Quick Post: Yum – this is so luscious! My kids would love this one, but it’s definitely a treat smoothie because of all the orange juice…carbs and sugar! This recipe is enough for 1 serving. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Mango, Banana, Strawberry Smoothie –
I’ve never made granola before, but I love the stuff. It’s perfect on top of yogurt, an on the go snack or a hearty breakfast. Most store bought brands have lots of sugar, salt, preservatives and fat…no thanks! This one is great because it’s all natural, easy to make and it keeps well in the fridge or up to a week in an airtight container. While this was baking, the most wonderful mix of orange and honey came wafting out the oven! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Verdict: So addicting! The orange zest gives this an aroma and bright, fresh flavor that I have never had in granola before. It was the perfect pre-workout breakfast. Bottom line – I will make this again and again! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Orange Almond Coconut Granola – adapted from Two Blue Lemons
Dry Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients:
Quick Post: The name sounds nice, right? Well, there is a really unexpected ingredient in these, but I was willing to try it. PEAS! I needed to about a half cup more almond milk to thin this out for the blender and more banana to sweeten it up. The toast with real fruit preserves helped to get this one down! 😉 It wasn’t that awful, especially when I think of all the nutrition packed in this. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Blueberry Morning Smoothie – (never home)maker
I’m going to be brave and hopefully I will enjoy this. I really need to get more vegetables into my diet! When I eat healthfully, I feel so much better inside and out; and I have so much more energy. I slacked off big time these past few months – food is my weakness. But now that school has started again I have a lot more time to get my workouts in and plan for healthier snacks and meals for me.
Verdict: Wow! Not bad at all 🙂 The more frozen banana the better though, and next time I’ll add some strawberries and maybe some blueberries. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Green Monster Smoothie –
My son’s first day of third grade is tomorrow, so last week I started looking for clever lunch ideas for him. This frozen smoothie idea is genius because it will keep his lunch box cool and give him a healthy treat that I can feel really good about. I bought these plastic freezer containers that Ball makes and they’re the perfect size. I made our favorite smoothie recipe in the food processor and it made enough to fill 5 containers plus some extra that the kids happily shared. After they were all nicely portioned I wiped the rims well, sealed them up and stowed them in the freezer. All he needs to do is stir it up once it’s lunch time – I’m hoping that it is soft enough for him to drink, but not too soft that it becomes watery.
Verdict: Yay! I am pleased to report that Little Boy M had a great first day and the smoothie thawed out enough and he happily ate it with a spoon. He also reported that his juice box was nice and cold, too. I asked him how it tasted and he said it tasted like one I just made for him. I think I might have to buy more of the freezer jars because both my kids are going to expect these everyday in their lunches. Best. Idea. Ever! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Smoothie
Peaches and raspberries were on sale at Publix today and I immediately thought of this yummy looking crumble that Joy shared last week. The last crumble I made was her recipe so, I trust her judgment on these things because it was so darn good. I’m not even sure if I’ll like the combination because peaches and raspberries aren’t fruits I gravitate to, but I’m always up for trying new things. Plus, I love anything with a crumb topping.
Verdict: Sweet, buttery, crumbly goodness! If you love these fruits, make this soon. Oh, and don’t forget the vanilla ice cream! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Peach and Raspberry Crumble – adapted from Joy the Baker
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place sliced peaches and raspberries in a square 8×8-inch baking dish and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, oats, spices, and salt. Add the butter and toss the mixture together with your hands. Break the butter up into the flour mixture until the butter is the size of small pebbles and oat flakes. This took me about 4 minutes.
Toss a generous handful (about 1 cup) of crumble topping into the peach and raspberry mixture. Toss loosely with your hands. Spread fruit evenly in the pan and top with the remaining crumble mixture. Bake until fruit is juicy and bubbling, and the top of the crumble is slightly browned and crisp, about 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and serve with vanilla ice cream. Crumble is delicious served warm and can be stored, covered, in the fridge and reheated in the oven or microwave for serving.
Quick Post: After any party there are leftovers, right? There was just under 2 cups of blueberries left and I felt the need to bake them into something. After a little searching on King Arthur Flour’s website, I found this. It worked out well because I had just enough all-purpose flour left for this recipe, it only required one egg and a little over one stick of butter.
Verdict: Yum! It is a perfect complement to your morning coffee! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake – adapted from King Arthur Flour
Topping
Batter
Directions –
First: Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Making the Topping: Mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut or rub in the butter or margarine with the side of a fork, two knives or your finger tips until it reaches a crumbly state. Set aside.
Making the Batter: Blend the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl. In a large bowl cream together the sugar, butter or margarine, egg and vanilla. Alternately add the milk and the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, ending with flour. Stir only enough to blend. Fold in the blueberries.
Assembling & Baking: Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured, 9-inch cake pan. Sprinkle the topping over the batter and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester or knife comes out clean.
Let the buckle cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a knife or spatula. Holding the cake pan in your left hand, gently tip the cake out onto your right hand, remove the pan, and gently right the cake onto a serving dish.
There were several spotted bananas waiting to be used and I remembered this recipe. I haven’t baked these in years so I don’t remember what modifications I used to make. I thought it best to make them without doctoring them up at all – success! There is a reason why this is the most popular at Allrecipes.com. It only makes 10 muffins which could be a problem for M – we tried one for quality control sake. He said “these wont last long here”. Too bad for him, but I was already planning on sharing some with our new neighbors:) Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Banana Crumb Muffins – adapted from Allrecipes
Directions –
Joy the Baker is a huge inspiration to the baker in me! She has so many recipes to choose from, but this is one of her more recent posts. I love pineapple and strawberries together, so this is right up my alley. I have never seen anything like this – usually crumbles are made with apples, pears, peaches or mixed berries. I was intrigued by this combo and knew that I needed to try it out.
Verdict: This was ah-mazing! Even my husband who wont eat dessert unless is chocolate covered agreed that it was tasty. That’s a winner in my book! Enjoy:)
Strawberry Pineapple Crumble – adapted from Joy the Baker
Quick Post: This was the dessert that my SIL requested for her birthday. It’s super simple – only two ingredients for this fondue. Serve this with strawberries, bananas, pineapple, pound cake, pretzels, marshmallows – anything that goes well with chocolate but wont easily fall apart. Next time I will use a combination of bitter and semi-sweet chocolate, because the bittersweet was just too bitter!;)
Chocolate Fondue –
Mom-Makes... 