Pink Raspberry Cosmopolitans

I'm planning on having a little Pinterest Party at my house in the next few weeks.  Just a night to get the girls together to craft up some of the hundreds of things we pin and never make.  I'll have some tasty snacks and a pitcher of these yummo cosmos.  I like to rim the glass in sugar, like you would for a margarita, for a little extra flair.  This is just the tastiest, prettiest drink to have for girl's night!  It makes a nice big pitcher (serves 10) and I know you'll love it!

Also, how pretty would this be for a Valentine's dinner??

I borrowed this photo from another sight and the link didn't post and now I can't find it again!

  If this is your photo please let me know so I can give you credit!

1 cup raspberry vodka
1/2 cup triple sec

1/2 cup sweetened lime juice

3 cups cran-raspberry juice

1 lime, sliced

Fill a pitcher with ice, and pour in the vodka, triple sec, lime juice, and cran-raspberry juice. Stir to mix. Serve garnished with a lime slice that has been rubbed around the glass edge.  Dip edge in sugar if you like.

Top 20 Healing Foods- Blueberries

photo source

BLUEBERRIES
Key Nutrients:
Fiber
Antioxidants
Vitamin C
Iron

Blueberries have more antioxidants than 40 other common fruits and vegatables.  Antioxidants help prevent all sorts of things: cancer, heart disease, eye diseases, urinary tract infections and memory loss to name a few. The fiber in blueberries can be a powerful antidote to constipation. Just 1/2 c. of blueberries contains almost 2 grams of fiber, the same as a slice of whole-wheat bread! 

Blueberries are delicious in lemonade- just throw a few in a glass and muddle before pouring the lemonade on top.  They are also delicious in pancakes and muffins like these.

Or, give this recipe a whirl!

BLUEBERRY ZUCCHINI BREAD

source

 

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup vegetable oil

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups white sugar

2 cups shredded zucchini

3 cups all-purpose flour (experiment with using part whole wheat to up the fiber factor!)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.

Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

*You can cook this in regular loaf pans, but you will most likely need to increase your cooking time.  Or try throwing it in muffin tins for a quick breakfast.  If you want to add a streusel topping you can find a recipe for it in the comment section here.

Pomegranate Feta Salad

When I was a kid living in Arizona we had a pomegranate tree growing in our yard.  I remember coming home from school and picking them right off the tree, cracking them open and eating the seeds. Little did I know that the fruit I was eating contained such an abundance of good things for my body.

Pomegranates are chock-full of polyphenals, plant chemicals that are powerful antioxidants.  Studies have shown that these polyphenals slow cancer cell growth and actually encourage cancer cells to kill themselves off. 

In addition to antioxidants, pomegranates are also anti-inflammatory and can be helpful for arthritis sufferers.  The juice has been shown to lower the levels of inflammatory chemicals leading to an abundance of an enzyme in the body that can wear away your cartilage.

Pomegranates are also high in flavinoids.  The more flavonoids a person eats the lower the likelihood of develoing dementia and Alzheimers. 

Here's a salad that is quick to throw together and looks amazing.  Give it a try!

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1 (10 ounce) package mixed baby greens

1 pomegranate, peeled and seeds separated

1 (8 ounce) package crumbled feta cheese

1lemon, zested and juiced

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Place the lettuce, pomegranate seeds, and feta cheese into a large mixing bowl; set aside. Whisk together the lemon juice and zest, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl. Pour over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Peach Raspberry Pie

This is my go-to summer pie.  It has all the flavors of summer and is equally good nice and cold from the fridge or hot from the oven with a little vanilla icecream.  You can find the recipe for my no-fail pie crust recipe here.

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4 c. peaches, peeled and chopped
1 c. raspberries
3/4 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. flour or cornstarch
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. butter
2 pie crusts (to make one double crust pie)
1 Tbsp. sugar for topping

Preheat your oven to 400.  Roll out first pie crust and place in bottom of pie pan, trimming edges as needed.  Place the fruit in a colander for 15 min. to drain any excess liquid.  Transfer to a bowl and toss with sugar, flour or cornstarch, and cinnamon.  Fill pie crust, dot with 2 Tbsp. butter and top with second crust.  Flute edges as desired and be sure to cut a few vents in the top to allow steam to escape.  Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. sugar over crust and bake for 45 mins.  Keep an eye on the crust.  You may need to cover the edges with a strip of aluminum foil to keep them from overcooking.

Fresh Mango Salsa

My current fruit obsession has moved on from strawberries to mangos.  Has anyone else noticed how delicious they are this time of year? It's finally gotten HOT here, today is our first day in the 90s and I've been working in the yard a ton.  It's so nice to come in and snag one of these refreshing little babies out of the fridge and eat it nice and cold.  If you're not sure how to choose, store or slice your mangos, you can find all of that information here.  And be sure to visit my facebook page to learn about the great health benefits of mangos.

I also like to make mango salsa in the summer time.  It's delicious served with chips or over grilled chicken, or wrapped in a pita with some arugula and roasted turkey for a quick lunch.  This recipe for Mango Salsa comes from Make it Naked.  You can find the original here.  I love the addition of the avocado... it makes it sort of a guac/salsa fusion and it's delicious!  Don't you want to just stick a fork into your computer screen??

1 mango, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, diced (I used a garlic press)
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of 1 lime

Wash, peel and seed all ingredients where necessary. Chop the mango, avocado and tomato to uniform sized pieces. Chop the rest of the ingredients as necessary.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 15-30 minutes.

Two Applesauce Variations

My family and I are leaving for the Bahamas for Christmas (I still can't believe it!) and I had a box of apples that I knew wouldn't keep until we got home.  So, I decided to break out the apple-peeler-corer-slicer and make some homemade applesauce!  If you like to cook with apples and don't have one of these tools you've gotta get one!  I literally peeled, cored and sliced 24 apples in less than 10 minutes.  You can find one here.

worth its weight in gold!

Little Brother, my helper today in the kitchen ♥

I made two variations of my basic applesauce recipe which you will  find below.  The kids and I ate some warm right out of the pot, and the rest went into freezer bags for later. 

 You'll need:

4 lbs. apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 12 apples)
1 c. water
1-2 cinnamon sticks (if desired)
1/2-1 c. sugar (brown sugar is nice, too!)

Prepare apples being sure to remove any seed bits that your corer might have missed.  Combine with all other ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to simmer for about 30 min. till apples are tender.  The thinner your slices the faster it will cook.  Remove from heat and using a hand blender, blend until you reach your desired texture, being sure to remove any cinnamon sticks first.  If you don't have a hand blender, you can press the pulp through a sieve or food mill.  I've even used a potato masher which produces a nice, chunky sauce.

Enjoy warm, pop in the fridge, freeze or pack into sterilized jars and process in a boiling-water canner for 15 mins. for pint-sized jars.  You'll get about 3 pints of sauce.

VARIATIONS

Browned Butter and Cinnamon:
tastes like apple pie!
In a small saucepan heat 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) over low heat until melted.  Continue cooking until it turns a golden brown.  Add to apples along with the sugar and cinnamon sticks (you could probably use ground cinnamon as well.)

Maple:
perfect for pancakes!
Prepare as in basic recipe, substituting real maple syrup for the sugar.