Simple Yet Gourmet

A simple, sweet vinaigrette  that goes perfectly with any type of berry salad! The honey adds a nice thickness to the dressing while a touch of cinnamon livens things up. Delish!

So this recipe is supposedly a copy-cat of Rodizo Grill.  I've never been there so I couldn't say for sure but I can tell you that these were delicious!  I absolutely love grilled pineapple and with this glaze they were even better.  These are a perfect side dish for any BBQ.  They go great with chicken, hamburgers, etc.  Even Brynlee who claimed she didn't like pineapple told me these were yummy.  So there you go. If I can get my 5 year old's seal of approval they must be good!

I try to balance out my treat intake by eating healthy snacks during the day, but finding healthy and yummy snacks that I don't get bored with is a challenge.  I had this recipe on the back burner for a while but didn't get around to trying it for a few weeks after I bought the yogurt.  I didn't have too high of expectations for it so I was taken by surprise by how much I liked this!  Brynlee loved this as well so I am sure we'll be making this quite a bit.  It's so yummy and packed with protein so it will keep you fueled for a while.  If you don't like peanut butter or have allergies, just omit it and you'll  still have a delicious vanilla yogurt fruit dip.

This recipe is for my brother Aaron!  A couple of years ago he and his family came for Thanksgiving, and brought us some Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls from a local bakery.  After we devoured them he told me my next mission was do try and recreate them.  You would think that would be an easy task, right?  The answer is no!  I have looked for recipes that I thought might would, but they always fell short.  But this recipe, wow is all I can say.  Think using fresh raspberries and a small amount cornstarch to thicken the filling did the trick. I used fresh raspberries and put them in the freeze for about an hour to make them solid.  You ask, "Why freeze them?"  With them frozen, they hold their shape better and don't turn into soup in the roll.  The filling was tart and not so over the top sweet, which was a nice compliment to the sweet frosting on top.  If you don't like a cream cheese frosting, them make a quick glaze instead. Aaron, ...

I love brownie batter.  I love it even more than the brownies themselves.  So when I came across this recipe I knew I needed to try it.  I made this for a youth church activity and the girls loved it!  It really did taste like brownie batter.  So yummy with strawberries, pretzels, etc.

As you can tell I am into lemon right now!  I love lemon bars, lemon pie, lemon muffins, lemon chicken, lemon pancakes and anything else you can make with lemons.  I came across this recipe and with all my raspberries right now, I had to try it.  I was not disappointed and neither were the people I dropped these off to.  Great for picnics, potluck or even a late night mommy treat, why not we deserve it!  Enjoy. P.S. I used my  Easy Cream Cheese Pie Crust  recipe I posted a few weeks back for the crust.  Another change was I used my mini muffin pans to make min tarts, but Lauren used full size so use whatever makes you happy!

My kids are into crepes right now!  They love them with jam, fresh fruit, and powdered sugar.  This lemon cream filling was a wonderful treat for breakfast.  It wasn't to sweet or tart, just right, and with fresh fruit on top it made for a great breakfast. After breakfast, we had some of the cream left over so we used it as a fruit dip, yum.  I liked the idea of a fruit dip that wasn't so sweet.  It was a nice twist from the fruit dips I have used and seen in the past.  Hope you enjoy this no matter how you end up using it!

So I think we need a little breakfast recipe today! I have made this a few times already and loved them  each time we have them.  Breakfast food is my favorite thing to eat as well as make.  I try to make something different each morning of the week so my kids don't get bored.  During the school year I am limited by time to what I can make, so during the summer we try a lot of different recipes because who cares if we eat at 11:00! This recipe is quick and easy and a wonderful way to use up all those yummy raspberries.  We always end up with extras and they warm up nicely the next morning.  Yummy!

Looking for a fun treat to help cool off this hot summer?   From the picture you can see this is nothing  fancy, but they are really good.  All the kids were able to help out and had a great time doing it.  We made this in the afternoon and had them for our after dinner treat.  I had Maddie slice the bananas, Tyler and Jeremy added the smudge of peanut butter and I dipped them in the melted chocolate chips.  Super easy and a lot of fun to do with the kids!  These lasted over a week in the freeze so it was nice to have a quick treat whenever we felt like it!

So even though I love baking and making treats, I do try and eat a balanced diet.  I've started keeping this granola on hand to get us off to a great start in the mornings.  I love this granola because it is sweet, but not too sweet, crunchy, nutty, and satisfying.  To make it even healthier I like to top it with fresh or dried fruit.  The options are endless.  Just use what you have!

With summer here, many of you have family coming into town and are looking for recipes to impress those special guests!  The kids and I came across this yummy french toast recipe and gave it a try!  This is much like a peach cobbler, but not as sweet.  To make this an even easier breakfast I used the canned peaches in their own juices, didn't have any ripe ones to use!  You make this dish the night before and just pop it in the oven the next morning.  No mess, no fuss, just an easy and delicious breakfast.  Instead of sweet syrup, I whipped up some fresh whipped cream, not to sweet, to top off this breakfast dish.  Enjoy!

I love apple pie, so when I found this recipe I was excited.  It is easier than a full blown apple pie as well as quicker to make.  I sliced my apples really thin with my food processor and piled them high.  I added the crispy oatmeal topping and waited!  As this baked the whole house smelled like a homemade apple pie, I was in heaven. I was a little worried with how high I packed the apples, but they shrank while cooking and the pie looked lovely.  I served this warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but you could have it with whipped cream or just plain. (I forgot to take a picture so I used this picture from the original recipe from the taste of home website.)

Just looking at the picture makes you want to take a bite!  My little guy Jeremy is in love with raspberries so I thought this would be a perfect breakfast for him.  We love pancakes at this house and I am always looking for different recipes to spice up breakfast.  This has become one of our favorite so far, but I have found a couple more that I will share soon that might takes its place.  With summer in full swing I encourage you to find recipes that allow you to take advantage of all the fresh fruit around us!  Start with this recipe, you won't be disappointed. Happy Summer!

My kids really love homemade bread and rolls.  So for Easter this year I needed to make something special to go with those homemade rolls.  We have been blessed to have wonderful strawberries here so I decided to try and use them up by making strawberry butter.  It looked really pretty on the table and the taste was wonderful.  I think I might try raspberry or blueberry next time!

     If you need a recipe to help you jump into summer, then here ya go!  What says summer more than fresh strawberries.   I loved that it was a no bake cheesecake, much easier and faster!  I made this Sunday afternoon and ate it later that night. The texture is more like a mousse rather than a cheesecake, but oh so good.  My critic Mike even liked it, amazing!      Just a quick note, don't be surprised when cutting this cake, its soft and hard to get the first couple of pieces out, but I gave those to the kids, they didn't care what it looked like!  Happy Summer or Spring!

I would have to agree with the title of this post, these are the best ever blueberry muffins! The fresh syrup blueberries swirled into the batter along with the crumb topping, wow is all I can say! Like Pam, I have been on the lookout for a great blueberry muffin recipe. I have one that we have used for years, but these will be replacing that recipe for sure! The recipe is still easy, but you do have a few more steps than an ordinary muffin recipe, but I promise it is worth the time. Mike even told me these are a keeper and his new favorite muffin recipe, so you know they must be good if Mike likes them!

Like many of you know, I love breakfast!  I am always on the lookout for fun things to make to start the day.  Mike loves to buy those store bought toaster strudel, but they have so many bad things in them, I never let him buy them.  But I did find a recipe for a simple and much more healthy alternative!

With summer upon us and fresh fruit abounding, I am always trying to find new recipes to use these treasures.  We have made fruit pizza, many different smoothies, zucchini and banana fruit bread, etc.  This week I happened to come across some wonderful strawberries recipes.  This one was a very simple  and refreshing drink the kids loved.  Great way to use up those strawberries as well as a  healthy afternoon snack for the family! (Sorry about the picture, very hard to photograph beverages!)

As many of you know, I love to find new and exciting breakfast foods.  I try very hard to make different things each day so the 3 kiddos don't get bored with the same old breakfast food.  My sister in law Summer, made this for a family get together not long ago and I was hooked.

For a fun twist on the usual classic chips and salsa, try this recipe out!  It is fresh, delicious, and comes together quickly.  The nice thing about this salsa is that it is very versatile.  You can use a variety of fruits, and berries- whatever you have on hand.  I used peaches, kiwis, strawberries, and canned pineapple.  Fresh pineapple would be amazing, but if you have a sensitive stomach like me, or if you are just in a bind, the canned stuff works just fine.  The salsa is great for dipping with these crispy cinnamon chips ,