Blackberry Peach Crumble

We had my parents over for dinner tonight. I made taco salad and this for dessert. I used frozen fruit so it was very simple to put together. It was delicious with vanilla ice cream.

Blackberry Peach Crumble
Ingredients:
2 cups blackberries
5 cups sliced peaches
3/4 c. sugar, divided
1 tsp cornstarch
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 c. flour
1/2 oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 stick butter, chilled
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare a shallow baking dish.
-In large bowl, combine blackberries, peaches, 1/4 sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest and juice.
-Toss gently and spread into baking dish.
-In medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients and using fork or pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture until about the size of small peas.
-Sprinkle mixture over top of fruit and gently spread out.
-Place in oven to bake until top is beginning to brown and fruit mixture is bubbling, about 35-40 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Banana Muffins

These are Todd's favorite. I don't care for bananas so they don't tempt me one bit! These are a great way to use up ripe bananas. You can store the ripe bananas in the freezer until you are ready to make the muffins.
Banana Muffins
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
3 mashed ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Mix together in order; pour into muffin tins. Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Lemon? Ricotta? Pancakes? Sounds strange, but these are my absolute favorite pancakes! Love, Love, Love! It may seem like extra work to separate the eggs and beat the egg whites but it is worth it. They are so light and fluffy. These are a great spring/summer breakfast.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup milk
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice until smooth. Sift together the flour, baking powder and 1/8 tsp. of the salt over the ricotta mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

In another large bowl, using a whisk, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and continue beating until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into the ricotta mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites.

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Spray the griddle with nonstick cooking spray. Ladle 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the pancakes are golden underneath, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer to a warmed plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. Makes 12 to 14 pancakes.

Easy Vanilla Pudding

This is a recipe that reminds me of my childhood. My mom would make this a lot and I think the recipe originally came from the back of the cornstarch box. You can make this on the stovetop, but I make mine in the microwave and it turns out great! I love it hot, warm, room temp or cold. It is one of my favorite comfort foods!
Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 t salt
2 3/4 cup milk(I use skim)
2 T butter
1 t vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the milk. Cook in microwave for 5 minutes. Stir. Microwave 3-5 minutes(stirring every minute) until it starts to bubble. Make sure you use a large enough container because it does expand. Lastly, stir in butter and vanilla.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a family favorite. I think they are best either right out of the oven or frozen. I know it sounds strange, but frozen cookies and milk are really good! My sister Abby made these for Mothers Day! Thanks Abby!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
2 cups shortening
4 eggs
4 1/4 cups flour
2 t baking soda
2 t salt
2 t vanilla
Lots of chocolate chips

Combine sugars and shortening, add eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients with the last being the chocolate chips. Roll into balls and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Chicken Chimichangas

These have such good flavor but are not spicy so James can eat them. I'll be honest, they aren't as good as the deep fried version, but they are much healthier.
Chicken Chimichangas
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups shredded roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
6 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas
Cooking spray
1/2 cup bottled salsa

Preheat oven to 500°.

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well.

Spread 1/4 cup beans down center of each tortilla. Top each tortilla with 2/3 cup chicken mixture; roll up. Place rolls, seam sides down, on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of chimichangas with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 7 minutes. Serve with salsa.

Cake balls and Party Ideas!

My sister in law Ashley introduced me to the dangerously good cake balls a while ago. I've never personally made them because I really think I would hide out in the pantry and eat the whole batch before they became balls. They are really THAT good! My friend Jami took cake balls to a whole new level and used them as decoration at Morgans birthday party. They turned out so cute!

Cake balls - basic recipe

1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting
1 (3 ounce) bar chocolate flavored confectioners coating

Prepare the cake mix according to package directions using any of the recommended pan sizes. When cake is done, crumble while warm into a large bowl, and stir in the frosting until well blended.
Melt chocolate coating in a glass bowl in the microwave, or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Use a melon baller or small scoop to form balls of the chocolate cake mixture. Before dipping I would place them in the fridge or freezer for 15-30 minute to help set. Dip the balls in chocolate using a toothpick or fork to hold them. Place on waxed paper to set. These keep great in the fridge or freezer. The possiblities with these are endless. You can mix and match the cake and frosting of your choice. If you choose to make them into cake pops you can place the cake mixture into molds instead of rolling into balls. Jami used a cute flower mold and made chocolate and strawberry cake pops! Look how cute they turned out!

French Toast

French Toast
1/4 cup mashed sweet potato
2 T milk
1/4-1/2 t cinnamon
4 eggs
4-6 slices whole wheat bread

Whisk together sweet potato and milk until you get a smooth puree. Add the eggs and cinammon. Dip both sides of bread and soak for a few seconds. Use cooking spray to avoid sticking and cook on medium heat. We enjoyed these with syrup, banana, and blueberries. James gave it 2 thumbs up!

Huevos Rancheros

I've been meaning to make these for a long time, but never did until tonight. We had some amazing Huevos Rancheros 6 years ago in Durango, CO at a quant diner on main street. We were visiting Durango for the wedding of our friends Chris and Maleah Stroud. It was a quick, easy dinner and did not disappoint! I've had some queso fresco cheese in the freezer for quite a while and was looking for a good recipe to use it for. I have a chicken chimichunga recipe that I'll post later this week that calls for that cheese too.

Huevos Rancheros

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 topped tortilla)

Ingredients
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons water
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Cooking spray
4 large eggs (a big eater,aka Todd, would want 2 eggs)
4 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled queso fresco cheese or any other cheese will work fine too
Avocado, sliced (optional)

Combine the tomatoes and enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro and juice. Set aside.

Place water and beans in a microwave-safe bowl, and partially mash with a fork. Cover and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes or until hot.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add eggs; cook 1 minute on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spread about 1/3 cup beans over each tortilla; top each tortilla with 1 egg. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce around each egg; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. If made with 1 egg and no avocado these are about 350 calories each.

Italian Meatloaf

This is a recipe from a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. She was on Oprah last year long before James was born, but I just had to have the cookbook. It is all about sneaking healthy food into regular food. It is not a replacement for fruits and veggies on your childs plate, but rather, an extra opportunity to boost the nutritional value of their food. This is officially the first thing I've made from the cookbook and I thought it turned out great. I will definitely be making this again!

Italian Meatloaf
-Nonstick cooking spray
-1 cup Italian-style (seasoned) breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
-2 T olive oil
-1/2 cup onion
-2 celery stalks
-1 lb lean ground turkey (I used a 1.2 lbs pkg of 99% fat free turkey)
-1/2 cup parmesan or any blend of Italian cheese
-1/2 cup carrot puree(I used finely chopped 3 carrots in my mini food proccesor)
- 1/4 cup ketchup plus more for dipping
- salt and pepper to taste
-1 cup bottled tomato sauce (I used some leftover Chunky Garden Prego sauce)
-4 slices turkey bacon (I didn't have any bacon so omitted it)

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9 x 5 loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in milk

Heat a large skillet over med-high heat and add olive oil. Cook onion 7-10 minutes until soft. Add the celery and cook another 3-4 minutes. Take off heat and let cool a few minutes. Add the breadcrumb mixture, onions and celery to all the other ingredients. Stir to combine and add the mixture to the loaf pan. Spread tomato sauce to cover the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the edges brown. This was super delicious and healthy too!