Homemade Goodness

I've been into making things a little more homemade lately.  Not all the time (it's hard to do with a newborn) but I like to do it when I have the time.  I thought I'd share a few of the things I have made lately.  I have a really good recipe for blueberry muffins (compliments of my friend, Julie) and a recipe for homemade basic balsamic vinaigrette (compliments of my friend, Amy)!  Perhaps I'll get a chance to add those in a few days!

 These cute little veggies are from our garden.  We didn't do too many things this year because we knew our summer was going to be very busy.  I'm super excited for the tomatoes to start ripening so I can have tomato sammiches everyday!

Oh yeah, and we killed all of our herbs, a little random flower, and our hibiscus too. I guess that happens when you forget to water them...ever.

 The last time I made Strawberry Pretzel Salad it was WAY better than this one I made this week.  I want to make it again in a few weeks and tweak a few things that I messed up on in this recipe.  Either way, it is so good and cool and fresh.  Perfect for summer!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels

1/3 c margarine

3 tablespoons sugar

1 8oz package cream cheese, room temp.

1 cup sugar

1 13oz carton whipped topping

2 3oz boxes strawberry Jello

2 cups boiling water

2 10oz packages frozen, sliced strawberries 

Prepare:

Heat oven to 350.  Mix first 3 ingredients together in a small bowl and press into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with 1 cup sugar; add whipped topping and mix well. Spread over cooled pretzel crust. (OR pipe in onto the pretzel crust, this works well for me!)

Dissolve the Jell-O in the boiling water and add the frozen strawberries.  Break up the strawberries with a fork as they begin to thaw. Chill until slightly thickened.

Pour strawberry mixture over whipped topping layer. Chill and serve!

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Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

I got this yummy recipe for homemade hummus from Taste of Home magazine!  I like that it is so fresh and tasty, but also takes little to no time to put together!

My handy helpers helped me whip it together and add my ingredients.  They love to help!  I usually half the recipe and then make the rest later!

 

 Ingredients:

2 cans (15 ounces each) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 jar (7 ounces) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, undrained

2/3 cup water

3 tablespoons Crisco® Olive Oil

2 garlic cloves, halved

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Chopped fresh basil, optional

Prepare:

In a food processor, combine the beans, tomatoes, water, oil, garlic, pepper flakes, salt and pepper; cover and process until blended. Place in a bowl; sprinkle with basil if desired. Serve with pita chips and/or vegetables .

We like to eat ours with pita chips or Ritz crackers!