Fruit Fusion Bread

This recipe was really just an experiment that worked out really well! Don't ya just love it when that happens? I had a bunch of fruit and decided to make some bread out of it! If I had to do it all over again, I don't think I would change a thing! Yummy!!!!!!!!!

Fruit Fusion Bread

• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 1 cup strawberries, diced
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
  
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 3/4 cup flour + 1 tablespoon flour to dust the fruit
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream the sugar and butter in a stand mixer until smooth.

Add the mashed banana, applesauce and vanilla, stir to combine.

With the motor running, add the eggs one at a time.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the banana mixture.

Cut up the fruit and stir in the lemon zest. Toss with 1 tablespoon of flour to prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom during baking.

Gently fold the fruit into the mix and then pour into a greased bread pan.

Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan.


Enjoy!!!

Tropical Smoothie

I frequently just toss things in the blender to make smoothies, but I don't usually post them on the blog. My one year old is currently obsessed with just about any fruit concoction that I put in the blender, so I've been making more of them lately. I *really* liked this one and decided that I wanted to share it.

The first thing I want to mention is to never, ever throw away bananas that are getting brown. If you think that they are too mushy and are considering tossing them, don't! Unpeel them and put them in a ziplock bag and stick them in the freezer! They are absolutely perfect to use in a smoothie.

Tropical Smoothie
(makes 2 large smoothies)

• 1 frozen banana (or fresh)
• 3 cups watermelon, cubed
• 1/2 cup strawberries, quartered
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 8 ice cubes
• 3 scoops Edy's Limited Edition Coconut & Pineapple ice cream

Place ice on the bottom and then cover with the fruit. Top with the ice cream and pulse until combined.

(this stuff is amazing!)

I drank mine out on the deck while I watched Isabella play golf. She wanted to show off her newly acquired skills.

Enjoy!!!!

Apple Tart Tatin

I have seen this dessert made on television so many times and I have to admit that for some reason I was a little intimidated to make it. I knew that I would love it, but I was afraid to make it. All of that changed when I saw Emeril make this recipe on a recent (rerun) episode of Emeril Live. He made it look so easy and I realized that there really wasn't much to it. I looked up the recipe and decided that I had to try it. I didn't really have anything to lose...the only thing that I worried about was what the completed dessert would look like. Worst case scenario I would have a really ugly, but delicious, dessert tonight :) Hey, an ugly dessert is still dessert! I'll take it!

I don't think it looks too bad! I lucked out!

Apple Tart Tatin
Adapted from: Emeril Lagasse

• 8 golden delicious apples -peeled, cut in half and cored
  
• juice of one lemon
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
  
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

I am going to start by telling you that I did not use the golden delicious apples that this recipe called for. I actually used Granny Smith apples. Why? Well, because I had a bag of them that I wanted to use and they are my favorite! Also because I know that they are good baking apples that wouldn't fall apart. If you are going to substitute apples in this recipe, make sure it is a good baking apple!

Start out by peeling all of the apples and cutting them in half. I find it easiest to remove the cores using a melon baller and scooping out the core that way. So easy! Throw all the apples in a bowl and squeeze the juice of one lemon over them.


Melt the butter in an oven proof 9-10 inch skillet (no plastic handle!) over medium heat. When the butter has melted, sprinkle the sugar over the top of the butter. Do *not* stir the sugar and butter mixture. You can swirl the pan to move the sugar around, but do not stir it. Stirring the caramel can make the sugar crystallize.


When the sugar is a beautiful amber color remove it from the heat. Tightly arrange the apple halves round side down and fill the pan. If you run out of room and still have apples left, cut them in half and arrange them so they are flat on top of the apple halves. I actually used a 12 inch skillet, so I did not have any extra apple left to deal with. If you are using very big apples you might have too many (I used 8 small apples).

Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes, or until the apples are soft.

Now This is what they should like this at the 15 minute mark. All of the juices should have released from the apples.

Remove the cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Now the caramel should be thick and bubbly.

Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface. Make sure that you have enough to cover the pan. Carefully place the pastry on top of the skillet and tuck the edges down into the pan and under any apples. Cut a few slits in the top of the pastry and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.


Allow the tart to cool for 5 minutes. Gently run a knife around the outside edge of the tart and then place a platter over the top of the skillet. Carefully flip the tart and pray that everything stays in tact :) Mine worked wonderfully! I attribute that to the fact that my pan was actually non-stick. I think that helps with releasing the caramel.


My photos don't do this tart justice. This pretty lil' tart looked great and tasted superb! It was super easy and had very few ingredients. You can serve this up with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!!!!

Banana Split Pie

Every now and then there is perfect harmony in a recipe and every part of it seems like it came together flawlessly. This pie was a perfect dessert! We had my in-laws over for dinner tonight after not seeing them for the last 4 months!! I wanted to come up with a really nice meal for us all to enjoy. We decided to cook on the grill; I made porterhouse steaks, BBQ grilled shrimp, spaghetti salad and corn on the cob. I wanted to make something fun and different for dessert, so I went with a banana split pie. The flavor was perfection!! The only thing that I never like about desserts like this is how hard it is to "plate" it and have it look as good as it does in the pie plate! I did manage to stick it in the freezer for a few minutes before serving and it seemed to help a bit. Give this dessert a try for your next BBQ and I guarantee that you'll love it!

Banana Split Pie

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar

For the filling:

• 8oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioner sugar, sifted
• 1 cup milk
• 1 box instant vanilla pudding (just use the packet, do not follow the package directions)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 strawberries (stems removed and sliced)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 bananas, sliced
• 1 20oz can crushed pineapple, drained

To top it:

1 8oz container Cool Whip
2-3 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
Maraschino cherries

Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar. Pour the melted butter over the top and combine with a spoon until all the butter is absorbed. Spoon the graham cracker crumbs into a 9 inch pie plate and press them against the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. I find it easiest to use the palm of my hand for the bottom and a spoon on the sides. At this point stick the crust in the freezer to help it set up before you put the filling in it.


To make the filling, take the room temperature cream cheese and beat it with a hand mixer until it is smooth and fluffy. Mix in the confectioner sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the milk, vanilla and pudding mix and stir to combine. You might not want to use the mixer yet because it could get messy. Whisk it all together until the pudding starts to firm up a little. Pour the filling into the pie crust and refrigerate until you are just about to serve it. You can prepare the strawberries ahead of time, but I wouldn't suggest layering everything until you are closer to the time you want to eat it. The color from the strawberries and cherries will bleed into the cool whip and it won't look quite as nice.


Slice the strawberries, place them in a small bowl and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar on top. Stir to incorporate and let them sit for a good 30 minutes to an hour. This will sweeten them up a little and soften them too! You can actually do this hours ahead of time and stick them in the refrigerator if you want.


When it is time to serve the pie, drain the pineapple over a bowl (if you want to keep the juice) and press it with a spoon to remove any excess liquid that could make your pie runny. Layer the pineapple over the pudding filling.

Now cover the pineapple with the strawberry slices.

Slice 3 bananas and layer them over the strawberries.

Cover with Cool Whip
(I used the fat free version and it was still amazing!)

Top with the walnuts and a cherry!

I served each individual slice with a cherry, but only had one on the top of the pie for show.


Enjoy!!!

Greek Yogurt with Sweet Berries and Vanilla Sugar Croutons

I have a few confessions to make tonight. First, I will admit to you all that I cannot stop watching The Cooking Channel. It is literally on ALL DAY in my house. I watch while I do my housework, while I eat my lunch, and even while I play with the kids! *gasp*. I've said it before, but I'll say it again....there are certain things that I see and there is no question in my mind that I will love it. Last night I was watching Giada make a dessert that looked out of this world. I absolutely knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would be making this today. What I was worried about was that the original recipe would have me consuming an ungodly amount of calories and fat considering that the base was whole milk ricotta cheese. I just couldn't follow the recipe the way that it was aired because I didn't want to indulge quite that much. I decided that I could work around the worst of it and make it at least a little healthier. Please try this, I guarantee you'll love it. If you don't, give me a call -- I'll come over and eat it for you ;)

My second confession is that this dessert ended up being my dinner tonight!! I couldn't wait to eat and I just dove right in. I am not regretting that decision, but I did feel a little ashamed for a minute...I got over it.

Greek Yogurt with Sweet Berries and Vanilla Sugar Croutons
Adapted from: Giada De Laurentiis

• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cup blueberries
• 8 strawberries, stems removed and quartered
• the juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 loaf of ciabatta bread, cubed
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• Chobani Greek yogurt
  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

The first thing we are going to do is make the vanilla sugar. This is something that you should know how to make and use on a regular basis! Vanilla sugar is *super* good and can be used in every day things like french toast, coffee etc.. This particular recipe makes a nice big batch of it so you can keep it on hand for future use. If you don't want to make quite as much, simply cut the amounts in half.

Cut your vanilla bean down the middle of the pod and scrape the seeds by sliding the blade of your paring knife down the inside of the vanilla bean. Combine 2 cups of sugar with the the vanilla in the food processor. Pulse until it is completely incorporated, about 30 seconds. Set aside 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vanilla sugar for the croutons. The remaining sugar can be stored in an air tight container, like a mason jar, for up to 3-4 months. Cut the empty vanilla pod into 1 inch pieces and store it in the jar with the sugar. Give the jar a shake before using to incorporate even more of the wonderful vanilla through your sugar.


Cut the ciabatta bread into cubes and place in a large bowl. Pour the melted butter over the bread and then use your hands to make sure all of the bread is coated. Sprinkle the bread with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vanilla sugar and give it another toss to be sure it is on all the bread. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the bread out in a single layer on the pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow them to cool completely. I made mine a few hours ahead of time...they were sooooo good!!!!! I could eat these things all by themselves!


Now we can move on to the fruit. In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar with the orange juice and lemon juice over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Add the blueberries and strawberries and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes, or until the fruit has softened up. Allow te fruit to cool to room temperature before using.


I used my all time favorite yogurt, Chobani, as the base for this dessert. If you've never tried Greek yogurt, you MUST do it. It is full of protein and has such a thick, creamy and wonderful texture. The tang of Greek yogurt is so fantastic; there is just no comparison between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt.

Place the yogurt in the bottom of your bowl (use as much or as little as you like). Give it a nice spoonful of the berries and then top with the vanilla sugar croutons.

This was amazing! Tangy Greek yogurt, sweet berries, crunchy and sweet croutons. Yummy!!!

Enjoy!!!

What is your favorite dessert? This one jumped right up to the top of my charts!