Birthday Photos

To celebrate hubby's birthday, we went to dinner with Holt, Ryan and Megan.  I did take some photos of the 3 guys, but they were blurry.  Darn!  Will have to do that again, but it's hard to get Holt to cooperate.  lol  We may also need to get a new camera or get someone else to hold the camera and keep it steady.  Ha! 

Can you believe these 2 youngsters have been married 23 years in March?  lol

Ryan and the lovely Megan!

We took other photos, but they didn't turn out.  Wish we had taken a few more to make sure.  The boys tend to roll their eyes when I whip my camera out and Holt said he rues the day I got a blog and Facebook.  lol  Boys!!  Some day, they will be glad I chronicled their lives online.  I may even create a book from the blog one of these days.  How fun is that?

Oops, almost forgot.  Andy requested Coke Salad instead of a cake, and he wanted his very own, so we made 2!  lol  We put just a few crushed pecans in his, but lots more pecans in the other one for the boys and I.  Yummy!  Have you ever had coke salad?  Here is our recipe:

2 small pkgs. cherry Jello
1 large can crushed pineapple
1 can dark, sweet, pitted cherries
6 oz. Coca Cola
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 cup pecans, chopped (optional)


Drain the liquid of the pineapple and the cherries in a sauce pan.  When hot, add the cherry jello and remove from the heat.  Dissolve jello.  Add in the pineapple, cherries and Coca Cola.  Pour in an 8X13 pan.  Put in refgierator to set up for just a bit.  Then add the pecans and cream cheese, cut up into tiny bits.  Some people use less cream cheese, but for us - the more the merrier!

I'm wondering what this photo looks like to someone who has never had this?  lol  This has an interesting sweet/sour flavor and you must try it!  We usually have this only at holidays, but he enjoyed it so much at Christmas, he requested it again already.   I had never had this until I married him, and now it is holiday staple!

Love you honey (and the boys and I will stay away from YOUR coke salad)! 

Bliss!! Mango Banana Pie

First, I have to admit - I have never eaten a mango in my life.  Had no idea what it even tasted like.  Still can't really describe it - just a really mild fruit.   Anyhoo........Oh MY!!  If you want to put a bite of pure bliss in your mouth, make this pie today!

In the past month, we have been trying to eat much healthier, along with our daily Green Smoothies, I had read about Alissa Cohen and the great reviews on her book, Living on Raw Food.  You can only order it online and the cost is $29.99.  That really wasn't in our budget and I was thrilled when I found a copy at a second hand bookstore in Dallas (had a bonanza experience during the holidays!)  Not only was it half price, but there was an additional 20% off sale.  Woo hoo!

I had read online that one of the pies was amazing, and I had to try it.  So hubs and I got all the ingredients together and made it last night.  We just had our first pieces tonight with dinner and it was pure bliss.  We opted to freeze the pie, and it tasted like a popsicle in our mouths - so yummy.

Mango Banana Pie
From Living on Raw Foods, Alissa Cohen


Crust:

2 cups almonds
1/2 cup dates, soaked  (I soaked overnight)

Filling:

4 mangoes
6 bananas

For crust:

1.  In a food processor, grind almonds until fine.
2,  Add the dates and blend until smooth.
3.  Remove from food processor and pat down in pie plate.


For Filling:

1.  Peel the meat off of 4 mangoes and place in food processor with 4 of the bananas.  Blend well until smooth.
2.  Slice the 2 remaining bananas and place in bowl.
3.  Add the mango-banana mixture and mix well.
4.  Pour filling into crust and refrigerate for a few hours until mixture solidifies.  You can also freeze this for a frozen mango pie.


I didn't have enough almonds, so used 1 cup almonds, 1 cup pecans.  We chose to freeze our pie and it was heavenly. 

This is totally healthy, raw and full of nutrition.  Just mangoes, bananas, nuts and dates.  How simple is that?  This could be eaten for a meal rather than just dessert - totally healthy.

For more information on Alissa Cohen, visit HERE.   She also has a great forum to read and ask questions.  It is HERE.

Enjoy!