Summer Fruit Salad

Need something to bring to a backyard BBQ or snack on during the day? Try this quick 4 ingredient fruit salad with a secret.

You will need: 

1 lb of Strawberries

1/2 a Pineapple 

1 pint Blueberries 

1 bunch of Grapes (optional)

1 package of JELLO Banana Cream Pudding 

You might be thinking "really, banana pudding mix?" Trust me it's amazing. 

1) Cut up all fruit and place in a large bowl.

2) Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the dry pudding mix on the fruit.

3) Mix the powder and fruit together. The juices from the fruit will create a dressing with the mix. Add more pudding mix if you want an extra kick of flavor.
4) Enjoy!

How easy is this? My husband and I enjoyed this salad with our Sunday night dinner. It was delicious and refreshing.

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Market on Houston: Soft Opening

Photo Credit: Lloyd Christmas, Urban Spoon

I had the pleasure of attending the soft opening of Market on Houston located inside the newly remodeled Sheraton Gunter Hotel. Just across the street from the Majestic Theater, I can see this spot becoming a go-to for date night. They will even validate your valet parking.  

Market on Houston impressed me right away by giving us iPads instead of menus. These iPads were loaded with the restaurants menu items and photos of each dish. It was great to sip a glass of wine and browse the menu photos while deciding what we wanted. Everything looked exceptional, it was hard to choose! 

iPad Menus at Market on Houston

We started off with truffle fries and the hearts of romaine salad. Both were delicious but topped with Parmesan cheese the truffle fries were by far my favorite. That was until the next course arrived. 

Truffle Fries

We ordered lamb pops and koby sliders. One of the many beauties of Market on Houston is each menu item is served in a way that is easy to share. The lamb pops looked even more amazing in person than they did on the iPad photo menu. Served on a bed of greens with sauce on the side, each bite was better than the next.

Lamb Pops

After the wine, truffle fries, romaine salad and kobe sliders we couldn't finish all of the lamb. The Market wait staff happily packed up the left overs and I enjoyed them the next night over a bed of kale salad. Recipe found on Pinterest of course. 

Market on Houston isn't just a place to enjoy a sit down meal. Once it opens you will also be able to stop by the market and grab a ready-made meal like breakfast pastries, sandwiches, soups and pizzas. Enjoy them with a premium bottle of wine, also available to purchase. I encourage everyone to try Market on Houston when it opens. You will not be disappointed. Follow them to be the first to know about the grand opening date:

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4th of July Treats & Eats

Forth of July will always have a special place in my heart. Growing up we would spend the day with my grandparents watching fireworks at the Lufkin Zoo. Now that I am an old married lady, Derek and I are creating our own traditions. For starters how sweet are these shoes??

The red, white and blue festivities started at breakfast with raspberry and blueberry muffins. YUM! I used Martha White mix and just added milk. You can also use this mix to make pancakes.

Next on the menu, star spangled fruit. I cut a watermelon into thin round slices, punched out stars with a star cookie cutter then tossed in some fresh blueberries for a delicious summer treat!  

My red velvet marble brownie stars were a big hit! I found a pin that led to this blog full of awesome recipes. This blogger made hearts with her recipe but I used stars to go with our 4th of July theme. The stars were hard to get out of the pan :( maybe hearts are easier? 

UPDATE: Find out what I did with the brownie scraps here

White chocolate covered strawberries are a big hit in my house! I make them every Valentines day. Normally I drizzle milk chocolate over them but this time I tried something new I saw on Pinterest.

Step 1) In a microwave safe bowl add 1 cup of while chocolate chips
Step 2) Pour 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over the chips
Step 3) Microwave in 20 or 30 second intervals, stirring each time
Step 4) Stop heating when most, but not all, of the chips are melted. Stir until chocolate is smooth and chips are completely melted. BE CAREFUL not to overcook
Step 5) Hold a strawberry by the green stem and dip in chocolate, let extra chocolate run off
Step 6) Hold the strawberry until no chocolate runs off and dip the tip in a small bowl of blue sprinkles
Step 7) Place on parchment paper or a waxed paper lined pan
Step 8) Cool in the fridge then enjoy!

We needed something to wash down all this 4th of July goodness. I searched for 'pink punch' on Pinterest and found this Champagne Punch recipe. All you need is a pitcher, 2 bottles of champagne, 2 cans of Welche's Strawberry Breeze frozen juice concentrate and slices of fruit. Defrost the cans of juice before making. Open the juice cans and pour 1 into the pitcher then add both bottles of champagne. Add the second can of juice to taste. I ended up using all of the second can in our punch. Place your slices of fruit in the pitcher to top off the drink.  

We finished the day watching the downtown and Fiesta Texas fireworks from the top of a hill. I hope your 4th of July was filled with glittering fireworks, homemade BBQ and sunburned shoulders!

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