April's Summer Fruit Salad

My kids are frugivores (animals that eat fruit). We have to ration the fruit so they don't eat themselves into some serious tummy troubles. Our staple fruits are apples (Fuji and Granny Smith), bananas, and oranges. I buy those all year because they are almost always reasonably priced. But now that it's summer, other fruits have gone down in price! This week I bought peaches, nectarines, cherries, blueberries, and strawberries. The kids are loving the variety.

About two weeks ago, April wanted to "make something with fruit." So I gathered what fruit we had at the time, and we threw together a fruit salad. It was an instant hit, and she has since made it two more times. The great thing about April's fruit salad is that you can use any fruit you want or that you happen to have on hand. Besides the fresh fruit I mentioned above, she has also used canned mandarin oranges and frozen peaches.

One thing to note is that you will want to adjust the amount of brown sugar depending on your personal preference and the sweetness of the fruit you use. You can also substitute other types of sweeteners if you prefer not to use brown sugar.

As the salad sits in the fridge, the juices will start to come out of the fruit so be sure to eat it within a few hours or up to one day of mixing it.

Regardless of how you make it, this fruit salad is sure to be a great addition to any summer meal.

April's Fruit Salad
5 c. bite-sized fruit pieces
1 c. Greek yogurt
2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar (or more or less depending on preference and sweetness of fruit)

Put all ingredients in a large bowl. Gently and thoroughly mix until brown sugar is dissolved into yogurt and all fruit is evenly coated.

Knife skills are valuable for children to learn.

Beautiful colors! This batch contains pitted and halved cherries,
blueberries, strawberries, Granny Smith apples, and Fuji apples.

April loves it when she has properly packed the brown sugar
and it retains its shape.

Stir gently so the fruit doesn't get smashed.

Enjoy the fruit salad of your labor!

Watermelon!

So, it's become very clear that we just don't have time to write much these days.  Our last post was almost a year ago and that was after not writing for about a year-and-a-half.  When it comes down to it, our families and other responsibilities take priority.  But now it's summer!!  That means I am off work until August!  Woohoo!  I just finished my first year teaching full time, and was it a challenge.  I taught three history classes, one English class, spelling, SOAR (our version of GATE), Yearbook, and PE.  It is only by God's grace that I survived.  And now it's summer!!  I get to spend a ton of time with my family.

Another bonus of summer is the great produce.  Prices come down and flavor goes up.  Although, here in California, prices aren't going to be so great this year with the drought we're experiencing.  Last week I was at Costco without a list....I know, I broke rule number 1.  But we had just returned from out of town and just needed to get something healthy in the house.  I was really excited when I saw watermelons for $3.99 each.  Not the little personal watermelons; HUGE watermelons!  I snatched up two of them.

I like to listen to other shoppers pick out watermelons.  There are so many theories about how to pick a good one--tap on it, push on the end, feel it.  I choose to follow Alton Brown's advice and have never been disappointed.  It's so easy that I usually let my kids pick them out.

What makes it so difficult is that watermelons are green.  We usually look for the absence of green to tell if fruit is ripe.  That's exactly what you do with watermelons.  Every one has a spot on it where it was sitting on the ground.  That spot will be a different color than the rest of the melon.  You want to find a melon that has a ground spot that has no green in it.  Ideally, the spot will be creamy whitish/yellowish.

The next challenge is how to cut and serve the watermelon.  The easy way is to wedge it and let the consumers discard the rinds after they have eaten the good part.  The downside to this is that my kids waste a lot of good watermelon because they don't want to get too close to the rind.  I prefer to cube it.  Such a daunting task!  I know, I know.  We've all seen the YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FggvRvL_NDM).  I've tried it.  I didn't like it.  I have settled on the following procedure for cutting watermelon quickly and cleanly.

1.  Lay a large towel on the counter.  Really.  No matter how careful you are, it's going to juice everywhere.  Use the largest cutting board you have and an appropriately large knife.  Cut off both ends.  At this point, you can proceed as is, or you can cut it in half crossways for easier handling.

2.  I chose to cut this one in half because it was so huge.  Next, go around the edge, cutting off the rind...

...until you have only the good fruit left.

3.  Slice through in one direction--watermelon steaks!

4.  Push half aside.  Lay other half down.

5.  Cut through--watermelon fries!!  You can choose to stop right here.  This is a good way to eat it.

6.  Cut at a 90 degree angle to your previous cuts to make bite-sized cubes.

7.  Serve.  My kids like to eat theirs with toothpicks.

This was from one watermelon.  The large bowl is 5 qts.  And this doesn't include what we ate before I took the picture, about the same amount that is in the small bowl.

And since I put the towel down, clean up was quick and easy!

Sweet Sandwich Bar--Easy Kid-Friendly Lunch!

I have four kids.  Making sandwiches is a chore.  Usually, Lukas and Keanna like peanut butter and jelly, Koda likes peanut butter and honey, April likes just honey.  Then all of a sudden Keanna doesn't want a sandwich, Koda wants just peanut butter, and April wants whatever *insert sibling name here* is having.  They eventually revert back to the usual, but I never know.  During the school year, you eat what Mom packs.  You can make requests, but there are no guarantees.  So I've been trying to mix it up this summer to make lunches more fun.

Last week I had a brilliant epiphany:  a kid-friendly sandwich bar!  I got out a variety of sandwich ingredients and let the kids decide what they wanted.  I then put the ingredients on their plates and let them construct the sandwiches themselves.  They loved it!  Lukas came back for a second sandwich and asked for a third (which I didn't let him have, but he did eat more fruit).

Lukas's plate:  peanut butter, apricot jelly, bananas, apple,
strawberries, and honey.

I put out peanut butter, strawberry preserves, apricot preserves, honey, apple slices, banana slices, strawberry slices, and pecans.  That's just what I happened to have that day, but there are many more possibilities:  raisins, dried cranberries, peach slices, cut grapes, granola, maple syrup, blueberries, raspberries, apple butter, pear slices...

Mommy's sandwich:  peanut butter, apple slice,
strawberries, and apricot jelly.  Super yummy!!

Everyone is happy.

Apple Streusel Cupcakes

Yes, I realize that the first post we've written in months was cupcakes and the second is also about cupcakes.  What can I say?  It's fall and finally cool enough to use the oven, so I'm making up for lost time.  Some of you may remember Sumiko's amazing Apple Streusel Cake she posted at the beginning of the year.  And let me emphasize the amazing part, because it truly is.  This post is just an adaptation of her cake into cupcakes.  It's pretty much the same with just a few minor adjustments.  I wanted to make this for my hubby to take to work, but figured cupcakes would be much easier than a cake in that type of environment.  I also took them to community group at our church and they were a major hit at both events, with several people asking for the recipe.  So, go make them today because you won't regret it (unless you're on a diet, of course). :)  But even then, they're so good, you still might not regret it.

Apple Streusel Cupcakes

Streusel Topping

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp cinnamon
1 c. butter, melted

Cupcakes

½ c. water

4 eggs

1 c. sour cream

1 c. vegetable oil

1 box vanilla cake mix

1½ small boxes instant vanilla pudding (or 1 large)

2 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

3 or 4 medium apples (we prefer Fuji and Gala)

Drizzle

½ c. powdered sugar

2-3 tsp. water

Prepare muffin tins by lining with paper cupcake wrappers.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix all streusel topping ingredients and cream together; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°.  For cupcakes, place water in microwave about 30 seconds to heat.  Meanwhile, in mixing bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, cake mix, pudding mix, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Add warm water.

Mix on low until combined.  Increase speed to medium and mix about 2 minutes.  Fold about 1 c. streusel topping into batter, being careful not to over mix.

Carefully scoop batter into prepared cupcake tins, filling each one just over half full.  

Peel and core apples.  Cut into small bite-sized pieces.  Place on top of batter in cupcake tins.  Crumble remaining streusel topping over apples.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Remove to wire rack.  Let cool until handleable; remove from tins and cool completely on a wire rack.  In small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and water; drizzle over cooled cupcakes.

Yields about 30 cupcakes.

Spinach and Berry Salad

First of all, let me apologize for my absence recently.  We just got home from a 10 day vacation with my husband's family.  We had so much fun that there was just no time for blogging!  And I don't have a picture of today's recipe, but I am hoping to get one up later today.  So instead of a picture of today's salad, here's a picture of just some of the food we had on vacation.  There were 24 of us, and this doesn't even include any of the refrigerated or frozen stuff!!!

I enjoy eating salads for lunch, and I eat one almost every day.  The type of salad I eat varies, but lately I've been hooked on salads made with spinach and berries.  I was inspired when we had dinner with friends and they made a similar salad that was just so delicious.  I will say, though, that the berries often cost more than what I would normally pay for fruit, but Sam's Club has pretty good prices on them during the summer.

Spinach and Berry Salad
Spinach
Strawberries, sliced
Blueberries
Sliced almonds
Crumbled feta
Balsamic Vinaigrette

Place spinach in a bowl.  Top with desired amount of strawberries, blueberries, almonds, and feta; drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette and toss.  Enjoy!

Mrs. Jones's Cherry Crumbles

Last week I shared a no-cook cherry pie recipe and promised cherry crumbles this week.  The wait is over! This is a fabulous recipe for last-minute dessert and, if you substitute canned pie filling, you can keep all the ingredients on hand.

Only three ingredients:  pie filling (homemade or canned),
cake mix, and butter!

I got this recipe from Mrs. Jones, my fourth grade teacher.  It was her contribution to the recipe book that Barbara made me when I got married.  (If you missed that post, you have to see it here!)  Mrs. Jones is also the source of our resurrection roll recipe and a rich dirt pudding that I will have to share in the future.

Mrs. Jones's resurrection rolls are an Easter
tradition in our house!

Mrs. Jones's cherry crumbles recipe calls for canned cherry pie filling, but you could use any kind of pie filling.  Robbie's favorite is blueberry filling--yum!!  For this version, I used the same no-cook filling that I used for my cherry pie last week.  You may want to decrease the cornstarch just a bit if you want it runnier.  It is great over vanilla ice cream so it's nice to have the juice flowing down over the ice cream.

The following recipe is for a 9"X13" pan.  I halved it made it in a 9"X9" pan so that's what's in the pictures.

Cherry Crumbles
1 recipe cherry pie filling or 2-21 oz. cans cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix (vanilla would work too)
1 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 for opaque pan or 350 for clear pan.  Spread pie filling in 9"X13" pan.  Sprinkle cake mix evenly over top.

Drizzle with melted butter.  Bake 35-40 minutes, until filling is bubbly and top is golden.  Serve warm or cool with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

This dessert, though so simple, is worthy of the china!

As a bonus for today, I thought I'd include some of the marriage advice Mrs. Jones included with her recipe: "Dating is still important in marriage.  You need to plan dates and dress up for them.  It is a great way to keep your marriage wonderful."

Serving this to your husband is also a great
way to keep your marriage wonderful.

Cherry Pie

A couple weeks ago, a friend of ours stopped by with a ton of cherries from her cherry tree.  I never buy cherries because they are always over $2 per pound so it was a treat!  They were delicious just for eating, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bake something delicious.  I ended up with some mini cherry pies and a cherry crumble!  Yum!

Aren't they pretty?

I opted to make three little pies rather than one big pie to conserve the cherries and have fun with different top crusts.  The recipe is for a regular 9-inch pie.  And the best part?  You don’t have to cook the filling first!!

Keep in mind that the amount of sugar will vary depending on the type of cherries you are using.  I’m not sure what type of cherries I had.  They were sweet enough to eat, but not super sweet.  If using sour cherries, you’ll want more sugar; if using super sweet cherries, back off on the sugar.

For the pie crust, I used my tender and flaky pie crust recipe.

Tender and flaky pie crust with strawberry filling.

Cherry Pie

3 lb. pitted cherries

2 c. sugar (more or less depending on type of cherries)

4-4½ Tbsp. cornstarch

3 Tbsp. water

1½ Tbsp. lemon juice

½ Tbsp. almond extract

⅜ tsp. salt

1 batch tender and flaky pie crust
3 Tbsp. butter, diced

In large bowl, combine all ingredients except crust; stir to combine.  Let sit about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Notice the graininess of the sugar on the cherries.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°.  Roll out bottom crust and place in pie plate.  Pour filling into crust; dot with butter.

The graininess goes away as they sit and even
more as the pie bakes.

Roll out top crust and seal over filling.  Cut steam vents in crust.  Place pie plate in oven on a piece of foil to catch any drippings; bake 30 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350° and continue to bake 25-35 minutes, or until crust is golden and filling bubbles out.  If crust browns too quickly, loosely cover with a piece of foil until filling is done.  Cool on wire rack.

This is why you need the foil---that goo would have
been burned to the bottom of my oven.

So delicious!

Be sure to check back next week for cherry crumbles!!