Simplest Cherry Pie

Cherry pie is my favorite dessert in the whole wide world. When I was younger (in like my 20's) I knew I would have it made as an adult when I could knit socks and make a really fantastic pie crust. 

so Far,  I am still working on the pie crust.  

You can use this recipe with any fruit that you desire , peaches, apples, plums, strawberries, or a mix.... Doesn't Peach Raspberry sounds just Heavenly? 

I used a prepared crust, but if you want to make your own, there is a recipe for a 

Whole Grain Pie Crust. Here. 

You can even use the fancy French name for the Galette, I couldn't even pronounce it, let alone hope people to know what I was meaning when I talked about it. 

so thaw out a pie crust, or better yet, whip one up really quickly and use some of the delicious summer fruit that you picked up at your farmer's market and impress your family, friends and strangers on the internet with your French dessert making skills. 

Red Monster Smoothie

I just love this Red Monster Smoothie - I am still trying to love the green ones as much as the rest of the whole world does. 

 

 I really like to buy lots of berries when they are in season and freeze them for making smoothies and nice cream. Berries never seem to last as long as I would like them to in my fridge. 

If you are using frozen fruit, go ahead and leave out the ice - you'll have a plenty frozen smoothie. And I really do like to use water in mine, anything else just adds sugar and calories that you won't miss. And adding more water, which your body will thank you for! 

 

Fresh Watermelon Mint Lemonade

I love a good drink! I know how that sounds, but I love to make a sweet icy treat and sit out in my porch swing with Joseph and enjoy the last few hours of the summer day. 

I made this lemonade because the watermelon that we bought was not good. It wasn't sweet and juicy and I couldn't get anyone to eat it. So I decided to see if I could use it up in a drink. 

I had lots of mint because I ordered a mint plant with my grocery pick-up order and they didn't have one... so they gave me 3!! packs of fresh mint leaves. I was swimming in it. 

I love to make lemonade by putting whole lemons (that I cut the peels off of) in my blender, so I thought I would test this out.  It is Delicious! So sweet and refreshing and the mint and watermelon together are just perfect. You'll wonder how you didn't put them together before. 

Cantaloupe Cucumber Salad

I made this salad for a quick lunch that I shared with my mom. When I served it she very intrigued by the cantaloupe cucumber combination, but after one bite she said, "You have got to open a funky salad restaurant and charge people 15.00$ for a bowl of this"  That's quite impressive.

The simple ingredients in this recipe just speak to each other. It is an example of not having to make really complicated recipes for food to be exceptionally delicious. 

If you are willing to trust me on this recipe, you will not be sorry.  -- and I won't take any of the credit of you having the most popular salad at all your summer parties. 

If you like this salad and want to make it more of a meal, I think that adding some cooked orzo pasta or perhaps some quinoa or brown rice, would make it really hearty.  But you'll need to add a bit more dressing to account for the dryness of the grains. 

June is fruit and vegetable month

June is National Fruit & Vegetable month. So why not try something that encourages more Fruits and Vegetables into your daily diet. Let's look at the 10 Tips learning series.

Here are 10 quick tips to add more vegetables to your day.  Here are a few extra ideas from me.

1 - add more vegetables to any dish your already love. If you already love it, make it more to love.

2 - make your veggies fun. Anything is funner when you can dip it, or try celery filled with peanut butter and raisins or cream cheese. Make corn on the cob or snap peas or red bell peppers the colors and shapes just scream "fun!".

3- never reward your kids (or yourself) for eating your vegetables. - they aren't suppose to be a punishment.

Here are some easy way to Focus on Eating More Fruit.  These are great tips, but I will share a few that work especially well for our family.

1- Fruit always makes a great snack.  If your kids need a little protien to go with their snack fruits are great with cheese, peanut butter, yogurt and cottage cheese!

2 - Sneak a fruit into your daily salad. Mandarin oranges and diced apples are perfect for salads. Your kids will think you are restaurant fancy if you start adding fruit to salads.

3- Try apple of banana chips when you get that craving for a crunch snack.

Broccoli Strawberry Salad with Avocados and Poppy Seed Dressing

This is going to be my go-to salad for the rest of the spring and all summer long. If you invite me to any kind of function where I am asked to bring food - this is what you are going to get. 

And you are going to love it as much as I do!  

It is crunchy and sweet, savory and surprising with craisins and sunflower seeds. 

I have made it again since I tested the recipe and I added just one finely diced green onion to the dressing and it made it even more perfect. 

It preps great ahead of time so that makes it great for get-togethers, just be sure you add the avocados at the last minute so that they don't go brown. 

Ultimate Green Smoothie Recipes - Create a Smoothie

I have never been very skilled at making smoothies, but there are so many different ways to make them. You can practically put anything in to a blender and if you put the right supporting ingredients in with it - it turns out amazing!

My kids are shockingly good smoothie makers. I think it is because they have no fear. Brave little teenager taste buds.

Food $ense has the most amazing Smoothie Pattern to help you make up your own.

Create a delicious and nutritious smoothie from simple foods. Just choose an item from each category and follow the directions. Use your imagination!

Each smoothie serves 1 adult.

DIRECTIONS:
Choose a liquid (½ to 1½ cups, depending on desired consistency)

Choose extras (optional)
• Water: inexpensive, easy, and calorie free.
• ¼ to ½ cup raw oats
• Milk: dairy, soy, almond, rice, hemp, coconut, etc.
• 1-2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1-2 tablespoons chia seed
• ½ cup yogurt
• ½ diced avocado
• cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla
• ice as needed
• Fruit Juice: use sparingly for added flavor, and combine with water or milk.
• 1-2 tablespoons ground flax seed

Choose produce (2-3 cups)
• Fruit: fresh, frozen, or canned such as strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, cranberry, banana, pineapple, peach, pear, plum, cherry, melon, apple, kiwi, mango, papaya, orange, lemon, lime.
• Vegetable: fresh spinach, chard, kale, green pepper, avocado, carrot, cooked, frozen, or canned pumpkin, squash, sweet potato, peas.

Select a food from each category, or use your own favorites.

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor in order listed. Blend until smooth.

HINT: You will need minimal to no ice if using mostly frozen produce. You will need more ice if using fresh, canned, or cooked produce. Do not overload blender, and chop any large pieces of fruit or vegetables for the best texture.

Here are some tips specifically for those popular Green Smoothies. They look a little while and kinda Incredible Hulk-ish, but they are sure are good for you - and they really Are dang delicious!!

The sky's the limit when it comes to smoothie combinations you can whip up in your blender.

And while you don't always need to follow a recipe, if you're not careful even green smoothies packed with things like kale or bananas can easily turn into sugar- and calorie-bombs.

Try one of our suggested green smoothie combos below—or create your own favorite flavor!

Liquid - 1/2 cup: You’ll need some liquid to get everything whirring in your blender, but choose wisely. Skip juices—they’re high in sugar (even when they’re 100% fruit juice).

Try these: Unsweetened almond milk or other unsweetened nondairy milks (soy, rice, hemp), low-fat milk, coconut water, water.

Frozen Banana - 1 cup: For natural sweetness and always rich, creamy (not icy) body, frozen banana slices are a must. Another bonus: bananas are a relatively inexpensive fruit.

Frozen Fruit - 1/2 cup: Frozen fruit makes a frosty smoothie without added ice (some blenders can’t handle ice cubes). Buy already frozen fruit or freeze your own.
Try these: Blueberries, cherries, strawberries, pineapple, mango, apples, raspberries, blackberries, grapes.

Protein - 1/3 cup: To give your smoothie staying power add protein. Protein slows the digestion of carbs, keeping you full longer.

Try these: Nonfat or low-fat plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, silken tofu.

Greens - 1 cup: Add 1 cup of greens to help meet your daily veggie quota without overpowering your smoothie.
Try these: Baby spinach, kale (stemmed and chopped).

Health Bonus - 1 Tbsp.: Throw in chia seeds or flaxseeds, for a boost of omega-3s and fiber. Or add nut butters for healthy fats and a little more protein.

Try these: Chia seed, flaxseed, hemp seed, peanut butter, almond butter.

Optional: Have a sweet tooth? Add up to 2 tsp. liquid sweetener like maple syrup or agave.

Spicy Pineapple Chicken Tacos with Pomegranate Pineapple Salsa

These sound like they are fancy beyond belief, but the truth is, they are just some chicken tossed into a pot with some spices and a can of pineapple.  Your taste buds and eyes are going to be completely fooled by how easy these are because they are beautiful and taste so so amazing!

The spiciness of the different chilies in the recipe and the sweetness of the pineapple compliment each other perfectly for that sweet and spicy combination that I love so much. 

You can make them in the Instant Pot or in the slow cooker, so the recipe is super simple to prepare either way. You could even substitute a pork roast for the chicken breasts if that is what you have. 

There just really isn't a wrong way to make a taco, there just isn't. 

Apple Pie Scones

Here is a yummy recipe for using those sweet apples in baking. This recipe doesn't use a lot of sugar and you can use whole wheat pastry flour  or use a half / half mix. 

Bring on all the wonderful fall baking. 

Ingredients

1 large egg

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 tsp lemon juice 

1 Tbsp sugar

1 medium apple

2 cups all-purpose flour (plus a small amount for dusting) 

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

5 Tbsp cold butter 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Wash the apple, peel and cut it. Use a box grater or large holed cheese grater to shred the apple.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, apple sauce, lemon juice, sugar, and shredded apple.

In a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger. Once combined, add the butter and work it into the flour until it resembles coarse, damp sand.

Finally, pour the bowl containing the apple egg mixture into the large bowl with the flour and butter. Stir just until a dough forms and no more dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a 6-8 inch wide, 1.5 inch thick disc (sprinkle more flour on your hands and on the surface of the dough if needed. The dough may be slightly sticky). Cut the disc into eight wedges.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cut scones on top. Bake the scones for 18-20 minutes in the fully preheated oven, or until they are just slightly golden brown on top. Allow the scones to cool completely.