Easy Summer Dessert

Ok so it is still spring, but I love to get ahead of myself all the time. I am always ready for the next season way in advance...sort of like the clothing stores...they've got bikinis out already...not that I'm buying one of those...I digress... ;-) Even though it is not summer yet, it is time to get ready for summer, which includes shedding the excess pounds due to hibernation and what better way to do it than with the absolutely best tasting dessert ever! I mean think about it, is there a better food combination than cool whip & cream cheese??? Add fresh summer fruit on top of that and the caramelized sugary taste of the angel food cake and you have a dessert that is just out of this world good!

This is my mom's recipe...she sure knows how to throw things together that both taste great and are good for you.

Ingredients:
Angel Food Cake Mix, Prepared
8oz Cool Whip (Lite or Free)
8oz Cream Cheese (Light or fat free works great!)
1/2 c. Splenda artificial sweetener (the kind that measures cup for cup in baking...you can use sugar or Equal instead)
2 lbs Strawberries, sliced
1 lb Blueberries, fresh

Step 1: Mix up the angel food cake & bake it.

Step 2: While things are baking, combine the cool whip & cream cheese with beaters. Add the sugar and continue to beat the mixture on medium speed until it is completely mixed. Be sure to stop and lick the beaters after you are finished with them...this is a mixture that can't go untasted!!!

Culinary Art:
(loved the swirl pattern that the beaters left in the mixture)

Step 3: Prepare your strawberries & blueberries (rinsing & cutting the strawberries) while the angel food cake is baking.

Step 4: Take the angel food cake out of the oven. Place it upside down on a glass so that it doesn't fall flat.

Make sure it is done. It should be brown on the top...I love undercooked cookies, brownies, etc., but undercooked angel food cake is absolutely disgusting!

Step 5: Assemble. Bottom layer is angel food cake pieces that you tear off with your hands.

Next layer up is the cream cheese/cool whip/Splenda mixture.

Top layer is strawberries & blueberries. No need to sweeten them, because the other layers do that for you.

Then repeat the bottom, middle, and top layers one more time so that you end up with a total of 6 layers. Refrigerate.

Enjoy!!!

Reluctant Bruschetta

As some of you already know, I purchased a basil plant to put in our window sill and eventually move out into the yard once the weather warms up a bit. I just love basil, it is one of my favorite go to herbs in my cooking. So to save money and to always be able to have it on hand, I went ahead and paid the $1.99 (I figured if it died, at least I would already be ahead money wise, because I can use what is already on the plant, which costed less than it costs to buy basil pre cut in the little packages).

So I put it in my window sill and let it grow and grow, eventually leaning towards the sun.

Yesterday, Dave came home with these bagel bites and challenged me to make something to go on it. I immediately thought of bruschetta...the perfect opportunity to use my fresh basil.

I cut up and seeded 6 roma tomatoes, chopped one scallion, minced 2 cloves of garlic, added 1 Tbsp EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I stirred it all up and went to go and get my plant. That's when I realized what I was about to do. I had to pick off the little green leaves...my baby! I thought to myself, get over it...it's a plant. It's not like I'm serving up dog or cat or something like that. Plants don't have feelings. So I pulled off the leaves and thinly sliced it up...there was green carnage all over the cutting board and I felt so bad!!!

Guilty as it was, the basil was fresher, more fragrant, and flavorful than any that I've ever bought from the store.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins :-)

When we visited my Dad & Gwen, I think my cooking skill level increase finally set in with Gwen and she and I cooked an amazing meal together ;-) She showed me this cookbook that she just bought and my mouth dropped open. She offered me the book and I promised to use some of the recipes, since all my life, I've been a real bull in a china shop when it comes to cooking in the kitchen. So the first recipe is for lemon blueberry muffins...these turned out to be some of the best muffins I've ever had!!! Sure one muffin is light, but if you eat the whole pan, it no longer is, so don't make these thinking they are diet food ;-) Unfortunately, I can't give the recipe since it is copyright, but I'll be cooking quite a few recipes from the book so if you want to follow along, pick up a copy of The Best of Cooking Light...it is great!

Step 1: Mix up your dry ingredients. This includes cutting in the butter. I started cutting it in with two knives crossing each other, but it took too long. I finished up the process by squeezing the butter lumps down and mixing it with my hands. I also added 4 packs of splenda with fiber to add some sweetness (it really needs it) and some fiber. I guess the bad health effects from Splenda will be cancelled out by the fiber...???!!! Probably not...

Step 2: Zest the lemon...and that is loosely packed, actually not packed at all, just loose! Never pack your zest down in your tablespoon measuring device or it will be waaaay too tart ;-)

Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients:

Step 4: Whisk it all together. Add in all of the dry ingredients and continue to mix with the whisk.

Step 5: Stir in the blueberries.

Step 6: Preheat the oven & spoon in the muffins with an ice cream scoop. Using a scoop alleviates a lot of the mess. Oh, and FYI, the book says they will stick to paper liners, so I skipped them all together.

Step 7: Bake

And here they are with all their lemon-y fresh springtime goodness:

And yes, they taste just as good...if not better than they look!!!

Roasted Asparagus Pasta Salad

You can find the recipe by the Neely's for the evening here: Roasted Asparagus Pasta Salad. Their show, Down Home With the Neely's is just the cutest :-)

Their recipe is easy-peasy.

Clean & cut up the asparagus. Roast it (just means to put it in the oven) with some olive oil, salt, & pepper drizzled over it at 425 for 10 minutes.

While the asparagus is baking & later cooling, go ahead and make your sauce as per their recipe.

Famous Chef Trend Alert: I have noticed that a lot of the Food Network chefs are using scallions instead of red onion, because it has a milder flavor when raw and a sweeter flavor when sauteed. Since the onion is not cooked in this recipe, they opted for scallions :-)

Betinner Tip: A scallion is very similar to a red onion, but smaller in size, color, and flavor. They can be found at your typical grocery store...not a specialty item. I assumed they were when I first started cooking a few months ago, because I had never heard of them. I drove all the way to Meijer to get some and then realized the next time I was shopping that they were right there in front of me at Walmart..., LOL!

My new favorite ingredient: lemon zest!!! Adding the lemon takes this from just an ordinary pasta salad to something that tastes summer fresh!

Sauce is ready for the pasta!!!

Mix up the pasta & asparagus first. Then add the sauce right before eating. Mindy's beginner cook tip: wait until the last minute to put on the sauce. I tasted the salad right after I made it and it was divine. I put it back in the fridge for about 20 minutes while I prepared the rest of our dinner and by the time we got around to eating it, it was already dry :( So I can tell you that this pasta salad tastes amazing right after the sauce is mixed in...so wait until you are really ready to serve before adding it in. This can be a make ahead dish...just hold off on the final mixing until right before you serve it. Also, if you know you will have leftovers, only add the sauce to half of the pasta/asparagus mixture, just like you would do if you were dressing a lettuce salad. Instead of the dressing making the lettuce wilt, the pasta soaks up the dressing and causes it to get very dry.

The final product (right after the sauce goes on):

Love this dish...an easy one for a summer get together.

Maple Pork Chops

So the last recipe was a lot of work for the barbecue sauce. Honestly, store bought would be just as good, if not better, so scrap the cherry barbecue sauce...don't waste the time. It was just ok.

I was watching Paula Deen and she was doing this elaborate maple glazed pork chop and I didn't have time to go to the trouble tonight...it was 6:00pm and we were both hungry, so with that in mind, I came up with this...

I had purchased center cut pork chops with the bone in that were in the fridge ready & waiting to be cooked. I brushed Aunt Jemimah syrup on both sides and grilled them up. I was so amazed at the great taste!!!

I popped a sweet potato in the microwave for 8 minutes, cut it in half, added brown sugar and split it between Dave & I.

Dinner. Done. Delicious.

Grilled Chicken with Cherry Barbecue Sauce

Got this recipe from the food network show, Down Home with the Neelys. I just love that couple!!! They are just so cute and funny together...wish I could come over to their house for a meal ;-) What is better than BBQ sauce on chicken when it is on the grill??? I just love how the sugars in barbecue caramelize and make the chicken taste sweet. Also, using fresh citrus fruit juice kicks up the taste in the sauce from just ok to wOahKay!!! The recipe can be found here: Cherry BBQ Chicken Drumsticks .

Now to follow along...

Step 1: Rub your meat way ahead of time. The longer the rub sits, the more flavor will soak down into the chicken. Combine the rub ingredients as per the Neely's recipe...

The rub line up:

And rub that chicken down good.

If you have skin on your chicken, lift up the skin and get the rub down in there on the meat. I purchased ancho chile powder specially for this recipe (I've actually seen a lot of the food network cooks using it lately, so I figured I would use it for more than just this recipe, but if you don't have it or can't find it in the grocery store, just use regular chili powder.) The chicken needs to sit for at least an hour.

While you wait on the chicken go ahead and begin making the BBQ sauce.

Step 2: Add some olive oil to a pot on medium heat. Once it heats up, add a chopped onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves. (I prefer to hand chop...more on the garlic in a later post).

Cook down the onions until they are very limp and lifeless. No one wants to bite into barbecue sauce!!! While the onions are cooking go ahead and juice 2 oranges and 1/2 of a lemon.

I used a juicer, but you can just cut the fruit in half and squeeze with your hands. I just like using gadgets since typically I buy them on a whim ;-)

Set this aside for step 4.

Step 3: Add ancho chili powder and the tomato paste to the onion/garlic mixture. This is what I am now using thanks to all of the food network cooks using it as well:

They are probably paid to use these products that I've now switched to, so just call me a sucker!!! One of the reasons that I did decide to go ahead and buy the tomato paste in a tube (like tooth paste, get it, lol!) is because why should I open a can of tomato paste just to use 2 tbsp and throw the rest away??? I don't want an open can sitting in my fridge! I'd rather have a tube that has a cap on it in the fridge. So there you have it; the justification that I needed ;-)

Step 4: Once that cooks for a good minute, then add the last of the BBQ sauce ingredients (orange & lemon juice, frozen cherries, water, more salt & pepper).
Let that simmer for 30 minutes on low.

It should look like this...

Step 5: After it is finished simmering, throw it in a blender and puree it. Remember, no one likes to chew their barbecue sauce!!! You could use a food processor or we have the Magic Bullet. The Neely guy used one of those blenders that you just stick right in the pan, called an immersion blender. I thought it was pretty cool, but since I already splurged on the tomato paste, Kosher salt, and ancho chili powder...I decided I could live without this gadget ;( Well, for now.

Step 6: Fire up the grill when ready. Save 1 cup of the barbecue sauce for dipping and use the rest to baste the chicken before & during the grilling process :-)

Serve with your favorite veggies & mashed potatoes...yum-O!

Family Favorites #2 - No Bake Chocolate Cookies

The first time I tried this recipe I was a very little girl and remember making these with my great grandpa Anglin. As a child, I found something special about dropping them on wax paper and waiting for them to harden up. This recipe makes your kitchen smell like chocolate and peanut butter. Is there any better combination???

The Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup peanut butter
6 Tbsp cocoa (dutch process is best, but Hershey's is fine, too)

Step 1: Get the dry ingredients ready to roll. Measure out the oatmeal, cocoa, and peanut butter and set aside, because as soon as you finish step 2, you will need to add these in quickly.

Step 2: Bring sugar, butter, milk, & vanilla to a boil in a large pot and set the timer to make sure it boils wildly for at least one full minute. I usually have to turn the stove almost all the way up to High! Careful, this mixture climbs up the pot (similar to liquid helium for you chemistry/physics buffs...like in this You Tube video here for you non-chemistry types: Video)...easy to overboil. Be sure to constantly stir, you don't want the sugar to burn.

This is the "wild boil" that I refer to:

Step 3: Turn off the heat. Add the peanut butter first to make sure it has enough heat to melt down...kitchen is smelling really good about now, yum! Add the oats & cocoa...stir.

It should look like this:

Step 4: Lay out wax paper on the counter and drop the cookies by the spoonful. Let them sit for a few hours. You will know when they are done, because you will be able to pick them up without them falling apart. Be sure to try the hot batter...it almost tastes better than the cookies!!!

Quick & easy peasy...great fun to make with kids...can't wait to make these with Addison :-)
Yum-O!