Category Archives: Fruit

Citrus Shrimp Summer Salad

03 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by in Dinner, Fish, Fruit, Healthy, Quick and Easy, Salad

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Citrus Shrimp Summer Salad

The first few hot days of the year always make me crave summer-inspired salads filled with fresh berries!  Here’s a salad you can enjoy now and continue making all the way through the end of August!

 

Citrus Shrimp Summer Salad
Yield:  4 dinner-sized salads
Time:  25 minutes total

For the shrimp:
1 lb. raw shrimp (peeled, deveined, and tails removed)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
zest of one orange
2 tbsp. lemon juice (or orange juice)
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley

For the salad:
6 cups salad greens
2 avocados, chopped into bite-sized pieces
¾ cup blueberries
10 strawberries, sliced
¼ of a red onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized pieces
6 small tomatoes, quartered
8 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
lemon oil
blueberry balsamic

1.  Wash the salad greens and arrange on four dinner plates.  Top with avocado, blueberries, strawberries, red onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, and goat cheese.  Drizzle the salads with lemon oil and blueberry balsamic.

2.  Place the EVOO and shrimp in a sauté pan over medium heat.  Stir in the garlic, orange zest, and lemon juice.  Cook until the shrimp is opaque, about 5-8 minutes.  Stir in the parsley and cook for another 2 minutes.  Top the prepared salads with the cooked shrimp.

Citrus Shrimp Summer Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PDF to Print Recipe for Citrus Shrimp Summer Salad

Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal Cookies

15 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Dessert, Fruit

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Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal CookiesMy parents came to visit last weekend and I wanted to bake a tasty treat that could stay out on the counter the entire weekend, ready for whenever somebody wanted a snack.  Since my dad is generally a sucker for anything oatmeal-y with fruit in it (think oatmeal raisin cookies or warm apple pear crisp), I decided to make my usual oatmeal cookie base, and toss in some dried fruits that you wouldn’t normally associate with cookies.  I had some dried apricots, dried pineapple, and golden raisins, then added some white chocolate chips to round out the cookies while keeping true to the blonde theme!  I also sprinkled in some ginger, because it just felt right.  After all, I had my dad in mind and he loooooves ginger.  They were a hit–my dad kept “sneaking” them all weekend (although he wasn’t too stealthy about it!)

Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal Cookies
Yield:  4 dozen cookies
Time:  15 minutes active;  1 hour chilling;  1 hour baking

7/8 cup (14 tbsp.) butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. cinnamon
1½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. salt
3 cups oats, uncooked (I always use the Old Fashioned Quaker oats)
15 dried apricots, diced into small pieces
¾ cup golden raisins
½ cup dried pineapple, diced into small pieces
1 cup white chocolate chips

1.  Using a pastry blender, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla.  Stir to mix well.

2.  In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and oats.  Add to the butter/sugar mixture in several additions, mixing after each addition.

3.  Stir in all of the dried fruit and chocolate chips.  Chill the batter in the refrigerator for 30-90 minutes (or overnight).

4.  Grease a large cookie sheet with non-stick spray and preheat the oven to 350°F.

5.  Scoop the batter out of the bowl using a teaspoon.  Form a ball from the rounded teaspoon of batter, and drop it onto the prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F, or until golden brown.

Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

PDF to Print Recipe for Blonde Bombshell Oatmeal Cookies

 

 

Champagne Strawberry Cupcakes

30 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by in Boozy, Dessert, Fruit, Holiday

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Champagne Strawberry Cupcakes

I created these champagne cupcakes in honor of my brother-in-law’s proposal to his girlfriend last weekend.  She’s the most perfect girl for him and we’re so lucky that she’s going to soon become part of our family–seriously, this chick rocks!  Their engagement inspired this romantic recipe, made with bubbly and fresh strawberries.  These cupcakes would be a great compliment to an engagement party, rehearsal dinner, anniversary, or Valentine’s Day dessert!  The bubbles in the champagne keep the cake very light, and the best part of this recipe is that since you’ll only need a little over half a cup of champagne for the recipe, there will be plenty left over to toast with!  Cheers!

Champagne Strawberry Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Time:  40 minutes active;  1 hour 10 minutes total

Cupcakes:
¾ cup flour
½ cup cake flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
5 tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature
¾ cup sugar
¾ tsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
3 eggs (you’ll use one yolk and all three egg whites)
3/8 cup champagne

Filling:
½ cup strawberry jam
10 fresh strawberries

Frosting:
3 tbsp. champagne
1½ tsp. milk
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
6 tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature

decorative sprinkles and/or sanding sugar
fresh strawberries for garnish, optional

1.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix together.

2.  In another medium mixing bowl, cream together 5 tablespoons of butter and the sugar using a pastry blender. Stir in the vanilla.

3.  In a small bowl, vigorously whisk together the three egg whites and one egg yolk until pale yellow. Gently fold into the butter/sugar mixture.

4.  Add the champagne and the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture a bit little at a time, alternating between the two.

5.  Bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes, or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed upon (or when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean). Set aside to cool completely before filling.

6.  Meanwhile, dice up the strawberries into small pieces. Mix together with the jam.

7.  Once the cupcakes are cool, remove a portion of cake from the center of each cupcake. (I do this using a cupcake corer—a utensil that’s easily found in the housewares section of stores like Bed Bath and Beyond or Macy’s for about $5-10. If you do not have a cupcake corer, you can gently carve out the cupcake’s “core” with a knife.) Remove the “core”, and set aside, or gobble up immediately and enjoy the light, fluffy, moist champagne cake! Fill the hole with the strawberry/jam mixture.

Champagne Strawberry Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.  To make the frosting, beat the 6 tablespoons of softened butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the confectioner’s sugar, champagne, and milk. Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip of your liking. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with decorative sprinkles or sanding sugar. Top with fresh strawberries for garnish, if desired. And pour yourself a glass of champagne to celebrate your gorgeous cupcakes!

Champagne Strawberry Cupcakes Champagne Strawberry Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PDF to Print Recipe for Champagne Strawberry Cupcakes