Pistachio Cream Cheese Fingers

These cute little pastel green fingers taste amazing.

These Pistachio Cream Cheese Fingers are rich and moist with cream cheese and chocolate. They are a fun shape and are a hit at parties. Best of all, they are easy to make.

This is another delicious dessert I served at my beauty salon's Customer Appreciation Nights. These events were full of food and fun, I tell ya. See my previous post for my yummy Apple Strudel Bars, which were also served at these beauty events.


Pistachio Cream Cheese Fingers Recipe:

1 c. sugar
1 c. real butter, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 t. real vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 1/4 c. flour
 3 3/4-ounce box Instant Pistachio flavored Pudding & Pie Filling Mix
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. sea salt
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 t. deodorized coconut oil


Method:

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and cream cheese until fluffy.
Add the vanilla and egg;beat well. Set aside.
Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off and pour into a medium bowl.
Add the dry pudding mix, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Add the flour mixture to the cream cheese mixture; mix well.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour for easier handling.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.
Shape teaspoonfuls of chilled dough into 1 1/2-inch fingers.
Place on prepared cookie sheets.
Bake 9 to 12 minutes, or until set. Cool completely.
In a small sauce pan, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together, with stirring until well blended.
Drizzle a small amount of chocolate over each cookie and let set up completely before transferring.

Enjoy,

Leila.

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Banana Nugget Cookies (With Chocolate & Oats)

Here is a yummy way to use up your old over-ripe bananas. 

These cookies are very moist, with a pleasant touch of spice and just the right amount of chocolate to make them truly delicious!

These cookies are very quick to mix up and bake. They store well for a few days, and are great to pack into school lunches or take along on picnics. kids, as well as adults, really like them too.

You can even freeze your old bananas and then thaw them out later to use in this cookie recipe.


Banana Nugget Cookies Recipe:

3/4 c. real butter or deodorized coconut oil
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. sea salt or BioSalt
1/4 t. fresh grated nutmeg
3/4 t. cinnamon
1 c. ripe mashed bananas (about 2 large)
1 3/4 c. old fashioned rolled oats
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips


Method:

Cream fat, sugars and egg.
Sift together dry ingredients.
Add dry ingredients alternately to creamed mixture with bananas.
Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
Drop by teaspoons onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven, for 13 minutes.


Enjoy, 

Leila.

La France Spinach Salad - A REAL French Restaurant recipe

La France Spinach Salad

There used to be a fabulous French restaurant called La France on University Ave. in Provo, Utah, that we loved. This is their salad recipe. We would order this yummy salad all the time. My mom has a way of talking with people, and they give her recipes that they won't normally give out. The restaurant has been gone for many years, so I feel good about sharing this recipe now.

The tarragon vinegar is excellent in this dressing, and is worth seeking out. The flavors and textures in this salad harmonize beautifully, I think you will love it too.

This salad is a delicious meal all by itself.



La France Spinach Salad Recipe:

Dressing:

2/3 c. sour cream
1/3 c. Best Foods mayonnaise (or healthy diet mayonnaise)
1 T. tarragon vinegar
onion salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Salad:

2 to 3 large bunches of fresh spinach, washed, stemmed, and dried in a salad spinner
3 slices crisp diced bacon, crumbled
sliced avocado
sliced tomato
3 to 4 hard boiled eggs


Method:

Mix the dressing ingredients together, seasoning to taste with the onion salt and pepper.

Put the prepared spinach into a large mixing bowl.

Toss the spinach with the dressing.

Immediately portion spinach mixture onto 3 individual shallow soup bowls.

Top each salad with an equal portion of bacon.

Top each salad with an avocado slice and a tomato slice.

Top each salad with an equal portion of hard boiled eggs pressed through a ricer.

Serve immediately.


Note: This is the restaurant's representation of this salad. personally, I load up on the sliced avocado and ripe tomato (if the tomatoes are not ripe and juicy, 1 slice as a garnish works fine).

Potato Ricer

Enjoy, 

Leila

Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Clusters - Costco Copy-Cat - Make your own and save some money!

Dark Chocolate Almond Cherry Clusters

We bought these at Costco and loved them. They are very easy to make yourself. I like portioning them out with a mini cookie scoop, they look professionally made that way.

I think these are best with tart dried cherries, otherwise known as pie cherries. I find lightly sweetened dried tart cherries at Costco. Costco usually has the roasted whole almonds too.

I love using Lakanto's new sugar-free dark chocolate, which was formulated by my amazing mom. It really is the best, plus it's healthy!

Enjoy the benefits of the antioxidants and protein packed in these little babies.


Almond Cherry Clusters Recipe:

16 ounces sugar-free dark chocolate (like a 72%)
8 to 10 ounces dry-roasted whole almonds (salted is o.k.)
8 to 10 ounces dried TART cherries


Method:

Melt and temper the chocolate.
Stir in the almonds and cherries.
Drop by Tablespoonfuls onto parchment or silicone lined cookie sheets.
Cool in the fridge, in front of a fan, or outside if its cool.
Store airtight once set up.

Makes 2 cookie sheetfuls.


Note: To save money, alter the ratio of almonds to the cherries, to cut costs.
ie. 16-oz chocolate, 12-oz almonds, 8-oz cherries, works well.



Enjoy!

Leila.

Broccoli Stem Salad - A delicious unique salad recipe - Easy to make and very good for you

Flaked Broccoli Stem Salad

Finally a great use for those broccoli stems you don't know what to do with. When you are preparing broccoli, reserve the stems for this salad. It's yummy.

I had this salad at my parents house in 2005. It's another of my mom's creations. It is very high in fiber and makes a great lunch or side. The texture is great, and there is an array of complimentary flavors, like sweet, tangy, savory... YUM.

Look on this blog for the recipe for Dad's Dressing. It is very easy to make and is preferred for this salad.


FLAKED BROCCOLI STEM SALAD RECIPE:

1 pound raw broccoli stems, peeled and flaked into 1 1/2-inch lengths (can use a sharp vegie peeler)
1/2 to 2/3 c. cubed roma tomatoes, or 2 to 4 T. flavored sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Pitted black olives, to taste

Dad's Dressing, to taste

Garnish: Pine nuts, "Crispy Walnuts", or Spicy Seasoned Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)


Method:

Mix up the salad to taste, toss with "Dad's dressing", and garnish as desired.
Serve immediately.



Note:

See the recipe for "Crispy Soaked Almonds", to see how to make in advance the Crispy walnuts. the process is the same. Our method makes walnuts have a much better taste and texture!

Enjoy,

Leila

Red & Green Italian Salad - A delicious hearty Italian salad with an easy homemade dressing

Red & Green Italian Salad

This is a hearty beautiful salad and can make a meal by itself. It is something different to take on a picnic or pot-luck.

This is an easy recipe to adjust for specific diets like paleo, low-carb, vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free. Use gluten-free pasta or omit the pasta altogether if you want to. Omit the cheese if you avoid dairy.


RED & GREEN ITALIAN SALAD Recipe:

Salad Ingredients:

1 can jumbo pitted black olives
2 c. cooked gluten-free large shell macaroni, or other shape if desired
1 4-ounce jar pimentos with juice, sliced into strips
4 to 5 small zucchini, sliced thick
1 quart lightly steamed broccoli, cut into uniform bite-sized pieces
1 quart lightly steamed cauliflower, cut into uniform bite-sized pieces
1 medium red onion, sliced in rings
1 to 2 dozen small mushrooms, stemmed and sliced in half

Dressing ingredients:

1/2 c. good olive oil, or more
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 to 2 garlic cloves, well smashed
1/2 to 1 t. sweet paprika
1 t. fennel seed (soaked in water to soften, then drained)
1 t. dried oregano
BioSalt, to taste (recipe on this blog)
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Mozzarella or Jack cheese, cubed, optional

Garnish:

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional


Method:

In a large bowl, toss the salad ingredients together.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the salad dressing ingredients together. Season it well.

Pour the well-mixed dressing over the salad ingredients and toss together thoroughly.

Marinate 1 hour.

Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese, if desired.


Note: You can serve this salad on a bed of lettuce.


Enjoy,

Leila

Best Old Fashioned Fruit Ice Cream

Here is another family favorite summer recipe... The BEST ice cream ever!

This old fashioned ice cream is the ultimate warm weather comfort food. The variety of fruit flavors are balanced perfectly in this ice cream. There is great texture from the generous chunks of fruit and the fresh citrus brightens it up beautifully. Then there is the perfect amount of rich whipping cream to make it truly decadent. You will love it! We use one of those old-fashioned ice cream makers that use rock salt and allow you to make a large batch. I like to make this ice cream for family birthday parties, other holidays, and summer Sunday dinners...


Best Old Fashioned Fruit Ice Cream Recipe:

3 c. whipping cream
3 c. milk
3 c. sugar
1 t. real vanilla
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 3 oranges
juice of 3 lemons
3 bananas, chopped
1 can crushed pineapple and it's juice AND/OR 1 c. cut up strawberries
pinch sea salt
1/2 t. guar gum, optional


Method:

Premix the guar gum into the sugar, if using and then mix everything together.
Freeze in a large ice cream freezer.


Variation:

1 quart milk
1 pint half-and-half
1 pint whipping cream
2 c. canned milk
4 1/2 c.sugar
3 lemons, juiced
2 cans frozen strawberries
4 bananas, mashed
pinch of sea salt


Enjoy,

Leila.