Apples, Orchards and Harvest Time

With harvest time here and orchards heavy with gorgeous fruit, I thought I'd offer up an apple recipe round-up for those of you who are fond of Big Red (or Big Green). Here in western Idaho, we are blessed to be surrounded by some fabulous apple orchards, as well as other fruit orchards and wineries. Plus with Washington as a next door neighbor, it's really hard to avoid the tangy sweet round goodness in the supermarket.

As an aside: Do you live near an orchard, fruit stand or farmer's market? If so, I highly recommend visiting one of these places to pick up a crate full of crunchy red or green fun and then go home and make something delicious out them! Don't forget to send a juicy snack with your kids to gift their teachers with school starting again. 

Apple Rice Pudding

Apple Pie w/ Candied Crust

Apple Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

Apple Salad

Apple Crisp

And one extra recipe just for fun...

Spiced Applesauce

2 lbs tart cooking apples
1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Wash, core, and peel apples then cut into quarters. In medium saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add the apples and return to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally

Head over to Alicia's Recipes to find many more fall and harvest recipes! Connect with us on Facebook for more recipes shared from other food blogs and follow us on Pinterest for more foodie inspiration!

Jammin' Fruity Ideas

Do you can? Put up preserves? In my family it's a time-honored tradition to make jams, jellies, preserves, syrups and pie filling with all sorts of fruits. (We can veggies too but that's for another post!) My great grandmother and grandmother taught my mother [and me] to can and preserve and someday I hope to teach my future daughters-in-law how to do it too, if they don't already know how.

Canning is not only a practical way to store up your family's favorite fruits for winter use, but it's also a fun way to connect or re-connect with friends and extended family. There's nothing quite like sweating together over a boiling pot of jam to help bond peeps together. Get some friends or relatives together and save the fruit for later in the form of jams and jellies, using some of our simple free fruity recipes.

Oh and I threw in the blackberry smoothie recipe to help you cool off after a day of canning - enjoy!

Apple Jelly

Blueberry Jam

Blueberry Rhubarb Jam

Blackberry Smoothie

Date Jam

Head over to Alicia's Recipes to find many more autumn, harvest and fruit recipes! Connect with us on Facebook for more recipes shared from other food blogs and follow us on Pinterest for more foodie inspiration!

More Summer Snacks!

With long summer days and warm nights, it seems like the phrase "I want a snack please!" is a never ending, ever repeating sing-song loop playing in my head and in my kitchen! I'm sure they pause sometimes. I'm sure my little boys don't say it over and over and over again. But it sure feels like it.

In honor of snack attacks and cookie monsters everywhere (and in the spirit of being kind to other mommies like me) here's a short list of just a few of the yummy recipes to try from Alicia's.

Blackberry Bars

Peanut Butter Bars

Banana Pancakes

Blueberry Muffins

Black & White Cookies

With the time that's left in your summer, try some of our recipes and let us know which is your family's favorite! We'd love to hear from you.

Head over to Alicia's Recipes to find many more snack recipes for summer! Connect with us on Facebook for more recipes shared from other food blogs and follow us on Pinterest for more foodie inspiration!

Healthy Kid-Friendly Snacks

Homemade Granola

Shuttling the kids to and from day camps, appointments, ball games and other activities in the summer gets hectic. With just a few minutes of prep-work at home, you can prepare tasty snacks containing less salt, fat and sugar.

No worries - we can help you avoid the temptation to stop and grab greasy or calorie-heavy treats. With a little planning and prep time on your part, your kids will enjoy healthy yummy snacks on the go, at home, outside or anywhere this summer!

Visit Alicia's Recipes for more Kid Friendly Healthy Summer Recipes.

Head over to Alicia's Recipes to find many more snack recipes for Summer! Connect with us on Facebook for more recipes shared from other food blogs and follow us on Pinterest for more foodie inspiration!

Delightful Desserts For Summer

What's more delightful than a fresh fruity dessert to help celebrate summer? Whether you need a new recipe to take to a summer barbecue or something delicious to share with friends coming over - you are sure to find something you enjoy making from our growing list of desserts and fruity fair.

I've collected a small sample of possible recipes for you to create and drool over! So get your summer fun started with a new dish for the next picnic, potluck or barbecue you are headed to. And enjoy that warm weather!

Strawberry Filled Crepes

Banana Split Pie

Apple Pie w/ Candied Crust

Banana Pudding Cake

Baked Vanilla Custard

Head over to Alicia's Recipes to find many more delicious dessert recipes perfect for Summer! Connect with us on Facebook for more recipes shared from other food blogs and follow us on Pinterest for more foodie inspiration!

Patriotic Preparations!

Are you planning a patriotic party in honor of the 4th of July? Let us help! We've got tons of delicious recipes perfect for grilling, potluck, picnic and backyard yummy fun for Summer. Browse through our recipe categories over at Alicia's main site and build your own patriotic menu plan!

If you want to keep things super simple, I've collected a few of my favorite Summer recipes that are straight forward and easy to incorporate into a menu plan, whether you're feeding the family, hosting a small gathering or going all out with a barbecue bash!

BBQ Beef Short Ribs

This is a great recipe for BBQ ribs and a definite crowd-pleaser.

Spicy Grilled Chicken w/ Baja Black Beans

Filled with feisty grilled flavor, our Spicy Grilled Chicken paired with Baja Black Beans is great for a fiesta themed party.

Corn Dogs

Got little kids coming to your barbecue? Give them a treat with our homemade corn dogs recipe!

Flag Cake

Celebrate Independence Day with a flag cake filled with yummy fruit and little marshmallows - this is another kid favorite.

Patriotic Cake Balls

If you really want to go all out, try our Patriotic Cake Balls. I promise they'll earn dynamite reviews!

Head over to Alicia's Recipes to find many more delicious recipes perfect for your patriotic celebration, or any occasion this Summer! Connect with us on Facebook for more recipes shared from other food blogs and follow us on Pinterest for more foodie inspiration!

Tasty Baked Recipes

I love to bake! Usually it's something sweet and crazy with carbs - which is not conducive to managing your figure or overall health. (I admit I'm a bit of a dessert addict.) So to cure my craving for baking, I've collected a few tasty baked recipes that don't all include the words "cookie" or "cake" in the title.

If you love to bake and want to try some yummy new recipes, that are also perfect for the warm spring weather, I think you'll enjoy these! If not, head over to our main site to dig through our recipe gold mine for more baked goodness!

Baked Lemon Chicken

Baked Pretzels

Baked Pork Chops

Baked Donut Muffins

Baked Stuffed Eggplant

Head over to Alicia's Recipes to find many more delicious recipes to create baked dishes. Connect with us on Facebook for more recipes shared from other food blogs and follow us on Pinterest for more foodie inspiration!