Strawberries and Cream Valentine Tarts

Aren't these little guys just too adorable?  When my girlfriend came over on Saturday, we dreamed up this delicious little dessert, and I'm so excited to share the recipe with you!

I didn't get a chance to write this up until just now because I've been fairly preoccupied this week, with Bo's mom and her little dogs arriving on Monday afternoon.  It's actually been a fairly smooth transition so far, but I haven't had a roommate in such a long time, that it's going to take some adjusting for us all.  But, I'll admit to playing dirty - I whipped up this recipe for her on Tuesday evening.  Major points right off the bat! :)

Strawberry Lime Granitas

Yum, yum, yum, yum, YUM!  This little recipe is just way too easy and delicious to skip!

It's a bit like an amazing strawberry-lime slushy popsicle you eat with a spoon.  And with only 3 ingredients, and no need for an ice cream maker, it's seriously your new favorite thing.  You can mix this up with other fruits (watermelon, anyone?!) and citrus; just follow the same basic steps.

Sparkling Strawberry-Mint Limeade

A few things about this recipe:

1.  YUM!  I mean, I kinda knew I would love this recipe because, hello?  Champagne + strawberries + lime + mint!  That combo is just so yummy and perfect for sipping on a patio.

Food Rule 78 and Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum Yummmmmm!  Is it obvious how much I love this recipe?

As I've mentioned in the past (here and here), I really struggle with getting more fruit into my diet.  Veggies?  Delicious!  Fruit?  Not so much.  So anytime I find a way to eat fruit that has me reaching for seconds and gobbling up leftovers, it's a definite keeper.  Something about these tiny pieces of mixed fruit with a touch of apricot preserves leaves me feeling so happy.  And those baked cinnamon chips aren't anything to shake a stick at either.  I'm so excited to make this recipe on Sunday for the Super Bowl party we're hosting!

Healthy and delicious and perfect for sharing - talk about a triple threat recipe!

Please Don't Ask Me Which Teams Are Playing,

         

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips
adapted from Allrecipes

2 kiwis
2 apples, peeled and cored
8 oz. peaches (frozen & thawed work perfectly)
1 lb. strawberries
3 Tbsp. all-fruit preserves (apricot flavor is fantastic)

10, 10" flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
1/4 c. cinnamon sugar mixture (1/4 c. sugar + 1 Tbsp. cinnamon)

Finely dice all fruit and toss together in a large bowl.  Stir in fruit preserves and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the cinnamon chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray and sprinkle with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Flip tortilla over and repeat for other side.  Using a pizza cutter, cut tortilla into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Tortilla chips will continue to crisp up as they cool.  Serve with chilled fruit mixture.  Makes 8 servings.

         

Fruit Salsa Ingredient Lineup:

Cinnamon Chips Ingredient Lineup:

Food Rule 68 and Banana Pudding

Attention, please!  Raise your hand if you're incapable of eating just one cookie off the still piping hot baking sheet.

Anyone??

Please tell me that I'm not the only one who has zero willpower when it comes to a tray full of warm cookies!  I can be utterly diligent with my meals and snacks all day, but put a tray of homemade cookies in front of me, and I'll inhale 7 of them before I've realized that my hand was even moving to grab them.  It's awful.  So, you can imagine how much I struggle with this food rule:

And I'm pretty sure that it doesn't mean I should grab all 7 cookies at once, haha.  One easy way to keep desserts portion controlled is to divide them into dishes as you make the recipe.  And what better portioned out - and pretty - dessert than a layered pudding?  Dividing this recipe into individual glasses keeps me from sneaking spoonfuls and not paying attention to how much I'm actually eating.  Perfect!

The other thing to note is that by using unsweetened almond milk instead of dairy milk, we shave nearly 200 calories off the recipe.  I use almond milk for a lot of things (ranch dressing, even), so I was excited to make a treat that was not only nondairy (aka "Sara-safe"), but one that saved me a few calories to boot.  You can go ahead and make this recipe using dairy milk or a mix of dairy and almond milk; it's up to you.

Yummmmmmm,

         

Banana Pudding
adapted from Food Network magazine Jan/Feb 2012

2 c. plain unsweetened almond milk
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
pinch of kosher salt
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large bananas
6 graham crackers, broken into 1-inch pieces (or Nilla wafer cookies)
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder or cinnamon

Heat the almond milk in a saucepan over medium heat until almost simmering, whisking often.  Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch, salt, sugar, and egg in a medium heatproof bowl. Temper the egg mixture:  Pour about half of the hot milk into the bowl and whisk vigorously until smooth. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking vigorously, until thick and starting to bubble, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool, stirring occasionally.  The pudding will continue to thicken as it cools.

While the pudding is cooling, cut the bananas into thin slices. Layer a few banana slices, a few pieces of graham cracker and 2 tablespoons of the prepared pudding in each of 4 glasses; sprinkle with cocoa or cinnamon, then repeat to make 2 more layers. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour. Makes 4 servings.

       

Ingredient Lineup:

Tempering the eggs isn't as tricky as it may seem!

Just think of when your hands are frozen on a cold day, and the last thing you should do

is put them straight into hot water.  Ditto for eggs!

You'll put a little of the hot mixture into the cooler eggs, whisking to mix in evenly.  

Then you'll whisk the warmed up egg mixture into the pot on the burner
to bring the entire milk-egg liquid up to boiling. Tempering accomplished!

Strawberry Mojitos

We have a small patch of mint plants in our window planter box, and one blazing hot evening, Bo got tired of my whining and whipped up these drinks for me us.  I love mojitos, and it seems like I've had some pretty terrible ones at restaurants and bars.  How hard could it be?  Not very, when you have Bo making them for you :)

Enjoy!

Strawberry Mojitos
adapted from A Cup of Mai

2 oz. simple syrup
3 fresh strawberries
5 mint leaves
1 lime
2 oz. light rum
soda water

In a chilled glass, muddle the simple syrup, strawberries, and mint leaves with the back of a spoon, crushing the strawberries and mint leaves well.

Squeeze the juice from the lime into the glass, add the rum, and stir well.  Fill glass with ice and top off with soda water.  Makes 1 drink.



Simple Syrup
adapted from Allrecipes

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water

Whisk together sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is clear, approximately 3 minutes.

Cool syrup to room temperature and store sealed in the refrigerator.   Makes 1 cup (8oz.).

 

Strawberry Yum Yum Dessert

In my line of work I am exposed to the public every day. I kind of think of my job as bartenderish. I get to hear it all. Fights. Make up lunches. Business meetings. Gossip sessions. I try to mind my own business as much as possible...but let's be honest here: Some of you don't care who hears.

The best part about waiting tables is that I get to know some of you. Enough that you are willing to share family stories, celebrations and even recipes.

This recipe came from a couple that visits the restaurant every month of so. They are a really cute couple and while they had differing opinions about how this recipe was made, therefore making this recipe an experiment.

One said 1 cup of pop, the other said 2. One said no milk, the other was sure it was included. I went with the woman's version thinking there was no way she would be wrong.

She was.

My cake was a bit on the wet side from too much pop and the banana creme topping was a bit grainy thanks to adding straight powdery pudding mix to my whip creme.

It Was Still Awesome. This will become one of my go to cakes. But next time I will go with the actual directions from a local TV station and a gal who goes by Kitchen Kimberly. She calls this Strawberry Yum Yum Dessert.

Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 oz.) box strawberry gelatin
1 c. boiling water
1 c. strawberry flavored soda
1 c. milk
1 (3.4 oz.) box instant banana cream pudding mix
1 (8 oz.) tub whipped topping
Freshly sliced strawberries, to taste
Optional garnish: Fresh sprig of mint

1. Bake yellow cake according to package directions using a 9 x 13-inch pan; cool in pan 15 minutes, then use a skewer or the tines of a fork to poke holes at ½-inch intervals all over the cake.

Or you can use a wooden spoon because that is what's within reach...

2. Mix the strawberry gelatin with 1 cup of boiling water for 2 minutes or until completely dissolved; stir in the cup of strawberry soda. Slowly and evenly pour the mixture over the cake; cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, if desired.

 

3. Mix 1 cup of milk with 1 box of instant banana pudding; stir until thickened. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread this mixture over the chilled cake.

4. Slice strawberries over the top, arranging in an overlapping fashion, if desired, or garnish each piece of cake with sliced strawberries.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Kimberley's Tips:
• The banana cream topping is also delicious without the cake! Enjoy it as a fruit dip for fresh strawberries or other seasonal fruits.
• The variations on this recipe are endless! Try white cake with orange gelatin and orange soda, then use cheesecake instant pudding mix for the topping; garnish with fresh or canned orange slices.
• Find more great recipes in my cookbooks! All three of my books are available on my website: www.kitchenkimberley.com

Stuffed Strawberries

Hi there!  This delicious little recipe is super fast to whip up and and only requires a few ingredients.  I thought that it'd be a cute little treat for Valentine's Day.  Or for tomorrow, even, or for breakfast, or for an after school snack, or for no reason at all :)  The stuffed strawberries taste fancier than they are, and when you drizzle them with melted Dove chocolate, they're beyond yummy.

And, wanna know a secret?  You can use lowfat or fat free cream cheese in them, so that your only real guilt comes from the powdered sugar.  And maybe that Dove chocolate.

Enjoy!




Stuffed Strawberries
adapted from Allrecipes

20 strawberries, rinsed and stems sliced off
8oz. cream cheese, softened *
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste **

Make a cut 3/4 of the way down of each berry, from the tip toward the stem end.  Then make a second, perpendicular cut so that each berry has an X cut on its tip.

Beat together remaining ingredients until smooth.  Fill a piping bag (or quart-sized ziploc with a snipped corner).  Pipe cream cheese mixture into each strawberry, and optionally, drizzle with melted chocolate.  Keep refrigerated.

* I used lowfat cream cheese, and it tasted amazing.  You could also sub in Tofutti to make this vegan.

** or 1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1 Tbsp. orange liqueur or amaretto or a million other flavorings.

Ingredient Lineup:

(And, a particularly wicked one with Dove

dark chocolate drizzled over the top.)

Easy Peasy Popsicles

It seems to be heating up everywhere around the country right now, so I thought we could all use some easy - and relatively healthy - cooling off.  Basically, all you need to make popsicles at home is fruit, a blender, and a popsicle mold.  The directions are nearly always:  Blend, Pour, Freeze.  And the recipes can be modified and changed up a thousand different ways.

I opted to make a creamy coconutty popsicle because it sounded just so yum.  The Limber de Coco recipe ended up tasting like frozen rice pudding - Yum!  Because I limit my dairy, I may try making them next time with all coconut milk, or just substituting almond milk for the evaporated milk.  I gave this one a 4 Spoons.

The Berry popsicles are yummy and definitely an easy way to get in a ton of fruit.  They aren't as sweet as a grocery-store popsicle, so you can add more honey if you like.  I rated these a 4 Spoons.  I might try making them with strawberries next.

The Prosecco popsicles were a great idea in theory.  I think my mistake was in using a Prosecco that I don't absolutely love.  I'm pretty sure that if I made them with my favorite Moscato, they'd be to-die-for.  Yes, you can still taste the champagne flavor when you pull them out of the freezer.  So, if you love champagne, these could be fun.  I rated these a 3.5 Spoons (probably a 4 Spoons with my Moscato).

My popsicle mold is a cheapy from Ikea.  But I've seen them at craft stores, too.  Here's a link for snazzy ones onlines.  I'm seriously tempted to order them.  I'd be the coolest non-mom on the block, right? :)   Popsicle Molds on Amazon

Enjoy!

My favorites: Berry and Coconut Cream

Berry Popsicles

adapted from this lady

1 pint blueberries

3 Tbsp. agave or honey

1/2 100% fruit juice

squeeze of lemon juice

pinch salt

Dump all ingredients into your blender or food processor and blend to make a slurry.  Pour into your popsicle mold and freeze 5 hours or until solid.

Limber de Coco (Coconut Cream Popsicles)

courtesy of Tasty Kitchen

7 oz coconut milk (1/2 the can)

6 oz evaporated milk (1/2 the can)
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. shredded coconut, optional
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg yolk

Whisk all ingredients and pour into your popsicle mold.  Freeze 5 hours or until solid.  (Yes, there's an egg in here.  Crazy!  The original recipe says you don't have to use it, but I figured, why not.  I love raw cookie dough and egg nog; what's not to lose.)




Prosecco Popsicles
adapted from this lady
2 peaches, sliced
1 c. strawberries (I used frozen, whole strawberries)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 bottle Prosecco (next time, I'll use Moscato)

Dump fruit, sugar, and a splash of Prosecco into your blender or food processor.  Blend until you have a slurry.  Stir in remaining Prosecco.  Pour into your popsicle mold and freeze 5 hours, or until solid.




The Prosecco popsicles expanded the most.  Note to self: When making popsicles with fizzy alcohol, don't fill the mold as high as usual.

Voila!