Fruit Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing

I made this for the first time on Mother's Day, and it was a HUGE hit! I will definitely be making it again. I think it's an amazing summer salad for everyone to enjoy. I adapted the recipe to things that I thought would be good. Original recipe calls for honeydew, but I used pears instead. Also calls for whipping cream (unsweetened), and limeade. I used cool whip, and margarita mix. I think these changes made it taste delicious.

Ingredients:
1 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup frozen limeade, thawed*
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tub cool whip (2 cups)*
1/2 cantaloupe (3 cups), diced
1 quart strawberries, quartered
2 ripe mangoes, seed removed, peeled and cut up
2 cups blueberries
3 pears, peeled and cut up (around 2 cups)

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mix on medium-high speed cream cheese, limeade and confectioner's sugar until creamy. Fold in cool whip.

2. In a 3-quart bowl, layer cantaloupe, then strawberries. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over strawberries. Layer Mango, blueberries and pears next. Spread the remaining cream cheese mixture.

3. Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving.

*Apparently limeade is not sold frozen anymore (or I just wasn't able to find it anywhere.), so I bought and used a margarita mix instead. It turned out fine.

Easy Savory Veggies

For this, you can use whatever you want, and serve it with what you want. I've served it twice with homemade Chinese, and it compliments it nicely.

Ingredients
2 zucchini
2 large carrots
1/2 large yellow onion
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Directions
1. Peel carrots, and roughly peel the zucchini. I like to leave a little bit of skin on there, for the color.
2. Use the peeler to completely peel the carrots to their cores. Place in a bowl.
3. Slice small pieces off the zucchini. Set aside with the carrots.
4. Peel off the outside of the onion, slice in half, and then slice off skinny slivers. Set aside with carrots.
5. Heat up a large pan with 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the veggies, and saute until onions are clear. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder, mix and serve.

Garlic Bread

This may not be the healthiest, but it sure tastes amazing, and it's probably much healthier than the pre-made frozen garlic bread. I made this for the first time the other night, just wanting to see if I could make something as tasty or even tastier than that bread. It's very garlicky, so if you don't like garlic as much, cut back by 1 or 2 cloves. No picture(s) this time, but I will be taking some next time I make it.

Ingredients:
1 loaf Italian or French bread (Italian is crisy, French is soft)
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Mix with a fork butter, parsley flakes, salt and garlic.
2. Cut loaf in half, and spread butter mixture over both sides.
3. Fold back together, and wrap in foil.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes, butter mixture should be practically melted. Serve.

Sweet Potato Souffle

I know everyone has their traditions on Thanksgiving, everyone has their own way to make sweet potatoes. This is how my family does it, and has been since I can remember. We don't use marshmallows, like so many other families. This is seriously the best thing ever. It's like a dessert, so deliciously delicious!

Sweet Potato Souffle

Ingredients
3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

-topping-
1/3 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Directions
1. Mix together potatoes, sugar, eggs, 4T butter, and vanilla.
2. Put in a 9x13 baking dish.
3. Combine brown sugar and flour.
4. Mix with melted butter.
5. Sprinkle on top of potatoes.
6. Bake 30 minutes at 350F.