Pancakes with Warm Berry Compote

Pancakes with Warm Berry Compote
You’ll need:
1. 2 cup pancake mix (such as Bisquick)
2. 2 egg
3. 1 cup milk
4. 1 pint strawberries
5. ½ pint blueberries
6. ½ cup orange juice
7. 4 tbsp granulated sugar
8. 2 tspn powdered sugar

You’ll do:
1. Cut the strawberries into quarters and place them in a bowl that has a lid
2. Add blueberries, orange juice, and sugar to the bowl with strawberries. Shake to mix and set aside.
3. Mix pancake mix, egg, and milk in medium size bowl.
4. Heat large skillet or griddle over medium heat.
5. Pour batter onto skillet, 2 at a time. Cook each side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. You can keep cooked pancakes warm on a cookie sheet in a 200F oven.
6. Meanwhile, pour berry mixture into a medium saucepan on medium heat. Heat berry mixture until liquid is reduced to half, about 10 minutes.
7. Serve compote on top of pancakes and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

You can serve this with bacon for a yummy breakfast (or dinner) for 2!
Nam! Nam!

Turkey-Apple Sandwiches

These were a last-minute concoction that turned out quite yummy! They're very simple, with no cooking (duh--it's a sandwich!), but they have some tart granny smith apple slices for an added crunch.

You'll need (for 4 sandwiches):

1. 8 slices Wheat bread (I used 9-gram Sara Lee because they are large slices)
2. 1/2 lb. thick sliced turkey (again, Sara Lee, sliced fresh in the grocery store deli)
3. 1 Granny Smith apple, sliced
4. Spicy or Dijon Mustard

You'll make them by:

1. Preheat your oven broiler on high.
2. Place all the bread slices on a large cookie sheet and brown them for about 2 minutes, or until lightly toasted. I like the soft, freshness of wheat bread, so I only toast one side of it. But, if you want both sides toasted, just flip the slices over and toast another 2 minutes. It's helpful to toast at least one side to keep the bread from getting soggy if not eating the sandwiches immediately.
3. Spread mustard lightly on the toasted side of each bread slice.
4. Place apple slice(s) on 4 of the pieces of toast atop the mustard.
5. Top the apple with 2 oz. of turkey for each sandwich.
6. Place the other bread slice, mustard side down on top of the turkey.
7. Cut diagonally and serve with veggies and dip, fruit salad, or chips!

Nam! Nam!

Mixed Berry Cobbler

This is the simplest dessert that I've ever made...and, there are so many more great things about it! It makes my house smell wonderful. The ingredients don't spoil, so you can keep the items in the kitchen for the time you can't figure out what to cook, or for the company that just "drops by".

What you need:

1. 16 oz package frozen mixed berries (usually includes blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
2. 1/2 cup of water
3. 1 box of butter cake mix
4. 1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine
5. chopped pecans (optional)
6. ice cream (optional)

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Empty the berries into a 9x13 dish.
3. Add the water to the dish.
4. Add the cake mix on top of the berries, making sure to get it somewhat even throughout the dish. I use the back of a spoon to even it out.
5. Thinly slice the sticks of butter and place them on top of the cake mix.
6. Place in oven for 60 minutes or until cake mix is brown and fruit is bubbly. If you choose to use the pecans, sprinkle them on the top for the last 10 minutes of cook time.
7. Serve hot with ice cream on top. If I use pecans on the cobbler, I serve it with Vanilla Bean ice cream. If I omit the pecans, I serve it with Buttered Pecan ice cream (this is my favorite).

This is great, even leftover!

Nam! Nam!

Strawberry Surprise

I love some strawberries... I love them even more in January when they're in season, and you can smell them as soon as you walk into the grocer. They're not as good this time of year, but I'll still eat them on a regular basis... either plain, or with this little trick that I stole from B&A.

Grocery List:
1.) Strawberries
2.) Honey
3.) Coarse ground pepper... not the regular kind. It has to be coarse.

This might be the easiest thing I've ever "made". I use that word lightly, because all you do is wash the strawberries, and put them out with enough honey and pepper to dip in. You dip honey first, then pepper... and repeat as often as necessary... nomnomnom

p.s. The bowl of pink in the first photo is Ms. Linda's Pretty Pink Parfait. I'll save that recipe for tomorrow... so keep reading!!

Fiesta Fruit Salad

Seeing as Becky's recipe request motivated me to blog, I think that it's only fair that it appears as my second post. Without further ado, Fiesta Fruit Salad:

Grocery List:
1.) Fresh fruit: Pineapple (you can buy them without their skin, and already cored at Publix), Oranges, Mango, Blueberries, Kiwi and Strawberries.
(side note: you can use any, or all, of these fruits)
2.) Cilantro... nomnomnom
3.) Red Onion
4.) Honey

Cut the fresh fruit and put it in a large bowl. Add a handful or two of diced cilantro, and about half of a finely chopped red onion. Top the bowl with a good squirt of honey, then mix it, and put it in the fridge over night.

I love fruit of all kinds, but this is seriously the best fruit salad I've ever had in my life... nomnomnom