Category: OKK MEMES & PRIOR CONTRIBUTORS

Chocolate Crunch Mousse Pie

Come visit me at My Sweet and Savory and Comfy Cook. 
Chocolate Crunch Mousse Pie
I was very much looking forward to this pie.  It is one of those delicious items, you simply enjoy, and don’t worry about calories.  It is pure pleasure and fun.  This means, something is going to surprise me, in the recipe.
This mousse did not work out, the way I thought it would. This is one of those mistakes that I love, if it really was a mistake. I was working from memory of a mousse, I made, some time ago. I remembered it had cream cheese, whipped topping and chocolate for the ingredients. It came out creamy chocolate and was in a chocolate crust.
This was right before Passover and it was the last day, I could do anything with prohibited Passover foods.
There was no way I could make a crust without flour or chocolate cookie crumbs so I got a ready made graham cracker crust. I was thinking of pouring some chocolate syrup on the surface of the crust but no chocolate syrup. One has to be very clever or a magician to work when the kitchen is in limbo. I prefer to think that one has to be very clever.
The best part was I got rid of the crust. No, that was the second best part. The first was eating some of the filling. This is the best filling, I can imagine, at the moment. It was a creamy mousse filled with small chunks of chocolate. Where did those chunks come from? Actually, this was a surprise to me. I melted the chocolate chips and they were fully melted into one smooth cream. When, I put them into the mousse mixture, they immediately turned in to chunks. The only rationale, I can find is that the whipped topping had been frozen but sitting out, for an hour. Maybe, it was still cold and when the two met, the lumped together to make these crunchy bites filled with chocolate flavor. I, probably will not be able to recreate this but I hope I can. This is superior to the smooth filling which I also love.
Here is the recipe. If you try it, please tell me what happens to your chocolate.
Ingredients
1 8 ounce container of whipped topping (I used the ready made which is unusual for me.)
1 8 ounce container of Tofutti whipped cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup Tofutti sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract (If I could have located it, I would have used my mocha extract rather than almond.)
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate sprinkles
1 graham cracker crumb crust
Method:
In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Add the sugar, sour cream and almond extract.
Continue to beat with mixer until all the ingredients are well combined.
Add the whipped topping and blend it in, by hand.
Melt chocolate chips in a microwave. If you prefer, use a double boiler to melt them. You know me, I use my microwave, every chance I can.
Add the melted chocolate to the mousse mixture and blend it in. If you are fortunate, you will get those scrumptious chocolate chunks.
Scoop the mixture into the pie crust.
Use a fork, a decorating piece or anything and make ridges in the mousse.
Top with chocolate sprinkles or decoration of choice.
Refrigerate.

Cowboy Cookies

Don’t forget to visit me at The Bad Girl’s Kitchen for more fabulous recipes!
A couple years ago, I was looking for a good new cookie recipe, when this one appeared in my mailbox in an issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. As luck would have it, they have coconut in them, and are appropriately-named for serving on a ranch, or anywhere. Delicious!

Cowboy Cookies
Makes about 5 dozen

The origin and original ingredients of this popular cookie may be unclear, but there’s no doubt it’ll spur a stampede. This version relies on oats, coconut, pecans, and chocolate for just the right chewiness and gooeyness.

Vegetable oil cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks (1 cup)~I used 1 heaping cup chocolate chips
3 ounces (3/4 cup) pecan halves
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat baking sheets with cooking spray, line with parchment, and spray parchment. Sift flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder into a medium bowl.

2 Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

3. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans and coconut until combined. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days).

4. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a small spoon, drop dough onto baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.

5. Bake until edges of cookies begin to brown, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire rack, and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks. Let cool. (Cookies can be stored up to 3 days)

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Hello everyone!
I’m so happy to be hosting Save Room for Dessert here at Our Krazy Kitchen!
For my first offering, I’d like to share a dessert that I’ve made many times, which has always been a hit. It’s really easy and sinfully tasty…a perfect combination!

First thing’s first: The cake. One of the best parts of this cake is that it’s just a fancified box mix. Which makes it that much easier!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Empty your chocolate cake mix into a large bowl.

Next, empty a 5.9 ox box of instant chocolate pudding on top.


Add a cup of sour cream.

Then add 3 beaten eggs, 1 cup of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of warm water.

Now it’s time to beat everything up!

Here’s a word of warning: This batter is THICK! Like, the thickest thick ever.

You may attempt to pour the batter into 2 buttered and floured (or, if you have it, cocoa powdered) pans…but there is no pouring this. The best you can do is plop and attempt to spread! But believe me…it’s worth the extra work.

I found that baking these cakes @ 350 degrees for 33 minutes was simply perfect. Make sure they are totally cooled prior to attempting to frost them.

Now. The frosting. My favorite part!

Take two cups of heavy cream and heat it slowly, being careful not to bring it to a boil (because that’s just gross). Stir in a quarter cup of light corn syrup and let it get to just barely simmering.

Meanwhile, get yourself together 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate.

Feel completely free to drool over it for a minute. Then, when your cream is beginning to simmer, add it to the pot and turn the heat down to low.

At first it will look like this:

But after much serious and brisk whisking, it will look like this:

Try to refrain from drinking this right out of the pot. If only because it’s kind of warm and you might burn your tongue. I’m all about safety here.

And no. I’m not speaking from experience here.

Transfer the chocolate to a large bowl, cover it with plastic to prevent a skin forming, and place it in the fridge. Leave it there until it is super duper cold – you’ll need to whip this!

Can I just tell you that I ended up with chocolate all over myself…and I didn’t even care?

Look at that lumpy, yummy texture!

And look at the finished product…

Yes, I definitely lost all sense of proportion while frosting. And I was distracted. I actually think it’s kinda funny.

But this cake…oh, this cake…is the most amazing thing that will ever cross your palate. For real. Just give it a shot!

Enjoy!

And don’t forget to check out this recipe and my other culinary adventures at Misadventures of Mrs. B!

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CAKE

CAKE
1 boxed chocolate cake mix
1 5.9 oz box of instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
3 beaten eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup warm water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix on medium speed for two minutes. Pour into two prepared pans – follow directions on box for cook times, depending on size and type of pans.

FROSTING
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
8 oz semisweet chocolate

Heat cream and corn syrup until barely simmering. Add chocolate and turn heat to low. Whisk constantly until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Transfer to large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming on top of mixture. Chill in refrigerator for a least one hour, or as long as it takes for mixture to become fully chilled. Beat mixture once cold until texture becomes thick and lumpy.

Frost cake layers with truffle frosting and enjoy!

QUICHE LORRAINE – THE PERFECT SUNDAY MORNING PIE


1/2 pound bacon, crisply fried and crumbled
1 cup finely grated swiss cheese
1 large bunch green onions finely sliced
4 eggs
2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 deep pie crust

Preheat oven to 425°.

Prebake the pie crust and cool before filling.

Sprinkle the crumbled bacon, finely sliced onion and grated swiss cheese evenly into crust.

Beat the eggs, whipping cream and seasonings until well blended. Pour over mixture in pie crust.

Bake 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 300° and bake an additional 35 minutes or until just golden and knife comes out clean.

Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Cooking the Italian Way – Lasagna

I did something really crazy yesterday.

I turned. My heat. Off.

I know that may not sound like much. But if you know me. Then you know that this is actually quite momentous. (I’m that girl who walks around in three sweatshirts. In the middle of August. And is still shivering.) My roommates and I almost broke out some bottles of wine (Thirsty Thursday anyone?). Decorated the apartment in some neon crepe paper. Put up a disco ball. And had a “rager” (or whatever it is the kids are calling it these days). We would have. Except that we had an exam the next day.

But no more talk of that. Because it is the weekend. And not only that. It is warm out.

Get this.

Spring might actually have arrived.

Needless to say. I am thrilled. Ecstatic. Jubilant. I am jumping. For. Joy.

Except for one tiny thing.

I’m going to miss winter food. Hearty casseroles. Winter squash. Sweet potatoes.

Down-home-stick-to-your-ribs (and your thighs) comfort food.

Stuff that you wouldn’t dream of eating during the summer. Because. Well. People are going to be seeing your thighs.

Plus who (other than me) wants to spend all day slaving over a hot stove in 90 degree weather?

No one. Thus. It is time to move on.

And so. To commemorate what is possibly the only beautiful thing about winter. I give you my favorite lasagna recipe. Otherwise known as. My swan song.

Classic Italian Lasagna
Serves 8, adapted from Giada DeLaurentis

3 cups tomato sauce (I cheated and used a jar from Whole Foods. All fresh ingredients – tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil. I will post the exact brand next time. It’s my favorite jarred tomato sauce.)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
4 cups part-skim ricotta
3 eggs
1 lb lasagna noodles (I didn’t end up using the whole pound, just enough to fill my tray. I also used no-boil noodles.)
1 lb frozen spinach, thawed and patted dry
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 375.

2. In a saute pan, preheat the olive oil. Cook the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces with a spatula as you go. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder if using. Cook until browned, then remove from heat, draining any excess liquid, and set aside.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the ricotta and eggs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

4. Into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish, spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Add a layer of the pasta sheets. Over this, spread all of the ricotta mixture, followed by all of the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta. Spread all of the ground beef over this, followed by half of the mozzarella. Add another cup of tomato sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta. Spread the remaining tomato sauce over THIS and top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and then bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake: Lovin’ From the Oven

My sister in law makes a killer coffee cake.  It has a ripple of cinnamon through the center.  The cake is buttery and moist.  It’s really wonderful and my husband adores it.  She has never shared the recipe.  I have asked.
So.  I have had to search high and low for something similar.  This is attempt 2,538 in twenty years.  It’s as close as I have ever come to replicating it.  I am not sure I am done trying, but this is a good fall-back.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake: 
Cake

3 cups flour
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the vanilla and eggs.  Alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream. Pour  half of the batter into a greased 9 inch pan.  
Topping:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 stick butter
Combine ingredients in a bowl with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle half of the topping onto the batter in the pan.  Top with the other half of the batter and then sprinkle on the remaining half of the topping.  Bake 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Tent the cake with foil and bake another 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Company is Coming – Tried and True or a New recipe??? Maybe just a simple SALAD



OUR FIRST VISITORS!!!


A fun time IS INDEED being had by all, and why not… Jackie’s favorite Aunt, her cousin, his wife and a teenage daughter (teenagers, god help me) have come to our little condo in paradise and we are having the time of our lives!

!Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. As always, I am so surprised when I CAN COOK THAT!


But today, I want to be a little less surprised.  Meaning… When company is coming and you want to make a good “foodie” impression on them… Do you try an exciting new sounding recipe, create something from the top of your head, do your best tried and true recipe…  Or work a new interpretation of a tried and true…


Somehow, I have decided that making the same thing in exactly the same way is not very appealing to me.  So, I decided to make one of my better recipes, but add a bit of island flair…


Last week on my “normal” site, I posted a recipe for Terriyaki Bowtie Spinach Salad.  I had gotten the recipe from a fellow blogger, Melanie from THE SISTER’s CAFE.  I did a very unusual thing for me…  I followed Melanie’s recipe as she wrote it.  If you go to her post (click HERE), Melanie listed a few additional ingredients as optional.  But really, if you have a plate of spinach, do you need to add parsley?  Adding the oranges and water chestnuts was already inching the price up.  So, unless you have them on hand, do as I did and leave out the craizins and parsley, … Here is what she wrote…

Spinach Salad With Teriyaki Bowties 
submitted by Melanie sisterscafe.blogspot.com

16 oz. Bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled
1 – 2 bags of fresh baby Spinach
2 small cans Mandarin Oranges
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 can Water Chestnuts
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 cup Honey Roasted Peanuts or Cashews
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds, toasted
2 cups torn cooked Chicken

Dressing:
1 cup Vegetable Oil
2/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
2/3 C. Teriyaki Sauce
5 Tbs. Sugar

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions, drain and cool while whisking the dressing together in a large bowl. Marinate cooked bowtie pasta in the dressing for 1 hour or longer in the fridge. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce and pasta over the salad, toss together and serve. If it’s just a few of you, make individual salad servings; keeping the salad and bowtie sauce separate for the rest of the week (no one likes a soggy salad).

This sauce is terrific!  Beyond terrific in fact.  The whole thing blended so well.  It was a perfect addition to my new series on what to do with those rotisserie chickens that are so cheap here in paradise… a raw whole chicken is $10… A precooked rotisserie chicken is $6… If I can get a good explanation for the price difference, I would be very interested…  But in the mean time, I am buying one a week, and posting a series of recipes on what to do with the leftovers… but I digress…




They are company, so I wanted to show off a little.  Instead of the rotisserie chicken, I made an island inspired Blackened Chicken.  I recently covered a how to post on my “normal” site for blackening.  I am sure 😉 that you all read that piece (click HERE if you did not).  So I don’t need to remind you that blackening is not BURNT , and it is NOT a spice, it is a cooking process with butter and spices charred to the outside of the meat, and then the meat is baked to a proper internal temperature.  In this case, I melted 1 tablespoon of butter for each breast (in this case, 4), added 1 TBS of Cajun spices per breast (4). Got that very hot (just barely starting to smoke).  Put the breast into the butter/spice mixture for 2 minutes.  Listened to it sizzle and watched it smoke just a little.  Turned the breast over and charred the spices and infused the butter into the breast for another 2 minutes.  Then I popped em in a 350 degree pre-heated oven until my remote temperature prob read 165 degrees (about 30 minutes).


I have already bragged about this salad once on my own site.  The addition of the blackened chicken really set this apart as something special.

The sweet terriyake sauce was excellent the first time I made the recipe.  Adding a Cajun spiced blackened chicken to the sweet made for an even better tasting combination… Even the teenage daughter (teenagers, god help me) had a second helping…

Please, if you should try this… Goof around as much as you like with the salad… Peppers, mushrooms, pine nuts, scotch… go ahead, add what ever you like… Why not.  BUT, the dressing for this is the real star of the recipe.  Give this dressing a try as listed.  you will not be sorry!


So,  I return to the question I originally asked…

Company is coming…

Something new
Something tried and true
Something tried and true, but with a new twist???

I need to know, More guests are coming to visit.  There is a lot of pressure to cook for someone’s vacation.

But also, who knows when the ladies (and Chris) will accept my invitation for the first annual OUR KRAZY KITCHEN summit meeting… Cooking for that group of culinary stars… Now that would be pressure!

SLUMBERING VOLCANOES






Recently I was reading a novel and it mentioned some interesting recipe titles. I decided to see if they were real recipes or contrived and was pleasantly surprised to find they were real. So over the next few Sundays we can experiment together. My additions to each recipe are in green and the deletions in red.
4 large tomatoes
4 artichoke hearts
2 large button mushrooms, chopped small
4 eggs
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
4 slices Gruyere’ cheese (tonight I used a jack cheddar combo)
4 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs seasoned with:
1 teaspoon dill
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 green onions, minced
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Carefully scoop out insides of tomatoes and drain juices from the shells.
  • Place tomatoes, hole side up, in baking dish and put in oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
  • In a small bowl mix together Parmesan, breadcrumbs, dill, garlic, and onion.
  • Remove tomato shells from oven.
  • Into the center of each put one whole or 1/2 artichoke heart.
  • Break one large egg over each artichoke heart and then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan and seasoned breadcrumb mix.
  • Place “volcanoes” back into oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes. (Time depends on how you prefer eggs cooked… if you want hard yolks, bake for 1/2 hour.)
  • Top with cheese and cook 5 minutes more.
  • Serve hot with side condiments of sour cream, chopped chives, green chili salsa, or others of your imagination!

Next time I’m going to add some crab to the mix!

And have you heard about CSN stores?

I was recently made aware that there is a wonderful online shopping experience available right from your desk top.

Remember all these wish list posts I did about all the wonderful quality kitchen dreams and wishes I have? Well, all the items I’m dreaming about to complete my dream kitchen are available from these sites.

Seriously, you really need to go check out these sites
www.allmodern.com
www.diningroomsdirect.com
www.cookware.com
www.moremailboxes.com

Look for my review of this beautiful multi-purpose LeCruset casserole in the very near future. I truly wonder how I ever got along without it!

I’m envisioning an awesome POT ROAST & ROASTED VEGGIES in the very near future as well as TROPICAL GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN and OATNUT SOURDOUGH HERB DRESSING and TURKEY TETTRAZINI and RITZY CARROT & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE and…

The uses are going to be endless. The durable finish resists chipping, scratching and staining. It has sure grip handles for easy handling from the oven onto the table to create a beautiful table presentation.

aprons 3

Simple Saturday – Pomegranate Keylime Pie

Welcome to Simple Saturday!

I’m not much of a dessert maker or dessert eater for that matter, but I do like to whip up something quick and easy now and then for hubby and the kids or for special occasions. Desserts have got to be simple or it’s usually a no go for me! This one is a no bake dream cream pie.


Pomegranate Keylime Cream Pie


Ingredients

  • 1 graham cracker pie crust
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 oz pomegranate juice
  • 4 keylimes (juiced)
  • 1 3/4 cups whipped cream
  • A couple drops of red food coloring

Whisk condensed milk, keylime juice, Pomegranate juice until well blended, add whipped cream and blend carefully. Pour into pie crust and refrigerate for several hours to set. Garnish with whipped cream. Fresh pomegranate seeds would be a great additional garnish to really make this a beautiful pie as well as adding wonderful additional texture and flavor.

It can also be made without the pomegranate juice – just double the keylimes and omit the red food coloring, add a couple drops of green instead if desired. Another version is a Keylime Cheesecake pie.

Visit me over at Seaside Simplicity for more simple delicious recipes.

Have a great weekend!

Super Simple Strawberry Shortcake: Lovin’ From the Oven

Min posted a wonderful Strawberry Shortcake recipe just last week, but my schedule this week demanded a quicker version. I saw this idea on someone’s blog earlier this week. I am embarrassed to say that I cannot remember whose. If you recognize this, please let me know in the comments so I can give full credit.
This week, I am hosting a Betty Crocker/Safeway giveaway over at my blog. In conjunction with that giveaway, there is a cake mix sale at Safeway. $.69!!! When is the last time you saw named brand cake mix that cheap? There was also a BOGO sale on strawberries. And I had a $25 gift card. You can see where I am heading with this, right? I haven’t described myself as Frugal and Harried for nothing.
Super Simple Strawberry Shortcake:
1 yellow cake mix (or homemade yellow cake)
1 pint whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 – 2 pounds strawberries, sliced

Make cake as directed in a 9X13 pan. Be sure to greased the pan well. When the cake is cool, remove it from the pan and slice it through the middle so you have two layers. Whip the cream, adding the vanilla and sugar near the end (Note: does anyone else have a fear of turning their whipped cream into butter accidentally?) Put the bottom layer of cake back into the pan. Spread it with half of the now whipped cream and then top that with half of the strawberries. Place the top layer back into the pan and repeat.
Here is the neat part. The mess is now all in the pan and it slices fairly easily. The longer you wait before serving it, the more trifle like it will become as the cream and strawberries soak into the cake.

I am also hosting a yogurt maker giveaway this week, so feel free to visit and enter both giveaways!