Recipe Category: Dessert/Drink: Sparkling Strawberry Float: Created by Missy Lapine


The sweet sorbet in the float compliments the sparkling water and cranberry juice well! The seltzer gives this refreshing drink a surprising sparkle to it. This float is an excellent chiller by the pool on a hot summer day, as well as fun birthday parties or even Valentines Day. Missy recommends that you serve this treat in plastic champagne glasses for added eye appeal which will entice kids to slurp down every last drop of this fabulous, fantastic float!


*Below is the Strawberry Puree (optional) along with the recipe itself. You can locate the entire extent of this recipe in Sneaky Fitness by Missy Lapine and Larysa Didio in the Desserts and Treats section. Pictures are featured below the recipe.


Strawberry Puree:


Supplies You Will Need: (To make about 1 cup of puree)
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons water


Process:
Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and one tablespoon of water in a food process, pureeing on high until very smooth. If necessary, you can use another tablespoon of water to smooth out the puree. This puree will store in the refrigerator for up to three days, and in the freezer stored in small portions.


*Remember that for this puree, and any puree for that matter, turns out better with as less water used as possible.


Sparkling Strawberry Float


Supplies You Will Need: (To make roughly 4 to 6 glassfuls)
1 1/2 cups either frozen strawberries or strawberry puree which you made earlier
1 1/2 cups cranberry juice, divided
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 cups sparkling water, divided
Optional Garnishes: fresh strawberries, straws, drink umbrellas


Process:
Pulse the frozen strawberries/strawberry puree, 1/2 cup cranberry juice, sugar, and lemon juice in a food processor and process on high until smooth. For a better "sorbet" result, place the sorbet into a bowl, cover, and freeze for at least an hour, or until ready to serve. Once ready to serve, pour 1 cup seltzer, 1/4 cranberry juice, and 1/4 cup sorbet into a (PLASTIC! :) champagne glass. If desired, decorate with any optional garnishes. 


I hope you enjoy this magnificent drink by Missy Lapine! You can find this recipe and lots of other awesome recipes in the book series! The series is sold on Amazon, Ebay, and local bookstores everywhere! Make sure to check them out! There are several pictures below displaying the steps to this recipe!
Feel free to comment with any questions, comments, tips, results, and more!
Thanks!-
Grace Gilbert




The ingredients for the sorbet...

The sorbet is processed...

The ingredients for the drink...

The finished float!

Missy's Ebook Series

Missy just came out with a book, but this time it is an Ebook. She has made 15 all new, scrumptious summer barbecue recipes. From grilled turkey burgers, to pasta salad, to grilled peaches with toasted granola, make sure to check it out! You can purchase this book on B &N, Kindle, and Itunes. I bought this book on the Kindle for only $2.99, so make sure to check it out. She is also planning to come out with several other Ebooks this year. I will also be posting another recipe or two later this afternoon.


Thanks!-
Grace Gilbert

Muscle Man Maple Sausage Griddle Cakes

Recipe Category: Breakfast: Muscle Man Maple Sausage Griddle Cakes: By Missy Lapine

Though both pancakes and sausage are luscious by themselves, it would be even more decadent to add some sausage right inside the pancake. The Orange Puree and maple syrup sweeten this dish well, but the sausage gives it a savory twist! Its a total win-win for kids because of its creative appearance and surprisingly sweet flavor. Maple syrup has always been scrumptious, but why not try a drizzle of honey and a small pat of butter? It is the perfect decor to this inviting dish. 


*Below is the Orange Puree and a brief description of the recipe and how to craft it, as well as the Flour Blend which you will also use in this recipe. The recipe is featured in Sneaky Fitness by Missy Lapine and Larysa Didio and you can find the full, detailed extent of the recipe in the Breakfast section.


Flour Blend:



Supplies You Will Need: (To make roughly 3 cups of blend)
1 cup all-purpose, unbleached white flour 
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup unsweetened wheat germ


Process: 
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and store in a labeled container in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Orange Puree: 


Supplies You Will Need: (To make about two to three cups of Puree)
1 or two sweet potatoes/yams, peeled and roughly chopped
Several medium to large carrots, or about a cup of small snack size carrots
2 to 3 tablespoons water




Process:
Place the veggies in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil for about 20 minutes, or until very, very tender. You need them to be very malleable, otherwise you will have small pieces of veggies floating around inside the dish. This would reveal the puree.
Drain the veggies and place in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of water. Pulse until you have crafted a very smooth puree. You can add another tablespoon to smooth it out if you must. 
You can store this puree for up to three days in the refrigerator, or store in the freezer in small portions for up to three months. 

*Remember that with this puree, and for all purees of that matter, the less water makes a better puree.


Muscle Man Maple Sausage Griddle Cakes:


This recipe makes about ten pancakes, depending on the size or thickness or your pancake batter.


Supplies You Will Need:
A package of maple flavored sausages, broken up into small chunks
1 large egg
1/4 of the Orange Puree which you made earlier
1/2 cup low fat milk
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 Flour Blend
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Extra maple syrup for serving, or honey and butter


Process: 
Brown the sausage pieces in a buttered griddle over medium high heat. Then, remove the sausages and set aside. Wipe out the griddle and set it aside as well (you will later use it for the pancakes). In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (egg, Orange Puree, milk, syrup, vanilla). In a second bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (Flour Blend, baking powder, salt). Fold the dry into the wet, making sure that they are fully enveloped. This batter should be fairly thick, however if you have too liquid of a batter, add a bit more of the Flour Blend. (Do the same with milk if the batter occurs to be too thick).  Then lightly mix in the sausage. Spray the griddle you set aside earlier and let it become hot. 

*Missy recommends that you add a few drops of water to test the pan; it will sizzle when it's hot enough.
Ladle an amount of pancake batter onto the pan, ensuring that some sausage is inside the pancake. You know that the pancake is ready to flip when bubbles pop up around the edges and the middle of the cake begins to bubble. Gently flip them, allowing to cook for around 2 to 3 minutes. Serve several pancakes stacked high drizzled with more syrup, honey, or butter.


Missy supplies some wonderful nutrition facts:
3 of these golden jewels add up to only a total of 124 calories, with only 4g of fat. 


I hope you enjoyed this recipe. You can buy Missy's fourth book in the series, Sneaky Fitness on Amazon, Ebay, and local bookstores everywhere.
Enjoy and remember to comment with questions, comments, tips, results, and more!
Grace Gilbert

Make Sure You Check Out the Books!

Hi Everyone-

Later this evening I will be posting several recipes with pictures, how-to's, and tips on how to make the recipes. I will also be posting several purees and blends that the recipes require. They will be taken from a couple of different books. I will not be exact to the book, therefore I would encourage you to purchase any of the books from the five-book series. The Sneaky Chef, The Sneaky Chef Man book, The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue, Sneaky Fitness, and The Speedy Sneaky Chef by Missy Lapine are all wonderful. They have each cracked the New York Times Bestseller list and are each available on various websites such as Amazon and Ebay. They are also located at bookstores everywhere!
Thanks!-
Grace Gilbert

How it All Began...

Hi Everybody!    

     This summer, I have decided to transport my amazing cooking experiences from The Sneaky Chef series by Missy Lapine into your lives, and share my audacious adventures through the cookbooks. It was about three years ago that I discovered the first book, The Sneaky Chef, in my mom's kitchen cabinet. All cookbooks are unique and intriguing because they involve crafting a masterpiece that someone has tested and created for themselves. However, this cookbook is no ordinary cookbook. It immediately strikes a ten year old's interest to see printed on the front cover a chef holding a carrot behind her back. I had to find out what this chef was up to. Upon reading the cookbook I discovered that Mrs. Lapine had come up with a fascinating way to "sneak" fruits and vegetables into her children's lives. She would puree the produce and simply mix in the puree into whatever dish she was preparing in an amazingly sneaky manner. Spinach was sneaked into the chocolate brownies. The broccoli laced meatloaf amazed me. The nutrient packed cauliflower macaroni and cheese baffled my mind. I couldn't wait to try these recipes on my family. My siblings think they are getting a guilty pleasure, but I know they are not. Some of the recipes are so magnificent that I have a difficult time believing that the sweet potatoes just didn't evaporate into the spaghetti sauce, or that the blueberries just didn't magically walk right out of the cookies. But I have made enough of the recipes to know that it works, and the awesome nutritional plan was real. As the summer continues to progress I will be making more of the recipes and giving you my reviews on them, and maybe even a tip or two I picked up upon making the recipe. The recipes I will post have been tried and tested on my little siblings and family and are sure to fool your family as they did mine. Not only are they foolproof, they are simply delicious.


It seems nearly impossible that the recipes created by Mrs. Lapine can possibly have health benefits to them as they are so luscious and lovely. No one in my family ever stops to think twice as they gobble down their healthy popsicles or feast upon that chicken Parmesan. As you read through my posts please keep in mind that all the recipes I have made were first discovered by Missy Lapine and all credit goes to her. Check out her website: www.thesneakychef.com


Thank you and Enjoy-
Grace Gilbert