Kicked-Up Smoothies

Who doesn’t love a refreshing fruit smoothie? That frosty combination of fresh fruits and yogurt (along with 1 or 2 coconut water ice cubes…or 3 or 4) is a great summer drink. But, correct me if I’m wrong, they can get to be a bit boring. Am I right? Well, boring smoothies are a thing of the past, thanks to this mouth-tingling recipe from The Great Pepper Cookbook by Melissa’s Produce.

You will be stunned, STUNNED I tell you, at how zippy a smoothie can be when you add a Serrano chile pepper. You can crank the heat up a bit by leaving in some of the seeds, but as is, this recipe is perfect.

If you often have trouble opening your eyes in the morning, this breakfast is for you (in which case you can swap out the frozen yogurt for Greek yogurt). Yummy!

Kicked-Up Smoothies

From The Great Pepper Cookbook

2 cups low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt

1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks

1 banana

1 fresh Serrano chile pepper, stem & seeds removed, 

finely diced

Place all ingredients in a blender (I use a Ninja); process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

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Keeping it Simple

Creative Ways

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Thursty Thursday

Mango-Pineapple Aguas Frescas

I have been crazy about Agua Frescas ever since trying it for the first time last year. With my new love of mangos, this recipe for a Mango-Pineapple Agua Fresca in a recent Parade Magazine caught my eye. Talk about cool and refreshing (not to mention a healthy thirst quencher on those 90+ degree summer days); I think this is going to be my “go to” drink of the summer. It can easily do double-duty as a hydrating drink throughout the day, and with the addition of rum (the original recipe suggested vodka or gin, but I found rum the most flavorful) it smoothly transitions into cocktail hour. Make up a pitcher and keep it in the fridge. Delicious!

Mango-Pineapple Aguas Frescas
Parade Magazine, July 22, 2014

3 cups chopped mango (I used Melissa's)
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
4 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice 

Combine all ingredients and purée in a blender. Pass through a fine mess strainer* twice, and serve over ice. Makes about 8 cups. 

For a grown-up version, add 1 to 1-1/2 cups gin or vodka to the batch. 

*I found that this did not easily pass through a fine mess strainer, so I used a regular strainer and it worked just fine. It will leave you with a delicious pulp about the consistency of applesauce. Chill it and then heap it into a peach half atop a lettuce leaf for a fruity summer salad.

This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Create It Thursday

Inspiration Gallery Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday

Home Sweet Home

Pattie’s “Masterpiece” Baked Beans

Summer isn't summer without picnic food -- deviled eggs, chicken, potato salad, and baked beans, and, fortunately, I have great recipes for them all.   My “go to” recipe for baked beans has always been the one from K.C. Masterpiece.  Up until now, it was the best baked bean recipe that I had ever tasted.  Up until now.  Yesterday, when I pulled out the recipe, spattered and torn with age, I immediately came to the realization that I didn't have two of the necessary ingredients - golden raisins and a good, tart apple.  Hmmmm.   Undaunted, I rummaged around to see what I did have.  A partial bag of Melissa's dried cranberries -- a pantry staple -- sounded like a good substitute for the raisins, but what about the apple?  I opened the fridge and a bowl of newly cut fresh pineapple chunks stared me in the face.  Okay, not an apple per se, but pineapple.   I’ll take it!  So I made the substitutions and said nothing about it when my son game by to pick up a “carry out” meal that I had prepared for him.  Less than a half hour later I heard from him.   He and my daughter-in-law loved those beans.   Absolutely, the best, they said, that they had ever tasted.  I have to agree.  These two on-the-spot substitutions made for a unique and delicious twist on a traditional summer side dish.   It is my “go to” recipe for the future.   Give them a try.

Pattie’s “Masterpiece” Baked Beans

1 (28 oz.) can Bush’s Best Original baked beans, drained

2/3 cup barbecue sauce, use your favorite

1T.  Melissa’s dried cranberries

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

½ cup fresh pineapple, diced into ½” cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

3 strips uncooked bacon

Preheat oven to 350°.   Mix all ingredients (except bacon) together in a large mixing bowl.   Pour into a 2-quart baking dish.  Top with bacon.   Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.  Prepare to dazzle your friends.

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Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Seasonal Sundays

Mixed Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

This is a great time of the year for fresh fruit lovers like me.  The abundance and variety has me looking for new ways to prepare it almost daily.  I like a nice dish of mixed fruit, but sometimes that can get to be a bit boring.  This tasty dressing adds a bit of sweetness and zing to any fresh fruit that may be lurking in overflowing bowls on your counter or bins in your fridge.  It’s a huge hit at brunch, but equally welcome as a refreshing afternoon snack or light dessert.

Mixed Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
2 cups Melissa’s Canary melon*
2 cups Melissa’s Hami melon*
2 cups seedless Melissa’s Muscato grapes
2 cups diced peeled and cored fresh pineapple
1 cup halved hulled strawberries

Whisk first 4 ingredients together in a small bowl to blend; set aside. Toss any variety of fruits together in large bowl. Mix dressing into fruit. Let stand 15 minutes to blend flavors.

This can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead.  Do not mix dressing with fruit until just before you are ready to serve.

Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

*Use a melon baller to make rounds rather than dicing them into squares

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What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Pineapple-Coconut Pie

It was one of those weekends where a lot of things went wrong.  I was hosting a Mother’s Day luncheon, I’d run out of time, and nearly everything that I reached for to prepare the meal, I didn’t seem to have.  When my mother announced that she had a hankering for pie (Her words were, “such a taste for...” but me?  I hanker.), I knew I had to make one.  But short on cream, low on fruit, devoid of bananas, lacking pecans, the cupboard was largely bare, with the exception of a couple of oddball items.  Fortunately while paging through the Post-Dispatch Cookbook of specially requested recipes from area restaurants my eyes fell upon this one.  Quick and easy to make, the ingredients on hand, I knew I had a winner.

As it turned out, I did; everyone loved it.  The name, I think, is a bit of a misnomer.  It does contain pineapple, but none of the diners could taste its presence in the pie, all simply agreed that it was very good.

Pineapple-Coconut Pie

Elsah Landing Restaurant, Grafton, IL

Yield: 8 servings

For crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

2 to 3-1/3 tablespoons ice water

For Filling:

3 eggs, beaten

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

To prepare crust: To measure flour, spoon lightly into a 1-cup dry measure.  Level off.  Sift flour and salt together into a large bowl.  Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two table knives until mixture forms particles slightly larger than grains of rice.  Sprinkle with ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Toss gently with a fork until all particles are uniformly moistened and will barely stick together.

Shape mixture into a ball.  Roll out on a lightly floured pastry cloth to form a circle.  Ease into a 9-inch pie plate; flute the edges. (NOTE: Who has the time?  I used a Redi-Crust.)

To prepare filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt, melted butter, pineapple, and coconut.  Mix well.  Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 300 degrees; bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until center seems set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Top with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinklings of toasted coconut, if desired.  Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Foodie Friday at Simple Living

Sweets for a Saturday

Sunday's Best Party

For more delicious pie recipes, this is one of my favorite resources:

Tantalizingly Tangy Meatloaf

 Perhaps it’s because I have such a fondness for cheeseburgers (dare I mention that it is my favorite food?), that I also have a fondness for meatloaf.  There is something so wonderfully comforting about both the making and eating that I am continually on the quest for new recipes.  For something seemingly so simple, there are a lot of variations.  The one I tried today contained an ingredient that I have to admit I’ve never used in meatloaf before, pineapple, but the results were delicious.  The meatloaf was moist and flavorful, and not overly seasoned to allow the sweet and tangy glaze to act as the perfect complement.  I scooped up what fell into the pan to use atop the meat like a relish.  Succulent!

Tantalizingly Tangy Meatloaf

Based on a recipe from allrecipes.com

1 pound ground chuck

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1 large egg

Garlic powder to taste

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup ketchup

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 small can crushed pineapple

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.  In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well, and pat into a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.  (You’re not finished, stick with me here.)

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar and pineapple. Cook over medium heat until a lot of the liquid has evaporated.* Pour glaze over the partially baked meatloaf and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Remove from pan to a cutting board using a spatula (or two).  Allow to “rest” for 5-7 minutes before slicing.

*The original recipe called for pineapple preserves. I found them to be quite elusive, so chose to make it this way instead.  Essentially you want a thick-ish glaze for the meatloaf, so you can cook it down until it becomes a consistency that suits you.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Foodie Friday

Foodie Friday at Simple Living

Sunday's Best Party

 For more wonderful meatloaf recipes, check out this book: