Cherry Crisp

My mom gets all the credit here.

I took the pictures and gave her two thumbs up with a full tummy of this deliciousness.

You can't really go wrong with fresh cherries, a homemade crisp and dinner at mom's house, can you?

This was fantastic (so was the homemade ice-cream she topped it off with!) and was a perfect way to end a warm summer night with family.


Cherry Crispy
By: My mom

Ingredients

6 cups sweet, pitted cherries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats (regular)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup sliced almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare filling: Combine cherries, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, almond extract and salt in a large blow, toss gently.  Spoon cherry mixture into an 11 x 7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Prepare topping: Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, leveling with a knife.  Combine flour, oats, brown sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk (or whatever!).  Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Stir in sliced almonds.  Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over cherry mixture.  Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is crisp.  Let stand 5 minutes, serve warm.

 

Candy Bars

How many of these candy bars can you identify?

I'm at eight & getting frustrated by my lack of knowledge ;)

How big of a sweet tooth do you have?!

{Via A Cup Of Jo}

Summer 'To-Make' List

Here's a list of summer must makes! I'm loving all the berries that are in season right now. We are enjoying our fair share of crisps topped with vanilla ice-cream around here these days! Enjoy...

Nectarine and Strawberry Crisp

Strawberry and Cream Cake

Raspberry and Lemon Curd Tart

Blackberry Pie Muffins

Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars

Easy Apple Cake

Rice, Asparagus and Avocado Salad

Avocado, Mango and Strawberry Lentil Salad

Chickpea Salad with Feta and Heirloom Tomatoes

Mini Turkey Burgers

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie

Creamy Grape Dessert

S'more Cookie Bars

Rhubarb 'Big Crumb' Coffee Cake

Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Banana Bites

Avocado, Mango & Strawberry Lentil Salad

Internet, it's been a long time! The huz and I took three weeks off, traveled to five European countries, ate a lot of delicious food and had a fabulous time. We are trying our best to fight jet leg and adjust to reality again! I'll share some images from our trip and the incredible food we ate in some future posts.

In the meantime, Vancouver is being good to us and the sun is shining. I love this time of the year!

This salad was so easy to make and is perfect for a warm summer night. I had purchased some precooked lentils (from Trader Joe's) that I put into a salad bowl and added chopped avocado, mango and strawberries. I drizzled a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar on the salad and tossed it lightly until everything was nicely coated.

I highly recommend this salad after you get your fix of daily vitamin D! I hope you've been having a great summer!

Friday Favorites

1) My crazy hot huz. He sure is easy on the eyes.
2) Toms + Books + Sunnies
3) Ice-cream dates.
4) Saturday morning waffles. Love.
5) New family members (not mine)! We welcomed two cousins into our family this week. Adore!
6) Canucks candy apples. Amazing.
7) Weekend away to celebrate our anniversary.
8) Watching the huz golf and sneaking pics.
9) I'm still proud of this baby.

Oreo Pudding Cookies

Dear all cookies (other than the one pictured above),

The huz has replaced you and he doesn't seem one bit sorry about it. 

Love,
The faithful dysfunctional dieter (who will still happily consume you)

These cookies are chalk full of everything sinful; Oreo pudding mix, Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars, chocolate chips and they taste ahh-mazing!

I've made three batches in two weeks. Three. 

Oh, my poor thighs.

I realize that is downright embarrassing and I should be ashamed, but I'm telling you out of love and only to encourage you to bake them too. 

I'm pretty sure this is where the saying, 'Lord, if you can't make me skinny, make my friends fat!' comes in. Ha!

Love,
The faithful, always hungry and always eating cookies dysfunctional dieter


Oreo Pudding Cookies
Adapted from: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces (I used 2.6 ounce King Sized bars)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Note: I found Oreo Pudding mix at my grocery store but I also saw it at Walmart and Target.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips.

Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 7-8 minutes. You do not want to overbake these! Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container.

Brie & Apple Panini

I love my panini maker. Anything that can turn a ho-hum sandwich into an impressive meal has a golden spot on my kitchen counter.

The melted cheese, buttered bread and crispy edges created by the panini press make for a delicious treat.

I slathered both sides of my whole grain bread with tzatziki sauce and mango chutney and placed thick slices of brie cheese and thin slices of a tart granny smith apple in the centre.

I was in panini heaven.

It's a good place to be.

Note: If you don't have a panini maker you can create the same effect with a grill pan, press, skillet, etc. Spread a very thin layer of butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place the butter side down on the pan and cook for a couple of minutes until golden brown, flip over and when the cheese begins to melt take it off the pan and enjoy.