Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Here's a simple dessert to make for your sweetheart!

The flavors and scents of early fall....

Fall is the perfect time to bake - the scents and flavors are so unique to this time of year.  Enjoy these recipes:

Eat Your Veggies...

Here are a few quick and easy fresh vegetable recipes to enjoy this summer:

Brunch Just Got Easier....

Brunch: a late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast and lunch.

Here is a collection of easy recipes for your next brunch:

Apple Picking at Beak & Skiff

Beak & Skiff has been named the #1 Apple Orchard and every year we visit.  This year we enjoyed the morning with Caitlin and our grandsons

We drank Apple Cider and Moscato cocktails in "apple cups" - try it, it's delish!

We picked lots of apples, too!

Here are a few Apple recipes to try:

There are lots of apple farms in our area of NY and this is one of our favorite salad recipes - John likes it on a sandwich and I like it on a bed of lettuce!

Chicken-Apple Salad

1 cooked chicken breast, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 crisp apple, chopped

2T red onion, chopped

1/4 c mayonnaise

salt and pepper

Mix it all together

You can add walnuts, too!

Serve it in this Fluted Breakfast Bowl !

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A favorite recipe from Susan Branch:

I didn't add the cranberries!

Easy to make and delicious to eat!

Serve it in this cute bowl:

MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check Enamel Ice Cream Bowl 

Try an Orchard Palmer: Honeycrisp vodka, lemonade and apple cider!

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Cider Sangria

3 oz white wine

2 oz apple cider

1 oz sprite

Pour over a glass filled with a few chunks of apple, 3 cranberries or blueberries, a cinnamon stick and ice

FYI:

I hope you found some APPLE inspiration!

Summer Snacks

Today I am sharing a 'round up' of easy snacks to prepare!

Cake Mix Cookies

It can't get much easier than these cookies made with cake mixes:

Cherry Tomatoes

Once a cherry tomato plant starts producing, you can end up with so many that you might run out of ideas....here are a few fun ways to eat them!

A Buttery Gift

What exactly is compound butter? 

It is softened butter, whipped with various sweet or savory ingredients. While the concept is simple, the potential flavor combinations are endless. Pair scones, rolls, pancakes, waffles or cornbread with butters flavored with orange or lemon zest, maple syrup, honey or cinnamon. Pair meat, vegetables, fish and bread with butters mixed with herbs, spices, cheese or citrus zest.  (The Pioneer Woman) 

I make Herbal Butter all the time, especially in the summer when I have fresh herbs in my little garden. 

 

Easy Cookie Recipes

I LOVE COOKIES!  

I truly think I could live on cookies!  

What is their origin?

Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region.  Bakers would test the oven temperature by putting a small amount of batter in it, and this little amount eventually became the cookie we know today. They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. By the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors.

The word "cookie" comes from the Dutch word koekje or koekie, which means "little cake"

Here are a few easy and quick recipes for cookies:

A few favorite recipes.....

I am sharing a few recipes I have prepared recently....they are easy and yummy!

This is so tasty with ham and scalloped potatoes:

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We had this as a side dish with our dinner the other night and it was so good - if you like zucchini, then these are for you!

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Looking for an easy and quick meal to prepare for lunch or dinner?

Roast a few cherry tomatoes, tossed in olive oil,  in a 400° oven for about 10 minutes....

...sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasonings and Parmesan/Romano Cheese and roast a few more minutes....

...toss over 'herbal buttered' pasta or noodles and garnish with chives or basil ribbons:  

To make herbal butter:  

Mix 4 Tablespoons of softened butter with 1 small crushed garlic glove, 1/2 teaspoon fresh minced parsley, 1/2 teaspoon fresh minced basil and 1/2 teaspoon fresh minced chives.  Let sit for at least an hour for flavors to blend. Toss 1 cup of cooked pasta or noodles with 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon butter.

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And marshmallows dipped in chocolate are always quick and easy and will satisfy your sweet tooth!