Colorful homemade cherry pie filling
Yield: 

About 3 cups
Ingredients: 

3 cups pitted sour cherries*
1 1/2 cups sugar
approximately 1/2 cup water
approximately 1-2 tablespoons clear jel or cornstarch, for thickening

(Please see additional notes before making!)
Instructions: 

1.
Combine fruit and sugar in a pan and stir together. If cherries are
soft and mushy, you won’t need additional water, but if cherries are
firm, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil.

2. Mix cornstarch or clear jel** with some cold water or reserved
cherry juice (about 2 tablespoons of cold water with 2 tablespoons corn
starch or clear jel), whisking to remove lumps.

3. When cherries are boiling, add thickening while stirring
constantly to prevent lumps. Add enough thickening to make the
consistency you desire. We like our pies fairly thick, but cheesecake
topping thinner. Stir the thickening as it bubbles, just until the
juices are clear. (When the filling looks clear, it’s fully cooked.
Over-cooking will start to break down the filling.)

4. Pour into pie crusts (unbaked pastry) for pies (bake pies at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes or until browned) or use as topping in other recipes.

Additional Notes: 

*You
can use sour or sweet cherries for this recipe, but you will need to
adjust the sugar if using sweet cherries. I would use about 1/2 to 3/4
cup of sugar for sweet cherries. If using sweet cherries, you may wish
to add a tablespoon of lemon juice or a pinch of citric acid, since
sweet cherries won’t be as tart as sour cherries.

The texture of the cherries will also make a difference in this
recipe. I have used really ripe sour cherries from my parents’ trees,
and those are very juicy and tart, needing no additional water or citric
acid. I have also used sweet cherries from a neighbor’s tree, and those
were again, really ripe and soft and made a nice juicy filling!

However, using firmer cherries from a store will necessitate the
addition of some water… and you can also boil the cherries, sugar, and
water for several minutes without risk of them falling apart and
looking mushy in your pies or on your cheesecakes. 🙂

**Cornstarch thickens, and will continue to become thicker as your
mixture cools. Do not make it as thick when hot as you would like it to
be when it has cooled, or it will be too thick.

Clear jel, however, is the same thickness hot as it is cold. We prefer clear jel for thickening pie filling, as it is easier to see the consistency, and the pies don’t tend to run over in the oven as easily.

A colorful medley of kiwi, strawberries, pineapple, and peaches
Yield: 

6-8 servings
Ingredients: 

8 oz. strawberries (fresh or frozen, but the former preferrable)
4 kiwi
29 oz. canned peach slices in light syrup (drained)
15 oz. canned pinable bits in their own juices (keep juice)
Instructions: 

1.
Stem strawberries. Cut the strawberries in halves or quarters,
depending on preference. Small garden strawberries need not be diced.
Dump into a large bowl (preferrably one that has a lid).

2. Peel the kiwi with a knife, removing the fuzzy exterior skin.
Slice into bite size pieces. Dump into the bowl with strawberries.

3. Add drained peaches to the fruit bowl. You may also slice the peach slices in half.

4. Add the pineapple tidbits and pineapple juice to the fuit bowl and gently stir and mix the fruit.

5. Refrigerate and serve cold.

A fluffy creamy vanilla-cinnamon dip for apple slices
Yield: 

4-6 servings
Ingredients: 

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar (I use dark brown sugar)
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon (I like lots!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh apple slices from about 6 apples, for serving
Instructions: 

1. Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer until no lumps remain. Serve with fresh apple slices!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Cinnamon-sugar sprinkled over baked apple pieces; delicious hot or cold!
Yield: 

9 servings
Ingredients: 

9 cooking apples (anything except Red Delicious will work)
3/4 cup water
lemon juice, optional
3-4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions: 

1. Peel apples. Cut each apple in half and remove the core.

2. Place apples core-side-up in a 9×13-inch glass baking dish. Pour a
little water into the dish — about 3/4 cup — so that there’s a thin
layer on the bottom.

3. If apples are not very tart, sprinkle with lemon juice. For tart apples, skip this step.

4. Sprinkle each apple half with about 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

5. Sprinkle cinnamon over apples.

6. Bake uncovered in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 25-35 minutes or until apples test tender with a fork. Serve hot or cold, or over ice cream!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A quick ice-cold homemade strawberry drink!
Yield: 

1 serving
Ingredients: 

1/2 cup hot water (140 degrees or hotter)
1-2 tablespoons sugar, xylitol, or sweetener of your choice
a pinch of citric acid*
Frozen strawberries**
Instructions: 

1. Place hot water in blender, along with sugar and citric acid.

2. Turn on blender and add frozen strawberries one at a time until a slushie consistency is reached. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A cool and creamy mocha frappuccino that takes just minutes to make! Includes instructions for a dry mix (just add milk)!
Yield: 

1 large serving (2 1/2 cups)
Ingredients: 

2 cups milk*
2 tablespoons Dutch process baking cocoa (unsweetened)**
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons sugar or other sweetener (we use granulated xylitol)
Optional ingredients: See additional notes below
Instructions: 

1. Pour milk in a blender.

2. Add remaining ingredients and blend first on low and then on high
for 1-2 minutes, until ingredients look uniform and combined. (A longer
blending time will make a more frothy drink.)

3. Pour into a glass and serve!

Using 2 cups of milk will make about 2.5-3 cups of frappuccino after
blending. Since it uses baking cocoa, the cocoa does tend to fall to the
bottom of the drink after a bit. We use a straw to stir/drink.

You can also make this ahead and store in the fridge in a bottle/jar with a lid. Shake briefly before drinking. 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A pre-made dry mix for hot cocoa; just add hot water and enjoy!
Yield: 

15 servings
Ingredients: 

2 cups nonfat dry milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 cup dry non-dairy creamer*
dash of salt
Instructions: 

1. Combine all ingredients and stir well to mix. Store in an airtight container.

To serve, add 1/4 cup of mix to 8 ounces of hot water, adjusting to taste. Stir and enjoy!
Additional Notes: 

*The non-dairy creamer is optional, though I prefer some kind of creamer added; so if you leave it out, consider adding a splash of heavy cream to your hot cocoa before drinking! 😉

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipe.

A spicy fragrant homemade chai tea
Yield: 

4 servings
Ingredients: 

1-2 cinnamon sticks (3-4 inches long), broken
1 teaspoon whole cloves, crushed
1/2-1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, crushed (or 2 teaspoons green cardamom pods, crushed)
8-10 whole allspice berries, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
1/2-1 teaspoon ground ginger*
4 cups water
1 tablespoon loose leaf black tea
1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk to taste)**
Honey or brown sugar, to taste

Instructions: 

1. Combine spices and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the tea leaves. Allow to brew for 3-5 minutes.

3. Strain tea into cups or a tea pot. (If using a tea pot, pre-heat
the pot with boiling water first.) I use a fine mesh strainer to
strain.***

4. Add cream and sweetener to taste. I prefer dark brown sugar and heavy cream in my chai, but you can use any sweetener you like, and substitute milk or half and half for the cream.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A quick, easy, and frugal sparkling grape juice (or whatever flavor you wish), made from 100% juice concentrate and club soda!
Yield: 

60 ounces
Ingredients: 

2 liters club soda (carbonated water), chilled
12 ounces frozen grape juice concentrate (or other fruit juice concentrate)
Instructions: 

1.
Pour frozen juice concentrate into a 2-quart pitcher. Refill the can
from the concentrate 4 times with club soda (48 ounces, or 6 cups of
club soda) and pour into the pitcher. Stir.

Serve cold and enjoy your delicious sparkling juice!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A spicy, sweet, and creamy chai tea latte you can make at home that tastes almost exactly like Starbucks chai tea lattes!
Yield: 

12 ounces
Ingredients: 

10 ounces boiling water
2 teabags of Celestial Seasonings India Spice Chai tea
1 tablespoon “Sugar in the Raw” or organic sugar*
3 tablespoons real whipped cream** Instructions: 

1. In a large mug (14 ounces), place the 2 tea bags and boiling water. Steep 3-5 minutes, squeeze out tea bags, and discard teabags. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Add whipped cream and stir. Enjoy hot!