Raspberry Pie

ingredients
1 bottom pie crust
4 oz. light cream cheese
1 small pkg. rapberry Jello (four 1/2 cup servings)
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar to taste
4 cups clean raspberries (chilled if possible)
1 cup ice
1/2 cup boiling water

directions
Put cream cheese on counter to soften.
Bake pie shell.  I keep my Mother-in-law's bulk pie mix on hand.
Cool on rack.
Set aside 1 Tbsp. of cream cheese. When pie shell is cool,
use rubber spatula to gently and completely cover pie shell
bottom and sides with an even layer of softened cream cheese.
Leave the top 1/2 inch or so of crust plain.  Put pie crust into
fridge to chill.

Filling
Set out one cup of raspberries.
Microwave 1/2 cup of water for 1 minute.  Pour into blender.
With blender on low speed, slowly add Jello/cornstarch/sugar mix
until fully dissolved.  Add tablespoon of cream cheese.
Blend in the cup of raspberries.
Add the cup of ice and increase speed to blend thoroughly
until all ice dissolved and ingredients are completely incorporated.
If desired, continue at high speed until sauce is both thickened and
light in texture like a chiffon.

Option 1:
Fold sauce mixture into the remaining 3+ cups of raspberries and
pour into chilled pie shell.

Option 2:
Pour layer of sauce into shell.  Top with layer of raspberries.  Add
another layer of sauce.  Add raspberries.  Etc. until shell is full.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes and serve.

Savory and Sweet Pies for Supper

Tonight I used my Mother-in-law's pie crust mix as the crust for both savory quiche and apple pie.  So we had pie for dinner and pie for dessert!

This is the quiche base I used.  

3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk (or any you have on hand works)
3 large eggs
2 oz cheese

It is creamy and velvety.  Add whatever meat (optional), vegetables, and cheese mixtures you desire.  

Tonight I simply added  feta cheese and sauteed tomatoes, onions and garlic.  At dinner when I asked "What did you learn today" as we usually do at dinner time, our youngest said, "I learned I like quiche!"  He ate 3 pieces.  

Pour in pastry/pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, until filling is just set.  The center will giggle slightly when moved. 

I baked the apple pie at the same time at the same temperature.  

My Mother-in-law's Pie Crust Mix

My Mother-in-law's Pie Crust Mix

Description:
Bulk recipe for pie makers like my Mother-in-law. Good to have on hand for the holidays or family gatherings. Remember, true pie lovers only cut a pie once, so you'll need several pies:)  

Ingredients:

5 lb. bag Gold Medal white flour plus 1 cup = 21 cups if you don't have a 5 lb. bag on hand
 

3 lb Crisco (don't substitute) I like the butter flavor, but she uses original.
3 T sugar (optional)
3 T salt

Directions: Mix carefully, but well until the mix has pea sized balls. Store in a plastic container or Crisco can.  Keeps well in a cool place or refrigerator.

 

For every 1/2 cup of mix you use, add 1 T cold water.  I end up using 1 1/2 c of mix with 3 T cold water for each regular sized bottom crust.  For 1 cup use 2 Tablespoons of cold water.  

Mix with a fork.  The less you work the dough both in preparing the mix and in rolling it out the flakier it is.  You want enough to go over the edge of your pie pan.  

Fold the pie crust under and pinch about every inch to make a design. Press fork in the bottom and around the sides to vent.

 
Sunday my husband made strawberry pie filling to go in these 3 pie shells I baked for him.   Our youngest had a piece of crust left.  Thinking he must not want it I asked him if I could eat it.   He said, "No! I'm saving it.  It's the best part!  I wanted fewer strawberries!"


My husband's favorite pie is boysenberry.  What's your favorite pie? 

Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies

I came home to my husband and kids having made these yummy cookies today.  Here's the recipe and a photo.  Enjoy!

Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Snow Ice Cream

Dawn's Snow Ice Cream

Ingredients:8 to 10 packed cups freshly fallen snow (avoid the yellow stuff!)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 or 2 handfuls mini chocolate chips (optional)

OR Peppermint extract mixed with a tiny bit of cocoa powder...yum.

Directions:
If you know in advance that it’s going to snow, place a clean container outside to collect the snow. If the snow is already on the ground, just find a clean area and scoop some up. Place 8 cups of the snow in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and extract, then check the consistency. If it’s too mushy, add some more snow. When you’ve got it just right, stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon into cones or serving bowls and enjoy immediately.

This ice cream won’t freeze well. You’ll end up with a brick. So plan to make it just in time to enjoy!

Makes about 6 to 8 servings.

This recipe shown is a "shortcut" recipe and not a very good one at that. If you've ever had real Snow Cream, you would notice the difference at first bite.

I use my grandmother's recipe, which she got from her mother. My grandmother passed away last year just shy of her 101st birthday. It's the real deal and tried and true!

Shelley's Snow Cream

1 egg, slightly beaten
1 - 2 teaspoons vanilla
3 - 4 cups milk
Sugar to taste (about 2 cups)
A dash of salt
1 large bowl of fresh, clean, powdery snow (not crusty or packed)

Pour milk and beaten egg into a saucepan and heat on low, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. When the mix begins to form tiny bubbles, slowly add the vanilla and then the sugar, all the while stirring the mixture. Turn off heat and allow to cool a bit. Gather fresh snow and divide into individual dishes. Carefully pour the milk mixture over the snow, stirring until you get the consistency you want. Add more snow or milk mixture, if needed. Refrigerate leftover milk mixture.

Chocolate Decadence Cake

I will make this cake again! I discovered it searching easy decadent gourmet chocolate cakes to make for a friend's birthday who wanted chocolate.  Described as “The perfect, fudgy chocolate cake recipe” and originally from the Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé book I decided to give it a try.

Chocolate Decadence Cake

Ingredients:


8 3/4 oz. bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
(she used Valrhona, 71%, I used Lindt 80%)
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 Tb. all-purpose flour


Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9 inch cake pan, line the bottom with parchment, butter the parchment and flour the pan or I used a 9x3 spring form pan with baking spray.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, set it aside to cool. It should be just warm when you mix it in with the rest of the ingredients.

Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer with the paddle attachment for about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating between each egg for about one minute.

With the mixer still running (not too high), add the chocolate and beat until just incorporated.

Again with the mixer still running (not too high), add the flour and beat until just incorporated. Finish mixing the ingredients with a rubber spatula, being sure all the flour has been incorporated into the batter.

Fill the cake pan and bake for about 28 minutes or so. When you take the cake out, the middle will look like it's not yet cooked. That is normal. A knife inserted in the center will come out with some batter on it. That too is normal. You don't want to over-bake the cake.

Cool on a wire rack. When the cake is at room temperature, place the cake in the refrigerator for an hour or two, this makes it easier to remove from pan. I did this, but with a spring-form pan it’s easier.

Un hinge the spring-form and place cake onto a wire rack and then invert onto a serving platter.

It said this cake is fabulous with whipped cream or ice cream, so I spread Jello’s white chocolate instant pudding made with whipping cream instead of milk over the top.  Then I simply decorated with fresh raspberries marking the 8 portions then drizzled a black raspberry vanilla syrup my husband previously made over it when plating it to serve.

The cake can be kept wrapped at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3 - 4 days, or frozen for up to a month.

Quinoa has quite a bit of protein

Sunday, we tried quinoa for the first time with great success as our dinner guests liked it.  It is tasty and so full of protein and fiber.  Here's a 5 star recipe from allcooks for the quinoa salad we served for the vegetarian option in our roast beef Sunday dinner.   Just click on the title for the link where you'll find a photo. 

Quinoa Veggie Salad with Zesty Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 4 cups quinoa
• 4 cups water
•  
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup canola oil
•  
• 2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can black olives, chopped

Directions

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Scrape the cooked quinoa into a large bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
2. Place the vinegar, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and mustard into a blender. Drizzle in the oil while blending at high speed until the dressing is thick.
3. Add the cucumbers, bell pepper, red onion, tomato, and olives to the bowl with the quinoa. Pour the dressing overtop and gently fold until evenly mixed.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 215 | Total Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 0mg

Father's Day included prime rib, strawberry salad, key lime pie

When I was asking some friends for a new salad recipe, K recommended this strawberry salad everyone enjoyed when she served it at Easter, so I took it to Father's Day dinner at B&D's with a similar result.  You add strawberry jam to the dressing and strawberries to the salad.  We love strawberries and I learned to add fruit to a green salad from K! 

I thrill to find my Mother's handwritten menus of dinner parties so I'll include D's menu with the recipe below. This strawberry salad is pictured in the back left corner in the wooden bowl my Mother loved to serve salad in.


D's Father's Day Menu
prime rib w/ horseradish
mashed potatoes w/ gravy
corn
jello salad
green salad

fresh fruit:
cherries, grapes, strawberries
pineapple, honeydew and cantaloupe
Drinks: 
cucumber water
raspberry lemonade
Desserts:
chocolate pie
pineapple pie
*key lime pie

Here's a link to * Paula Deen's key lime pie recipe! Once you get there just scroll down to see the recipe and comments.  D used chopped pecans in the crust and grated white chocolate on top.

Strawberry Salad
Lion House Cookbook


Dressing:
2 T red wine vinegar
3 T sugar
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 t dry mustard
1/2 t salt
1/2 c strawberry jam
Mix and let sit in refrigerator to let flavors blend.


Salad:
1 head of red leaf lettuce
1 pkg of spinach
1/2 c red bell pepper chopped
1 purple onion sliced
Mix these vegetable salad ingredients together.  

Then prepare the remaining ingredients but wait to add them 

along with the dressing until right before serving,
so they don't become soft or soggy.
1 c strawberries sliced
1 c cashew pieces
1/3 c bacon pieces
1/2 pkg wonton skins (cut in 1/2 (strips) and fried)

Cowboy Cookies

Our daughter stayed up last night to make these for class.  I decided to make a batch for a group of boys who were coming over after school today. I haven't made these in forever. Now I'll have this recipe handy online as well. My sister-in-law's sister gave me this recipe a few years ago.

Cowboy Cookies
1 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
dash salt
2 c flour
2 c oatmeal
2 c chocolate chips
nuts if desired

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder and salt. Stir in flour, oatmeal, chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

Hubby's Thai Food Tests

Thanks to my thoughtful friend C, I recently visited a Trader Joe's near her and purchased many fun treats for my family.  One item was meal ready green curry thai sauce.  Thanks to my husband, who wanted to make Thai food and loves to experiment in the kitchen, we had a wonderful homemade Thai meal.  He offered us green curry shrimp and/or red chili shrimp over jasmine rice and pad thai noodles.  I know my Mother would have loved tasting this!

  
Green Curry Shrimp
a bottle of Trader Joes green curry sauce, warmed
add in some whole peeled prawns
serve over rice
Note:  Even in our small town we can find Thai Kitchen products and great recipes on the internet, so to make something similar to us with out a Trader Joe's, we can use Thai Kitchen green curry paste and a 14 oz. of coconut cream.  


Red Chili Coconut Shrimp
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
3 T Thai Kitchen roasted red chili paste
2 T Thai Kitchen premium fish sauce
1T  white sugar
Stir ingredients together, simmer on medium low heat for 7 minutes. 
Add 1/2 cup frozen green beans sliced asian style  
1 water chestnut, diced and optional
1/4 cup frozen peas
Continue to simmer for 3 more minutes.  Turn off heat.  Add 7-10 cooked, peeled prawns or 1/2 cup smaller shrimp and serve as soon as warm over white jasmine rice.  


Note: You may use chicken or pork of course, but one of our son's announced 2 weeks ago that he is not vegetarian, but will eat fish -- thus this further exploration in the kitchen. 

Toronto Pad Thai

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package pad thai rice noodles
• 1/4 cup tamarind paste (To substitute for tamarind paste, blend equal parts dried apricots, prunes, dates, plus lemon or lime juice. Use 2 tablespoons of this mixture for every teaspoon of tamarind paste.)
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 limes, juiced
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon chili paste (sambal oelek)
•  
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound firm tofu, drained and cubed
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup coarsely ground peanuts
• 5 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, pour in enough very hot tap water to cover, and let them soak for 30 minutes. Drain the noodles, and set aside.
2. Stir together the tamarind paste with boiling water in a bowl until well mixed, and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes. Press the paste mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to strain, and discard any fibers or seeds. Combine the strained tamarind paste with the ketchup, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and chili paste in a bowl.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Cook and stir the garlic and tofu until the tofu begins to show brown edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the eggs, and scramble for 30 seconds, then add the noodles, tamarind mixture, and bean sprouts. Cook and stir until the noodles are separated, heated through, and covered with sauce, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with peanuts and sliced green onions.