Cranberry-Orange Cupcakes

A lovely combination of cranberry and orange. Thank you Lady Behind the Curtain

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries or 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
• Combine rind, juice, oil, and egg in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Add to flour mixture, stirring  just until moist.  
• Fold in cranberries and walnuts.  
• Spoon batter into 16 cupcake cups lined with paper liners.  
• Bake for 15 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched in the center.  
• Cool 10 minutes in cupcake tin and transfer to a cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting 

1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
5-1/2 to 6 cups powdered sugar

• Allow cream cheese and butter to stand a t room temperature for 30 minutes. 
•  In a large mixing bowl beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  
• Gradually beat in powdered sugar until frosting reaches spreading consistency.  
• Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 of the cream cheese frosting
2 teaspoons orange gelatin
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
few drops of orange food colouring or gel food colouring, optional

• Take half of  the cream cheese frosting and mix in the orange gelatin, orange peel and food colouring.  
• Put in a large piping bag on one side.  Leave room on the other side for the cranberry cream cheese frosting.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 of the cream cheese frosting
2 Tablespoons cranberry juice
additional confectioners’ sugar
few drops of red food colouring or gel food colouring, optional

• Take the other half of the cream cheese frosting and mix in the cranberry juice and food colouring.  
• Add additional confectioners’ sugar until the frosting reaches a piping consistency.  
• Put in a large piping bag on the opposite side of the orange cream cheese frosting. 
•  Pipe on the swirl frosting.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 Medium Bananas mashed
1/2 cup of  Hellmans Mayonnaise
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 375
• In a bowl mix together mashed bananas, mayonnaise and egg 
• In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips
• Add flour mixture to wet mixture and stir just until combined. The mixture will be very thick, do not over mix 
• Pour into a greased 6 cup muffin pan
• Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top
• Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean 
• Remove from pan and allow to cool completely 

Mango-Peach Smoothie

Peach and Mango are so delicious together. Thank you Fountain Avenue Kitchen

1 peach, sliced or about 1 cup frozen slices

1 mango, peeled and diced or 1 heaping cup frozen chunks

1/2 cup 2% plain yogurt 

1/2 cup orange juice

dash or two of cinnamon

• Place all ingredients in blender, cover, and puree until smooth. 
• Add a little extra orange juice if you prefer a thinner smoothie.
• Makes one big smoothie (16+ ounces) or two smaller servings.

Note:

Frozen fruit may not be quite as sweet as fresh, so you can add 1 tbsp agave or honey to suit your taste.

Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Thank you The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 10oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well 
   or 10 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, or more to taste
dash of cayenne pepper, or more to taste

• Preheat oven to 400 degress. 
• In a medium bowl, warm cream cheese in microwave for about a minute to soften. 
• Add spinach, artichokes, sour cream, mayonnaise, and parmesan. 
• Mix all together and add garlic salt and cayenne to taste. 
• Place in an oven safe dish and bake in the oven at for about 20 minutes or until the top is toasty. If you're using fresh spinach bake for 20 minutes, stir, and bake for an additional 10 minutes if needed.
• Serve with bread, chips or veggies.

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

I love salmon and this is an easy and tasty way to serve. Thank you Hun...Whats for Dinner

2/3 C Balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 green onions, chopped
6- 6oz  salmon fillets, skinned

• In a large zip top bag, add the Balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, Dijon, salt and green onions. Mush to combine. 
• Add the salmon to the zip top bag, seal tightly and turn to coat. Place in a shallow dish and refrigerate for 2 hrs, turning after 1 hr. 
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove salmon fillets from the zip top bag and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
• While fish bakes, pour remaining marinade in a small sauce pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half and thick.
• Once fish is cooked through, brush with glaze and garnish with more green onion (green tops only).

Southwestern Spaghetti

Southwestern Spaghetti combines Italian and Mexican cuisine to make an amazing and memorable pasta. This is a fairly easy dish to prepare and great for a dinner party

8 ounces spaghetti noodles, cooked
½ cup milk
1 egg
1lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
16 oz can chopped tomatoes
tbsp tomato puree
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

• Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the drained cooked noodles with milk and egg. Mix well. 
• Butter a 9×13 inch casserole dish and pour the noodle mixture into the bottom.
• In a large skillet brown ground beef, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic. Drain. 
• Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. 
• Stir in the tomatoes and puree and cook for 2 more minutes
• Spread the meat sauce over the spaghetti noodles. 
• Top with cheese. 
• Place into the oven and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Apple Pear Crumble

A lovely variation on the traditional dessert. Thank you Food Done Light

Fruit Filing:
3 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3 pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/4 cup Demerara cane sugar or granulated sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of kosher salt

Crumble:
1/4 cup Demerara cane sugar or granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup instant oats
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. light butter, chopped
Pinch of kosher salt

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Spray a 12 x 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, mix together apples, pears, sugar, lemon juice, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
• Pour into the baking dish.
• In the bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the crumble.
• Using a pastry cutter or your hands, cut in the butter until large crumbs form.
• Lightly sprinkle the crumbs on top of the fruit.
• Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
• Take foil off and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.