I made this for the Fourth of July a few years ago and it was so very pretty and pretty yummy too. I honestly didn’t care how good it tasted because it looked that good but it really was very yummy. Very easy to make and no baking involved. Perfect for the Fourth or Labor Day or really any old time . Actually this would be lovely made with all blackberries , all strawberries and just serve it any old time if you’re not feeling the Patriotic theme. It’s delicious and an easy solution for dessert for those summer bbq’s.

You’ll need a Trifle Bowl — worth the investment.

Happy Fourth of July America!

Ingredients:

1 store bought angel food cake

For the syrup:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp. Almond Extract

Whipped Cream Cheese:

2/3 cup sugar

1 lb. Cream cheese , at room temperature

2 cups Heavy Cream, at room temperature

Fruit:

2 pints blueberries

2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced

Directions:

Heat 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice , and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract.

Cut the pre made angel cake into 1 ” slices

Brush both sides of the sliced cake with syrup — I put on a rimmed baking sheet to do this

Cut the slices into 1″ cubes

Beat 2/3 cup sugar and the cream cheese with a mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth and light. Add the cream and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and the consistency of whipped cream

Arrange half of the cake cubes in the bottom a 13 cup trifle dish. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. Dollop half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread

Top with a layer of strawberries

Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries. Then sprinkle with more blueberries

Top with remaining whipped cream and finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a decorative pattern. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours. Overnight is perfect and what I recommend.

Like I said any berries will do , it’s a lovely dessert.

This salad is so delicious so fresh tasting and so easy to make. Very simple with very simple ingredients — Romaine lettuce, Lemons, Parmesan Cheese, Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper.

It’s zesty lemon flavor with the rich taste of Parmesan Cheese. Perfect accompaniment to chicken, fish or any main course meal.

This is what I did.

Ingredients:

Romaine Lettuce– 3 Romaine Hearts are perfect and chop them up and put in a large bowl

Obviously place the lettuce in a salad spinner first to clean.

2 large lemons, juiced or 3 small lemons

1 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup Good Olive Oil

Kosher Salt to taste and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Rinse romaine and chop up into small bite size thin pieces. Discard the ends. Clean in a salad spinner and spin to remove excess water. I then put into paper towels and place in fridge till ready to use.

When ready to eat add the lettuce to a large bowl .

I place all other ingredients except for Parmesan Cheese in a small mixing bowl. Taste for Salt and Pepper. I whisk the lemon juice and olive oil together . Pour over lettuce mix well and add cheese and serve .

That’s it — Super Simple –Super Easy — Super Delicious

I made this salad the other night and it came together so beautifully and it was very very tasty if I do say so myself. I made it with grilled chicken and bacon but if you want to keep it vegetarian you can . You can also serve chicken and bacon on the side if you’d like. It’s a yummy chopped up salad with lots of tasty items that I love together. The lemon vinaigrette dressing has a bit of kick but you can easily leave out the crushed red pepper. I used fresh butter lettuce but any lettuce will do .

Enjoy!

*this served 4

Salad Ingredients:

8 slices bacon — I used microwave bacon and cooked for 3 minutes and cooled it off and crumbled it. Of course you can use any type of bacon or omit — up to you

app. 1 pint blueberries

1/2 cup crumbled Feta or Goat Cheese — I hate blue cheese but if you love it use that

1 handful small cut up basil leaves

app. 4 cups farmers market lettuce or any lettuce you like — I used a soft butter lettuce this time–I tore it into small pieces

3 corn on the cobs kernels removed — leave it raw — it’s sweet and delicious

1-2 avocados — depending on the size of your avocados — I used 2 small ones

Grilled Chicken:

I used about 4 chicken breasts — small ones and brushed some olive oil and salt and pepper and a little dried oregano and grilled them on the grill for a few minutes on each side till done and set aside with aluminum till ready to serve salad and then cut up chicken into small pieces.

Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing:

I made salad dressing in my mini chopper — Perfect and easy if no mini chopper just mince garlic by hand and whisk all ingredients together adding olive oil in last slowly.

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1/4 cup Champagne Vinegar

3 Tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice

2 Tablespoons Honey

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt — more to taste — didn’t need it

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

I used my mini chopper and started with the garlic and put all other ingredients and added the olive at the end slowly.

Taste for salt and pepper but it was fine by me.

• 1/2 teaspoon or more or less crushed red pepper flakes –we like kick and so did our guests so you may or may not want to use this which is fine

In a large salad bowl add in lettuce, chicken , blueberries, cheese, basil leaves, crumbled bacon, avocado and corn. Drizzle with the vinaigrette or serve salad and let your guests dress their own — up to you. Once salad is dressed serve immediately. I

I made this for the first time and really enjoyed it. It’s a great dip as an appetizer with chips but I served it as a side dish alongside my chicken fajitas along with some chips. Ingredients can be swapped out to use what you like or don’t like just try and keep the quantities the same. I couldn’t find black eyed peas so used pinto beans and it was fine. I love a bit of spicy so used a jalapeño and I love cilantro but so many people don’t like it so I left it out this time. It ‘s very delicious and other than a bit of chopping up veggies which can be done ahead it’s super easy! You can add some fresh avocado chunks at the end right before serving and you can make a day ahead and maybe drain some of the liquid before serving, it’s almost better the next day since flavors meld overnight. A squeeze of fresh lime would also be nice. I wouldn’t omit the sugar as the amount is so small in relation to the whole recipe that health concerns are negligible. The sugar adds overall flavor and adds a balance between the acidity and the saltiness flavor. Have fun with this recipe no matter how you do it — no right and no wrong here do it your way. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

for the dressing:

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3-4 garlic cloves -minced

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Kosher Salt and black pepper

For the Salad:

3 plum tomatoes, cored , seeded if desired and diced — you can also use halved cherry tomatoes and use about 1/2 pint

1/2 red onion, finely diced — app. 3/4 up

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz. can black eyed peas , rinsed and drained– I used Pinto because I couldn’t find black eyed peas out here in CO whatever beans you like you can even use 2 cans of black beans

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels ( about 3-4 cobs) or thawed drained frozen sweet corn about 8 oz. or even roasted corn ( Trader Joes) if you like it and can get it– I used 4 cobs of fresh corn which is so abundant right now

1 red, green, or orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced *

*1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves plus more for garnish — totally optional

1 scallion, white and green parts, added at the end before serving for garnish

*tortilla chips, for serving also optional

Directions:

Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to combine– set aside

Add the tomatoes, red onion, drained and rinsed beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeño, and if you’re using cilantro, Toss to combine with dressing and season for salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving or even overnight.

To serve, take out of fridge, toss well and taste for seasonings. Sprinkle with scallions and if you’re serving as a dip or even as a side dish it’s great with tortilla chips. ( everything is better with chips)

This is one of those perfect sheet pan meals easy to assemble and delicious to eat. Although I usually make this recipe on the stove-top I decided to experiment with it in the oven and all on one pan. Since I used white meat chicken breasts I cooked for about 13 minutes because you want to make sure not to dry out the chicken which is pretty easy to do. You can use dark meat chicken — thighs ( skinless and boneless ) if you prefer . I may use them next time out. Just make sure you spray the sheet pan with cooking spray and really spray or you’ll have a hell of a time cleaning that pan. It’s very tasty served over any rice you’d like or no rice , I used brown rice this time.

I have to say this is a perfect any-night meal.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

6 Tablespoons Honey

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

3 minced garlic cloves

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

2 Bell Peppers cut into chunks ( see pic) I used a Red and an Orange but you can use whatever colors you like

1 Red Onion, cut into chunks ( see pic)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks ( use thick breasts) or use boneless skinless thighs –thighs will definitely be less dry

1 cup cashews — I used roasted unsalted cashews don’t use salted ones you can also use raw unsalted cashews

Chopped fresh scallions and sesame seeds for topping — you can toast the sesame seeds in oven for about 7 minutes if you’d like or in a toaster oven — totally optional

*Rice — optional — any rice you like

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees

In a bowl , whisk together the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, sesame oil , garlic and ginger

Place the peppers and onions on sprayed rimmed baking sheet and pour 1/2 the sauce over it and mix it well.

Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

Place the chicken in a bowl with the remainder of the marinade.

After the first 15 minutes, remove baking sheet from the oven , move vegetables around so there is room for chicken , add the chicken and the cashews.

Roast until the chicken is cooked through– 12-15 minutes depending on the size of your chicken.

Toss everything together on the sheet before serving.

Serve over rice and sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds.