Blackberry Goat Cheese Pizza

I think at this point it's obvious: I love me some pizza. There's just no way around it. I love it all. But these days I especially love unique pizzas that stray from the typical red sauce and mozzarella. This pizza is one of those. Not one of these toppings are what you'd typically see on a pizza but the combination is perfection. This one is not exactly on the budget-friendly side so you might want to save it for a more special occasion.

(Picture from here. Sorry, I never remember to take pictures of my food. I eat it too fast.)

Ingredients:

1 pizza crust- As mentioned before, I don't have a brilliant pizza crust recipe that I'd necessarily recommend. For this pizza, though, make sure your crust is thin. If you need ideas, I cut this recipe in half and it was just what I needed. 

1 1/2 cups blackberries- I used fresh, but I'm sure frozen would work also work if that's all you have

1/4 cup fresh basil and mint, thinly sliced- I used a bit of each and it probably totaled 1/4 cup. Use your judgment and spice preferences.

2 Tbsp. fresh thyme

4-5 oz crumbled goat cheese

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp. honey, divided

olive oil

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350ish. I suppose this depends on what kind of crust you use. For my crust, 350 worked well for me.

2. Lightly drizzle the dough with olive oil and 1 Tbsp. honey, just enough to lightly cover the dough.

3. Top the pizza with blackberries, spices, and goat cheese, then sprinkle the hazelnuts over the top.

4. Bake until the crust is crispy and the cheese is melted, about 8-12 minutes. 

5. Drizzle with the rest of the honey. Let stand for a few minutes before slicing. Serve while still hot. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from here

Cranberry Bars

We had the pleasure of going to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving. She is a great cook and I always love her food (not to mention that you can always count on it being not only good but healthy, too). Alongside the various typical Thanksgiving pies, she served these cranberry bars for dessert. They are light, delicious, and fairly healthy for a dessert. The one hard part about these bars is finding graham flour. The only place I have seen it sold is Whole Foods, and it's not even then every time. I googled substitutes and people suggested using part graham crackers part flour. I tried it and it worked fine but I'd suggest using graham flour if you can find it.


Makes 25 bars

Ingredient List

FILLING
• 1 lb. fresh or frozen cranberries
• 7 oz. fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 egg yolks
• 
  
CRUST
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup graham flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbs. butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. To make Filling: Bring cranberries and 1/2 cup water to a simmer in saucepan. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 10 minutes, or until berries have burst and are tender. Cool. Blend in blender or food processor until smooth, and strain mixture through sieve. (You should have about 1 cup purée.)

2. Transfer purée to bowl, and whisk in condensed milk and lemon juice. Whisk in egg yolks.

3. To make Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, and coat with cooking spray.

4. Whisk together flours, sugar, and salt in bowl. Stir in butter and vanilla extract. Press into bottom of prepared pan, and bake 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F, and pour Filling into hot Crust. Bake 23 to 28 minutes, or until custard is set. Cool, then chill until firm.

5. Use foil to lift baked dessert out of pan, then remove. Cut into 25 bars. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutritional Information

Per bar: Calories: 89, Protein: 2g, Total fat: 3g, Saturated fat: 2g, Carbs: 13g, Cholesterol: 31mg, Sodium: 80mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 8g

Source: Vegetarian Times

Quick Banana Dessert

Another Pinterest find. This literally takes less than 5 minutes to make. So easy. So good. And I can even pretend I'm being healthy because the main ingredients are banana and yogurt! If you wanted an extra pick-me-up in the morning, you could easily get away with having this for breakfast. I mean really, most cereals have more sugar in them than this does. Totally justifiable.

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 Tbsp. butter
Greek yogurt

Directions:
1. Slice the bananas.
2. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan, add the bananas, sugar and cinnamon and saute for a few minutes until slightly caramelized.
3. Serve over yogurt while hot.

Source: Andie's Veggies

Blackberry Cobbler

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 cups fresh blackberries
1/4 cup melted butter

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9x13 baking dish. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with cornstarch in small bowl; set aside.
2. Place the blackberries in a mixing bowl and drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter. Sprinkle with the cornstarch mixture and toss to evenly coat. Spread the berries into the prepared baking dish. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until evenly blended. Stir in the milk, vanilla extract, and butter until combined but slightly lumpy. Pour batter over the berries.
3. Bake until the berries are tender and the batter is golden brown; about 1 hour.

Source: AllRecipes.com

Triple Cheese Fruit Dip

Such a good summer memory. This is the best fruit dip ever. Not exactly best fruit dip FOR you ever, but what it lacks in nutrition, it makes up for in flavor. Tastes like heaven. 

• 8 oz. cream cheese 
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 T. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 1/2 cup grated chocolate

1. When cream cheese reaches room temperature blend with sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.
2. Whip heavy cream. Slowly fold into other cheese mixture. 
3. Stir in grated chocolate.
4. Chill.
5. Serve with fruit. Especially good with strawberries.

Source: my momma

Frozen Banana Bites

Again, another pinterest find. Simple. Simple. Simple. Great little treat to bring to a potluck or enjoy on a hot night. So refreshing. It makes me feel like I'm at a county fair. 

• 2 large bananas
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• coconut flakes

1. Set out a large plate or bowl with a piece of parchment or wax paper on it.
2. Cut up the bananas into good-sized chunks. Each banana should give you around 5 to 6 pieces.
3. Heat the peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave on high for about a minute (or on the stove until melted). Then stir until smooth.
4. Dip the banana pieces in the chocolate-peanut butter mixture. Lay them out leaving some space between them on the parchment/wax paper. Then when you've "covered" them all, use the remaining mixture to spoon over the tops.
5. Then sprinkle the unsweetened coconut flakes on top. Transfer to the freezer for about an hour until hardened.
6. You can enjoy them like this (but they really aren't frozen yet -- and when they're frozen, the banana tastes like vanilla ice cream) . . . I suggest then covering with some plastic wrap (or really you can do all of this in some kind of Rubbermaid container) and let freeze overnight.

Source: adapted from recipe by (never home)maker