Corn w/ Cilantro Lime Butter

I have been seeing grilled corn recipes EVERYWHERE!!! Seriously, open up Pinterest, magazines, food shows, etc. and I am sure you too will see it! I decided that I needed to try it. This recipe is a variation of about three recipes, that I decided to combine into one, hehe! It turned out delicious!! The lime added a yummy, sweet twist to the corn!! I highly recommend trying this, especially with grilling season upon us!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced

1 1/2 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp grated lime peel

1 tsp Garlic Powder

10-14 medium ears sweet corn, husks removed

Parmesan Cheese, optional

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together butter, cilantro, lime juice, lime peel, and garlic powder. Once combined, place in a bowl and place in refrigerator to firm back up. Meanwhile, wrap each ear of corn individually and grill corn 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Turn the corn occasionally while cooking. Once corn is cooked, remove from foil and spread cilantro butter over the corn. Sprinkle cheese on top if desired. Serve!

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Lemon Pound Cake Fruit Trifle

For Father's Day, we went over to my parents house for a barbecue. I was in charge of bringing dessert, and chose to make a trifle. I have a huge "slight" obsession with chocolate, so typically every dessert I make has chocolate in it, he-he  This time however, I was in the mood for a change and wanted to go for a more "summertime" type dessert! This one was put together in about 5 minutes, and the lemon custard in between each layer was SO tasty!! You can change up the fruit and make it how you prefer. I chose to use raspberry and blueberry in mine since my kids love them!!

Ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups milk
2 packages instant lemon pudding (the small boxes)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups fresh Blueberries
2 cups fresh Raspberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 packages frozen pound cake, thawed and cubed (I used Sara Lee, you can even make a pound cake if you prefer)
8 oz whipped topping

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together condensed milk, milk, and pudding for about 2 minutes. Fold in sour cream. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix the blueberries and raspberries with the lemon juice. In a trifle bowl, place 1/2 the cut up pound cake on bottom. Put 1/2 the fresh fruit on top of cake, followed by 1/2 the lemon custard. Continue pattern one more time, ending with the custard. Spread a layer of whipped topping on top of custard layer and if you have extra fruit, create a fun pattern on top!! Serve!!

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Albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup)

Albondigas also known as Mexican meatball soup around my house, is one of my most favorite things to make. It has all the flavors you would think to find in Mexican food . Some people make this recipe with less broth but I like the soup like feeling it has with all the broth. This would be a fun one to even have the kids help you roll the meatballs. Have fun making it and Enjoy!

1 lb of lean Ground beef

1/4 cup of chopped cilantro 

1/4 cup of chopped onion

1/4 cup of long grain rice

1 tomato diced

3 garlic cloves minced

2 carrots peeled and diced

1 large egg

8 cups of water

1 can of tomato sauce

2 chicken bouillon cubes 

2 potatoes cubed (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients up to the eggs, in a medium size bowl. Form meatballs and set aside. Bring water to a boil, add the bouillon cubes. Taste broth to make sure it's flavorful enough. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour in the tomato sauce and stir. Drop in the meatballs carefully. Add potatoes if you wish. Bring heat down to medium hot and cook for about 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy with warm tortillas. 

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I mentioned a few weeks ago, how AWESOME this ketchup was. I seriously never knew that there was a difference in ketchup tastes, but let me tell you, this one would win every time. Not only is it delicious, but it is full of veggies, comes in a BPA free bottle, is made with no corn syrup, etc.

I love this stuff so much, that I have decided to share a bottle with one of you guys!!! All you have to do is answer the question on our Facebook wall. How simple right? We will randomly select a winner and they will be mailed a bottle of their own!! Winner will be announced Wednesday!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

My family and I LOVE pizza. My kids just recently started getting more into it. It used to be one of those dinners I refused to make since I had kids who would turn their noses up at it and look at me like I was crazy for serving it. As they are getting a little older, they are beginning to try things out more and more. This was a hit with everyone, and made enough to have lunch leftovers the following day. I loved how quick I was able to assemble it!! It was the perfect dinner before church on Saturday evening, :)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
4 cloves minced garlic
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
Pinch of Salt/ Nutmeg
1 lb pizza dough or 2 packages pizza crust (Pilsbury)
2 boneless chicken breast, cooked, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
Garlic Powder

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add in garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add in cream cheese and stir until smooth. Slowly add in milk and continue stirring until mixture is well blended and thickened. Add in Parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Add in salt and nutmeg.
On a pizza pan/stone, spread out dough. Pour Alfredo sauce on top, leaving about a 1 inch ring around the dough for the crust. Sprinkle shredded chicken on top of Alfredo. Sprinkle Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over chicken. Sprinkle garlic powder on edges (crust).
Bake in a preheated oven (400) for about 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown!!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Milkshake

In the summer, nothing tastes better than a cold drink. A few nights ago, I was in the mood for a sweet, but it was getting a little late, so I knew I didn't have time to whip anything up. I decided to take a frozen banana out of my freezer and add a few other ingredients, making a chocolate peanut butter banana milkshake. It was healthier than most desserts I could have chosen, so it was a win!! It had such good flavor and satisfied my sweet tooth perfectly!! 

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Ingredients:

2 bananas, frozen
3/4 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
8 ice cubes

Directions:

Place ingredients into a blender or Vitamix. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. *I used a Vitamix, other blenders will work, you may need to adjust blending time and/or amount of milk

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Hot Fudge Cake

I don't know about you, but nothing is better than a yummy, warm, chocolate cake coming straight out of the oven, covered in a fudge-pudding like mixture, served with a scoop of ice-cream. Am I right?? YUM!!! This may not be the prettiest cake to serve, since you are not really able to slice pieces. This is more of a scoop and dump into a bowl type cake. It is amazing though, and if you are a chocolate lover like I am, you must try this....right now, regardless of the time, : )
*The "hot fudge" is similar to a pudding type consistency!

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp cocoa powder, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp canola oil (or vegetable oil, coconut oil, etc.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup hot water
Ice Cream (vanilla is best, I only had chocolate on hand and it worked too though)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, and salt. In a different bowl, mix together milk, oil, vanilla. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until mixed well. Pour into the bottom of a un-greased, 9 inch, square, baking pan. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and remaining 4 tbsp cocoa powder. Sprinkle mixture on top of batter. Pour hot water on top, do not stir the mixture. Place in oven and cook 35-40 minutes. Serve immediately, adding a scoop of ice cream if desired!

Baja Fish Tacos

When my husband and I first moved to Seattle, he went out to lunch with a coworker and had fish tacos. I had never heard of them before, but in my mind, it did NOT sound like something I wanted. I pictured a huge fillet of fish in the middle of a tortilla, covered with toppings, etc. When I think of a taco, I picture chicken or beef, not fish! One evening when my husband and I had a date night, he ordered the fish tacos. When I saw what it looked like, I must admit, I was quite intrigued. I stole a bite and fell in love. I decided that I needed to attempt to make something like that at home. The sauce is what makes or breaks these tacos, and I can say, this recipe is AMAZING!!! One of the best tacos I have ever made, or eaten at a restaurant. It was simple to make, the whole process took about 15 minutes, start to finish!!! I highly recommend these!!!

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
4 tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt (to taste)

Topping:

1 onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Seasoning:

1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3-4 cod fillets (tilapia or any desired fish works too)

1 tbsp oil
Corn Tortillas
Avocado, diced

Directions:

Combine sauce ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth. Add salt if needed. Set sauce aside. Combine topping ingredients in small bowl, set aside. Combine seasoning ingredients together and sprinkle over fish fillets. Heat oil in a large non stick skillet, over medium high heat. Add fish to pan and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked to desired texture.
Flake fish using a fork and set aside.

Warm the tortillas. To assemble, place flaked fish on bottom of tortilla, pour sauce over fish, sprinkle topping over sauce. And lastly, add some diced avocado on top. Serve!!

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Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches

With summer coming up, my kids keep wanting things that are cooler, such as Popsicles and fun drinks. Every time we go grocery shopping, they beg me to buy ice cream sandwiches. After buying a few boxes and going through them SUPER fast, I decided to try to come up with an alternative. I made this "healthy" version, and the kids were SO impressed with them. These are incredibly easy, healthy, and each of my kids begged for two, which I happily obliged. These will definitely be stocked up in my freezer this summer! 

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
3 tbsp peanut butter
8 graham crackers (16 half squares)
1/2 cup Mini Chocolate Chips (optional)

Directions:

In a bowl, mash together the banana and peanut butter until combined. If using chocolate chips, fold those in. Spread mixture on one side of graham cracker and place another cracker on top, creating a sandwich. *This recipe makes about 8 sandwiches, if you want more, adjust recipe accordingly.
Wrap sandwiches in foil or place in freezer safe container and place in freezer. Freeze for at least 5-6 hours. Enjoy!!!

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Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Squash/Zucchini

I love serving fresh veggies with dinner. My little 2 year old always ends up eating them all up, its great. My 4 year old and 6 year old are not as easy to talk into eating their veggies, but when I made these roasted veggies, I did not have to even mention "please eat your veggies too" to my kids. By the time I glanced at their plate, they had eaten every last one off their plate. Needless to say, I will definitely be making these again! Such a tasty summer type meal! I bet these would be good cooked on a grill too!!

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, sliced
2 medium yellow squash, sliced
Garlic Powder
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Salt/Pepper
Olive Oil

Directions:

 On a baking sheet, place squash and zucchini slices in an even layer. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top of veggies, and toss to coat. Sprinkle garlic powder, cheese, salt, and pepper on top (as much as desired). Place in a preheated oven, 400, for about 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies start getting slightly golden color! Enjoy!!