Apple Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Salsa:
2 Granny Smith apples, chopped (I only used 1 apple. Eric, you could replace this with pear)
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 kiwi, chopped
1 sm. orange. zest and juice orange
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. apple jelly (optional)

Chips:
water
1Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
10 in flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 475. Lightly brush one side of tortillas with water. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon mixture onto tortillas. Cut into wedges or strips. Place on cookie sheet. Bake 5-7 min.

Fresh Peach Pie

6 Tablespoons lemon jello
6 Tablespoons corn starch
1 cup water
1 & 2/3 cup sugar
Fresh peaches, diced

Graham cracker crust(s) (of course, home made is always better)

Combine the jello and cornstarch in a small pan.  Add water, and stir until dissolved.  Bring to a boil and cook until very thick.  Add sugar and cook just until dissolved.  Cool some while you finish chopping peaches, but don't let it completely set up.

Pour over peaches.  If you have a lot of good, fresh peaches, this will be enough to make two pies. (It's better that way, but still good with fewer peaches making just one pie).

Refrigerate until set up, (or just eat it if you can't wait that long).

*Note:  The original recipe says to mix the sugar in during the first step before cooking, but in my experience it does not thicken up that way, as the sugar just melts and gets runny the longer you cook it, so it doesn't ever thicken up right.

Mango Salad Dressing

So much delicious! I highly recommend this one with baby lettuce, red pepper, and mango.

Ingredients

150 g Flesh of about one mango
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp. Red wine vinegar
2 tsp. Rice vinegar
2 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Onion powder
1/2 tsp. Basil, dried
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper (optional)


Instructions
1. Puree everything, except half the basil, in a blender until super smooth.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
3. Add the rest of the basil and mix.

Grilled Pineapple

1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 pineapple, trimmed and cut into 1.2-inch thick slices

In a ziplock bag, combine lime juice and brown sugar. Mix well. Add pineapple, stir to coat; cover and marinate 30 minutes or more.

Brush grill with oil. Place fruit on grill rack, and grill 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Super Easy Smoothies

These smoothies are easy, creamy, fast, and a great way to get fruit and dairy into breakfast! I love them because they don't take any "weird" ingredients--nothing that doesn't keep for basically forever or we don't already have around. A well-liked and requested recipe, even from people who make "real" smoothies with all sorts of complicated recipes.

• 1 container low fat yogurt--any flavor (I use blueberry, strawberry, or peach. doesn't matter, they're all tasty)
• about 1/3 c. applesauce (I just dump some in until it looks good)
• a handful of mixed frozen berries (Trader Joe's and Costco both sell great, well-priced mixed berries, but I'm sure other places do too)

Blend until there aren't any whole berries left! Yum!

Citrus Salad

DRESSING:
2/3 C. canola oil (or veggie oil)
1/4 C. lime juice
2 Tbls. fresh orange juice
1 tsp. grated lime zest
1 tsp. grated orange zest
2 Tbls. sugar

SALAD:
4-5 C. torn lettuce
1-2 oranges (cut into pieces)
2 avocados (cubed)
2/3 C. candied nuts*
16 oz strawberries (optional)

*NUTS
1/4 C. sugar
2/3 C. chopped walnuts or almonds

heat the sugar and nuts over medium high heat on the stove. stir continually until the sugar melts and coats the nuts. cool.

I cut the dressing in half and it was more than enough.

Best Fruit Salad

I LOVE this fruit salad. It doesn't matter what you put in, or how fresh it is, it always tastes good. (Of course, fresher, tastier fruit does still make it better...)

Sauce:
1 c cold water (or pineapple juice, althought that doesn't seem to make a big difference)
2 tbs corn starch
1 tbs butter
Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 small limes, which I think is better)
1 c sugar

Combine the corn starch and water in a small sauce pan and cook until very thick.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook slightly (until butter and sugar are dissolved, DO NOT add the sugar early, or it will NEVER get thick.)

Cool completely, then mix into fruit and serve.

This recipe makes a VERY LARGE fruit salad. To use all of the sauce you probably want about 12 cups of sliced and diced fruits. You want it to be bite-sized so that a few pieces fit on a spoon and you can mix up all the fruit flavors. I usually just make half of a recipe. The sauce keeps OK for a couple of days, so you can have it a few times.

It is especially good with some watermelon as a main base, because it's a good cheap filler that tastes great with the sauce, but that isn't necessary. I usually use watermelon, oranges, an apple, grapes (cut in half), and a handful of strawberries. You can mix and match whatever fruits you want. Other good ones are bananas(although they don't keep well, so it's best when you don't expect leftovers), pears, peaches, plums, cantelope...you get the picture. Whatever's cheap and in season! Or canned fruit works great too (especially oranges or pineapple) and is usually easier.