Honey Lime Fruit Salad

Honey Lime Fruit Salad

*Note: This fruit salad is best served right away (or at least within an hour of making) because the strawberries tend to stain the light colored fruit. It doesn’t affect the taste at all but is a slight bummer for presentation.

*Serves 4

1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained well
1 can mandarin oranges, drained well
2-3 ripe kiwi, peeled and sliced into thick half moons
1 cup green grapes, halved
1 cup strawberries, quartered
Zest from one lime, about 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

Combine the fruit in a medium-large serving bowl. Add the lime zest and poppy seeds, if using, and gently toss. Drizzle the honey over the fruit and again, gently mix until the fruit is evenly coated with the honey. Serve.

Strawberry-Lime Cream Cake

I made this cake for EJ and Jamies B day.  It was very good!

Strawberry-Lime Cream Cake

*Note: this recipe looks like it has a lot of steps, and it does, but each can be made in advance and the cake assembled later. Plus, none of the steps are very difficult. The end result is worth it, trust me!

*Serves 12

White Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour the batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. (I lined the bottom of mine with a parchment circle and greased the top of the parchment circle.) Bake the cakes for 28-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. Don’t overbake or the cakes will be dry. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a butter knife and remove the cakes from the pans to cool completely.

Strawberry Syrup/Puree:
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Lime Cream:
*Note: you can substitute 1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberry jam for the strawberry puree
4 limes, for 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Zest and juice the limes into a medium bowl. You should have about 1/2 cup lime juice. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Add the whipping cream and beat until medium-stiff peaks form. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Whipped Cream Frosting:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 envelope (about 2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
4 tablespoons water

In a small bowl, place the water and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let the mixture stand for 3-4 minutes until the gelatin has thickened. Microwave for 20-30 seconds until the gelatin dissolves and the mixture is warm. Remove from the microwave and let the mixture cool to room temperature (don’t let it set up!). In a large bowl, whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until slightly thickened. While beating slowly, gradually add the cooled gelatin to the whipped cream mixture. Whip at high speed until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cake, slice each cooled cake round in half horizontally to form 4 cake circles. Place one cake layer on a cake plate and spread an even layer of strawberry syrup over the top. Spread a thick layer of lime cream over the jam, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge as the top cake layers will press the cream out toward the edges. Repeat the same layering process with the next two layers. Top with the final cake layer and frost the entire cake with the whipped cream frosting. Garnish with fresh limes and strawberries, if desired. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving to let the cake set up.

Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna

Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version

*Note: this lasagna isn’t super heavy on the sauce, just enough to plump up the pasta noodles perfectly and help everything hold their shape (not dry…just not overly saucy). I split all the ingredients (sauce, cheese, noodles) into three layers but feel free to simplify and just halve everything and do two layers only. Less noodles, more sauce. It’s up to you. Also, the ingredient list looks long, but it comes together quickly, especially with the no-boil lasagna noodles.

*Serves 6-8

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
dash of ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ cup frozen corn kernels, white or yellow
1 (6 ounce) can olives, chopped
9-12 no-boil lasagna noodles (I love the Barilla brand), or boil and drain regular lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream, light or regular
8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan and set aside.

In a large 12-inch skillet, brown the ground beef or turkey and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the grease. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste. Stir to combine well and cook for about a minute. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, cayenne, oregano and salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Add the black beans, corn and olives. Mix well and heat through, about 5 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer three (or four, depending on the brand of noodles you use) noodles over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles. Dollop 1/3 of the sour cream and 1/3 of the cream cheese (just pinch off chunks and toss them on top) across the sauce. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheeses. Repeat the layers two more times until all the ingredients are used.

Cover the lasagna with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes more, until the lasagna is hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into and serving.

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

Haven't posted in a while but I am still cooking. I made this without the chicken and added green peppers instead of the colored (colored peppers are blasted expensive!) last night and had it as a side. I love food...

8 oz Linguine
4 C shredded greens: any combo of napa cabbage, romaine lettuce or even spinach
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
3 C diced grilled chicken
honey roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing
1/2 C peanut butter1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 t sesame oil
1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
3 T honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T minced ginger
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t kosher salt*
2-3 t sriracha chili sauce*
2-4 T water*

Avocado and Orange Salad

I made this last night it was sooooo delish!!  I also added grilled chicken, I just brushed it with the dressing and threw it on the grill, chopped it up and added it to the salad. This is a keeper!


Avocado and Orange Salad
adapted from Joy the Baker
serves 4-6 people as side salad


1 large head or Romain lettuce, chopped
2 Navel oranges, segmented
1-2 ripe avocados, sliced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp honey
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Greek yogurt (you can also use 1 egg yolk)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:  


Place rinsed and chopped Romain lettuce in large serving bowl.  To segment the oranges, cut about 1/2" off the top and bottom of the orange, then slice down the sides of the orange to cut off the orange peel.  Slice in between the natural orange segments, at an angle and clean orange slices should pop out.  Add orange slices to salad.  Slice up the avocado, and add to salad.  


To make the dressing, combine all ingredients except the olive oil, salt and pepper in jar, tightly sealed tupperware container, or salad dressing jar and give it a good shake.  Remove lid and slowly add in the olive oil, whisking as you add it.  Finally, add salt and pepper, then give dressing another good whisk or shake (with the lid on!).  Drizzle over salad, and enjoy!  Extra dressing will last in the refrigerator up to a week.

Fruit Nachos

These are the heavenly fruit nachos we made for our girls night. Super yummy. This does make a lot, so unless your making for a big crowd you can half the recipe. Or you can just have leftovers!

Lemon Raspberry Fruit Nachos

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces fresh or frozen thawed raspberries (about 2 cups)


• 1/4 cup water


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1 tablespoon lemon juice


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 10 medium sized (8 to 10 inch diameter) flour tortillas


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 teaspoon cinnamon


• 8 ounces Neufchatel or light cream cheese, softened


• 1/4 cup lemon curd


• 6 cups diced fresh fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries,


• Strawberries, peaches, kiwi fruit, etc.


• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Method:

Serves 4 to 6; Total time 60 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small saucepan, bring raspberries, water and sugar to a boil. Stir and boil until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing firmly with a rubber spatula so as to leave only seeds in strainer. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Taste and add a little additional sugar if desired for sweetness. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, cut each tortilla into eight triangles with a pizza cutter. Hold each triangle under running water, wetting each side. Place wet tortilla triangles on a sheet of wax paper. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle tortilla triangles generously with sugar mixture. Turn tortilla triangles over and sprinkle other side generously. Place coated tortilla triangles in a single layer on a wire rack that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and placed on a baking sheet. (You will need to bake in two batches.) Bake 5 minutes, then turn triangles over. Cook another 5 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy, watching closely the last few minutes so as not to burn. Remove from oven and cool.

4. Remove raspberry syrup from refrigerator and stir, adding a little water if necessary to make a medium syrup. In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese and lemon curd, adding a little water if necessary to make the consistency of sour cream.

5. Spread tortilla crisps on a large serving platter. Drizzle first with cream cheese mixture and then with raspberry syrup. Sprinkle diced fruit over top. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar as a garnish. Serve immediately.

Cowboy Quesadillas

I got this receipe from Our Best Bites this week and we tried it out. And they were wonderful and wonderfully simple. Even my picky eater Michael asked for these a second time this week.

1/2 C white Rice

1/3 C black beans

1 cup diced cooked chicken ( I was out of fresh/frozen chicken so I used canned)

1/3 C fresh frozen corn kernels ( I used canned corn)

2/3 diced tomato ( I left this out because of my picky eater)

3 Tbs sliced green onion

1 1/2 C shredded cheese

1/4 C bbq sauce

6 small tortillas (fajita size, about 6'')

Dipping Sauce

Equal parts bbq sauce and ranch dressing

Combine rice, beans, chicken, corn, tomato, green onion and shredded cheese. Add bbq sauce adn stir to combine. Place about 1/3 C of mixture on half of each tortilla and fold over to close.

Heat skillet to medium heat on the stove top. When hot spray lightly with cooking spray. Place quesadillas in pan and cook for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp. Flip and repeat on opposite side. Let cool for a minute then get dipping! :)