Grape and Pear Galette

Pies are my favorite.  Easy pies are even more my favorite. And this rustic grape pear galette is EASY. I love coming up with a new pie recipe but I have been out of pie creating commission for a year. Just a little over a year ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer and frankly I have had very limited energy to think up a new recipe much less even bake. For about 6 months all food tasted weird or not at all as I went through chemo. I am in remission now but suffering from some back issues. So, when I picked up these pretty little green grapes from the farmer's market and they along with my pears started to be a little ripe -- as in the grapes may have started to smell like a winery -- I decided I would make an easy galette for Sunday dessert. 

So this little galette is a HUGE milestone for me. I haven't touched my blog forever. But I am on my way back to normal and that means coming up with a new pie/tart/galette recipe. 

I didn't try to make it pretty. Hence the rustic. But it looks kind of beautiful to me and there are only 5 ingredients because I used a puff pastry. The ingredients are not measured exactly. 

It turned out absolutely delicious. I couldn't even get a pic before we ate half the galette. 

GRAPE and PEAR GALETTE

1 puff pastry slightly rolled out 

1 1/2 Cups green grapes sliced in half

2 anjou pears thinly sliced

1/4 cup apricot jam

2 TBS water

egg beaten -- optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and place puff pastry on parchment paper. 

Mix apricot jam and water till fully combined. 

Place pears and grapes in a bowl with jam mixture and gently coat pear and grapes.

Mound pears and grapes in center of puff pastry with about a two inch space around the edges.

Fold pastry up over edges of fruit. 

Brush with mixed egg if desired. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

Serve warm. 

Coconut Apricot Ice Cream

 

It is apricot season. I bought a whole box because I NEED apricot jam to last me through the year. But I could not resist making some ice cream with these little beauties. 

We have a lactose intolerant child in our home. And one of the tragedies of summer is how often she has to pass up ice cream. It really is not fair to an 8 year old. So, I decided to make a dairy free version for her. 

Instead of milk or cream I used coconut milk (from the can not the carton) to make this fruity treat for her and the family. I really love it. It has more of a creamy sherbet consistency than homemade ice cream. That just makes me love it all the more. I actually prefer frozen yogurt, gelato and sherbet over ice cream most days. It is just a little lighter and refreshing.

I also love the hint of coconut. I have declared my love of all things coconut in the past on this blog. So we won't go there today. But the coconut flavor is subtle and not overpowering at all in this ice cream.

Eat this plain or add some chocolate syrup. 

Doesn't it just look like summer in a bowl?

Coconut Apricot Ice Cream

3 Cups of apricots chopped

1/2 Cup of water

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Cup of coconut milk (from a can, not lite)

3 drops of almond extract

1 tsp of lemon juice

Directions:

Cook apricots with the water in a small saucepan over medium heat until tender, about 8 minutes, Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until fully dissolved. Let cool until room temperature.Plan on letting it rest about 15 to 20 minutes.

Once cool, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Stir in the cream, almond extract, and lemon juice.

Chill mixture  in fridge for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
It will be really soft serve straight from the ice cream maker. To harden place in a freezer container and freeze for an hour or two. 

Banana Cinnamon Dessert Enchiladas

Happy Cinco de Mayo from my house to yours. But truth be told I am so going to be eating this dessert throughout the year. Because if there is one thing I always have on hand, it is ripening bananas, flour tortillas and cinnamon. And of course it was so delicious
 
 I am always looking for a healthier dessert and something to do with bananas that have gotten past the point where my family will eat them. We like our bananas nice and firm around here. This recipe turned out even better than I hoped -- so delish. Next time I may add a little Nutella inside the tortillas. We ate ours without any chocolate sauce. We were out. But really a few crumbly choco chips over the top and it was just perfect.

p.s. Maybe my definition of healthier is different than yours. But we changed out evaporated milk for coconut milk (for the lactose intolerant girl) There is no cream, no butter and really not a ton of sugar in each dessert. These are low fat but they don't taste that way. They are my definition of an amazing healthier dessert.

BANANA CINNAMON DESSERT ENCHILADAS
Makes 6. 

• 3 ripe bananas 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 6 flour tortillas
• 1 cup sugar (This is a lot. You will have leftovers for cinnamon/sugar toast)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 cup coconut milk or evaporated milk
• 1/4 Cup chocolate chips

How to make it

•  Mix together sugar and spices.
• Peel bananas and cut in half lengthwise;
• brush bananas with lemon juice.
• Place one banana half at end of tortilla;
• sprinkle with sugar mixture.
• Roll tortillas and brush with milk. 
• Sprinkle top with sugar mixture after brushing the top and sides with evaporated milk.

• Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15 minutes in a well greased pan. Add chocolate chips on top for last 5 minutes. (they will get all crumbly)
• Remove from pan immediately and serve with hot fudge or chocolate sauce, or ice cream or just plain. They are decadent enough without any topping.

Triple Berry Muffins

I had the most prolific boysenberry and blackberry bushes this year. We made jam, syrup, pies, sorbet and we ate a ton of berries right off the bush. It was my garden's crowning achievement this year. 

But we are finally winding down. And I am not pulling these jeweled babies off by the bowl full anymore. So it was time for some muffins. A nice surprise for my kiddos (I never make breakfast in the morning.) I also had some raspberries from the roadside fruit stand. I wanted something with a little lemon twist and so I googled blackberry muffins and found this tasty recipe from Southern With A Twist. 

I made a few twists of my own. I wanted three berries in my muffins and I needed them lactose free (for the lactose intolerant kiddo). So we changed out the milk and margarine. We have discovered that muffins and cookies are often the culprit of her flare ups when we eat out or travel.

• MUFFINS:
• 1-1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/3 c vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 c soy milk
• Juice from half a lemon
• 1 1/2 c fresh blackberries, boysenberries and raspberries.
• 
  
• TOPPING:
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1/3 c all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c butter, room temp (I used a lactose free margarine)
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 8 muffin cups or line with muffin liners and set aside.
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest and baking powder in a medium bowl.
3. In another bowl, combine vegetable oil, egg and milk, and mix with a fork. Add lemon juice. Pour into the flour mixture and mix well. Fold in blackberries. Mixture will be quite sticky, so use caution not to mash the berries when folding in. Fill muffin cups to the top.
4. To make crumb topping, mix together sugar, flour and butter (margarine). Mix with fork and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pineapple Grape Bruschetta

Pantry Recipe:

I love the word bruschetta. Mostly because it means some sweet or savory or spicy mixture all served up on a bite size piece of toast. I am especially enamored with fruit bruschetta lately. I dreamed up this recipe because 1. I just bought a case of canned pineapple (my family goes through that stuff) and 2. it just sounded so perfect for spring and Easter. I love that this fresh tasting bruschetta can rely on a pantry staple like canned pineapple.

This recipe makes good use of a stale baguette or any baguette bread and one of my favorite spice mixes: Cinnamon and Sugar. I always keep a jar of half cinnamon and half sugar mixed together on hand for those cinnamon sugar moments and this is one of them.

I really think these will be lovely on a platter for your Easter celebration for breakfast, brunch or dinner. 

Pineapple Grape Bruschetta.

1 can of pineapple in 100 % pineapple juice

1 cup of grapes sliced in 1/2

4 oz of vanilla yogurt. ( I used a Greek vanilla honey yogurt)

1 tsp of honey (you don't need this if your yogurt is honey flavored)

About 20 slices of baugette bread sliced 1 inch thick

About 1 tsp Cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Butter baguettes and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place on a cookie sheet and place in oven until lightly golden.

Remove and set aside. You can leave these without topping until about 10 minutes before ready to serve to keep bread crisp.

Combine yogurt and honey.

Chop pineapples and add to sliced grapes. Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon sugar. 

Top prepared toasts with a tsp of yogurt and then about a TB of fruit mixture. 

Serve.

Sweet & Sassy Lime Desserts

Happy St. Paddy's Day tomorrow. Oh how I love this holiday. Yesterday I had my annual lunch with friends where I served up some tasty green eats. It was a blast. This month for my online magazine we featured Sweet and Sassy Limes.

Lime is absolutely one of my favorite spring flavors. Of course I am going to ask you to visit the page for the whole article but I wanted to share the recipe for lemon lime meringue waffles with you here. My 13 year old son loves to make homemade waffles. I used this to my advantage one Sunday when I invited him to cook the waffles for our Sunday dinner. He wanted to take it up a notch. He found this recipe for lemon meringue waffles and I said Oh we need to add some lime to the mix.. Here is what we came up with. And they were just plain fun to make and eat. My husband said these taste like lemon meringue pies. So we should probably have eaten them for dessert but we gobbled them up for dinner.

Waffles
4 TB unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp double acting baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup sugar
Juice and grated zest of one lemon (separated)
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp of lime zest (optional)
1 cup of lime curd
Meringue (recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Preheat your waffle iron.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar.

Pour the lemon juice into a large measuring cup that holds at least 2 Cups. Add enough milk to measure 1 ½ cups. Add lemon juice to a bowl with eggs and zest. Beat well.

Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients, and whisk until just combined. Add butter.

Lightly spray your waffle iron and pour ½ to 2/3 cups of batter onto grids. Spread with a spatula if needed (this is a thicker batter). Bake according to your waffle iron’s settings.

Place finished waffles in single layer on cookie sheet. Spread lime curd onto waffles within ½ inch of the edge. Spread meringue on top of filling. Using a butter knife create swirls and peaks.

Bake waffles until the meringue peaks are browned, about 6 to 8 minutes.

 Meringue topping
6 large egg whites
1/8 tsp salt
¾ cup of sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl whip the egg whites and salt until they form soft peaks. Slowly (a tablespoon at a time add the sugar, while continuing to beat. Whip until meringue holds firm peaks and has a satin sheen.

Cherry Whole Grain Pancakes

Please forgive me, I have been away for awhile. I mean who really wants to cook in the summer? And so I bring you something so easy it almost can't be counted as cooking.

This is really too simple to be a recipe. It's more like a review and a great idea. I am all about making your own pancake mix from scratch. But sometimes I am also about stocking up on a good premade pancake mix. How I love thee Costco. On my last trip to Costco I spotted a couple of goodies that were destined to become partners in my kitchen one morning.

The Coach's Oats Multigrain pancake mix and Kirkland's Dried Cherries.

The multigrain mix is full of wholesome goodness. Oats, wheat flour, rye, barley, flaxseeds, and buckwheat. Healthy stuff and lots of it. My standard homemade mix does not have all these goodies. The best part is that the pancakes are still really tasty with a touch of sweetness.

The dried cherries were incredible and I have been eating them with almonds all week. The bag is almost gone. I always keep dried fruit in my pantry and I am really excited to have found these cherries to add to my regular pantry stock.

Well, I made the pancakes which require an egg and water and then folded in these cherries and topped with a few more cherries and some homemade apricot jam. So next time you are thinking of adding a little something to your pancakes try dried cherries or dried craisins or dried blueberries.

Soo yummy, straight from the pantry and well just a little gourmet. Doesn't cherry equal gourmet to you?

Mango Paco Challenge & Giveaway Announcement

I do so love a challenge. So when Your Own Home Store contacted me and challenged me to recreate my saucy egg and paco dinner (see here for the original recipe) with their Thrive food storage items, I was so excited to see if I could recreate these meals with freeze dried and food storage foods. After all, Pacos (pancake tacos) are a new favorite dinner in our house. It would be good to know I could whip up a unique breakfast completely out of my food storage.  Along with this challenge they are offering my readers a giveaway for a $50 in product of their choice from their Thrive products. More on the giveaway tomorrow.  Sorry for the teaser but I need a separate post just for the awesome giveaway.

So, I got an amazing care package on my doorstep full of these awesome foods to try from Thrive (A Shelf Reliance Product). Along with this remake of Pacos I will be reviewing all the following products over the next couple weeks, just so you can get an opinion on this product line. There are so many bulk food storage products out there. It is nice to get a chance to have a test run before you invest in them. A little note on price. All freeze dried items from any supplier are pricey. Thrive's prices seem to be in the same range as other freeze dried foods.

• Freeze dried yogurt bites (didn't even know you could store yogurt like this. I am the most excited for this product and will be buying some more for my own shelves)
• Freeze dried shredded mozzarella cheese. (will be reviewing next week)
• Freeze Dried Mangos (used in Pacos)
• Tomato powder (review coming next week)
• Instant Milk powder (review coming next week)
• 6 Grain pancake mix (used for Pacos)

Wouldn't you do a little dance of joy if you got a package like that to try? Well I certainly did. So we got busy doing some testing. We found that the freeze dried yogurt nuggets are tasty to eat straight from the can. My kids like them for a snack along with the freeze dried mangos. But we also wanted to see how they did once we reconstituted them with water.

Time to make Pacos.
Prepare your filling ingredients first since they require some soaking time.

The yogurt takes a little experimenting and here is what I suggest.
Measure out 1/2 cup of yogurt nuggets. Add water gradually by about 2 TB at at time and wisk until smooth and desired thickness.

Chill for 10 to 20 minutes. It will thicken a little more when chilled.

My kids loved the vanilla yogurt. It was super sweet. But it was nice to see how much they liked it. So far this is our favorite item.

For the mangos: The mangos really need to soak for at least 15 minutes to lose their crunchiness. Measure out a cup of mangos and soak in a cup of water.

There really is no way I can say these tasted like fresh mangos. They don't. But top them on a pancake slathered with the yogurt and some of your favorite jam and they really are pretty tasty and tangy. I actually really like them as a sweet tangy crunchy handful in their original freeze dried stage.

For the pancakes (which turned out light and fluffy) we simply added water to the pancake mix.
Umm so easy. I threw in a pinch of cinnamon. Taking this on the next camping trip.

We flapjacked those pancakes and then filled them with the paco filling.
Yogurt first, some of our homemade jam (we like pear pineapple or strawberry) and then top with mangos and a pinch of cinnamon.

Despite the fact that this meal came from cans, the kids still loved these pacos.

Now come back tomorrow to enter the giveaway for the $50 in Thrive products.

Breakfast With a Twist - Saucy Eggs and Pancake Tacos

Italian Sauce Poached Eggs and Pancake Mango Tacos.

National Breakfast Day yesterday. What better day to post this tasty Brinner we had the other night. . I love Breakfast for Dinner for so many reasons and these two recipes definitely portray why. I love Brinner but I like to give it a little twist some nights
Eggs poached in marinara sauce are so heavenly and filling and easy. I could make these every day. It is a little more hearty way to eat poached eggs making it a perfet luncheon or dinner entree. Something about the marinara sauce infuses flavor into these eggs. I promise they are delicious and beautiful.

I decided to serve these eggs with this breakfast loving families new favorite twist on pancakes or Pacos as my daughter dubbed them. A buttermilk pancake with ingredients straight from the pantry filled with a few other favorites. Mascarpone ( find out how to make your own here) pear pineapple jam or strawberry mango jam, and sliced mangos folded into a paco. DELISH. Of course, the possibilities are endless! Make your own paco version.


Italian Sauced Eggs
1 Can of spaghetti Sauce (about 2 Cups)
5 eggs
1 tsp dried Basil
1/2 cup of grated mozarella or Italian Cheese blend

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce and allow to warm until it starts to bubble on the sides. Carefully crack each egg on top of the sauce, allowing it to sink in a little into the sauce. Cover and cook on medium low for 5 to 10 minutes or until eggs are done your way. I like mine hard softboiled so like the center to be mostly firm.

Sprinkle with dried basil and shredded cheese. Cover and cook until cheese is melted. Remove eggs with some sauce to plates and serve immediately.

PACOS
Butternilk pancakes
1 tb of mascarpone per pancake
1 tsp of pear pineapple or strawberry mango jam per pancake
3-4 slices of mango

Place ingredients in center starting with mascarpone. Fold pancake like a taco and eat. Yum.

DIG IN

Agave Sweetened Strawberry Mango Freezer Jam

That is a mouthful.


I have been experimenting with agave syrup as a sweetener. I am trying to stay off refined sugars and that includes in my jams. I never have liked a jam where I can taste more sugar than fruit anyway. I usually make reduced sugar jams.

This jam was pure experiment. I have never sweetened my jam with Agave and I almost never make freezer jam. And I decided to combine mango and strawberries.

How did it turn out? LOVE IT. It is so fresh and delicious it tastes like I am putting a strawberry mango smoothie onto my toast. Plus I love that Agave syrup is not a refined sugar and has a low glycemic index.

Now I use a special pectin for my low sugar jams called Pomona's pectin. It works wonders with no sugar or low sugar jams and jellies. I buy mine at the health food store but it can also be ordered online from www.pamonaspectin.com



The recipe
4 cups of sliced strawberries
2 cups of mangos diced.
(you need enough fruit to make 4 cups mashed total)
1/2 C agave syrup or to taste.
1/4 Cup lemon juice
3 tsp of pomona's pectin powder
4 to 7 tsp of calcium water (the calcium water is part of the pomona's pectin pack. It tells you how to make it in the package.)
3/4 Cup Water


1. Wash and rinse air tight freezer safe containers.

2. Prepare fruit. I gave mine a pulse or two in the blender since mangos can be hard to mash. Don't overprocess your fruit. You want some chunks in your jam.

3. Add lemon juice and fruit to large bowl. Combine

4. Add agave to fruit and stir well.

5. Bring water to a boil

6. Put hot water in blender or food processor. Add pectin. Vent lid and blend on low 1-2 minutes until dissolved. If you do not vent your lid slightly the water will overflow when blending.

7. Add hot liquid pectin to fruit.Stir until well mixed.

8. Add 4 tsp calcium water to fruit and stir well. Jell should start to appear.If not continue adding calcium water one tsp at a time until jell form. The jell on this jam is softer than a canned or cooked jam.

9. Fill containers with jam until 1/2 inch from top. Cover and freeze immediately.

10. To eat thaw and keep in freezer up to 1 week.

Tip:
Once you take this out of the freezer it is so good almost freezing cold.

Nutella Berry Brownie Bites

Nutella Berry Brownie Bites -- Don't you just want to say that 5 times fast. Of course you do. Now I really meant to post this recipe on February 5th (World Nutella Day). But time got away from me and I got sick. But I do think that there should be a Nutella day every week. And what could be an easier or better treat for all your little Valentines. This recipe is SIMPLE. And I admit a version of it is floating all over the web. However, I believe the original recipe deservest a little fuity twist. I added some triple berry jam to my brownie batter and I got a little hint of berries in my chocolate.

I love fruit and chocolate together. I especially love Nutella and fruit together. I added berry jam but next time, maybe even today, I am going to add lemon curd. I encourage you to add a little fuity tablespoon of your favorite jam. Change it up.

1/2 cup Nutella


1 egg

5 tbsp flour

1 TB of rasberry or triple berry jam
powdered sugar for dusting
1.Preheat oven to 350. Grease a mini muffin tin or mini tart pan.
2.In a large bowl mix the Nutella and egg together until smooth.

3. Stir in jam

4 .Add the flour, mix until completely incorporated.

5.Pour batter into mini muffin tin, filling till about 3/4 full.

6.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.

7.Let cool completely, then dust with sugar.

Dried Pears -- Tasty Treat

My kids and I have a kind of food love affair with dried fruit. We love to snack on dried apples, pineapple, raisins, and apricots. When I tasted some dried pears my sister had packed on her latest road trip -- I knew that a good portion of my half box of pears would make its way onto the dehydrator. I love it when I get good ideas from my sisters. So this is an easy way to use up a surplus of pears. And they are tasty. I am getting ready to make up a second batch now.

Tip: Don't dehydrate them so long that they become completely crisp. Leave them a little chewy but not moist.

This is a really simple process but you need a dehydrator. If you don't have one consider borrowing or going in on one with a friend. I shared the cost of my dehydrator with a good friend.

Pears -- Depends on dehydrator but I would set aside about 10.
Fruit Fresh (this inhibits discoloration and can be found near the canning supplies)
Sugar -- Just a pinch or two.

Peel, slice and decore pears.
Sprinkle with fruit fresh and gently toss.

Place slices on drying racks and sprinkle each with a pinch of sugar.

Dehydrate until desired doneness. Mine usually takes about 4 hours.

Store in an airtight container.

Honey Spiced Pears Canned

Poor neglected blog. I have been so busy with my magazine I have neglected to post new recipes.

So because it is pear season,
 I am giving you my new favorite recipe for canned dessert pears. Ususally, I can my pears in 100 percent white grape juice. I am usually anti syrup in my canned fruit until I tried these honey spiced pears. They are delish. I know. I already opened a bottle on accident. I already know how I plan to eat these pears come winter. I am going to top them with some mascarpone and homemade hot fudge sauce. Doesn't that sound like a little bit of decadence from the food storage.

Now the source for this recipe is iron clad. I got it off the back of the Kerr jar lid box.

Honey Spiced Pears (appx 5 pints)
6 Pounds of Pears halved and cored and peeled.(about 10 cups)
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Vinegar, 5 % acidity
1 Cup honey
1 Cup water
2 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp whole coriander
1 Cinnamon Stick, broken

Prepare home canning jars and lids according to manufacturers directions. Keep sterilized jars warm in dishwasher.

Prepare pears  by peeling coring with a spoon and halving. Place in a bowl of water with fruit fresh or a TB of lemon juice.

Combine sugar, honey, vinegar and water in a large saucepot.
Tie spices in a cheesecloth bag or metal tea bag and place in saucepot.

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add pears to syrup and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 3 minutes or until pears are hot.

Pack pears in hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle syrup over pears leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles by running a plastic knife or non mettalic spatula down the insides of the jars very slowly.

Wipe rims clean with a clean paper towel or cloth. Place lids and rings on jars Screw band down evenly and firmly to fingertip tight.

Process in a boiling water or steam canner for 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts (1,000 ft elevation) for 1,001 to 3000 feet add five minutes, for 3,001 to 6000 feet elevation add an additional 5 minutes (pints 30 minutes, quarts 35 minutes.

Nutella Challenge: Raspberry Nutella Quesadillas

Chocolate and raspberry, hands down or hands to mouth, one of my favorite flavor combos. These decadent, sticky and completely easy dessert quesadillas are my entry into the Nutella challenge for August. I had to join the Nutella challenge hosted by one of my fave bloggers bell'allimento. So every month I will be posting a Nutella recipe/creation.

Now you may be wondering, what does Nutella have to do with a blog dedicated to pantry and food storage cooking. What?! you don't ALWAYS have Nutella in your pantry. As my sister would point out I have a few weird food storage staples and they are marinated artichoke hearts and Nutella. We buy it in bulk at Costco. It comes in a two pack with bigger containers and it costs a lot less. So, for me Nutella is a food food storage staple and it is one of the best ways to store one of the important food groups: chocolate. So without further ado I bring you one of the easiest desserts ever.

Now I made my quesadillas with a quesadilla grill. It was a gift and I have discovered it is one of my favorite kitchen appliances, thank you to my SIL. You can make these quesadillas in a warm nonstick pan on the stove also.

The Recipe:
Each quesadilla will make about 6 wedges.

2 flour tortillas per quesadilla. I used the smaller flour tortillas.
1 TB Nutella per quesadilla.
1/2 pint raspberries per quesadilla. ( You can also use sliced strawberries)

Spread tortilla with Nutella within 1 inch of edges. ( It will bubble out).
Place halved raspberries on top of Nutella. Top with second tortilla and place on heated quesadilla grill or in heated pan. If you use a pan make sure you press down on the tortilla.

Toast until golden on each side and juices bubble from edges.

Remove from pan. Allow to cool a couple of minutes and slice into wedges.

HEAVEN!

Blueberry Pomegranate Sorbet

Blueberry season is here and I have once again eaten them by the handful, made jam, chilled blueberry soup and smoothies. But this sorbet is my favorite hot weather recipe for these blue gems. I realize there is a recurring theme in my posts of late -- pomegranates and ice cream. But I am still using my Pom samples and I am in love with my new ice cream maker. Seriously, I would use it everyday if it was not so hazardous to my health. However, I like to think that this dark and sultry sorbet has some real health benefits. It is chock full of antioxidant fighting power while remaining fat free and sweet. And the sugar is not really all that appalling. I say give it a try. My family loved this ice cream maker treat. Hmmm it is snack time -- I think there is a little left.

2 Cups blueberries
1/4 Cup unsweetened pomegranate juice.
1/2 Cup powdered sugar

Blend blueberries and pomegranate until smooth. Press through a strainer into a medium size bowl. There will be quite a bit of blueberry skin leftover. But there should be a couple cups of juice. Blend in powdered sugar to strained juice. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to directions and desired consistency.

Either eat immediately or freeze for an additional hour.

Pomegranate Pineapple Smoothie.

I have been on a breakfast smoothie diet. I have discovered that if I drink a 250-280 calorie smoothie in the morning I can make it to lunch without serious hunger pangs. If I eat cereal and milk with an equal amount of calories I am hungry in a couple hours again. Ravenously hungry. And so I have been making a new smoothie every morning.

POM Wonderful offered me free 100 % pomegranate juice to play with again this year. I could not resist adding it to a smoothie. Pomegranate juice is chock full of antioxidants and healthy juice vibes.
Here is my favorite combo that even includes something from the pantry -- canned pineapple.

1/2 cup 100 % pomegranate juice
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 Cup chunked pineapple
1/4 cup lowfat or nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 to 2 tsp of honey.

Add to blender and blend until smooth.

Banana Split Homemade Ice Cream

I have been neglecting this blog. But that is only because I was busy making ice cream for my Alive! Utah Taste section this month. If I had time I would make ice cream every day with my new ice cream maker. It is so much fun. The banana split ice cream I came up with for this article seriously tastes just like a banana split, which just happens to be my favorite way to eat ice cream. This recipe is so simple to make. Check out that recipe and nutella ice cream and Grandma's homemade vanilla at this link this month. http://aliveutah.com/taste

Yes I realize I am still cheating but I have some awesome posts for you later this week.

Pear Pecan Salad with Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette

Featured Pantry/Food Storage Items: Canned Pears, Vinegar and Nuts.

Pantry Storage Suggestion: Stock up on an extra bag of nuts this grocery tip.

This is going to be a special post with three recipes. Why am I feeling so generous? Frankly, I am so busy preserving food I only have time to do one post but also because all these recipes go together. They need to be together.

I often question my sanity while in the throes of canning season. "Do I really need all those canned pears?" I ask myself. After stumbling across this salad the other day using some canned pears, all I could think of was maybe I need to do more pears. I restrained myself. I still have so much canning to do, including salsa, which is really a project. Anywho -- I also do canned pears because the difference between home canned pears and store canned pears is laughable. They are so tasty when you do them yourselves. I can my pears in 100% white grape juice. I decided to throw some canned pears in my spinach salad. Garnished by yummy extras and some raspberry vinaigrette, heavenly.

Well, now I decided I needed to make my own raspberry vinegar (I had extra raspberries after two batches of raspberry jam) just so I could make my own vinaigrette all winter. So, I bring you the tasty three recipes that will keep you in delicious salads bright with flavor year round. My daughter, a non salad dressing kind of gal, loves this stuff. She asks for it on everything from her raisins to her spinach.

Raspberry Vinegar.

2 Cups raspberries

1 quart white wine or white vinegar

1/2 Cup sugar

Mash fruit in a large bowl. Put crushed fruit, vinegar and sugar into a large nonreactive pot. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until cool. To remove fruit pulp, strain through a cheesecloth lined funnel into glass container. Cap with a nonmetallic lid. I like the new plastic screw on lids for canning jars. If you decide to use a decorative jar make sure it has a plastic or cork lid. The vinegar can be used immediately.

Raspberry Vinaigrette I actually cut the following recipe by 1/3 because the dressing should be used in 7 to 10 days and I am more of a sprinkler than a pourer.

1 1/2 Cup raspberry vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1 TB poppy seeds

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 Cup vegetable oil.

a dash of salt (optional)

Mix raspberry vinegar and sugar in a bowl and let sit until sugar is dissolved. Add poppy seeds and dry mustard and salt. Mix well. Whisk in oil and whisk until well combined. Chill and serve.

Pear Pecan Salad There are no real measurements here because it depends on how many people you are feeding.

Canned pears (I would use 2 halves per person.)

Baby spinach

A handful or two of pecans

1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese chunks per person

herbed croutons

freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Toss and top with Raspberry Vinaigrette.

Pineapple Pear Jam

OK, first of all, I don't know what is going on with all my buttons. Please excuse the crazy photo bucket upgrade stuff. I did not make my own buttons and am therefore completely ignorant as to what to do. I am seeking help but please bear with me until then.

Now onto the real post.

Sweet Sunshine. Pear season is here and I am happy to say I made it through my first 30 lbs of pears. One of my favorite pear recipes comes from a fellow canner and neighbor. She sent this pear pineapple jam recipe my way last year and I was hooked. It is such a refreshing and unique jam. It is actually the only jam I make with the full amount of sugar and is therefore a little more time consuming then my other jam recipes.

This recipe can be doubled. I made seven 4 oz jam jars and 3 half pints from the following amounts.

4 Cups of pears peeled and cored and mashed to make 3 cups

10 oz of crushed pineapple (1/2 a 20 oz can)

1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice

1 package of fruit pectin ( I did not use Pomonas Pectin for this recipe)

4 1/2 cups of sugar.

Prepare and sterilize jars and jar rings. Keep jars warm in boiling hot water or on the Heated dry setting of your dishwasher until ready to use.

Mash pears and add pineapple. Pour fruit into a 6 or 8 quart saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Over high heat, and stirring constantly bring fruit to full boil that cannot be stirred down. Add entire amount of sugar all at once and stir to dissolve. Return to a full rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Skim foam from top. Ladle into hot jars and fill 1/8 inch from the top. Carefully place lids and tighten rings. Process in a water boiling canner or steam canner for 5 minutes. Add an additional five minutes for every 3000 miles above 3000 miles above sea level. i.e. I process for 15 minutes because my altitude is above 6000 feet.

Enjoy and don't forget to give a few away.

Triple Berry Jam

Triple Berry Jam, be still my heart, I just love this stuff.

Now I realize that I have been posting a lot of canning, jam and herb recipes, but that is what I do in the summer -- A big part of my food storage plan is to store up summer's bounty.

My Boysenberry and Blackberry bush our having a heyday in my backyard. Unfortunately, I have yet to get enough of one berry at once to make jam. OK actually, we just can't keep from eating the little beauties as they come off the vine full of the taste of sunshine. I also can't remember which bush is blackberry and which is boysenberry. So I combined 2 cups of the black beauties with a cup of strawberries to make this triple berry jam. And seriously, its hard to keep myself from eating it by the spoonful. Oh I do hope I can hoard enough berries for another batch.

I basically followed the same recipe for my blueberry jam. I used my Pomona pectin. I still have enough from my original box left for another batch of jam. The Pomona Pectin is a very economical purchase for your food storage.

2 Cups of mashed berries make appx. 2 jelly jars.

Recipe

3 cups of mixed berries (boysenberry, strawberry, blackberry)mashed to make 2 cups.

1 tsp Pomona Pectin

1 tsp calcium water (packet available in Pomona Pectin)

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 to 3/4 Cup fructose or sugar

Rinse, and mash berries. Add lemon juice and calcium water. Mix.

Combine sugar and pectin in a separate bowl and mix well. Bring fruit to a boil and add pectin/sugar mixture to jam. Stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes until pectin is fully dissolved. Return to boil and remove from heat. Fill jars to 1/4 inch of the top. Wipe rims clean and place two lids and rim rings onto jars. Process jam jars in a boiling water canner or steam canner for 5 minutes plus one additional minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level.

When done processing, remove from water and let jars cool completely. Make sure your seal is complete. Lid should be concave and sucked in.

Opened jars last for three weeks once opened. (Like its going to be around that long.)