Key Lime Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients

24 paper mini muffin cup liners
24 Nilla Wafers
2 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp Fresh Key Lime juice
2 tsp Lime zest
green food coloring - optional


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cupcake liners into pan, lightly spray. Then place one Nilla wafer in the bottom of each liner.

Cream together cream cheese, sugar. Stir in the eggs blending until smooth. Then add the zest and juice. If wanting a green tint, add 1 drop green food coloring.

Pour into each liner filing 3/4 of the way full . Bake for 20 minutes.

Cool and refrigerate. Before serving garnish as desired.


This recipe is also linked to...

Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Green

Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients

24 paper mini muffin cup liners
24 Vanilla Wafers
2 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 can fruit filling (or fresh fruit for topping)


Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place one vanilla wafer in 24 paper mini muffin cup liners in a mini muffin tin.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until creamy and smooth. Pour 2/3 full into each muffin cup liner.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Before serving add a spoonful of the pie filling or fresh fruit on top of the cheesecakes.

Peach Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter – divided
2 Tbsp raw sugar
3 medium peaches, skin on, pitted, sliced into 1/2” wedges
1 cup coarse cornmeal
3/4 cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 Tbsp pure vanilla
1/4 cup agave nectar
3 eggs


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a 10 inch round cake pan over medium low heat on a burner and melt 1/4 cup of butter. Brush sides of cake pan with melted butter. Add raw sugar and cook until melted and lightly bubbling, about 3 minutes.

Cover bottom of pan with peach slices, spiraling once around the outside and then filling in the middle. Reduce heat to low and cook until peaches start to soften and bubble, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together, cornmeal, flour and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together remaining 1/4 cup of butter, yogurt, agave nectar and vanilla, until well combined. On medium speed, add in eggs and beat until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add the cornmeal mixture. Mix until just combined. Pour batter, which will seem quite liquidy over the peaches and spread evenly with a spatula.

Bake until a cake tester inserted in the centre of cake comes out clean, approximately 20 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for about 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen from the pan. Quickly flip cake over onto a serving plate and tap the bottom to loosen peaches.

This cake serves nicely with maple syrup sweetened whipped cream or frozen yogurt!


This recipe is also linked on...

Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday
This Week's Cravings: Peaches

Grilled Peaches and Cream

Ingredients

4 peaches
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
1 cup crushed digestive cookies


Directions

Heat grill to medium-low.

Halve and pit peaches; brush both sides with butter.

Place peaches on grill; cover grill, and cook until charred and softened, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and 1 tablespoon light-brown sugar.

Spoon mixture over peaches; sprinkle with crushed digestive cookies.


NOTE: I actually like to use crushed Breton Whole Wheat Crackers or saltines just to get a little saltiness in with the sweet goodness of the peaches and cream.


This recipe is also linked on...

Sweets for a Saturday: Week 28
This Week's Cravings: Peaches
This Week's Cravings: BBQ/Grilling

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Chili-Lime Butter

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper
Fresh Corn on the Cob


Directions

Mix the butter, juice of one lime, cilantro, chili powder, garlic and black pepper together in a small bowl until well combined. Place the butter mixture on a pice of wax paper. Roll the butter mixture into a log shape, twist the ends and refrigerate until chilled and the butter is solid.

Preheat your grill to get it good and hot. While your grill is preheating remove the husk and the silks from the corn.

Rub the corn all over with olive oil. There's no need to add any flavoring at this point. The flavor will come from the Chili-Lime Butter after the corn is cooked. Place the corn directly on the hot grill over high heat, rotating it frequently so no one spot gets overly charred. It will take about 10 minutes to cook the corn and you'll want some of those tasty kernels to get blackened. That is going to give your corn it's delicious grilled flavor.

Once the corn is cooked, place it on a serving platter and slather it with the Chili-Lime Butter. Add a sprinkling of kosher salt and a couple of twists of fresh ground pepper and you're good to go.

This recipe is also linked on...

This Week's Cravings: Summer Vegetables
This Week's Cravings: BBQ/Grilling
Seasonal Sunday
Savory Sunday

Chili-Rubbed Salmon with Zucchini and Sauteed Corn

Ingredients

4 skinless salmon fillets (6 ounces each)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 pound medium zucchini (quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 3-inch spears, about 1/2 inch thick)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package (10 ounces) (2 cups) frozen corn kernels
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 cup prepared fresh tomato salsa (half a 12-ounce container)
Lime wedges, for garnish (optional)


Directions

Heat the broiler; set a rack 4 inches from the heat. Rub the salmon all over with salt and pepper. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle the top of the fillets with 1 teaspoon of the chili powder. Arrange the zucchini around the salmon; sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon chili powder, and season with salt and pepper.

Broil until the fish is opaque throughout and the zucchini is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the corn and garlic; cook, tossing, until the corn is tender and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the scallions and salsa; season generously with salt and pepper.

Place the fillets on plates, and serve with the zucchini and the corn mixture. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.

This recipe is also linked to...

It's a Blog Party's Fall Fest Recipes 2011

Citrus-Glazed Salmon with Spinach Salad

Ingredients

1 large ruby red grapefruit
12 to 16 ounces fresh spinach
3/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar with a touch of honey)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 salmon fillets or steaks, about 4 ounces each
1 medium shallot, finely chopped


Directions

Peel and section grapefruit over a bowl, catching the juice; you’ll need about 1/4 cup. Dice grapefruit segments; place segments and spinach in a large bowl.

Combine 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Arrange salmon on a plate; pour 1/2 cup vinaigrette over salmon (reserving remaining vinaigrette). Let stand 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat broiler. Line a broiler pan or shallow baking pan with foil; brush with oil. Remove salmon from marinade, discarding marinade; place salmon in pan. Broil 8 to 10 minutes.

To dress spinach, put reserved vinaigrette in a heavy saucepan; reduce slightly over medium-high heat. Mix remaining 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice, 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon oil in a bowl with the shallots and reduced vinaigrette. Pour over spinach; toss to coat. Divide spinach among four dinner plates; top with salmon.

Simply Yummy Peach Cake

Ingredients

3 ripe peaches
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Turbinado Sugar


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.

Cut the peaches into bite sized pieces. Toss the peaches with nutmeg and 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and remaining sugar with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the egg, buttermilk and extracts, and stir to combine.

Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add this flour mixture to the butter mixture, mix until smooth (some lumps may remain). Pour into the prepared pan.

Press the peaches into the top of the cake. They can be nicely arranged, but I like to cram as many peaches as possible into the cake. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.


This recipe is also linked on...

Sweets for a Saturday: Week 28
This Week's Cravings: Peaches
Food on Friday: Apricots and Nectarines 

Sweet and Sour Zucchini Salad

Ingredients

4-6 medium zucchini and yellow squash, grated
1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, grated
juice of 2 lemons
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste


Directions

Grate and slice the vegetables. Squeeze the lemon over the zucchini, add the olive oil, agave and salt and mix well.


Note: The zucchini will drain quite a lot of water once you put the salt on it, so it should be served shortly after combining the vegetables with the dressing.

This recipe is also linked on...

This Week's Cravings: Summer Vegetables

Fresh Zucchini Salad with Avocado, Feta and Almonds

Ingredients

4 small zucchini, shaved into strips
4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, de-stemmed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 avocado
1/4 cup slivered almonds, roasted
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
fresh ground black pepper to taste


Directions

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, lemon juice, thyme, salt and olive oil and toss to coat. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, peel, seed and chop the avocado and add to the zucchini mixture along with the almonds, feta and some ground black pepper.

NOTE: A chef's mandolin is really helpful in shaving the zucchini. You could also use a potato peeler or a cheese slicer to make thin, even slices.

This recipe is also linked on...

Seasonal Sunday
Everyday Sisters' Sharing Sundays: Green
This Week's Cravings: Summer Vegetables