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into 8 pieces
3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla
prepared empty egg shells, as directed below

couple tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

To prepare the empty egg shells: The prepared egg shells need to be done atleast 30 minutes prior to baking, so allow extra time for that. I carefully poked a small hole at the top of the egg shells using a wine bottle opener. Then I took a wood skewer and broke up the yolk to be able to shake out the rest of the egg into a bowl. While doing this part, the small opening at the top of the egg became a bit bigger, lol. Time and patience, or perhaps a steady hand is needed for this. :) Emptied egg shells are then rinsed and dunked into a bowl of salt water for about 30 minutes to soak. Once you soak them, drain the water out of the eggs and let them dry. Last step in preparing the eggs, is you want to pour in some vegetable oil into each shell and gently swirl it around to coat. The original recipes calls to do about 12 eggs, however, I only had the patience and time with the kiddos to do about a half dozen! So I poured the rest of the batter in one of my smaller shaped silicon pans and baked the leftovers that way! :)

To make the brownie batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler like I did, or in the microwave. Stir until melted and smooth, then allow chocolate to cool a bit. Then whisk together eggs and sugar. Add in vanilla and warm chocolate. Mix ingredients well before adding in your flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Stir until just combined. Then pour batter into a baggie and cut off an end to be able to pipe into the eggs. Pipe in batter into empty egg shells, until the eggs are about ¾ full. Place eggs into a muffin tin, that has a layer of crinkled up aluminum foil on the bottom, to hold the eggs in place while they bake. Bake for about 15 minutes or until brownies are done and cool. I would guess you could color the eggs shells before, but honestly it was more of an after thought for me, so I did it at the end. To make the dye, I just used like a cup of boiling water, a splash of vinegar, and a couple drops of food coloring in a cup and dunked the eggs in to pretty up the eggs.



Thanks to the bloggers from these sites from which I saw the idea originally:

Erin at http://makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com/2012/03/secret-recipe-club-egg-shaped-brownies.html

and Liz at http://thatskinnychickcanbake.blogspot.com/2011/11/egg-shaped-brownies.html and http://www.larecetadelafelicidad.com/2011/11/brownie.html