Ooooh you're gonna want to try this ooey gooey fruity recipe! Here's another one I learned from the incredible cooking class at Gervasi Vineyard. (check their current list of classes) This class was no joke. I learned so many incredible recipes, including Salmon En Papillate which I shared previously. These are both must makes on the regular!

 Mixed Berry Crumble Recipe

Filling

• 2 Pounds Fruit (blueberries strawberries blackberries)
• 2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
• 1/4 cup Flour
• 1/4 cup Sugar

Crumble

• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Flour
• 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 pound Butter/Margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Toss fruit with lemon, flour and sugar. Spoon into 2 deep dish ramekins. Fill to top.

To make the crumble: Combine flour, both sugars, salt and butter. Mix with hands until large crumbles are formed. Sprinkle over fruit until covered. Place ramekins on a parchment lined baling sheet.

Bake 1 hour, until crumble is golden brown and berry filling is bubbling over.

Why it's taken me 32 years of my life to finally make my own queso, is so beyond me.  Seriously, what have I been doing this whole time? Well, finally...i did it and it's super easy to make. I have the delish recipe below so you can have a hot bowl of cheesy goodness in no time.

WHITE QUESO DIP

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Butter/Margarine
• 1/4 cup Red Onion, diced
• 1/4 cup Green Pepper diced
• 12 oz White American Cheese (got slices from deli)
• 4 oz Pepper Jack cheese shredded
• 1/4-2/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 Tomato - diced
• Fresh parsley, chopped (you may want to use cilantro instead)
• Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

1. Heat the oil in a sauce pan. Cook the onion and pepper (med/high heat) until softened and reduce heat to medium-low.
2. Add the shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of the milk. Stir, stir, stir until melted together 
3. Add the tomatoes, parsley & cayenne to your liking
4. Add more milk if you'd like a thinner consistency.
5. Pour into a heat safe bowl and enjoy with tortilla chips!

(Recipe inspiration from here)

This recipe has been a family favorite for decades. I've ate this for breakfast and snacks since
I was a kid...don't forget the apple juice, of course. Trust me, you won't want to limit devouring
this just to fall time, it's good to make year round. I'm busting this out now to try and prepare myself
for the season change and attempting to bribe myself into even liking fall. We'll see how it works out.
Enjoy!

RECIPE: Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Drizzle Frosting

Pumpkin Muffins

3 Cups sugar                                
1 1/2 teaspoon salt                      
1 teaspoon nutmeg                  
1 teaspoon cloves                        
1 teaspoon cinnamon              
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup hot water
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3 1/3 cups flour
2 cups pumpkin

First, blend sugar, spices and eggs. Next add in pumpkin and oil. In separate bowl, mix flour and baking soda. Gradually blend flour mixture into pumpkin mixture, alternating with water. Mix well.
Pour batter into muffin liners/pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 18-24 minutes till toothpick comes out clean

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz cream cheese

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 box powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tablespoon almond milk

Cream sugar and cream cheese together. Add in vanilla and gradually add in powdered sugar. 

The almond milk is to make the frosting a less dense constancy, add to your liking. Mix ingredients well and drizzle onto muffins when they are cool. 

Just to note, I eyeball this recipe. I usually do equal parts of butter & cream cheese. Then I add powdered sugar till it gets to the consistency I want. 

Here's another easy and delish Christmas cookie recipe! My love for gingerbread is extreme and this recipe makes the perfect soft cookie...topping it off with a creamy frosting almost takes it over the edge. Sweetness overdose!...but that's ok since it's the holidays, right?

Gingerbread Cookies

3 1/4 cups flour                             1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda                          2 sticks butter
2 tsp ginger                                   3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon                             1/2 molasses
1/4 tsp nutmeg                              1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degress.
Combine all dry ingredients & mix well.
Combine butter, sugar, molasses & egg - mix well. - I added in a tsp of vanilla bean ; )
Gradually combine dry ingredients into butter/sugar mix.
Place drops on cookie sheet (they don't speed out much while baking). Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 mins. (I made larger cookies and baked them for 15-16 mins)

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz cream cheese

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 box powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Cream sugar and cream cheese together. Add in vanilla and gradually add in powdered sugar. Mix well. Just to note, I eyeball this recipe. I usually do equal parts of butter & cream cheese. Then I add powdered sugar till it gets to the consistency I want.

I'm excited to get back to (attempting to) getting more fun things up on the blog! Here's a delicious vegetable lasagna recipe for 2. Overall it's pretty quick and easy to make. The noodles are an egg base and you don't have to pre boil them...saves time and hassle!

The Goods:
8 Lasagna Pasta Layers (no boil)
1 Egg
7 oz Ricotta Cheese (half of a small 15 oz package)
6 oz Mozzarella Shredded Cheese (3/4 of 8 oz bag)
1 Jar of Tomato Basil Sauce
1/4 cup Basil Leaves - Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic - Minced
1/3 cup Red Onion - Chopped
1/3 cup Celery - Chopped
1/3 cup Carrots - Chopped

Mix It:
Combine egg, ricotta, mozzarella, basil, 1 minced garlic clove and veggies. Also add in 1/4 tsp of garlic powder and fresh ground pepper. Mix well.

Layers & Layers:
One thing to remember is that these lasagna noodles aren't pre cooked so they will soak up moisture. Drench them in sauce! Seriously, use extra sauce than what you would normally because the noodles need it to cook properly.
How I layer: start with a bottom layer of sauce to cover the pan, this keeps the noodles from sticking and becoming a dried up rubbery texture, trust me. Add a noodle and cover it in a heaping layer of the cheese mixture. Next add another noodle and then sauce. Repeat the sauce layer and then add the next cheese layer. I then do 2 more sauce layers. I usually put fresh ground pepper on top along with some fresh cut basil and the other clove of minced garlic. Bake this layered deliciousness at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. After pulling it from the oven try your very best to let it cool off a bit ; ) Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Lately, I can't seem to get enough gingerbread. The rich flavor of the molasses and spices keep me coming back for more. I struck gold when my first gingerbread making experience was a huge success. I used a cookie recipe from Cake Girls. Try it! (mouth watering right now....WANT!) To top off all my gingerbread makings, I've been using just a basic cream cheese frosting. Use a stick of butter, equal amount of cream cheese, about a teaspoon of vanilla, powdered sugar until it gets to the consistency you want....simple. My new fav sweet treat.

Talk about some glam cookies! These lovely and delicious peanut butter cookies are covered in metallic sparkly silver and gold sprinkles. Such an easy way to add some festiveness to your holiday goodies. By the way, these are the best peanut butter cookies in the world! They are a must try! 

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

bag of Hershey's Kisses

Cream butter & sugars. Add peanut butter & eggs. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl & then add to peanut butter mixture. Make into balls, roll in sugar sprinkles and slightly flatten with spoon. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Place a Hershey's kiss on each cookie, bake for another minute.

Enjoy!

Sesame is another one of my new obsessions. I've been looking for the perfect recipe, tried a few that weren't so great, but ended up with this one...and of course slightly adapted it to suit my tastes. I marinated the shrimp and then covered them with the sesame seeds. Instead of a grill, I used a large frying pan. I also added in peppers and pineapple. Since the shrimp were pre-cooked it didn't take long at all...(this also left a nice crunch to the peppers) Sesame success!

Life is better with peanut butter & chocolate

My creation of brownie cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.