Apple Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Cinnamon chips
4 (7-inch) flour tortillas
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salsa
2 Granny Smith apples
1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped
1 small orange, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tbsp apple jelly (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For cinnamon chips, lightly spray tortillas with water. Combine sugar and cinnamon ( I recommend mixing it in The Pampered Chef flour/sugar shaker), sprinkle over tortillas. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges; place in single layer on flat baking stone. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Remove to cooling rack; cool completely.

For salsa, peel, core, and slice apples. Cut apples into quarters; chop with food chopper. Chop strawberries and kiwi. Place fruit in bowl. Zest orange, add zest to bowl (optional). Add orange chunks, brown sugar and apple jelly (optional) to fruit mixture, mix gently. Serve with cinnamon chips.

Coconut Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 cup coconut oil (or 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 TBSP corn syrup
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. pure vanilla

Bring first four ingredients to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Mixture will fizz to twice the size. What a way to start the morning!

Banana Coconut Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 overripe banana, crushed

Directions

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. (I recommend The Pampered Chef Batter Bowl)

Add coconut oil, egg and banana. Mix until smooth. Cook on hot griddle. The Pampered Chef has 2 sizes of griddles. Their griddles have a Lifetime warranty! Contact me for more information.

Coconut Chocolate Fudge Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Sugar
• 4 TBL Flour
• 4 TBL Cocoa
• 4 TBL Coconut Oil
• 1 Can Evaporated Milk
• 1 TSP Vanilla

Directions

Whisk dry ingredients in a saucepan. Add 1 can evaporated milk and coconut oil. Cook and stir on medium heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Coconut Macadamia Crusted Halibut

Ingredients

• 4 (8oz Size) halibut steaks
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs or flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Directions

Preheat grill to medium. Prepare four 12 x 12 pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil by coating one side of each with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Rinse halibut and pat dry with paper towels. In food processor, chop garlic until fine. Add crumbs and salt; pulse until coarsely ground. Pour into shallow dish or pie plate. Cover fish in coconut oil, then into nut mixture, pressing nuts onto fish.

Place each piece of halibit on one half of prepared foil square; fold other half over steak and seal edges to make a packet. Grill packets for 10 minutes, turning once. Remove halibut steaks from packets and serve. Great with wild rice pilaf and vegetables.

Ways to Speed Up Dinner-Prep Times

Sort groceries before you get home. At the grocery store, ask the bagger to put all the perishables in one bag, the snacks in another, the canned goods in a third. You can help the process along by loading like foods together on the conveyor belt. At home, unloading will go far more quickly and be easier to delegate.

Prep meat. Take a moment to trim, cut, cube or pound meat. Meat can sit in an oil-based marinade for about 24 hours in the refrigerator, so you can set up the next day's dinner the day before. When you use a marinade made with an acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar, which actually begins cooking the food, pre-prep may or may not work for you, since meat should sit for less than 2 hours, fish for only 30 minutes or so.

Chop vegetables. Onions, peppers, broccoli, zucchini, squash―they can all be chopped ahead, (I recommend using The Pampered Chef Food Chopper). Cover the chopped vegetables with a damp paper towel to keep the cut ends from drying out, then refrigerate in a plastic ziplock baggie. (Onions and other frequently used vegetables can be chopped, then frozen in plastic freezer bags for up to a month).

Measure up. Measure ahead of time, combining all the spices you need for a dish in a plastic bag or a small bowl. This gives you a head start and helps keep you from forgetting a spice or a garnish when you're rushing to put the meal together.

Have a plan!

Menu planning doesn't have be complicated. A small investment of time can reap great rewards:

A menu plan saves money. Reducing trips to the supermarket, a menu plan reduces impulse spending. Using leftovers efficiently cuts food waste, while planned buying in bulk makes it easy to stockpile freezer meals at reduced prices.

A menu plan saves time. No dash to the neighbors for a missing ingredient, no frantic searches through the freezer for something, anything to thaw for dinner.

A menu plan improves nutrition. There will be time to prepare side dishes and salads to complement the main dish, increasing the family's consumption of fruits and vegetables.