Recipes and Cooking Ideas for Homemakers and Amateur Cooks
 

4th of July Fun with Brownies

It’s July. And it’s blitzin’ hot! Right now, mid-evening, the thermometer says 89 degrees. Perfect… it’s July.

The girls and I had some red, white, and blue fun today. This is when we were ready to start. Excitement was high. I had a few ideas, but I didn’t know what the end result would be… there was gonna be alot of experimenting going on…

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And here was the end result:

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It’s basically 4 different things… parfaits, berry shish-kabob decorations, fireworks, and randomly decorated brownies.

I made a big pan of brownies and then cut them out with star cookie cutters. I thought that would be faster because my star baking pan has only 6 wells and I’d have had to bake 3 or 4 batches. But, having it to do over, I’d use the star pan. You know how brownies kind of stick to the knife when you cut (unless you use a plastic knife)? Well, they stick to cookie cutters too. It wasn’t too bad, though, and worked fine, but next time, I’ll use my star pan.

Or, instead of brownies, it could be done just as easily on sugar cookies, cupcakes, or mini cupcakes.

The parfaits…
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The parfaits tasted awesome and were easy and could be made in a large pedestal bowl instead of individual parfaits. This one is a layer of brownies, then cream cheese filling, then raspberries, filling, blueberries, filling, brownies, and then you can either put Cool Whip or filling on top and garnish with a bit of fruit and sprinkles. You could make a pan of brownies and cut them up into little squares to make this, or you could do what I did and use the brownie scraps left over from cutting out star brownies. ???? The filling is: 8 oz cream cheese mixed with 1/4 cup powdered sugar, then that gets mixed with 8 oz Cool Whip.

The fruit shish-kabob decorations…
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These shish-kabob things had serious issues… they kept falling over. We had to keep standing them up before each picture. We originally thought we’d try to make them look like fireworks, but we kept lowering our standards til our only requirement for them was to be red, white, and blue. We should’ve just skipped the sticks and made a mound of fruit on top. Oh well, the girls had fun stabbing the stuff on… and obsessing about making sure to get them in the right order of red-white-blue… but one time, one of them asked, “Mom, would blue-white-red be ok, as long as white is in the middle?” See? Obsessing. And you know what TOTALLY makes my day after all that fuss? I didn’t notice it before, but just now I see that on the one tall one, it’s red-white-blue-white-red-blue. ????

The fireworks…
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Oh, what fun! Didn’t turn out quite like I had pictured, but that may be because the girls did most of it (also not what I had pictured) and I mostly just did damage control. We colored white chocolate blue and red and then piped the 3 colors on Saran wrap over a cutting board, then sprinkled on some colored sugar and star-shaped sprinkles, and put them in the fridge to harden.
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After 15 minutes or so, they were hardened and ready to assemble, which included jamming the sticks into the frosting on the brownies. Does ‘jamming’ sound a bit harsh for delicate little chocolate sticks? Yep. Harsh, but accurate. ???? I really should’ve taken a video clip of that process… it was hilarious to watch and listen. ????
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So, did it end up looking like fireworks? I don’t know, but we at least have to give them credit for creating something that looks like some type of explosion…
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The randomly decorated brownies…
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This was fun. I got an inspiration for this that I’ll do more in the future for any occassion. Make a page on the computer of writing or shapes or outlines or whatever. Then, print it out and put it on a cutting board under a piece of Saran wrap. Then, pipe over it with chocolate. It’ll make writing more even and shapes more accurate. Here is the Before/After…
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Then, put it in the fridge to harden. Peel off and garnish. The possibilities are endless with this print-out-and-pipe-chocolate thing! One tip is to make sure it’s pretty thick. Another tip is don’t hold it very long before putting it on because your warm fingers will start to soften it and it’ll weaken and break.

Here are a couple of close-ups. Next time, I’d make an extra little thing sticking down to go into the frosting because, like July 4 down there, the Y looks like a V and the 4 looks like a triangle.

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And, last but not least, United States rice crispy bars. After cutting it out, I put all the scraps together and re-flattened it out and cut out stars, then, sprinkled colored sugar on top. The flag is M&Ms… I had the kids separate out all the blue and red ones from a package.
4th-of-july-usa-flag-rice-crispy.jpgI used to have a plastic United States shaped mold. I had put it away for the year and when I went to get it out this year, something heavy was laying on it (a 15-lb dumbell, to be exact… yeah, don’t ask, I have questions myself!) and it was hopelessly smashed. So, I just cut this freehand. The top does look a little odd from Michigan to Maine, but hey, you can at least tell what shape it’s supposed to be, right?

Happy 4th of July from all of us! (even from Shannon, who was at work when we self-timered this picture)

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Excuse us for eating in front of you, but we couldn’t help it when we saw that parfait sitting there. We’re going to kick back and relax this weekend, maybe grill a burger or two and watch some fireworks. See ya next week!

Comments

5 Responses to “4th of July Fun with Brownies”

  1. Sandra on July 1st, 2011 10:30 pm

    LOve it!!..me and jazz wanted to get all festive for the wkd.Love ur ideas!! maybe we can make a few:)

  2. Rosalyn on July 1st, 2011 11:21 pm

    Those are too cute! and way too much fun! ???? I know my girls would be begging to make some, too, if they’d get a glimpse… ???? Happy 4th! :)

  3. Jo on July 2nd, 2011 10:40 am

    This was so much fun to read! I hope I find an excuse to try something this weekend. Happy 4th!

  4. Renita on July 2nd, 2011 12:43 pm

    Wow. I love the computer print out idea beings I don’t do good free hand! This puts me in the mood to celebrate. :) Even my boys will wanna do some things in the kitchen after seeing this. Thx

  5. Shannon on July 3rd, 2011 9:11 pm

    Aww that looks like fun! When I saw the picture it made me realize how much I miss your skinny self. ???? Let’s get together soon.

Little Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheescakes

Posted on May 10, 2011
Filed Under Desserts

They’re rich. They’re cute. They’re LOADED with chocolate. And mildly loaded with peanut butter. And sorta loaded with cream cheese. They’re easy. They’re irresistable. They’re fun to make and fun to eat. They’re sweet. They’re yummy. They’re a guilt-free size… so, go ahead, eat seven. ????

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One thing I like about this is that it’s a small recipe. Say you have a family of 2 adults and 3 children, one of which is less than a year old, and the one adult isn’t addicted to all things chocolate/peanut butter/cream cheese, and the other adult isn’t supposed to be eating more than one serving of such things. Well, this recipe doesn’t make a whole big cheesecake. It makes 24 mini cheesecakes, plus a little more.

I originally saw these on Annie’s Eats  and I’ll admit that what grabbed me about them was exactly the part that ended up flopping on mine! It was the beautifully done ganache on top. Well, my ganache flopped (but I’m not giving up, I do want to make it successfully sometime), so mine have more like a puddle of chocolate instead of a twisty gourmet mound of chocolate. But I just switched my focus from beauty to taste and it all turned out great then! I wanted a bit more chocolate in them, so I added some chocolate chips to the batter (smart move! ???? ). To make up for the added chocolate, I backed up the ingredient quantities for the batter, which worked out well because then I didn’t have to break open a second package of cream cheese. So, for the original recipe and to see the gorgeous ganache, go to Annie’s site (Thanks, Annie! You are very talented and you have a lot of awesome-lookin desserts on your website!).

Little Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecakes

I’ll post the recipe how I made them with my beloved extra chocolate. ????

Crust:
1 cup Oreo crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray a 24-well mini muffin pan with cooking spray.  Annie says that using a silicone pan works best for removing the baked cheesecakes. I don’t have one, so I greased my pan well. It worked ok, but some of them got a bit messed up. Annie also said using mini cupcake liners would be another option. Combine the Oreo crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a bowl. I know, the butter isn’t melted on this pic. I put the whole works in the microwave for a bit to melt the butter.
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Mix with a fork until evenly blended.  Divide the crust mixture between the wells of the prepared pan, about 2-3 teaspoons in each.  Press the crumb mixture into a flat layer on the bottom of the well. I used a glass toothpick holder to press it down. Bake for 10 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack.

Cheesecake:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. sour cream
½ cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar, scant
1 large egg
Dash vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
8 oz. chocolate chips

Reduce the oven temp to 300.  Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and peanut butter. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and well blended.  Add in the sugar and mix about 1 minute more, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Blend in the egg, vanilla, and salt.  Continue to beat until the mixture is completely smooth.  Divide the mixture evenly over the cookie crumb crusts and smooth the tops slightly. Kinda looks like I didn’t smooth the tops.
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Bake for 22 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
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Once completely cool, transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill thoroughly, at least 3 hours. Once the cheesecakes are chilled, carefully remove them from the pan.
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Ganache:
4 oz. chocolate
½ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. butter, softened

Place the chocolate in a bowl.  In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat.  Once simmering, remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate.  Let stand 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in small circular motions until a smooth ganache has formed.  Whisk in the butter until completely incorporated.  Let the mixture stand at room temperature until slightly thickened for piping onto the cheesecakes. In my case, it never got thick enough at room temperature for piping, maybe because I didn’t use bittersweet chocolate, or maybe because I didn’t have unsalted butter. I thought maybe I should’ve whipped the cream and then added melted chocolate. :) After I spooned it onto the cheesecakes and chilled them, it got stiffer, so having it to do over, I would’ve chilled the ganache, then piped it on. But I wasn’t about to scrape it all off just to do that. :)

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These work great frozen, too, like regular cheezecakes do. I froze a couple of them just to try it. They were good right out of the freezer, including the rock-hard chocolate chips ???? , but the ganache wasn’t hard. And after they thawed, they were just as creamy as before they were frozen. I don’t know how long cheesecakes can be frozen for… and I probably never will, what with them always calling loudly from the freezer and all, if I would actually have some on hand in there!

There was a bit of leftover cheesecake batter. My chocolate addition vs. scaling down the recipe wasn’t equal amounts. I didn’t want to just pile it on the mini cups because I wasn’t sure what would happen… I didn’t want an overflowing cheesecake mess in my oven! So, I got Lexi’s mini springform pan out. This pan, by the way, is about the size of my palm, just to give you an idea on the size. I didn’t feel like crushing more Oreos, so I put whole Oreos in the bottom of it, cutting 2 of them down to fit in with the 2 whole ones. Whole Oreos are a bit too big to fit in a mini muffin cup, but that would sure be handy if they would! Maybe it would work to cut them smaller with a sharp round cookie cutter.???

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And here is the mini springform pan cheesecake. I just threw some of the little cheesecakes on the little dessert plate with it because they were extras just sitting around. Lexi came over to see what I was doing and exclaimed, “Mom! That is SO cute! You made a bear paw!”

So, there you go, bear paw cheesecake dessert. :)

Comments

8 Responses to “Little Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheescakes”

  1. Ali on May 10th, 2011 2:12 pm

    Yum, peanut butter and chocolate, I am there. :)

  2. Rosalyn on May 10th, 2011 3:20 pm

    OH my. Chocolate & peanut butter-my absolute faves! :) I’ve seen different recipes for mini cheesecakes, but they all called for mini springform pans, which I don’t have.
    But now….I see I do have an option. ????

  3. Shannon on May 10th, 2011 4:25 pm

    Oh my. I am so on my way to your house to eat these up!! Sadly I don’t have a more then a few of these ingredients on hand or I would be making these!!

  4. Freida on May 10th, 2011 8:00 pm

    These look awesome! I think its pretty safe to say that I’ll be making these soon. Anything chocolate and peanut butter-ish is yummy.

  5. amber on May 12th, 2011 8:54 pm

    aaaaahhh!!! you can’t hear that but i’m screaming!!! in my head anyways. ???? this look amazing~ i’m so going to have to try them. LOVE chocolate and peanut butter together.

    i like how everything you share here is NORMAL stuff.. not some over the top weird dishes that might look pretty but tastes gross. ????

  6. Mary on May 14th, 2011 8:44 pm

    This recipe looks beyond amazing! Oreos, pb, cream cheese – what is not to like?

  7. Katie Mast on May 17th, 2011 9:11 pm

    i visit her site everyday, i love it. But for some reason i like the look of your cups better. But i do like her swirled ganache on top. But i am sure yours taste just great. thanks for sharing

  8. Liz on August 6th, 2011 10:28 pm

    Made these for a girls slumber party. They are so good! They didn’t look as nice as yours but still really good. I had a hard time with the Oreo part sticking in the pan and just the cream cheese layer coming out???

Turtle Sundae Dessert

Posted on October 29, 2010
Filed Under Desserts

Desserts should be:
… attractive
… easy to make
… made without dirtying alot of dishes/utensils/appliances
… able to tell what kind they are by looking at them
… quick to make
… yuuuuuuuuummy

Let’s see how this Turtle Sundae Dessert measures up. (you know where this is going, don’t you?) ????

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Attractive. I’d say it passes, especially with those maraschino cherries on dollops of whipped topping. And drizzled caramel and chocolate are always a nice touch too. ????

Easy to make. Yep. No recipe needed. And there’s no mixing, baking, cooling, flipping upside down, or rolling out. Just scoop ice cream into a cake pan, drizzle with caramel and chocolate ice cream toppings, sprinkle with pecans, dollop Cool Whip here and there, and put a cherry on top of each Cool Whip. Skill level for this would be about 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is what your 4-yr-old could do and 10 is like Grandma baking brown sugar pies.

Made without dirtying alot of dishes. I used 1 ice cream scoop, a couple of small spoons, and 1 cake pan. Not bad.

Able to tell what kind it is by looking at it. Definitely a 100% score on this one. Not only can you tell what kind it is, you can actually SEE all the ingredients! If you wonder why it’s good to know what kind a dessert is before digging in because, you know, “all desserts are good”, ask my husband about that one. *ahem* one word: rhubarb. :)

Quick to make. I made this in 15 minutes flat. Actually, I didn’t time it, but it really doesn’t take long to scoop, drizzle, sprinkle, and dollop because nothing is meticulous here, although you could get fancy with the Cool Whip and pipe it on with a flower tip.

Yuuuuuuuummy. This is, of course, a matter of opinion, but it passes with flying colors in my book. You know what, though, I think next time, I’ll bake brownies in the pan and THEN put this turtle combo on top. Extra yummy and that would also make it more of a complete dessert, too.

One more good point and then one bad point about this:

Good point: This is a great way to make turtle sundaes for a crowd, like if you don’t have enough fancy little pedestal dessert cups for everyone. It would be perfect to whip out of the freezer while you’re clearing away the main course. Another reason it would be great for a crowd is because if it’s individual servings, ‘Sally’ might force the last of hers down while ‘Joe’ is wishing for another one. This way, they can take however much they want.

Bad point: While this works great for a crowd at your house, it doesn’t works for all crowds. I took this exact dessert pictured here to a carry-in/potluck/whatever you call it. Well, at that type of meal, the people in charge of food set ALL the food out and people file through the line filling their plates. So, it was sitting out there for quite awhile and pure ice cream with nothing else mixed in does not take long at all to melt! Let’s just say Lesson learned. When I went thro the line, about 3/4ths of the people had already gone through and there was a bottom-cover of melted ice cream and about 5 or 6 very very soft scoops swimming in it. From now on, I’ll just make this for occasions when the dessert can be gotten out when it’s time for dessert to be served. :)

And yeah, I want to try it with the brownies underneath too.

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Comments

4 Responses to “Turtle Sundae Dessert”

  1. Arla on October 29th, 2010 5:29 pm

    Hi Kay, It passes all the tests, I’d say. I think the individual sundae goblets is the best. Gotta try that one of these days.

  2. Liz on November 4th, 2010 10:06 pm

    Looks good. Except for the cherries. I’ll pass on those.

  3. Katrina on November 7th, 2010 2:28 pm

    I love this post. Great idea and it does look awesome. I really like the idea of putting it all on top of brownies!

  4. Cheryl on December 2nd, 2010 7:40 pm

    You had me when I could see the cherry on top:)

Supper by a 6-yr-old — Cooks in Training #9

Posted on September 22, 2009
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey, Cooks in Training, Desserts, Side dishes

Lexi made supper tonight.

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Her menu was:
Crunchy Chicken Tenders
Easy Mac n Cheese
Trees with Cheese
Puddin’ Cones

There were only 4 ingredient spills. The only help Lexi accepted was finding some of the right ingredients and measuring cups/spoons and reading the recipe (“because it’s faster if you do it and I don’t know all the words”) and a couple times, handling hot stuff. I did tell her when to do stuff so it would all get done at the same time. I also gave her lots of tips and how-to’s, but she did the actual work. She did very well, actually better than I expected.

Now and then, Tiffany (3) crossed her arms, put on a scowl, and whined, “Mom, she won’t let me dump that in. I don’t have ANYTHING to do!”

I was planning to blog as it was going on, but I was kinda busy with damage control. :)

She loved doing this meal! I believe we have a cook in the making. ????

Crunchy Chicken Tenders … recipe from Betty Crocker Kids Cook cookbook

3/4 cup cornflakes cereal
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup buttermilk or milk
1 pound uncooked chicken breast tenders, not breaded

Heat the oven to 400. Line a 9×13 pan with foil.
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Spray the foil with cooking spray.
Put the cereal, flour, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag. Seal bag closed. Use a rolling pin to crush the cornflakes.
Pour the milk into a bowl. Dip chicken in milk.
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Drop milk-coated chicken, a few pieces at a time, into cereal mixture. Seal bag closed. Shake bag to coat chicken with cereal mixture. Put the coated chicken in the pan.
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Spray chicken with cooking spray. Throw away any leftover cereal in the bag. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until coating is crisp and chicken is no longer pink in center. Makes 4 servings.

Dishing it up…
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lexi9.jpg Good stuff! We ate them with bbq sauce. I realize I didn’t get a picture of the rolling pin part… they had great fun with that!

Easy Mac and Cheese …recipe from Betty Crocker Kids Cook cookbook

Water
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni or small pasta shells
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or American cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground mustard (I had to talk her into putting mustard in!)
1/4 tsp. pepper

Fill a 3-qt saucepan about half full with water. Bring to a boil. Add pasta to water.
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Heat to boiling again. Boil uncovered for 8-10 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Drain pasta (put a colander in the sink and pour the pasta into it). Put drained pasta back into saucepan. Add butter, milk, cheese, salt, mustard, and pepper to pasta.
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Stir with spoon until mixed. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.
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Dishing up. This was a bit wild! Whoosh! and it was all in the serving bowl in about 2 seconds. Pretty amazing that some didn’t land on the floor!
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Trees with Trees … recipe from Betty Crocker Kids Cook cookbook

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli (I just had her use a bag of frozen broccoli florets.)
3 Tbsp. water
6 oz process American cheese loaf
1/3 cup milk
1/4 onion salt
1 drop red pepper sauce, if you like (she didn’t like ???? )

Microwave the broccoli and water till hot and crisp-tender. Melt the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan or microwave. Stir with a wooden spoon until the cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Drain broccoli and put it into a serving bowl. Pour hot cheese over broccoli. Makes 6 servings. I didn’t notice it at the time, but in all the photographing, I missed the broccoli, all except the dishing it up!
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Puddin’ Cones … recipe from the 2003 Quick Cooking annual cookbook

This is what sparked the whole idea of making supper. Her cousin Krista made these for dessert when she made supper one time and Lexi saw a picture and wanted to make them too. Krista, you’re her hero!

1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
3 envelopes whipped topping mix (when Lexi read this, she said “Envelopes?! What do envelopes have to do with cooking?”)
8 cake ice cream cones (about 3 inches) She used only 6.
Chopped nuts, jimmies and miniature colored baking chips or topping of your choice

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In a mixing bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on low speed for 2 minutes.
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Blend in whipped topping mix; cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Spoon 1/4 cup into each cone; sprinkle with toppings. Yield: 8 servings. I just told her to fill the cones, not to measure. When the pudding mixture was gone, there were only 6 cones used, which I think is better because they look more like ice cream cones if they’re heaped a little.
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puddin-cones2.jpg These were good, altho’ not as good as real ice cream. She made them right before she dished up the food and till we got done eating and were ready for dessert, the cones were starting to get a little soft already. So, they should not be made too much in advance!

Comments

9 Responses to “Supper by a 6-yr-old — Cooks in Training #9”

  1. Katrina on September 22nd, 2009 7:15 pm

    It all looks de-lish to me! Wow, great job daughter(s) and Mom!

  2. Aug on September 24th, 2009 10:45 am

    That is great that she is learning to cook and loving it! I think that letting them help with they are young goes a long ways towards them liking it later! And she has a great teacher to learn from, so that always helps!

  3. Ruth on September 24th, 2009 8:37 pm

    I’m impressed! She didn’t just open a box and stick it in the oven, but she made it from scratch. She did a great job. You deserve credit, too, because you let her do it even though you could have done it a lot faster and easier.

  4. Rhonda H. on October 2nd, 2009 8:50 am

    I love to see kids learning to cook – particularly since I’ve done a lousy job at teaching my own. Granted, I have 3 boys with pretty much zero interest in cooking, but it’s always good for them to know how to do the basics.
    Also, I made two pans of your pumpkin cream cheese squares this week and had requests for the recipes from two different people, so I sent them links to your site. So yummy!

  5. Marie on October 3rd, 2009 3:12 pm

    She did as good of a job as anyone! I’m very impressed – looks delicious!

  6. Stephaine @ Geezees on October 8th, 2009 12:51 pm

    Wow, i am so impressed…it’s so good to see kids cooking! And everything looked so yummy!

  7. Tilt on October 13th, 2009 3:31 am

    This dinner looks amazing!
    I especially love the ice creams!

    Congratulation to the little chef!

  8. Cheryl on November 7th, 2009 10:08 am

    I love that your kids help out! Do they enjoy doing so? Did you ask if they wanted to be involved or did they offer? The pics are making me hungry!! Tell them great job:)

  9. Linda on November 7th, 2009 10:02 pm

    Just curious if you have come across this site http://partycupcakeideas.com. I think your girls would have fun. :)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Squares

Posted on April 15, 2009
Filed Under Cookies and bars, Desserts

Pumpkin. Cream cheese. Chocolate. They make a fine trio.

This recipe comes from the Simply Wonderful cookbook compiled by the Honeybrook Community Church. I’ve only had this cookbook for several months and it’s already a favorite! It’s got lots of cheesecake recipes in it, a grilling section, and the salad department is outstanding! If I were to describe this cookbook in one phrase, it would be “good ol’ Mennonite cooking with a bit of flair”. My cookbook is dog-eared on pages with recipes I’ve gotta try.

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Squares

Printable recipe

1 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. oil
1 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger

1/2 c. chocolate chips

4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg

Mix together pumpkin, sugar, egg, and oil. Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Stir into pumpkin mixture. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan.
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Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and egg. Drizzle mixture over batter.
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Cut thro’ batter with knife for marbled effect. I know, the whole marbling thing didn’t get as pretty and marbled as I thought it should, either… too much white, not enough pumpkin showing on top.
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Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Shannon (H.), don’t even THINK of leaving out the choc chips! ????
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Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.
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Mmmmmm! Make these at your own risk… they’re dangerous to the waistline. And they loudly call your name every time you wander thro’ the kitchen, even if you’ve hidden them out of sight.

Comments

11 Responses to “Pumpkin Cream Cheese Squares”

  1. Shannon on April 15th, 2009 2:12 pm

    Um, you know me to well. :) I was reading along thinking, “I bet it would be really good without choc chips” and I’m like “WHAT?” she’s reading my mind!!! ????

  2. Monica on April 15th, 2009 6:23 pm

    Mmmm!! They sound good!! But, I would probably leave out the choc chips, too, or maybe use the mini chips and only use half of the amount!! :) I’m not a big choc chip fan, either! The pumpkin and cream cheese parts sounds delicious.

  3. Katie Mast on April 15th, 2009 7:59 pm

    I agree that cookbook is one of the best. I have it only 1/2 a year and just love it. I got it for my mom and sister for christmas.

  4. Katrina on April 15th, 2009 8:44 pm

    Ooh, that does sound like a great trio of flavors!

  5. Debbie on April 16th, 2009 11:31 am

    Looks absolutely delicious. Just found your site and love it!!

  6. Renita on April 16th, 2009 12:07 pm

    One of the many recipes in my favorite cook book I got to try. And right now it looks real good..can you tell I’m hungry? But oh the addition to the wistline gets me to hold off at least for another day. I KNOW how I don’t have self control with something like that around.

  7. Rhonda H. on April 20th, 2009 2:12 pm

    Oh. My. I just ruined my dinner by eating two pieces of this dessert–warm, right out of the oven. Delicious! It was almost a baking disaster, as I was distracted and poured a whole cup of oil in before I realized what I was doing, but I dumped out all but 1/3 c. – and then I didn’t have quite enough baking powder – but it still turned out great. This is a keeper. Thanks!

  8. liz on April 21st, 2009 1:19 pm

    Rave reviews from the Northwoods Mennonite Church. Well, ok, they didn’t tell me that, but I took a 15 x 11 pan of them to carry in and I didn’t bring any home. Good bars and definitely put the chocolate chips in! They wouldn’t be near as good without it.

  9. Andrea on April 24th, 2009 8:11 am

    This is one of our favorites!

  10. Danielle on October 24th, 2009 8:44 am

    omg i love punkin crean chease squares they are my
    favirote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  11. Danielle on November 25th, 2009 4:15 pm

    oh my go punkin chease squares are so good every one in my family loves them including my dad,an he doesent even like cream chease.

Out of My Comfort Zone Cooking #3 and there were no explosions

The reason the recipe this week is out of my comfort zone in NOT because of using an ingredient I don’t like or because it seems like a weird ingredient combo. It is because right in the recipe directions there is the phrase “or the cans will explode”.

We’re talking canned cans, which are much thicker than pop cans. I have heard (but never seen) a can of Diet Coke explode. And I have cleaned up several DC can explosions in the freezer (you know, cooling it down quickly then forgetting about it) and in the car (winter time in WI). If a thin pop can can create that much of a bang and a mess, I don’t even want to be around a regular can exploding. And I just had to think of the poor people who discovered that they do explode if you let the water boil dry. Also, I just cannot imagine ‘covered with water’ being such a magical thing to keep a can from exploding. So, because of these reasons is why I’ve never made this, even though I always thought it sounded so good!

But, here we are, kitchen still intact, no wild stories to tell, and a delicious dessert eaten!

Eagle Brand Milk and Pineapple Rings

Remove labels from Eagle Brank milk cans.
dessert1.jpg

Set 4 cans in 4 qt stainless steel kettle. I did only 2 cans and used a smaller kettle because I don’t have a bigger kettle, but that’s another story… what happened to my big kettle. Fill with cold water. Turn on medium high heat until it cooks, then turn down to medium.
dessert2.jpg

Keep adding warm water. Do not let the water evaporate or the cans will explode. Boil for 3 hours. Cool. Drain cooled pineapple rings and arrange on plate. (One can of Eagle Brand milk should be just right for 1 can of pineapple rings.)
dessert4.jpg

Open both ends of the milk cans. Remove one end and press the other end so that about 1/4″ sticks out of the end. Slice along the can with a sharp wet knife, slide onto pineapple ring.
dessert8.jpg

dessert7.jpg

Top with Cool Whip and a cherry.
dessert6.jpg

Man, this stuff is good! That milk tastes like caramel. And caramel goes great with pineapple! I’m not scared anymore to boil cans of milk and I’ll make this again sometime! I’m also going to try that ‘caramel’ in a recipe that calls for caramel and see how it tastes. That was amazing to me how a can of white liquid could turn into a can of brown solid (soft solid).

Just thought of something I should mention yet so you don’t learn the hard way like I did. If you have a Pampered Chef can opener, it’ll go on the can like this:
dessert3.jpg

That works great for the one end, but not for the other end (the end that you push on) because this can opener takes the lid off, including the rim. And the rim does not fit thro’ the can when you go to push on it!

So, use a can opener that goes on the side of the can, not the top of the can. Thankfully, I kept my old Walmart can opener when I got my Pampered Chef one a few years ago!

Comments

23 Responses to “Out of My Comfort Zone Cooking #3 and there were no explosions”

  1. Amber on May 17th, 2008 12:34 pm

    My husband loves these! I personally can’t stand them…for some reason the caramel doesn’t go with the pineapple. (even though i love them both) :) Very brave of you, though!

  2. Andrea on May 17th, 2008 12:54 pm

    mmmmm! we love these things! josh’s mom often makes these and they are so tasty! your “caramel” looks so much better than mine did!

  3. rosa on May 17th, 2008 2:49 pm

    wow, this recipe brings back lots of memories. I was in Haiti for a year of VS and we made these down there alot. I bout forgot about them and will be craving them till I find time to make em again. Thanks!!

  4. Michelle on May 17th, 2008 3:03 pm

    Hmm.. I haven’t made these in quite a while. I need to again. I’m always a bit worried too when I cook the Eagle brand milk.

  5. Freida on May 17th, 2008 3:05 pm

    Yummmm!!! Now I might be brave enough to try it.

  6. Mary Faith on May 17th, 2008 4:59 pm

    Yum, yum! Does that make me hungry, or what? I love those things! And yes, those cans DO explode if you let the water boil away and it is NOT a funny explosion! Talk about carmel ALL OVER the stove, wall, and ceiling, and floor. It was a miracle no one was right there because they WOULD have gotten hurt. The explosion itself is about enough to scare several years off your life. lol But we love them too much to get freaked out about making them again. :)

  7. Jenn on May 17th, 2008 5:19 pm

    I had to comment when I saw this….I grew up with these – we called them “Wheels” and they were a tradition for us every Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Now my husband has learned to love them too and we don’t just save them for the holidays! I like to keep a couple of cooked eagle brand cans in the frij (they keep for quite a while) and then you have a quick, fancy looking dessert. Also, always use Eagle Brand milk – store brand sweetened condensed milk doesn’t cook up as nice. Mmmmm, now I’m hungry for wheels!

  8. Tamara Merritt on May 17th, 2008 5:25 pm

    I had heard of doing lots of recipes with cooked sweetened condensed milk, but never with pineapple rings. That sounds like a weird combo to me…not saying I would not like it, it just sounds weird.

    Thanks to someone up there about the tip for only using Eagle Brand.

  9. Twila on May 17th, 2008 8:57 pm

    Hmmm…I’ll bet the Jenn that commented above is my sis. I was also going to say that I grew up with these “Wheels”, and have made them often. I like to use a deep pot so you can nearly fill it with water…then you don’t need to be adding water all the time. No fear as long as you keep that pot full! As a side note, when we were in Russia we found that you can buy the already-cooked sweetened condensed milk right off the shelf….they eat it on blini (pancakes) and maybe other things. I LOVE it!

  10. Rene on May 17th, 2008 9:18 pm

    I’ve cooked the condensed milk before but just long enough to make a caramel sauce for ice cream. I’ll have to try the longer cooking to get the more solid version. These look great!!

  11. Mary Faith on May 17th, 2008 9:41 pm

    Hmmm. The tip on using Eagle Brand is interesting. I’ve always used the stuff from Aldi. I don’t THINK that’s Eagle Brand, but I haven’t used it for awhile so I could be wrong. Anyway, I’ll have to try the Eagle Brand sometime and see if I can tell a difference.

  12. Karen on May 18th, 2008 6:59 am

    These are Rondyn’s favorite and I think off brands get grainy….?

  13. Annette33 on May 18th, 2008 9:12 am

    I’ve only eaten this carmel with bizcochos, or just by the spoonful in Colombia, South America. This is a popular sweet there, but made the old fashion way, in a large pot. I found out about the canned way when older dd had to make a dish common to Colombia. The troop loved it! I will have to make it with pineapple next time. Every six months or so, I boil a can for my Colombian-born dh.

  14. Katie Mast on May 18th, 2008 9:36 am

    O i love these as well. I first had them when I was in VS at Hillcrest, in AK. We made often there. Now my kids love them boiled just 2 hours and then they are carmel and they dip apples in it. My husband is’nt to sure it’s cheaper then buying it already made, cuz of all the gas or electric you use when boiling it. BUt i think it’s just a fun thing to do. Gld you tried it, now it’s making me hungery. I will make it this week i think.

  15. Shannon on May 18th, 2008 2:25 pm

    Ohhhh, I am sooo hungry for these again. HAVE to make them!

  16. Lisa on May 18th, 2008 4:19 pm

    This does look interesting. Hmmm, might have to try these. Oh Kay, I do have to tell you I made your Mexican Lasagna tonight and it was a big hit! Check out my blog for pics.

    http://thecuttingedgeofordinary.blogspot.com/

    My neighbors loved it too. (I share, lol). Thanks for the great recipe!

  17. Twila on May 19th, 2008 6:26 am

    I made these for the first time, too, just recently, after 23 years of marriage. I’ve always been a bit nervous about the exploding part, too. But I had no disasters, I used a very deep pot, and decided to do 3 if I’m doing it anyway. I did use an off brand, and it seemed fine except it seemed a bit soft, and I thought it should have maybe been cooked abit longer. They’re good, but I don’t think I’ll make them very often, I really don’t like cooking something for that long.

  18. Jo on May 19th, 2008 11:35 am

    Now I’m drooling. :-) Wonder if I have the ingredients in my pantry right now….???

  19. Christy on May 19th, 2008 1:30 pm

    I love this dessert, but don’t make it because Steve doesn’t care for it. In Belize the ladies cooked the milk for less time and used the carmel for icing on cakes.

  20. Crystal on May 20th, 2008 8:03 am

    If you just leave sweetened condensed milk in your cabinet for a long time (not sure how long, a year maybe) it will turn in to caramel too. I have friends that label certain cans to make sure they leave them long enough and then use them for caramel later.

  21. Anna on May 20th, 2008 12:38 pm

    I’m still scared.

  22. Melissa on May 22nd, 2008 11:08 am

    I love these and have been trying to find the recipe for a long time!

  23. Mary Faith on May 29th, 2008 10:53 am

    I made these this week and I had a most interesting thing happen. I used the Eagle Brand, just out of curiosity, and you know what? It was the first time EVER that it did NOT turn out right. :0 I think I must really be strange. lol

Let’s make it Mexican!

Posted on May 5, 2008
Filed Under Desserts, Main dishes

Today is Cinco de Mayo. I’m not going to go into that and show my ignorance in history. I do, however, know that it’s not Mexico’s independence day… For a long time, I thought it was because ours is “Fourth of July” and I thought maybe that’s the format for independence holidays, using the date and putting the number first. Ok, now I’m showing some ignorance! Let’s get to the food.

One of the lines often used to describe Mexican food is ‘south of the border’. We live about as far north as you can get without being a Canadian, so around here if you use that term, you’d be most likely referring to the Canadian border, not the Mexican border. So, I’ll stay away from using that line.

The first  recipe today comes from a Country Woman magazine, the Jan/Feb 2007 issue, to be exact. I was glad to see a couple of the things at the end of the recipe having ‘optional’ at the end. Guacomole: I’ve tried it, with an open mind, and I just cannot eat the stuff. Avacados are the same way. I got a Cobb salad one time and ended up picking out all the avacado and setting it aside. Black olives: they’re ok, I don’t mind them in stuff, but I don’t eat them on purpose.

Don’t be expecting Mexican crusine here… I don’t eat REAL Mexican food except at restaurants. I love Mexican food! I get cravings for it, so it’s unfortunate that we live 1 1/2 hours away from a Mexican restaurant, not counting the fast food ones like Taco Johns. Closest I come to making Mexican in my own kitchen is Wet Burritos, Steak Fajitas, Nachos, and now today:

mex-lasagna11.jpg

Mexican Lasagna

1 1/4 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced (I used the stuff from a jar, featured at the end of this crabmeat post)
2 cups salsa
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
1 can 15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce (I stared and stared at the shelves at the store till I finally found enchilada sauce!)
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 envelope taco seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 flour tortillas
3 cups (12 oz) shredded mexican cheese blend, divided (I unded up using a bit more, maybe 4 cups or so)
2 cups broken tortilla chips
Sour cream, sliced ripe olives, guacomole, and chopped tomatoes, optional

In a large skillet, cook beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in salsa, beans, enchilada sauce, chilies, taco seasoning, and pepper; heat through. Here’s a picture before it got stirred. The hamburger is almost covered, but you should be able to see all the different ingredients so far, except the onion and garlic that’s already fried w the hamburger.
mex-lasagna1.jpg

And here it is all mixed together. Looked like a tremendous amount of meat mixture for only 6 tortillas!
mex-lasagna2.jpg

mex-lasagna3.jpg  Spread 1 cup sauce in a greased 9×13 baking pan. Huh? Sauce? What sauce? There was no sauce in the ingredient list that doesn’t get mixed in and it calls the meat stuff ‘meat mixture’. But, I assumed it meant the meat mixture for the sauce anyway.
mex-lasagna4.jpg  Layer with 2 tortillas,

mex-lasagna5.jpg  a third of the meat mixture,

and 1 cup of cheese.
mex-lasagna6.jpg

Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and meat mixture. The pan will be FULL.
mex-lasagna8.jpg

Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.
mex-lasagna9.jpg

Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with tortilla chips. Bake 10-15 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. I always like when recipes say that… gives me time to take pictures.
mex-lasagna10.jpg

Garnish with sour cream, olives, guacamole, and tomatoes if desired. Yield: 12 servings.
mex-lasagna12.jpg

I was a bit leary about this stuff because of all the ingredients in the meat mixture, but it was really good! I’d make it again. Also, I think I’ll try tweaking the Wet Burrito recipe to incorporate some of the ingredients that are in this meat mixture. The chips on top added a nice crunch. We also ate it with chips and Lexi thought it was funny that our chips were our forks, then we’d ‘eat our forks along with the bite’. It’s got some kick to it… made our noses run. It’s very filling for no more than you eat.

And for dessert, we had:

Mexican Fried Ice Cream

1 pt. vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup crushed Corn Flakes
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. sugar
1 egg
Oil for deep frying
Honey
Whipped cream

Scoop out 4 balls of ice cream.
fried-ice-cream1.jpg

Return to freezer. Mix crumbs, cinnamon, and sugar. Roll frozen balls in crumb mixture and return to freezer.
fried-ice-cream2.jpg

Beat egg and dip frozen balls in egg, then roll again in crumbs. (I had to make more of the crumb mixture, most of it was used up the first time I coated the balls.)
fried-ice-cream3.jpg

Freeze until ready to use. For thicker coating, repeat dipping in egg and rolling in crumbs. I did the extra coat. When ready to serve, heat oil to 350. Place 1 ball in oil. Fry for 1 minute. They floated, so I turned them with a fork a few times.
fried-ice-cream4.jpg

Remove from oil and place on dessert plate. I set it on a paper towel first to soak up some of the oil.   Drizzle with honey and top with a dab of whipped cream. Fry remaining balls one at a time. Balls will be crunchy on the outside and just beginning to melt on the inside. Yield: 4 servings.
fried-ice-cream5.jpg
I couldn’t help but put chocolate on a couple of them instead of honey. Crazy thing was, chocolate lover that I am, the ones with honey were much better!

fried-ice-cream6.jpg

fried-ice-cream7.jpg

As Dora the Explorer would say, “Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, delicioso!”

This was fun to make and of course tasted great, but I don’t know that I’d go to the bother of making it again. It was kind of time consuming for only 4. It did settle my curiosity though that yes, you can put ice cream in hot oil for a whole minute, with only an 1/8″ wall of crust between the ice cream and oil, and not end up with a big melty oily mess. We were all pretty amazed.

Well, I need to go clean my kitchen and empty my sink. I mean, sinko. Oops, I mean, cinco.

Comments

5 Responses to “Let’s make it Mexican!”

  1. Andrea on May 5th, 2008 9:56 am

    Yum, yum, would love to eat some of that fried ice cream again! But I just don’t want to bother with all the preparing! :-) I will have to try that lasagna! Sounds good!

  2. Freida on May 5th, 2008 10:51 am

    You’ve got a friend on the guacamole and black olives. We are big huge fans of Mexican food, but the real stuff always tastes better. The lasagna looks good though. Did you ever make the fried ice cream dessert?? It tastes the same and it is so much easier!

  3. Shannon on May 5th, 2008 11:17 am

    Ummm. Sounds wonderful. For awhile Eric thought he moved to mexico I made so much mexican food. :) I tried to cut back on it, but this stuff looks good so I might have to try it. I always wondered about the fried icecream. Good to know. :)

    I make my own enchilada sauce. Like it much better then the canned stuff and it’s fairly easy. I use it when I make regular enchilada’s.

  4. Aimm on May 5th, 2008 1:36 pm

    Yep, sure does look tasty!

    Kay, a week or two ago I was looking for a Rainbow Ribbon Jello Salad . . . (I thought you had put one on your blog a long while ago and) So I came here to look for it . . . Anyway I couldn’t find it . . .could you email it to me?

    Aimee

  5. amy on May 7th, 2008 4:23 am

    That fried icecream looks like a picture out of Taste of Home or something. I am sure if I tried it they wouldn’t be round balls and the icecream would be melting all over. Okay, I am a pestimist.

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream

Posted on March 25, 2008
Filed Under Desserts

Ah, we used to chant that alot. Things were funnier back then.

I’m not screaming for ice cream, but I do feel like screaming, I especially felt like it last night! We were having what looked like a good ol’ fashioned WI blizzard out there… that’s when big snowflakes are flying horizontally past the window instead of falling vertically. I’ll bet the snowflakes going past our windows didn’t land till they got to Tims, a mile away. Thankfully, the snow didn’t amount to much, but really, it’s the end of March! And we just got dumped with snow last week.
snow1.jpg
And we still have plenty left.
snow4.jpg

And it’s snowing at the moment!

Anyway, what does that have to do with ice cream? Like the saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonaide”, well, we got snow in March, we want to make snow ice cream.
snow2.jpg snow3.jpg

Snow is one ingredient and I think milk of some sort too. But, I haven’t been able to find a recipe for it, so I’m wondering if any of you can help us out. I know, seems like kind of a funny recipe to have in a cookbook, but it seemed less weird all the time as I was finding recipes for suet balls for birds, playdough, laundry detergent, and dandelion gravy! I never did find a recipe for snow ice cream though.

So, do any of you have a recipe for snow ice cream? If so, and you have the time, you can leave it in a comment. Thank you! :)

Comments

14 Responses to “I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream”

  1. Fwren on March 25th, 2008 9:52 am

    This is the recipe we used when our boys were little:

    1 c. milk
    1/2 c. sugar
    1 beaten egg
    1 tsp. vanilla
    CLEAN snow to thicken.

    Flavor to taste with chocolate, strawberries, etc.
    If using a raw egg bothers you, leave it out. You could use richer milk too, if you like.

  2. Jo on March 25th, 2008 10:17 am

    My MIL used to make this for the grandchildren, but I don’t remember what all she put in it…I know that vanilla extract & sugar were 2 of the ingredients, and I think sometimes she used other extract flavors, too.

  3. JoAnn on March 25th, 2008 10:25 am

    Here’s a website I found with a couple of Snow Cream recipes:

    http://www.chathamjournal.com/weekly/living/food/snow-cream-recipes.shtml

  4. Shannon on March 25th, 2008 11:20 am

    Seems like something my girls would like too. Might have to try it, NEXT year!!! :)

  5. Jessica on March 25th, 2008 12:00 pm

    We never had a recipe. Just sugar and milk with snow to thicken and a bit of vanilla or hersheys syrup or strawberry syrup or nuts or sprinkles or whatever you liked. I think I need some ice cream…

  6. Sharon on March 25th, 2008 12:01 pm

    We used to enjoy snow ice cream too when we were little. There are alot of recipes for it if you google….Snow Ice Cream. Enjoy!

  7. Twila on March 25th, 2008 12:14 pm

    Here is one I cut out of “The Budget” a couple of weeks ago.

    Snow Cream
    4 quarts snow, lightly packed
    12 oz. can evaporated milk or 1 1/2 cup cream
    1 cup sugar
    1 1/2 cup powdered milk
    1 package instant vanilla pudding
    1 t. vanilla
    dash salt

    Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat on high speed until fluffy. May be stored several months in the freezer. After freezing soften slightly and beat until fluffy before serving. It may crumble some but keep beating. Can also use different flavors of pudding for variation of flavors.

    I’m anxious to try it as we always just used sugar, milk and vanilla before. But I shall have to wait until next year, I suppose…

  8. barb on March 25th, 2008 12:18 pm

    Something I tried this winter was snow cones, (in a glass). I used a packet of Kool-Aid, 1 cup of sugar, and approx. 2-3 cups of water. Pour this syrup over clean snow and enjoy. My boys liked it better than the snow ice cream we made.

  9. Angela on March 25th, 2008 1:01 pm

    I know the feeling! During our blizzard a few weeks ago here in Ohio, we made snow cream too. My husband’s recipe says:
    2 cups milk
    1/2 cup sugar
    1/2 cup cream
    1 egg, beaten
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1/8 teaspoon salt
    Mix together; chill. Add snow to desired consistency. Chocolate or strawberries may be added for flavor.

    The snow cream is a family tradition on his side, on mine, when we get snow, we make “Wax on Snow”. Ever heard of that? It’s simply pure maple syrup boiled, then drizzled over snow. Dip a fork into the sticky drizzles and eat. (Comes from growing up in northern NY!)

  10. Kelly on March 25th, 2008 2:05 pm

    Snow Ice Cream

    8 cups snow, or shaved ice
    1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.

  11. Nancy on March 25th, 2008 3:25 pm

    We make alot of snow ice cream. I had used this recipe for years. VERY GOOD!!

    Snow Cream
    1 cup rich milk
    3/4 cup sugar
    1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
    2 qts. fresh clean snow
    Combine milk, sugar and vanilla thoroughly.
    Pour over fresh clean snow. Mix quickly.
    Eat at once. ENJOY!!

  12. Kay on March 27th, 2008 12:35 am

    Thank you all for the recipes! Now to decide which one to try! Kelly’s looks the easiest. ????

  13. Ruth on March 29th, 2008 5:59 pm

    The recipe from the “Budget” was sent in by my sister-in-law who passed away over 3 years ago. We did a double take when we saw her name in the current paper. Evidently she had sent it in and it laid around for several years before they used it … either that, or they reused it because of all the snow they have been having this year. I like to use sweetened condensed milk in my ice cream recipes. It seems to give a smoother texture. You can reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe since the milk is sweetened. I hope your foot is healing.

  14. Ali on April 18th, 2008 1:46 pm

    I second the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. I saw that on Paula Deen and it looked pretty cool. :)

Desserts just don’t get much better than this…

Posted on March 23, 2008
Filed Under Desserts, Pies

I’m featuring a fudge sundae pie today that is just tops. One glance at the ingredients and you’ll see why you can’t go wrong here. There are not alot of recipes that each separate ingredient would be good by itself. I am, in fact, eating a piece right now. I’ll be taking a bite every couple sentences. I don’t usually eat at the computer, but I make exceptions now and then.

I remember Mom making this when I was still at home. And I’ve seen this recipe now and then in different cookbooks. The cookbook I used for it this time is Cooking with the Horse and Buggy People. It says the recipes were shared by Amish ladies from Holmes County and Wayne County. So, you readers from there, here you go, a recipe from your neck of the woods…

Fudge Sundae Pie

1/4 cup corn syrup
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. oleo (oops, what I said about each ingredient tasting good by itself, I take that back here, forgot about the butter when I said that!)
2 1/2 cups Rice Krispies

Combine syrup, sugar, and oleo and cook over low heat until mixture begins to boil. *Another bite* Man, this stuff is good!!!
fudgepie1.jpg
Remove from heat and add Rice Krispies. Press evenly in greased pie pan.
Mix:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup fudge sauce
3 Tbsp. light Karo (I used the same stuff as the corn syrup above)

fudgepie9.jpg I actually didn’t know what they meant by fudge sauce, but I thought I couldn’t go wrong with this, so this is what I used.

fudgepie2.jpg
Spread half of mixture over crust.
fudgepie3.jpg
Spread 1 quart vanilla ice cream over mixture. Ok, I usually try to follow recipes exactly so I can feature them accurately, but once in awhile, I just can’t help but substitute, like now… Caramel Collision ice cream won over boring vanilla ice cream here.
Freeze. Before serving, warm remaining sauce and drizzle over the top.
fudgepie4.jpg It didn’t exactly drizzle (and I warmed it till it was bubbling), so I put it into a baggie and snipped the corner off and piped it on. Maybe I used the wrong ‘fudge sauce’.

fudgepie5.jpg

fudgepie6.jpg

fudgepie7.jpg

All I can say is YUM!!!
fudgepie8.jpg

Comments

8 Responses to “Desserts just don’t get much better than this…”

  1. Shannon on March 23rd, 2008 7:07 pm

    I think I might try it and leave out half the chocolate. :) I know, call me crazy! :)

  2. Sharon on March 23rd, 2008 9:29 pm

    “and I’ll take a bite every couple sentences…” Do you have insurance to cover all the ruined keyboards from the drool? !! I even felt like licking the screen–don’t tempt me like that! ????

  3. Christy on March 24th, 2008 8:38 am

    Yum, I love ice cream pie! I have one recipe that has a little peanut butter in the crust and in the fudge sauce. My mom sometimes makes it w/ out the chocolate and tops it w/ fruit. I prefer the chocolate, though.

  4. Carol on March 24th, 2008 10:25 am

    So perfect to have the empty plate by the keyboard at the end of the post!!!

  5. Heidi on March 24th, 2008 9:15 pm

    yumm this looks so good! where do you find oleo? is that with like the shortenings and stuff? can you get it at walmart?

  6. Kay Martin on March 24th, 2008 9:20 pm

    I actually substituted butter for the oleo. I should look and see if I can find oleo at the store. Hmmm, wonder what the difference is. Research project for me… :)

  7. Marilyn Martin on March 27th, 2008 7:06 pm

    That looks wonderful! Can’t wait to make it!

  8. Andy Lawrenson on March 29th, 2008 7:27 am

    Hey,

    I’m making this one very very soon! Looks great!!

“Give Me 5 or Fewer”

Posted on January 9, 2008
Filed Under Desserts

I just really like that section in my Quick Cooking Annual Cookbooks… with only 5 ingredients in a recipe, there’s a better chance that I’ll have them all on hand.   I do have a cookbook that most recipes have about 15-25 ingredients… the stuff in that cookbook dances with flavor! I’ll feature it sometime. But for now, we have…

Easy Cherry Tarts       …from the 2003 Quick Cooking Annual Cookbook

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 cup canned cherry pie filling (I used strawberry, it’s better  And I also put it in the food processor to get rid of the big chunks)
1/4 tsp. almond extract

Place crescent dough on a lightly floured surface; seal seams and perforations.
tart1
Cut into 2″ circles. Place in greased miniature muffin cups.
tart2
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Place about 1/2 tsp in each cup.
tart3
Combine pie filling and extract; place about 2 tsp in each cup.
tart4
Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 2 dozen.
tart5
tart6

These little things are GOOD! And yeah, easy too! But mine did get a bit messy. The filling bubbled over out of the cups and they didn’t look near as neat as they do in the cookbook.   But I would recommend them!

Let’s make some Chocolate Leaves!

chocleaves3

You’ll notice that I’m doing this because I get a kick out of it, not because I’m refined, elegant, and professional!   First of all, I should’ve got my husband to do the photography instead of someone less than 4′ tall. But, I picked on the one who was sitting on a barstool with her face within a foot of my project, asking questions and wanting to help. Can’t blame her… at 4 years old, I’d have been dying to be turned loose with a paintbrush, melted chocolate, and leaves… paint, lick, paint, paint, lick…

I’ve made chocolate leaves only once in my life… just last weekend. So, if you’ve made them twice, you’re more experienced than me.

I went out to my rosebush (if you  DON’T know me, you’re picturing something with beautiful pink roses hanging all over it, aren’t you? And if you  DO know me, you’re thinking, “Huh?! You have an ALIVE rosebush?!”, aren’t you?)… anyway, I went out to my rosebush and picked 8 leaves off, brought them in and washed them under running water, and patted them dry with a paper towel. Then I took a paintbrush (everything else that’s actually a kitchen tool looked too big and cumbersome) and spread melted chocolate on the bottom side of the leaf.
chocleaves1
I just let them harden a little at room temp, then put another coat on and put them in the fridge to harden. Then, I got them out and peeled the leaves off…
chocleaves2
When they were done, we were awing over them and Lexi said, “Mom, they’re SO pretty! Can I eat them?” Um, let me think… “No!”
I put them back in the fridge till I was ready to use them.

Next time, I’d make them a bit thicker. It was kinda neat how thin and delicate they were, BUT I started with 8 leaves, had 3 casualties, and ended up with 5 because they broke when I was pulling the leaves off. It was fun and they looked so neat… I’ll definitely make them more often!

Have any of you made chocolate leaves before that you could give us all some more tips?

What I put the leaves on was a new recipe , so I’ll throw that in here too, while I’m at it.

German Chocolate Cream Pie …from the 2002 Quick Cooking Annual cookbook

1 pkg (4 oz) German sweet chocolate
1/3 cup milk
1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp sugar
1 carton (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)
Whipped topping, frest mint and chocolate dessert decorations, optional

In a saucepan over low heat, cook the chocolate and milk until choc is melted; stir until smooth. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
chocleaves pie1
Stir in chocolate mixture. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Freeze until firm. May be frozen for up to 3 months, just in case you could leave a chocolate pie alone for 3 months, knowing it’s right there in the freezer!
Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with whipped topping, mint and chocolate decorations if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.
chocleaves pie2
chocleaves pie3 I had a bunch of melted chocolate left over and no more Cool Whip, so I just drizzled the chocolate over… it does need garnish of some sort, looks very plain without!

It was really good, except that I’m a milk chocolate fan, not semi-sweet. To me, this German sweet chocolate tasted just like semi-sweet. I want to try it again sometime and substitute 4 oz (or more ) of milk chocolate chips instead of the German chocolate.

Something Old, Something New

pumpkin6 

chocchip5

———————————— First the old —————————————————–

I have made this recipe so many times and it turns out great every time. I don’t know where it came from, it’s handwritten (by me) in my blank cookbook that isn’t so blank anymore!

Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger

Beat eggs for 5 min. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Stir together dry ingredients. Fold into pumpkin mixture.
pumpkin1
Spread in greased (I greased and floured it) 15″x10″ pan.
pumpkin2
Bake @ 375 for 15 min. Turn out on towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. I usually run a pie server around under it to make sure it’s loose before turning it onto the towel.
pumpkin3
Roll towel and cake together. Cool.
pumpkinrolled
Unroll and spread with filling.
Filling:
1 c. powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
4 T. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Beat until smooth and creamy. Spread over cake.
pumpkin4
Roll and chill before slicing. I put it in the freezer to chill… the firmer it is to slice, the better. Well, I guess I’ve never had it frozen solid. It might not cut very easy then. You could roll it either way, it depends on how big you want the pieces to be.
pumpkin5
pumpkin6

—————————————- And now the new ———————————————–

This recipe comes from an Easy to Bake Easy to Make recipe card. I did a bit of variation to it. Look at the pictures…I don’t ned to tell you if it was good or not!

Easy Chocolate Lover’s Cheesepie … I actually made it into a cheesecake instead of a cheesepie, so in this case, it’s Easy Chocolate Lover’s Cheesecake

3 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese softened
3/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. (12 oz pkg) Hershey’s mini semi sweet chocolate chips (I use regular-sized chips and used milk chocolate)
2 T. whipping cream
1 extra-serving-size packaged graham cracker crust (9 oz) (I mixed 1 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs, 3 T. sugar, and 1/3 c. melted butter together and pressed it in the bottom of a springform pan. Then I chilled it in the fridge until I was ready to pour the batter in.)
chocchip1

Heat oven to 450. Beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Stir in 1 2/3 cups choc chips; pour into crust.
chocchip2Note: I’m always asked to share some of my crust and batter when I use a springform pan because of my little helper in the kitchen with some of her own mini bakeware.
Bake 10 minutes. Without opening oven door, reduce temp to 250 (I don’t have a window in my oven. You wouldn’t believe how hard it was for me to simply turn the oven down and walk away!); continue baking 30 minutes or just until set. Remove from oven to wire rack.
chocchip3
Cool completely. Cover; refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Place remaining 1/3 cup choc chips and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high 20 to 30 seconds or just until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Cool slightly; spread over top of cheesepie.  I put some caramel ice cream topping on, then piped the chocolate mixture on. I don’t know that it was really any better, just felt like doing it that way.
chocchip4
Refrigerate 15 min or until topping is set. Cover; refrigerate leftover cheesepie.
chocchip5

——————————————- This and that ——————————————————

I just paged down and it’s looking pretty desserty lately! Time to get some main dishes and side dishes on here again! We have not been just eating desserts! :) Actually, all those desserts happened to be food to take away somewhere. Can tell what I like to make the best when I have to take food somewhere!

What are you having for supper tonight? Sometimes I’m stumped and I’m sure some of you are too. Let’s have some suggestions for us all!

I have a ham in the fridge and am planning to make that for supper tonight. Not sure what’s gonna go with it yet.

Chocolate Peanut Supreme

My food group was on for salad and dessert for carry-in at church a few weeks ago. I made a veggie and dip tray and Chocolate Peanut Supreme dessert. I try to make my featured recipes like the recipe says, but the dessert recipe has a substitution in it. But I’m fine with that because it’s an idea you might like to use sometime… you know how when you’re baking cookies and something comes up (like, the baby needs attn, you get to talking on the phone, or you just plain forget about them) and then that batch gets darker, which makes them crunchy instead of soft and bend-able, and nobody wants to eat them? Well, when that batch cools, crush them with a rolling pin and put the crumbs in a bag in the freezer, then when you make a recipe that calls for graham cracker crumbs or crushed Oreo crumbs for the crust, just pull out your ready-made crumbs and use them. Saves you from having to eat dark crunchy chocolate chip cookies!

Chocolate Peanut Supreme   …from the 2000 Quick Cooking cookbook.

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (didn’t have chunky, so I just used creamy)
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I substituted the above-mentioned cookie crumbs)
1/2 cup sugar (I used about 1/4 cup because the cookies were sweeter than g.c. crumbs)
1 pkg (5.9 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1 carton (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup chopped peanuts (I skipped the peanuts and sprinkled some cookie crumbs on top)

In a bowl, combine peanut butter and butter. Stir in cracker crumbs and sugar; mix well. Press into a greased 9×13 pan.
supreme1
Prepare pudding with milk according to package directions, spoon over crust.
supreme2
Spread with whipped topping.
supreme3
Sprinkle with peanuts.
supreme4
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until set. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-16 servings. This was SO good, but I do want to try it the right way sometime (without substitutions)!

And here’s the veggie tray…
veggies

One of my all-time favorites

I’ve been craving fruit pizza ever since it got warm outside. It’s such a good summer dessert!

Fruit Pizza    …from the Taste of Home 2nd Edition cookbook, with some personal preference changes by me

1 pkg (20 oz) refrigerated sugar cookie dough …I make a cookie dough from scratch, then measure out 20 oz.
fp1 I think homemade is tastier… my recipe (featured here) has nutmeg in it.

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 carton (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Kiwi
Bananas
Mandarin oranges
Grapes
I’ve never put kiwi in. There are other fruits I like better. Here’s the order and fruits I use: mandarin oranges and grapes, bananas, strawberries cut in half, pineapple (fresh, not canned! it’s the best!!), blueberries, mandarin oranges, bananas, and one marichino cherry in the middle. I vary the order sometimes, but it’s always those fruits.

Glaze:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Pinch of salt

Pat cookie dough into an ungreased 14″ pizza pan.
fp2

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Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until browned; cool.

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In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over the crust.
Arrange the fruit on top. In a saucepan, bring sugar, OJ, water, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt to a boil, stirring constantly for 2 min or until thickened. Cool; brush over fruit. I make the glaze and let it cool while the crust is cooling. I’d think if you’d put the fruit on, THEN make the glaze, that the bananas would be brown by the time it’s cooled. As soon as I get the first ring of bananas on, I glaze them. Then I put the rest of the fruit on and glaze the whole works. I use a pastry brush.
fp5
Store in refrigerator. Yield: 16-20 servings.
fp6  Now tell me, are you in the mood for fruit pizza?

Comments

2 Responses to “One of my all-time favorites”

  1. megan on April 2nd, 2010 7:06 am

    omg this sounds good!!! im going to have to try this soon!!

  2. Flag Fruit Pizza on June 28th, 2014 12:04 pm

    […] recipe was kind of a mix from a few site, but most from Kitchen Scrapbook. She suggested waiting to place the fruit on the pizza until the glaze was made and cooled. This […]

“Mom, how do you make… ?”

From my mom…

Easy Cinnamon Biscuits (not sure of the real name, if there is one)

2 7.5 oz cans Pillsbury biscuits (10 biscuits per can)
2 handfuls brown sugar
Cinnamon
8 oz Cool Whip

Grease 9×13 pan and put biscuits in.
biscuits1
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top.
biscuits2
Spread Cool whip on top.
biscuits3Looks more like a dessert now, doesn’t it?
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.
biscuits4
biscuits5  These are great!!!!! There’s a goo at the bottom and next time, I’m planning to add some pecans on top before putting on the Cool Whip. They take very little time to assemble, plus no rising time. Very good! Keep on hand for a warm breakfast on busy mornings!

From my mom-in-law…

Yum Yum Pudding

60 Ritz crackers
1 stick butter
2 qt vanilla ice cream
2 boxes instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups milk

Crush crackers. Mix with melted butter. Spread out in a 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 5 min.  (I made a half batch for us, so used a smaller pan here and should’ve used a smaller bowl later!)
pudding1
Beat softened ice cream. Add milk and pudding. Put crumbs in the bottom of a serving dish, saving some crumbs to sprinkle on top.
pudding2
Pour ice cream/pudding mixture over crumbs.
pudding3
Top with remaining crumbs.
pudding4
pudding5
Store in refrigerator (not freezer).  Yum is right! I didn’t remember having it before and as I was making it, I was so tempted to add some chocolate for an extra layer. Glad I didn’t because it was so good!!!! Lots of buttered toasted crackers!

Dessert idea to keep on hand

I can’t believe that I just got done sitting and watching a Strawberry Shortcake cooking show   It’s on a video that Lexi was watching. What’s even scarier is that I’m tempted to try one of the recipes!!! There was ice cream pie, fudge, cookie pops, and ice cream cone cupcakes. So, if I do try the fudge featured by Angel Cake, I’ll quietly do it in the privacy of my own kitchen and not tell you all.

  ——————————————————————————————–

Got a dessert idea here. Something easy to keep on hand. And VERY easy to make! It’s a trifle using an angel food cake, pie filling, and Cool Whip, plus cream cheese and powdered sugar if desired. I do it with or without the crm cheese & p.sugar.

1 angel food cake mix
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz Cool Whip
1 can fruit pie filling, any flavor

Bake angel food cake mix according to the directions. Let it cool at least one hour. Rip about 3/4 of it in pieces and put some in the bottom of a trifle bowl or regular dessert bowl.
trifle1
Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread some of the mixture on top of cake pieces (or just use Cool Whip).
trifle2
Spread any flavor fruit pie filling on top of Cool Whip mixture.
trifle3
Repeat layers. You can garnish the top with extra Cool Whip and/or filling.
trifle4  …Blueberry
trifle5  …Cherry

Cream Cheese Cake Roll

This is dessert that we had for supper last night with the Martins. It’s sorta made up, although there is a tweaked recipe involved. Kinda weird with all the recipes around here, to make something up.

We’ll call it…
Cream Cheese Angel Food Cake Roll   … well, that sounds sorta long… maybe Cream Cheese Cake Roll
would be better.

Angel food cake mix

Mix according to directions. Pour HALF of it in jelly roll pan. Add 1/8 cup cocoa to the other half. Mix well and pour into the other end of the pan. Spread both to meet evenly in the middle … 2 spatulas, one in each hand, would be good here (that’s why there are no pics of this process… my hands were full and the 2 people able to take pictures were taking Sunday aft naps  ).
cakeroll1
Bake for about 18 minutes. Get it out of the oven and flip it over onto a towel or parchment paper or something.
cakeroll2
Let it cool a few minutes, then roll it up and let it cool about an hour (that’s how long I did and it seemed to be about right).     Unroll and spread with cream cheese filling (the stuff left over from making the Raspberry Cream Cheese Rolls (Dec 11, 2006 post)… you didn’t forget about them, did you?!   Then, spread with Danish dessert …recipe taken from the Derstine cookbook.
cakeroll3

1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 cups juice or water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup jello, any flavor
1/3 cup sugar

Heat to boiling 1 cup liquid. Combine jello, sugar, and cornstarch. Make a paste of it with remaining 1/2 cup liquid. Stir into boiling juice until thick and clear. Cook about 1 minute. I did it to here, then added about a cup of strawberries pureed in a food processor (because some people at supper just like the ‘goo’ and not the ‘chunks’). When it was chilled, it wasn’t as thick as I wanted it (I was afraid it would just run down off the top of the roll), so I put about a 1/2 pack of unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup boiling water, mixed it in and when it was chilled, it was thicker. Anyway, here’s the rest of the written recipe for Danish dessert if you ever want to make it for something else: Pour over mixture of drained canned fruit and chill well. For delicious strawberry danish dessert, add 2 to 3 cups frozen strawberries.

Roll the cake back up.
cakeroll4
Cut it where the 2 colors meet. Put the 2 rolls side by side on a round platter. Pour rest of Danish stuff on top…. why am I telling you all this, you can see it on the pictures!
cakeroll5
Now it’s time for the Cool Whip… just do something fancy with it. I opted for the zigzag-it-across-the-top technique, then I still had some left over in my ‘decorator bag’ (which was actually a plastic 1 gallon storage bag with the corner snipped off), so I just made little piles, one on each end.  Yeah, whatever, but hey, it worked. The dessert got licked clean and I heard some good compliments on it. I also heard comments about the chocolate one looking like meatloaf with ketchup and sour cream on top! They were making jokes about how it would be a good April Fools thing… serve it with potatoes and watch people’s reaction.  So, my advice would be not to mess around with the cake mix and just leave it all white.
cakeroll6

Comments

“Give Me 5 or Fewer”

Golden Potato Rounds
Tortilla Beef Bake
Salsa Strips
Chocolate Ice Cream Syrup

These recipes were all in a row in the “Give Me 5 or Fewer” section in the 2001 Quick Cooking Annual Cookbook . They all have 5 or less ingredients, so it was very fast and easy to throw this meal together. I actually halved the recipes so we wouldn’t have leftovers, if you wonder about how little the dishes look.

Golden Potato Rounds

1 cup crushed cornflakes
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
4 med potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2″ thick
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

In a bowl, combine the cornflakes and seasoned salt. Dip potatoes in butter, then coat with cornflake mixture. Place on greased foil-lined baking sheets.
5potato1Bake at 350 for 55-60 min or until tender. Yield: 6 servings.
5potato2    These were great! They were even better with ketchup. I made this meal last night for supper, and this morning we were driving and just out of the blue, Lexi said, “Mom, those potato rounds were so good!”

Tortilla Beef Bake

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 1/2 crushed tortilla chips, divided
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in soup. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups tortilla chips in a greased shallow 2 1/2 qt baking dish. Top with beef mixture, salsa, and cheese.
5bake1  5bake2  5bake3  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 min or until bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining chips. Bake 3 min longer or until chips are lightly toasted.  Yield: 6 servings.
5bake4    The tortilla chips on here gave it a nice crunch. It was very good and SO easy! We liked the salsa giving the zip to it instead of the usual taco seasoning that’s usually in Mexican dishes. A winner!

Salsa Strips

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3/4 cup salsa
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
Minced fresh cilantro or parsley

Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 4 rectangles. Place on greased baking sheets. Spread mustard and salsa on each rectangle.
5salsa1  If you wonder about the crescent rolls in the pan, I halved the recipe, then had 4 rolls left over, so just made reg crescent rolls and sprinkled a little cheese on them too. Bake at 350 for 10 min. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 8-10 min longer or until golden brown. Cool for 10 min. Cut each into four strips; sprinkle with cilantro (or parsley). Yield: 16 appetizers.
5salsa2  These were good, Shannon thought they were really good. My problem was that I don’t like mustard and you could definitely taste it! Next time I’d put on only 1/2 of what it calls for… at least on my half! These salsa strips would be great to serve with a snack for company some evening.

Chocolate Ice Cream Syrup

6 squares (1 oz ea) unsweetened chocolate
3 Tbsp butter (no substitutes), cubed
2 cups sugar
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
Ice cream

In a heavy saucepan over low heat or double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolate. Add butter; cook and stir until melted. Add sugar alternately with milk, stirring constantly. Cook for 15 min, stirring often.
5choc1  Serve warm over ice cream. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 2 1/2 cups.
5choc2  Editor’s note: If desired, add 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp orange or peppermint extract. Stir into syrup after removing from the heat. As I was making this, I was thinking about that Reeses hard-shell stuff you can buy to go on ice cream and was sure this was the first and last time I’d be making this. But, it turned out so yummy and gooey and fudgey that I know I’ll just have to make it again now and then!!!! Just a tip: Let it sit (before putting it on the ice cream) while you eat, then by the time you’re done eating, it’s not so piping hot and stays on top of the ice cream better without just slipping down the side and melting the ice cream.

Cheesecake!

We love cheesecake! It is one of the best desserts out there! I’ve made lots of cheesecakes, all of them great, and just tried another one last weekend. This recipe comes from Easy to Bake, Easy to Make . It’s a collection of recipe cards that come in the mail (with a bill, of course) to put in a recipe box they give you. They have some great recipes, including a red velvet cake that’s to die for. I should make it again just to get pictures to feature it on here so you all can taste it! There are also some ‘main dish’ cards that I have set aside to try sometime.

Classic New York Cheesecake

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling:
4 pkgs (8 oz each) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon vanilla (yeah, that’s right, Tablespoon… I know, sounds like alot)
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs

Crust:
Mix crumbs, sugar, and butter; press onto bottom of 9″ springform pan.
cc1 

Bake @ 325 for 10 min if using a silver springform pan. Bake at 300 for 10 min if using a dark nonstick springform pan. I baked Lexi’s along with mine at 325 for 7 min.

Filling:
Mix cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanillla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Blend in sour cream. Add eggs, mixing on low speed just until blended. Pour over crust. (Lexi said, ‘It would be messy to pour, so it would be better to spoon it.’ ).
cc2
cc3
Bake at 325 for 65 to 70 min or until center is almost set if using a 9″ springform pan. Bake at 300 for 65 to 70 min or until center is almost set if using a 9″ dark nonstick springform pan. I baked Lexi’s along with mine at 325 for 40 min.
cc4 
Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake (forgot to do this step, so that may be why it cracked) ; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
cc5  We covered the little one with caramel and covered the big one with strawberry pie filling. I know, where’s the chocolate?!
cc6
cc7

Variation: Want to make a chocolate cheesecake? Just add 1/2 cup cocoa powder to the recipe above. This particular one is topped with ganache, fresh raspberries, and chocolate curls.
chocolate raspberry cheesecake

Comments

One Response to “Cheesecake!”

  1. cathy on June 11th, 2009 12:39 pm

    I remember my mom making these 50 years ago!! I used to make them for my kids too.

An entire meal of recipes

Ham in a Hurry
Easy Potato Pancakes
Crescent Rolls
Broccoli
Peach Freeze

ham meal

This meal is taken from the 2007 Taste of Home Annual cookbook. I added cooked broccoli (because it was on the picture with the ham and potatoes) and crescent rolls. I made it one evening last week and didn’t take time to post it then.

Ham in a Hurry   …the actual recipe with the meal is Ham with Pineapple Salsa , but beside the recipe is a box that says, “Ham in a hurry  …If you can’t take the time to make the salsa for the ham w pineapple salsa, just sprinkle a little brown sugar over the ham. Then top it with crushed pineapple with its juice before popping the ham in the oven.  You can also make an easy, delicious glaze by blending apricot preserves with some mustard, lemon juice, and a dash of cinnamon. Simply heat the glaze in a pan and brush it on the ham during the final minutes of baking.” I did the brown sugar/pineapple variation (it was very good! And easy!),
ham1
ham2  then broiled it with the Ham w Pineapple Salsa directions. Here is that recipe if you want to try it. I might try it sometime, but I didn’t this time because I only had 2 of the 6 ingredients on hand and also I thought the brown sugar one sounded better.
Ham with Pineapple Salsa
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
2 Tbsp orange marmalade
1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp chopped jalapeno pepper
¼ tsp salt
1 bone-in fully cooked ham steak (1 ½ pounds) Mine wasn’t quite that big.
For salsa, combine the 1st 6 ingredients into a small bowl; set aside. Place the ham steak on an ungreased rack in a broiler pan. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 8-10 min or until a meat thermometer reads 140, turning once. Cut into serving-size pieces; serve with salsa. Yield: 4 servings.
Editor’s Note: When cutting or seeding hot peppers, use rubber or plastic gloves to protect your hands. Avoid touching your face.

Easy Potato Pancakes
3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
2 Tbsp flour
2 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 ½ tsp water
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Place the hash brown potatoes in a strainer; rinse with cold water until thawed. Drain thoroughly; transfer to a large bowl. Add the flour, eggs, butter, water, and salt. Mix well.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop the batter by 1/3 cupfuls into oil;
ham potato1 fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain the pancakes on paper towels. Yield: 4 servings. (It makes 5 pancakes.)
ham potato2 We had a problem knowing what to put on them because they seemed bland without anything. My mom used to make something like that for breakfasts and we ate them w syrup. I tried syrup, but it didn’t seem right. Ketchup didn’t seem right either. So, if I make them again, I might try to jazz them up with chopped peppers or spices. Tiffany LOVED them! I cut one up and she ate it as a finger food.

Crescent rolls
I’ll feature them this time. We have them a lot and it’s always Lexi’s job to make them.
ham rolls1   You can see what kind they are (maybe?) by the empty can sitting there. Baking instructions are on the can. I’d recommend these if you aren’t sold on them already! 
ham rolls2

Broccoli
This was just frozen broccoli florets, cooked and salted.

Peach Freeze
2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
1 1 /3 cups frozen unsweetened peach slices
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
In a blender, combine ingredients;
ham peach1 cover and process till smooth.
ham peach2  Pour the mixture into small freezer-safe dessert dishes; cover and freeze until serving. Yield: 4 servings
ham peach3  This is a winner! Easy to do and very refreshing! But I’ll probably just make it in the summer mostly… it was almost too refreshing for a snowy evening in WI! The cinnamon in there is what makes it great, I think.

An entire meal of new recipes!

Posted on December 7, 2006
Filed Under Breads Biscuits and Rolls, Desserts, Seafood, Side dishes

Flavorful Fish Fillets
Dilled Green Beans
Mini Italian Biscuits
Strawberry Yogurt Trifle

1 meal

This past summer, for awhile I was doing the meals they already put together in the Quick Cooking and Taste of Home annual cookbooks. It had kind of (well, totally actually) petered out, so I thought this would be a good time to start it again. I’m going to try to do one every week. This one comes from the 2006 Quick Cooking annual cookbook. I just got this one from one of my friends ( appalolly  on xanga) for my birthday in October.

These recipes always say “Prep/Total Time: 20 min.” or some other little minutes. Three of these recipes say 20 and one says 15 min. From the time I started making supper till it was on the table was an hour and 5 min… not too bad, considering there were a few minor interruptions from the kids. But I do always kinda chuckle at the times they put on recipes!

Flavorful Fish Fillets

1 pkg (18.7 oz) frozen breaded fish fillets
3 T. olive oil
1 jar (26 oz) speghetti sauce
3 T. prepared horseradish
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook fish in oil for 4 min on each side or until crisp and golden brown.
1 fish1Meanwhile, in a lg saucepan, combine the speghetti sauce and horseradish; cook until heated through. Spoon over fish; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 min or until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 – 5 servings.
1 fish2
My opinion: Very good! Would definitely make again! Very easy to make! I wasn’t sure about pasta sauce with fish instead of tartar sauce, but it was just tops!!! Way too much sauce though… next time, I’d cut the sauce in half. I served the rest of the sauce with the meal to spoon on extra, but we didn’t really need it.

Dilled Green Beans

1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 T. chopped onion
2 t. beef bouillon granules
1/2 t. dill seed
2 pkgs (9 oz ea) frozen cut green beans

In a lg saucepan, combine the water, green pepper, onion, bouillon, and dill. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 min. Add the beans. Cover and simmer 8-10 min longer or until beans are crisp-tender; drain. Yield: 5 servings.
1 beans1 Oops! I see I didn’t drain them!
My opinion: Good, but nothing outstanding. Wouldn’t make again. With that much work, esp for a side dish, it should be dancing with flavor. It had extra flavor, but not as much as I was hoping it would.

Mini Italian Biscuits
For those of you who have this cookbook, I added the biscuits in here because I think meals should have 3 things, not counting dessert. This recipe comes from the same cookbook.

2 cups biscuit/baking mix
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2/3 cup milk

In a bowl, combine the biscuit mix, cheese, garlic powder, oregano, and basil. With a fork, stir in milk just until moistened. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 7-8 min or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: about 3 dozen.
1 biscuits
My opinion: Very good outstanding flavor, but too dry. But then, all my biscuits always get dry, so I would take any advice on making moist biscuits that just melt in your mouth! I’m going to find out if I’m doing something wrong and keep trying these biscuits because they are sooooo good!

Strawberry Yogurt Trifle

5 cups cubed angel food cake
1 carton (8 oz) vanilla yogurt
1 cup whipped topping, divided
3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 Tablespoon flaked coconut, toasted (optional , I didn’t have any toasted and didn’t feel like toasting 1 tablespoon, so I skipped it completely)

Place cake cubes in a 2-qt bowl.
1dessert1
Combine the yogurt and 3/4 cup whipped topping; spoon over the cake.
1 dessert2Top with strawberries and remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with coconut. Yield: 4-5 servings.
1dessert3
My opinion: Another keeper! A look at the ingredients tells you that you couldn’t go wrong. I made a half batch. These are the changes I would make next time… I would make 2 layers (cake, goop, strawberries, cake, goop, strawberries, rest of whipped topping) instead of all the cake on the bottom. It’s better to have more cake touching the yogurt part, I think. Also, I would make a little more of the yogurt mixture next time… it just ‘lubricates’ everything nicer.

We both thought this was a very good meal! Especially the dessert and the fish.

Tomorrow afternoon, Lexi and I are planning to make her birthday cake (it’s supposed to be a house). I’ll post it on here then… if we get done before midnight! Also, I’ll put her other 3 birthday cakes from previous years on with it.

Salad and dessert for a potluck

We had a carry-in/fellowship meal/potluck/whatever you call it at church today. I tried one new recipe and one old faithful. These 2 recipes would be well worth your time. Both are just great! The new recipe sorta turned out as a flop for looks, but was just delicious! I know now what happened, so I’m going to try it again sometime.

First of all, the new one… This recipe comes from the Treasured Recipes for our Mothers cookbook. Recipes submitted by Mr. Kolb and the 3rd and 4th grade class at the Lebanon Valley Christian School. We got this cookbook as a wedding gift from Elvin Martins.

Banana Split Ice Cream Dessert

3 bananas
1/2 gal. vanilla ice cream (in a square box)
1 c. nuts (I used walnuts , not chopped… more crunch that way!)
1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. butter
2 c. 10X sugar (in WI, we call it powdered sugar )
1 1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla
1 pt. whipping cream or Cool Whip (I used Cool Whip)
1 1/2 c. graham crackers
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter

Cover bottom of 11″ x 15″ pan with graham cracker crust made from last 3 ingredients. Save 1/2 cup crumbs for top. I don’t have an 11×15 pan, so I put it in a 9×13. It worked fine, but the pan was full to the top… and that’s not why it flopped.

Slice bananas and layer over crust,
split1

slice ice cream in 1/2″ slices over bananas,
split2

sprinkle nuts over ice cream.
split3
Freeze to firm. Melt the choc chips & 1/2 cup butter, add 10x sugar and evaporated milk. Cook mixture until thick and creamy, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool, spread over ice cream, freeze until firm. Whip cream until stiff (unless you’re using Cool Whip ), spread over choc layer and top with remaining crumbs. Store in freezer. Remove about 10 min before serving. Will keep several weeks!

split4

My take on it: Absolutely tops! Definitely on my “would make again” list!!! It’s also fun to make, esp the slicing the ice cream part.  With all those ingredients together, you know you can’t go wrong!!!

Now, the ‘flop’ details… There’s a misprint in this cookbook. In the directions above, it says ‘cool’ instead of ‘cook’ until thick and creamy. That was very confusing to me, how you’d cool it, then remove it from the heat! So, anyway, my choc mixture never did cook, thus it never got very thick. But I poured it over the ice cream anyway and then panicked as it worked it’s way down into all the cracks and slowly but surely, traded places with the i.c.layer!  Then I was laying in bed stressing about it and a lightbulb came on in my head that it prob meant cook instead of cool! But it still tasted just GREAT and nobody at church probably knew anything was wrong with it.

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And now the old faithful…  This is something my mom used to make when I was still at home (and still does). I remember requesting it for my birthday meals. It comes from the Taste of Home Recipe Book Second Edition . This cookbook was also a wedding gift, from Lee Rhodes’.

Four-Fruit Compote

1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/3 c. orange juice
1 T. lemon juice
1 can mandarin oranges, drained (we’ve never made it w oranges, and always sub 2 c. of grapes instead)
3 to 4 unpeeled apples, chopped
2 to 3 bananas, sliced

Drain pineapple, reserving 3/4 cup juice. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add pineapple juice, orange juice, and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly; cook and stir one minute longer.
fruit1

Remove from the heat; set aside. In a bowl, combine pineapple chunks, oranges, apples, and bananas.
fruit2
Pour warm sauce over the fruit; stir gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate. Yield: 12 – 16 servings.

fruit3

This can be made a day ahead, except the bananas should be sliced into it right before. They start getting brown and mushy after a few hours, but the apples hold up great. If you like glazed fruit salads, you’ve gotta try this one! It’s been my favorite as long as I can remember.   Sometimes Mom would add marshmallows or raisins.

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Recipe Request

For the one who asked for a rice crispie roll recipe , I looked in about 15 of my cookbooks, including all my Taste of Home and Quick Cooking, and didn’t find one. So, I went online and found this one . It’s great… there are detailed step-by-step instructions with pictures and they look SO neat!!! I just might have to try them myself! Hope that’s what you were looking for!