Lemon Ginger Fruit Salad

So here's a recipe for a fruit salad that I made this morning

Ingredients
Strawberries
Cantaloupe
Pineapple
1/4 cup of lime juice
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Directions
I cut about half of a fresh pineapple up into bite size pieces and put the pieces into a bowl. Then I cut up about 5 or 6 strawberries and put them into the bowl with the pineapples. Then I had 3 wedges from a cantaloupe that I cut up into bite size pieces and placed in the bowl with the rest of the fruit.

In a separate small bowl, add the lime juice, sugar, and ginger. Stir. Heat the mixture in the microwave for a few seconds so that the sugar dissolves. Then put it in the freezer to cool it off. Once cooled, pour the lime juice mixture over the fruit and stir until all of the fruit has some on it. 

Chill & serve.

Mexican Casserole

Last week I bought some corn tortillas (again) with a WIC voucher. The last time I bought them I just used them for a small soft taco...the same way that I use the flour ones. Thing is...they didn't really appeal to my taste buds with the corn tortilla. Now anybody who knows anything about the WIC program knows that the food on the vouchers is healthy food, which may not taste all that great in the beginning. 

So when I bought a pack for the 2nd time, I was determined to use them in a way that my entire family could appreciate. So I googled (I'm the queen of google) recipes that use corn tortillas. The common theme was casseroles and enchiladas. So I decided to go with a casserole. I tried to find a recipe that looked fast and easy. I also wanted to go with a recipe where I had all or most of the ingredients or could easily substitute or omit ingredients. 

Here's the recipe that I used as a base recipe to get me started....

http://www.food.com/recipe/mexican-ground-beef-tortilla-layer-casserole-209135

Now here's what I actually did....

Ingredients

1 pound of ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

3 teaspoons of cumin

1 can of whole kernel corn 

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 (15 oz.) can of tomato sauce, reserve about 1/4 cup of it

mild cheddar cheese, shredded

gouda cheese, shredded

7 or 8 corn tortillas (the small ones)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cooking spray into a rectangular shaped baking dish. 

2. Cook the ground turkey and chopped onion in a large skillet or dutch oven until the meat is browned. You also want to season the meat with some salt and pepper. Drain (if desired). *I didn't drain mine. If you use ground beef or chuck, you may want to drain some or all of the fatty grease.*

3. Remove the meat from the heat. Add the cumin and taco seasoning. Stir until well combined. Add the tomatio sauce....not the 1/4 cup reserved amount, but the larger portion. Stir until well combined. Drain the liquid off of the corn, then add the corn to the pot. Stir until well combined. Put the pot back on the heat. 

4. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking. Then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. 

5. While the meat mixture is cooking, layer some of the tortillas into the bottom of the baking dish. You may want to cut the ones that go around the edges of the pan to ensure that you cover the entire baking dish. 

6. Once the bottom of the baking dish is covered with tortillas, pour the reserved tomato sauce over them. 

7. When the meat mixture has simmered on low heat for about 5 minutes, scoop some out and put over the tomato sauce in the baking dish. Then cover the meat mixture with cheese. Then do another layer of tortillas. Then do another layer of the meat mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 

8. Remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts. 

Bon appetit!!!

5-Step Recipe: Easy Shrimp and Veg Stir-Fry: SELF.com

5-Step Recipe: Easy Shrimp and Veg Stir-Fry: SELF.com

Gotta try this recipe!!!

Fruity Pie-tooty

This recipe was inspired by my cousins. A couple of months ago, I was at their house for Sunday dinner after church and we had a fruit pizza for dessert. It was delicious! It's actually somewhat of a healthy dessert. Also, anybody can make it because it's super easy to make.

You'll need the following ingredients:
1 package (the roll) of sugar cookie dough
1 eight ounce container of frozen whipped topping
Half of an 8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar
Fruit of your choice

For the fruit, I used strawberries and kiwi fruit. I used about 5 or 6 strawberries. I cut the tops off and sliced them. I peeled about 2 or 3 kiwi fruit and sliced them. 
Now here's what you need to do...

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Make sure you spray the pan with cooking spray. Then take the roll of cookie dough and spread it out evenly onto the pan. Keep your fingers wet, as this will keep the dough from sticking to your hands.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.
When you start to smell that wonderful aroma of cookies baking, keep an eye on them because the time will vary from oven to oven.

Once your giant cookie is finished baking, remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely. While the cookie is cooling off, you can make your "pizza" sauce.

To make the sauce...
Place the cream cheese, whipped topping, and sugar into a bowl. Whisk them until well combined. Once the cookie has cooled off completely, spread the mixture on it.

Arrange the fruit onto the cookie.