Yogurt Fruit Salad

 picture from Cookin' with Cousins

This salad always makes an appearance at all our family get togethers. We love it because one, it is really good, two, it is loaded with yogurt and fruit and three, it is super easy! You can whip this up in no time flat and have a delicious side dish to share at your next summer barbecue. You can make it as yogurty or as fruity as you want. You can even mix and match fruit and yogurt flavors. It is that easy. During those winter months, you can use frozen mixed fruit or strawberries and it comes out great too. Try it this summer, you'll love it!

My sister Callie is featuring this salad at her Cookin' With Cousins blog. Instead of using fresh fruit, she teaches a great way in how to incorporate your freeze dried fruits you may have in your food storage. They are always offering great ways and tips to use your food storage items. Check it out! 

Yogurt Fruit Salad

recipe from Delicious Discoveries

1 large carton strawberry yogurt

1 regular size container Cool Whip

3 bananas sliced

1 carton strawberries sliced

1 carton blueberries

*blackberries

*raspberries

Mix yogurt and cool whip together until combined. Fold in fruit until combined! You really can add as much or as little fruit as you want.

You can use it to top delicious waffles if you want! It is pretty darn good.

picture from Cookin' with Cousins

Cookie Dough Brownies

 I really do love brownies and these are one of my favorite ways to dress a brownie up. It is rich and delicious and pretty much a perfect way to indulge after dinner. The gal from Cookies and Cups is always posting creative and delicious treats. This is a great one! She made her brownies from scratch, which I would suggest if you have the time and the ingredients, but we were in a pinch and used our favorite box mix. It worked out great, but definitely follow her advice of letting the brownies cool overnight or refrigerate them until completely cool! You can try just plain ol' chocolate chip cookie dough, or jazz it up with some Reese's Pieces! The taste of peanut butter was a nice touch. :) 

Cookie Dough Brownies

Recipe from Cookies and Cups 

Brownie layer:

(You can use a box mix or follow the recipe below from her website)

1 c. butter

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (She used Hershey's Special Dark)

2 1/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line 9x13 baking pan with foil, so the bottom and sides are covered. Spray with cooking spray. Melt 2 sticks of butter in a medium saucepan; add cocoa, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add sugar, salt, eggs, and vanilla; beat with a spoon until combined. Add flour and baking powder; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

*Good tip for brownies is remove from oven when toothpick inserted 1-2 inches from edge comes out clean.

Allow brownies to cool completely before moving on to the next step.

Cookie dough layer:

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar

4 Tbsp. milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (and/or Reese's Pieces)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl and cream together. Add flour and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in an even layer on top of cooled brownies. Chill for at least 15 minutes in fridge before adding the chocolate topping.

Chocolate topping layer:

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp. Crisco shortening

Melt chocolate and shortening in microwave for 1 minute, stirring until smooth. Spread over the cookie dough layer and chill until topping is set. Keep refrigerated until serving.

This dessert is best served cold!!! Enjoy!

Grilled Taco Chicken

We have had our eyes on this recipe ever since we opened up Our Best Bites new cookbook. They always have such great ideas and yummy recipes. Like all of their recipes, you will love this one too. It is fantastic and a great summery night meal. We served ours with the Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing, that we posted on Monday. It was the perfect accompaniment. You could chop the chicken up and have it on a salad, or just eat it plain. We decided to eat ours as a chicken wrap. It was great!

Grilled Taco Chicken

recipe from Our Best Bites

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (we used tenderloins, but it is best to use breasts)

2-3 juicy limes

1-2 T red wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place chicken breasts (or tenderloins) in a zip-lock plastic bag. Squeeze limes over chicken and add vinegar and garlic. Seal the bag and shake to distribute the marinade evenly. Marinate 4-8 hours. After they have marinated, preheat grill to medium-high heat (400 degrees). Combine chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from bag and discard the used marinade. Rub the spices into the chicken. Place chicken breasts on the hot grill. Grill for 7 minutes, turn, and grill for an additional 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat to a clean plate and allow to stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Cafe Rio Tomatillo House Dressing

I know you all love Cafe Rio out there and you've all had this amazing dressing. It is a cinch to make in your blender or food processor, so don't be afraid! It goes wonderfully with lots of different dishes. My favorite being their Cafe Rio Pork, which I'll have to post soon and a delicious chicken recipe we tried last week that I will post on Wednesday. This dressing is creamy, and full of flavor, with just a hint of spice and lime. It really goes great with any Mexican dish!

Cafe Rio Tomatillo House Dressing

not sure where original recipe comes from, but this is Callie's version of it

Set aside:

1/3 c buttermilk (or you can do 1/3 c milk to 1/3 T vinegar or lemon juice and let set 5 minutes)

Place the following in a blender/food processor and blend:

3-4 fresh tomatillos, quartered and skinned

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 c mayonnaise

1 packet Ranch Dressing (dry)

1 jalapeno diced (leave seeds out for less heat)

2 cloves garlic crushed

Cilantro to taste (or none at all)

Now add buttermilk to blender and blend! Refrigerate one hour before serving.

Raspeberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

We're back and happy to be posting again! Sorry for the long absence. It has been quite the month! Thank you for visiting while we were away. We hope to be back to our regularly scheduled posting here at Delicious Discoveries. :)

I'm excited to be posting about a most delightful little cookie. These were super easy and super delicious.  It's always nice to have a cookie that's different from "the usuals". They are pretty too! 

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

Recipe from Amber Gale

Makes 2 Dozen

COOKIES

1 C Butter, softened
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
2 C Flour
1/2 C Raspberry Jam (I actually didn't measure and just spooned the jam onto the cookies directly from the jam jar)

2/3 C Sugar

In a large bowl add sugar, butter, and extract.  Mix until creamy.  Add flour and beat until well mixed.  Shape into 1" ball.  With thumb, make a well in the middle of each cookie.  Fill with jam.  Bake 350 for 14-18 min until lightly brown.  Cool completely.  (Mine were still a bit warm, but I wanted my topping to melt just a bit).

GLAZE/TOPPING

1 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
2-3 tsp Water

1 C Powdered Sugar

In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, extract, and water until smooth.  Drizzle over top.

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Moving

I just wanted to let you know that I am in the process of moving back to the mainland so the blog will not be updated as often as I would like. I hope to be back up and running by June so stay tuned! We'll have more yummy things to talk about soon! Please check back later and sorry for the lack of posting!

Strawberry Cheesecake Squares

Aimee made these for a family gathering. They looked so pretty and tasted yummy too! If you want an impressive dessert, go with these strawberry cheesecake squares from Our Best Bites! It would be a great summery dessert. 

Strawberry Cheesecake Squares
recipe from Our Best Bites

1 package Pecan Sandies Cookies, divided

1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, melted
11 oz. cream cheese (1 8-oz. package + 3 oz. of another package, not low-fat), softened
2 eggs
2/3 c. sugar
pinch salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 c. Breakstone’s Sour Cream
1 1/4 c. strawberry sauce or strawberry jam, divided (recipe below; you can also use jarred strawberry topping or canned strawberry pie filling)

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a food processor, process 3/4 of the Pecan Sandies (reserve 6). Mix with melted butter and lightly press onto the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cream cheese eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, almond extract, and sour cream. Beat on high for 4-5 minutes. Spread half of the cheesecake batter onto the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Pour 3/4 c. of the strawberry sauce over the batter, spreading gently to cover the surface (it doesn’t have to be perfect). Spread remaining cheesecake batter over the strawberry layer and then spoon remaining 1/2 c. of strawberry sauce over the batter. Being careful not to cut into the surface of the cookie crust, swirl the strawberry mixture with a butter knife. (To give it that marbled looking effect) Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes or until center is jiggly but not liquid. 


While baking, process remaining 6 cookies. During the last 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle the cookies on top of the cheesecake. Chill for at least 8 hours and cut into squares. If desired, drizzle remaining strawberry sauce over the individual squares.

Strawberry Sauce

Recipe from Our Best Bites

1 pint strawberries

1/3 c. white sugar

1 tsp. almond extract (my favorite) or vanilla extract

Wash strawberries and remove stems. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can roughly chop the berries, but I say you’re already feeling ambitious enough by making your own strawberry sauce. So don’t sweat it. Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly. After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached.