Here’s the thing…I love, LOVE, love dips. I’m a little of the mindset that it’s not a party unless you have dip. (Coincidentally, I feel the same way about cheese, but I digress…this is a post about dip!)

When I’m having a bunch of people over, we must have dips. Yes, as in dips plural. I like experimenting with new dips all of the time, but this curry dip, it’s a classic. In fact, it’s an old classic courtesy of my mother who first clipped this recipe out of a magazine as a young wife. I have a copy of the clipping, but no identifying information. When I grilled my mother as to its pedigree, she couldn’t remember which magazine she clipped it from, although she thought it was a women’s magazine like Good Housekeeping. It’s safe to say this curry dip recipe is at least 45 years old. If anyone knows where it was originally printed, let me know and I will update it accordingly with its original source. I did not come up with this tasty goodness on my own, but I’m doing my part to pay it forward. You’re welcome!

This curry dip recipe is one of those recipes. You know the kind that everybody asks for after they’ve consumed the entire bowl (and maybe even licked it clean). And if I’m being honest, I usually double this recipe every time I make it for an event so that I can put some aside for myself to eat later in the week. It’s that addictive!

Go ahead and throw some extra chives on top if you’re feeling fancy!

You may be saying to yourself, “I don’t like curry.” Well, I can tell you that everybody likes this dip, even curry haters. Take some crunchy vegetables and dig right in. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Curry Dip

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Serves	8
Prep time	10 minutes
Allergy	Egg
Meal type	Appetizer, Condiment, Snack
Misc	Serve Cold

Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons tarragon vinegar
• dash pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon curry
• 2 teaspoons chili sauce
• 2 teaspoons chives (snipped)
• 2 tablespoons onion (grated)

Directions

Step 1

In small bowl, mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour prior to serving.

Note

This dip tastes best if you make it the night before you plan to serve it. The flavors just get better over time!

 

Recipe from Festively Made. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe.

I don’t follow any special or trendy diets currently, unless you call attempting to eat healthily and trying to avoid processed food as much as possible a fad. That said, that hasn’t always been the case. For example, there was my year-long foray into vegetarianism during my sophomore year of college that was prompted by watching an episode of Julia Childs’ cooking show featuring an entirely vegetarian menu (no lie!). I wasn’t worried so much about saving the animals as I thought this would be a healthier way of eating. I was running about 30 miles a week at the time, and it seemed like a good idea (much to my mother’s dismay). Despite eating what I thought was a well-rounded vegetarian diet, I wound up severely anemic. Well, so much for being and feeling healthy! I felt like crap. My doctor promptly put me on prescription-strength iron pills. That and adding meat back into my diet, and what do you know? I began to feel amazing again.

There was also the time my best friend and I decided to go vegan for a week after she watched an Oprah episode about the topic. Having been vegetarian years ago, I knew I could go without meat. What’s a few more items off the menu? Well, we survived the week, but I can tell you being a vegan is not for me. I can live without meat, but I can’t live without cheese! There is no vegan substitute that comes even close (at least not that I’ve tasted) to replacing real dairy cheese.

Recently, I toyed with the idea of a Paleo or grain-free diet, thinking I may be suffering from wheat belly (that’s too much late night Googling for you!). I did go gluten-free for a few weeks, and I don’t believe it’s a bad way to eat. I just didn’t see any significant difference in my so-called wheat belly. I did try out some new recipes during that time, and this Paleo Granola is a keeper, even if the Paleo diet wasn’t. I found it on Sheridan French’s former blog, the Southern Eclectic and adapted it a little to fit my taste. If you’ve never had Paleo Granola, well, it rocks. Seriously. You won’t miss the grains, especially if you love nuts. It’s great by the handful atop some yogurt. Throw some fresh berries in there and have a parfait. Or, eat it by the bowl with some milk. You won’t be disappointed.

Paleo Granola

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Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	40 minutes
Allergy	Peanuts, Tree Nuts
Dietary	Gluten Free
Meal type	Breakfast, Snack
Website	The Southern Eclectic

Ingredients

• 5 cups nuts and seeds (like walnuts, pecans, almonds, flax, chia, sunflower, cashews, pepitas, etc.)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup dried fruit (chopped or whole if small like cranberries, cherries, mango, blueberries, etc.)
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put honey, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring to mix ingredients completely (I like to use a small whisk). Once boiling, turn off heat and let cool slightly.

Step 2

Spread nuts and coconut on a baking sheet and pour honey mixture over it all. Use a spoon and mix it to distribute all the liquid. Spread granola out evenly to bake.

Step 3

Bake for 30 minutes. Watch carefully near end so it does not burn. Let cool and mix in dried fruit.

Step 4

Store in sealed container at room temperature.

I recently bought the Hamiltion Beach IntelliTime 6 Quart Slow Cooker to replace the crockpot I got as a wedding gift. I can’t believe how much crockpots have improved since I got married. I’m especially loving that it will automatically switch from the cooking cycle to a keep warm one when the cooking time is complete. I don’t have to worry about being around when my food is finished cooking. As a result, I find myself using the crockpot a lot more than I did in the past. I wanted to make sloppy joes because, well, I like a good sloppy joe. The husband likes a good sloppy joe. I trolled the Internet looking for a decent recipe (and there are many!), but I wasn’t in love with any of them. I decided to concoct my own version, and the results were pretty damn good if I do say so myself. I asked my husband how he liked it, and he said, “I’m on my third serving if that means anything.” And there you have it. If you knew my husband, you would know that was high praise.

This sloppy joe recipe is a little more involved than my favorite kind of crockpot recipe. You know the kind…dump everything into the crockpot and turn it on. That said, it’s worth the extra effort. Serve on a toasted bun and enjoy!

Crockpot Sloppy Joes

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Serves	8
Prep time	25 minutes
Cook time	4 hours
Total time	4 hours, 25 minutes
Meal type	Main Dish
Misc	Serve Hot

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/2lb ground beef
• 2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
• 1 onion (chopped, approximately 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper (chopped)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Step 1

Saute beef in 1 TBS of olive oil until brown. Drain fat and set aside.

Step 2

Saute onions and peppers in remaining olive oil until tender, adding minced garlic to mixture near end of cooking. Do not cook garlic longer than a minute or it may burn. Remove from heat.

Step 3

Put veggies and meat into crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine thoroughly.

Step 4

Cook on low heat for 4-6 hours and stir occasionally.

Note

Serve on a toasted bun and enjoy!

Recipe from Festively Made. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe.

Having hit the trifecta of berries (strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries) from our recent berry picking adventure, I decided to make some muffins. The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, created pretty much the best tri-berry muffin recipe ever made. You can find it in this cookbook. Seriously. It’s GOOD. Her recipe calls for a mix of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries so I adapted it ever so slightly to accommodate our haul from Blessington Farms.

The best part about these muffins is that you don’t mix the sugar in until the end. This does something magical to the muffins. The sugar makes the top a little bit crunchy. Really, it’s to die for! I think the next time I make these tri-berry muffins, I will throw in some chocolate chips, too. That might just take them over the top if that’s even possible.

Can you see all that crispy, sugary deliciousness? Another critical part of this tri-berry muffin recipe is that you mix everything by hand. And even then, you mix it as little as humanly possible. You know just until it’s combined. This keeps the muffins nice and tender. Too much mixing will overwork the batter, and your muffins won’t be as divine. Really resist that urge to over mix them. You will thank me later. Even if the batter is lumpy, resist the urge. Don’t do it! Everything is going to be ok. Trust me on this.

Straight out of the oven, I threw a little pat of butter on my tri-berry muffin because I like it that way.

What can I say? Yum. Just yum.

Tri-Berry Muffins

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Serves	18
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	25 minutes
Total time	40 minutes
Allergy	Egg, Milk, Wheat
Meal type	Bread, Breakfast
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable
From book	Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs (slightly beaten)
• 1 cup butter (melted)
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup blackberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen, diced)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Step 2

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir by hand to be sure the ingredients are combined. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and melted butter. Remember mix everything by hand. Do NOT use a mixer.

Step 3

Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture. Pour the wet mixture into the well and stir until just combined. There will be some lumps, but don't over mix the batter. Add the blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and sugar, and stir in gently to combine.

Step 4

Using a large spoon or scoop, spoon batter into the muffin cups to fill the liners. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean and the tops are nicely browned.

Both of my children have had their own unique challenges with food from a very young age (which is definitely a topic for another day!). Weight-wise, my son likes to circle the drain on the growth chart. I joke that his favorite food is air because he has zero interest in eating. It’s a struggle to get any kind of food into him, and he’s more likely to drink his calories rather than eat them. I created this smoothie recipe as a healthier, real food alternative to the Ensure drinks he loved to guzzle.

When I decided to start making my son smoothies, I bought a Blendtec Designer Series Blender. It makes whipping up smoothies a breeze. I definitely recommend a high quality blender if you are planning to make lots of smoothies. This recipe is very forgiving, too. You can substitute any type of fruit and juice you like or have on hand. I use whole milk yogurt because he needs the calories, but any type of yogurt will work. This particular combination gets my son’s seal of approval and also earned the moniker Mommy’s Cherrylicous Smoothie.

Note: This recipe makes two very large servings (I use 20-oz cups) so it can be broken down into smaller portions if you like. My son usually has one smoothie for breakfast, and I put the other smoothie in the refrigerator for him to drink later after school. It’s less work (and blender washing!) for me. Just shake or stir the refrigerated smoothie if you have any settling. I promise it tastes just as good! Smoothies can also be frozen into individual servings to be used later. Sometimes, I pack a frozen smoothie in my son’s lunch. It keeps the food cold and is usually thawed by lunchtime.

Hope you enjoy!

Mommy’s Cherrylicious Smoothie

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Serves	2
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	1 minute
Total time	6 minutes
Allergy	Milk
Dietary	Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Meal type	Beverage
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Serve Cold

A yummy and healthy cherry smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 cup orange-carrot juice (I used Trader Joe's Omega 3 Carrot-Orange)
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup cherries (frozen or fresh)
• 1/4 cup pineapple (frozen)
• 1/4 cup mango (frozen)
• 1/4 cup peaches (frozen)
• 1 banana (frozen or fresh)

Optional

• sweetener (to taste, I used agave)

Directions

Step 1

Add all ingredients to a blender in the order listed in the recipe (liquid first). Blend and serve.

Note

Recipe from Festively Made. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe.