Banana on Stick

Skewer a 1/2 of banana on a fondue stick, dip in melted chocolate and roll in shredded coconut, and crushed almonds. Freeze for about an hour............then eat!

~ We made these last week............so yummy and healthy for you! They are kida hard to eat because of the metal stick in the banana, but well worth the cautious eating!

Review of Local Coffee

Last week we had the chance to stop by a new coffee shop that opened in near us. Since we have not been able to find another coffee shops other then Starbucks we thought we'd try it out. Upon our first visit we ordered there droppo, which is a cappuccino with less milk. We also bought a Carmelo and a whole wheat apple and pumpkin muffin. The apple muffin was excellent, we especially loved the moistness and not to sweetness of it. The Carmelo and pumpkin muffin were for a friend, she really liked them both. When we went home we told our mother about how wonderful it was and said we'd have to go again soon. A few days later being out doing some garage saling we decided to stop for a quick energy boost, this time we got a regular coffee, our Mom ordered the pumpkin muffin and we got a gluten and dairy free brownie. The coffee and brownie were good but their pumpkin muffin seemed a little dry. We ate a little of the brownie and saved the rest to bring back to the rest of the family, we were surprised the it was gluten free as the texture and flavor was so good. This past week we stopped once again, can't you tell we like our coffee!?!? We ordered a iced coffee with an extra shot of espresso, this was not something we would order again, the coffee tasted horrible and was not very strong. If your planning on going there to get a frappachino don't go because they don't even own a blender!


Pros:Great droppo, maybe a little more milk for our liking, brownie and apple muffins were fantastic.
Cons: Dry pumpkin muffin, iced coffee had a bad flavor,don't own a blender

A nice quick lunch for a spring cleaning day!

After posting so many not so healthy recipes in a row we have decided to give you all a break and post some good healthful ones:) We had this for lunch and thought it was worthy of a blog post. If you don't like raw fish in your sushi give this combo a try, I really liked the radishes Hannah shredded and put in it as well as the idea of putting the red pepper dip on the kelp noodles! Hannah and I like to make hand held sushi because its way easier then the real stuff and quick to make when you don't have much time, like we had today:) We have been are on spring cleaning frenzy, I think it's all the warm weather we are having. In the next couple days we will try to post some more recipes, and this time they will be healthier then the last couple we've done:)

Hand Held Sushi

Serves:2

2 sheets of nori, soy or seaweed

1/2 cup shredded radishes

1/2 cup shredded carrots

2 small green onions,sliced

1-2 lettuce leaves, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons tahini (ground up sesame seeds)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Kelp noodle salad

Serves:2

1 cup raw kelp noodles

2-4 Tablespoons of raw red pepper dip

tahini

raw seasame seeds

In a small bowl mix radishes,carrots,green onions,tahini and soy sauce. Mix till blended. Drop onto nori and sprinkle lettuce on top. Wrap up. For the Kelp noodle salad put noodles on plate and top with red pepper dip, tahini and seasame seeds. Serve the sushi and salad together. You might also want a little soy sauce for the salad as well as the sushi!

Aldo's Cheesecake

A few years ago Hannah and I played music for a wedding reception at a restaurant called Aldino's. I know the recipe comes from Aldo's:) After we finished up playing they offered us some cheesecake with fresh strawberries, if you know us we don't like cheesecake and never had, it's just to cheesy! Well this one changed our opinion of it that widely loved dessert, the creaminess and not to sweetness made it just right. When we got home we told our Mom how wonderful it was and said we would have to take her there for some very soon. We ended up going about a week later, but when the waiter gave us the cheesecake it was not the same:( Such a disappointment........2 weeks ago upon looking in the newspaper I saw a recipe for Aldo's cheesecake which looked like it might be similar to the texture of Aldino's. So this morning we made it to bring to our church potluck, of course we had to get a picture and taste it to make sure it was not poisonous:) It turned out very good, and quite similar to the one we had at Aldino's, next time we are going to change a few things around and see if we can't get a closer replica of the real thing.

Aldo's Cheesecake

Crust 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup crushed walnuts 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened Filling 2/3 cup sugar 2 pounds cream cheese (4 [8-ounce] packages), softened 2 large eggs 1 egg yolk Sour Cream Glaze 6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) sour cream 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons powdered sugar Fruit Garnish Seasonal berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) Pinch of sugar Squeeze of lemon juice Sprinkle of dry vermouth

DIRECTIONS For Crust: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-by-11 1/2-inch rectangular baking dish. Mix walnuts, graham cracker crumbs and softened butter together. Press evenly into bottom of prepared baking dish. For Filling: Mix sugar and cream cheese together until completely smooth. Add whole eggs and yolk in three additions, occasionally scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl, until eggs are fully incorporated. Carefully pour cream cheese, egg and sugar mixture over Crust and spread evenly. Bake 30-35 minutes, gently rotating pan after 15 minutes so the cheesecake will bake evenly. Remove baking dish from oven, place on a wire rack and cool completely before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating overnight or for up to 3 days. For Sour Cream Glaze: Just before serving, mix sour cream with powdered sugar. Glaze the cheesecake with a thin layer of the sour cream mixture. Using a serrated knife, cut lengthwise down the center of the baking dish and then crosswise into individual portions, wiping the knife with a damp cloth after each cut. Plate, garnish with the Fruit Garnish, and serve. For Fruit Garnish: Toss berries with sugar, lemon juice, and dry vermouth.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Makes 12 servings, each (using 2 cups sliced strawberries in the topping) 440 calories (74.0 percent calories from fat), 37 g fat, 155 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 8 g protein.

Have you ever made cheesecake?

Do you like cheesecake?

What's your favorite flavor?

We are making it for the first time today, I know can you believe that?!?!We have never made it before! We will post the recipe and pictures soon.

Coming Soon, a review!

Julia's French Onion soup

Yesterday it rained all day, and I mean All Day! So guess what was on the menu? Soup! Yes, but not just any soup, we made Julia Child's French Onion soup and boy was is yummy!!!! It had just the right amount of everything, our Mom used to make it when we were really young and I don't have found memories of it:) But we went out for it a few months back and now are hooked. If you have never tried it, now is the time you.