Paula Deen does it again, where does she get thesegreat recipies? Do you think she just lays in bed at night and comes up with more delicious ways to use butter? No matter where she gets them, they are always delicious and this one even has dark chocolate in it, so I feel better about eatting the cookies, saying that, “I am only eatting them because they are healthy. They have fruit and dark chocolate in them, which makes them healthy” Are you on board with me on this?
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teas baking powder (if you are a new baker or cook, you will discover that cookies with baking powder instead of baking soda tend to be a little more softer than ones baked with baking soda. The ones with the baking powder bake up fluffier (is that a word) than the ones made with baking soda, which tend to spread more on the cookie sheet and get a little more crispy)
1/4 teas salt
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped unsweentened dark chocolate
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in cherries and chocolate and chill 1 hr or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350. Drop dough by tablespoons 2 in apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11-14 min, depending upon your oven or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely on wire racks. (I don’t do this, I cool cookies on paper towels as I think cooling them on the wire racks makes them more crispy than I like them. I love soft fluffy cookies so if you do also, cool them on paper towels. You may also substitute bittersweet chocolate for the unsweetened chocolate if you prefer.
Fireworks and Fellowship
This past weekend ended up being such a great time. As you know, this was our first July 4th since moving to California in Jan. Some friends invited us to their lake house for the weekend where we experienced not only some amazing food, but made some great memories with new friends. Randy and I had rack of lamb for the first time and discovered that we liked it alot. Our host baked German pancakes with fresh sliced cinnamon apples to pour over the pancakes with fresh butter and lemon juice. We feasted on baby back ribs, egg strata, pita bread and hummus and several new recipes that I cannot wait to cook. We drove back home yesteray only to realize that the best fireworks show in the Los Angelos area was right around the corner. So we loaded our chairs and poured us a glass of tea and headed for the Rose Bowl to be totally blown away at the beautiful fireworks being set off right before our eyes. Although Randy and I talked about how much we missed Sevy and Jaden, our grandsons, who always went with us to watch fireworks, God blessed us with precious new memories and we came home feeling so thankful for all we have. It was a most enjoyable Fourth of July.
Tortellini and Tomato Salad
When it is hot outside, this salad makes a terrific lunch or dinner. Serve it with garlic bread and you have a wiinner.
6 Servings
2 (9 oz) packages refrigerated cheese filled tortellini
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 tables fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups baby heirloom tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh corn kernals
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Prepare tortellini according to package directions.
Meanwhile, process olive oil and next 5 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Toss olive oil mixture with hot cooked tortelinni and tomatoes and next 3 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for about 30 min to let the flavors blend….
Black-eyed Pea Greek Salad
Just received my new Paula Deen magazine and when I say this recipe, I just knew that I had to try it. We are headed to the lake with friends for the weekend so this will be one of the recipes that I will be making. Not only is it so colorful, it will make any type of meat look so pretty on the plate, and…..it will be a hit!
5 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 seedless cucumber, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup frozen black-eyed peas, blanched *see below
1/2 cup halved pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/2 cup Greek vinaigrette dressing.
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, corn, black-eyed peas, olives, and red onion. Add vinaigrette, tossing gently to combine. I will let it sit for about 15-20 min in fridge before serving to let the flavors blend. If you don’t want to use frozen and don’t want the extra step of blanching the peas, use a canned, and rinse very well and drain before adding to the salad.
Back In The Saddle Again (California Style)
Well, I have traded my Texas horse for the plane ride back to California. Returned last night after being back in Texas for the past 10 days. It was absolutely wonderful to come back to 80 degree weather instead of the 100 degrees in Dallas. Because of the marvelous weather here, I am able to look the other way when I am in 6 lanes of slow traffic, or driving 45 min just to get to the WallMart, or go to the grocery store, assuming that I will just walk down the baking isle to pick up a bar of German Chocolate, only to find that they don’t carry it and I have no choice but to buy a Betty Crocker German Chocolate cake mix to make for Randy’s birthday….ok, now that I mention it, maybe the weather here isn’t so grand…….maybe I can put up with the hot dry Texas weather. I can always cool off in the Wallmart that was 10 min from my house and had German Chocolate always on the shelf and any flavor of Duncan Hines cake mixes I could ever want.
Californians, I have decided, are at their health and fitness clubs, which I might add are on every corner, because they don’t know what really great foods are out there. Because they just can’t go to the frozen food section and grab a bag of breaded fried okra, or scoot on over to the frozen bread isle and toss in pans of Sister Schubert rolls or drive to the nearest Babes for the worlds best chicken fried steak, or purchase any flavor at all of Blue Bell ice cream, why not spend their time working out? There is really nothing to keep them in the kitchen. When I feel my hostility going away at the lack of southern foods available and catch myself going to the other side (yes, I even joined my husband the other night in ordering sushi, although all mine were cooked, not raw)of eatting more organic, healthy foods, it is time to head back to Texas for another visit, where I feast on Luby’s turkey and dressing, and days on end of Tex Mex and chicken fried steak. On the plane ride back to California, I resolve to come back with a more positive attitude, telling myself that I don’t need all those awful foods that I have just gorged on while visiting my family. Then Randy picks me up at the airport and we begin to talk about all the great things I did while I was there and it alwas centererd around Southern foods…..now heading to the grocery store to pick up a few things to cook the next couple of days reminds me of where I am, and even though I wasn’t able to buy okra, or SS rolls, or Blue Bell ice cream, it is good to be home and to look forward to having a great salad with my sweet hubby tonight. Then I think we will walk to the corner fitness center. It would be nice to work off the Southern foods that I did bring with me.
Nutella Cheesecake Bars
I admit it, I have copied this recipe right off another person’s blog. But they are absolutely delicious and wanted to share this recipe with you. It comes from the Moonbakers Blog (I think that is the correct name) These are so simple and so tastefully delish that you will bake them over and over……
Nutella Cheesecake Layer Bars
– 8 Chocolate Graham Crackers
– ½ Stick Unsalted Butter, melted
– 16 oz. Cream Cheese, at room temperature
– 2 eggs, at room temperature
– ½ C. Granulated Sugar
– ¼ + 1 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
– 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
– ¼ C. Nutella
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Butter an 8 x 8 baking pan and line with parchment paper, making sure that the parchment is well pressed in the corners. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse chocolate graham crackers until they become crumbs (like bread crumbs). Add in melted butter and pulse until moistened. Press graham cracker mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake crust in the center of the oven until set, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.
Clean out the food processor. Add cream cheese, eggs, sugar, ¼ C. heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Pulse until smooth. Put 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture in a bowl and set aside. Add Nutella and 1 Tbsp. of heavy cream to remaining 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture in the processor. Pulse until smooth.
To assemble, spread the vanilla cheesecake mixture over the cooled graham cracker base, being careful not to disturb the crust. Pour Nutella cheesecake layer on top of vanilla layer and spread evenly. Bake on the center rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the center jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
When ready to serve, lift bars out of the pan by lifting up the parchment paper (it should release easily). Slice into 16 squares and serve.
Happy Fathers Day to All you Dads
We are celebrating Fathers Day without any kids this year. Since moving to California, we have experienced some loneliness, but also some sweet new adventures, since our weekends are pretty much free. Last night, we went to the Rose Bowl for the first of the summer concerts, led by Marvin Hamlisch. It was just so gorgeous to be sitting outside and not sweating. It was a gorgeous night, with us taking lawn chairs and a nice dinner, which we had prepared at home. The music was celebrating Pasadena’s 125th year birthday. We discovered that we love being outdoors with people who were strangers, at first, but we all left, saying that we would see each other at the next concert. Groups of people were sitting all around us, on blankets or chairs and you could see buckets of friend chicken, you saw shish kabobs, french bread, cheeses, pies, even a group celebrating a birthday with birthday cake and singing Happy Birthday and letting the birthday girl, (looked about 50) blow out her candles with everyone around clapping when she did. These evenings become such wonderful memories. As we drove home, we talked about how much we enjoyed our night. Our dinner ended with tiramasu and we were like two little kids who kept watching for the fireworks to begin. When they did, we sounded just like we had never seen fireworks before, just “oohing and ahhin’after each beautiful firework lit up the sky…Today we are finishing up our Fathers day celebration by thanking the Lord for our Christian Fathers, who showed us that sometimes the best memories are those which as spent with family…..which in turn makes us miss, not only our dads, but our kids, as well……we are so grateful for our families and for wonderful memories of our dads. Randy’s Fathers Day will be spent going to a car show this afternoon, his perfect idea of a great Fathers Day, In and Out Burger and a car show, how different from what a mom would plan for Mothers Day! But figure I will act excited about his plan, it might buy me a little trip to the ice cream store this afternoon. Happy Fathers Day, Randy, you are a great dad and grandfather and I am so blessed to be with you and walking right beside you at the car show. Life is made up of memories and thanks to you, we have many wonderful memories to remember.
Oven Baked Blueberry French Toast
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teas vanilla
1 teas cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
10 slices French bread, 3/4 in thick
2 cups fresh blueberries
Maple syrup for serving and powdered sugar if desired to sprinkle over top
Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a large bowl, with mixer until well blended.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the mil, and mix well.
Arrange the bread in the prepared baking dish and spread the blueberries on top of bread. Pour the cream mixture over the bread. Let stand for at least 15 min before baking (or you can cover the pan and place in refrigerator overnight). Bake for 40 to 45 min until golden brown (take the cover off before baking if it has been covered overnight)
Serve with syrup and powdered sugar.
Beans & Cornbread
Last night was our last night to have Janet and Gary before they head back to Dallas. It has been a fun-filled week, with lots of touring and lots of new restaurants and constant going. One night as we were sitting around talking about our favorite foods, Gary and Randy both said that one of their favorite dinners was a pot of pinto beans, with cornbread and fried potatoes and onions. So that was what they requested on for dinner last night. This past week, we have eaten on the coast in Newport Beach, Italian on Rodeo Dr, In & Out burgers, Chinese food in Montrose, homemade roast and potatoes here the first night, but all of us agreed, last night’s beans and cornbread was our favorite meal. It just felt good. It was like coming home after being gone for an extended time. It was such a comfort food. We sat around the table for an hour afterword, sharing stories about our trip to Greece and the funny memories we share there. But when we got up to clean the table, we all thought about what a wonderful evening we had just spent. The dinner probably didn’t cost $10 to fix, was easy clean up and quick to cook, except the beans which had been cooking all day. We retired to the den, full and happy, and ready for a slice of homemade carrot cake. The pot of beans and fried potatoes just hit the spot. Filled us up and the scent make the house smell so “southern”. This menu will now become part of our “tradition” as to what we cook for company. It was just one of those meals that makes you feel like you are all family. So forget Olive Garden, go to the store and grab yourself a bag of pinto beans….you will be glad you did.
German Chocolate Cheesecake Style Cake
Oh My Gosh, I just read this and cannot wait to try it. It was on the Paula Deen Website and was sent in from one of the readers. It sounds just marvelous. Am going to bake it as soon as I can….
Servings: 16 servings
Cook Time: 75 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients Add to grocery list
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) German Chocolate cake mix
Cream Cheese Filling:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Frosting:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed (not margarine)
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups flaked coconut
1-1/2 cup chopped pecans
Directions
Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set aside. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining batter over top; spread to edge of pan. Bake at 325° for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. For frosting, in a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks .Cook and stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake. Refrigerate leftovers.
Chocolate Castles 