With summer quickly approaching… and by quickly I mean a few days away, I thought it would be perfect to share a few desserts that I’ve made recently.  These scrumptious recipes were found through twitter and blogs, of course (they are my favorite places to ask and look)!  The first one was given to me by Navywife3619.  I had asked a question on twitter for simple, delicious BBQ/potluck ideas and she came back with the idea of making a Chocolate Trifle!

Yum!  This recipe truly was so simple and so deliciously sweet and yummy!  All that this includes is devil’s food cake, chocolate pudding, whipped cream and heath bar (toffee).  You bake the devil’s food cake according to the box directions and once it’s done you cut it up into squares and layer the bottom of a bowl.  Then put a layer of chocolate pudding on top, whipped cream on top, sprinkled bits of Heath bar on top, then another layer of cake, pudding, whipped cream and Heath bar on top again and you’re done!  Easy peasy, oh yes! 

Next up is a dessert I made for my friend’s bridal shower!  It’s healthy (sorta) and the presentation is great.  It’s none other than Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries – seen on Sugar Derby!

My suggestion is to make this dessert the day you serve it and it is sure to be a crowd-pleaser (the strawberries may be a bit soggy and not as fresh the following day).  You basically hollow out a strawberry, stuff it with a cheesecake mixture and top it with graham cracker bits.  It is heavenly I tell you… and for all those healthy folks… well, it’s fruit!!  And now I might just be drooling all over my keyboard as I finish this post.

What are your favorite summer desserts (links appreciated)?

{pictures taken by me – oh how i heart food photography}

Blueberry Banana Pancakes (recipe from Real Mom Kitchen)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups well shaken buttermilk (you may need a little more if you want a thinner batter, if you use milk/lemon juice substitute in place of the buttermilk the batter will be thinner)
• 1/4 cup well mashed banana
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
• container of fresh blueberries

1. Mix dry ingredients together in medium bowl.
2. Add all wet ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, banana and oil)  to a separate bowl and stir just until blended.
3. Add the wet ingredient to the dry ingredients just until combined.   Do not over mix, batter will be slightly lumpy.
4. Lightly coat skillet with oil.  Heat to medium low (I do one notch below medium).
5. Drop 1/4 cup of batter onto heated skillet.  Use the back side of a spoon to help even out the batter if needed.  Sprinkle with some fresh blueberries.
6. Cook on first side until bubbles begin to form on surface and underside is golden, about 2 minutes.
7. Flip over and cook another 2 minutes until golden brown and center springs back when lightly touched.
8. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter. Makes 10-12 pancakes.

We’ve been buying a lot of fruit lately.  Blueberries, mangoes, bananas, strawberries, apples, and clementines.  I LOOOVE eating blueberries and sliced mangoes when they are frozen, bananas mixed into breads, strawberries with whipped cream, apples as is, and tons and tons of clementines (Cuties to be exact) in a row.  Sometimes we buy so much fruit that they end up going bad before we have a chance to eat them, and that makes be so very very sad.  So in an effort to save the bananas and blueberries in our household, I served up a hearty breakfast of Blueberry Banana Pancakes last weekend… and it was muy delicioso I tell ya!  I think the maple syrup really tied it all together, oh yes it did.  I wish I had time to make fancy breakfasts like this every morning, but alas, they are more special since they are weekend treats. 

What are your favorite fruits of the moment?

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, (yes folks, it’s coming up faster than you think!) Ingredients, Inc. is going to share a fabulous recipe with us!  Want to know what’s even better about it?  It’s dessert and it has strawberries, I’m drooling already.

Alison Lewis is a nationally known Recipe Developer, Food Television and Media Spokesperson and Owner of Ingredients, Inc., a Food Consulting Company in Birmingham for 9 years. She is known for creating healthy, family-friendly recipes that are easy to prepare, and she offers great entertaining ideas on her blog, http://ingredientsinc.net. Her first cookbook, 400 Best Sandwich Recipes: Ideas for Every Meal and Occasion, will be internationally published this spring by Robert Rose Books. Alison’s recipes are frequently featured in well- known magazine publications, food companies, and cookbooks. Her recipes have been published in Southern Living, Cooking Light, Better Homes and Gardens, Birmingham Magazine, Clean Eating, Cuisine at Home, Oxygen, Yum Food and Yum Food for Kids. She has worked on recipes and media with companies such as Coca Cola, General Mills, Wisconsin Milk and Marketing Board, Kraft, Honeysuckle White, Kellogg’s, Whole Foods Market, Nestle and more. Alison is the mother of three children, an avid runner and does yoga in her spare time.

I am so excited to share one of my newest and most favorite recipes for Strawberry Cobbler just in time for Valentine’s Day to “Sandy A La Mode’s” readers. I have been following Sandy’s blog for a while, and I am a big fan. She has been so kind to answer questions from time to time regarding blogging as well as to allow me to “guest post” on her site today. My career is in recipe development and spokesperson work for magazines, food companies and public relation firms. I started my blog Ingredients, Inc. in the fall of 2008 sharing my favorite family-friendly recipes.

I developed this Strawberry Cobbler recipe for Valentine’s Day for a special Valentine’s dessert for my family, but it’s also one of the recipes I will be teaching in my Valentine’s Kids cooking class in early February. This recipe turned out great on the first try with the perfect flavor of strawberries and texture of the oat topping. It’s super easy to prepare, heart warming and bursting with strawberry flavor. When my three children tasted it, they said, “Mom, this is the best thing you have ever made.” I took that as a huge compliment. Serve this to your special Valentine this year, and you will get many hugs in return.

Strawberry Cobbler

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients
4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dry oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spread strawberries evenly in a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish; set aside.
3. Combine flour, sugar, oats and baking powder in a medium bowl, mixing well. Add egg and cinnamon, stirring gently with a fork to combine. Sprinkle flour mixture evenly over strawberries. Drizzle with butter.
4. Bake in preheated oven 40 to 45 minute or until lightly browned and bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Thanks for this delicious sounding and looking dessert, Alison!  I can’t wait to make this for my hubby!    Hope you’re all having a great weekend!

So my last three recipe posts had pumpkin in them, nothing wrong with pumpkin, I mean I LOVE pumpkin, but I’m guessing you’re probably ready for something new huh?  This weeks recipe was sent to by my friend Amy, from Pura Vida Nutrition!  And what’s so special about this recipe?  Well, it uses stevia, instead of sugar!  From the trusted Wikipedia, stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, even enhancing glucose tolerance; therefore, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets.  Would you believe that 3/4 teaspoon of powdered stevia is equal to 1/2 cup of sugar??? (Stevia also comes in liquid form and 1/4 teaspoon of liquid is equal to 2 teaspoons of sugar.)  OK, enough with the lesson and on to the pictures and recipe!    I introduce to you the White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookie, a soft, cake-like wonderful cookie!

How does it look?  It’s a mix of white chocolate chips , cranberries, and delicious soft dough… perfect for a holiday party!  Here’s the recipe adapted from Sensational Stevia Desserts by Lisa Jobs, background design created by Lovely Design, if you’d like to try it!  I think I was inspired by the Winter Recipe Exchange to put my recipe on a “card” this time instead of just listing it out in a post!

*Note: these cookies will NOT brown on top like traditional cookies, so you must first check the bottom for browning to tell if they are done.  You can also put a toothpick in center to see if its dry.  If so, then cookie is done.  Enjoy!!

Have you baked with stevia before?

Need a delicious, unique, simple to prepare, crowd pleasing appetizer for a party?  Then try making these Pistachio and Goat Cheese Grape Truffles!  I made these for the Baby Shower I blogged about yesterday and they were a hit!  This recipe was given to me by Sue from Inspire, Fashion and Photography (she blogs about trendy fashion that catches her eye and has cute pics of her adorable baby girl as well)!

Ingredients

40 red (or green) seedless grapes
2 packs (1.5 ounce) goat cheese
1/2 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped

Directions

1. Take a grape one by one and roll the goat cheese all around like a little ball.

2. Then take the grape with goat cheese around it and roll it in the pistachio nut mix.

3. Serve in whole truffle form or cut in half.

4. Truffles can be stored in fridge for up to a week.

Was that easy or what??  So easy that I probably didn’t need to show you a picture tutorial of it, oh well, at least I got to practice my food photography, yea??    These little bites are sweet, salty and sassy… and rather unexpected that a grape is inside if served in whole form, I love surprising people!

The weather has been super warm lately and what better thing is there to do than have a refreshing bowl of blueberries, munch on an apple, dip strawberries in whipped cream or have some lemonade, yummy!  On our past Costco trip, my husband and I bought a TON of fruit with the vow to eat fruit with every meal so that it wouldn’t go bad (I just hate when you buy food but don’t eat it in time before it goes rotten)!  So because I’ve got fruit in my mouth it’s also been on my mind… and now… on my blog!

clutch: bagatelles co clutch seen on le passion for fashion
drink: lemonade seen on the ardent sparrow
sew: berry fabric sold by poppy seed fabrics
wed: e-session seen on ever ours
stand: lemonade stand seen on dandelion and grey
eat: blueberry shortcakes made by savory sweet life
party: dessert table for sweet baby made by amy atlas
stitch: happy apple cross-stitch pattern sold by andwabisabi

Did that make you hungry??  Well good!  Go get yourself a healthy dose of fruit right now then, it’s good for ya!  Hope everyone has a great Father’s Day weekend!  Unfortunately, I won’t be able to spend this one with either of my Dad’s but at least I did get to see both of them in May.  Come back next week for another giveaway that you won’t want to miss!

As you know, my parent’s came to visit Marv and I last week. My parents have visited us many a time in Kansas City, but this time my Mom really wanted to go to the Steamboat Arabia Museum, a popular tourist attraction which Marv and I had not visited before. Kind of crazy to think that we’ve lived here for 5 years and have gone to the Farmer’s Market in front of the Museum probably 50 times, but never once did we think about visiting the museum.  So like the wonderful children that we are, we decided to take my parents there for Mother’s Day!  Here our story begins…

We began the morning by strolling through the main drag of City Market…

we were greeted by a friendly fruit and veggie salesman…

saw a solemn and sweet as honey boy playing with his balloon animal…

our ears pined for sweet sounds…

we biked our way through a flower garden…

and cooled off with some scrumptious bubble tea…

and refreshing fro-yo (ignore the baskin robbins sign)

and just really had a chirpy time.

Then we time traveled back to September 5, 1856, where we were set to board the majestic Steamboat Arabia adventure…

where the boat was filled with whiskey (so they say) and china…

keys, buttons, apparel galore…

until pow!  the boat hit this little snag and brought all of these treasures down into the missouri river (of which these treasures were rediscovered in 1988 by a team of researchers)…

but, don’t worry, all of the passengers survived (except for a poor mule) and they are still years of restoration to be had!

Hope you enjoyed my picture story and history lesson!   All pictures were put through rollip classic effect #1.

I’ve also linked up my favorite photo from this set to Sweet Shot Tuesdays, you’ll have to click the link to find out which one!  Make sure to link up your own photos as well!  And by the way, I met my first blogger friend in real life this past weekend and it was AWESOME SAUCE, and she just happens to have 3 handsome boybarians. 

I know what some of you may be thinking after reading the title of this post, but bare with me, you may be pleasantly surprised! My friend Elisa recently told me about a delicious and healthy dessert called Nasoya Chocolate Silken Style Creations. I had actually never heard of it before and realized that it was sold in health food stores and the nearest one to me is too far away. So I decided to try and concoct something on my own and it ended up being quite tasty! It’s smooth, creamy, and tastes just like chocolate mousse from a restaurant… but it’s made of tofu so you know it’s healthier!

Ingredients

• 1 package silken tofu
• 5 oz. chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream (optional)
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 dash vanilla extract

Directions

1. Blend tofu in food processor until smooth.
2. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and heavy cream.
3. Add melted chocolate mixture, honey and vanilla into tofu mixture and blend until creamy.
4. Chill mousse in fridge until ready to serve.

Eat mousse as is or serve layered with graham crackers, strawberries, bananas and whipped cream. Either way it is delicious!

Special THANKS to my childhood friend Elisa for inspiring me to make this!

{Caution: This post my make you drool on your keyboard}

I want to be a professional food photographer who takes pictures like the following…

found on to be charmed, all i can say is WOW! these lovely desserts were made and photographed by mowie of mowielicious. i totally could use one of those cake stands!

what’s for lunch, honey? i don’t know about lunch, but i will take a cup of mango and passionfruit tiramisu & a bowl of prosecco pears with blood orange mascarpone cream for dessert!

make your steamy kitchen smell delicious with a citrus shrimp cocktail & easter ham with mango ginger glaze

i love how la tartine gourmande has many colors and textures to her photos. gourmande is the french to describe anyone who cannot resist food, i think i’ll be using this word more often to describe myself.

Here is the current state of my food photography:

Some ways I could improve are to lighten up my photos and add fun props like flowers, colorful napkins, trays… yup, I have my work cut out for me…

…for now, I’m just taking one baby step at a time.

oh yea… evan’s also a gourmande, guess it runs in the family.

(pictures of my nephew were taken by my sister-in-law, can’t wait to see them in 2 days, he’s growing up so fast!!!! the last time i saw evan was when i made cake pops for his 1st birthday party and he was still crawling!)