When I saw that this month’s theme song was Raspberry Beret ,I knew I had to make something. I had never heard of the song until around Christmas 2016 while we were at my in-laws for the holidays. It came on the radio and my father-in-law was singing along— except he would say sorbet instead of beret. It took me a few times to figure out that the song wasn’t about dessert and that it was supposed to be beret. I have not forgotten about it and it still makes me smile.

This sorbet recipe is adapted from the one that my in-laws made while we were home for Fourth of July a few years ago. I must say it is delicious but the best part is that it is very easy to make. Read More

Renee, the voice behind If Spoons Could Talk, loves everything food related. You will often see her taking pictures of her food before eating, while her smiling husband shakes his head and waits to eat because, of course, she has to take a picture of his as well. Her time is spent cooking in the kitchen, researching recipes on the computer, or eating what she’s been researching and cooking! The rest of her time is spent with her husband and two fur babies watching TV. Now she is making time to get a masters so she can be a full-time teacher. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest as If Spoons Could Talk and on Twitter as Spoons Could Talk And of course over at If Spoons Could Talk

My life is blessed, which often means my days are busy. Six days a week my day begins at 5:30 AM and ends at midnight. I am a nurse practitioner with my own practice (Connie’s Family Practice) and teach an online nursing program. My family and I own and operate Bed and Biscuit Boarding and Faultine Athletics. My days can consist of seeing patients, being on call, grading papers, walking dogs, cleaning kennels, loading pitching machines, or updating Facebook pages.

It is difficult to eat healthy when there is very little time to prepare healthy food. I love quick recipes that are easy to prepare, carry with me, and include fresh ingredients. One recipe my family loves is Raspberry Quick Snack Muffins.

Did you Raspberries are good for you?
Here are a few of the health benefits of Raspberries:

Raspberries are rich in effective antioxidants as well phytonutrients. These elements proficiently reinforce your immune system and help your body to fight disease
Raspberries have high amounts of vitamin C, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, manganese, niacin, potassium and copper. This makes them a complete fruit to offer overall, health benefits.
Raspberries have a negligible effect on blood sugar level.

Connie Ash: Raspberry Quick Muffins

Ingredients

3 large eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed
1 cup granulated white sugar or equal portion of Splenda
2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl, mix the raspberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan, about 3/4 full using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.
Bake the muffins for about 20-25 minutes, until they’re light golden brown on top, and a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
Remove the muffins from the oven, loosen their edges from the pan, and after about 5 minutes transfer them to a rack to cool.
I hope your family enjoys these simple healthy snacks.

https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/connie-ash-raspberry-quick-muffins/

Okay, let’s get real. It seems like 90% of the time that I write a Foodie Friday post, it is a salad. What can I say? I really dig a salad.

The thing is, I didn’t always feel that way. A salad was meant to be a garnish, a side dish, or a filler food that you put in a realllllly large bowl to make it look like you were serving guests a ton of food. It wasn’t meant to be the main dish or the meal itself. In fact, whenever I would go out to eat with teammates and they * gasp * ordered a salad as their meal, eye rolling would commence.

Now? Gimme a salad. I’m a convert.

This raspberry and spinach salad should be called the Raspberry, smoked turkey, feta, almond, and avocado spinach salad instead of Raspberry and spinach salad. You can’t put a salad like this in the corner. In fact, I may ask Debbie to rename this post the “No one puts Baby spinach and Raspberry salad in the corner.” This salad was meant to shine on its’ own.

If you are craving something healthy, this is your salad.

If you do not want to prep tons of vegetables, this is your salad.

If you want a comfort food that won’t mess up your diet, this is your salad.

If you want a satisfying meal that is delicious, this is your salad.

And most importantly, if you want something eat while watching Dirty Dancing on your day off, this my friends, is your salad.

Lyndi Fultz: Raspberry and Spinach Salad

Ingredients

5oz package of baby spinach
4 slices of mesquite or hickory smoked turkey cold cuts
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoons sliced almonds
1 avocado, sliced
6 ounces raspberries
Italian Vinaigrette
Sea salt
Black pepper

Instructions

.Evenly place spinach in each bowl.
Roll up 2 slices of turkey cold cups and slice. Repeat with remaining 2 slices
Add turkey, feta cheese, almonds, avocado, and raspberries to salad.
Drizzle with vinaigrette and finish with salt and pepper.
Serve and enjoy!
Happy salad day.

https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/lyndi-fultz-raspberry-and-spinach-salad/

It’s June and while it may not officially be summer, school is out and the summer heat is just getting turned on. My garden is finally getting the kick it needed. One of the few fruits of my yard I have been enjoying is my raspberries. They over spill in a flower bed near our back porch. I have a table where I write and draw at that’s right next to the raspberry bed. I can reach out and snatch a snack when needed. As a teenager I developed a sever allergy to the “other red berry” so raspberries are my go to berries.

While these late spring temps are still pleasant we know the heat is coming. One thing I always look for as the temperatures rise outside is a way to cook that does not heat up my house. Dessert, in my opinion, is often greatly overlooked. Sometimes you just want a little dessert that doesn’t involve a major baking event. A small one or two serving creation doesn’t sit around on your counter tempting you to indulge. So in my desire to beat the heat and not eat a whole cake myself I created this microwave cup of cake recipe.

I can hear you now. “Microwave?!” But trust me on this. Think of it as a grown up much tastier version of our Easy Bake Oven adventures. The recipe is easily adaptable to many flavors. But since I have raspberries in abundance and there’s always an occasion for chocolate, I whipped up this version of a Choco-Raspberry Micro Cake.

This is also a quick and easy recipe for the kids to make. Watch the video of my son and me whipping up a bowl.

Jeanetta Darley: Choco-Raspberry Micro Cakes

Ingredients

¼ cup fresh raspberries
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
4 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoon milk, cream, or half & half
1 egg
2 tablespoon oil
½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Combine all dry ingredients into a small mixing bowl with a fork.
Whisk all remaining wet ingredients with the fork in a liquid measuring cup.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Lightly grease 2-3 coffee cups, ramekins, or 1 cereal bowl. Toss in a few raspberries. Pour batter halfway up baking dish. Place the cup on a plate in case the cup overflows while cooking.
Microwave on high in two 30-second intervals. Cook in 15-second intervals until you can smell the chocolate.
Be careful because the cake and cup will be hot. Top with whipped cream, ice cream, or powdered sugar and enjoy!

https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/jeanetta-darley-2/

A tasty snack is all my kids need to turn a bad attitude around. I’ve learned that the two best tools to deter any kind of bad attitude are humor and delicious snacks.

When things get a little tense around the house because someone is having a bad day or bad attitude it’s time for some laughs and snacks. Bad attitudes never happens at your house, because your house is perfect right??? Just kidding, I know we are all normal and have our days when we are just a little grouchy.

One morning recently, there were sibling squabbles and bad attitudes hanging around our house for no real reason. I decided to somehow get our day turned in a better direction. So, I turned on some fun music, did a few crazy dances, whipped up some quick bread, and got my kids to laughing and having fun.

After our bread was ready, I whisked everyone outside on the back porch to have a snack with some fancy teacups and I read our overdue library books to them.

Voila. Attitudes changed. The blueberry bread was magic.

I know it’s not the actual bread that changed their attitudes, but it’s the love, laughter, and conversations shared around a snack that tied heart strings together.

Who can be upset when eating fresh blueberry bread, sitting on the back porch on a sunny day, drinking lemonade out of tea party cups, and reading funny picture books?

Quick breads are a go-to hosting treat for us because they are so quick and simple. The ingredients are things that you always have around.

Whenever you make one, always make two and freeze one! You can give it to a friend or pull it out for breakfast on a busy morning.

When we make a quick bread, we always pour a mini loaf to take to a neighbor or friend. I try to keep the disposable mini loaf pans on hand so we can always do that. This time, I was out. But, I did have mini pie tins and they worked just as well.

After all attitudes were adjusted I gave my kids the gift of giving hospitality and they delivered a mini pie/loaf quick bread to some neighbors. Being generous always brings a cheerful heart.

The rest of the day was perfect.

Enjoy the recipe and make it today!

Amanda Farris: Blueberry Quick Bread {Foodie Friday}

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Add in the blueberries.
In a separate bowl, mis the sugar, milk, butter, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture.
Stir until just blended. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into a lightly greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let pan cool for 10 minutes.
Remove from pan onto wire rack and let cool.

Notes

ENJOY! Don’t forget to take some to a neighbor!

https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/amanda-farris-blueberry-quick-bread-foodie-friday/

Author: Debbie

Sunday Link-Up {June 25, 2017}

Renee Birchfield: Raspberry Sorbet

Sunday Link-Up {June 18, 2017}

Connie Ash: Raspberry Quick Muffins

Sunday Link-Up {June 11, 2017}

Lyndi Fultz: Raspberry and Spinach Salad

Sunday Link-Up {June 4, 2017}

Jeanetta Darley’s Choco-Raspberry Micro Cake

Sunday Link-Up {May 28, 2017}

Amanda Farris: Blueberry Quick Bread {Foodie Friday}