How to Prevent Moldy Berries

I received this e-mail this morning and thought I would share it with all of you.  Disclaimer, I have not had time to try this for myself but it sure makes good sense!

Berries are delicious, but they're also kind of delicate. Raspberries in particular seem like they can mold before you even get them home from the market. There's nothing more tragic than paying $4 for a pint of local raspberries, only to look in the fridge the next day and find that fuzzy mold growing on their insides. Well, with fresh berries just starting to hit farmers markets, we can tell you how to keep them fresh! Here’s a tip I’m sharing on how to prevent them from getting mold in the first place: Wash them with vinegar. When you get your berries home, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider probably work best) and ten parts water. Dump the berries into the mixture and swirl around. Drain, rinse if you want (though the mixture is so diluted you can't taste the vinegar,) and pop in the fridge. The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit, and voila! Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries go almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft. So go forth and stock up on those pricey little gems, knowing they'll stay fresh as long as it takes you to eat them. you're so berry velcome!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Hmm....doesn't this look YUMMY!! It sure was yummy to eat!

I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com. It has been years since I've had it and it is still just as good as I remember it. Now some people serve this as a sweet salad and some as a dessert. Either way, it's just plain GOOD!
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup butter, melted (this equal to 12 Tablespoons)
3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 - 8 oz. carton Cool Whip, thawed
2 - 3 oz. packages strawberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
2 - 10 oz. cartons frozen strawberries ( I use the sweetened ones), don't thaw
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter and 3 Tablespoons sugar; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl cream together the cream cheese and 1 cup sugar. Fold in the Cool Whip; combine well. Spread mixture onto cooled crust. In another mixing bowl, dissolve Jell-O in the boiling water. Stir until Jell-O has dissolved, than add the still frozen strawberries and allow to set briefly. When mixture is about the consistency of egg whites, pour and spread over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set.
Serves 12

Now the next time I make this, I'm going to halve the recipe, as this makes too much for just two people to eat.

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Try it and see for yourself how delicious this is and than you can decide, is it a salad or a dessert.

Thanks for dropping by......Mary

No-Bake Salad Pizza

With the days starting to get hotter, I thought this would be a good recipe to share, as you don't need the oven to make this pizza, perfect for the summer months!  So easy, especially if you pick up pre-chopped vegetable off the grocery store salad bar, which I do sometimes.

I found this recipe clear back in 1996 in a Fast and Healthy recipe book. You know the ones that you look at when you are standing in line at the check-out lane at the grocery store. I use to make this recipe alot when my girls were younger and they really, really like this, well we all did! I always had to make sure and cut the pizza so that we each had two pieces.

NO-BAKE SALAD PIZZA

1 cup (8 oz.) purchased spinach dip, I use ranch dip, use your families favorite*
1 (10 oz.) thin crust Italian bread shell, I've always use Boboli
1 cup chopped broccoli, or your favorite
1 cup cubed cooked chicken or turkey, in a pinch I use the canned chicken breast
1/3 cup sliced green onions, purple adds a nice color to this too
1 small tomato, seeded, chopped, you can use grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Spread spinach dip evenly over bread shell to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top with remaining ingredients. To serve, cut into 8 wedges.

*Most of the time I don't use all of the dip, I just spread until I feel that it has cover the crust nicely.

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Have a nice day....Mary

P.S.  You may have noticed that I'm not doing step by step pictures right now, I found that I was running out of time and actually would not remember to take pictures of every recipe, so on some of my post you will see just the finished dish.  Eventually, after the wedding, I should have more time to take pictures, so don't give up on me yet!  I still wanted to share some of the great recipes I've used over the years, some are too good not to share!