Patriotic Fruit Skewers for Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is enjoying their day! With nice weather in Texas, we’ll be out enjoying the sun all day long.

If you’ve got plans for grilling out or meeting up with friends, check out this super simple Patriotic Fruit Skewer recipe below.

With patriotic red, white and blue colors of  strawberries, blueberries, and marshmallows, these  fruit skewers are perfect for backyard BBQs on Memorial Day and/or the 4th of July. Drizzle a little chocolate fudge sauce on top, and you’ve got a winner!

You can arrange the fruit any way you want. I threaded 3 blueberries, followed by a strawberry and marshmallow, and repeated the pattern three times. You can also thread fudgy brownie bites on these as well! I plan on baking these chewy brownies today, and will be adding them to the fruit skewers.

Don’t forget the chocolate fudge sauce; you could even dust them in powdered sugar. Yum!

Patriotic fruit skewers
Thread fruit onto skewers, alternating between three blueberries, 1 strawberry and 1 jumbo marshmallow.
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Drizzle with chocolate sauce.
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Close-up!
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Perfect for Memorial Day or 4th of July festivities!

Enjoy! What are your Memorial Day plans?

We’re going to swim and grill out with neighborhood friends.

Patriotic Fruit Skewers
Ingredients
  • stainless steel or wooden skewers
  • 1 pint strawberries
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 1 package jumbo-sized marshmallows
  • chocolate syrup
Instructions
  1. Wash and dry berries. Cut the stems off of the strawberries.
  2. Thread berries and marshmallows on skewers, alternating with three blueberries, 1 strawberry and one jumbo-sized marshmallow.
  3. Drizzle chocolate syrup over fruit if desired.

 

 

 

Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey Ginger Lime Dressing

Here’s a very colorful fruit salad, perfect as a side dish for all your summer grilling. The dressing has a perfect balance of sweet and tangy from the unique blend of honey, ginger and lime.

Matt didn’t “rave” about this fresh fruit salad, but he didn’t complain either. If you’re looking to really impress your guest with a colorful table setting, you’ve got to make this. I thought it was good, and perfect for summertime. My only complaint… after only a day, the peaches turned brown, like you would expect bananas to do. Therefore, make this fruit salad just prior to serving time.

Enjoy!

Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey Ginger Lime Dressing
Ingredients
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cups sliced peeled peaches (about 2)
1 cup blueberries
1 cup seedless green grapes, halved

Directions
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
2. Combine peaches, blueberries, and grapes in a bowl. Drizzle juice mixture; toss gently to coat. Chill at least 1 hour.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup).
Recipe from: Cooking Light June 2007

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: 53 Calories | 0.2g Fat | 0.7g Protein | 13.8g Carbohydrates | 1.3g Fiber | 1mg Sodium | 6mg Calcium

Fresh Fruit Tart

I apologize for not blogging in what feels like forever. Between birthdays, family get togethers and just day-to-day work, I put Dallas Duo on the back burner, and I’m sorry! 😦
My birthday was last Saturday and mom made this gorgeous and delicious tasting fruit tart. I normally request Mrs. Kelm’s chocolate cake (it’s a classic), carrot cake or Oreo cheesecake, but I was in the mood for fresh fruit since the weather in Dallas has been so warm….it feels like Spring already!
This was a new recipe for us to make from The Barefoot Contessa, one of my favorite Food Network Chefs. The tart was light, creamy, sweet, and semi-healthy with all the fruit. My mother-in-law said the filling tasted like cheesecake.
In less than 2 weeks, we’ll officially be introduced to Spring, so bookmark this recipe so you can try it! Enjoy!
Combine sugar, graham cracker crumbs and butter and bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Prepare filling and refrigerate until cold.

Pour filling into baked and cooled tart shell.

Layer with fresh fruit.

Drizzle raspberry jelly (thinned with hot water) as a glaze and dig in!

 

Fresh Fruit Tart
Ingredients
For the Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (approx. 14 whole crackers crushed)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 lb (1 stick) butter

For the filling: 
6 extra large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp.unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 tsp. Cognac or Brandy (we omitted)
Fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries
Apricot or raspberry jelly, for the glaze

Directions
1. For the Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the graham crackers, sugar, and butter in a small bowl and mix well a wood spoon. Lightly press the mixture into an 11-inch tart pan with removable sides. Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.
2. For the Filling: In the bowl of an electric mixture using a paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat egg yolks and sugar until mixture is pale yellow and falls back into the bowl in a ribbon (about 3 minutes).
3. On low speed, beat in cornstarch.
4. Bring mik to a boil in a large saucepan and, with the mixer on low, slowly pour it into the egg mixture. Then pour mixture back into the saucepan.
5. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon, until mixture is thick, bringing mixture slowly to a boil.
6. Once mixture is to a boil, cook for 2-3 minutes longer. Remove from heat and mix in butter, vanilla, cream and Cognac (optional).
7. Strain into storage container. Place plastic wrap on top of the pastry cream and refrigerate until cold.

Assembly
1. Fill tart shell with pastry cream.
2. Add seasonal fruit.
3. Optional: Brush with glaze (melted apricot or raspberry jelly thinned out with hot tap water) to make it look shiny and pretty!

Recipe adapted from The Barefoot Contessa

Fruit Pizza

In honor of the “Pizza Theme” week I’ve shown on my blog, here’s one more “pizza” recipe…but with a twist… Fruit!

This Fruit Pizza recipe comes from my mother-in-law, Paula, who has made it countless times for birthdays, get togethers, lakehouse trips, and just because!  For my 22nd birthday, the first one I celebrated as married, Paula brought over this fruit pizza, and I just fell in love with it.  She knew I LOVED fruit, and was right in thinking that I would adore this birthday treat.

Fruit Pizza is a “healthier” dessert, perfect for the summertime when you are craving something light and luscious.  As many of you know, this has been the hottest summer on record for Dallas, Texas (except for the summer of 1980).  We’ve already had 14 days of three-digit temperature days and it’s only the beginning of July!  Sometimes I notice that the extreme heat makes me less hungry, however, that’s not to say I don’t crave sweets still!  As I told you before, the weekends are my husband and my “cheat” days.  We eat whatever we want and then start back to our “normal”, eating-right diet on Monday.  So today, instead of making a heavy dessert such a brownies or cake, I thought this fruit pizza would be refreshing, sweet, and satisfying.  It sure was!

Send me pictures of your fruit pizza….you can decorate it with any fruit in this world and in any pattern! Enjoy the aesthetic beauty as well as taste in this dessert pizza!

Bake the crust for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

While the crust cools, wash and prepare your fruit.  Or go to the store to buy cream cheese like I had to!

Make your cream cheese filling and spread it on the cooled crust.

Layer with fresh fruit in any sort of pattern.

Feel free to change up your design with different fruits. Below I used just strawberries, clementines, and bananas. This design is prettier than the one above. Have fun with it and enjoy!

fruit pizza fruit pizza

Fruit Pizza
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • CRUST
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cream of tarter
  • TOPPING
  • 8 oz. cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Fresh fruit of your choice
Instructions
  1. FOR THE CRUST: In an electric mixer, beat the butter, shortening, sugar, and egg on medium speed. Sift the flour, soda, and cream of tarter and than add to butter mixture. Beat until just combined.
  2. Press into a greased, round pizza pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool completely.
  3. FOR THE TOPPING: In an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Frost onto cooled crust.
  4. Arrange fresh fruit in any pattern on cream cheese. If desired, pour strawberry or a peach glaze over fruit.

 

Pineapple Paletas

Happy First Day  of Summer!

With summer produce at it peak sweetness, why buy supermarket pops when you can make your own?  It is as easy as pureeing fruit, balancing it with sugar and a little citrus, and freezing it in a mold.  This recipe comes from the June 2011 issue of Bon Appetit.  The recipe that we chose first to try was the Pineapple Paletas… Mexican-style pops that are loaded with pieces of fresh fruit.  Luckily, I had some old Tupperware molds for pops.  I could only find one of the plastic tops, so I just covered the other molds with aluminum foil then poked the popsicle stick through the foil and placed them in the freezer.  A few hours later, we had delicious pineapple pops.  When my peaches are ripe, we are trying the Peach-Vanilla Cream Pops!  Enjoy!

Pineapple Paletas
Ingredients
3/4 c. sugar
4 cups (about 1 1/2 lb.) finely diced fresh pineapple, divided
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions
1. Bring sugar and 1 cup water to boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Chill syrup until cold, about 1 hour.
2. Puree syrup and 2 cups pineapple in a food processor until smooth.  Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium pitcher;  strain, pressing on solids to extract puree.  Stir in lime juice and remaining 2 cups pineapple.  Divide among molds.  Cover;  insert ice-pop sticks.  Freeze until firm.  Dip bottoms of molds into hot water for 20-30 seconds to loosen pops.  Remove pops and serve.

Yield: 8-10 pops
Bon Appetit, June 2011

Pineapple Salad (Hurry Up Fruit Salad)

This “Hurry Up Fruit Salad” or Pineapple Salad is one of my favorite fruit side dishes.  It is a perfect accompaniment with any main dish, especially for your turkey dinners coming up this Thanksgiving.  The wonderful combination of bananas, mandrain oranges, pineapples, flaked coconut, golden raisins, and chopped walnuts bring out this recipe’s perfect tropical and sweet flavors with every bite you eat.   Enjoy…Pineapple Salad is super easy and fast.  It is also a classic.  This fruit salad recipe is from the 1987 Southern Living Magazine.
Slice bananas and place in pineapple juice.

Pour the drained pineapple into a large bowl.

Add the drained mandrain oranges.

Next add the flaked coconut, golden raisins, bananas (drained of pineapple juice), and chopped walnuts.

Gently toss to combine.

Pineapple Salad (Hurry Up Fruit Salad)
Ingredients
1 (15 1/4 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained, but reserve the juice
2 bananas, sliced
2 (11 oz.) cans mandrain oranges, drained
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
1.  Drain pineapple chunks, and reserve juice.  Gently toss sliced bananas with pineapple juice.  Let sit while you combine your other ingredients, then drain.
2.  Gently fold all ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Minted Mixed Fruit Salad


This is the most colorful fruit salad I have ever eaten. It looks gorgeous, especially served in a glass bowl. It is very easy to make and is a favorite among our family members. It calls for ingredients I never would have thought to use…mint and ginger ale! You’ve got to try this one; its healthy too! By the way, my mom has made this twice…first for her and her husband, and the second time for our Easter lunch. This comes from Southern Living’s newest cookbook, “Farmers Market Cookbook”.

First you need a quart of strawberries, fresh pineapple, kiwis, pineapple juice, and ginger ale (Central Market didn’t have it, so we had to buy some Jamaican brand).

Simply cut up the fruit and mix it with the juices and sugar and you are finished! Chill for 2 hours before serving.

Minted Mixed Fruit
Ingredients
1 qt. strawberries, halved (about 3 cups)
3 cups fresh pineapple chunks
4 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
1 cup sugar (Mom used 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup ginger ale
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Directions
1. Place fruit in a shallow serving bowl.
2. Whisk together sugar, juice, and ginger ale until sugar is dissolved.
3. Gently stir in mint, and pour over fruit.
4. Cover and chill 2 hours before serving

Serves 8-10