Baby Shower Food Week!

Fruit Dip

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 (6 oz) container strawberry yogurt

1/2 tub Cool Whip

Beat cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla. Stir in yogurt, and then add approximately half the container of whipped topping. Chill. Serve with apples, strawberries, pineapples, cantaloupe, grapes, or other yummy fruit.

This is just one of a thousand ways to make fruit dip. This recipe is light, and tastes really good. I've used different yogurts for different flavors, and it always comes out delicious. My sister Beka skewered the fruit, which was an awesome presentation. And we all know it's all about the presentation.

gift basket

This was a unique gift basket we recieved that The Celiac can also enjoy!

It came from Edible Arrangements.

Yogurt with Fruit

Yogurt with Fruit

1 carton gluten free yogurt

fruit: bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mangoes, pineapples, etc.

Yes, it's that simple. My absolute favorite kind of yogurt is Yoplait Light Thick & Creamy. Only 100 calories but it tastes sooooo good. The Key Lime is delicious, as is the Strawberry. I usually put bananas on top, but blueberries are in season now so it's an extra special treat. I eat this for breakfast, for snacks, even dessert sometimes with a dollop of whipped cream.

Cherry, Cherry...

Cherries

My wonderful mom gave me a box full of incredibly juicy cherries not too long back. I took out my handy pitter and spent an evening covered in sticky sweetness. Excited at the prospect of frozen cherries at my disposal, I filled 3 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bags full. We eat them straight out of the bag. We make smoothies. We try out the sorbet, substituting cherries for strawberries. We are looking for a good cherry jam recipe, as the last one we used was a thumbs-down.

We love cherries, even the ones whose pits seem to remain despite our best efforts.

Do you have any good cherry recipes? Let us know.

Fruit Smoothie Cheesecake

Gluten Free Fruit Smoothie Cheesecake

1 package Pamela's Pecan Shortbread Cookies, crushed

4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened to room temp (I know, use reduced fat if you must)

1/2 cup sugar

1 (12 oz) package frozen mixed berries, thawed and drained

1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip

Sprinkle crushed cookies in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Mix cream cheese and sugar together thoroughly. Smash thawed and drained berries with a fork. Stir into cream cheese mixture. Gently fold in cool whip. Pour over cookies. Chill for 4 hours.

I have been craving this ever since I saw it in a magazine. My picture doesn't compare to theirs. You can find it here. Can you tell that I like cream cheese and cool-whip? What I really like are no-bake summery type desserts. This is good, very good. The mixed fruit is wonderful, because sometimes you are eating a raspberry cheesecake, and sometimes it's strawberry, depending on the bite you take. Try it, you'll see.

Strawberry Banana Sorbet-Do Over

So I posted this recipe for a Strawberry Banana Sorbet-which was great. However I tweaked it a little and got an even better tasting product, so here's the update. More bananas and a little sugar added to the increased water amount. This is so good, I might eat it every day this summer.

Strawberry Banana Sorbet

2 bananas, sliced into chunks

1/2 quart strawberries, sliced

1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Place sliced fruit on a foil lined cookie sheet and freeze for 2 hours.

Dissolve sugar into water. Place fruit in food processor and blend. Add sugar water and lemon juice. Blend until creamy, fluffy, and smooth. If your processor is having a hard time with this, use a spoon to push the fruit down while it blends, being careful about not touching the blades.

Strawberry Banana Sorbet

Strawberry Banana Sorbet

1 banana

1 pint strawberries

2-4 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Slice banana and strawberries. Place on foil on a cookie sheet and freeze for 2 hours. Place in food processor with water and lemon juice. Puree until fluffy. Serve immediately or freeze for later.

I found this recipe in a "Women's Day" magazine. I doubled it and had enough for my kids and myself. If it's not blending well, take half out and blend a little at a time. This was a perfect treat that I didn't feel bad about feeding my kids first thing in the morning. It's not super sweet, so make sure your fruit is. I don't know what would happen if you added sugar, whether it would incorporate or if it would make a grainy texture. I would try dissolving it in the water first. I liked it without.