Mangia Mondays:: More Pinterest Inspired Recipes, And A Farewell

Hi friends, how was your weekend?  I hope you relaxed, laughed, and maybe even crossed some things off your to-do list.

A few months ago I shared with you some Pinterest-found recipes I tried and liked, and thought I'd share a few more with you.

I made these baked asparagus fries from Spoon Fork Bacon with a blue cheese dipping sauce this weekend and they were tasty!  {The men deemed them "healthy tasting" but good!}  Make sure you keep them warm when serving.

These buffalo chicken cupcakes from Doughmesstic are realllllly yummy.

I love this idea to skewer chunks of angel food cake with strawberries and drizzle with chocolate.  How delicious, low-calorie (and low-cholesterol) and just plain old pretty is this?  {The link to the original source of this idea is broken unfortunately, so if you know it and could update me, I would appreciate it.}

Try this one!!:  "ice cream" made from frozen bananas from Use Real Butter.  Mark and I made a version using peanut butter and cocoa and loved it; the kids thought it was good but kind of weird.  You can play with the ingredients (omit the peanut butter and cocoa and try mixing in pureed berries, or for the kiddos, M&Ms or crushed Oreos.  The banana flavor is not overwhelming and the consistency is miraculously just as smooth and luscious as real ice cream.

I think I've mentioned on here before that I frequently make homemade peanut butter since finding this tutorial from Averie Cooks on Pinterest.  We use Teddy all-natural, no sugar added peanut butter anyway (my kids get enough sugar and junk from many other sources throughout the day, they don't need it in their lunch) and we go through peanut butter like water in my house, so occasionally I find myself without anything to make the munchkins for school.  This peanut butter  tastes just like the Teddy version, and literally all you do is pour the peanuts into your food processor and let it rip for 5 minutes, then scoop it into a jar.  Plus it's fun to watch it go through the different stages of breaking down.

If you are hosting Easter dinner this year, check out this recipe at Bouffe e Bambini for Lacquered Holiday Ham.  I made it last year (or the year before??) and it was delicious and drool-worthy to look at.  The kids marveled that their mom was pouring soda and syrup all over the Easter ham - in my house this will forever be known as the ELF HAM!
{"We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup."}

This March marks two years that my sweet friend Kristin of Delightfully Dowling and I have been hosting Mangia Mondays.  Kristin is a student at a culinary school and is really the mastermind behind this foodie blog hop; I have been honored to ride on her coat tails the last couple of years and co-host with her!  I've been introduced to so many fabulous blogs through Mangia Mondays and have had so much fun meeting new people, being inspired by all your great recipes, and trying new foods as a result.  While I will still post about food now and then, the time has come for me to move on from Mangia Mondays.

I hope you will continue to join Kristin at over at Delightfully Dowling each week, to check out her amazing recipes and all the mouth watering link ups each week!!

Kristin, thank you for being a such a wonderful co-host and friend, and sharing your sweet little cupcake Charlotte with all of us!

Happy day all,