Rainbow Fruit Salad

Summer is approaching and that means you'll need your fair share of snacks to cool you down.  This is one that you need to have in your refrigerator, for those hot days.  

Of course fruit is good by itself but if you leave it cut up in your refrigerator for too long, it begins to turn strange colors.  Especially those darn bananas.  This recipe is great because it isn't covering up that great fruit flavor, but adding a hint of extra flavor.  Coincidentally it's also helping to preserve that lovely color.  Lime juice is good like that. And you can't go wring with honey, I mean, really. 

This recipe is perfect for a quick snack on a hot day.  

Rainbow Fruit Salad

Recipe from Buzzfeed

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh strawberries, quartered
• 4 kiwi's, peeled and diced
• 2 mango's, peeled and diced
• 2 bananas, peeled and diced
• 12 ounces fresh blueberries
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 limed, juiced

Cooking Directions

1. Combine the cut up fruit in a medium sized bowl. Mix together the honey and lime juice and pour over the fruit, stir. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

April's Corn and Shrimp Chowder

Be warned, this makes a huge recipe! Not kidding, you can feed 15 to 20 people easily. I recently made this at a friends house and it was amazing.  Even though there were 7 of us eating it felt like we didn't even make a dent in the amount this makes.  Next time, I think I'll half it.

The result was amazing, however.  The chowder is thick and hearty, with tons of flavor.  There are big chunks of vegetables as well as shrimp.  I used a medium sized shrimp we found in the freezer section.  They'd already been deveined so all we had to do was peel and take their tails off.  The creamy base was thick and flavorful.  I was completely satisfied after my meal.  We served it with French Bread and Butter, and that was all.

The most time consuming portion of the meal was the chopping and getting the shrimp ready. Not difficult, just allow time for it.  

Such a hearty filling meal, and since there were so many vegetables we didn't feel it was necessary to add a side dish.  It was all made in one giant pot so clean up was pretty easy. You're going to want to make this for a crowd, and hope there are still leftovers for you to savor on your own. I loved this. My husband has declared this, one of the best chowder's he's ever had.

April's Corn and Shrimp Chowder

Recipe from April

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 whole onions, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 bunch green onion, diced (for garnish)
• 1 pound bacon, cut into small pieces
• 4-5 pounds shrimp, deveined and tails removed
• 3 cans cream of corn
• 4 cans gold and white corn
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes
• 1 bunch carrots
• 4-5 pounds potatoes, cubed
• 1 quart half and half
• 1 pint whipping cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Saute the onions, bell pepper, celery and green onions in the butter until they are beginning to soften. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. In the same pan add the bacon pieces and fry until they are crispy. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel but leave the grease in the pan.
3. Saute the shrimp in the bacon grease and remove. If you want a little bit of spice you can sprinkle shrimp with a some old bay, slap your mama, or any other seasoning to your desired spice level. 
4. Add all of the other ingredients (not the shrimp or the green onions) including the vegetables that were cooked and set aside and cook until the potatoes are done. You can drain the canned corn if you want a thicker chowder or leave the liquid to thin it out a bit. 
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp about 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with green onions.

*Some accompaniment options: Hot Sauce, Shredded Cheese, Diced Green Onion, Crispy Bacon Pieces

Lemon Ice Cream Bars

Sorry for the delay in posting this week.  We had our house painted, as well as my kitchen cabinets.  So needless to say, I was out of the way for most of the week.  Then I unplugged my internet and had to have my husband help me fix it.  So, luckilyI'm back in business now, a week later.

So, I was going through all of my old Food Network Magazine's and I discovered I had some pages marked, so I finally got around to making these.

I'm telling you, theses are g.o.o.d.  The lemon curd is nice and tart but easily gets sweetened up by the ice cream.  The crust is crumbly and delicious, a good combination of sweetness with a little hint of lemon.  Great recipe to have for the upcoming summer!

Lemon Ice Cream Bars

Recipe from Food Network Magazine. Jan/Feb 2014 page 64

Ingredients

• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• pinch of salt
• cooking spray
• 2 5-6 oz shortbread cookies
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened slightly
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Cooking Directions

1. Make the lemon curd first. In a saucepan, combine the egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice.  Cook over medium heat until it begins to thicken. 
2. Add in chunks of butter until smooth and let thicken until it covers the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
3. Strain through a fine mesh seive.  Then add the lemon zest and salt and let cool. 
4. Spray a 9x9 or 8x8 inch dish with cooking spray.  Line it with aluminum foil so there is over hang on the sides, then spray again. 
5. In a food processor, add all the cookies and pulse it until they are all crushed.  Slowly add in the melted butter and and lemon zest and  pulse a couple more times. 
6. Press the cookie mixture into the bottom of the prepared dish, use your hands to make it even and press down firmly. 
7. Press the lightly softened ice cream on top of the cookie crust.  Press down and even out the top as much as possible. 
8. Pour the lemon curd over the top and smooth out.  Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the top and place in freezer for a minimum of 4 hours. 
9. When ready to serve, grab the ends of the aluminum foil and lift out of dish. Cut into squares and serve.