Tuesday, August 21, 2012


Strawberries and Cream Pie

I made this for Seth's birthday. Mom and dad were here the next day and said this was the best pie they have ever tasted! That's saying something... 
strawberries-and-cream-pie.html.jpg


Strawberries and Cream Pie (Adapted from Crumbly Cookie’s recipe)
Ingredients:(Crust)
- 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (About 9 full/long crackers — just throw them in a gallon bag, zip, and crush with a rolling pin.)
- 5 tbsp butter, melted
(Filling)** Crumbly Cookie’s original recipe called for only 1 block of cream cheese and 1 cup of cream, but that didn’t fill my pie dish all the way and I wanted a really thick/deep-dish pie, so I doubled the recipe.
- 
2 8oz blocks of cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups heavy cream + 1 tbsp
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 carton strawberries, sliced into thirds or halves
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Steps:(1) Preheat oven to 375.
(2) In a small bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until a crumbly, moist mixture forms.
(3) Gently but firmly press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom/sides of a pie dish.
(4) Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
** This is the only baking that you need to do for this recipe, so don’t forget to turn the oven off!
(5) In a medium bowl, use an electric mixture to beat your cream until it holds firm peaks. Set aside.
(6) In a separate, larger bowl, mix cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until smooth and creamy.
(7) Fold about 1/3 of the whipped cream into your cream cheese mixture to lighten it, then add the rest. Gently fold until evenly incorporated and smooth.
(8) Spoon filling into your cooled pie crust, and spread it out in an even layer.
(9) Layer sliced strawberries in an overlapping rows around the top of the cream.
(10) Melt chocolate + 1 tbsp cream, and stir until smooth and liquid. Drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the strawberries.
(11) Stick the pie in the fridge for a few hours to allow the creamy filling to firm up.
(12) Slice and serve immediately. Enjoy!
** Strawberries go fast, so this won’t keep very long. Try to eat everything within 3-5 days.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas


Crockpot Chicken Fajitas



1 yellow onion, sliced
3 sweet peppers, sliced
1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breast or thighs
1/4 to ½ cup chicken broth, depending on preference
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cumin
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
Squirt of lime juice
Tortillas
Fajita fixings

Combine sliced onion and peppers in the bottom of a greased crockpot. Lay chicken on top of veggies. Pour chicken broth over top. Sprinkle everything with cumin, salt, and chili powder. Give a nice quirt of lime juice over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or on High for 4-6 hours). When meat is done, shred with two forks and stir back into juices. Serve meat mixture with slotted spoon on tortillas with your choice of fixings.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili over Rice

I found this recipe through pinterest and made it for dinner last night...everyone LOVED it.  And, its ridiculously easy to make, despite the humongous recipe title.  So, make it!  :)
Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili over Rice
Adapted slightly from Rita's Recipes 

2 frozen chicken breasts
1 can Rotel tomatoes (with diced green chilies)
1 cup of frozen corn (or one can)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 Tbs. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 cup water (skip this if you're using canned corn)
1-8oz. package 1/3 less fat cream cheese, cubed

Put all ingredients besides cream cheese into the crock pot.  Stir to combine.  Place cream cheese over the top.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  After 2-3 hours, stir in cream cheese until combined.  Shred chicken before serving.  Top with cilantro, if desired.  You don't have to serve it over rice- you can just serve as a chili.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Autumn Chopped Salad

photo from espressoandcream.com


A lovely little salad to throw together.  I loved the combination of the poppyseed dressing and the balsamic vinaigrette.  My new favorite item in a salad: pears!

Autumn Chopped Salad
From espressoandcream.com
Ingredients
*6 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
*2 medium pears, chopped
*1 cup dried cranberries
*1 cup chopped pecans
*8 slices thick-cut bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
*4 to 6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
*Poppy seed Salad Dressing (I like T. Marzetti)
*Balsamic Vinaigrette (I like Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette)


Instructions
*On a large platter, combine the lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon and feta cheese. Drizzle generously with poppy seed dressing, followed by some of the balsamic vinaigrette. (I would estimate that I used about a cup of dressing: 70 percent poppy seed dressing and 30 percent balsamic vinaigrette) If you prefer your salad to have more dressing, feel free to experiment with the combination.



Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Favorite Buttermilk Syrup

This is just a slightly different recipe from the other Buttermilk syrup on this blog, but I think I like it a little bit better.  The other one sometimes doesn't work out for me.  If you have that problem, too, give this one a try!



1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 Tbs corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

Melt butter in a 4 qt pot over stove, add other ingredients except baking soda.  Turn on medium high and bring to a bubble of a boil, then add soda.  Remove from heat.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Bobby's Lighter Lasagna Soup

With the personal on-set of pinterest and a even more personal vendetta to live a healthier lifestyle...I have been on a quest. A quest for healthy, tasty, kid-friendly recipes. I have been disappointed over and over again. I have tried numerous recipes lately and this is the only one I have posted in months. So....its safe to say its pretty good. Its from the thedeenbrothers.com (as in Paula Deen's sons) but adapted by me. Apparently they have all been on the same hunt as I have- that of HEALTHY recipes!
INGREDIENTS:
-1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (I think a GREAT sub. would be ground turkey if that's what you are into...my husband LOVES sausage)
-1 onion, chopped (I used dried minced onions)
-1 green bell pepper, chopped
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
-1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
-1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes ( I blended these because my family does not like tomato chunks!)
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
-4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles (I used reg. b/c I could not find WW)
-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (I used about 2 T of dried basil)
-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (The fresh stuff that comes in the jar)
-1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
-Crustinis to liking

CRUSTINI RECIPE:
Slice one baguette of the thin, crusty french bread. Slice in 1/2 inch pieces. Brush lightly with olive oil. Shake on garlic powder and Mrs.Dash (my new favorite spice selection for bread!) then top with a few shreds of Mozzarella. Bake for 5 min or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly brown.

DIRECTIONS:
Place meat, onion, bell pepper and garlic in pot and brown. (There won't be much grease if you are using turkey so you don't have to worry about using another pan!). Add broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and red pepper. Bring to boil. Add uncooked broken up lasagna noodles. Cook on high for about 10-12 min. Then add basil and two cheeses. Garnish with a sprinkle a fresh Parmesan and crustinis!

Cream of Anything Soup

We have all used cream of (fill-in-the-blank) soups that are filled with sodium and other hard-to-pronounce ingredients.  Now, you can make your own from common ingredients and its much healthier, twice as tasty, and very easy.
courtesy google images
Cream of Anything Soup

1 cup cold milk
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper

In a small saucepan, whisk milk and cornstarch until well blended.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Heat to a boil, stirring frequently.  Simmer on low for one more minute to thicken.  See below for some more optional ingredients.  
CONDENSED CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP:
Stir in a drained 4 ounce can of mushroom pieces to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup.
CONDENSED CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP:
Stir in 1/2 cup cooked chicken pieces to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Chicken Soup.
CONDENSED CREAM OF CELERY SOUP
Stir in 1/2 cup sautéed chopped celery to the recipe above.
Use in recipes in place of one can of Cream of Celery Soup.