Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

I love this stuff and could pretty much eat a whole batch all by myself. Which I don't feel too bad about because it's half healthy. You can use any fruit that is in season and sounds good to you. I always use the apples and strawberries, but sometimes the other fruits vary.
Ingredients:
4 kiwis, peeled and diced
4 Gala apples - peeled, cored and diced
1 small cantaloupe, diced
1 pound strawberries, diced
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor (optional, I never use it)
20 (6 inch) flour tortillas, or the smallest ones you can get
butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar
Directions:
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
(I like to use this chopper (below) to dice all the fruit. It makes it much faster and easier. I found mine on eBay. I also use it for regular salsa.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat both sides of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter. Put the wedges in a bag with the cinnamon sugar. Shake until evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Fresh Peach Dessert

This is one of my all time favorite desserts. We would look forward to this dessert every year when the peaches on our tree were ripe. It's important, though, to use sweet, ripe peaches.Peaches from the grocery store are usually not very good.
Ingredients:
16 whole graham crackers, crushed
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 c butter, melted
8 ounces mini marshmallows
1/4 cup milk
1 pint whipping cream, whipped and sweetened with 1/3 cup of sugar
5 or 6 fresh large peaches, peeled and sliced
Directions:
Put milk and marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave until marshmallows melt, stirring often. Set aside to cool.
Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Set aside 1/4 cup for topping and press remaining mixture into a 9x13 pan. Refrigerate.
After marshmallows have cooled, fold together with whipped cream. Spread half this mixture on top of the crust. Top with peaches, then the rest of the cream mixture. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cheesy Zucchini Patties

Depending on how much moisture is in your zucchini, you may need to add a little extra flour.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup flour (I like whole wheat)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
red pepper flakes (optional, if you like a little spice)
2 tablespoons oil
Marinara sauce (optional)
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly.
Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop zucchini mixture by quarter cup fulls, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden. Serve with marinara sauce.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I drizzled cream cheese frosting over it and sprinkled it with toasted pecans.

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds; beat on medium for 4 minutes. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Oriental Chicken Salad

This recipe is supposed to be a clone of Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad. I think it's pretty close. This is for 4 servings, I usually double it for my family.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

6 Tbls honey

4 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbls rice vinegar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

Salad:

4 cooked, breaded chicken breast, cut into strips (I use a bag of Tyson chicken)

6 cups of lettuce(s) (I usually use a combination of romaine, red or green leaf lettuce, and sometimes I'll throw in some spinach as well)

2 cups shredded red cabbage

3 green onions, chopped

shredded carrots (I use the matchstick carrots, pre-cut)

toasted almonds

rice noodles (these come in a can by the chow mein noodles. Similar to chow mein, only thinner)

To serve this, I mix just the lettuce and cabbage together, divide onto plates, then top each salad with the rest of the ingredients and top with the dressing.

4 servings

Frog Eye Salad

This is always a favorite. You can use any type of fruit you prefer.

Ingredients:

8 oz acini de pepe pasta

1 cup sugar

2 cups pineapple juice (reserved from canned pineapple)

3 Tbls flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, well beaten

1 Tbls lemon juice

1 tsp butter

1 8 oz container of cool whip

1 cup coconut

1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)

1 20oz can pineapple tidbits, drain and reserve juice

2 11 oz cans mandarin oranges, drained

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions, drain and put into a large bowl. Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to make 2 cups of liquid. In a medium size pan, combine pineapple juice, sugar, flour, salt, eggs, lemon juice and butter. Cook over medium heat until thick. Pour over pasta. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Fold in cool whip and then stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This dinner is a hit with my kids. It calls for green bell pepper, but I sometimes use other colors, as you can see from the photo.
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup sliced carrots
1 medium green pepper, julienned
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
Hot cooked rice
Directions: In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls. In a large skillet, cook meatballs over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple aside. Add water to juice to measure 1 cup. Stir in vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce; pour over meatballs. Add carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender. Stir in green pepper and pineapple; cover and simmer 5 minutes longer or until pepper is crisp-tender. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into meatball mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over rice. Yield: 4-6 servings.