What do you do with a bag of bananas? Make Banana Strawberry Blueberry Smoothies. One of the little groceries in town is a great place to find unexpected bargains. Last time I was there, they had just set out bags of perfect golden yellow bananas. I brought one of the bags home with me. I made Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream earlier. Time for a late afternoon snack -- refreshing smoothies it is. I had already sliced and frozen two smallish bananas. I covered a cookie sheet with parchment paper, dropped the quarter inch thick banana slices on so none touched each other and set the cookie sheet on top of the bottom pullout drawer. It only took a couple of hours to freeze the bananas. I shook them off the parchment paper into a measuring cup. One cup exactly. Put the milk into ... [Read More]
fruit
Buttery Apple Crisp
Nate the Great's Mommy set the dessert on the table. MMMMMM Apple Crisp. One bite and it was wow! Light and buttery, cinnamony, and just right sweetness. This apple crisp just whispers in your ear and wraps you in warm apple flavor kissed with butter and cinnamon. Where did you find this recipe, I asked. (just for you, of course!) In grandma's community cookbook, she said. Of course. Every cook who knows someone from that little town has a fat orange covered spiral bound cookbook on the shelf or in the kitchen drawer. Apparently even those who weren't even in kindergarten yet when it was published! How could I have missed it? Granted there are 7 apple crisp recipes in the book, including one with marshmallows, one with eggs and one with raisins. Interestingly they all call ... [Read More]
Sparkling Fruit Salad
Sparkling Fruit Salad is delightfully refreshing. Especially in the hot summer, it’s fruity flavors straight from the refrigerator are wonderful. It is colorful addition to a party menu any time of year – great for a shower, a potluck or any other get together. And so easy to make! The sparkling dressing is a light combination of your choice of white wine or grape juice mixed with club soda or a lemon lime diet soda. We had grape juice from Short Stuff’s last visit in the refrigerator. And a mini can of Sprite Zero (no carbs). So that became the dressing. I used canned pineapple because I had it on hand and the pineapples at the market looked a little too firm to be used immediately. I have a thing about grapes – they MUST be sweet or my face just folds up in a “wow, that ... [Read More]
Cranberry Pineapple Salad
Cranberry Pineapple Salad is a kid friendly addition to holiday dinners. The addition of crushed pineapple and diced apples in raspberry gelatin take away the signature tartness of the cranberry. Easier for kids and people who aren’t into tart – like me – to eat. I have a tart reflex. One bite and my face just folds – no way to hide it. On the other hand this is not overly sweet either – but just right. Cranberries are also healthy. Cranberries are one of the top antioxidant-rich foods, containing more than other superfoods – including pears, grapes, apples and strawberries. Antioxidants help prevent or stop cell damage. For this reason, you can serve them any time of year – don’t wait for holidays! This salad is also versatile in the ways you can serve it. I like the minis ... [Read More]
Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
Rhubarb can be fresh or frozen. Cut fresh rhubarb into one inch slices; frozen is usually already cut. Fresh strawberries can be washed, stemmed and cut in half; frozen just need the package opened and the amount measured. Let frozen fruit thaw somewhat so you aren’t starting with a solid chunk of ice. Using the microwave is fair, if needed, to de-ice quickly . Cook fruit until it is just tender, about 7 or 8 minutes. Then quickly stir in the sugar and cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened. It’ll take about a minute to return to a boil so stir gently until the mixture does boil. Then boil for another minute until the mixture thickens, stirring intermittently. When thickened, remove from the heat. If you are a learning cook, it is sometimes hard to see how you can make ... [Read More]
Peaches and Cream Baked French Toast
Peaches and Cream topped with struesel on top of a puffy custard French Toast -- a winning combination of sweet, crunchy, creamy and downright delicious. This can be made ahead for a deliciously spectacular holiday breakfast. Begin with a dense bread, such as French, Italian, sourdough or other artisan bread. Cut bread slices in quarters and fit them snugly in an 8x8 inch pan. Add pats of cream cheese to each piece and stack another layer of bread quarters on top. Stir together the custard ingredients and pour evenly over the bread. I used no sugar added sliced peaches and placed them tightly over the bread and custard. Cover with plastic wrap, pop in the fridge. Quickly mix butter, pecans, flour and brown sugar together and put the mixture into a zipper sandwich bag so it will ... [Read More]
