Low Calorie Strawberry and Lemon Cream Dessert

This is a gorgeous, easy summer dessert that is very light. It has approximately 150 calories per serving, and it tastes so good. You can substitute any kind of fruit for the strawberries. I've used it with blueberries, blackberries, and peaches. Not so good with melon; the tastes just don't mesh. It's a lovely, elegant dessert that will satisfy your craving for sweets without ruining your waistline.


4 ounces (1/2 package) reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel cheese, which tastes exactly the same)
3/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 cups fresh strawberries

Soften cream cheese, or put it on a plate in the microwave for 8 seconds, then flip it over and microwave it 5 seconds more. Scrape it off the plate using a spatula into a bowl. Add yogurt to the bowl along with honey. Using an electric mixer, beat at high speed until light and creamy. Stir in lemon zest.

Layer the lemon cream and strawberries in dessert dishes or wineglasses. If not serving immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.

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Apple Brown Betty

Another simple apple recipe that the quality of the dish depends completely on the taste of the apple you pick. Tart apples cook up better; Winesap, Pink Ladies, Granny Smiths, etc. Find one you like. This is quick and easy, and it serves beautifully. Dish it up with a topping of whipped cream or a Scoop of ice cream.



APPLE BROWN BETTY

3 med. apples, cored and sliced
2 tbsp. raisins
1 tsp. cornstarch
Dash lemon juice
1/4 c. water
2 tsp. brown sugar

Topping:
4 tsp. coconut
4 tsp. butter
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. brown sugar
Dash nutmeg
2 tablespoons walnuts or pecans


Put apple and ingredients in a lightly oiled 8" X 8" Pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mix topping ingredients together. Then put on top of baked apple mixture and bake another 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees.

Pears Poached in Wine

This is a beautiful and easy dessert that will always be a hit. I always feel so decadent eating pears this way; it seems so classy. The beautiful taste of the ripe pears shines through, and it's ultra simple to make.

Pears Poached in Wine

4 firm, ripe pears with stems
2 cups sweet white wine
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cinnamon stick
Candied Orange peel or Orange Peel


Using a melon baller or paring knife, cut cores out through the bottom of the pears, leaving the tops intact and leaving a stem on. Peel the pears. In a Dutch oven or a heavy saucepan, stand pears upright with space between them.

Pour the wine and orange juice over pears. Bring to boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pan and gently simmer the pears, basting occasionally with the wine liquid, until tender, about 25 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat. Using slotted spoon, transfer them to stand in center of 4 dessert plates.

Add cinnamon stick and orange peel or candied orange peel to wine liquid in pot. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat; lower heat and simmer until the sauce is reduced, about 10 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the pears; garnish each with a piece of the cooked orange peel.

Fresh Fruit with Faux Marscarpone cheese

I love marscarpone cheese, but I can't afford it. It's very expensive, and it's very hard to find where I live. I've come up with a reasonable substitute, and this fresh fruit recipe is great for breakfast or for dessert.

Fresh Fruit with Faux Mascarpone Cheese

8 oz package of cream cheese or neufchatel cheese
1/4 cup whipping cream
Fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, etc. doesn't work
with apples, melon, or pears, in my opinion)
Honey, for drizzling

When the cream cheese is softened, beat with the whipping cream. Slice fruit and place in bowl, placing an Ice Cream Scoop (psst. Buy this one and help fight breast cancer) of the cheese on top. Drizzle with honey, to taste.

This is a great way to start your day, or a wonderful, light dessert.

Quick and Easy Fruit Pizza Recipe

This is a great dessert recipe, quick and easy and delicious. You can use any fruit that you like, using seasonal fruits (which I like to do) or using canned fruit, like mandarin oranges. It's light yet satisfying. One thing I recommend; if you don't want your fruit pizza to be soggy, drain your fruit well in a colander in the sink. Of course, it tastes just as good soggy as it does crispy, and sometimes I like the juice all sopped into the crust. Great take-along dessert for parties, but it is a little hard to cut through the fruit. If I'm taking it somewhere, I usually cut the crust before I put on the fruit, then I decorate it. Much easier to serve this way.

Fruit Pizza

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened *see note on softening it quickly below*
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract




Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg and mix until blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate large bowl, then stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Press dough down onto an ungreased pizza pan.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Spread on cooled crust.

Arrange desired fruit on top of filling, and chill.

*Cream cheese can take a while to soften, and if you don't want to wait, remove it from the package and put it on a microwave-safe plate. Place in microwave and microwave on High for about 8 seconds. Turn over. Microwave 8 seconds more. You'll have to scrape it off the plate, but it will be soft.*


This is the best thing I have ever found to spread cream cheese with. I love this thing, and I don't know how I ever did without it. I used it to spread the cream cheese filling on this fruit pizza, by the way. You can't stain it if you try, and I've had everything from strawberries to tomato sauce all over it, and the blade is made from high carbon steel, so it's indestructible (says the woman who accidentally dropped it in the garbage disposal and then turned it on). You can click on the picture to find out more about it.

Gingerbread with wheat germ.

I love a warm piece of gingerbread with applesauce on top. I also love cooking with wheat germ; it adds a crunch and a nutty taste that's just perfect. This recipe combines both of those things, and it's a perfect breakfast food or a healthy afternoon snack. You don't have to serve it warm with applesauce, but I think it's better that way.


Gingerbread


2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs


Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil 9' baking pan.

In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients; mix well. In medium bowl, combine milk, molasses, applesauce, oil and egg; mix well. Add to flour mixture, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into baking pan.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Serve warm with additional applesauce.

Easy Caramel Sauce

This is a quick, easy, and delicious caramel sauce. You always thought it was hard to make caramel, didn't you? It's not, but you have to be organized. Lay out all your ingredients by the stove where you're working, because if you delay with anything, the caramel will burn. Use a pan with high sides, because the sauce will bubble up when you add the butter and cream. And since melted sugar is twice as hot as boiling water, you don't want to get this stuff on you. I usually wear oven gloves while making it, so as not to get any splashes on my skin, but you can keep a dish of ice water close by to put your hands in if you get any splashes as an alternative. Make sure no pets or small children are underfoot. Delicious on ice cream.

Easy Caramel Sauce

1 cup of sugar
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream


Heat sugar on medium high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2 or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir slowly with a whisk.

As soon as all of the sugar has melted and the liquid sugar is amber in color, immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Whisk in the cream until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then pour into a glass jar and cool to room temperature. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Ice cream tile coaster or spoon holder

Pecan Pralines

This is the easiest pecan praline recipe ever. It's rich, creamy, and wonderful, and it's very simple to make. The recipe is very easy to halve, and if you don't want a whole house full of candy to tempt you, that's a good thing.

* 1 1/4 cups of sugar
* 3/4 cups of brown sugar
* 1/2 cup of milk
* 4 tablespoons frozen butter
* 1 tablespoon vanilla
* 1 1/2 cups pecans


Put sugars and milk in cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan, and cook to soft ball stage.*see note below* Take off burner and add frozen butter, vanilla and pecans. Beat with wooden spoon until shine leaves mixture. Drop by spoonfuls onto buttered dish or waxed paper.

*soft ball stage is when mixture is dropped into cold water, it can be formed into a soft ball and sticks together.

Apple Pie

With good, fresh apples, an apple pie is simple. You don't want it too sweet or too spiced. I know a lot of people make it this way, but I want the taste of the apples to come through. The apples themselves will make a juice that thickens with the sugar in the recipe, so you don't have to do a thing but add the ingredients directly into the unbaked pie crust.

A good apple is crucial to a good pie. I've been hooked on Pink Lady apples lately. I'd never eaten them before, and found some in my local grocery. They're delicious to eat raw or cooked. Slightly tart and very crisp, the taste and texture is amazing. Use your favorite apple and make this recipe uniquely your own.

Apple Pie

6 cups thinly sliced apples
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Pastry for a double crust pie, either store bought or home-made

Combine sugar and cinnamon. You can lessen or raise the amount of sugar in this recipe based on the tartness of the apples you are using. Use an amount to your taste. Arrange apples in layers in pie shell. Sprinkle each layer with sugar and cinnamon. Dot top layer with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust.
Place on lowest rack in oven preheated to 450 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes longer. Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

It's strawberry season here in Florida again. And nothing beats fresh strawberries. Don't you just love 'em? I could eat them every day.

In addition to tasting delicious, strawberries are great for you: low in fat and calories, strawberries are naturally high in fiber, vitamin C, folate, potassium and antioxidants. They're the perfect fruit.

The recipe below makes two pies, but you can easily cut it in half to make one. I use a graham cracker crust, but you can substitute a regular pie crust if you wish.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 3 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1/2 cup water with one tablespoon lemon juice added
* 1/2 cup apple juice
* 4 pints strawberries, hulled
* 2 9-inch graham cracker crust pie shells


Cook sugar, cornstarch, apple juice, and water with lemon until thick; cool. If the sauce gets too thick upon standing, you can thin it with a little apple juice. Place whole berries in the pie shells. Pour sauce over berries and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping.

That's it. Eat and enjoy.

Easy cupcake recipe

Lots of cool Halloween t shirts right here


This is the easiest cupcake recipe ever, and it makes perfect cupcakes every time. After they're done, unleash your creativity and decorate at will. At Halloween, orange icing and I make spiders out of a piece of hard candy and licorice for legs. At Christmas, red icing with a piped Santa Claus hat . . . you get the picture.

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape side of bowl with a spatula.

Add eggs to the mixture. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape bowl again. Beat on high speed for 1 minute 30 seconds until well mixed.

Spoon cupcake batter into paper liners until 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes in pans then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely.

Decorate, eat, and enjoy.

Chocolate chip cookies

I was in the mood for cookies today, and there is absolutely nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven. Add nuts if you desire; coconut is great, too. Be creative; make 'em with chocolate caramel chips, or butterscotch, or add dried fruit. You can't ruin these cookies, and you can't find a better chocolate chip cookie recipe. If you need a chocolate fix, there is no comparison.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups (12-ounce package) Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.