Coconut Fruit Dip

Friend Chelsea brought this to a pool party Friday night- it was loved by everyone. I should be a little embarrassed that I have already made it TWICE since. Saturday and Sunday nights. It's that awesome.

Coconut Fruit Dip

1/2 C. softened cream cheese (4 oz., or half a block)
1/2 C. sour cream
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. sweetened shredded coconut

Combine all ingredients well. Great with berries, pineapple, grapes, whatever suits your fancy.

Sweet Tooth

Whenever it's my turn to make a sunday dinner sweet, I hardly even know where to begin narrowing down my list of to-try desserts, let alone pick just one.

Here's a few on the top of my desserts to-try list (look for them in the upcoming weeks):

apple hand pies

cream cheese cookies

lemon yogurt cake

lemon cheesecake

lemon tart (I know)

fresh orange cookies

sweet nachos

ricotta donuts

banana split pie

sweet strawberry bread

flourless chocolate cake

cream puffs

carrot cake with orange cream cheese frosting

peach pie

hot fudge pudding cake

chocolate cupcakes with peaut butter icing

...to name a very few.

Menu, Aug 30, 2009

Mine's a shortie this week, I'm leaving town part way through. Maren and I split a box of Utah tomatoes this week and we've got a lot to go through, so if there's a bit of a theme, that's why.

Sun- Spaghetti, breadsticks, green salad, berries and coconut dip (recipe coming), chocolate yogurt snack cakes and fresh whipped cream (Mmmm)

M- roasted tomato soup and grilled cheese sammies

T- BBQ chicken salad

W- chicken parmesan over pasta, spinach salad

Th- airport food for me, Granny's diner for the kids and Chris

F- Kelli and I will have a report on our meal at The Lady & Sons. CAN NOT WAIT.

Sat- only time will tell...

Raspberry Walnut Muffins

Sorry Candice- this should be your post because you're the one that discovered this heavenly combination, but I've been wanting to put this on here for a while. With all of the muffin making I've been doing lately, I think I've narrowed it down to my top 3 combinations and this is one of them. I would recommend using a jumbo muffin tin instead of standard size; that way you can pack more of the yummy fruit and nuts in.



Raspberry Walnut Muffins

10 Tablespoons(1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I substitute 1 cup of the flour with whole wheat)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk, room temp
1 large egg, room temp
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup rasberries
Streusel

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a muffin tin. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; whisk to combine.

2. In a medium bowl, combine butter, vanilla, sugar, milk, and egg; whisk to combine. Fold butter mixture into flour mixture until combined; stir in rasberries and walnuts.

3. Spoon batter evenly into each muffin tin; press 2 Tablespoons streusel on top of each. Bake until tops are golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool in pan 15 to 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Streusel

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup all-purpose flou
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl and mix with your fingers until mixture is moist and crumbly.

Lemon Ice Cream

Since buying my ice cream maker, I've made blackberry, chocolate, chocolate almond, and strawberry, but my favorite is this lemon ice cream. It is rich, creamy, and unbelievably delicious! Recipe from Cafe Johnsonia.

Lemon Ice Cream

1 1/4 cups white sugar

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4-5 lemons)

1 Tbsp. lemon zest

2 whole eggs

4 egg yolks

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, lemon juice, zest, whole eggs, and egg yolk. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Add milk and cream. Strain through a fine mesh sieve over a clean bowl. (The mixture will be very thick.) Chill until cold--about 3 hours or overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions. Let the frozen ice cream harden for a few hours before serving. Keeps about a week in an airtight container.Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

Mini Chicken Meatballs

These were quite delicious. I made a batch today, ate some for dinner, and froze the rest for later use. The meatballs were flavorful and tender and a delightful addition to some plain old pasta and marinara. I could also eat them by themselves - maybe as a little appetizer...mmm, ya, that would be good.

Mini Chicken Meatballs

From Redbook; recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

1/4 c. plain breadcrumbs

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 large eggs (lightly beaten)

1 T. whole milk

1 T. ketchup

3/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. ground chicken

1/4 c. olive oil

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (for garnish)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for garnish)

Directions:

1) In a medium bowl, stir together breadcrumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and combine well. Use a melon baller (or a teaspoon measure) to scoop the mixture; roll the seasoned chicken into 3/4 inch mini meatballs.

2) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs and brown the tops, about 2 minutes longer. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

Fruits & Veggies

September is Fruit & Veggies - More Matters month. I've been doing some research in order to write an article for work spotlighting this National Health Observance. If you've never visited the CDC's website focusing on fruits and vegetables, you should! It is a very cool website. Not only does it outline many of the benefits of fruits & veggies, but it also has a fruit & vegetable of the month, information on what counts as a cup of fruits and veggies, tips, recipes, and interactive tools like "analyze my plate" to get a nutritional analysis of your meals and "recipe remix" to see how you can give your all-time favorites a healthy new twist while reducing fat, calories and sodium.

Candice, Maren, Amanda, Emma, and Mom - I think we should try and cook with the fruit & veggie of the month...starting right now with Celery & Fennel, and Cactus. You in?

Fancy Snack

My husband, Chris' birthday is coming up, and I joked that I am going to get him a membership to a cheese of the month club. (I still might.) Our goal is to become experts in the cheese field. Last week we went to my cousins' wedding reception and one of the things served was a round of brie drizzled with pesto, served with crackers. DElicious. So when I was shopping for the week at Trader Joe's, I brought home a small package of brie ($3). On the outside of the packaging, I found a recipe for these:

(Maren, this title is for you)

Multigrain Crackers with Brie, Apple slices, Walnut halves, a dash of Cinnamon, and a Honey Drizzle

Multigrain crackers
Brie
thinly sliced Apple
Walnut halves
cinnamon
honey

1. Place thin brie slice and an apple on cracker.
2. Top with walnut half.
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with honey.


Will someone please help me think of a title that doesn't list every ingredient?

Green Beans at Joe's

If you haven't tried the fried green beans at Joe's Farm Grill, now would be a good time to do so.

8-16-09 menu

Our dinner menu this week:

Sun- chicken enchiladas, spanish rice, southwestern salad, orange yogurt pops

M- homemade Cafe Rio salads, Mexican fried ice cream

T- mini hamburgers, baked zucchini sticks

W- TJs mac n cheese, steamed carrots

Th- bean & cheese burritos, green salad

F- baked potato bar

S- to be determined

Happy Day

Hey, Muth, Karen, Mandy, Shelly and Em- did you realize our blog is now one year old? Happy Birthday Hold the Onions!

Bon Apettit!

Thursday night, six of us met at the movies to see Julie and Julia. It was (in my opinion) OK. The book is probably better? However, thanks to a suggestion by a commenter on Kelli's blog, we came prepared to the theatre. Maren and I stuffed our purses (has there ever even been a rule about not bringing outside food into the movies?) with goodies from Trader Joe's. Here's what we munched on during the show:

strawberries
Belgian chocolate pudding
marcona almonds with rosemary and sea salt
gorgonzola crackers
madelines
cheddar cheese curds
English toffee
crumbly sandwich cookies


It would have been helpful to have TV trays. I wonder what the people behind us were thinking. :))

Italian Cream Sodas

Maren, Emma and I attended a baby shower for friend Sarah on Tuesday night. Sarah's mother, Shawna, is an outstanding cook and hostess. The food table was piled high with homemade salsa and chips, spinach dip, black-bottom cheesecake cupcakes, the most delicious pink frosted sugar cookies, sweet chex mix with coconut (not sure the official name of that one), and fruit and veggies with an assortment of dips. Everything there was so very good. But my favorite treat of the night was the Italian Cream Soda table. I am not usually one to order drinks at a restaurant, I'd rather eat than drink my calories. But these were so special and DELICIOUS, I happily went back for seconds. Emma requested the watermelon/passion fruit combo, which is a popular combination. I had the pina colada, and it was perfection. The bar tender :) told us that their syrups were purchased locally at Smart and Final. I also found them online here. Everything else can be purchased at the grocery store. I cannot wait to serve these at a get-together in the near future.

Italian Cream Sodas

assortment of flavored syrups
small ice cubes (I'm thinking Sonic)
club Soda
half-n-half
whipped cream

Put 1 C ice in a glass. Pour in 3 T flavored syrup, and 3 T half n half. Pour in 1 C club soda, and top with sweetened whipped cream. Serve with a straw, and stir well before drinking.

Sweet Cake's Gooey Bars

A knock-off recipe of the Sweet Cakes found at the Main Street Mesa bakery of the same name. If you are looking for a gooey, super sweet, super easy treat, look no further.

Sweet Cake's Gooey Bars

1 yellow cake mix
3/4 C. chopped walnuts
1 stick butter
1 box of powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg

Mix together cake mix, walnuts and butter---press into a greased 9x13 pan. Mix powdered sugar, egg and cream cheese. Blend thoroughly and spread over bottom layer
Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 or until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

8-9-09 Menu

Sun- chicken, zucch and biscuit kabobs w/ honey butter dipping sauce, watermelon, green tossed salad, sweet cakes

M- ABC pasta w/ meat sauce (first day of kindergarten!), steamed carrots

T- caprese sammies

W- chicken club pizza

Th- BBQ chicken salad

F- chinese chicken salad

Sat- dunno


We had a first day of school party for breakfast this morning- and I decided upon the nutella center for our ebelskiver. HOLY cannolli, they were amazing. I decided to make it a first day of school breakfast tradition. I am so looking forward to expanding my ebelskiver repetoire. Next up- lemon marscapone. Mmmm.

Ebelskiver (and a menu)

This Williams-Sonoma filled pancake (ebelskiver) pan has been on my wishlist for ages. Kelli and Maren gifted me one for my birthday- and I am giving it a try this week. SO excited! My firstborn will be starting kingergarten in ONE week, and we'll be enjoying a first day of school breakfast. The only difficulty is trying to choose a filling... lemon curd, nutella, berry jam... I guess all of them.

Here's what we're eating for din this week:

Sun- Hawaiian chicken, fruit salad, coleslaw, coconut cupcakes

M- fajitas

T- LGO pizza and gelato

W- chicken enchiladas blancas and a green salad

Th- summer corn chowder

F- Girls night out at BJs

Sat- caprese sandwiches

And The Winner Is.....

Comment #10- Carmen! Please send your address to marenann3@yahoo.com and I'll mail it right away. Thank you all for the nice comments- we LOVE it!

Garden Zucchini and Italian Sausage Penne

(sorry for the shadows...I think someone was hovering over the dish in anticipation, and cast a dark shadow upon the dish)

I found this recipe on Stephanie's Kitchen awhile back, but just barely got around to trying it. It was easy and delish!

Garden Zucchini and Italian Sausage Penne

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta of your choice, cooked to al dente

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1 pound Italian sausage

2 cups zucchini, chopped

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Brown the Italian sausage in a large skillet.
2. Add zucchini and cook until soft.
3. Pour pasta sauce over the sausage. Cook until sauce comes to a low boil.
4. Add cooked pasta to the skillet and mix well.
5. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
6. Eat.