Salad with fruit & feta

I had this salad with a friend the other day...I mean this picture is of the actual salad I got!! I had to take a picture it was so beautiful! I have re-created it at home several times since then, so I needed to post and save the ingredients list. My whole family loves it.

Ingredients: (All ingredients should be fresh!)

Fresh Spinach (add other salad kinds if you like but have to have spinach in there somewhere! ;)
Purple grapes
Pineapple (chunked)
Avocado
Kiwi (sliced)
Pecans
Blackberries
Strawberries (sliced)
Feta Cheese (or some other crumbly kind, I think originally mine was made with goat cheese, but at home I used Feta)

Instructions:
Wash & prep all your fresh fruit, then toss together in a bowl on top of your salad and mix it all up.
I used a Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing...so healthy, fresh & yummy! Perfect for summer or anytime! Could also add chicken, but great without any meat too.

Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf (or muffins, etc.)

I made this tonight (via a pinterest recipe) and it was DELICIOUS and sooo pretty!

Thought you girls might like the recipe!

recipe website

Ingredients:

For the Loaf:
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed
For the Lemon Syrup:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
For the Lemon Glaze:
1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.
Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.
To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Recipe Notes:
This recipe will also yield about 12 standard muffins or 36 miniature muffins, baking time adjusted.
It could be doubled and baked in a well-greased and floured bundt pan, baking time adjusted.
This recipe could also be baked in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round, to create a thin cake (approx. 1 1/2 inches tall), baking time adjusted.

Fruit Crisp

I bought a bunch of great blueberries at Sam's the other day and ran across this recipe over the weekend. It is yummy and easy too!

4 cups fruit (blueberries, raspberries, peaches, apples)
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place blueberries in baking pan and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Rub topping ingredients together until they resemble coaurse crumbs: sprinkle on top of berries and bake for 35-40 minutes, until crust is golden brown and berries are bubbly.

I also added some cinnamon and oats to the topping. My topping was more powdery than crumbly. It was easy and good!

Fresh Peach Pie

* From the Southern Living Annual Recipes Cookbook, 20th anniversary edition*

1 9-inch baked pastry shell
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T brandy (I substituted with apple juice/cider...although the brandy would make it taste really good)
6 large fresh peaches, peeled & sliced
3 T lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
3 T powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

* Beat butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and brandy/juice. Beating well. Spread in bottom of pastry shell. Chill.
* Combine peaches, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup sugar. Cover & chill.
* Beat whipping cream at high speed until foamy. Gradually add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beating until soft peaks form. Cover & chill.
* Drain peaches. Arrange over butter mixture. Dollop whipped cream mixture over peaches (I spread it out all over and covered the peaches). Serve immediately.

Note: Assemble this pie at the last minute and the crust will stay crisp and not soggy.

Easy Blackberry Cobbler

I got my Southern Living magazine (July 2008) and this cobbler was on the cover. Blackberries were on sale at the Farmer's Market, so we ate this yummy and EASY dessert last night after supper!

Preheat oven to 375.

Place 4 cups fresh blackberries in a lightly greased 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice.

Stir together 1 large egg, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour in a medium bowl until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over fruit.

Drizzle 6 Tablespoons melted butter over topping.

Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned on top and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

** Another option: Bake for the same amount of time in 6 (8 oz) ramekins on an aluminium foil-lined baking sheet.

Dole Pineapple Whip

For all you Disneyworld lovers out there...

This is a favorite treat of ours at the Magic Kingdom. Kevin found the recipe on the internet for me (we are already wanting to go back) and I made it for us last night as a Father's Day dessert. It was yummy and tasted just like the real ones in Adventureland! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cans (20 oz. each) DOLE Crushed Pineapple
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Instructions:

Drain pineapple; reserve 2 tablespoons juice. Set aside.

Place pineapple, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar and reserved pineapple juice in blender or food processor container. Cover; blend until smooth.

Pour into two 1-quart freezer zipped bags. Store bags flat in freezer. Freeze 1-1/2 hours or until slushy.

Stir pineapple slush gently into whipped cream until slightly blended, in large bowl.

Return to freezer until completely frozen, about 1 hour and serve.

Cooked Apples

I must confess that the stuffed pork chops idea and this idea both came from another recipe website that I discovered (www.menus4moms.com); this website posts a whole menu plan a week at a time. I decided to give it a try this week, and it's not half bad. Although, next week I'm planning to try ideas from our site! :)

O.k., I liked these cooked apples b/c they were great plain by themselves, but they'd also be great with whipped cream, or ice cream, or in a pie! I ate them plain trying to cut calories! :{

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until apples are tender. Serve hot or cold.

I don't know why I feel the need to tell if I've altered the recipe in anyway, but again, with this one--I didn't have 6 apples, only 4 and I didn't use Granny Smith--I used Gala! ;)