Fresh Peach No-Bake Cheesecake

Guess what I did today for the first time. I bottled 17 quarts of peaches! I am so proud of myself. The peaches were from a patient at work. He brought in 2 big boxes full. Everyone took what they wanted and when nobody wanted anymore....I took the rest. I picked up a canner at a yard sale this summer with all the accessories for $5. So now I had no excuses. I woke up on this Labor Day and labored!

So far so good. It looks like they all sealed and they look great. I saved a few peaches to make this yummy cheesecake. It tastes like good old peaches and cream. Simply delicious.

Fresh Peach No-Bake Cheesecake

1 reduced fat graham cracker crust

11 ounces of 1/3 fat cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (8 0z.) container light whipped topping

Fresh peaches

sugar or Splenda

Cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar in medium sized bowl. Fold in whipped topping. Put mixture into a ready made graham cracker crust. Refrigerate.

When ready to serve cut peaches and add 1 TBSP sugar or Spenda. Slightly mash the peaches and spread over pie or already cut slices.

This can of course be served with whatever topping you choose.

Dried Apricots

Isn't it fun to have all these wonderful summer fruits and vegetables? It's great until you have a surplus and don't know what to do with them.

A patient at work brought us three grocery bags full of apricots. They were perfect! I took home a nice amount, but I didn't know what to do with them. I thought of what my family would like and decided to dry them in the dehydrator. It also gave me a chance to try something new and play with my dehydrator a little.

I got my info from ehow.com. So check it out for more detail.

Dried Apricots


1. Cut the apricots in half and remove pit. Press the skin of the apricot inward pushing the flesh of the apricot outward. This is called "popping the back". It helps the apricots lay flat on the the screen and dry evenly.

2. Make an oxidation bath for the apricots to prevent browning. Use 1/4 cup of lemon juice for every cup of water needed to cover the apricots. Let sit for 5 minutes.


3. Spread the apricots in a single layer on the screens. Air should be able to circulate easily between the pieces of fruit. This link has instructions on oven and air drying.


4. Dry according to directions. My apricots took about 12 hours. You want the finished product to have most of the moisture removed but not crispy.

These were so chewy and sweet. We really enjoyed them and I wished that I had more apricots!

Kid's Corner: Chiquita Smoothies with Kenna

Summer vacation is here so I decided to teach my little girl to cook. We are doing 1 hour of school in the morning to keep up their skills, but I thought that hands on kitchen experience would teach them math skills, science and health AND it's fun!

Kenna already has her favorite things to make, so we'll start out with those. This week we will feature some awesome smoothies that are so easy for kids to make. Kenna likes to make these for the neighborhood kids. She is famous for her smoothies and sandwich bread pizzas.

Here is how she makes the smoothies:

Choose your favorite flavor of smoothie:


Mixed Berry, Strawberry Banana, Banana Colada, and Peach Mango




The neighbor kids chose mixed berry today.




Pour the mix into the blender.



Add 1/2 container of cold water.



Add 2 containers of ice cubes.



Blend for 1 minute until smooth.


Serve to friends and enjoy! Shhhhhh........Don't tell them that every 8 oz. serving gives them 1 serving of fruit!


Look for more Kid's Corner recipes to come!

Strawberries with Fat Free Cheesecake Filling

Here is quick, fat free, impressive dessert for a bridal, baby shower or luncheon.


You will need:

18-20 Large strawberries
1.4 oz. package of sugar free, fat free Cheesecake pudding
8 oz. fat free whipped topping, thawed
1 cup of skim milk

Mix the pudding and skim milk together with a wisk for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Wash strawberries and cut off stems. Let strawberries dry on a paper towel on the cut end. With a sharp knife cut the strawberry as shown in the picture.

Put filling in a pastry bag with decorative tip.

Put tip in strawberry and squeeze filling until it comes out of the sides and top of the strawberry.

Place strawberries on a decorative plate and store in fridge loosely covered.

This dessert is so refreshing, light and delicious! If you don't like cheesecake or can't find that flavor, use vanilla or white chocolate pudding for a change.

Fruit for Dessert Fruit Dip

Last week, we were signed up to feed the missionaries from church. Now these are 19-21 year old boys who will be away from home for at least 2 years and are only allowed to call their parents twice a year, on Christmas and Mother's Day. Letters are fine, but that's it. It's pretty easy to get homesick when you are in a new environment and the work is amazing and exhausting at the same time.

When I have the missionaries over, my goal is to fix them something that would make them feel at home. Something that "Mom used to make." My other goal is to pump them full of fresh fruit because they probably can't afford it or just don't buy it.

There was a legend of a very diligent missionary from my mission, in Italy, who was hospitalized because all he ate everyday was pasta with olive oil. Not very nutritious.

So this fruit dip is my "go to" weapon to bring comfort and nutrition to our missionaries.


Fruit for Dessert Fruit Dip

1 container of fat free or light whipped topping, thawed
2 containers of fat free or light raspberry yogurt

Just mix together and serve with fresh fruit.

Now go forth and eat!

I also want to thank Teresa at A Blog about Food for my first blog award.
Along with the award came this little quote:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."

It also says : "Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So I would like to present this award to some of my favorite food bloggers:

Your Home Based Mom
Kat's Kitchen
Perry's Plate
Baking And Boys
Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
Gather Round Our Table
Sara's Recipe Spot
Good Stuff Maynard

Be sure to check out these wonderful and talented ladies!