We are all in love with dessert.  When I think about it, I sigh…..  I never want to give my dessert love up.  I’ll sacrifice other things but I’ll be damned if dessert will be one.  So here I go trying to come up with something light for the person who wants to watch their figure, but sacrifice NOTHING.  I am going to SWAP a piece of cake or chocolate mousse for these lovely little mini tarts I created today.  Yoplait Light yogurt saved me the headache of trying to create a fat free custard….  I used their thick and creamy yogurt instead.  Hope you Enjoy!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for mini tarts:

1 1/2 – cups chocolate graham cookies

4 – tablespoons butter

1/2 – teaspoon vanilla

2 – 6 ounce  Yoplait Fat Free Thick and Creamy Lemon Meringue Yogurt

2 – tablespoons toasted coconut

2 – strawberries

This recipe will make 7 tarts. 

Preheat oven to 350 fahrenheit.

Add cookies to a food processor and pulse till the cookies become crumb dust.  Then add butter and vanilla.  Pulse again until combined.  Take a 2 inch tart pan and fill with a heaping tablespoon of cookies mixture.  Press all around and into the edges.  Then place all your tart pans on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

Once tart shells are baked let them cool completely.  Then scoop in lemon yogurt and top with toasted coconut and a slice of strawberry.  Place them in the fridge and whenever you get starry eyes for a dessert… there is one that will make your heart sing and your waistline won’t have to pay the price for it. 🙂

Do the Swap!

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Yoplait yogurt to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own.

It was last Tuesday early afternoon, and my fiance says he needs my help scouting out a dive bar for a movie he is working on.  He tells me…  “It can’t be a recognizable dive bar, it has to be a bar no one will find common place.”  I grab the Cannon, put on my best walking shoes, and jump in the car.  We drive around the city, but hardly any bars are open.  “What goes on in this town?”  I ask.  “What time do bars open? It’s already 1:30p.m.”  We continue driving and as the afternoon ripens we come across three or four bars, but nothing dive-y enough.  Each time I get off the car, walk into the watering hole and spill the same mumbo jumbo about scouting for a film and wanting to snap a few pictures to see if the director would be interested, if so someone will return with a contract and go over pricing.  Most people are not phased by this info, others act as if a golden egg has just hatched before their eyes.  Then we find a little bar on a main street on the cusp of East Los Angeles and Montebello.  I walk in and there is NO ONE to be found.  No one sitting in the dive nor standing behind the bar tending to it.  I say out loud in the nicest voice I can find inside my throat “Hello.”  No response.  I then say “Hi.” Nothing.  I keep looking around.  All the chairs are dressed in plastic.  There are black and white framed photos of Ricky Ricardo, and Vicente Fernandez adorning the walls along with a huge gold fake Rolex watch that serves as a clock.  There are pink artificial flowers in vases that have not been dusted in years.  It looks like a grandma’s tacky living room that has been frozen in time from the 50’s or 60’s.  In my mind I’m doing somersaults thinking this could work.  Then at the back of the room I notice a long rectangular window with a little puff of white floating across it.  I walk towards the window to get a better look.  Standing on my tippy toes with my neck reaching to the ceiling, I peak in.  What I see I can’t believe.  I observe a tiny, fragile, little OLD lady barley able to move.  In my head I calculate she is in her late 80’s maybe early 90’s.  My heart breaks, thinking who ever left this lady here to man the bar is a for sure CREEP!  I now start giving my greetings in Spanish, thinking maybe she didn’t understand my arrival announcement in English, or worse yet she can’t hear.  I start thinking how am I going to explain to this lady that I am scouting for a film.  As I’m dreading the conversation….. she starts to make her way from the back.  Moving at a pace slower then any snail, she thinks about the next position of her footing as she holds on to the wall and all along never makes eye contact with me.  I say hello again…. she doesn’t acknowledge I’m there.  I figured she was blind and deaf.  Then she starts to pass where I’m standing and turns around in a swift motion and just SLUGS me with all her might right in the chest!  I never saw it coming.  I got so sad and upset at the same time.  Nothing like this had ever happened to me.

A.) I can’t hit her back she is a tiny little lady.

B.) She’s crazy or drunk or both.

C.) I did nothing to provoke getting punched.

I immediately start yelling in a high half crying pitch “Why are you hitting me?”  As I’m waving my arms trying to block the next swing.  She has me trapped and is relentless. Then by the grace of my youth I see a little window of opportunity to make a run for the door.  I zoom out of there only to hear her footsteps following on my trail.  I look back and she is running after me and she’s not slow anymore.  She stops at the door of the bar and is screaming all sorts of obscenities to me in Spanish that are the equivalent to “get the f@^* out of here you good for nothing broad.”  I dive into the car (no pun intended) and am horrified.  Wow!  What the hell just happened?  It took a minute or two to register as I replayed the whole thing in my mind again and as it was sinking in all I could do was shake my head thinking “Pinche vieja loca.”  I told the guy I live with I was not happy and I was not going to scout anymore, even if it was the middle of the afternoon.

As we arrive home I’m still shaken up from the hell I had just been through when lo and behold a box of wine is sitting  there on my door step waiting for me.  It was a sign from the wine gods that it would be best if I opened that box and enjoyed a glass right then and there.  Entwine was the name on the bottle.  I popped it open and poured a cup of merlot. As I sat on my porch staring at the vessel I noticed it had a list of food pairings on the back.  Perfect.  Another way for me to shut off my brain and  just let the bottle do all the work.  Thank you Food Network and Wente Vineyards for joining forces to make life easy with your new wine.  It surely saved my afternoon last Tuesday.

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Entwine’s merlot for my review. The story and opinions are my own.

 I’ve always read about Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch.  I’m sure you have seen the pictures of all the celebrity moms taking their little ones to the patch….. and now I know why.  My family and I went there for the grand opening this past Saturday and I was pleased to discover all the great activities (face painting, petting zoo, pony rides, skeleton slide, pumpkin jumper) they have for children and the hard to find fall home decor.  No wonder Yoplait has teamed up with Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch.  For every pumpkin sold Yoplait will donate $1.00 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.  How cool.  Right?  So pack up the kiddies and head over to Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch.  They’ll have a blast, and you’ll feel good knowing you are helping another family stay California Strong!

All photos taken by: Mando Lopez and Nicole Presley

Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch is open now through October 31st.  

I’m excited to say I have a second post up at SpanglishBaby.com…..  I worked with Pam No-Stick Performance Spray again, and this time I made cherry cobbler…..  Click here to see the recipe and a little video of me making the dish!  Enjoy!  For the record….  it didn’t stick.  Yay!

Photo taken by: Nicole Presley

Milk and dairy products help make up a healthy balanced diet filled with calcium.  I supply my fridge with all things dairy from Milk to Cheese to BUTTER to Yogurt, just to ensure there are yummy alternatives for my family to choose from.  Being the number ONE dairy state in the nation… it is never hard for me to find the “Real California Milk/Cheese” seal at the market.  By buying this seal I know I’m supporting 1,620 dairy families and NOW California schools too!  You ask how are we supporting California schools?

Let me tell you how!  From Oct. 1st, 2011 to Dec. 31st, 20011 there is a new program EVERYONE should know about.  Especially if you have young school aged children who live in California.  The wonderful California Dairy Families have put together this exciting program for Southern California* elementary classrooms.  They are awarding Southern California elementary classrooms, schools, and students with up to $2 million in cash, books, and other prizes!  There are thousands of chances to win, just for collecting Real California Milk seals from the milk and dairy products you buy.  So get “moo-ving” and get your children’s teachers involved, neighbors, friends, and family to start collecting Real California Milk seals today.  Good luck!

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: PRIZES INCLUDE:

1. COLLECT:  Collect Real California Milk seals.  Look for this seal on milk and other dairy products.

2. ENTER:  Give the Real California Milk seals you’ve collected to your child’s teacher. Each seal counts as an entry.

3. WIN!  Teacher sends seals in to win.  Up to $2 million in cash and prizes will be awarded!

Up to $20,000 in cash prizes for schools.  Scholastic books for nearly every class that enters.  Interactive fitness games for students in winning classrooms!

To find out more about how you can join the “Real Seal Appeal” and help our teachers help our kids, visit scholastic.com/sealappeal

*Participating elementary schools in Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I participated in this campaign as a member of One2One Network and am eligible for a prize drawing.  All opinions stated in the post are my own.

Guess what friends? I just spoke to the Master of the Glass Half-Full and he told me all about this photo contest he’s holding on Facebook. Starting this very second he is asking fans to upload a picture of their child/children holding a glass of milk in the same fashion as he does. Photo submissions will gladly be accepted from NOW through October 21^st, 2011 followed by on-line voting from October 24-28^th . Winners will be announced on Monday November 7th , 2011.  Click HERE to submit!  What a great time! I can’t wait to see all the photos! Here’s the best part….. The PRIZES!!!!!! Yippppeeeee!

Grand Prize/1^st Place:  French door stainless steel refrigerator with a year’s supply of milk

2^nd Place: Bicycle with a front child seat and a year’s supply of milk

3^rd Place: Professional blender with a year’s supply of milk

Can you imagine that fridge?  Or a year supply of MILK?  Eeeeek!  Get your cameras out and act like a shutterbug.  Post away!  You better bet your bottom dollar I’m going to submit a photo of my little guy…. TODAY!!!! Here’s a sneak peak of Maxie LOVING his milk.

Oh and before I forget to tell you….. As soon as I hung up the phone, the doorbell rang, it was the mailman delivering a letter from the Master himself.  I ripped open the envelope and realized it wasn’t a letter for me, it was for my readers. That was sweet of him. Right? Read what he has to say below.

Find Simon Felix on Facebook here!

Follow all his positivity on Twitter here!

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.

All photos taken by: Mando Lopez

I’m so excited about this photo contest…. I need a glass of MILK to celebrate!

I have my theory about salsa.  I don’t know how closely you follow my blog but a couple months back I posted a salsa recipe and talked about the crazy stinginess that surrounds salsa recipes.  I’m the polar opposite, if I come up with a salsa I’m proud of I want to scream it into the blog-o-sphere with a post/share.  I’ll start by telling you…. This yummy Green salsa is nothing like my Salsa for the ages, it’s just as good and it is worthy of five SCREAMS.  Try it out on your friends or family and you’ll quickly have a house full of noise. 🙂

Photos taken by: Nicole Presley and Mando Lopez

Ingredients for green salsa:

1 – tablespoon vegetable oil

1 – onion (remove outer peeling)

4 – garlic cloves (remove outer peeling)

1 – cup water

5 – tomatillos

1 – serrano chile

1 – jalapeno chile

1 – guero chile

1/3 – cup cilantro leaves

1 – large half of avocado (remove pit)

1 – teaspoon of white vinegar

1 – tablespoon Kikkoman Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Dressing & Sauce Lime

1 – tablespoon Kikkoman Soy Sauce

Place vegetable oil in a small frying pan over a medium high flame and allow to get hot. Then add peeled onion and peeled garlic cloves.  Fry till brown.  Set in the blender along with the rest of the ingredients and pulse till smooth.

Pour salsa out of blender into a bowl or pour into jars and refrigerate.  Serve with your favorite dish or simply place a bowl of tortilla chips by it’s side and watch them disappear.  Enjoy!

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Kikkoman’s Ponzu and Soy Sauce to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own.