Avacado-Corn Chowder with Black Bean Hummus.

I loved these two recipes paired together for a cool and refreshing meal.
Avacado-Corn Chowder with Grilled Chicken AND Black Bean Hummus with baked pita.

Chicken Lettuce Cups.

Chicken Lettuce Cups from Cooking Light. For the online recipe, click here. I thought they had a fun Mediterranean flare.

Stuffed Ciabatta French Toast.

Even though the Recipe Swappers finished over a year ago, I've been cooking a lot and have especially been trying recipes from the Cooking Light Magazine. I LOVE how they healthify (shouldn't that be a word? ;0)) favorite recipes AND use such a variety of fresh fruits and veggies. I still find myself trying to make some of the recipes even healthier, but I sure love how we've been eating such a fun variety of dishes. Anyway, I may start sharing some of my favorite (Cooking Light) recipes on here. To start us off, here's a french toast recipe that my husband and I tried for our anniversary. It was definitely not your typical french toast, but we loved it... (smoked) gruyère, shallots and all!

Click here for Cooking Lights' Ciabatta French Toast
with a Warm Apple Maple Syrup recipe.

Fruit.

This isn't so much a recipe as a suggestion for making watermelon easier for your guests to eat. Cut the slices into "Christmas Tree" shapes...it still allows a place for holding but makes it easier to bite around without getting the corners of your mouth so juicy. Cut several layers of watermelon at a time to make it even more efficient.

Green drinks are awesome for a quick yet VERY healthy breakfast on the go OR for getting your fussy kids to drink their fruits and veggies.

You can add whichever fruits and vegetables you want...the darker green the vegetable, the better. Kale and spinach are great BUT make sure to add some yummy, sweet fruit to disguise the veggie flavor. i.e. orange juice, pineapple juice, frozen berries, etc. (Using darker berries helps to disguise the green color and makes it look more like a smoothie.)

If you didn't get a chance to drink all of the green drink in one go, pour the rest into popsicle molds for a healthy snack later on.

Cut up papaya into small pieces and then sprinkle with sugar OR salt. (The more gross the papaya looks on the outside, the more ripe and ready it is getting.)

Recipe coming soon...

Triple Berry Cobbler
Submitted by: Sarah
The original recipe is from the Pioneer Woman (Blackberry Cobbler #2)
---Click here to see her step by step process.

Ingredients

• 6 cups Fresh Or Frozen Mixed Berries (from Costco)
  
• ½ cups Plus 4 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• ½ whole Zest Of Lemon
• 2 cups Flour
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• ¼ cups Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Egg
• ½ cups Milk

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine mixed berries, 1/4-½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a mixing bowl. Stir and spread out in a buttered pyrex dish.

In a separate bowl pour flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add shortening and butter and work mixture together with a pastry blender (or your fingers) until the mixture is coarse. Measure ½ cup milk, add an egg, and mix together. Pour into flour mixture, stirring as you go. Mixture should be smooth and not dry, but not over stickly.

Take clumps of dough and place them on top of the blackberries. Lightly flatten dough with your fingertips. Sprinkle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar and bake until golden for 30 minutes. Berry juice will be slightly thin, but don’t be afraid. It will gradually soak into the biscuity topping and make your life complete.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Blender Strawberry Ice Cream
Submitted by: Julie
(Allrecipes.com)

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Combine the frozen strawberries and sugar in a food processor or blender. Process until the fruit is roughly chopped. With the processor running, slowly pour in the heavy cream until fully incorporated. Serve immediately, or freeze for up to one week.

Recipe to try on your own at home:

Fruit Soup
Submitted by: Lisa

INGREDIENTS

3 Tb instant tapioca

2 Tb sugar

Dash of salt

2 cups water

1 6-ounce frozen orange juice

1 10-ounce package frozen strawberries

3 cubed oranges

1 sliced banana

DIRECTIONS

Bring the instant tapioca, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of the water to a boil.

Boil for one minute

Add second cup of water

Add frozen juice and strawberries

When ready to serve, add the fresh fruit

Fruit.

BBQ Favorites.

(Recipe coming soon....)

(Recipe coming soon....)

(Recipe coming soon....)

Deviled Eggs

Submitted by: Julie

• 6 hard-cooked eggs
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar (I used just plain white vinegar)
  
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I used regular mustard)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Fresh dill sprigs (optional)

Directions

1. Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside. In a small bowl, mash yolks. Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, dill, garlic powder and salt.
2. Spoon into egg whites. Garnish with dill sprigs or paprika if desired. Refrigerate until serving

Allrecipes.com

The Pioneer Woman's Potato Bundles

(Click here to see the Pioneer Woman's step by step of this recipe)

Submitted by: Sarah

Ingredients

• 6 whole Russet Potatoes
• ½ whole Yellow Onion, Diced
• 1 stick Butter
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Paprika To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley

Preparation Instructions

Pile potatoes and onions on a square of foil. Add 2 tablespoons butter. Splash on cream. Then sprinkle on salt, paprika, and black pepper. Sprinkle minced parsley over the top.

Wrap bundles tightly and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until extremely tender.

Serve bundles right on the dinner plate. Serves 8.

OR if you want to try cooking them out on your grill

Cook over a medium-hot grill for 20-30 minutes, turning once. Be careful not to tear the foil.

**I think these would be fun when you're having a smaller group over for a BBQ. You could ask ahead of time what toppings each guest would like OR you could even have all the toppings out and ready to go...and have each guest personalize their potato bundle before you throw it on the grill. In any case, get creative! Add bacon, cheese, chives, etc.**

Apple Brickle Dip
Submitted by: Alicia

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package almond Brickle chips or English toffee bits (use 7 1/2-ounces of a 10-ounce bag)
3 medium tart apples

1 (12-ounce) can lemon-lime soda (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugars and vanilla, fold in the Brickle chips.
2. Halve, core and slice the apples and soak in lemon-lime soda to keep them from darkening. Drain and lay the apple slices around the dip bowl.

Makes 2 cups.

Frozen Nummy
Submitted by: Becky

Ingredients
1-half gallon of vanilla icecream
1-half gallon of pineapple sherbet
1-bag of frozen strawberries (slightly thawed so they can easily be mixed in)
2-3 bananas (chopped into bite size chunks)
chopped pecans (optional and to taste)

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mix together until well incorporated. Serve immediately or set in freezer until ready to serve.

Super Jello
Submitted by: Stephanie

2 (3oz) pkgs. vanilla pudding, cooked not instant
1 (3oz) pkg. strawberry jello

Fresh or frozen strawberries, amount to your liking
3 c. boiling water
Whipping Cream

mix dry powder of pudding and strawberry Jello in saucepan. Slowly pour in 3 cup of boiling water. Stir constantly over heat until thick and clear. Place strawberries in serving bowl. Mix together. Let set in refrigerator. (Strawberries will be firmer if you allow Jello sauce to cool a bit first) Top with whipping cream.

Favorite Things to Bring to a BBQ---Recipe Reservations.

Just leave a comment with the item(s) you plan on bringing. Thanks!