"Dessert is the whole point of the meal."

"Dessert is the whole point of the meal." 

This is a quote from one of my favorite movies, "Simply Irresistible" and sometimes they are words to live by. I have 2 super simple dessert recipes that are sure to WOW and satisfy your taste buds!

 

Let's start super simple with a Pecan Banana Pudding...
 You will need:

1 Large box of Sugar Free or Regular Vanilla Pudding Mix
3 Cups of cold milk
1 package of Pecan Sandies Cookies
1 tub of Cool Whip
4-5 Bananas, Sliced

Start by chopping the cookies in to small chunks and slicing the bananas.

 Then start your layers. Cookies, bananas and pudding....repeat.

After adding the last layer of pudding, top whole thing with cool whip. Let set at least an hour or two before serving.








Remember, you can make this a light dessert by using sugar free pudding and cool whip!

Now, let's tackle a simple delicious Fresh Strawberry Cake.....

You'll need:
1 white cake mix
1 half of a large package of Strawberry Jello mix
4 eggs
1 cup of oil
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of fresh strawberries, cut and mashed

Frosting:
1 cup fresh strawberries, cut and mashed
2 8oz boxes of cream cheese, softened
1-2 cups powdered sugar
1 half of a large package of Strawberry Jello mix

Mix the white cake mix and HALF of the dry jello mix together then add the oil, eggs and water til blended.

 You will need to slice then mash the fresh strawberries. I did these in a food processor.

 

You can use any kinda of cake pan but I prefer the round one for this. 

Make sure the can is buttered and floured very well. The canned flour

stray works very nice and makes it very easy. Bake for 35-40 minutes 

at 350. After the cakes have cooled 5-10 minutes, remove from the pan and allow to continue to cool.

 Now it's time for the frosting....
  Beat the cream cheese until it's creamy then slowly add in the powdered sugar and the other half of the jello mix. Add in the fresh strawberries. It will look a little runny but don't panic, stick it in the fridge and it will be fine.

Once the cakes of cooled and the
frosting has stiffened up, frost the cake.

 This was yummy! I think it actually had more strawberry flavor the next day but it was fabulous anyways.

Next time, I'm going to split the layers to make 4 then put the strawberry frosting in-between then frost the outside with chocolate frosting. I'll let you know how it turns out!

As always, Enjoy!

Potatoes...how can I cook you, let me count the ways!

Potatoes are one of the veggies that you can get in a rut with. Do you find that you're always mashing or baking them but not much else? There's the rut. There are several very simple ways to get out of the rut. You can try boiling, roasting and frying them to start.

First, make sure you leave the skins on and wash them very good. Then come the options.....

Boiling. You can use small potatoes whole or cut in half or a larger ones cut into chunks. Then boil them in HEAVILY salted water until tender. Drain and toss with butter. Quick, simple, and tasty.

Another new option is to boil whole red potatoes for about 10 minutes then slightly smash then in a casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt, then bake in the over for another 20 minutes. YUM!

Roasting. Again you can use small potatoes whole or cut in half or larger ones cut into chunks. After you have washed them and cut them up, toss them in seasonings and oil. For the seasonings stir together garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, thyme, basil, and/or oregano then stir in oil (olive oil or canola) until it makes a soupy paste type consistency.

Frying: You can pan fry or deep fry. Either way is good.

Deep Fry: The secret to making crispy home-made fries is double frying them. You can do homemade potato chips this way too. Just put them in for a couple of minutes. They will look greasy and limp but don't worry, they will come out great. Do all your potatoes then go back and put them back in the fryer a second time, cooking them until they are golden brown. They are so good this way. If you are doing chips it takes a lot of time since  you need to put them in one by one. But I'm telling you now, it's worth it. And don't forget to salt them as soon as they come out of the fryer.

Pan Fry: The best way to slice the potatoes for pan frying them is with a meat sliced or a mandolin. If you don't have either, you want them thin and as evenly sliced as possible. I always fry bits of bacon in the pan first, then add some sliced onion before adding the potatoes. Some people say you can't get them good and crispy in a non-stick pan but they are wrong. If you have problems getting things to brown up in a non-stick pan, you are stirring it too much. Let the food sit a bit before stirring. You'll find that it will crisp up just fine it you do.

Here's another useful tip, use baking potatoes instead of buying a bag of small to medium potatoes. For my family of five, I use 3 large baker potatoes when making potato dishes such as mashed, fried, or potato salad. You only have to peel and cut 3 potatoes up instead of a zillion little ones that have a bunch of bad spots on them. You would be surprised but sometimes the cost is a lot less to go with the bakers too.

I recently found an amazing recipe from Boar's Head for Yukon Gold Potato Pave (check out the link for a picture) http://www.boarshead.com/recipe.php?recipeID=160&from=category&fromID=9. It is OMG good! The cheese is kinda expensive ($10.99 a pound) but it's a hard cheese so once you grate it, it's more than you know. We got about a 3/4 pound block and had enough grated cheese to make about 3 batches.

Hope you all Enjoy!

Grilled Pork Chops..............smell the smoke! See the juice!

 My mom said she read on article a few weeks back about salting your steaks before cooking them. The article said to liberally salt the meat so it will retain it's moisture. I know, it sounds kinda crazy but the article asked a simple question to prove it's point....What happens to you when you eat a lot of salt? For most women this is a simple answer...we swell. You know retain moisture. I felt so stupid for a whole minute. It makes perfect sense. So the next time we were going to grill, we tried it. I figured if it would work with steak, pork chops would work too....and guess what....it did.



I liberally salted the chops and then let them rest for about a half hour. You can see how much salt and other seasonings are on the chops. Be generous but careful not to over salt. If you think you put too much, you can always rinse it off and start over. I normally season mine with salt, pepper and Emeril's Essence!

My husband grilled these to perfection! He had them over the hot coals for about 10 to 15 minutes. You can also sear them on a hot griddle before actually putting them over the coals. This also helps seal in the juices! If you have a cast iron griddle you can heat it up on the grill while waiting for the coals to heat up.

I made some broccoli au gratin rice, sweet carrots and whiskey apples to go with those beautiful chops. It was a perfect meal! Whiskey Apples are just peeled and sliced granny smith apples that you saute in butter with a little bit of cinnamon, brown sugar, a dash of cloves and a shot of whiskey, about an ounce. the sugar will cause the apples to release their juices so once the apples are cooked, add in a slurry. You can use flour or cornstarch mixed with about 1/4 cup of water to make the slurry. Make sure it is smooth before stirring it in to the apple mixture. This will make a sauce and it will look like the inside of an apple pie. My family loves this over pork chops. 

As always, Enjoy!

Omelets...yummy!!

Cheese Omelet

The omelet  is a wonderful thing. It can be filled with anything you can image, although I've never tried sweets but to each their own.  There are at least 5 steps to making a good omelet and I've included them below. Omelets sound and, for some, look really complicated but they can be easy. Another nice thing about omelets is that the are individualized. You want meat and cheese, your husband wants peppers and onions, and the kids want just cheese. No problem. Everyone can have their own

Step One: Take the eggs out of the fridge! Eggs cook better at room temperature so you can lay them out early. How many eggs should you use? That's up to you. I think 2 eggs work great but 3 works too. Don't use more than 3 since it will be harder to cook. Beat eggs until mixed well, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add about 2 Tablespoons of milk or heavy cream. Either will work. Mix well and let sit until ready to cook.

Step Two: Choose your  filling. You need to decide exactly what to put in it your omelet. Chopped luncheon meats, sausage, bacon, cheese, mushrooms, peppers, onions, hash browns, tomatoes, chilies...I could go on, but I'll stop for now.You can use any kind of meats and cheeses. And don't be afraid to experiment, add several different types of cheeses or meats for a yummy dish. If the kids like pizza, use pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and a little marinara sauce. Make sure that you have everything laid out and ready to toss in the pan. Don't start cooking  the eggs and then start to chop up the filling. If you have everything laid out and ready to go in the omelet, it will be easier to put together. Another advantage is that with everything ready to go it will be quick to put them together when you're cooking for more than one person. An idea is to get a small bowl and mix all the ingredients for each omelet together that way the filling is mixed up when you put it in and not layered.

Step Three: Choose the right pan. I think this is where most people mess up, they choose a pan that is too big. A small skillet, about 9 inch, works best for me. The one I like the best is from Ikea and only costs $2.99 (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/96225800). Which means you can have more than one and cook multiple omelets at one time. Spray the pan with cooking spray and don't forget the sides a bit! Don't do just the bottom of the pan, after all the eggs will be on the sides too.

Step Four: Time to cook. Once you  have all your ingredients together, heat up the pan. Use a medium to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, the eggs will sizzle a bit when a drop hits the bottom, pour the eggs in. Don't stir them just let them cook for a minute or so. Then using the tip of a spatula, push from the edge towards the middle. Let the uncooked egg mixture fill in the gap. Repeat from different angles until most of the egg is solid. You can see in the picture how the it will wrinkle up.


Carefully ease spatula under middle of the egg and flip to cook other side.

Step Five: Now add your toppings spread them all over the top not just on one side. After you have them spread out evenly.







Wait about a minute then carefully fold it in half. Let it cook for a minute or so longer on the second side then side on to a plate and dig in!

Ham and Cheese Omelet

 This is an easy and delicious meal whether it is for breakfast, lunch,or dinner! Enjoy!