The Best Raspberry Bread

I was craving bread one day & I've made blueberry & strawberry bread before but I hadn't made raspberry bread. So I started researching Pinterest & came across this one. The title alone piqued my interest so of course I had to try it. I was going to use those throw-away bread tins but when I was at the Le Creuset store to buy my braising dish & they had a bread pan for uber cheap, I decided to use that instead. I don't have an after picture of the bread because when I thought my bread was done, I was very wrong. I took the bread out of the oven, tested it, let it rest & then turned it out on a wire rack. It caved in in the middle & while I thought it looked wrong, I let it sit there a while. When I went to turn it right-side up, that's when I discovered the middle was completely raw. The wire rack was over a sheet pan so I just threw the entire thing back in the oven for another 30 minutes & by the time the bread was actually done, it was a mess to look at. It was really good, just not picture worthy. I think the combination of using fresh raspberries & using the type of loaf dish I used-which is a really good dish, I should have cooked it for a lot longer. I'll definitely try making this again. It was really moist and had a lot of flavor.

Find the recipe here




Raspberries & flour...

Dough mixture...

Ready to be baked...

Caramel Apple Nachos

My friend invited me to a Super Bowl party and I couldn't decide what I wanted to make. I kept going back and forth with different things and then I saw this recipe on Pinterest and knew I wanted to make it. I'm doing a weight loss challenge at the moment so I figured this was somewhat healthy with the apples. This is another recipe where you can add pretty much whatever you want. I didn't use all the apples it called for so I'll probably make this again soon. It was really good and had just the right amount of sweetness. I didn't follow the directions online at all so I'll just tell you what I did. As it was, I made 2 batches and took one home for myself after the party. Yum!

Caramel Apple Nachos (Pinterest):

3-4 Gala apples
3-4 Granny Smith apples
1/2 pkg Kraft Caramels (unwrapped) or Ice Cream Caramel Topping-this is what I used
1 tbsp water, if using the Kraft Caramels
White chocolate candy coating
Mini chocolate chips
Heath toffee bits

Wash the apples and then slice. Layer the green and red slices in a dish, alternating if you wish. Drizzle with the caramel topping. Melt the white chocolate according to pkg directions. It says to pipe out of a plastic bag but I just took a spoonful and kinda splattered it all over. Sprinkle with toffee bits and chocolate chips. It's best to keep the leftovers in the fridge. Enjoy!




Enjoy!...

4-Berry Pie with Lattice Topped Pie Crust

I can't remember where I found this recipe but I made it several years ago for Christmas at my aunt's house when she lived in Arizona. I had never made a pie before then and I love berries so I came up with this recipe from somewhere and it was really good!

My family came down for Thanksgiving this year and I decided to make this again, hoping it was as good as I remembered it and it definitely was! Lots of flavor from the berries and the cinnamon on the pie crust set it off. I think I added too many berries because the filling over-filled a little bit onto the oven floor-oops! I made it the day before to let the flavors really meld-yum! Originally this pie was only a 3-berry pie calling for blackberries but I'm not a huge fan of blackberries. I did add a small container of blackberries but then I also added a container of strawberries, which is probably why it over-filled but it worked out.

4-Berry Pie with Lattice Topped Pie Crust (6-8 servings):

1/2 c fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 c fresh or frozen blackberries
1/2 c fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 c fresh or frozen sliced strawberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 c sugar
4 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
2 unbaked pastry shells (9 inches)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling

In large bowl, sprinkle berries with lemon juice. Combine sugar and tapioca. Add to berries; toss gently to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Spoon into pastry shell.

For topping, cut strips into pastry shell. Inter-weave onto top of berries to create a lattice-look. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!




Berries macerating...






Berries poured into pie bottom...






Sprinkled with cinnamon...






Fresh from the oven...






Enjoy!...

Watermelon Rum

Again, I don't have the recipe for this one lol but I do remember it. And we had to doctor it quite a bit to make it edible. I originally found this recipe in a Weight Watcher's cookbook and the points were really low-like 2 I think. Super simple easy ingredients. Like I said we had to doctor it a little bit because it was really strong in alcohol-too strong! I'd make this again but I think but I would use less alcohol and it would be nice to have some mint leaves on hand since that would tame down the taste a lot, even though I'm not fond of mint! We didn't have any on hand so we used basil, which worked okay. And I think we used some lime juice as well to tame down the flavor a little. It was good after that and I think we ate it all (I was with my family).

Watermelon Rum:

1/2 of a watermelon, cut up
Rum of your choice
Mint leaves

Pour the rum over the watermelon and let everything soak up. (Don't use the whole bottle! Just use enough to coat the watermelon.) Add some mint leaves and enjoy!

Sangria Popsicles

So I can't really remember how I made these...lol. I thought I used a recipe on Pinterest but after looking over that recipe again I discovered I didn't use all the ingredients...enough to make me realize that I think I kinda winged it! I can give you a guess as to what I used. You could pretty much add anything to these and they would taste good. I have really cheap popsicle molds so some of the popsicles had to either eaten out of the mold with a spoon or they had to be inverted into a bowl to eat with a spoon. These tasted really good but I think with the alcohol added, they turned into more of a slush. Either way...yum!

Sangria Popsicles (6-8 servings):

Popsicle mold
Assorted fruit (I used blueberries, raspberries & strawberries
Lime juice
Wine of your choice-I believe I used a cheap Cab

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze 6-8 hours or overnight. Gently pull out of popsicle molds and enjoy!

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

My brother got married on April 11th and my aunt threw the wedding party a bbq at her house the Saturday after. I have been craving fruit now that the weather has been nicer so I was put in charge of finding a good fruit salad recipe. I found this recipe on Pinterest via http://ohyoucook.blogspot.com. This salad called for strawberries, green grapes and blueberries but I switched it up and added my own mix. You can basically add whatever fruits you want. We had some hard limes so I don't think we were able to get all the juice so we also zested the 2 limes for more taste. The salad turned out amazing! And it was even better later that night after all the flavors melded together and the raspberries started to melt down! I will definitely make this recipe again and again! (I also received rave reviews from our friends at the bbq!)

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing (Enough for a Crowd):

1 pt container strawberries, cut into bite-size chunks
1 pt container blueberries
1 pt container raspberries
1/2 container pineapple, cut into bite-size chunks
1/2 container mangoes, cut into bite-size chunks
6 kiwis, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
1/4 c honey
Juice from 2 limes
Zest from 2 limes

Combine all the fruit, except the raspberries. Gently mix together with your hands. Add the raspberries on top of the mixed fruit. Add the hone, lime juice and lime zest. Again, mix gently with your hands, so you don't mash the raspberries. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. Note-if you serve it the next day, the salad will be a lot more liquid-like but it will still taste amazing!




Enjoy!

Sour Cherry Vodka & Watermelon Vodka

I found the recipe for Sour Cherry Vodka on Pinterest via http://fancynapkin.blogspot.com/ Based on how easy the other recipe was, we used up my friend's watermelon and decided to try to make some watermelon vodka. I had a really hard time finding glass bottles that seal. I checked everywhere and as a last minute try I went to Home Goods and bingo! I found a couple bottles for the cherry vodka on clearance for $2.99. I found the bigger bottle for the watermelon for only $5.99. Super super easy to make. Just de-stem the cherries and fill up the entire glass bottle with cherries. Fill the bottle with cheap vodka. For the watermelon, we only filled the bottle up halfway and poured the vodka over the top.

The vodka should be ready to try in 3 months..so around the first of November. I'll let you know when we try it! If it turns out good, we plan on experimenting with other fruit and veggies.




Sour Cherry Vodka...






Watermelon Vodka...

Yogurt Cake with Tart Cherries

I found this recipe on Pinterest via www.http://cafechocolada.blogspot.com/ My friend has a pretty decent size tart cherry tree in her backyard so we picked them all but couldn't figure out what to do with them. I found this recipe and it looked pretty good. And easy. The only ingredient I was unsure of was the vanilla sugar. I didn't have a vanilla bean but I found something online that said I could make my own vanilla sugar using 1 tsp vanilla extract per 2 cups of regular sugar so I used 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 c sugar. I let it dry out on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes. Not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of the sugar now that it's made but I'll figure that out later.

The cake was okay..not very sweet tasting though. And the cherries were sour to begin with and they remained sour in the cake. Not sure I like the flavor of the cake. I thought the powdered sugar would help, but it didn't do too much. Pretty sure I won't be making this again. I took a couple pieces home with me and left the rest at my friend's. It might be good with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Yogurt Cake with Tart Cherries:

3 eggs
1 c plain yogurt
3 c flour
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 c tart cherries

Grease an 11x3-inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 395. Add baking powder to flour and mix well. Place cherries in their own bowl and add about 2 tbsp flour and shake to coat them.

With a hand mixer, mix eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar. Then add yogurt and oil and mix well. Gradually add flour mixture with baking powder and mix well. Fold in the cherries, being careful not to crush them. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool about 10 minutes and then dust with powdered sugar.




Vanilla Sugar...






Ingredients mixed together...






Ready for the oven...






Powdered sugar on top...






Enjoy!...

Strawberry Bread

I had gone to the farmer's market this past weekend and picked up a lot of fresh strawberries. But they were smaller so I knew they would go bad pretty quick. I ate what I could but I also wanted to try to make a muffin or bread recipe. I found this recipe on Pinterest via askchefs.net After reading the ingredients list, I decided on this bread because it looked like it would be moist and it definitely is! The bread is super moist, with chunks of strawberries and a hint of cinnamon. I added some chocolate chips on top to one of the loaves for a little bit of a change and that turned out to be good as well. I didn't add the pecans to mine. I'll definitely make this bread again!

Strawberry Bread: 2 loaves

2 c fresh strawberries
3 1/8 c flour
2 c sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 c veggie oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 c chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 2 9x5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spay. Slice strawberries and place in a bowl, sprinkled with sugar; set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl; mix well. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until ingredients are just moistened. Stir in pecans, if using. Divide batter into pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn loaves out and cool completely.




Strawberries and sugar...






Everything mixed together...






Ready for the oven...






Fresh from the oven...






Sliced and ready to eat! Enjoy...

Cucumber, Lemon & Ginger Water

I tried a new water mixture last night. I tasted it today and it's really good. It kind of reminds me of the water you drink at the spa. My mom had sent me an email a couple days ago with a new concoction she had made-she had made some water with with orange, lemon and lime slices & ginger in it. I think I'll try that next.

Cucumber, Lemon & Ginger Water:

1/2 cucumbers, sliced
1 lemon, sliced, seeds removed
2-3 pieces fresh ginger, skin sliced off

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, fill with water and let sit overnight.




Everything put together...






Ready to drink...

Grandma's Rhubarb Crunch

For the last couple of springs, my mom has made up this yummy dessert that came from my grandmother-her mom. I had copied down several of her recipes a couple years ago so when I found some rhubarb in Whole Foods, I decided to make it this year. I didn't get around to it and when I went to my parent's over Memorial Day weekend, I decided to make it there instead, with the help of my mom. Come to find out, that my grandma's recipe had originally come from a Farm's Journal Country Cookbook, as had most of her other recipes as well. My mom found the book after my grandma died and claimed it. Not all of her recipes were from the book, but I guess most were.

This dessert is so good..nice and light and fruity. You can mix strawberries or raspberries into the rhubarb mixture if you'd like, I only used rhubarb this time.

Grandma's Rhubarb Crunch:

*Crumb Topping

1 c sifted flour
3/4 c uncooked rolled oats
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon

*Fruit Mixture

4 c diced rhubarb
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 c water
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together the crumb topping ingredients until crumbly. Press 1/2 of the crumbs into a greased 9x13 inch pan. In a small saucepan, combine the fruit mixture. Cook, stirring, until thick and clear, about 5-8 minutes. Pour over the crust. Top with the remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve warm.




The book my Grandma used for pretty much everything...






The copyright of 1959!...






Filling mixed together...






Bottom crust...






Filling that's ready...






Filling poured on top...






Crumbs on top ready for the oven...






Enjoy!

Fruit Squares

I found this recipe in a Eating Well magazine and it seemed like a really good Spring dessert. With Easter coming up, I decided to try making these. The recipe had 3 different variations for these bars: Blueberry bars, Strawberry-Rhubarb bars & Raspberry bars. My plan was to make a double batch in the same pan, not realizing that the flavors would blend together to make a marble effect. It turned out okay in the end though. I had originally wanted to make raspberry and strawberry-rhubarb but it's not the season for rhubarb and Whole foods didn't have any fresh or frozen rhubarb so I went with blueberry instead.

I made this dessert the night before Easter at like 1 am because I had bowling leagues that night and I went out with some friends after. It was either make it when I got home and sleep in in the morning or wake up early to make it..I opted for the sleeping in part! I didn't realize what a process it was to make! But it was definitely worth it in the end! I had a lot of leftovers so I should have just made the one batch but it worked out okay. Some of my family said it was too tart while others seemed to like the tartness of it just fine.

I'm posting the single batch so if you decide to make a double batch like I did, just double the measurements!

Fruit Squares (9 squares) (Eating Well):

*Crust

1 c white whole-wheat flour
1/3 c powdered sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp butter

3 c blueberries or 2 c chopped strawberries with 2 c chopped rhubarb or 3 c raspberries
1/3 c water
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/3 c sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs

Garnishes: Sliced raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8-in square baking sheet with foil and coat it with cooking spray. Combine flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt in med bowl. Add oil and butter; using your fingertips, blend into flour mixture until evenly combined. The mixture will be a little crumbly. Firmly press dough into prepared pan. Bake until just barely beginning to brown, 15-20 min.

While crust is cooking, combine fruit of your choice and water in med saucepan. Cook over high, stirring, until fruit is mostly broken down, 4-6 min. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve and press on solids to extract all the juice; discard solids. You need 1 c strained juice; remove any extract or add a little water if you are short. Stir in lemon or lime juice into strained fruit juice.

Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt in med bowl until well combined. Whisk in eggs. Stir into the juice mixture. Pour filling over crust.

Bake until just set, 15-20 min. The center should still be a little jiggly-it will firm up as it cools. Let cool to room temp on a wire rack about 1 1/2 hours. Using foil, gently lift bars out of pan. Cut into 9 squares. Garnish with fresh fruit and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.




Blueberry & Raspberry filling...






The flavors blending...






Fresh from the oven...






All decorated...






Enjoy!...

Fruit Cups

I made these for our annual girls' holiday dinner in February. I hosted the fun dinner so I wanted to make something pretty simple for a dessert. I had also made the green bean casserole from another post on here. I found this recipe online...sorry I can't remember where! But it was super easy..I made the cheesecake filling the day before and I threw it all together pretty quick. I accidently used too much melted chocolate but it tasted okay. The girls' seemed to love them, so that's all that mattered!

I also forgot how much it makes but I believe I used two packages of pre-made phyllo cups.

Recipe:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c confectioners sugar
1-2 c white chocolate, melted
1-2 c milk chocolate, melted
Your choice of fresh fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries

Beat cream cheese with mixer until smooth. Blend in sugar in small amounts until well creamed together. Add sour cream and blend well. Spoon mixture into a zip-loc plastic bag and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

When ready to use, cut the tip off one corner of the bag and squeeze into the prepared phyllo cups. Top with berries. Once chocolates are melted, pour into two zip-loc bags, cut the corners off and drizzle over the cups.

Enjoy!

Chirimoya

So, I love to try new foods, at least once anyways. When I was at the Asian store looking for ingredients for my egg rolls, I came across this fruit at the checkout counter. I asked the salesgirl what it was and she had no idea, so of course I bought it. I didn't think it was quite ripe yet so I let it sit out for a couple of days. I also didn't know how to eat it or what it was supposed to look like on the inside.
While at my parents, I convinced my mom to try it with me. Here's what it looked like on the inside.

After some research online, I finally figured out it was called a Chirimoya. I can't even begin to tell you what it tasted like. It was kind of custardy and soft, with just a hint of a sour/fleshy flavor. I didn't think it was that good. It's also a Spanish fruit, which is a little odd that it was at an Asian market. Here's a good link I found online about it: http://spanishfood.about.com/od/seasonalspanishfoods/a/chirimoyas.htm

My mom is going to try and plant the seeds at her place just to see what happens. I'll keep you updated!