Dark Chocolate Greek Yogurt Fruit Dip with Cinnamon

 

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

This fruit dip is easy to make, healthy AND decadent. It’s the perfect dip to make when company is coming over for coffee or drinks. The cayenne pepper in the recipe is optional. Try adding a tiny pinch, mix it in and then taste. You shouldn’t be able to tell it’s there. It’s just a little background tingle that makes the dip extra special.

Author: Christine

Recipe type: dessert

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ½ cup Greek Yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• fresh berries, marshmallows and sweet biscuits (for dipping)

 

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until it is an even dark color and all of the brown sugar granules have dissolved, about 3 minutes. Serve with fresh berries, marshmallows and sweet biscuits for dipping.

Beer Cheese Soup

2 C. diced potatoes                                                         

2 C. milk and ½ C. flour   OR 1 C. milk/or 1 can evaporated mile + 1 can cream  soup, mushroom, celery, etc.

1 ½ C. chopped onion*                                                

1 C. chopped celery                                                        

1 C. sliced carrots                                                          

12 oz. (3 C.) shredded Cheddar cheese

2 C. water + 6 chicken bouillon OR 2 C. water + 1 pkg. onion soup mix* (can substitute for onion)

½ stick butter or margarine, if desired                             

1 tsp. prepared mustard

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes                 

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 C.-1 can beer (at room temperature)

Combine vegetables, water, margarine/butter and bouillon/soup mix. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 mins. until vegetables are tender. Mix flour and milk, or milk and cream soup; blend into vegetable mixture. Add cheese, mustard, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and cook over medium heat until cheese melts, stirring occasionally so soup does not stick. Stir in beer and serve.

                                                

Wahoo's Green Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 bunch cilantro
1-2 jalapenos
2 cloves of garlic
lime to taste
salt to taste

Puree first 5 ingredients in a food processor. Add lime and salt to taste. I would recommend about one half of a small lime--too much juice makes it runny.

Serve over fish or even chicken.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie

Combine and mix:  1-8oz. pkg. softened cream cheese, 1/4 c. sugar; 1/2 tsp. vanilla; 1 egg. Pour onto bottom of unbaked 9 in. pastry shell.

Combine and mix well; pour carefully over cream cheese layer:
2 eggs, beaten well; 1/2 C. sugar; 1 1/4 C. canned pumpkin; (1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or)
1 tsp. cinnamon; 1/4/ tsp. nutmeg; 1/4 tsp. ginger; 1 C. evaporated milk; dash salt.

Bake at 350 degrees for 65-70 mins.

Zucchini and Stuffing Casserole

Servings:  6-8

5 cups zucchini, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 C. corn bread or other dry stuffing
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
3/4 c. canned french fried onion rings
salt, pepper if desired
Directions:

Boil zucchini and onion for 5 minutes, drain. Stir in sour cream, cream soup, 1/2 C. french fried onion rings, seasonings and stuffing until well mixed. Top with remaining onions.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, uncovered. Simple yet satisfying!

Our Bounty

Our Bounty with One Lone Carrot
It survived the mid-summer beagle plague...

...but it could not survive this.

Not the Problem I'd Thought I'd Have

When I wrote my last post about gardening at the end of May, I was astonished at how fast things were growing and also wondering if I should not be getting so excited since that might have been as good as it got. Well, apparently rainy and cool weather paired with a little tomato food, peat moss, and cow manure does a garden well. I don't think I even hand-watered my garden once in the month of June, because we had so much rain.

Now I'm starting to wonder if I over-planted. I had to invest in some bamboo stakes and sturdy stretch tie to rein in the zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Someone with much more gardening wisdom than I told me that corn should be knee-high by the Fourth of July. Even if I'm standing on the same level, that's more like shoulder-high.

July 14, 2013

Here are some monsters that we pulled out today. Good thing I decided to water today or I might not have seen them.

The Three Amigos

Among all of the gazillions of green tomatoes, Caden spotted an orange one.

Which one of these is not like the other ones?

Again, really not the problem I thought I'd have in my rookie year. Three lessons I've learned for next year:

1. Stake the tomatoes at time of planting (apparently this is common knowledge among the more experienced). I had no idea that bush variety tomatoes would grow this tall. 
2. A "bush" variety is not the same as a "dwarf" variety.
3. Apparently a zucchini plant -- even just one -- needs more than 4 squares. I had to cage it up, because it was shading my peppers and reaching into the corn. Perhaps it warrants its own special container. Same for the cukes.