Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes Recipe

Key Lime Cheesecake is one of my all time favorite desserts and hits the spot really anytime!  Imagine deliciously tart and sweet and yummy all rolled out into one cute little cheesecake!  I usually make this recipe using a springform pan (so that is always an option just bake for about 50-60 minutes instead), but I thought they would be cute to bring to a BBQ individually sized. I actually made two batches of this recipe this weekend- one using sugar and the other using Splenda (same measurements).  So anyone who is diabetic, this will surely hit their sweet tooth! It makes a total of 12 tarts.

Crust

1 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 dash of cinnamon 

Filling

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons of flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup of key lime juice

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 drop of green food coloring

Whipped Cream For The Topping

1.  Mix the graham cracker crumbs and sugar with the melted butter.  Grease a cupcake tin.  Scoop a little bit out of the graham cracker mixture and then press onto the bottom.  Bake at 375 degrees for 3 minutes.  Allow this to cool while preparing your filling. 

2.  Set your oven down to 325 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until it is fully smooth.  Add your wet ingredients next including the eggs, juice, vanilla and food coloring (seriously only one drop guys 2 honestly puts it over the top.)  Stir until mixed (be careful not to over beat your batter). 

3.  Scoop mixture into the individually sized tins.  There will be enough to make 12.  Pop in your oven for 20 minutes and then allow the cheesecakes to cool.  Run a knife around the edges to allow it to loosen.  Allow the cheesecakes to cool for over an hour and then place in the fridge over night or for several hours.  Top with whip cream and enjoy!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes Recipe

My aunt and little cousin's birthday happen to be on the same day.  We were already having a Justin Bieber themed party for the little one and I still wanted to do a little something special for my aunt; enter Cherry Limeade Cupcakes, since this drink is her favorite during the summertime!  I needed some inspiration so I based my recipe off the one I found on Annie's Eats!  The cake portion is moist, tart and limey, which is balanced out by the creamy sweet Whipped Maraschino Cherry Buttercream Frosting!  I brought the extras into work and they were a huge hit!

Limeade Cake 

6 cups of cake flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 sticks of butter, at room temperature

2 cups of sugar

2 limes (zest one and use the juice of both)

1 can of frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

1 teaspoon of vanilla

6 eggs

1 cup of milk

3/4 cup of lemon-lime soda (I happened to have cherry 7 up on hand so I used that)

Lime Syrup

1/4 cup limeade concentrate, thawed

1/4 cup of sugar

Whipped Maraschino Cherry Buttercream Frosting

3 sticks of butter, at room temperature

9 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 cup of Maraschino cherry juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

Red Food Dye

Garnish

Maraschino cherries

Lime slices, quartered

Straws (Instead of buying special straws, I just cut mine down to size)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl add the cake flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together.  Mix until combined.  

2.  In a separate bowl cream the butter until it is light and fluffy.  Add in the sugar and blend.  Now add the lime zest juice, limeade concentrate and vanilla.  Using a mixer, start to blend the ingredients and then add the eggs, one by one.  

3.  Add half the flour mixture and half of the milk and continue to mix the ingredients.  Add the remaining flour and milk to the batter and mix until everything is incorporated.  Fold in the lemon-lime soda. 

4.  Using an ice cream scoop, spoon the batter into lined cupcake tins.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  This recipe will make almost 4 dozen cupcakes, it came out to baking 42 cupcakes for me.  Make sure you bake the cupcakes in two batches, so the cupcakes will bake evenly.

5.  Once the cupcakes have cooled, take a fork and poke 3 times on the top of the cupcakes.  Prepare the lime syrup by whisking the two ingredients together.  Take a spoon and drizzle this on top of all the cupcakes.  This is what gives the cupcake the extra tanginess and fresh limeade flavor!

6.   In another bowl beat the butter until it is light and fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar, juice, vanilla and whipping cream together until it is the desired consistency.  Add the red food coloring and blend until smooth.  Frost on the top of cupcakes.  

7.  Garnish with cherries, lime wedges and straws!  

Double Berry Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich Recipe

Get your Labor Day on!  This is a deliciously sweet, mildly fruity barbeque sauce that is balanced out with a jaleopeno kick to it!  This grilling season you are going to want to slather all your meat in it!  I like it because it helps me to empty out all the leftover sauces and jams in my fridge, that I feel guilty tossing since there isn't a whole lot left.  Top with my No Mayo 5 Ingredient Coleslaw for a crunch!  It's super easy to make and the ginger in it pairs lovely with this sauce.  

  

1/3 cup cup of blackberry jam

1/3 cup of strawberry jam

1 cup of barbecue sauce (I used 2/3 cup of Famous Dave's and then used up whatever else was in the fridge)

2 teaspoons of season all

2 tablespoons of Worcestshire sauce

2 jaleponos, minced finely

1 yellow onion, diced

3 large, skinless boneless chicken breasts

Hamburger buns

1.  Mix all the ingredients together, besides the chicken in a bowl, until well combined.  In a slow cooker add the chicken and pour sauce over it.  Cover and cook 3-4 hours on high.  Shred chicken with a fork and serve with my No Mayo 5 Ingredient Coleslaw

No Mayo 5 Ingredient Coleslaw with Ginger Recipe

Start getting in gear for your Labor Day!  You know, I don't really care for the taste of mayo so I try not to cook with it very often.  This coleslaw doesn't require a lot of ingredients and the ginger adds a refreshing flavor for summer, especially when paired with the berry bbq sauce.  See, make your summer hang in there, a little bit longer!!

1.5 cups of coleslaw mix (cabbage and carrots)

1 teaspoon of sugar (I used Splenda)

1 teaspoon of ginger (I used the kind in the tube)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Combine and make sure that all ingredients are thoroughly combined.  Serve. 

Perfect Peach Margaritas Recipe

This is a super easy recipe to make and is sure to impress your guests.  It's made with fresh peaches, and you can certainly tell the difference compared to those sugar-loaded mixes.  I made a pitcher of this, poured myself a glass and sat out by the pool this weekend!  

2 tablespoons of sugar (I used Splenda)

2 cups of sliced peaches (skins removed)

3/4 cup of silver tequila

3 cups of ice cubes

2 splashes of citrus flavored soda

Fresh Mint (optional)

1.  Combine the first five ingredients in a blender and blend until all ingredients are well combined.  Top with fresh mint and enjoy!

Stoplight Pasta Recipe( Tomato, Sweet Corn and Zucchini Rigatoni Recipe)

I like the name of this pasta and your kids will too!  This is a light dish that is naturally slightly sweet-- just a perfect way to celebrate the flavors of summer.  Next time try to switching things up a bit by using what veggies you have on hand, including peas, spinach, peppers (of any color), yellow squash or yellow tomatoes.  

1 package of rigatoni

1 large (or two regular sized) zucchini, cubed

1/2 pint of grape tomatoes

1 can of sweet corn

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

8 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 cup of water from the boiled pasta

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

1/4 cup of a balsamic vinaigrette

1/2 cup of parmesan romano cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  In a large pot of boiling water cook pasta according the directions on the package (about 10 minutes).  Make sure to reserve 1 1/2 cups of water.  While the water is heating up, start preparing your zucchini and place on a cookie sheet, in addition to the tomatoes and sweet corn.  

2.  Drizzle olive oil on top of vegetables.  Add thyme, salt and pepper.  Bake for 20 minutes or grill for about 15 minutes.

3.  In a large bowl combine the pasta, cooking water, vegetables, lemon juice, vinaigrette and cheese.  Toss until will combined.  Top with any additional cheese then serve.  

Simple White Bean Salad With Lemon Recipe

This dish requires no cooking at all, which is really a great thing for you once summer temperatures really start to rise this July.  This salad has a variety of textures and flavors that taste really refreshing.  Instead of a side dish add this bean mixture over a mixed bed of salad greens and you got yourself a light lunch!

2 cans of cannellini beans, rinsed

1 tomato chopped

2 scallions chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon of honey

Salt and Pepper To Taste

1.  Combine the cannelloni beans, tomato and scallions together. 

2.  To make the dressing, add the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and stir until the honey is incorporated.

3.  Pour this over the beans, chopped tomatoes and scallions, so that the dressing is fully incorporated into the salad. Let this rest for at least 10-15 minutes so that the flavors can fully develop then serve. 

Red, White And Blue Pops Recipe (Strawberry And Blueberry Lemonade Yogurt/Cool Whip Pops)

Perfect and oh so yummy for the 4th of July!  These popsicles combine some of your favorite summertime flavors.  They are creamy, fruity and lemony and nothing but refreshing on a warm summer day.  In my trial run, I used both yogurt (bars to the left ) and cool whip (cup to the right).  I think I like the cool whip ones a little better because once the popsicle starts to melt it tastes like fresh fruit with whipped cream!

1 cup of plain non-fat plain yogurt or fat free cool whip ( I used both in my trial)

1 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries

1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

1 cup of 100% lemonade juice concentrate, divided

Popsicle molds or 3 oz paper cups with Popsicle sticks

1.  In a food processor puree the strawberries and 1/2 cup of the lemonade juice concentrate and puree until smooth.  Add this to a separate bowl.  Now add the blueberries to the food processor and the other half of the 1/2 cup of the lemonade juice concentrate and puree until smooth.

2.  Using ice-pop molds layer the strawberry mixture, yogurt or cool whip and blueberry mixture.  Allow popsicles to freeze for about two hours an then insert wooden popsicle sticks.  Freeze for at least 8 hours.

3.  Dip molds into hot water quickly to remove from the mold.   

Buckin' Berry Lemonade Recipe

This is a perfectly tart lemonade that is perfect for slow sipping and catching up with one of your best friends.  It's super easy to make and it tastes way better than anything from the can.  Plus, the beautiful berry color is hard to beat! 

1/4 cup of lime juice

3/4 cup of lemon juice

1/2 cup of strawberry lemonade mix

1/2 cup of sugar

2 cups of frozen mixed berries

1.5 quarts of water

1. In a food processor blend the mixed berries together.  

2.  In a pitcher add the juices, strawberry lemonade mix, sugar and the mixed berries.  Add about 1.5 quarts of water and stir ingredients together.  If the drink is too sour, add more water and sugar until your liking.  To remove berry seeds pour the drink through a metal strainer before serving and then enjoy!

Watermelon Sangria Recipe

This is a beautiful drink that is exactly what you need when it is super hot outside this summer.  The chilled watermelon juice is refreshingly simple and is unexpected for a sangria.  Plus, this recipe doesn't use any processed sugar so you can really taste the natural flavors.  So, sit out on your patio and enjoy!

12 cups of seedless watermelon, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 bottle of sweet white wine ( since we are not adding processed sugar or using a simple sugar I like to use something sweeter- but it is all your preference, I used Moscato)
1 cup of vodka

1/4 cup of agave nectar
1/2 cup of triple sec
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

Juice of 1 lime

Lemon-Lime Soda

Fresh mint (optional)

Ice

1.  In a blender puree the watermelon.  Pour mixture through a fine strainer into a pitcher.  

2.  Add the vodka, agave nectar, triple sec and lime juice to the pitcher and stir until everything is well combined.  Add the blueberries.

3.  Cut the juiced lime into slices and add to pitcher.  

4.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the fruit flavors can fully develop.  Add ice to glasses and add the watermelon mixture.  Top off with lemon-lime soda and decorate with fresh mint.