Recipe: Easy Lemon Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Perfect for entertaining, this homemade Lemon Cream Cheese Fruit Dip is quick, easy and made for sharing! All you will need is cream cheese, greek yogurt, powdered sugar and lemon for this gluten free fruit platter dessert!

The weather is warming up in Sydney and for us, that means lots of barbecues with friends and family.

I am always a dessert lover and love bringing desserts to share, however, lately, I've been fruit platter obsessed - and it's all because of this dip.

Not only is it perfect for warm Spring/Summer days, it's also the perfect last minute recipe to throw together because it takes just minutes to make.

So let me tell you more! >> 

Recipe: Easy Harissa Hummus Dip

In an ideal world, I'd be a socialite. 

Entertaining my friends all day every day, having ample time to bake and create delicious treats to surprise them with, putting together the most elaborate celebrations... you know the drill. 

In reality? I work and my life tends to run to the constant hum of busyness. 

But I still make time for my friends and family - and still like to put on that socialite hat whenever I get the chance... 

It just means that sometimes I have to cheat...

Cheat? Yeah, we're not talking relationship infidelity here... we're talking about socialite shortcuts. 

This recipe is one of those shortcuts.. but it's still impressive and seriously delicious and no one will suspect a thing when you serve it up. There's also the not-quite-a-shortcut route that you can take if you want to put on your Martha Steward hat too 😉

So let me share the recipe with you >> 

Recipe: Creamy Beet Hummus (Gluten Free & Vegan)

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Hummus, houmus, houmous, hommus - however you want to spell it, I love it!

Up until recently, this was a recipe I only made when we had people coming over - but lately I've realised it's the perfect meal prep recipe for delicious lunches all week long. 

It's quick, easy and full of flavour and perfect for eating with veggies and crackers or putting in a sandwich or wrap.

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It even hides a not-so-sneaky (because of the colour) serve of vegetables and makes it easy to eat even more.

Beets also have a whole host of nutritional benefits - they're packed with immune boosting vitamin C, folate, iron and plenty of other nutrients. 

So let me share the recipe with you! >>

Recipe: Vegan Soft Pretzel Bites with Creamy Peanut Butter Dip (GF!)

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These pretzel bites aren't perfect, they aren't pretty and I almost wasn't going to share them..... until I realised they actually embody exactly why I have this blog! 

You see, a few weeks ago I received an email from Sofi, a Southern In Law reader who, very much like me, recently found out she had coeliac disease and a number of food allergies and intolerances. 

Sofi had discovered my recipes on Pinterest and emailed me asking if I might be able to make a recipe for her or possibly recommend one that would suit. 

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Sofi told me how she had been a great baker who loved nothing more than sharing food with others - but now found herself depressed, struggling to find recipes that not only tasted good but suited her food needs and food had become something that frustrated her rather than brought her joy. 

I've been there.  I've been in Sofi's shoes. 

I was a baker who went from creating ridiculously overcomplicated desserts to crying over muffins that felt like rocks and bread that didn't rise. I discovered my favourite foods were the ones causing all of my pain and problems and I was pretty much stuck in a woe is me bubble... 

But I'm also stubborn as a mule so I kept on going.... and going.... and going.... 

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I created Southern In Law to, first and foremost, update our family on what was happening in our world as Jesse moved to Australia - but I also wanted to share my recipes. Somehow people just like you reading this, discovered those recipes too - and that became the focus of the blog. 

Why? Not because I think I'm some recipe creating queen. Not because I take award winning photographs. Not because I want to make millions of dollars.

I share and create recipes because I know how it feels to miss out and I don't want you to have to miss out. 

I create recipes because I love nothing more than getting emails from you letting me know that you created them and loved them - or that you made them for a friend with special food needs so they didn't have to miss out. 

Like I said, these pretzel bites aren't perfect.... but they're perfect for Sofi. Just like Sofi asked, these pretzel bites are made without any weird flour combinations, they're egg free, they're gluten free, they're made without any butter or oil and they make a small batch. They're even dairy free and vegan if that's what you need too!

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Healthy Garlic and Herb Yogurt Dip

 Hi my sweets! Good news! I'm feeling a bit better today. I'm still woozy and a bit nauseous - but I'm not stuck on the couch or in bed so that's a plus. A reader sent me a worried email that I might be overdoing it after the iron infusion and that's why I'm sick and I promise you that's not the case - at the moment I'm so sick and so weak that I'm struggling to even walk around the block, so exercise is definitely not happening. 

Nevertheless I wanted to share a yummy new recipe with you today. Whilst we were in Bali at Villa Sungai, we had a delicious appetizer each night which was super simple but crazy delicious. Fresh vegetable crudites with a fresh herb and yogurt dip. It was ridiculously good - and Jesse and I came home craving it, so we made our own version!

This dip is so easy and so so delicious. We joke that it's a skinny dip instead of a chunky dunk - but no one would ever know. We've been into snack plates for lunch lately - and this dip is a key part of those plates. Fresh veggies, crunchy crackers or corn chips and you've got yourself a delicious light and summery lunch. 

We've also made this dip for a couple of parties we've had and it's been devoured in seconds. Use it as a dip, mix pasta through it for a cold pasta salad, use it to top roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes or do whatever you like with it! 

It's hardly a recipe, but totally delicious, so let's get onto the recipe >>

Recipe: Beetroot Tzatziki

Why hello there! Oh what a week I've had - things have been busy, busy around here! Jesse is working full time and I'm trying to run KISS Freelance, be the perfect fiance, keep up with wedding things and work on Southern In-Law all at once. But hey, I can't complain - I am as happy as can be with my life as of right now and I'm feeling so blessed and incredibly grateful. I can't tell you how good it feels to have Jesse home - even at 6am when I'm awake making him breakfast and lunch for work (and now I make my Dad lunch too because he started getting jealous ;P)

There's some new additions to the blog with a new design and header and the latest addition... 

The Southern In-Law Newsletter!

This will be a weekly newsletter filled with meal ideas, recipes, wedding updates, links, reader photos and an update on what we've been up to. You can sign up to the newsletter here and the first edition will be posted next Friday!

After nearly a month of being Chobani-less (as my local stores were sold out!) I finally have some - so you have to know I got straight to creating some new recipes!

With Easter and Jesse moving to Australia, we've had quite a few people over and have had a couple of dinner parties and barbeques - so dips were in high demand!

This Beetroot Tzatziki or Beetroot Yogurt Dip is super simple, healthy and oh so delicious! It's perfect eaten with crackers, veggies sticks or bread and if you're a fan of beetroot, you'll love it! Best of all - it's so easy!

Beetroot Tzatziki Dip 
low fat, gluten free, clean recipe
~4 raw medium beetroots (I weighed mine once peeled and they were around 400g)
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tsp garlic salt 

Cook your beetroots one of the three following ways; 
Roasted: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Wrap beetroots in foil and bake until tender. Allow to cool and peel.
Boiled: Place beetroots into a pot of water, boiling until tender. Run cooked beetroots under cold water until cool, peel. 
Microwave: Place your beetroot in a microwave safe container, microwaving for 1 minute intervals until beets are tender. Allow to cool and peel.

Once tender, allow beets to cool slightly before pureeing in a food processor with yogurt and garlic salt. 
Chill the dip or serve warm. 

So tell me, what's your favourite kind of dip?

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