Creative Home Cook

Magic Cookie Bar Pie

2011-06-07T10:57:00.004-04:00

I was really wanting to fix something sweet today. Have you ever had one of those days where no matter what recipe you look at you know it's not going to hit the spot (or in this case satisfy the sweet tooth)?

Well, that's the kind of morning I've been having. When I started rifling through my cabinets I came across a few things and thought to myself "Man, some magic cookie bars from Christmas day sure would be good about now."

Even though I didn't have the stuff to make a traditional magic cookie bar recipe, as usual, I used what I had. This is what I came up with:

Graham cracker pie crust
12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut
10 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour the entire bag of chocolate chips into pie crust. Make sure they are in as even a layer as possible. Evenly spread the coconut on top of the chocolate chips. Pour the entire can of sweetened condensed (NOT evaporated) milk over the coconut layer.

The pie shell is going to appear that it is going to overflow, but it won't. Just use steady hands when putting onto cookie sheet to place in oven. Cook in preheated oven for 35 - 45 minutes. You are looking for the sweetened condensed milk to melt together with the other ingredients and turn a nice golden brown color. If it smells like your graham cracker crust is burning go ahead and take it out of the oven.

Cool on wiring rack for at least 1 hour before cutting.... longer would be better (Good Luck waiting to cut this!).

NOTE:
You could also add chopped nuts. My family isn't crazy about nuts so I left them out. Pecans are my favorite, but I try to make something everyone can at least try.

Just like in traditional magic cookie bars, you could substitute butterscotch, peanut butter or white chocolate chips for all of part of the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Be creative and use whatever combination you and your family will like.

This recipe is shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Recipe Swap Thursday and Foodie Friday.

Chocolate Peppermint Smoothie

2011-01-24T14:49:00.000-05:00

I realized the other day the one of the most under used appliances I own is the VitaMix. You see, my mama actually owned it first. She soon realized that she didn't need it because it was initially purchased for juicing fruits and vegetables. Once she got her handy dandy juicer the VitaMix took a back seat and stayed hidden in the lower corner cabinet. One day I mentioned to mama that I needed a new blender and she offered up her VitaMix. CHA-CHING!! I really felt like I had hit the jackpot.

Not long after I got the VitaMix from mama I found myself putting it in my lower corner cabinet and forgetting about it. I knew that I could come up with something to use it for other than the occasional run of milkshakes. That's when I decided to start making my own coffee house drinks.

One of my favorite frozen blended drinks is only served around the holidays.... it's the chocolate peppermint frappuccino. Having some leftover candy canes from Christmas, I decided to make one of my own at home.... IN THE VITAMIX! As you've probably noticed, I also decided to call it a smoothie (it makes it feel healthier to end the name of it with "smoothie"... don't judge).

Here is how I do it:

I start with a half cup of ice cubes. I put them directly into the blender and then pour the milk directly over the ice. I just pour the milk until ice is barely showing. If you like yours thinner you can add more milk of course.

Then I unwrapped the miniature candy canes (4 of them gave it just enough refreshing mint flavor for me) and added them to the blender.

As you can see in the picture I also added chocolate syrup. Now just turn the blender on and run it until the ice has been completely crushed and the mix is well blended. In the VitaMix it only takes about 20 seconds total.

Here is the finished product.

If you really wanted it just like they are served at coffee houses you could add whipped cream and top it with chocolate syrup and crushed peppermint candy canes, but this was good enough for me.

This is so easy and simple I'm going to continue to experiment with differnt flavors

Chocolate Chip Blondies

2011-01-16T18:11:00.005-05:00

Have you ever had a sweet tooth, but just didn't know what you wanted to eat? That's how I've been lately. I know I want something sweet I just don't know what. The thought of ice cream didn't sound right. The thought of something rich and chocolatey didn't sound right. A piece of fruit wasn't gonna cut it. So I started looking through my cabinets to see what I had that I could possibly make something out of. That's when I decided I wanted something that tasted like a chocolate chip cookie, but was the consistency and texture of a brownie.

Chocolate chip blondies sounded like THE perfect solution to all of my sweet tooth problems.

Here is what I started with:

1 stick (or 8 Tablespoons) of unsalted butter
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar (I used light because that's what I had)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

I started by melting the stick of butter in a medium sized pan on low. While it was melting I added the flour, baking powder and salt to a small cereal bowl and whisked it together (this saved me from having to sift it). After the butter was melted I add the brown sugar and stirred it in with the butter. I just made sure it was blended good, but it didn't "melt" the sugar (and it still appeared grainy..... which is OK). Making sure the sugar/ butter mixture was cool I added the egg and vanilla extract. Stir those together until well incorporated. Now you can start adding the dry ingredients. I did it in two parts (just because I wanted to make sure it all got incorporated well). Now dust the chocolate chips with a tablespoon of flour and fold them into the mixture. This is what is should look like.

In my household we always fight over the edge pieces of brownies or blondies. I don't own one of those fancy shmancy pans that gives you all edge pieces so I decided to use a muffin tin. I sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray and evenly distributed the batter between all twelve muffin cups. Here is what they looked like before cooking.

Cook these in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. They will seem like they're not completely done in the middle, but trust me..... TAKE THEM OUT OF THE OVEN NOW! Place the entire pan of blondies on a wire cooling rack (this allows the air to circulate around it and cool them evenly). Remove them from the pan and place directly onto the wire cooling rack after 20 - 25 minutes. You can eat them as soon as they have cooled enough so that you won't burn your tongue (at least that's what we did).

All of us were able to get our sought after "edge" piece. I imagine these would last for a few days if stored in an airtight container, but I'm afraid in my household we will never be able to find that out.... they'll NEVER last that long!

This recipe shared at Potluck Sunday, Full Plate Thursday, GCC, Foodie Friday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Night Supper Club and Tuesdays at the Table.

Orange Creamsicle Snow Cream

2011-01-15T10:37:00.001-05:00

As the snow kept falling here in North Carolina over Christmas then again last Sunday I decided to set bowls (very big ones) outside to catch some clean snow in. Now my granny always said to NOT eat the first snow..... so we didn't. But the second snow came and it was on! I made regular snow cream with milk, sugar and vanilla extract. I made regular snow cream with sweetened condensed milk. I made regular snow cream with evaporated milk, powdered sugar and almond extract. I had pretty much exhausted my milk options, but still had some clean snow left. What to do, what to do? Do I throw the rest of the clean snow out? Do I just waste that perfectly good snow? NO! I will not throw it out and I will not waste it.

Since I had a minimal amount of milk left I knew I had to come up with something to make the snow creamy, but edible at the same time. As I looked through the fridge I found a looked over container of orange juice...... this is when the light bulb in my head shined so bright! We could have snow cream that tasted like my favorite popsicle..... AND WE DID!

Here is how I did it:

1/4 cup of milk
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
snow

In a large bowl mix the milk, sugar, orange juice and vanilla. I mix it until the sugar isn't grainy any longer. Then slow add snow (I do it a cup at a time) and stir it in to incorporate it fully. I just keep adding snow until it's the consistency and taste I want. It's that simple.

At this point I could've added yellow and red food coloring to make it a pretty orange color..... yeah, Boss Man and Little Miss weren't having none of that! They barely let me finish stirring everything together well before they started descending like vultures to the kitchen.

This snow cream was amazing! It tasted just like an orange creamsicle too.... maybe a little better (but don't tell Pet Ice Cream I said so). Little Miss wants to know if she can have it every day. I have to explain to her that it's a treat and we can only have it when it snows. She told me to make my own snow...... LOL.

I would definitely recommend this for something a little different than the traditional snow cream we're all used to. This is definitely going in my "Keepers" cookbook that I will one day pass down to Little Miss.

This recipe shared at Potluck Sunday.

Soft White Bread ~ Bread Machine Recipe

2011-01-10T09:41:00.004-05:00

As they were calling for massive amounts of snow the last two days everyone rushed out to get bread and milk before the storm hit (as if they're going to make soggy sandwiches). I knew when I started getting phone calls and emails asking if I needed bread the real reason they were asking is because there was none on the shelves.

I'm very delighted to be able to report that I haven't bought bread in a couple of months. It's not because I'm giving up bread (that would just be crazy talk 'round here to say such things), it's becuase I've been making my own in my mama's bread machine. She was nice enough to "loan" it to me (and at this point I'm not sure if she's going to get it back..... I'll just give her some fresh bread every once in a while and maybe she'll keep letting me use it).

I've tried a few different recipes for standard white sandwich breads and finally came across a recipe I was able to tweak. This recipe is super simple AND super delicious.

1 cup of water
3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 Tablespoons of white granulated sugar
3 cups of bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

**NOTE** It is VERY important that all ingredients are at room temperature. If they're not the bread will not turn out nice and soft and will tend to be crumbly (and yes, unfortunately, I'm speaking from experience).

My bread machine calls for the ingredients to be added in the order that I listed them (liquids first), but add ingredients into your bread machine according to it's manufacturer's instructions. I set it to basic bread setting, 1 1/2 pound loaf and light crust (there is light, medium and dark choices and we like it less crusty). It takes a total of 3 hours and 25 minutes to mix, knead, rise and bake. It is well worth it though.

Now you may notice that the top of the bread looks as if there are holes in it. Well, there sort of is. Let me explain.... Once I found a recipe that we loved the taste and texture of it seemed to have a lot of air holes in it. This made it difficult to make sandwiches on. What I did to make the air bubbles disappear was during the last rise before baking I take a long wooden skewer and poke holes in the bread to release the air. Once I started doing this I get nice bread that's sliceable and perfect for sandwiches.

Right now we have 8 inches of snow and it's going to continue throughout the day. Also, it's not suppose to get above freezing for at least six days. BRING IT ON BABY! I will not run out of bread even if the store shelves are empty.

By the way, I'm not making soggy sandwiches with milk. We love cinnamon toast and grilled cheese sandwiches (with tomato soup of course). I also cut the bread a little thicker than normal and make french toast out of this bread (which is delicious).

This recipe shared at Prairie Story, Hearth 'N Soul, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday Night Supper Club and Tuesdays at the Table.

No Bake Granola Bars

2011-01-05T09:58:00.001-05:00

The last time I was at the grocery store I bought a box of chewy peanut butter chocolate chip granola bars. After eating one of them I decided there had to be a way to make these at home. You are not going to believe how easy these are to make. With ingredients I already had on hand I threw these together in a matter of minutes.

2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup of light corn syrup
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

I forgot to put the vanilla extract in the picture.... woops!

In a large bowl mix the crispy cereal and oats. In the meantime, in a heatproof bowl, add corn syrup and brown sugar. Heat for 2 1/2 minutes on high in microwave, but in 15 - 20 second increments and stirring each time. You are looking for the sugar to completely dissolve. In the meantime line an 8 1/12 inch x 11 1/2 inch pan with wax paper. Add peanut butter and vanilla to hot mixture and stir until it is completely dissolved and incorporated. Now add the liquid to the dry ingredients. Stir quickly to incorporate all ingredients well. Add the chocolate chips and stir to incorporate. Dump the mixture into the lined pan and using another piece of wax paper firmly press the mixture until it's an even layer. Apply a lot of pressure to make sure it's compressed. This will be vital to the granola bars staying together when cooled and cut. Let sit until completely cooled.

When the mixture has completely cooled pull the mixture out of the pan by using the excess wax paper that's hanging over the side of pan. It will easily peel off. Cut mixture in half long ways and then cut each half into serving size pieces.

I store these by individually wrapping them in pieces of wax paper then in zip top bags.

These must have been awesome because my husband not only ate one last night and this morning, he took some with him to share with the boys at work (which I have my suspicions if he'll really share or keep them all to his self).

**NOTES**

The chocolate chips actually melted when mixed in. This was not a big deal to us, but next time I will sprinkle a few extra on top of the bars after compressing the mixture well.
If you don't have corn syrup feel free to try honey in it's place. I just happen to have some on hand that needed to be used up.
If you don't have chocolate chips try using dried fruits or nuts in their place... this recipe is going to be very versatile.
The original recipe called for using a 9 inch x 13 inch pan. I chose a smaller pan because the wax paper fit up all the interior sides they way I wanted it to better than in the larger pan.
I used dark brown sugar because it's what I had on hand, but light brown would work fine too.

This recipe shared at Foodie Friday.

Sesame Street Cupcakes

2010-11-02T09:12:00.002-04:00

Two years ago, for my daughter's first birthday, I could NOT find an Elmo or Sesame Street cake, cookie or dessert of any kind that I cared to serve at her party. Now I totally understood that this first birthday party was more for us than her. After all, there was no way she was ever going to remember it. Even though I knew this, I still wanted to be able to have pictures to show her when she got older that proved I went all out for her first birthday party (again, all for me).

I decided instead of having to stand by a dessert table and cut cake to pass out to all the other party goers that I would make cupcakes. They were already single serving size, so after making them, ultimately I was done.

Since Sesame Street was the only real cartoon that she showed an interest in (and by interest I mean cried when I turned the TV off and it is the program that was on) it was an easy decision to go with that them for her birthday.

There was nothing special about the way I made the cupcakes or the icing. I simply bought boxed cake mix and followed the directions on how to make cupcakes in liners. I do remember having two different kinds to mix it up a little (or was it because the husband was the REAL baby and have the kind of cupcakes he liked? Choose your battles, I'm just saying!)

I also bought the icing and used Wilton cake icing coloring to get the colors I wanted. Luckily the MIL had pastry bags, tips and spatulas. All I had to do was make the icing up a day ahead (I found that you get a better finished product, as far as color is concerned, when you make the icing ahead of time).

The first attempt with the Elmo cupcakes was a success. We determined that using a grass tip for Elmo and Cookie Monster would work best. That decision was a complete success. The Cookie Monster cupcakes lacked something, but at first I wasn't sure what it was. What I finally decided they needed was small cookies baked and placed at his mouth. This is how they looked

I wish I had had that kind of immediate success with the big bird cupcakes. Take a look at the cupcakes in the lower right hand corner

As you can see, it was a struggle to figure out the correct decorating tip to achieve the right Big Bird look. Finally though, the small leaf tip proved to get the best results. I'm very fortunate that I already had the cupcake stand it wasn't a funky color, so it worked PERFECT to display the cupcakes on.

The next day was the day of the party. My baby girl was turning the big 1! I was so excited, but kind of sad at the same time. I knew that there was no amount of books being put on her head that was going to stop her from growing up.

She was truly excited at the birthday party for the cupcakes. That look on her face was worth doing those all over again..... truly priceless. Here is what I have to say to all of you: If I can do this, ANYONE can. I am, by no means, anything close to a cake decorator or pastry chef. These took a little bit of trial and error, but it finally got figured out. Take a chance, go crazy with an idea. Determination is the best motivator!

Nutella No Bake Cookies

2010-10-24T17:37:00.012-04:00

I absolutely LOVE the no bake cookies.... you know, the ones you do on your stove top with butter, sugar and oatmeal. Then you drop them onto wax paper to set up. No oven needed.

Well, I got such a HUGE craving for these the other day and knew I had everything I could possibly need in my cabinet to make them. I layed out the butter to be softening, measured out the sugar, cocoa powder, oatmeal and vanilla........ only to realize (and be quite heartbroken) that I had NO peanut butter. What on earth was I gonna do?!?!

I quickly called the Boss Man on his way home from work and asked him to PLEASE stop by a grocery store and pick up a jar of creamy peanut butter. (I really did beg, I don't do it often, but in this case I BEGGED) When he said that he didn't mind I continued getting my wax paper layed out and secured with cutting boards, or what not, so the edges wouldn't curl up on me when I was spooning the mixture onto it.

I heard a loud truck in the drive way and knew I could turn the stove on to start the cooking process. My butter starting melting nicely. Soon the sugar started dissolving and I was waitin' on that slow rolling boil to begin. Right about the time I started the timing process the front door opened. It was my loving husband and he DID have a grocery bag in his hands. He quickly handed the bag off to me so I could get the right amount of peanut butter measured out.

Now as excited as I was about the peanut butter, you can imagine how quickly the sunshiny look on my face disappeared when I opened that bag and realized he had gotten peanut butter and grape jelly... IN THE SAME JAR! Doh! What in the world could he have been thinking?!?!

What was I gonna do now?!?! I was too far into the cooking process to stop and yell at him (but I did make a mental note to go back to that later). I quickly scurried through the cabinets and the only thing I came across that I thought might work was a jar of Nutella. So I VERY HURRIEDLY measured out my 1/2 cup because I knew that timer was gonna go off at any minute! When it did go off, I was ready. I quickly stirred in the Nutella, oats and vanilla extract and put the mixture by the spoonfuls onto the waxed paper.

They were so rich and dark lookin' as they were settin' up. I couldn't wait to try them! The smell of them would make ya drool. Here is how they looked

Don't you just LOVE the close up?

Here is the recipe for these MELT IN YOUR MOUTH Nutella No Bake Cookies:

1 stick of unsalted butter
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of milk (2% or whole milk works best)
4 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups of oatmeal (I used quick cooking)
1/2 cup of Nutella (or you could substitute creamy peanut butter, but I don't know why you would)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

In a medium sized sauce pan, NOT a nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar, milk and cocoa powder. Stir to incorporate once the sugar starts to dissolve. Leaving the heat on medium, let the mixture come to a rolling boil. Once it starts boiling, set the timer for four minutes and cook exactly for that long. While it's boiling, you're gonna want to continuely stir it. Just make sure you use a long handled wooden spoon or a VERY heat proof rubber spatula. Once the timer goes off, remove from heat (I always set the pot on a pot holder or trivet) and stir in the Nutella. Make sure you get it completely incorporated before adding the vanilla and oats. Once everything is is mixed thoroughly IMMEDIATELY start spooning the mixture onto the waxed paper. I would recommend using a teaspoon, as these are VERY rich and would make the perfect bite sized sweet treat. Let them set until they are cooled. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week - 10 days (but they'll NEVER last that long..... jus' sayin').

The Verdict:

The Boss Man lost his title... but I gained the title of Boss Lady in the process.
He will only buy peanut butter and jelly in the same jar when it's for him and his boys at work to eat.
The no bake cookies were DELICIOUS! They were very, very rich so next time I may cut down on the amount of cocoa powder going into them as well as the size of the cookies.
They didn't even last for 3 days.
These are going on my Christmas cookie list :)

This recipe shared at Potluck Sundays, Brenda's Canadian Kitchen, Grocery Cart Challenge, Designs by Gollum, Tasty Traditions, Recipe Swap Thursday, Sweet Thursdays, Tuesdays at the Table, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Delicious Dishes, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays and Mouthwatering Mondays.

Turkey Meatloaf

2010-09-09T20:36:00.002-04:00

Do you ever have those days when you just CRAVE comfort foods? Well, yesterday was that day for me. I was just absolutely sure that nothing at all would do but to have meatloaf for supper. So, that's what I did. I made me a pan of good ole turkey meatloaf (I can't remember the last time I used beef.... I've been using turkey for sooooo long now). And it was so good, I could've slapped somebody (which I'm findin' out must be a southern thing -- to wanna slap somebody when something is just that good). Here is how I did it....

1 pound of ground turkey
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of milk
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 clove of minced garlic
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped very finely
2 Tablespoons of ketchup
2 Tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of stone ground mustard

In a large mixing bowl, add the bread crumbs, milk, onion and garlic. Let sit for 15 minutes for the milk to absorb in everything and the flavors to marry. After the 15 minutes is up, add the turkey, worcestershire sauce and bell pepper. It is VERY important to not overmix the meat mixture, this could cause the meatloaf to have a tough texture. Just make sure everything is incorporated well. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet or baking pan with aluminum foil. Shape the mixture into a loaf (and just make it as even as possible so it will cook evenly -- mine always kinda look like a deformed log). Cook for 35 minutes. In the mean time, mix together the ketchup, honey and mustard. After 35 minutes, remove the meatloaf from the oven and slather the top of the meatloaf with the mixture. Make sure it completely covers the top and you will probably even have some run down the side too (that's even better when it does that). Now return to oven and cook an additional 25 minutes (remember, turkey has to be cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees... if you have a meat thermometer you can check this if you want). When it comes out of the oven let it sit and rest for about 10 minutes before cutting. Slice and enjoy!

Pretzel Topped Grilled Chicken Salad

2010-08-31T14:03:00.001-04:00

Ok... so I realize that I've been infatuated by salads here lately, but this one was OH SO good. It was the perfect balance of sweet, salty, creamy goodness.

The whole REAL reason I've been doing salads is because I had some of that wonderful homemade ranch dressing left over that I made last week. It just keeps getting better with time, but I don't want to chance it going bad.

- Romaine lettuce (how much depends on how many salads you're makin')

- Tomatoes, chopped

- grilled chicken breast, sliced

- raisins

- green olives

- cheesy pretzel twists (I used Rold Gold brand), slightly broken up into chunks

- ranch dressing

Start by adding all of your ingredients to a large bowl. Toss until everything is evenly coated with the salad dressing. Plate, serve and enjoy!

This recipe shared on It's a Blog Party! Delicious Dishes.

Taco Pasta Salad

2010-08-27T12:56:00.003-04:00

Last night everyone in the house (mainly the ring leader, aka Big Daddy) was really being pushy about having tacos for supper. I tried telling every single one of 'em that I didn't have taco shells or tortillas of any kind. They just wouldn't listen though.... they INSISTED on tacos.

I had pasta, but that was the closest thing to taco shells, tortillas or bread that I had... so I knew I had to make this work. Here's how it worked out.....

1 lb of ground turkey
1 taco seasoning packet
3/4 cup water
1 - 16 oz package of wagon wheel pasta (it's what I had on hand, but any short pasta would work)
traditional taco toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion, olives, cheese)
salad dressings

Cook the ground turkey until no longer pink. Drain if necessary. Add the taco seasoning packet and the water. Let come to a slight boil on medium high, then turn to simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain well when done. Now, what I did was mix the taco meat and pasta in a big bowl and put everything else in smaller containers to form a make shift taco bar. That way, everyone got to add the toppings they liked and the salad dressing that they wanted (which my only two selections were ranch and catalina-both were great by the way). This turned out GREAT! Will definitely have this on a regular basis.

Oh yeah, this is what it looked like mixed up in the bowl.

This recipe is part of , The Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Platter 8/26 recipe swap and Finer Things Friday.

Raspberry Fluff Dessert

2010-08-26T10:11:00.000-04:00

Now I'm not a person that thinks dessert has to come after every single meal, but last night I just couldn't help myself. I had been lucky enough to pick some fresh raspberries off of my mamas raspberry vines the other day. I didn't want the raspberries to go to waste, so I immediately froze them when I returned home.

When I was racking my brain trying to figure out what in the world I was gonna do with these raspberries, I came across a tub of Cool Whip in the freezer. I put it in the fridge to defrost overnight because I had a couple of different things in mind for it.

Last night when I was cooking supper I checked the tub of cool whip and realized it was thawed out. Instead of mixin' JUST raspberries in the cool whip, I looked to see what else I had in the cupboard. I found a box of raspberry gelatin (woo hoo... but go figure, right?).

This is what I finally came up with...... RASPBERRY FLUFF!

1 - 3 ounce box raspberry gelatin
3/4 cups boiling water
2 cups frozen raspberries
1/2 of a tub of Cool Whip

Mix the box of gelatin with the boiling water until completely dissolved (takes about two minutes). Immediately stir in the frozen berries, this will cool the gelatin mixture down to where it needs to be. In a seperate bowl, mix the Cool Whip with half of the gelatin and berry mixture (by the way, it makes the pretties pink color you've ever seen). Now you can assemble these in individual serving containers. Start by putting a 1/4 of the cool whip mixture in the bottom of four containers. Top it with 1/4 of the remaining gelatin/ berry mixture. Put it in the fridge for about 15 minutes (that's all it took for mine to set up nicely) and then eat and enjoy!

It's that simple!

BLT Salad

2010-08-25T11:19:00.003-04:00

Yesterday for lunch, I thought that a BLT sandwich would be perfect to get in my four food groups (you know, bread-mayo-pork-salad). I had thought about how good that sandwich would be all morning. I even put the bacon in the oven to cook around 11:30. It smelled SOOO good while it was cookin'.

When the bacon was done (which didn't take long, I like mine a little chewy) I took it out of the oven, washed my mater and lettuce, then went for the bread.... only to find that there were only two slices of bread left, but me and my daughter both had to eat. CUHRAP! What in the world was I gonna do?

Well, of course we all know that the kiddos eat first. So of course she got a sandwich and I was standing there tappin' my fingers on the counter wondering what the heck I was gonna do with bacon, lettuce and tomato.

After much contemplation I decided to do a BLT salad (take THAT you stinkin' ole bread!). I tore one romaine heart of lettuce, sliced 1/2 of a big juicy tomato and chopped 3 slices of bacon..... but I didn't exactly want to eat it with JUST mayonnaise (don't get me wrong, I've eaten JUST mayonnaise on a lot of stuff before, jus' didn't wanna do it in this case).

After searching my good ole standby website for fresh recipes, I found a ranch dressing that I adapted to my own liking (I took what the other reviewers had said and worked on it from there). This is the wonderful, yet simple salad that I had for lunch

I paired this beauty with some crackers that I had in the cupboard and this was one of the best lunches EVER.

**NOTE** I tried the ranch dressing that was left over this morning and the taste was unbelievably awesome. It was good yesterday when I first made it, but I would recommend making a day ahead of time to get the full flavor.

You can also find this recipe at The Grocery Cart Challenge as part of her recipe swap and at $5 Dinners healthy recipe swap and challenge. It's also part of What's On Your Plate at Good Cheap Eats and Fingerprints on the Fridge.

Tomato Sandwich

2010-08-24T09:44:00.000-04:00

This post isn't anything extremely creative..... it's basically me mourning the end of summer. The end of going to the lake, the end of wearing shorts and flip flops, the end of being outside until 9 o'clock at night with plenty of daylight, but most of all..... the end of fresh tomato sandwiches. *sigh*

The tomato sandwich is a southern staple that I have for lunch every week (every day if I could) during the summer months. There is nothing like a good, vine ripened tomato that you go out and pick off the vine that is so red and plump... that you JUST know when you cut into it, the mater juice is gonna run down your arm.

And when you get inside with it, you can't get the twisty tie off the loaf of white bread fast enough. When you finally do get the twisty tie off, you lather the bread slices (yes, both of them) with Duke's mayonnaise (which is also a southern kitchen staple in everyone's fridge down here) and lightly salt and pepper them. FINALLY..... you get to add the tomato slices for the completion of the summertime masterpiece and this is what it looks like

Now that I've taken a moment of silence, I will get back to the regularly scheduled programming......

Goodbye summer, you are gone but not forgotten ;(

The Crab Dip That Wasn't

2010-08-17T15:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I knew it was just a matter of time. I just didn't know it was going to be so soon. Since starting my blog, this recipe, concoction, gross nightmare--whatever you wanna call it-- is the first (of many I'm afraid) that totally bombed. *SIGH* and pausing for a moment of silence And I was SO craving some crab dip! Oh well, maybe next time, right?

I usually have very good luck with recipes that I find on allrecipes.com....... However this was NOT one of the good ones.

Now to be fair, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Instead of an 8 ounce block of regular cream cheese, I used what I had on hand (which was the 1/3 less fat neufchatel), and I really didn't think that was a big deal. It then called for 2 Tablespoons of sour cream. Again, I didn't have any, so I substituted mayo in it's place. And again, thinking it's not a big deal. Next, it said to use 2 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice (YAY! I had that), 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions (woot-woot; 2 and 0), small can of lump crab meat (Yowser! I'm on a roll here peeps), 1 1/2 teaspoons of Old Bay Seasoning (Cuhhhrap... and I was doing soooo good) and salt and pepper to your taste.

Since I was out of Old Bay Seasoning (which kind of implies I keep on hand, but I don't) and it called for salt and pepper to taste, I just used the Seasoning Salts that I had on hand. I think this was the beginning of the end.

From that addition of Seasoning Salts on, it didn't matter how much I stirred the mixture or how much more of ANYTHING else I put into it.... it just didn't taste good. I tried adding worcestershire sauce, more lemon juice and hot sauce. NOTHING WAS WORKING! *Whew* After all of that hard work, I had come to realize that it just was not going to be good -- no matter what I did. Here is a picture of what it looked like after all of that.

Oh well, you win some - you lose some. This has definitely taught me what NOT to do. hehehehe Better luck with that crab dip craving next time (a girl can dream, can't she?)

Sushi - Not Just Raw Fish

2010-08-16T09:33:00.000-04:00

When most of us think of sushi, we automatically think of raw fish. This isn't the case though. If you've been to a sushi restaurant you've probably seen the California Roll on the menu. It has absolutely NO raw fish. The crab that is in it is fully cooked (usually imitation crab, but either way, it's fully cooked).

When you realize how readily available the ingredients are to make sushi (and that all sushi isn't made with raw fish), you'll want to try this at home. This is what we recently made at my mamas house. If you look close, you can see that it has cucumber, carrot, cream cheese, avocado, scrambled eggs and ham.

We have committed to trying to make some sushi rolls that have southern pulled pork barbecue with an asian vinegar slaw. We're also gonna tackle some dessert sushi rolls.

You can buy the nori (which is the green on the outside of the rolls that you see, it is made of seawood) and the sushi rice (which is just a short grain rice) at regular grocery stores now. You don't have to go to a specialty market to find these components any more.

The most important way to learn how to "ROLL" the sushi is to find a good video on YouTube. There are some great ones to choose from that show you how much rice to use, how to apply it to the nori and how to get that tight roll so it doesn't fall apart once you slice it. Which actually brings up another VERY important thing..... make sure you have a very, very sharp knife to cut the sushi with. Think of it like this.. if your knife is not sharp enough, you'll end up with SQUISHY instead of SUSHI (and it's not pretty, trust me!).

OK, OK... I know this isn't really a recipe, but hopefully you will want to venture out and try something new at home. Remember, sushi can be made with whatever fillings you like. So don't limit yourself. If you think you're family would like it with no veggies, but with sloppy joe mix and cheese, then put that in it!

I guess I can sum this up by tellin' ya to practice, practice, practice! Try all kinds of different fillings. Once you have some signature rolls of your own, have a dinner party and show your friends and family what you've mastered. They're gonna be totally psyched about it.... I PROMISE! :)

Fried Cabbage

2010-08-13T10:30:00.001-04:00

I was all prepared to make barbecue pork chops and coleslaw with corn on the cob.... Then, of course, I find that I'm outta stuff. One of the key ingredients in making the coleslaw (or mine at least) is mayo. HOW do you run out of mayo you ask...... I really don't know, but somehow I managed to run out of it. So I had to go to plan B. This is how plan B unfolded.

I started by shredding my cabbage. It looks like a lot, but it's going to wilt when it's cooked.

I then added a couple of tablespoons of oil to the bottom of a wok. I like to use a wok and use the same stir fry method that is used when I make fried rice. I turned the heat to a medium high to heat the oil, then added the cabbage. This is what it looked like.

Once it is in the wok, I immediately started tossing it to completely cover the shredded cabbage with the oil. The even distribution of it will help to prevent any sticking (and hopefully keep it from burning too). The cooking process goes really quickly. I don't think it's worth walking away from it. If you're going to need to step away from it, simply turn the heat down to a medium low. I don't like to do this because I love the flavor of the browning and caramelization from the higher heat.

Now, the entire time it's cooking I just keep stirring and stirring it. Once it's completely cooked, this is what it looks like.

I didn't worry about going to all of the trouble to turning the grill on and barbecuing the pork chops or grilling the corn, but this is the lovely dinner that Plan B provided for us.

YAY Plan B... nobody had to starve!

Reconstituting Dried Onions

2010-08-09T12:27:00.000-04:00

Today I'm going to go over how EXTREMELY easy it is to reconstitute (or rehydrate) dried onions. I know, I know.... some people are going to say Why would you want to use dried onions, fresh onions are SOOOOOO much better? In most cases, I would agree with that. However, in a pinch, when there's no fresh onions in sight, dried onions can be a life saver. Also, let me just tell ya, my family loves, loves, loves the reconstituted onions on mini burgers (and when we do the MOCK double golden arches cheeseburgers--the rehyderated onions make them taste exactly the same), hot dogs, and in dips.

I simply start with 2 tablespoons of these dried chopped onions (which I'm almost positive I bought for less than a dollar at WalMart).

All you have to do is slightly heat up 3/4 cup water in the microwave and add the chopped dried onions to it. After it sits for about 20 - 30 minutes, drain the excess water off of the onions and this is what you have.....

Beautifully rehydrated onions! (Is it wrong to get so excited over onions?) Now I must warn you.. I've tried to rehydrate the minced dried onions and well, it didn't work so good. It was like a mushy, yucky onion-y soup, no matter how much you tried to keep draining them....

NOT appealing AT ALL.

Later on, I promise (scouts honor), I will share some recipes that these rehydrated dried onions work really well in. In the mean time, when you're grilling those hot dogs give these a try instead of chopped fresh onions (you're not gonna miss the crying that comes along with the fresh onions AT ALL!)

Hot Chocolate Popsicles

2010-08-07T12:18:00.000-04:00

If you saw a box of this

and a bag of these

what would you think of?

My husband walked in when I had these on the counter and wanted to know what in THE world was I doing drinking hot chocolate when it's 90 degrees outside?!?! I quickly told him to just hold on.... it's not what it looks like. I dug around in the cabinets and had found the popsicle molds that I had bought last year and knew that there was a great frozen treat in our future. . . . HOT CHOCOLATE POPSICLES!! What could be better than that? Well, at this moment, I don't know. But we're gonna give these a try and see if they're as good as they sound like they're gonna be.

I started by mixing the hot chocolate packets according to package directions (it was super simple.. the packets and water, that's it). Now I did warm the water so that the hot chocolate mixture would dissolve completely. Since I did this, I put the bowl of hot chocolate in the fridge to cool down slightly before I continued.

Next, I put the mixture in my counter top ice cream maker. I would say that this step isn't necessary. However, I wanted to "cheat" by giving my popsicle sticks a head start in helping them to stand up (there's nothing worse than a crooked popsicle stick when you're trying to enjoy one of your favorite treats).

While the hot chocolate was semi-freezing I cut up 4 or 5 marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl. I added just a half a teaspoon of butter, then nuked it for 20 seconds.

This made the perfect consistency marshmallow fluff.

After my hot chocolate and marshmallows were ready, I put them into the popsicle molds.

Once I put 'em in the freezer, we were just waiting for the magic to happen (which only took about 3 hours). **TIP** The marshmallow fluff needs to be put in the middle of hot chocolate layers. The popsicles that I had put the marshmallow fluff on the bottom didn't come out with it attached.

It's finally been 3 LONG hours and the popsicles are ready....... (drum roll, please)

TA DA! They looked and tasted GREAT!

National Watermelon Day

2010-08-03T11:54:00.001-04:00

Today, as with every August the third, is National Watermelon Day. In true form, we have had a watermelon in the fridge to be getting cold (cause they are just better when they're cold) and it's walkin' that fine line of too ripe and just right. Can a watermelon be too ripe? Well, that's another story at another time.

Now I know that when we cut into that big, juicy, red watermelon this afternoon that there is going to be half of it (or more) left that I'm gonna have to find something to do with. I was thinking since I have enough popsicles and ice cream (I got on a frozen treats kick the other day, Don't ASK! LOL) that I will just juice the rest of it to make watermelon drinks.

It's actually very simple to juice one. You don't have to have any kind of special equipment or anything. I just use my blender. I start by cutting up the remaining watermelon in chunks. The watermelon I happen to have is seedless, but if yours had seeds you could remove them which I highly recommend. Once you place the watermelon chunks in the blender, just puree it. It's really that simple. When it's all blended and broke down, it'll appear a little frothy. But talk about DELICIOUS! It's great to mix with Seltzer or Club Soda to give you a carbonated drink that's totally refreshing.

If you squeeze a tablespoon or two of lemon juice into a glass and then fill the remainder of the glass with the watermelon juice, you have a wonderfully sweetened lemonade.... with a twist. The possibilities are truly endless.

I hope this has inspired you to do something a little different with watermelon this year. I wonder how cooked watermelon would taste? hmmmmm, might have to try that too ;)

Pancake Syrup... in a pinch

2010-07-26T14:01:00.002-04:00

Now, on most days, I go with a healthy breakfast with fiber, protien and good nutrition. But of course, on the morning that my family is hollaring for pancakes..... I'm outta syrup! Grrrrrr....

There was no jams or jellies to heat up and melt down, no powdered sugar in the house, no fresh or frozen fruit.... NADA, NOTHING! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't persuade my family to go for anything else for breakfast.

I carefully proceeded to look through my cupboards for something, ANYTHING to use for a pancake topper. After much searching, I found a few hopeful ingredients. This is what I came up with....

3/4 cup of brown sugar (I used dark, but I'm sure light would work if that's what you have)
1 cup of water
a pinch of salt (for those that HAVE to measure, an eighth of a teaspoon will do)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

In a medium sized saucepan, add the brown sugar, water and salt. Put it on a stove eye and then turn it to low. You are just looking to melt the sugar, while stirring constantly. Once the sugar melts completely, continue to cook on low for an additional 25 - 30 minutes. You are going to notice it start to reduce and thicken. While it's simmering for this 25 -30 minutes, you're going to want to stir it every few minutes. Once it has finished simmering, remove the saucepan from the heat and add in the vanilla extract. I let it cool before serving with my pancakes (just to make sure the hot sugar didn't burn anybody... who wants to go to the hospital for a sugar burn anyways? NOT ME!) While it was cooling, I added a couple of pats of butter to eat. Can I just say OH MY GOSH!!! This was so, so, so good! My family is now practically begging me to make this instead of buying syrup at the grocery store.

Give it a try... you WON'T be sorry!