Mixed Berry Sorbet

Easiest. Dessert. Ever.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup mixed, frozen berries

Blend. Scoop. Enjoy. 

*Note - DO NOT FREEZE THE YOGURT! Don't be an idiot like me and think your yogurt would freeze like ice cream. Just don't do it. Because it won't. It won't freeze all soft and yummy, it'll be hard as a ROCK and you'll have to defrost it before you can get it out of the freakin' container! Just sayin....

Tuscan Pasta with Tomato Basil Cream

Literally, the easiest pasta meal you will ever make.

Ingredients:

1 bottle of sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce
2 small tomatoes, chopped
5 basil leaves, chopped
1 bag of frozed 4 cheese ravioli

Directions:

Put the jar of sauce in a saucepot. Add the tomatos and basil.

Simmer until your pasta is ready.

Combine the pasta and the sauce. Serve sprinkled with basil.

Looks fancy. Complicated taste. You can't possibly screw this one up.

Fruit Pizza

I think The Pioneer Woman may be my new hero. She's saucy, fun, and completely herself. Her posts crack me up and her food makes me drool. Check this out for a new take on a tasty dessert.

Ingredients

• 1-1/3 cup Shortening (may Substitute Butter)
• 1-1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Orange Zest
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 whole Eggs
• 8 teaspoons Whole Milk
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 jars (13 Ounces Each) Marshmallow Creme
• 2 packages (8 Ounces Each) Cream Cheese
• Peaches
• Kiwi Fruit
• Blueberries
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Other Fruit Optional

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, cream shortening (or butter), sugar, orange peel and vanilla thoroughly. Add in eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the milk and mix.



In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt), then blend this into the cream mixture. I even had my little helper with me on this part. She's turnin' out just like her mama, look at that concentration! Haha.

If you're like me and have to "taste test" everything... don't worry if your dough doesn't seem too sweet. You'll get there.

Slightly flatten between two sheets of waxed paper, then refrigerate for one hour (or freeze for 20 minutes).

Press dough into a sheet cake pan OR divide the dough in half and roll each half into a large round, then transfer to pizza pans.
.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookie dough is cooked and golden brown, but not overly crisp. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

WARNING: DO NOT CONTINUE SCROLLING IF YOU VALUE YOUR CURRENT DIET PLAN, WOULD GROAN AT CALORIE INTAKE, OR WOULD SALIVATE SO PROFUSELY THAT YOU WOULD RUIN YOU COMPUTER KEYBOARD

Ok - I warned you.

Using a mixer with a whisk attachment, whip together Marshmallow Creme and cream cheese until light.

Spread onto cooled "pizza" crust, then decorate the top generously with sliced fruit. Slice into squares or wedges and serve.

Hot Cheese and Onion Souffle Dip

Hot Onion and Cheese Soufflé Dip (found here)
serves 10-12

1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used olive oil based mayonnaise)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste (add more if you want to spice it up)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425º F.

In the bowl of a food processor combine the onion, cream cheese, parmesan cheese and mayonnaise. Process until completely smooth.  I am a master of packing, so I got it all in there and blending just fine. ;)

Add the cayenne and fold in the chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Only reason I posted this pic is becasue the chives are from my garden. That's right. I've gone completely domestic.

Transfer the mixture to a 1-quart baking dish and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Bake until browned and puffed, about 20 minutes. I cooked this for about 20 minutes, in all honesty, it needed to be cooked more to get that browned, crisp look.

Allow to cool slightly; garnish with chopped chives.

I did sliced red peppers and whole grain chips as dippers. Uh, yum!

Double Crunch, Honey and Garlic Chicken

My goodness is this chicken GOOD. Cruncy but drenched in sauce, I didn't think it was possible. Even the hubby liked this one! Definately a keeper. 

Ingredients

Sift together:

2 cup flour
4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp ground sage
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

4 eggs
8 tbsp water

Wrap your chicken in plastic wrap. Take the blunt side of a meat tenderizer and flatten your chicken to about 1/2 an inch thickness (like my hammer?).

Obviously this was my favorite part.

I sliced my chicken breasts in half because flattened they were quite large. Make yourself a batter station. Chicken, flour and the egg wash. Dip the chicken in the flour mixture (make sure to get a good coating), then in the egg wash, and back into the flour mixture. Press slightly on the chicken to get as much batter to stick as possible. The more batter you get, the crispier the chicken.

Ready to fry?

Put a few pieces of chicken in about 1/2 inch of preheated canola oil. You only need medium heat for this one. Your chicken is thin enough that it will cook thoroughly before your crust starts to burn if you do it right. Cook on both sides for about 4-5 minutes each. Once the crust is crispy, you're good to go.

If you're worried about your chicken being too oily, put your hot chicken on a cooling rack and let it drain. I did this and it didn't lose any flavor. 

Honey Garlic Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic

Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. 

Add:
1 cup honey
¼ cup soya sauce (low sodium soya sauce is best)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch your pan. This can bubble up super quick and spill right over. After you let it sit for a few minutes it should thicken up a bit and be ready for your chicken to be drenched in yummy goodness.

Dip your chicken in the cooled sauce. Coat it really well. The sauce was so good I drizzled more over the plates I served. Sweet and a little salty, but the crispy outside gives it a nice crunch with flavor.

It's crunch time!

After a hiatus from a long business trip, I'm back. :)

And it. is. ON!

Snack attack!

Ever had one of those nights where you're just relaxing and then BOOM! Snack attack!! Yeah... that was me last night. But I was so indecisive about what I wanted because I wanted salty, sweet, crunchy and smooth I had to go with what I could come up with.

Super easy, and I'm sure I've seen this somewhere...

Ingredients

Apple

1 Tbsp coconut

2 Tbsp peanut butter

2 Tbsp chocolate chips

Slice your apple as thick as you want to (I did it pretty thin). Top each slice with a tablespoon of peanut butter, then top with coconut and chocolate chips. Yummy. Late night snacking doesn't have to be greasy. 

Latkes with Chipotle Lime Sour Cream

I love potatos. I love chipotle. I love lime. This dish was made for me. 

Ingredients

6 tablespoons light sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
3/4 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
6 cups shredded peeled baking potato (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 cup grated fresh onion
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil, divided

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Combine potato and onion in a colander. Drain 30 minutes, pressing occasionally with the back of a spoon until barely moist. *Note - you can't rush this process. Give it the full half hour, pressing every 5 minutes or so. Your latkes will stick together better the less moist they are.

Combine potato mixture, flour, and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; toss well.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Spoon 1/4 cup potato mixture loosely into a dry measuring cup. Pour mixture into pan; flatten slightly. 

Repeat the procedure 5 times to form 6 latkes. Sauté 3 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked.

Remove latkes from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and potato mixture to yield 12 latkes total. Serve with sour cream mixture.

Lemon Loaf

 Oh Lemon Loaf... how I love you...

If you like lemon, this is the recipe for you. Sweet, but tart, lemony goodness that's great for breakfast with some hot coffee or even a snack. I really like making this one, but seriously, except for the time I broke a bottle of lemon Pledge, my kitchen has never smelled that lemony.

That's a lot of lemons... 

Ingredients

For the Lemon Loaf:

• 1 ½ cups cake flour
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 8 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¼ cup grated lemon zest (from about 4 lemons)
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Lemon Syrup:

• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 4 to 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.

In a medium bowl, sift together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed combine sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice. *NOTE - I do not have a stand mixer. I used a hand mixer with beater attachments on a low setting. It mixed well and set well, but was a bit messy as before you put the sour cream, vanilla and flour in it's all liquid. Handle with care.

With the mixer still running, drizzle the butter into the bowl. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix to combine.

 Sprinkle in the flour mixture over the batter, one third at a time, folding gently after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.

 

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

 

While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.

Remove loaves to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the loaves. Brush the tops and sides of the loaves with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cakes cool completely.

To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

This recipe made two loaves. I tossed one in the fridge and shared the next day. The other I carefully wrapped in foil, plastic wrap and a plastic ziplock bag and placed in the freezer for a rainy day. My best advice is to let the frozen loaf defrost for 4-6 hours before heating. Toss a slice or two in the toaster to let the icing soften up a bit. 

Enjoy!

Salami-Mozarella Calzone

This calzone was smoky, flavorful and filling with a salad on the side. Who knew that salami could be even tastier!? It was extremely easy to make and could be altered in a million different ways should you want to.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used cilantro)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/4 pound shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
• 1 13.8-ounce tube refrigerated pizza dough
• 1/4 pound deli-sliced salami, cut into thin strips
• 1 1/2 cups giardiniera (pickled mixed vegetables), drained (I did not use these as I'm not a huge fan, however, I did toss on some tomatos)
• 1/4 pound sliced provolone cheese

Beat the eggs, cilantro and lemon zest in a small bowl. Pour half of the egg mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the mozzarella. Reserve the remaining egg mixture for brushing on the crust.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Unroll the dough on the parchment paper and pat into a 9-by-12-inch rectangle. Spread the mozzarella mixture over one half of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the edge.

Top with the salami, followed by the provolone. 

How to please everyone? Only place tomatos on half.

Fold the other half of the dough over to cover the filling. Crimp and roll the edges to seal, then pierce the top of the dough in a few places with a knife.

Slide the calzone with the parchment paper onto the baking sheet; bake 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining egg mixture, then continue to bake until the crust is golden, 5 to 10 more minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then cut into wedges.

Sorry guys... totally blanked on taking a pic of the final product. But, there it is with my cheesy salad!