Slow Cooker Apple Cobbler {and Slow Cooker Giveaway}

Cool fall days call for warm dessert.  This simple apple cobbler fits the bill and it's made in your slow cooker!

Slow Cooker Apple Snack Mix

A fall-inspired snack mix filled with bite sized cinnamon sugar coated snacks and drizzled with white chocolate.

Single Serving Clean Eating Peach Crisp

This single serving dessert is the perfect size, plus with clean ingredients and fresh peaches, you can feel good about what you're eating!

Peach Cobbler {Flashback Friday}

This Peach Cobbler is a delicious way to enjoy fresh peaches.

Tips and Tricks: How to Peel Peaches Quickly

A few weeks ago I bought a half peck of peaches at the Farmer's Market. I had great plans for these peaches!  Then I got home and realized how many peaches I had purchased...way too many for one person to eat!  I needed to do something with them so they wouldn't go bad.  I decided to peel them all up and then slice them.  I stored some in the fridge for immediate eating, made a peach cobbler with some, and then put the rest in a freezer bag and froze them for future uses like smoothies.

Here are the steps I used to easily peel my peaches:

A Trip to the Farmer's Market

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is go to the local Farmer's Market.  We are blessed to live less than 10 minutes from a large outdoor market.  Each May I look forward to the week that the market opens.  I try to go as often as possible until it closes down in November.

This year I haven't made it down as often as I'd like, but when I do get to the market, I am always thrilled with my products.  Why don't you take a little tour with me?

Blackberry Sauce

This delicious sauce is made with fresh blackberries and has so many uses!

Watermelon Popsicles

Refreshing, delicious, and healthy too! These Watermelon Popsicles are the perfect summer treat!

Grilled Peaches

Grilling peaches brings out the flavor and juices of the fruit.  These grilled peaches are sure to be a hit at your next cook-out!

I asked on Facebook last night if you would rather see a fruit or a vegetable recipe posted this morning.  Surprisingly, the results were split 50/50.  I really thought there would be a stronger preference for one or the other, but that's okay!  I promise you would love either recipe that I posted.  If you were hoping for the vegetable recipe, don't worry, I have a couple coming your way and the first will be posted next week!

On to these peaches...

I love grilling food, but grilling fruit is a relatively new idea to me.  I've grilled peaches a few times now and each time I am so impressed with the flavor.  Using a grill imparts a little bit of smokiness to the fruit, but it also enhances the fruit's natural flavors and draws out the delicious juices.  You only want to grill peaches for a few minutes, just long enough to warm them up and add some pretty grill marks.

After the peaches are grilled you can enjoy them plain, drizzled with a bit of honey, sprinkled with cinnamon, or with a scoop of ice-cream on top.  It's a delicious and healthy way to enjoy fruit, and I'd say it's good enough to count as dessert!

Grilled Peaches

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 peaches
honey, optional
cinnamon, optional
vanilla ice-cream, optional

1.  Cut peaches in half and remove the pit.

2.  Lay peaches flesh side down on a hot grill.

3.  Grill for approximately 5 minutes, until the fruit is warmed and softened.

4.  Remove from grill and drizzle with honey, sprinkle with cinnamon, or top with ice-cream.  Serve warm.

Fruit Salsa

Avocados, mangoes, strawberries and a kick from jalapenos, this fresh fruit salsa is the perfect topping for your grilled meat this season!

Spring is my favorite time of year.  Like many others, I was wondering if we would ever see Spring here in Michigan this year.  Thankfully though, it has arrived.  I am loving the weather and the ability to be outside enjoying it!  On Saturday, Summer and I were able to sit outside and play for a while.  It was the first time we've been able to do that.

The warmer weather is amazing and with it comes an abundance of delicious fruits.  I love fruit and eat it year round, but nothing beats fresh in-season fruit.  I'm trying to incorporate more whole foods into my daily diet, and fruit and vegetables make up a large portion of what I eat.

This fresh Fruit Salsa is a versatile recipe: it can be eaten plain, on top of grilled chicken, steak or fish, and it's delicious as a salad topping.  I used my handy Vidalia Chop Wizard to cut up the avocado, mango, and strawberries for this dish.  I love how much time it saves me and that the fruit pieces are fairly uniform.  I had originally planned to use pineapple with the strawberries and avocado, but then I saw a mango and decided to go that route instead.  I think either would be delicious.  The orange juice and lime juice give an extra boost of flavor to this salsa, and the diced jalapeno gives it just enough kick.

This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to feed a crowd.  I think it would make a great addition to any summer cookout!

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 mango
1 quart strawberries
1 small jalapeno pepper
2 Tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro

1.  Cut up avocado, mango, and strawberries into bite-sized pieces.

2.  Remove membrane and seeds from the jalapeno and cut into small pieces.

3.  Drizzle orange juice and lime juice over the fruit and jalapeno.

4.  Sprinkle with cilantro and gently stir.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Inspired by: The Foodie Bride

For tips and tricks on choosing, preparing, and storing your fruits, check out this great posts:
Avocados
Mangoes
Strawberries

This post contains affiliate links.

Pan Fried Cinnamon Sugar Bananas

Magic happens when you fry these cinnamon sugar bananas.  The sugar caramelizes around the bananas, leaving you with a delicious treat!

It's a common problem: too many bananas in the house and not enough time (or people) to eat them!  Typically when I am found with too many bananas, I'll whip up a loaf or two of banana bread.  Lately, I've been pureeing the over ripe bananas and making food for Summer.  Girl loves her fruit!

Last week I had just one lonely banana that needed to be eaten.  I had recently seen a recipe that looked delicious, and so I decided to give it a whirl.  These pan fried bananas were amazing!  They're coated in a small amount of cinnamon and sugar.  When you fry them, the sugar caramelizes and turns the bananas into something amazing!

I ate my fried bananas on their own with my breakfast, but I think they would also taste amazing on top of pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, or even as an ice-cream topping!

Pan Fried Cinnamon Sugar Bananas

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Butter or olive oil flavored cooking spray

1.  Slice banana into 1/4" slices.

2.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  

3.  Coat a small frying pan with cooking spray.  Warm over medium heat.

4.  Add the banana slices and cook for 2 minutes.  Then sprinkle the bananas with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

5.  Flip bananas, sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar, and cook for 2 more minutes. 

Serve bananas warm.

Source:  The Best Blog Recipes

Healthier Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These Healthier Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are perfect for new moms.  They are healthy enough for breakfast, fit into a balanced diet, and help promote lactation!

They say everything changes when you become a parent.  It's true, but if you're like me, you probably didn't realize how drastically everything really would change.  Life simply isn't about you anymore, in fact the world now revolves around a tiny little human.

No more late nights out with friends.  Instead, we're in by 7 to get the little lady to bed.

No more being out the door in 5 minutes.  Instead, we're changing a diaper, putting the baby in her car seat, double checking the diaper bag, grabbing an extra set of clothes...

No more carrying a purse.  Instead, I carry a bottom-less (seemingly) diaper bag.

No more quick running to the grocery store to pick something up.  Instead, going without or packing up the baby and all her accessories...mostly just going without :)

No more getting up at 5am to go to the gym to workout.  Instead, enjoying every minute of precious sleep I can get and focusing on working out when I can.

No more cooking an elaborate dinner.  Instead, making what is possible with a baby on my hip!

No more adult conversations.  Instead, you're talking baby talk and discussing baby poop.  (Did I just mention poop on a food blog?  Oops!  Just another sign of being a mommy!)

Don't get me wrong, I love Summer more than anything, and this post is written in jest, but a baby really does change everything!  But I wouldn't trade her for the world...

Don't even get me started on what a baby does to your body!  Pre-pregnancy, I was in half-marathon training mode and in the greatest shape of my life.  Post-pregnancy, I don't recognize my belly.  Seriously, what happened to it?!?!

These cookies are great for new moms.  They're full of healthy ingredients: oatmeal, flax seed, fruit.  And devoid of the unhealthier stuff like butter.  They are the perfect cookie to grab for a quick snack or even breakfast in a pinch.  I substituted pureed prunes for the butter, reducing the fat in the cookies and increasing the fruit.  These cookies bake up nice and thick, and you'd never miss the butter.

The oatmeal in these cookies is great for nursing moms as oatmeal is said to help lactation.  As a nursing mom, I'm trying to keep my supply up so I can continue to nurse Summer as long as possible.  I have baby weight that I'm trying to lose, so I'm trying to watch my calories but also get the nutrients my baby and I need.  These cookies fit perfectly into my nutritional goals.

If you know a new mom, make her a batch of these cookies and pass along the recipe--she'll appreciate it more than you know!

Healthier Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes 20 cookies

Ingredients:
5 ounces pureed prunes (2 Gerber 1st Foods Prunes containers)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup flour
3 Tablespoons ground flax seed
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup raisins

1.  In a medium bowl, blend together the pureed prunes and brown sugar until fluffy.

2.  Beat in the egg and almond extract.

3.  Add in the oats, flour, flax seed, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder and stir until combined.

4.  Fold in the raisins.

5.  Drop cookie dough by the tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets.

6.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown and the centers are set.

Store in an airtight container.

Pineapple: Tips and Tricks

I almost didn't included a pineapple in my Tips and Tricks series.  But then I saw one at the store the other day and decided it would be a great addition to the other fruits I've featured.  This is my last fruit post for a while, but please let me know if there are any other fruits you would like me to write about!

Have you ever had the chance to eat a pineapple in the country it was grown in?  Let me tell you, there's nothing like enjoying a fresh pineapple in Hawaii or Jamaica!  But, since I don't live on either of those islands, I have to settle for what I can buy at the grocery store.  My friend, who loves pineapple and eats it often when she is in Uganda, suggests letting your pineapple sit outside in the sun before cutting it.  That brings the natural juices out and you have a delicious snack.  If you prefer, you can also refrigerate the pineapple for a cold treat!

Place your pineapple on a cutting board. Carefully twist the green crown off from the fruit.

Using a large sharp knife slice the pineapple in half vertically.

Place the two halves, cut side down, on your cutting board and cut them in half again.

Slice the hard core out of the center or each quarter of the pineapple.

Switch to a smaller paring knife if you'd like and slice the ends off of each piece of pineapple.

Holding the pineapple vertically, cut the pineapple between the fruit and the skin.  I cut through half the fruit and then turn the pineapple and cut the other half, rather than trying to cut the entire piece at once.  See how my knife is only cutting to about the halfway point? (I hope that description and the picture make sense!)

Cut the "peeled" pineapple into three long sections.

Cube the long sections into bite-sized pieces.

Place cut pineapple in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.  Fruit can be served cold or at room temperature.

Other Fruit Tips and Tricks:
Watermelon
Strawberries
Blueberries
Mangoes
Avocados

Mangoes: Tips and Tricks

By now, it should come as no surprise to you that I love fruit.  I could eat it all day, every day, and not get tired of it.  In fact, there is only one fruit that I've ever had and didn't care for.  Starfruit.  I found that it didn't have any taste and was like eating a watery pineapple.  I'll pass...thanks!  Have you ever had starfruit and did you like it?

Mangoes are another one of my favorite fruits.  They happen to be one of my grandma's as well.  When I was younger, my brother and I would spend a week with my grandparents every summer.  Grandma always made sure that she had mangoes in the house for us to enjoy together!



When I was in high school, one of my friend's families had an exchange student from Mexico staying with them.  He became friends with my brother and at one point he taught us the proper way to cut a mango. Prior to learning this method, I would peel the mango (like peeling an apple) and then slice off pieces of the flesh.  I usually ended up with a sticky mess, and this way is so much easier!

When you are purchasing a mango, you want to look for a fruit that is firm, but gives slightly when you press on it.  Color is not an indicator of ripeness. Mangoes continue to ripen as they sit, so you'll want to eat it before it becomes completely soft.

To start, you'll need a cutting board and a sharp knife.

Hold the mango vertically and slice along the pit, right next to the stem.

Turn the mango around and slice next to the pit on the other side.

Cut the peel off around the pit and carefully slice off and flesh from the pit.  Don't worry about making nice slices!

Slice vertical lines in each mango half, being careful not to slice all the way through the peel.

Then cut horizontal lines creating a "grid" in the mango flesh.

Turn the fruit inside-out and slice off the fruit chunks.

Enjoy a bowl of freshly cut fruit!  Ripe mangoes can also be stored in the fridge for up to a week before cutting.  Cut mango should be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten within 2 or 3 day of cutting.

Other Fruit Tips and Tricks:
Watermelon
Strawberries
Blueberries
Pineapple
Avocados

Blueberries: Tips and Tricks

Let's continue talking about fruit!  I simply can't get enough of blueberries this year!  Our local grocery store has had blueberries on sale for the past few weeks.  Every time I go, I have to pick up 2 or 3 containers.  Lucky for me, Mike doesn't like blueberries, so I get to enjoy them all myself!

As with strawberries, I grew up going blueberry picking with my mom every summer.  We found a place not too far from our house where the blueberry bushes weren't tended to but the prices were half of the other berry farms!  I've gone blueberry picking on my own for the past couple years.  I like to pick an abundance of berries so I can enjoy some fresh and also freeze some.  I use the same method to freeze my blueberries as I do for my strawberries (sometimes I rinse the blueberries before freezing, other times I give them a quick rinse to help them thaw.)

Here's how I store my fresh blueberries:

You can use store-bought blueberries, fresh picked blueberries, or berries from the farmer's market!  Oh, I can't wait until our farmer's market has big plump berries!

Pour the blueberries into an airtight container.  Again, if you have a chance to buy the green produce container, I'd definitely recommend it!

When you're ready to use the berries, rinse them with water, either by the handful or in a colander.  I choose to wash my berries just before using them because I've found that allowing blueberries to soak in water makes them water logged.

Have you ever gone blueberry picking?

Other Fruit Tips and Tricks:
Watermelon
Strawberries
Mangoes
Pineapple
Avocados

Strawberries: Tips and Tricks

Nearly every year for as long as I can remember, I have picked strawberries.  Growing up, I remember going with my mom (and sometimes my grandparents) and spending a couple hours in the blazing sun and heat picking berries.  I have to admit, I probably did my fair share of complaining!  However, being able to enjoy strawberries for the rest of the year made the heat and sweat worth-while.


Since we've been married, I have been able to convince Mike to go strawberry picking with me.  Usually it comes with some stipulations, like that we only go for an hour and that he gets to play video games later in the day.  I can deal with that, and we both enjoy having strawberries in the freezer for year round strawberry smoothies!  This year was the first year in a long time that I haven't picked my own strawberries.  Something about squatting and picking berries in the heat while 8 months pregnant just doesn't sound so great to me.  I ended up buying a bunch of strawberries instead, but didn't buy enough to freeze this year, because they haven't been cheap enough!  What can I say?  I'm Dutch!

Here's the process I use to wash and store (and freeze) my strawberries:

Wash strawberries in a mix of water and vinegar.  I usually fill my sink about 1/3 of the way full and pour in approximately 1 cup of vinegar.  Allow the berries to soak for 5 minutes. 

Remove the berries from the vinegar water and rinse them with fresh water.  Remove the greens from the strawberries.  I find it easiest to just pull them off using my thumbnail, but you can also use a knife or a grapefruit spoon.

Place washed strawberries in an airtight container.  If you ever have a chance to purchase these green containers (for produce), I would recommend it as I really think they help extend the life of my fruits and vegetables!

If you would like to freeze your berries, after removing the greens, place them on a towel to air dry.  If you want to speed up the process, you can use a fan to dry the strawberries.  (I took these pictures last year after Mike and I picked strawberries.)

When the strawberries have completely dried, place them in a single layer in a freezer bag.  Press out as much air as possible and seal the bag.

Keeping the bags flat, place them in the freezer to store. 

Enjoy "fresh" strawberries year round!

Other Fruit Tips and Tricks:
Watermelon
Blueberries
Mangoes
Pineapple
Avocados