Tropical Torte

This is my goodbye to summer recipe. It is oh so luscious and delicious. I actually got this on a Pampered Chef postcard. You'll love it too!

Tropical Torte

• 1 1/2 cups melted mango sorbet divided (I used Häagen-Daz)
• 1 pkg 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding
• 1 container 12 oz cool whip divided
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 medium pinneapple
• blueberries
• 16 oz pound cake (fresh or frozen)

Mix 1/2 cup of sorbet and all pudding mix in bowl until thick. Gently fold in 2 cups of Cool Whip with a spoon. Set aside in fridge. Put remaining sorbet and mint leaves in a small bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Pour through a strainer into a small bowl so that the mint leaves are all removed and you just have a nice, smooth, orange colored sauce.

Slice up pineapple into 1 inch chunks and place in a medium bowl. Pour 2 Tbsp of mango sauce into bowl and toss and coat pineapple. Meanwhile cut pound cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place bottom layer on serving plate. Spread Cool Whip Mixture over top. Place on 2nd layer and repeat process with all 3 layers. Frost entire cake with mixture. Cut torte into slices and serve with pineapple and blueberries on top and drizzle mango sauce over. Enjoy!

Glazed Strawberry Squares

Oh how I love this desert! I received this recipe from a friend a few years ago and my family loves it. My husband does not care for strawberries but he will devour this one easily. It's very light and not too sweet or rich at all, so you don't feel bad after you eat it. I think it is the perfect desert to take to a party or shower because it feeds a lot! It's super easy to make and so pretty to look at - and of course it tastes like heaven!













Glazed Strawberry Squares

• 1 white cake mix
• 12 oz cool whip
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 8 oz cream cheese ( I use fat free or Nuefchatel cheese)
• 4 cups sliced strawberries
• Strawberry Junket Danish Desert (in the jell-o section at Walmart or Smiths)

Mix white cake mix according to directions. Grease the bottom of a cookie sheet and pour cake mix into pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool. In a bowl mix cream cheese and powdered sugar with electric mixer. Add vanilla and mix. Then fold in cool whip gently with a spoon. Set aside in fridge. Make Danish Desert mix according to directions on box. It will have you add the strawberries. After cake is cool, spread the cream mixture over the top. Then spread the Danish desert glaze over the top. You can serve right away but if you allow to cool in the fridge for an hour before serving then the strawberry glaze will solidify into a pretty gelatin glaze that won't stick to tin foil or plastic. Cut into squares.

Southwestern Mac & Cheese

I should call this "Penne and Cheese" because I used penne pasta instead of macaroni. I love homemade macaroni and cheese and it truly hits the spot when you are extremely hungry. I just created this recipe as I went along, but it was so yummy we had no problem eating it for lunch and dinner the next day. Yes, it makes a lot. Because of the veggies and meat, you won't need any sides. Just serve with a refreshing drink!

Southwestern Mac & Cheese

• 1 box penne pasta
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 red bell pepper diced
  
• 1 green bell pepper diced
  
• 1 yellow bell pepper diced
• 1/2 yellow onion diced
  
• 2 large tomatoes diced
  
• 2 Tbsp dried cilantro

Sauce

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• Salt to taste

Boil pasta according to directions on box. In a skillet begin to brown beef. Toss in diced peppers and onions. Cook until tender and beef is brown. (I like to flavor my beef with onion powder, salt and Worcestershire sauce- taco seasoning would also work). Add in diced tomatoes and turn heat to low. Meanwhile in a sauce pan, melt butter on medium high and stir in 1/2 cup of flour. Once it thickens, add 1/2 cup of milk. Heat up and gradually stir in remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Add the rest of the milk. Add cheese and continue stirring until thick and bubbly. You may add extra flour for thickening or milk for thinning. Add a little bit of salt at a time to your liking. Pour drained pasta into skillet with meat and then pour in sauce. Toss in cilantro and mix well. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Enjoy!

Sweet Onion Cornbread with Dill Sauce

Just another fun creation of mine. I love making recipes that are unique and delicious. This is a new twist on bread and cornbread. Bread is just bread unless you make it fun. I like to add different things to my batter and use fun tube pans. It makes presentation much more appealing and makes inexpensive cornbread seem a little more upscale. You normally wouldn't serve cornbread with a fancy dinner, but now you can. I served this with baked salmon, mushroom salad and delicious plum/grape /kiwi smoothies. The dill sauce gives it the final touch and enhances the flavor! The green onions baked in the bread add color and variety to boring yellow cornbread. Not to mention the Parmesan cheese does wonders! Half way through dinner my four year old son said, "Mommy when can we have this dinner again?" He had seconds on the cornbread.

Sweet Onion Cornbread

• 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup sugar (if you are not a fan of sweet cornbread with onions, then reduce sugar to 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 beaten egg (or 2 egg whites)
• 1/4 cup diced green onions
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Combine dry ingredients, then add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour batter into tube pan and bake in over for 20 minutes.













Dill Sauce

• 1 cup fat free plain yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp dill
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• fresh ground pepper

Mix ingredients and chill before serving.

Spiced Peach Butter

Oh how I love this recipe! Okay I have always been a fan of apple butter, we always have a jar of it in our fridge. I also love pear butter. When trying to figure out what to do with all the peaches on our tree, rather than just bottling them all I decided to make peach butter! I have never heard of peach butter or seen it, but figured it must exist if you can make butter out of so many other fruits (I would love to look up Mango butter mmmm..).

I found a couple different recipes and decided to mix them up and then add my own ingredients as well. That's how I always cook. Let me just tell you it was a masterpiece!! Not only did my house smell like the yummiest, Fall scented candle ever, our breakfast this morning was delicious!!

This recipe makes enough to fill 3 large quart jars (about 30 ripe peaches). If you don't want to make that much or bottle it, just do the math and divide this recipe into a smaller portion. Then put it in the fridge and eat it cold. I'm sure you could freeze it as well in freezer bags. It would make a wonderful gift this Fall or even for Christmas. I think i will make more and give it away with Great Harvest bread.

I added salt and lemon juice to this recipe and I'll tell you why. Salt will enhance the flavor in any fruit and lemon juice combined with salt adds just the right formula to really pull out the flavor. Anytime I make pies or tarts, I always add lemon juice and salt to the recipe and I am never let down. Otherwise deserts can be too sweet and it tastes like a mouthful of sugar.

Spiced Peach Butter

• 30 ripe peaches ( or 24 cups of peach puree)
• 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp of allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Boil peaches for 60 seconds. Then place peaches in a cold water bath - this will help the skins comes off easier (if your peaches are not ripe the skin will still cling to the peach and the pits will be difficult to remove). Skin and pit all your peaches, then place in the blender. Puree them all into a smooth soup mixture. Pour into a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the rest of your ingredients. Turn heat down to low and allow to simmer for 3 hours - stirring every 10-15 minutes. Make sure you don't walk away from it, if it is still boiling. You could also simmer on medium heat in your crock pot for about 6 hours, just leave the lid cracked so that that steam can escape. That is how your peach butter will thicken is by allowing the steam and moisture to escape.

After 3 hours turn off stove and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then freeze or pour into jars, screw on lids and submerge in a boiling water bath (5 minutes for pint jars, 10 minutes for quart jars). Then cool for 24 hours. Make sure they have sealed properly. Before serving, refrigerate for 24 hours. This will allow butter to thicken more and it just tastes better cold. Enjoy on toast, waffles, pancakes or muffins!

Curry Cream Potatoes

Curry is one of my top 5 favorite spices to cook with. I think a lot of people think of spicy Thai or Indian food when they think of curry. Not the case. My German mother in law makes a lot of curry dishes that are anything but spicy.

I created this dish when I was in the mood for creamy potatoes but tired of the same old funeral potato recipe. Plus this sauce is fat free and you would never know. This yellow curry sauce I created tastes like Hollandaise sauce which is why I decided to toss in asparagus with the potatoes. My husband loves this dish!
















Curry Cream Potatoes

• 6-8 peeled Yukon Gold Potatoes (yellow potatoes)
• 1 bushel of fresh asparagus
• 3 cups of fat free half & half (tastes like regular half & half)
• 2 1/2 cups of fat free plain yogurt
• 1 tsp Island Spice brand curry powder (yellow curry)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp lemon pepper

Fill large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 tsp salt (This heats up water quicker and flavors the potatoes). Place potatoes in pot and boil until tender (about 15 minutes). While potatoes are boiling, in a small sauce pan mix together yogurt and half & half until well blended. You made need to use an electric mixer. Once it is smooth and creamy, turn heat on low to medium low - just enough to warm the sauce. You do not want the temperature to get any higher or the sauce will curdle and separate. Add remaining spices and continue to stir. Remove from heat. Do not leave on burner unattended.

Begin to steam your asparagus in microwave or on stove. You don't want to boil or it will be soggy and stringy. Once steamed cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces. When potatoes are finished boiling drain water and cut potatoes into 1-2 inch chunks. Toss in asparagus and place on serving platter or dish . You may need to rewarm your sauce. Pour sauce over potatoes and serve.

Caramel Toffee Fruit Dip

I have hear rumors about this yummy recipe and missed out on every event where this was being served. I finally decided to hunt down this recipe and try it for myself. It was better than what they say. I recommend this for any baby shower, Luau, or get together you have this summer. My husband couldn't stop eating it and he is not a big sweet tooth guy.

















Caramel Toffee Fruit Dip

• 1 8-oz. package cream cheese (you can use light cream cheese)
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla (you can add more to taste)
• 1 bag of Toffee bits (found by the chocolate chips)

Beat together cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in as many toffee bits to your liking. Serve with fresh fruit of your choice. I used these fun sea creature toothpicks for the kids. We had this for desert.

You'll have plenty of toffee bits left over which you can use for ice cream or yogurt. I made a banana pudding parfait.

Homemade Marinara

I am a big fan of making quick meals that look like they took longer to make. I love mixing frozen with fresh so that the meal is 50% from scratch and only took me 15 minutes to make.

I love to buy frozen ravioli or tortellini it's less than $4 a bag. I always make my pasta sauces from scratch. This time I was able to use my garden onions, basil and tomatoes. It was so yummy!

Homemade Marinara

• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cans of water (using your tomato paste can)
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 1/2 Tbsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder or fresh minced garlic
• 1/2 cup dice onion
• 1 cup of diced tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Simmer all ingredients for 10 minutes. The frozen pasta takes 3 minutes to cook. Top with fresh basil and cheese.

Luau Meatballs

 This recipe is so delicious!Above is how it looks with the cherries and below is how it looks without them. Big difference huh? Either way, I love this dish - it's so tasty!

This dish tastes really good over a bed of white rice, in the second picture I used Ramen noodles and it was really good as well.




Luau Meatballs

• 1 package of frozen meatballs (2 - inch meatballs)
• 1 large can pineapple juice
• 2 (20 oz) cans pineapple chunks or tidbits
• 1 jar of maraschino cherries
• 2-3 green bell peppers chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of red wine or cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil. At this point I like to take a Tbsp of cornstarch and mix it with 1/4 cup of pineapple juice or water and add it to the boiling mixture. Then reduce heat to a simmer. This will thicken the sauce and continue to cook your meatballs. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice. This is very filling and feeds a lot of people.

Kabob Marinade and Tzatsiki Sauce

Shish kabobs are really something anyone can do. There is no need to follow a recipe. Just slice your favorite meats and veggies and grill or broil in the oven. The secret really is in the marinating. I did steak, potatoes and zucchini and created a yummy marinade. I broiled my kabobs on high in the oven on a broiler pan for about 10-12 minutes. My husband likes his meat super well done so we cater to him.

I served the kabobs with garlic wild rice and fresh basil. It was delicious. Though we like our A1 steak sauce and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, t's always delicious to dip kabobs in a cool, creamy Greek tzatziki sauce. I included a recipe for that as well.

Kabob Marinade

• 1 cup Sprite
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp thyme
• a dash of salt

Marinade meat and veggies for about 6 hours or overnight. This marinade will tenderize the meat and sweeten it. Once ready to place kabobs in oven, brush the remaining sauce over kabobs. If using steak, sprinkle sea salt on each piece before placing in the oven. This is a Brazilian BBQ technique that does wonders to meat! Broil or BBQ.

Tzatziki Sauce

• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1 large cucumber - peeled, seeded and shredded or finely diced

Mix all ingredients together and chill for 2 hours.

Crepe Cake

Once again I was looking through a German cookbook and salivating at the pictures. Like always, I'm too lazy to translate so I like to take on the creative challenge of looking at the picture and creating what I think it would taste like or what it is made out of. German sweets are not sweet enough for the American taste bud so I don't mind going by the beat of my own drum.

I saw a picture of stacked pancakes that looked very thin, with cream and berries on each layer. I thought to myself "Crepes!" They would be perfect for this feat. They are firm and don't get soggy like pancakes. Then I would need a thick cream that worked like glue so the crepes don't slide around. I have a recipe I have used on this blog and I use in many of my pies and cakes. Perfect! Then I just used a bag of frozen berries but of course pie filling would work as well and be just as delicious! This took me no more than 20 minutes to make - it was so easy. This cake is so easy to cut as the slices hold together very well and it is so pretty to see all the different layers - it's art!

Crepe Cake
















Crepes

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 cup half & half (or milk)
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Heat skillet on medium high. When you can drop water on the pan and it sizzles the temperature is right. Grease pan with oil. Pour 1/2 cup of batter onto pan while tilting the pan to evenly distribute the batter. You have to do this quickly so that the batter doesn't begin cooking right where it landed. When crepe is light brown on bottom flip over and brown the other side. They brown very quickly - sometimes less than 30 seconds on each side. You should get about 6 (8 inch) perfectly round crepes from your batter. Set crepes aside.

Crepe Filling

• 1 8oz package of neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese)
• 2 cups cool whip
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl beat cheese and cool whip together. Beat in powdered sugar until thick and smooth. Blend in vanilla.


Assemble: Spread topping on crepes and arrange your berries or spread on pie filling. Stack crepes. Top with cool whip and berries. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Enjoy!

Gourmet Gnocci

This is Italian soul food! There is something about a dumpling that just speaks to my soul. Gnocci (pronounced "no-chi") is my favorite kind of dumpling. I first tried this masterpiece in Germany about 9 years ago. My mother in law made if for me. You can also find it on the menu at the Olive Garden.

You can enjoy this in soups, with your favorite pasta sauce, or try a creamy spinach Alfredo sauce with mushrooms. I made a fresh marinara sauce with ingredients all from my garden. It is very filling. 1 cup sized servings will fill up the biggest appetite. I love making this for other families because it is cheap to make and so filling!

Gourmet Gnocci

• 8 potatoes (or to save time use 10 servings of instant mashed potatoes)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups all purpose flour

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool slightly and peel. Mash potatoes with a masher. (Tip: for s short cut just make about 10 servings of instant mashed potatoes - follow instructions on box) Place in large bowl and make a well in the center. Put butter in well and allow to melt. Once this has cooled add flour and knead into a soft dough.

Divide dough into fist sized balls. On a floured surface roll each ball into a long rope. Cut the ropes into 1 inch pieces. Press each piece with a fork.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in dumplings and cook 3-5 minutes until they float to the top. Top with your favorite sauce, cheese and fresh basil.

Peachy Pockets

I created this in my mind this week after seeing a picture in a German cookbook of some kind of burrito looking thing with a creamy sauce with apricots in the center. I didn't feel like translating the recipe and some of the ingredients are not even available in Utah so I let my creativity loose.... and Viola! The Peachy Pocket. A puffy, flaky, golden pastry pocket with a creamy warm peach sauce inside.

By the way, these are delicious served cold. Kind of like an eclair - it's so good when the filling inside is cold. So we had them warm for dessert and then the next morning we had the rest cold out of the fridge for breakfast. So yummy!

What I love about this recipe is that you can switch out the fruit. If you are not a peach fan then try your favorite berry or apple. Replace the peach preserves in the recipe with the fruit preserves of your choice. I'd like to try cherries with Smucker's cherry preserves.

Peachy Pockets

• 1 box of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (the recipes for a puff pastry are ridiculously strenuous)
• 8 oz of Neufchatel cheese or cream cheese
• 2 cups cool whip
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp peach preserves
• 1 1/2 cups chopped peaches

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium sized bowl mix cool whip and cream cheese with electric mixer. Once smooth, add powdered sugar and mix well. Add vanilla and peach preserves. Mix well. Fold in peaches.

Make sure your pastry puff has been unthawing for 45 minutes. Open up both sheets and slice along lines. You should have a total of 6 rectangular strips. Slice those horizontally across the middle for a total of 12 rectangles. Sprinkle some flour on prep surface and roll out 6 of the rectangles slightly with a rolling pin. Place them on a cookie sheet. Scoop about 1/2 cup of peach mixture onto each one.
















Roll our the remaining rectangles so they are larger and thinner. Place them over the top of each filled rectangle and fold the edges over and under the bottom rectangles. Take your forefinger and press down and seal at least an inch from the filling to the edge. If you don't seal them good enough they will leak. Take a fork and press down around the edges to confirm seal and for a pretty design.

Baste each pocket with egg whites for a golden look. Place in oven and bake for about 18 minutes. When tops are puffy and golden brown they should be ready. Garnish with fresh peaches and a drizzle of caramel syrup.

Chewy Gooey Caramel Cookies

I created these yesterday while being caught in a bind when I realized I was out of brown sugar half way through making another cookie recipe that I had already planned on making changes to.

Apparently molasses is a great substitute for brown sugar when you are out, but I didn't have that either. So...I got creative and used two different ice cream toppings and WOW it was a good decision. My guests couldn't stop saying how delicious these cookies were.

The lesson to be learned here...whenever you are out of ingredients don't let that stop you. Get creative and use your brain - usually you can end up making something even tastier than the original recipe!

Chewy Gooey Caramel Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup of Smucker's Pumpkin Pie Spice desert topping (It's a limited edition - 88 cents at Walmart)
• 1/4 cup Hershey's Caramel Syrup ice cream topping
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 bag of Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 small bag of chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, desert toppings, baking soda and salt. Mix until blended. Beat in eggs, oil and vanilla. Beat in flour a cup at a time. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.

Shape dough into 1 -1/2 inch balls. Place balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes or until golden. 9 minutes in my oven is perfect. Cool for 2 minutes and serve.

Sunshine Through a Straw

Whenever you have ample amounts of ripe fruit laying around and you don't know what to do - smoothies are your solution!

I created this delicious drink tonight that my family sucked clean through the straw and licked the glass. I found it to be the perfect fusion of spices and fruit; and mixed with some ice it was pure paradise!

Sunshine Through a Straw

• 1/3 of a fresh pineapple, peeled and sliced
• 1 mango peeled and sliced
• 2 bananas
• 1 cup of ice
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• a dash of ginger
• cinnamon to garnish

Add first 6 ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth liquid. Add vanilla and ginger. Blend for 10 seconds. Pour into glasses and garnish with a swirl of cinnamon. Enjoy!

Garden Soup

If you have a garden and you're like me - it's hard to keep up with finding different recipes that will utilize everything you are harvesting before it goes bad. If you bottle or freeze often - then not a problem. I decided to make something that would allow me to take everything sitting on my counter and put it all into one meal. Piece of cake!! That's what I love about soup.

I call this garden soup because you can literally take anything out of your garden, throw it in the pot and it tastes delicious!! I used broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, celery, tomatoes, onions, and fresh basil. I wanted some protein but wanted to keep it a light soup, so I used imitation crab meat. It was perfect. The juices from the tomatoes gave the broth some tang and simmered a delicious flavor into the crab meat.

I have listed the base ingredients below for my garden soup. These flavor notes blended together make the perfect bath for any vegetable. You just can't go wrong. I wanted to keep mine healthy so I topped it with parsley and plain yogurt rather than sour cream. There's nothing better than a dollop of cool, creamy goodness on top of a bowl of steamy soup. Not to mention delicious french bread, rolls or bread twists make a great companion. This is a healthy, hearty and nutritious meal that hits the spot on a cool day. My kids devoured it!

Garden Soup

• 1 - 32 oz box of chicken broth
• 32 0z of water
• 5 shakes of garlic powder
• dash of cumin
• dash of salt
• 4 shakes of lemon pepper
• a couple shakes of thyme
• 2 Tbsp parsley
• fresh ground pepper

Bring to a boil and add all of your diced vegetables. Boil for 10 minutes until veggies are tender. Then simmer on low for 5 minutes. You can puree in blender for a creamy soup - especially if your kids are picky with vegetables. Serve with your favorite soup toppings (sour cream, yogurt, chives, bacon bits, shredded cheese etc.) The toppings make it fun for the kids and bread sticks make it appealing for them because dipping is fun!

Cream Soup

This is a delicious cream soup recipe with included variations to make it your choice vegetable. This soup is a big hit with kids and great for light meals or cold days. I made broccoli and used fresh broccoli from my garden. It was fantastic!

Cream Soup

• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/4 cup margarine or butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups milk

In medium saucepan, saute onion and celery in margarine until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly until smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in chicken broth and milk; cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Do not boil. Continue as directed with one of the recipe variations below. Top with Parmesan cheese and croutons.

Variations:

Carrot Cream Soup: Stir in 2 cups sliced carrots, cooked and drained, 1/2 tsp grated orange peel, and 1/8 tspn nutmeg.

Potato Cream Soup: Stir in 2 cups diced, cooked peeled potatoes, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 tspn dry mustard.

Cauliflower Cream Soup: Stir in 2 cups cooked cute-up cauliflower and 1/2 tsp dill weed.

Broccoli Cream Soup: Stir in 2 cups cooked cut-up broccoli, 2 tsp lemon juice and 1/4 tsp garlic powder.

Celebration Cake

I made this cake for my daughters 2nd birthday party. It was an ice cream theme.

I tried making homemade marshmallow fondant for the first time and it was delicious and just like working with play dough. My sister lent me the recipe. I flavored it with almond flavoring and the guests swore it was marzipan. I made a simple vanilla cream filling (that I sometimes use as a frosting as well) for the center of each cake and let me tell you this cake tasted like an elaborate wedding cake. The ingredients costs about $8.00 to make and it tasted like a $250 cake. I just used a strawberry and yellow cake mix to match the yellows and pinks in the fondant. I posted the recipes below for the marshmallow fondant and the vanilla cream filling. A little tip I used when dividing my cakes for filling. My mother in law taught me years ago to use a string to slice cakes rather than a knife. You get a cleaner and more accurate cut. I also use the string to slice of the tops of my cakes to make them flat. Give this cake a try.

Easy Marshmallow Fondant

• 16 oz mini white marshmallows
• 2-5 Tbsp of water
• 2 lbs powder sugar
• 1/2 cup Crisco shortening

In a large glass bowl melt the marshmallows and 2 Tbsp of water in the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes. If you are going to flavor replace some of the water with your extract. Almond extract is my favorite! Take out of microwave and place 3/3 of powdered sugar on top of melted marshmallow mixture. Grease your hands and counter top with Crisco. Dump bowl onto counter top and begin kneading. Add the rest of powder sugar and continue kneading.

When fondant begins to stick to you or counter top, re-grease with Crisco. If mix tears easily then it's too dry and you need to add 1/2 Tbsp of water. It takes about 8 minutes of kneading to become a firm, smooth, elastic ball like play dough. This is when you want to add your food coloring.

Divide the dough into large balls until you have enough balls for each color you will be using. Add drops of food coloring at a time and knead in until it turns the desired shade you want. I combined colors to make purple and teal. It is messy and your fingers will get dyed. You need to work quickly because fondant will begin to dry. It's a good idea to grease the outside of your balls with Crisco and wrap tightly with plastic wrap until you are ready to dye them.

Once you are finished you can store in the fridge for weeks at a time. When you are ready to use, place the fondant ball in microwave for 10 seconds to soften. Then grease your counter and use rolling pin to smooth into a blanket in which you can wrap your cakes and use to decorate.

Vanilla Cream Filling

• 1 pkg of instant vanilla pudding
• 16 oz cool whip

Mix ingredients together and spread over cake. Depending on the cake you are making you can use different flavors of pudding or replace the pudding with jello to get the flavor you want. It stiffens, so you need to use mixture quickly while it is smooth. Place in fridge when finished. This filling tastes great chilled.

If making a 3 tiered cake you'll need to double this recipe.

Creamy Desert Topping

This delicious topping can be made in different variations and is always a hit. It's delicious on cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin bread and your favorite soft sugar cookies. Whatever is left over you can always freeze in a zip lock bag and it stays soft when frozen. Here are the two variations I created.

Lemon Cream Cheese Whip

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Candy Lemon Drizzle

• 1 cup fine sugar/caster sugar
• Lemon juice, just enough to dissolve the cup of sugar, freshly squeezed

Pour the lemon juice into the sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix together until the sugar is dissolved in the lemon juice.Pour the mixture into a heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil.Pour the mixture into a heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil.Remove from the heat. Drizzle with a fork over your cookies or desert. The syrup will harden into a candy form. Very delicious!

Almond Cream Cheese Whip


Use same recipe as above however replace lemon extract with almond extract. Crumble graham crackers over top, brown sugar and almonds. Very addicting!!

Tip: For pumpkin bread and chocolate cake you can use vanilla extract. This topping delicious with so many extracts. Take a visit to the bakery isle and try orange, cherry and so many others.

Spiced Vanilla & Toffee Silk

Here is a yummy ice cream creation I created to take to an ice cream social. if you love homemade ice cream and toffee, you'll really love this.











Spiced Vanilla & Toffee Silk

1/2 pint (250ml) whipping cream
1/2 pint (250ml) milk
4 egg yolks
4oz (100g) brown sugar
8 oz bag toffee bits
2 oz crushed pecans
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla


Put the milk into a saucepan and scald it (bring slowly to boiling point). In a separate bowl, beat and mix the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and then stir in the toffee bits, cinnamon, pecans and vanilla. Pour into this bowl the hot milk and stir well until smooth, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan and gently heat it, keeping stirring until the custard thickens.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT BRING TO THE BOIL OR IT WILL PROBABLY CURDLE. When you test the mixture over the back of your spoon and it forms a film then it's time to remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool thoroughly.

Transfer the cooled mixture into to your ice cream maker and follow machine instructions. Freeze for a couple hours before serving.