This dessert is so versatile. It’s like an artist’s blank canvas. It’s not too sweet so you can dress it up anyway you’d like. Here’s the basic recipe, which I love just as it is. Below that are lots of variations, but it’s really up to your imagination and palate.

This cake puffs up while cooking, but as it cools will fall back into place. For such an easy dessert, it really turns out impressive. Perfect for company!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups Milk of your choice
3 Eggs
4 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 lb. Phyllo Dough (note: this is only half the box)
1/3 cup Butter, melted

METHOD
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Butter a 9-inch cake pan.

In a medium bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.
Set aside.
Carefully unroll the phyllo dough.
Brush a little of the melted butter on the top layer phyllo dough.
Take the top 2 sheets of phyllo and fold them in an accordion fashion.
Place into the center of the cake pan and roll into a pinwheel shape.
Brush a little of the melted butter on top of the next phyllo layer.

Take the top 2 sheets of phyllo and fold them in a zig-zag fashion.
Place into the pan around the center phyllo.
Repeat this process until all the phyllo and butter have been used.
Next whisk the milk mixture and pour it evenly over the phyllo.
Place in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until light golden and puffed.
You may need to turn pan halfway through the cooking time to insure even cooking.
Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream, Vanilla Frozen Yogurt or Whipped Cream.
Enjoy!

VARIATIONS
Additions to the basic recipe:
~ Substitute honey instead of sugar.
~ Instead of cinnamon, try cardamom.
~ Any type of berry always works!
~ Rum Raisins (a fav of mine)
~ Bananas (delicious served with warm Caramel Sauce)
~ Nuts (delicious served with warm Chocolate Sauce)

Instead of Vanilla Extract you can substitute any other extract flavor; almond | coconut | orange | peppermint | etc. and then play on those flavors and what works as a good combo.
~ Almond Extract, Slivered Almonds, Caramel Topping served with Whipped Cream
~ Coconut Extract, Coconut and Chocolate Chips (or top with Chocolate Drizzle)
~ Orange Extract, Mandarin Oranges (drain well!)
~ Peppermint Extract, Chocolate Chips

This recipe is so quick and easy there’s no reason not to have fresh cobbler all the time, especially when the ingredients are things that we all usually have on hand. It seriously took me about 5 minutes to prepare and then it’s into the oven! We enjoyed ours with vanilla frozen yogurt, but ice cream or whipped cream would be wonderful, too!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups fresh Blackberries
½ cup Sugar

For  Batter:
2 Tbsp Sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 cup Milk of your choice
½ tsp Vanilla

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375.
Stir blackberries and sugar together.
Add 1 teaspoon of water.
Mix together and let stand while you prepare the batter.
In a large bowl stir together the sugar and butter until blended.
Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, milk and vanilla.
Spread into an 8-inch baking dish.
Top with the blackberry mixture.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until light golden in color.
Great served with vanilla ice cream, frozen yogurt, or whipped cream.
Enjoy!

First let me start by saying that I absolutely LOVE crabs. I was raised in Maryland and some of my best memories involve multiple family crab feasts in our back yard. Newspapers were spread across the table tops and in the center lay a giant pile of steamed crabs waiting to be cracked open. The usual accompaniments to this would be corn-on-the-cob and ice cold beer. Yum…

Ok, back to the Chowder at hand. This is a delicious recipe that combines the flavors of fresh corn and sweet crab. For this recipe I used Alaskan King Crab, which is my second favorite type of crab. First is the Maryland Blue Crab steamed with Old Bay Seasoning (of course).

This recipes makes for 2 large bowls.

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
½ Onion, chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1/3 Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped
1/3 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped fine
3 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth (Chicken broth would work, too)
2 ears of Corn
1 Potato, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 cup fresh Crab Meat
1 cup Milk of your choice
2 Tbsp Flour
Salt and Pepper, to taste

METHOD
Place butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
Add onion, celery, and bell peppers and sauté until tender.
Add garlic, parsley, vegetable broth, corn, potato and Old Bay Seasoning.
Cook over medium heat until potato is tender, about 15 minutes.
Add crab meat.
In a small bowl mix together the milk and flour, being sure to get rid of any clumps.
Stir the milk mixture into the chowder.
Allow chowder to come to a low boil, while stirring occasionally.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, as desired.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping.
Enjoy!

The folks at Zojirushi America Corporation were so kind to send me a Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer NS-TSC10. I absolutely love it!! I’ve already made white rice, brown rice and wild rice in the cooker and they all turned out perfectly.

It’s so easy because there are pre-set measurements on the inside of the Inner Cooking Pan. Just add the rice and then add water to the corresponding line. Aside from making perfect rice, it has so many cool features. I love the fact that I can set the timer and the rice will begin cooking when I want (or complete when I want), and it also has a stay warm feature! You’re also able to change the signal sounds from a “beep” to a “melody”. I think that’s pretty cool, cause now it plays Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Yes, it’s the ultimate in making rice, but you can do so much more with it! This week I’ll be making rice, while steaming our entire dinner in the upper steaming basket. Clean up is going to be super simple that night, with only the Inner Cooking Pan and Steaming Basket to wash. ☺

Also on the menu for this week, I will be baking a cake in the Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer. Yep, that’s right – a cake!! Stay tuned ‘cause I will be posting pics of the cake as well as the steamed dinner.

Meanwhile, I wanted to get this week started with a GIVEAWAY!

One lucky person will win a Zojirushi Micom Rice Cooker & Warmer of their own!

It’s super easy to enter. Here’s how:

1. Like Saucy Girls Kitchen on Facebook.
2. Like Zojirushi America Corporation on Facebook.
3. Share a link to this Giveaway on your Facebook page.
4. Once you’ve done the above 3 things, please leave me a comment here on this post saying you have done so, along with the link to your Facebook page where you have shared the Giveaway. (one entry per person)

The Giveaway will end on May 31st at midnight (Central Time). The lucky winner will be determined by www.Random.org and will be announced on June 1st.

Good luck!

For Product Details: http://www.zojirushi.com/products/nstsc

There are just four basic ingredients in pie crust; flour, fat, water, salt. Below is my pie crust recipe for sweet items, so I’ve added some sugar. If you want to make a savory crust, just omit the sugar. It’s so easy to change the taste and texture of pie crust. I love to create variations!

You can substitute the flour with nut flours such as almond or hazelnut. Or use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. Instead of just water how about some liqueur, cold brewed coffee, or fruit juices, such as lemon? Adding herbs or spices is fun. Some suggestions are fresh ground black pepper, cinnamon, granulated garlic, thyme, oregano, rosemary…

You can also put some cheese into the crust for a nice savory vegetable tart. A little parmesan, or swap out some of the butter for cream cheese.

This recipe makes enough for two single-crust pies, or one double-crust pie.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups all-purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
1 stick of cold unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening
1/4 cup Ice Water

METHOD
Combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor.
Add the butter and shortening.
Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water and pulse until dough is crumbly.
If more water is needed, add just a little at a time.
The secret to a flaky crust is to work the pastry as little as possible.
Divide the dough into two disks about 3/4 inch thick.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about half an hour.
Roll out the dough disk on a flour surface. I flour my rolling pin, as well.
Once you have rolled in into a 12-inch circle, roll it around the rolling pin for an easy transfer to the pie pan.
Unroll the dough into an ungreased 9-inch pie pan.
Fold the edges under.
You can either press the edges down with a fork to give it a nice pattern, or use your thumb and forefingers to create a crimped effect.
Trim excess.

NOTE: Dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the dough for about 2 months, just be sure to wrap it tightly!

Pastry Tricks & Techniques

• Whether you prefer flaky crusts or crispy ones, pie-making is all about technique.
• All ingredients should be very cold before mixing.
• When you “cut in” the fat, you want pea-sized pieces. You don’t want them all blended into the dough, as these flakes of butter will expand during the baking process which produced layers of flaky crust.
• Never overwork the dough or it will become tough. Mix it quickly and handle as little as possible.
• By chilling the dough in the refrigerator before rolling it out, the flour absorbs the liquid. It also allows the gluten to relax, making it more elastic and prevents stickiness when rolling out the dough.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, a pastry cloth.
• Roll the dough from the center outward using firm, even strokes. Turning the dough as you work, about an eighth of turn per roll, will help to keep it round.
• Use a dry pastry brush or a clean dishtowel to brush off excess flour from the dough.
• Once you have the pie dough ready in the pan, place it back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes before filling to prevent the dough from shrinking during baking.
• To create a seal to keep the crust crisp, you can brush the bottom and sides of the unbaked pie crust with lightly beaten egg white.
• You can par-bake the pie crust before adding filling to be sure the crust stays crisp. This is only an option for crumb-topped pies.
• Keep a careful watch on the pie crust edges. If they are getting too brown cover the edges with tin foil or a pie crust edge protector.

Fresh, warm, blueberry pie… do I need to say anything more? Probably not, but I do want to point out that I only made 2 individual pies. Why? Because if an entire pie was made, an entire pie would end up being eaten. Once again… do I need to say anything more?  

INGREDIENTS
1 Pie Crust (store bought is fine)

For Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup Dry Oats
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
3 to 4 Tbsp Butter
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

For Filling:
2 cups of fresh Blueberries
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp flour

METHOD
Prepare pie crust and place into 2 mini pie pans.
Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For Crumb Topping:
Combine the oats, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Mix until crumbly and you are able to form lumps when squeezed with hands.
Set aside.

For Filling:
In a small bowl mix together the blueberries, sugar and flour.
Pour evenly into the 2 pie pans.

Sprinkle crumb topping over the tops of both pies.
Place pies on a baking sheet (covered with foil makes easy clean-up if blueberries bubble over).
Bake for about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

I love mushrooms, especially stuffed mushrooms! The grocery store usually has beautiful large Portabella mushrooms that are sold 2 in a package. These are perfect as the main attraction on the plate and are a wonderful substitution for meat. (I’m in my 3rd month of no meat).

I actually created this recipe out of laziness. It was getting close to dinner time and I didn’t feel like cutting, chopping, and making some type of stuffing from scratch. I searched around in the fridge and freezer for some inspiration and that’s when I remembered that I had bought a package of Boca Bruschetta Veggie Patties. I had never tried them before but upon inspection they were the same exact size as my Portabella mushrooms. That’s when a little light went off in my head and I decided to stuff the mushroom caps the Boca Bruschetta Patties.

INGREDIENTS
a little Olive Oil
2 large Portabella Mushrooms
2 Boca Bruscheta Veggie Patties
a little Olive Oil
2 large Portabella Mushrooms
2 Boca Bruschetta Veggie Patties
1 cup Marinara Sauce
8 oz. fresh Mozzarella, sliced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray or coat a small baking dish with olive oil.
Clean your Portabella Mushrooms (I just rub mine clean with a damp paper towel).
Remove the gills from the mushroom cap.
Place mushrooms in baking dish and sprinkle on a little salt and pepper
Cover with tin foil and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until tender.
While the mushrooms are cooking you can fry the veggie patties on medium heat according to package directions.
Set aside.
When the mushrooms are done, remove them from oven and fill each cap with marinara sauce.
Place a veggie patty on each of the mushroom caps.
Top the veggie patty with a generous amount of fresh mozzarella.
Put it back into the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Serve right away.
Perfect served with a side of pasta.
Enjoy!