Tropical Pearberry Smoothie

 Spring is upon us and that means that my cravings for fruit rise.  This morning I gave into those cravings with glee! 

This smoothie is light (yet filling), refreshing and surprises you with a wonderful lite

 coconut aftertaste.

Indulge in the sweetness that Spring brings:

Tropical Pearberry Smoothie

Yield: 1 - 16oz. Drink

Ingredients:

1/2 Bartlett Pear

3 large ripe Strawberries

1 cup frozen Peaches (4-6 slices)

1 tsp. Honey

2 Tbsp. plain Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup ALMOND BREEZE - Almondmilk Coconutmilk blend  

Instructions:

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until  smooth.

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Stuffed French Toast ~ Pineapple & Sweet Cream

Years ago I used to go to a restaurant in Temecula, California called Columbo's. They had the most amazing stuffed French toast. I mean, this thing was absolutely addictive.

There was this sense of being almost regal as I made my way one delicious bite after another through that decadent French toast...it seriously felt like it should only be served to royalty.

I hadn't thought of it in years and it just hit me when I went to make breakfast for my kiddles one morning. "I need to make a stuffed French toast this morning." And I couldn't get it out of my head.

So there I was with this intense craving which pushed me to come up with my own stuffed French toast recipe.

Here we go, I start off by taking 2 ounces of cream cheese (I didn't say that this was going to be kind to your hips)

 

and mash it so there isn't just a big block of cheese in the bowl.

Then I add just a touch of vanilla extract. It doesn't take much to make something taste perfectly heavenly.

A little bit of powdered sugar, just to sweeten the cream cheese a bit.

Now for the fruit. I happened to have some crushed pineapple, so, why not? Drained and super sweet...perfect.

Time to spread on our cheese topping. Only on one side though, and not to the edges. The idea is to keep the filling inside the French toast, not running out the edges.

Place another slice on top and we are ready for dipping this little sandwich into some egg mix. One step closer!

Into a pie tin go two eggs and some cinnamon. You just can't have French toast without cinnamon.

A little surprise...some more vanilla extract. It just seems that this needs to happen...every time anyone makes French toast. But that's just my stance on it.

Give everything a little whip...but try not to get going too fast. It can cause cinnamon to fly everywhere...trust me, I know. There was a little clean-up before I snapped this shot.

Skillet is getting nice and hot...time to add a couple pats of butter. Move those pats of butter around the pan and get it all bubbly for our stuffed French toast.

Take stuffed French toast #1 and lay it in the egg mixture. Allow it to sit for about 45-60 seconds to absorb some of the egg and cinnamon,

then flip it over carefully and allow the backside to do the same.

Into the skillet it goes for about 3-5 minutes over medium high heat, depending on the stove.

I move my assembly line to the side of the stove. It just makes it so much easier to get the drenched toast to the skillet.

Check out that bubbling butter! When the cinnamon hits it you are just rewarded with this wonderful aroma...instant feel good.

Okay, this has been cooking for about 4 minutes and was time to flip it over. I like to check the doneness of the toast at the 3 minute mark by just quickly lifting the toast with my spatula so that I can see what the middle looks like.

Golden brown is what I'm looking for.

Then let it cook for another 3-5 minutes on the other side...be patient because the reward is so good!

Plate our first stuffed French toast and cut it on the diagonal then add a couple pats of butter. A light dusting of powdered sugar and then drizzle a little bit of syrup and we're good to go! (I like the butter flavor syrup for this one.)

Cut a little corner of this slice of heaven...take a moment to fully appreciate all of the flavors that hit the tongue...

Oh yeah, this is perfect!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

There are always open plates ready to receive pancakes in our home. And the creative side of me wants to always do something a little bit different…not just plain pancakes.

The one thing that I do consistently is rely on Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix…they always come out wonderful and with a little bit of tweaking, they become my own. And my little kiddles love them!

 P.S. ~ This is a great pancake recipe for the kiddles to get involved in. They just need and adult to man the stove for them.

In a medium mixing bowl I add the pancake mix,

then add the water called for on the mix's instructions, but reduce the amount by 1/4 cup.

Next the star of the pancake...applesauce! I add the 1/4 cup that was removed from the amount of water that the mix called for.

 I really like the flavor of the natural applesauce, not the ones that have a bunch of sugar added to them.

Time to get to whisking. Just a quick whisk to make sure that the applesauce gets incorporated into the batter.

Now for the spices....I love cinnamon and have to constantly remind myself that not everyone is as much of a cinnamon fan as I am...especially my little Grace. So the recipe listed below has less cinnamon than what I chose to add to these cakes here.

The adjustment of more will be completely up to you.

For me there are very few things that go together with cinnamon better than nutmeg...and I have to remember to hold back on the nutmeg too. (love that stuff!) So, the amount called for in the recipe is also adjusted to be less than what I personally enjoy.

Just trying to keep everyone happy here.

Alright, give it another quick whisk to get those spices in there...I love the way all of those little specks of cinnamon and nutmeg look in the batter.

Now over to the stove. Take a Teflon coated skillet and place a pat of butter in the center to melt. I take a gravy ladle to make pouring these cakes a little bit cleaner...and the same size. One ladle each makes a perfect sized pancake for my girls...and allows me to fit 2 cakes in the skillet.

Wait until the bubbles start appearing on the surface of the cakes...they let us know when it's time to do the flip.

And.....FLIP! Very nice, very nice indeed. All they need is just about 3 more minutes and they will be ready to get dressed and served.

Now I just top the pancakes with a little bit of powdered sugar and a large mountain of whipped cream for my kiddles.

They like them just like this without any syrup.

And two little pancakes are perfect for filling their little tummies.

Now for Momma, I like to make a nice big cake...2 ladles worth, right into the center of the skillet.

Just wait a couple minutes for the bubbles to start surfacing and then...

FLIP!

Just look at that color!

Mmmm...and the smell of the cinnamon and nutmeg just sing out to you.

Just a couple minutes more and then I get to dress my cake!

Now, I am not a fan of maple syrup. If you like it then go for it, but I will typically choose to use either a butter flavored syrup or a fruit one.

Since there are already mashed up apples in this cake, I'm not going to top it with anything that will take away from them.

So, I do a sprinkling of powdered sugar, a drizzle of butter flavored syrup and a mountain of whipped cream on top.

Time to enjoy my apple cinnamon pancakes...Good Morning!

Pearberry Compote Frozen Yogurt

I L-O-V-E LOVE frozen yogurt with fresh fruit. And at a time when strawberries and pears are ripe for the picking, there is no better time for me to pull out a scoop or two of frozen yogurt. (this compote is also terrific over pancakes)

When I'm making this just for myself, I grab a handful of strawberries and a pear. (recipe below is for 4 servings or for someone who likes to hoarde the goods)
Then slice or dice them up...it just depends on my mood...

View complete posting: Pearberry Compote Frozen Yogurt

Tangy Apricot Syrup

My Grandpa (Ron) Garrison used to always have this incredible apricot syrup that he would jar every year. (with a small orchard of apricots and cherries he had to find something to do with all of them) It was one of those things that I looked forward to every year at Christmas time. We would drive up to Ogden, Utah and every morning my nose was greeted with the smells of coffee, bacon, sausage, eggs and banana pancakes. Let me tell you, when you couple banana pancakes with apricot syrup…well there’s just no better way to start your day! (I must confess that I do like to change it up with blueberries from time to time though)

Apricots are just one of those summer fruits that I absolutely love…and I love them even more when I can mix them into different platings of food. So this year I decided to make my own apricot syrup to use on pancakes, crepes, ice cream, over the top of pork chops (oh yeah, it’s good)…whatever I come up with.

If you’ve never attempted to make a syrup before, not to worry…neither had I. If I can do it, you can do it...

View complete posting: Tangy Apricot Syrup

Peachberry Smoothie

My girls love smoothies...and my little Rose has an infatuation with strawberries. So I came up with this simple breakfast concoction for her. There isn't a smoothie that she's met that she hasn't loved.



Smoothies need to be nice and frosty, so I start with some vanilla frozen yogurt. I really like Blue Bunny's vanilla...or Dryer's Vanilla Yogurt Blend.

View complete posting: Peachberry Smoothie

Sunrise Smoothie

I'm not much of morning person, so anything that can help brighten my day is always welcomed. This is a very simple recipe for a quick jumpstart to a healthy day...packed with vitamin C & potassium too! PLUS, it's a great gluten-free option. Added Bonus: The Kiddles Love It!

So I start with crushed ice...2-3 cups depending on how thick I want my smoothie. (and if I'm using fresh fruit, I always make it 3 cups of ice) Pour in one cup of vanilla flavored Almond Milk. You could also use vanilla flavored Soy Milk, but I personally prefer the Almond Milk for this smoothie.

View complete posting: Sunrise Smoothie

Sunrise Smoothie

I'm not much of morning person, so anything that can help brighten my day is always welcomed. This is a very simple recipe for a quick jumpstart to a healthy day...packed with vitamin C & potassium too! PLUS, it's a great gluten-free option. Added Bonus: The Kiddles Love It!

So I start with crushed ice...2-3 cups depending on how thick I want my smoothie. (and if I'm using fresh fruit, I always make it 3 cups of ice) Pour in one cup of vanilla flavored Almond Milk. You could also use vanilla flavored Soy Milk, but I personally prefer the Almond Milk for this smoothie...

View complete posting: Sunrise Smoothie

Blue Raz Smoothie

With Spring here and Summer right around the corner, it's time to get into the "smoothie mode"! My family L-O-V-E-S smoothies. And during the Summer, we really go through a lot of juice and frozen fruit. And the smoothie tends to become breakfast quite a bit too.