Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

August 31, 2014 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

Creamy, cool, velvety dip that comes together in a flash. Cream Cheese Fruit Dip is perfectly smooth and delightfully refreshing. This lightly sweetened mix requires just three ingredients and five short minutes. Whip up a batch and experience a great new way to savor your fruit.Happy Labor Day weekend to you and your family! Is it me, or did this summer just fly by? It’s hard to believe that Charlie turned 3 months old yesterday! (James is almost 2 1/2 and William is almost 5. Wow! ;)) We kicked off our holiday festivities a bit early, and on Wednesday we headed to Racing for Kids. (It’s a fun, local event with tons of cars, activities and treats for kids.) The boys LOVED seeing all of the race cars, especially the ones you could sit in. We even ran into some of our buddies, and found a fire truck, too. It was a blast!

At the end of Racing for Kids, there was a special show where one of the drivers demonstrated a burnout with his car. We almost didn’t stay for it, but at the last minute decided to try it. Holy smokes! (Literally 😉 Check out all of the smoke in the last few pictures.) The boys LOVED it and William informed us when we got home, that “the burnout was the best part!”. It was definitely worth seeing!

If you need a dynamite recipe for your Labor Day picnic tomorrow, and you’re looking for something speedy, you’re in luck. This dip tastes amazing, and looks beautiful when served up with your favorite summer fruits, cookies, or little cubes of cake. Great as a refreshing snack, or a fun dessert, this Cream Cheese Fruit Dip is sure to be a hit that your friends and family will be raving about.

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Add cream cheese to a microwave safe bowl and heat for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, whisking every 30 seconds, until soft and melted. Remove bowl from microwave and whisk vigorously until smooth. Then add syrup and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and creamy, and no lumps remain.
Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for an least one hour before serving. Serve dip chilled, with your favorite fruits, cookies, graham crackers, or cubes of cake.

Notes

Dip will keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.

http://elizabethshome.com/cream-cheese-fruit-dip/

Vitamix Hummus

May 19, 2014 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

A smooth, creamy, blend of chick peas, tahini, garlic, fresh lemon juice, and spices. This Vitamix Hummus recipe comes together in a flash. Use as a dip with your favorite veggies or pita, or serve with meat and salad for a complete meal.

I hope you had a great weekend! We sure did. It has been so nice to keep crossing tasks off of our to-do list, and in between being productive, we’ve managed to have a lot of fun in the process. After all, there are only 12 days left until new baby arrives! WOW!!! We are definitely getting closer. 🙂

One note about this hummus recipe. I made it in my Vitamix. (A Vitamix is a pricey, but WELL worth it, industrial strength blender.) When our Cuisinart blender died a few months ago, Andrew insisted we try a Vitamix. I was so turned off by spending that much money on a blender, to basically make a few smoothies, and a few other random things, that I kept it in the box for about a month! I did enjoy my old Cuisinart blender for a few things, but for the most part, I just didn’t use it that often. It was always a pain to dig out, and when I did finally use it, the results were good, but never fantastic.

However, after staring at the huge unopened Vitamix box in our basement, I just gave in and ripped it open. I dragged it upstairs, washed it out, and since the boys love smoothies, I decided to give it a whirl. I tossed a bunch of frozen fruit and some juice and other goodies into my new Vitamix and turned it on. I could NOT believe how fast that thing blended everything up! (Where my old blender would have either gotten stuck, or taken forever to grind up the frozen fruit, this thing plowed right through it in seconds!)

In case my isolated smoothie incident was just a fluke, I didn’t stop there. I wanted to see what else this thing would chomp through. Over the last few months with our Vitamix I have made countless smoothies, healthy milkshakes, frozen desserts, purees, sauces, lots and lots of SMOOTH hummus, creamy salad dressings, homemade oat flour, and I love how easily it whips up the wet ingredients for a number of healthy dessert recipes. I mean, I’m completely sold! So much so that I even made a permanent place for it on our kitchen counter. It takes quite a bit for me to like something that much that I am willing to give it a home on my counter. I despise clutter and too many things out on the counter, so I am VERY selective on which appliances I keep out full-time. However, since I basically use the Vitamix everyday, if not twice a day, I figured it didn’t make sense to keep this one stored away.

I just love how creamy this blender can whip up this hummus. In case you haven’t converted to a Vitamix yet, this hummus recipe will still be delicious when mixed up in a blender or food processor. (It just might not be quite as smooth and creamy as the Vitamix can get it, but it will still be delicious.)

Easy, healthy, and loaded with flavor, this Vitamix Hummus will surely be a hit at your Memorial Day festivities next weekend, or for any occasion.

Vitamix Hummus

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
2 tablespoons tahini paste (ground sesame seeds only)
1 1/2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1 tablespoon water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1-3 dashes cayenne (depending on spice level)
3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Add chick peas and their liquid to a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 2 minutes. Drain liquid.
Combine the garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water, salt and cayenne in Vitamix or food processor. Process together until mostly smooth.
On a low speed, slowly drizzle oil into hummus until combined and gradually increase speed. Allow hummus to process on high speed for about one minute until smooth and creamy.
Scoop into bowl, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or preferably a few hours before enjoying. (This will allow the flavors to set together.)

http://elizabethshome.com/vitamix-hummus/

Creamy Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip

March 31, 2014 by Elizabeth 1 Comment

Smooth, cool, Creamy Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip is the perfect addition to apple slices, celery, graham crackers, or anything else your heart desires. This incredibly easy recipe comes together in just minutes, and requires only four simple ingredients.

It’s amazing how quickly this pregnancy is flying by. I just hit the 30 week mark! To celebrate, Andrew and I did a little baby belly photo shoot yesterday. Here are a few pictures of baby bump #3 at 30 weeks:

Ok, getting back to one of my favorite new snacks. I created this recipe a few weeks ago, right when we were about to sit down for lunch. Andrew and the boys were already at the table and I was just about to join them. I looked down at the apples I was carrying in, and HELLOOO inspiration! I remember giving everyone the go-ahead to start eating without me, because “Mommy needed to create something”. Well, a few batches, four reliable taste testers, and lots of full tummies later, we had all fallen in love with this Creamy Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip!

The other day when the boys and I were shopping at Trader Joe’s, a woman was peeking at our cart and told me she was checking out which healthy snacks we were buying. I told her a few of the things the boys and I really liked. She said she was trying to find some tasty and nutritious things for her 18-year-old son to snack on. That’s when I remembered one of our new FAVORITE snacks! I told her about this great Creamy Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip that I had created. She was so excited and thanked us, and then ran and grabbed the ingredients. It was such a fun, and flattering opportunity to share one of my recipe creations.

This upgraded version of apples and peanut butter takes snacking to a whole new level. It’s perfect as a dip for snack time or dessert, or will even make a delicious peanut butter yogurt. It can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled, and stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Get ready to lick the bowl! (Or at least that’s James’ theory :)) Creamy Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip is as quick and easy as it is healthy and delicious! One bite, and you’ll be hooked!

Creamy Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip

Ingredients

1 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon agave
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk or stir together the yogurt, peanut butter, agave and vanilla until smooth.

Notes

Serve as a dip with apple slices, celery, or other cut up fruit. This dip is also great with cookies, graham crackers or pretzels, too! Or enjoy it plain, as peanut butter yogurt.

http://elizabethshome.com/creamy-peanut-butter-yogurt-dip/