Easy Winter Fresh Fruit Salad

Recipe found and adapted here

Fantastic fresh and healthy side dish for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinner to offset the typically heavy holiday foods. 

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup peeled and diced kiwi fruit

1 cup fresh mandarin orange segments 

1 cup diced apples or pears 

1 cup halved grapes 

½ cup fresh pomegranate seeds 

lemon juice (for apples/pears)

Place the fruit in a serving bowl. If using pears/apples toss them with a light squeeze of lemon juice before adding to the salad. 

Notes:

The fruit is very adaptable to what is in season and what you prefer. You’ll want about 5-6 cups total fruit (not including the pomegranate seeds). The lineup listed above is my favorite (I use pears when I can find delicious, ripe ones). 

Pomegranate Seeds: I personally think the pomegranate seeds are essential for this fruit salad – for color, texture, flavor and prettiness.

Loni's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons soda
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix ingredients and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Easy Baked Salmon

Recipe Found Here

4 salmon fillets - about 6 ounces each 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt - or to taste

¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper - just a pinch if using finely ground black pepper

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning blend - OR herbs de Provence, or ¼ teaspoon each dried thyme, parsley, oregano, and basil

1 medium lemon 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a large baking pan. 

Arrange salmon fillets on the baking sheet and season generously with salt and pepper. 

Stir together olive oil, garlic, herbs, and juice of 1/2 lemon. Spoon over salmon fillets being sure to rub all over the tops and sides of the salmon so it has no dry spots. 

Thinly slice remaining 1/2 of lemon and top each piece of salmon with a slice of lemon. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes until salmon is opaque and flaky when pulled apart with a fork. You can broil the last 1-2 minutes if desired. Garnish with fresh thyme or parsley if desired and serve.

Mango Salsa

The key to great salsa is dicing everything very small.

Recipe Found Here

3 ripe mangos, diced

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 

½ cup chopped red onion 

¼ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped 

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced 

1-2 large lime, juiced (about ¼ cup lime juice) 

⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste 

In a serving bowl, combine the prepared mango, bell pepper, onion, cilantro and jalapeño. 

Drizzle with the juice of one lime. 

Using a large spoon, stir the ingredients together. 

Season to taste with salt, and stir again. For best flavor, let the salsa rest for 10 minutes or longer.

Bakery Style Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Recipe Found Here 

Phyllis E. 

Crumb Topping

5 Tablespoons butter melted 

½ cup sugar 

½ cup flour 

½ cup rolled oats (aka old fashioned oats) 

¼ teaspoon salt 

For the Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour (King Arthur Gluten Free Flour)

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder 

½ teaspoon salt 

½ cup butter softened 

1 cup sugar 

2 large eggs 

½ cup buttermilk 

finely grated zest of 1 lemon 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries 

For the Glaze

3 Tablespoons lemon juice 

1 cup powdered sugar 

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners 

Make the crumb topping by combining the melted butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal and salt. Stir with a fork until crumbs form. Set aside. 

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium size bowl. Set aside. 

If using frozen blueberries, place them in a small bowl and return to freezer until ready to use. If using fresh berries, place in a small bowl and set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter for 1 minute until soft and fluffy. Add sugar and continue to beat for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time and beat just until incorporated. Add buttermilk, vanilla and lemon zest and mix on low until combined. 

Remove bowl from mixer. Add flour mixture and stir, by hand, until flour disappears. Do not over mix or muffins will be tough. Gently stir in blueberries. 

Divide mixture evenly in the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle with the crumb topping. 

Bake at 350˚F for 22 to 25 minutes or until light golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack. Drizzle lightly with the lemon glaze. 

For lemon glaze, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a medium size bowl. Stir with a fork or whisk until smooth.

Minted Lemon Ice

Danielle T.  
Makes 8 servings 

Can get creative with anything really…grapefruit or blood orange juice, probably could blend watermelon, or play around with different herbs like basil or cilantro, lavender with lemon is always good too vs the mint!

2 cups (loose) mint leaves 
1 1/4 cups water

1 cup sugar

3/4 cups lemon juice (personal preference for fresh squeezed)

3/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1-2 Tablespoons sugar

Combine first three ingredients in pot on stove over medium, stirring until sugar dissolves then let simmer on low for 5 - 8 minutes. Strain out mint leaves and pour into a shallow baking dish (9x13 works well). 

Let cool to room temp then stir in the lemon juice. Cover and freeze! Scrape with a fork to “shave” or ice” it.

The homemade whipped cream with it cuts the acidity of lemon juice…just whip it with the additional 1-2 Tablespoons sugar (can add in finely chopped mint leaves) in a stand mixer until holds peaks.

Scoop the lemon ice and whipped cream with thinly sliced strawberries.

Triple Chocolate Fudgy Brownies

Recipe Found HERE

1 cup granulated sugar (200g) 

1 cup brown sugar (200g), lightly packed 

3 eggs room temperature 

3/4 cup cocoa powder (75g) 

1 cup flour (120g) 

1 teaspoon salt (6g) 

1.5 cup dark chocolate chips (260g) (or whatever you prefer, semi-sweet, etc.)

1 cup melted butter (225g), unsalted 

1 tbsp coffee (15mL) (optional) 

1 tbsp vanilla extract (15mL) 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prep a 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and coffee then mix together well. 

Add the white and brown sugars to the mixture and whisk together well. 

Sift cocoa powder, flour, and salt into the bowl and mix until just combined 

Toss in chocolate chips (or chunks) and fold into the batter. 

Add batter to pan and smooth to the edges. You can add more chocolate chips to the top before baking if desired. 

Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the center is just set. DO NOT OVERBAKE, baby it at the end. You'll notice the center does not wiggle when the pan is moved. 

NOTES

Measure and prepare all your ingredients before starting to make the recipe even easier. 

Make sure to line your baking pan otherwise your brownies will stick to the pan, this is a super important tip! 

Make sure to sift your ingredients to avoid lumps where possible, cocoa powder can be quite lumpy. 

If you don't have an 8x8 inch pan for your brownies just use foil to create one or two walls for a smaller baking dish. Line with parchment and you'll be good to go! 

The batter is thick so spread it out to the corners of the baking pan as best you can but it'll level out in the oven. 

The coffee really helps to enhance the chocolate flavor, the brownies themselves don't have a strong coffee flavor but you can skip it if you want. 

You can add either chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to the top of your brownies but this is totally optional. 

I've made the recipe both ways but found the brownies to be a bit more photogenic without the additional chocolate on top. 

Don't over-bake your brownies. Unlike cake layers, brownies will not have a springy center and a skewer inserted into the center will not come out clean. Your brownies are done when the center is set and you see the top just begin to crack. The center will continue to bake and set after you remove the brownies from the oven so don't worry if they seem a bit fudgy. 

Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to your brownies will take away from that nice fudge-like texture. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. 

Storage and freezing - leftover brownies will keep well in the fridge for 4 days or can be frozen. Thaw completely before serving.

Red, White, & Blue Jell-O Cups

Recipe Found HERE

Great to make ahead. I got about 20 servings in 5 ounce cups.

(1) 6 ounce package of Strawberry Jell-O (or other red flavor) 

(2) 3 ounce packages of Berry Blue Jell-O 

(1) 8 ounce container of Cool Whip 

Maraschino cherries (with stems) 

Clear plastic cups 

Make the Berry Blue Jell-O according to the package instructions. Fill your cups 1/3 full with the Berry Blue Jell-O (I used about 1/3 cup for my cups). Place in fridge for 1 hour (or 10 minutes in the freezer if you're in a hurry). 

Fill cups another 1/3 full with Cool Whip, smoothing out the top. I used about 2 Tablespoons for my cups. Place in freezer. 

Make Strawberry Jell-O immediately. Let cool in fridge for 20 minutes. You don't want the Jell-O to solidify at all, you just need it to cool down so you can pour it on top of your Cool Whip without melting it. 

Remove cups from freezer and Jell-O from fridge. Fill the remainder of your cup with red Jell-O (leave a little bit of room at the top). Refrigerate for another 20 minutes or just until Jell-O starts to set slightly. 

OPTIONAL: Push one maraschino cherry with stem into the red Jell-O, leaving the stem stick out like a little firework. 

Refrigerate for another 30 minutes, or until Jell-O is firm. Enjoy!

Sunny's Sparkling Blueberry Drink

Recipe Found Here

4 cups blueberries 

2 Tablespoons lavender flower buds (substituted with mint leaves, add mint leaves to pitcher while cooling in fridge)

4 cups water 

2 cups sugar 

4 large lemons, juiced 

4 cups soda water 

Instructions In a medium sized pot, combine blueberries, lavender and 4 cups of water. Place on the stove on medium high heat and bring to a boil. 

Once the mixture reaches a boil, turn down heat to low and let simmer for 25 minutes. 

Add sugar and stir until it dissolves, then strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve into a mason jar. 

Squeeze the lemons and strain the juice and add it to the jar then refrigerate the syrup until it's cold. It's also a good idea to chill your soda water as well. 

When ready to serve, place the syrup in a large pitcher and add 4 cups of carbonated water. Serve immediately over ice. 

If desired, garnish with fresh lavender sprigs, a slice of lemon and fresh blueberries. Notes A single recipe makes 72 ounces or about 2 liters of soda. 

Notes:

To make a single glass of soda, the ratio of blueberry syrup to water is 5 parts syrup to 4 parts soda water. For a 6 ounce portion, it's easiest to use metric, so the recipe would be 100ml syrup and 80ml soda water. 

This beverage is quite rich and sweet so it doesn't lose it's punch when served over ice. If you'd like to serve it straight you may want to add additional soda water. 

Make it ahead! The syrup can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to a month.

Oven-Roasted Salmon

Recipe Found HERE

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter 

4 tablespoons minced chervil, parsley or dill 

1 salmon fillet, 1½ to 2 pounds 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Lemon wedges 

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place the butter and half the herb in a roasting pan just large enough to fit the salmon and place it in the oven. Heat about 5 minutes, until the butter melts and the herb begins to sizzle. 

Add the salmon to the pan, skin side up. Roast 4 minutes. Remove from the oven, then peel the skin off. (If the skin does not lift right off, cook 2 minutes longer.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper and turn the fillet over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper again. 

Roast 3 to 5 minutes more, depending on the thickness of the fillet and the degree of doneness you prefer. Cut into serving portions, spoon a little of the butter over each and garnish with the remaining herb. Serve with lemon wedges.

Chicken (noodle) Soup

This is a great soup when you have a cold and need something to help you feel better. You can leave out the noodles for a low carb meal. I added some garlic powder or you could add 2 fresh cloves. 

Recipe Found HERE

1 Tablespoon butter 

½ cup chopped onion 

½ cup chopped celery 

4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth 

1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth 

½ pound chopped cooked chicken breast 

1 ½ cups egg noodles (optional) 

1 cup sliced carrots 

 ½ teaspoon dried basil 

 ½ teaspoon dried oregano 

 salt and ground black pepper to taste 

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. 

Add chicken broth, vegetable broth, chicken, egg noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.