Blueberry and Raspberry Cobbler

 FYI- Sorry for the lack in recipes lately, in my last semester of grad school woohoo! Which means lots of work, certification exams, and planning my move back to VA in August!

Summer is here! Here is a dessert made with some colorful and yummy berries. I enjoy cobblers and my mom's amazing crumbles and decided to make a new shortbread/scone type top.The berries will bubble and the top gets nice a crumbly. Feel free to use all of one type of berry or mix some of your favorites together. Enjoy! Serves 8

Ingredients

*For the inside

2.5 cups raspberries/blackberries

1 tbsp cornstarch (or 2 tbsp flour if you cant find cornstarch)

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon 

squeezed juice from one half lemon

*For top

1 3/4 cups flour (all-purpose)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup granulated sugar

sprinkle of salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375 F

In a glass baking dish combine inside ingredients

To create the top, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt

Add in butter, mix with fingers or mixer

Then add in cream

Roll out into a thin sheet and cut into squares, you will have extra dough to freeze and use later

(to freeze, I wrap tightly in plastic wrap)

Place dough on top of berry mixture

Cook for about an hour

Until top is starting to brown and berries are bubbling!

Red Lentil Summer Salad

I recently read an article about great pasta substitutes and came across Red Lentils. They are high in protein while low in fat....perfect! I decided to use these lentils instead of orzo in a salad, it turned out wonderfully. Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils 

2 cups water

1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 large red pepper, chopped

12 cherry tomatoes, sliced into four pieces

6 baby carrots, chopped
1 green onion, light green parts diced

1/4 cup reduced fat feta, crumbled

*Dressing- combine:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

1 clove garlic, chopped

pepper to taste

(no salt needed because of the salt in the cheese)

In a large pot, boil water with lentils

Bring to a simmer and stir until all water is absorbed

Pour dressing over lentils

Stir and allow to cool

Meanwhile, chop vegetables

Mix in vegetables

Top with feta

Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus

Hummus is so much better homemade! Once you spend the $5 on tahini (sesame paste) which lasts forever, the rest is super cheap. With only 5 ingredients, anyone can make this fresh, tasty, and simple dip. Enjoy with veggies, pita chips, or with a spoon :)  serves about 6

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil (more if needed)
1.5 tbsp tahini paste
1 red pepper

Preheat oven to 500F
Place red pepper on a baking sheet and place in the oven
After ten minutes, rotate pepper
Cook for another ten minutes
Remove from oven and wrap with foil for ten minutes or until cool

Meanwhile combine garlic, chickpeas, tahini, and oil in a blender
When pepper is cool, peel skin and remove top with seeds
Slice into about 5 slices
*Warning: the pepper will be juicy so cut it over a sink or a plate
Add to blender
Puree for about one minute or until desired consistency
Add salt if needed

Gluten-Free Friday Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

This is so simple, it will give you brain freeze! When bananas are getting a little too ripe, I tend to peel them and chuck them into the freezer in a ziplock. After about four accumulate (I have a small freezer, so there isn't much room), I make this easy dessert/possibly breakfast. It involves only three delicious ingredients, it's healthy, and gluten-free. Serves 2

Ingredients
4 peeled frozen bananas, thawed for 15 minutes
(or put in the microwave for 20 seconds)
1 tbsp peanut butter
cinnamon to taste for the top

Chop bananas into five slices each
In a blender combine with peanut butter
*feel free to add other ingredients such as:
honey, chocolate, or strawberries
Top with some cinnamon

Eat up!

Avocado Asparagus Pesto Pasta

This was a crazy idea that actually worked! My sister suggested adding avocado to boring pesto (Shout out to Sarah!) So I did just that along with adding some asparagus. This creamy sauce is great for us dairy sensitive people and it's vegan. This pasta can be served with roasted chicken as well. Serves 4

Ingredients
1 small avocado, sliced into about 5 pieces and skin removed
1/2 cup spinach pesto 
1/4 cup chopped asparagus, roasted
(at 500F for 10 minutes with a sprinkle of olive oil)
1.5 cups shell pasta, cooked
-1/8 cup reserved pasta water
salt and pepper to taste
Optional:1/2 cup roasted chicken chopped


In a blender, combine pesto and avocado
In a bowl combine pasta and asparagus
*and chicken if used
Pour avocado mixture over pasta and stir
Add water if needed to gain desired thickness
Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Sadly, this sauce needs to be thrown out after about 6 hours, so eat up!