Oopps!

Here is a big fat what NOT TO DO!! Long story short, I didn't have much room in the kitchen, used the oven as storage and then turned it on to 400 degrees. Taadaa!! The good news is the glass dish was salvageable, but the lid well, went straight to the trash can. You live, you learn right?!

Fruit Salsa

Summer is in full swing and the weather is getting warm (I say warm because though some days seem hot, they are NOTHING compared to what I grew up in.) I love this time of year with the beautiful mornings (when there isn't fog) the cool evenings and the fruit!!!! The fruit has so much flavor and tastes so good during the summer time. I don't know if it is because it is fruit season or just because the juices are refreshing, but either way I made some killer fruit salsa that you all need to try. It got great reviews with Chris' friends and even some of the guys asked for the recipe! I isn't hard, just takes a little time to cut up the fruit. It is well worth the energy though. I served it with cinnamon tortilla chips that took me about 10 minutes to make. This would be great for summer time bbq's with family or friends.

Fruit Salsa
1 peach
2 kiwi
1 orange
1/2 an apple
1/2 cup of strawberries
1 tsp lemon juice (to keep the fruit from turning brown)
1 tsp sugar (to counteract the tart taste from the lemon juice)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
Sprinkle of nutmeg
6 flour tortillas
cinnamon/sugar mixture

Peel all the fruit and cut them into small chunks. Mix together in a bowl. Add lemon juice and stir. Next add sugar and cinnamon stirring just until mixed. (Don't stir it too much you don't want the fruit to be all mush.) Cover and place in the refrigerator.

Take flour tortillas and spray one side with Pam or brush with a small amount of oil. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture and cut into triangles (8ths.) Put a single layer of tortillas on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Once tortillas are cool place in an air tight container to keep fresh.

ENJOY!!!

**Note** You can use whatever fruits you want and amounts can be adjusted depending on what you like best. Have fun with it!!! Everyone will love it!!!

Pink Lemonade Pie

SUMMER TIME IS HERE!!!!
(Ok, I know summer officially starts on June 21st, but just go with it.)

There is no better way to start off the warm weather season than with a refreshing, delicious and SIMPLE dessert. Pink Lemonade Pie has become a tradition around our house over the last few years. I have tried several other recipes that are similar, but none of them hit the spot quite like this one. I hope you all try it this summer and I promise you won't be disappointed.

1/2 gallon Vanilla Ice Cream (Softened)
8oz tub cool whip (Thawed)
1 can pink lemonade concentrate (Thawed)
2 packages of graham crackers
2 tblsp sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter

Spray two pie plates with cooking spray and set aside. Using your food processor chop up the grahamm cracker until they are small crumbs. (If you don't have a food processor you can put the graham crackers in a large zip lock bag and use a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer to make the crumbs.) Once the crumbs are made melt the butter in the microwave. Add the butter and sugar to the crumbs and mix together. If you are using the F.P. just pour the butter in the top while it is on and it mixes the two together perfectly. Next put half the graham cracker mixture in each pie plate. Using your hands press the crumbs on the bottom and sides of the pie plates. Bake for 10 minutes in 350 degree oven. Take out and let cool.

While you are making the crust take the ice cream out of the freezer to soften. Once ice cream is softened pour in the lemonade concentrate and mix together until well blended and there are no large lumps of ice cream. Then fold in the cool whip until well mixed. Pour half the mixture into one pie shell and the other half in the other. Place in the freezer and let set for a couple hours or over night.

**I have so many suggestions for this simple dessert.
-If you aren't making it for a large crowed simply half the recipe and freeze the other half of the ingredients to make it again later.
-If you want to make it to look a little bit fancier and more elegant make it is a spring form pan. (Use only 1 package graham crackers to make the crust.) Then remove from the pan just before serving. You can add whip cream and strawberries to the top, or even write on it with frosting for someones birthday.
-If you are really short on time, buy the pre made crusts at the store. Then all you have to do is mix the other ingredients and your done. No oven needed.

My Recipe Box

Every woman needs a recipe box. For my birthday this year my Mom got me the perfect one from William Sonoma. As you can see it is personalized just for me AND it came with an embosser that has the same logo on it. Now even my recipe cards are labeled just for me. To say the least I LOVE IT!!! As most of you know my birthday was back in February and I'm ashamed to say until today I hadn't put a single recipe in it. This afternoon that all changed.
Above you can see the disaster I turned our kitchen table into. I'm sure most of you are like me and go to the internet for recipes (or have your Mom email them to you) and have all these papers lying around your home. I decided to start with these ones first and then add the others that I like out of magazines and such. Front and center you will the see the main thing for me to complete this task.... My cell phone! God bless my Mother. Though, I have made many of these recipes before, for some of them it has been years. My Dear Mother was just a phone call away and helped me out A LOT!!!

I challenge all of you to get organized. If you already have a recipe box, good, start putting those recipes in it. If not, maybe it is time to get back to the way of our Mothers and Grandmothers and put those recipes on cards in an organized fashion to share with Generations to come.

Adrina's Graduation Cake

Chris's youngest sister Adrina, Graduated from High school last week and we went up to Fresno for the Grad Party. We had a great time with the family and enjoyed dancing the night away. I thought I'd post a picture of the cake Chris's other sister, Tammy, made for Adrina. It turned out beautiful and tasted better than the cakes you buy at a Bakery. Great Job Tammy and thanks Joy of Cooking website for the recipe!!!

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins (The healthierish donut)

I have other meals I should be blogging about, but I made these muffins last night and they are all I can think about. I even took a bunch to work with me to share with my coworkers (and get them out of the apartment so Chris and I don't eat them all. I said healthierish not Healthy) Everyone LOVED them and told me I was an amazing baker. Hey, everyone sometimes needs to be praised. Anyway, they ended up being a huge hit with everyone and like I said they are all I can think about. They were super easy and taste a lot like donut without the fat or fear that comes with frying donuts. The jam filled center was a pleasant surprise to everyone!!! We'll call them the Safer Healthierish Donut!!!!

Here's the recipe I got my Taste of Home Baking Book.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup veggie oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/4 cup milk
Jam
Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

-In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, oil, egg and milk. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

-Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full; place 1 tsp of jam on top. Cover jam with enough batter to fill cups three-fourths full. Bake @ 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 1 in from the edge comes out clean.

-Place melted butter in a small bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Immediately after removing muffins from the oven dip tops in butter, then in cinnamon-sugar.

ENJOY!!!!

Puddin' Out Cupcakes

Chris and I went to lunch in Sherman Oaks with Raffi and Jenny after church on Sunday. After a wonderful visit with good friends we headed home. Not a block from The Habit (the hamburger joint we ate at) was a cupcake shop. As I'm sure you all have noticed my fetish lately is cupcakes, so we just had to stop. I was a little disappointed with what we found, but I guess not everyone is as passionate about making a "Cute" cupcake shop as I am. It was ok, with cookies and other stuff also. The name implied a special kind of cupcake (like maybe made with pudding or something,) but after asking the worker why it was named that, his response left me disappointed. "Uh, I guess cause we sell pudding too?!" (Said with little to no confidence or even a hint of caring.) For the two cupcakes in the picture it cost us $1.90 and they were rather dry. One was Red Velvet and the other Vanilla. I guess I need to keep practicing my baking skills and dream of one day opening my own "Cute Cupcake" Shop. (And if that never happens maybe I can become a hand model!)