Chocolate Oranges

Well I knew you could do this with strawberries.
And I knew you could do this with cherries.
And now I know you can do this with oranges, too
.
Chocolate-covered orange slices.  Just peel and segment an orange, careful to remove as much of the white pith as possible without breaking the membrane.  Melt a square or two of semi-sweet baking chocolate and dip away.  Place on wax paper-lined plate and refrigerate 10 minutes until hardened.

Any other good ideas for chocolate dipping?  Because a girl can never have too many chocolate options.

Banana-Honey-Lemon Syrup

Talk about simple.  This yummy honey-lemon-banana combination goes together in minutes (I was going to say seconds, but that would be hyperbole).  And it is sooo good -- the sweetness of honey joining the tang of lemon juice.  I had it over whole grain waffles from Trader Joe's, but it would be equally delicious over pancakes, and maybe even ice cream. 

Next time you're looking for something to jolly up your morning meal, whip up a batch of this.

And when you're done, try not to lick the plate.  It's really not very classy (she says, wiping syrup off her nose).

BANANA-HONEY-LEMON SYRUP
3/4 c. honey
4 T. lemon juice, divided
2 ripe bananas

In small pan, heat honey and 3 T. of lemon juice until just bubbling.  Remove from heat.  In separate bowl, slice bananas and squeeze remaining lemon juice over; swish fruit around in bowl so bananas are covered with juice (this will keep them from turning dark).  Add into honey mixture and serve over waffles or pancakes.

NOTE:  If you're not feeding a crowd, feel free to divide recipe in half or in quarters.  The banana slices look a tad gnarly the next day.

ANOTHER NOTE:  I have linked this post to Works for Me Wednesday over at We Are That Family blog.  Check it out for some great ideas.

Shamrock Cookies



Five lessons learned while making cute little shamrock cookies:

1.  Despite rolling dough between wax paper for ease of removal, note there will be no ease of removal.



2.  "Chill dough until it is firm enough to roll" means waaaaay longer than an hour.

3.  Sprinkles go on before baking, else the effect will be similar to trying to stack grapes on a hill.

4.  "Cook 9 minutes" = too long.

5.  Even if the cookies on the plate never quite measure up to the cookies in my imagination, I am still a sucker for cute little seasonal cookie cutters (only $2!!  At Ross!!). 

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Baked Cinnamon Bananas with Strawberry Sauce

Mmmm, tonight we have the perfect dessert for this time of year.
Why is it perfect, you ask?
OK, you didn't really ask.  But humor me.
1. Spring is coming, so strawberries are starting to show up at the grocery store.
2. Yet it's still chilly enough outside that making an oven-baked dessert is not a bad warm-up strategy.
3.  You can use any frozen strawberries you happen to have if the fresh ones haven't yet appeared in your part of the world.
4.  Bathing suit season is not far off.  And certain people have perhaps over-indulged in the baking department this winter.
Sorry, bathroom scale.
BAKED BANANAS WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE
2 firm bananas
1 t. lemon juice
cinnamon, to sprinkle
2 c. strawberries, sliced
2-4 t. sugar, to taste
1/2 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375.  Peel bananas and slice lengthwise.  Put on parchment-covered baking sheet (or non-stick baking sheet).  Brush lemon juice on cut sides of bananas.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, and bake for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the sauce:  put sliced strawberries in bowl with sugar and vanilla.  (If you're using frozen whole berries, you can just smush 'em up a bit with a pastry blender at this point.)  Put about half a cup of strawberry mixture in blender and whirl them around, then add back to the rest of the sliced berries.  When bananas come out of the oven, top with sauce.

Anything healthy-ish going on in your kitchen?