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Jul 28

Easy Fresh Fruit Desserts

EASY FRESH FRUIT DESSERTS

It may not really be easier living in summer but the longer hours of daylight make everything seem less rushed, more relaxed, and the heat does cause us to simplify tasks, which includes making meals and that involves desserts. Funny summer is THE season for fresh fruit but when people think of fruit desserts, they envision cooked items, pies and other pastries. If you mention whole or raw fruit, they think breakfast or snack. The truth is that fresh fruit desserts can be every bit as delicious and elegant as baked ones and far healthier.

They are also easier to make. Yes, most do require a baked shell, or base but those items can be made ahead in batches and stored in air-tight containers, waiting to be filled whenever you want, either for a week nigh supper or for company. Moreover, none of the fresh fruit dessert recipes below require any dough mixing. They use ready-to-bake products needing only a short time in an oven.

If you want more fresh fruit dessert recipes, I have at least 12 posts over the years with about 5 recipes each. Simply go to the home page of this site and click Blog. Using the drop down menu in the right margin of all blog pages, flipping through June, July and August of any year, you will find at least two postings about fresh fruit desserts. Some of the most recent are  Strawberries June 16, 2022, Berries  April 4, 2018, Peaches Aug.16, 2018,  Apricots Aug.9, 2018,  Melons Aug. 22, 2020, Watermelons Aug. 30, 2018  and Puff Pastry Aug. 21, 2020. However, as I said, there are several others with more recipes as well, too many to list here.

RECIPES

Fruit Pizza: Serves 6-8
1 pkg. refrigerated chilled sugar cookie dough

1 qt. blueberries or *

1 qt. strawberries or *

¼ cup all-fruit or apricot preserves + 2 Tbs. juice or water

1 can Whipped Cream

Roll out the cookie dough to a single 12 inch round. Place on a pizza or cookie sheet and bake as directed on package. Cool—can be done a day ahead. Arrange the fruit in a decorative pattern on top of the cookie leaving a 1-2 inch margin. Melt the preserves with the water over low heat and spoon it evenly over the fruit to make a glaze that covers the entire top. Chill 30 min. and serve cut in wedges with whipped cream on the side.
*Or about 2 lbs. sliced peaches or nectarines with about 1 lb. grapes-halved.

Tortilla Pizzas: Serves 4- From Betty Crocker.com
1 flour tortillas for burritos (8 inch; from 11-oz package
½ tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
2Tbs. soft cream cheese-option-fruit flavored cheese
½ cup chopped fresh fruit, (such as strawberries, blueberries, grapes, peaches), well drained
¼ cup toasted nuts, chopped or slivered
Heat oven to 350 deg.. Place tortillas on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until crisp. Meanwhile, mix sugar and cinnamon. Place hot tortilla on cutting board; spread cream cheese on tortilla. Sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Arrange fruit on top. Cut into 4 wedges. Serve warm.

Puff Pastry Ramps: Serves 4

2 sheets of puff pastry – 1 box

1 1 pt. strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or a mixture or sliced peaches or nectarines                                                

1 tub whipped topping, 1 can whipped cream or 3 cups vanilla ice cream

Powdered sugar
Syrup of choice-optional

Cut each puff pastry sheet into 4 equal squares and bake as directed. Cool. Put 2/3 cup of the ice cream or equal proportion of the cream or topping on each of 4 squares. Top with some of the berries, and cover with another square at a tilted angle. Put a small dab of the creams or topping on the upper squares and add the rest of the berries. Optionally drizzle syrup over. Garnish with sprinkled powdered sugar.

 Tortilla Cups Serves 6- From / happyhooligans.ca/cinnamon-sugar-tortillas

1 fresh peach, chopped

 1/2 cup each fresh blueberries and raspberries and/or sliced peaches or nectarines

 2 Tbsp. sugar, divided

 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

 6 flour tortillas (6 inch)

 3/4 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Heat oven to 400 deg. Toss fruit with 1 Tbs. sugar and chill until ready to use. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar. Spray tortillas with cooking spray; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Gently press tortillas, sugared sides up, into 6 muffin pan cups allowing to form folds.  Bake 10 to 12 min. or until crisp. Remove from muffin pan to wire racks; cool completely. Fill tortilla cups with COOL WHIP and fruit mixture just before serving.

Fruit Tortilla Wraps: Serves 6-From-recipetineats.com
8 oz. Cream Cheese softened
1 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Blueberries
1-2 cups Strawberries
1 Large Peach
2-3 Apricots OR Kiwis
6 Flour Tortillas (10” round)
Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth. Spread 2-3 Tbs. of the cheese mix on each tortilla. Peel and thinly slice the peach and apricots. Cut the tops off the strawberries and slice those thin as well. Lay pieces of fruit all over the tortillas. Carefully roll up each of the tortillas as tight as you can. Slice the tortillas in half and serve right away. You can refrigerate these for a few hours before serving if you’d like.

FILLED CUPS AND SHELLS
A General Recipe: Serves 12
8 oz. lemon yogurt
1/3 cup all fruit preserves
1 ½ cups mixed berries or sliced fruit
Whipped cream or topping for garnish
Spread 1 tsp. preserves in the bottom of each shell. Mix 1 cup berries with the yogurt and divide among the shells. Top with remaining fruit and garnish with topping.

Shell Choices
1) Wonton Cups: Makes 24 –From Eat Up and Slim Down by Jane Kirby and David Joachim
24 wonton wrappers
2Tbs. melted butter
Line a wrapper in each cup of a 12 cup or (2) 6 cup muffin pans. Brush with butter. Lay a 2nd wrapper diagonally on the first and brush with butter. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven for 10 min. Cool, then remove from pan.
2) Puff pastry shells or phyllo cups; These are sold frozen in most supermarkets. As a tip, sprinkle the puff pastry shell liberally with sugar before baking as a decorative touch. Fill with fresh or prepared fruit topped with cream or use the recipe above. Only thaw these items as needed and don’t attempt to refreeze any uncooked ones. Store airtight.
3) Tortillas: Spread each of 4 flour tortillas with cream cheese and then place about 2 soup spoons of the drained prepared fruit down the center. Reserve juice. Roll tortilla and place seam side down on a baking sheet. Bake 8 min. in a preheated 425 deg. oven. Cool, chill, optionally garnish with whipped topping and drizzle with reserved juice.
4) Cake Cups: Found in most supermarkets. Fill in any of the above ways.
5) Pastry Dough: Make or buy dough for a 2 crust pie, which should be enough for 6 individual desserts.
1) Tart Shells: Cut the dough in strips slightly wider than the diameter of the muffin tin      cups or custard cups which will be used for baking. Put one strip in the cup, put a dot of water in the center if the bottom and lay the other strip at right angles across it. Lightly press the edges together to seal and trim the top edges folding a bit over to make a rim. Fill partially with raw rice or beans, bake at 450 deg. for about 12 min.
2) Individual Galettes: Using a saucer as a template, cut dough in rounds. Place on a baking sheet and fold up edges in pleats to make sides. Allow for about 1 ¼ inches all around. Fill with crumpled waxed paper or parchment paper to hold the shape and bake at 450 deg. about 12 min. Cool, carefully remove paper, fill and garnish in any of the above ways.
Wrapper Fruit Cups: Makes 12

Wonton Wrappers: Serves 12

2 cups raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries or peaches  sliced

2 cups yogurt- vanilla or lemon Or 1 pkg. instant pudding and pie filling – flavor optional

2 Tbs. melted butter

Cooking oil

Powdered sugar

24 wonton wraps

With a little oil on a paper towel, lightly coat the inside of each muffin cup in two 6 cup pans. Lay one wonton wrapper on a diagonal in each cup and lightly butter it. Butter the remaining 12 wrappers and lay them on top of the first in the cups on an opposite diagonal making sure the points form sides to the cups. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven for 10 min. Cool and remove from pan. Mix I cup berries into the yogurt or pudding and spoon into the cups. Top with remaining berries and garnish with sugar. Serve at once.

Easy Berry Angel Cream Cake # 2: A 1 lb. loaf cake will serve 6
This a quick, elegant answer to the problem of providing a nice dessert when there isn’t time to prepare one from scratch, and a tasty end to a meal anytime. Any berry will work, as would peaches and nectarines.
1 purchased pound cake

(2) 8 oz. tubs of Whipped Topping

1qt. box of strawberries or mix strawberries and blueberries or 2 lb. peaches or nectarines-sliced

Save several nice pieces for decoration. Slice the rest and sprinkle with sugar. Allow to rest 

few hours for the juice to extract itself. Just before serving, cut the cake into 3 layers. Spread first with 1/3rd of the topping and ½ of the fruit. Spread the 2nd layer with 1/3 of the topping and the remainder of the fruit. Spread the rest of the topping on the cake top and decorate with the reserved fruit.

Sweet and Spicy Grapes (or Blueberries): Serves  4-6
2 lb. seedless grapes, preferably red, or 2 pt. blueberries
1  cup sour cream
1-2 Tbs. sugar-or to taste
Generous sprinkles of cinnamon
Mix the sugar and sour cream until sugar dissolves and the taste is only slightly sweet. Gently toss with the fruits until well coated, adding more sour cream if needed. Divide among individual dessert saucers and chill well. Just before serving sprinkle liberally with cinnamon.

Jul 21

Easy Crockpot BBQs

CROCK POT BARBEQUES

Icy treats aren’t our only food craving in summer. We don’t want to face a plate of steaming food, much less work over a stove to prepare it or deal with the formalities of eating it. We want casual meals, simply prepared, easily eaten, preferably by hand.  Grilling springs to mind and the aroma of barbeque to memory but not everyone has a grill or even a backyard. For those, and I’ve been one of them, the easiest answer is a crock pot or slow cooker barbeque. All you need is some Deli Coleslaw or other salad, a bag of chips and the meal is ready.

NOTE: I favor crock pots over instant pots for this. I like the meat to be infused with the sauce while cooking, and barbeque recipes, even the sauce alone, contain too much sugar to avoid burning in the time and temperature required to cook the meat in an instant pot. The sauce must be added as a topping, rather than being a key part of the flavoring experience.

These crock-pot barbeque recipes were chosen with an eye toward results a bit more unique than just combining a bottle of sauce and meat in the pot. None of them contain ingredients which require pre-cooking, no steaming, boiling or browning. Hopefully, they will make the meals seem special and encourage repeating. To further encourage trying them, I ‘m printing a crock pot-oven conversion chart below, for those who don’t have crock pots or have grills and want an alternative way to cook in winter. To see other crock pot recipes see postings for July 9, 2015 and  Aug. 8, 2019.

RECIPES: These recipes are from  Fix It and Forget It –Feasting with the Slow Cooker by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good
As mentioned above, the most basic recipe combines about a 3 lb. piece of well-trimmed beef or pork with a 16 oz. bottle of barbeque sauce in a covered crock pot, cooked on low for 6-8 hrs. Occasionally check to see if water or broth is needed to prevent drying. When done the meat can be sliced and served with the juices or shredded and returned to the pot with juices for 30 min. to allow flavors to meld.
If serving on rolls, crusty rolls, like Portuguese, stand up to the juices better than hamburger buns but tortilla and pita pockets are also options for most of these recipes.
Many of these recipes also welcome toppings. Lettuce, slices of tomato and/or onion, and a variety of cheeses among them Cheddar, Swiss, sharp, blue and feta.

 General Recipe for Crock Pot Barbequed Meat: Serves  8-12
3 lb. well-trimmed beef, pork, ribs or  chicken pieces, ground meat should be browned first and drained  (See Meatball Subs below)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green Bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
1 Tbs. chili powder-optional
Choose one:
6 oz. can of tomato paste+1/2 cup ketchup +1 cup water
12-16 oz. bottle of barbeque sauce. Depending on preference
Combine everything in the crock pot
Cook as directed above and shred as instructed.

Shredded Pork: Serves 4-6
5 lbs. country style ribs
2-3 lb. pork butt or country style ribs
1 cup water
1 pkg. dry taco seasoning mix
Place meat and water in the slow cooker, sprinkle with taco mix. Cook on low 24 hrs. Shred with 2 forks and serve in taco shell, on rolls or over rice.

Sesame Ribs: Serves 6
1 onion-sliced
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup honey
2 Tbs. vinegar
3 garlic cloves- minced
1 tsp. ground ginger
¼-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes*
5 lbs. country style pork ribs
Garnish: 2 Tbs. EACH toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions or chopped chives
.Place onions in the bottom of the pot. Mix remaining ingredients, except garnish, in a bowl and add ribs to coat. Put ribs in pot and pour contents of bowl over. Cover cook on low 5-6 hrs. Plate ribs, garnish and pass sauce on the side
*Garlic and soy sauce create some heat, so start with the lower amount and taste test

Italian Beef: Serves 10-12
3-4 lb. beef roast-chuck or round
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix-‘Zesty’ preferred
12 oz. can of beer
Trim roast, place in pot, sprinkle with seasoning and pour beer over. Cover and cook on low 8-20 hrs.or high 3-4 hrs. Shred meat and return to pot with juice 15-30 min. Serve on crusty rolls.

Deep Pit Beef: Serves 6-8
3-4 lb. beef roast-chuck or round
1 tsp. EACH garlic powder, celery salt, lemon pepper
1 ½ Tbs. liquid smoke
2Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
Combine last 3 ingredients in a bowl, add beef and coat. Cover and refrigerate 8 hrs. or overnight. Place meat and marinade in crock pot, cover and cook on low 6-7 hrs. Cool meat and slice. Serve with juice on crusty rolls.

Chicken with Tropical Barbeque Sauce: Serves 6
3 whole breasts –split
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. mustard
1/8 -1/4 tsp. hot sauce
2 Tbs. orange juice
Combine the last 6 ingredients and spread over chicken. Place meat in pot, cover and cook on low 7-9 hrs. or high 3-4 hrs. Serve on plates, or remove the bones, cut meat and serve on taco or in pita pockets.

Sweet Aromatic Chicken: Serves 4-6
8 chicken thighs or 16 drumsticks-skinned
½ cup coconut milk
½ cup water
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 garlic cloves-minced
Grease crock pot. Mix coconut milk and water and pour into pot. Add the chicken then the other ingredients in order listed. Cover cook on low 5-6 hrs.

Barbequed Turkey Ham: Serves 6
1lb.thinly sliced turkey ham, or ham
1 small onion –in small dice
½ cup ketchup
1 Tbs; vinegar
3 Tbs. brown sugar
Grease crock pot. Place in ½ the meat, combine the other ingredients and put ½ over meat. Repeat layer. Cover cook on low 5 hrs. and serve on buns.

Ham Barbeque: Serves 6-8
1 lb. boiled ham-cubed
1 cup cola
1 cup ketchup
Place all the ingredients in the pot, cover and cook on low 8 hrs. Serve on buns.

Recipe for Meatball Subs: Makes 18 meatballs –From The Meatball Booth by Joy Wielland
1 lb. ground meat
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
½ hamburger bun in crumbs
½ small onion in fine dice
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups Spaghetti or Barbeque Sauce- home-made or commercial
(6) 6” Italian rolls

Combine all the ingredients except the sauce in a large bowl. Mix together well. Roll into balls about 1 ½ inch diameter. Place, well separated, on a foil covered cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 18 min. Cool on the sheet.
1) Place meatballs and sauce in a crock pot Cover and cook on low 2-4 hrs. (Longer cooking will not do harm)
2)Heat sauce over medium heat in a pan on stove top. Add meatballs and cook 30 minutes until flavors meld and meat is heated through. Serve hot on rolls with sauce.

3) TO FREEZE: Freeze meatballs in an air-tight plastic bag on a flat surface, so they don’t crowd together. Best re-heated in sauce thawed, but can be done frozen –increase cooking time to 45 minutes or add 1 hr. to crock pot time.

CONVERSION CHART FROM CONVENTIONAL STOVE-OVEN TO CTOCK POT

IF REGUAR RECIPE SAYS COOK = COOK ON LOW = COOK ON HIGH

15 to 30 minutes =4 to 6 hours =11/2 to 2 hours

35-45 minutes= 6 – 10 hours =3 – 4 hours

50 minutes to 3 Hours =8 to 18 hours= 4 to 6 hours

Jul 14

Add a heading (11)

Can I help?

If you’re old enough to ask……YES

This book is based on my experiences cooking with children-preparing my own for the future, keeping the neighborhood ‘gang’ amused on a rainy day and safely distracting clients’ curious kids. Children love to hang out in the kitchen when something’s going on. I think it has to do with cooking being a process which yields quick results. The fact is, they will try to participate and safety is a major concern. These modified recipes solve those problems.

So much for my primary motive in writing the book. Then a friend was seriously injured and her husband and young daughter had to do KP. Both were total novices, the daughter willing to step up, the husband, not so much. I helped them with the basics, consequently I gave them the book and they made it through with flying colors. The husband actually became interested in cooking and active in the kitchen. Making dinner became a family bonding project they enjoyed together.

I had realized the book could be a training manual for those starting out and the modified recipes could help a pinch-hitter in a strange kitchen. I also intended it to be a way to bond with children but hadn’t thought of it as a family bonding tool before. Everyone doesn’t have to develop an interest in cooking as my friend’s husband did, just understand that there’s a way to lend a hand and produce something of value together. If anything, the past few years have shown the importance of sharing and doing things as a family, especially when there’s no one else to do them for us, like preparing a dinner, or lunch or breakfast.

There are over 100 recipes in Can I help? ranging from personalizing frozen or take-out waffles or cake with special toppings, like Easy Berry Cakes #1 & #2 (below) and simple can openers like Tuscan Tuna Salad (below), Sausage, Bean, Potato Casserole to more challenging ones like Double Punch Lasagna Roll-Ups (below) and Cornish Hens with Wild Rice and Grapes. Every recipe is adult, and child, pleasing while still having lots of safe tasks for little, or novice, hands, without loss to ego.  The hope is that most people will realize cooking can be interesting, creative and FUN but above all it can link people by giving them something to share.

Summer, when there is no homework, fewer organized activities and the longer hours of daylight make evenings less hectic, is the perfect time to begin this process. Dinner can be a little later, last a little longer and interacting with other family members given more time. If everyone helps with meal preparation, it’s that much more time to spend together and the meal becomes a family accomplishment. It doesn’t have to be every night, once a week is a good start, and it can yield rewards the rest of the year too, if the family gets into the habit of pitching in. It could become a tradition which carries into fall, winter and on.

The recipes in Can I help? are divided into four groups, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. I’m including sample recipes from each group below to show how they can be both ‘company presentable’ and easy to make. With each category heading I’ll list a couple of others from that group as examples of the variety of options. To read more about Can I help? Go to July 6, 2016,   June 22, 2017,   July 5, 2018,  .May 28, 2020    and June 3, 2021

WELCOME to CAN I help?

Breakfast: Other recipes include Eggs Parmesan, Easy Home-Made Cinnamon Buns, Oven Pancake and Melon Boats

Yogurt with Bananas and Nuts: Serves 4
3 large, ripe bananas
16 oz. Greek yogurt
4 Tbs. toasted chopped nuts, walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts
Peel the bananas and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Microwave 1 min. on high. Cool, unwrap and mash. Gently mix with the yogurt and spoon into 4 dessert dishes. Chill briefly to cool and sprinkle nuts equally over the tops as garnish.

Eggs Florentine: Serves 4
(1) 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach
4 eggs
1tsp. salt OR 1 envelope bouillon powder-beef or chicken
Pinch nutmeg
Grated Parmesan cheese
Thaw and drain the spinach in a sieve until it is moist but not wet . Mix in the bouillon or salt and nutmeg then divide it between 4 greased custard cups or ramekins. Top with a raw egg and sprinkle with cheese. Place cups in a pan with ½ inch water and bake at 350 deg. 15 min. or until eggs are set.

Oven Pancake: Serves 4
6 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ cup butter or margarine melted + extra for topping
1 cup flour
½ tsp. salt
Powdered sugar
Blend first 3 ingredients until smooth. Add flour and salt and blend on medium until smooth. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan and bake at 450 deg. for 20 – 25 min until puffed and golden. Serve from the dish drizzled with melted butter or margarine and dusted with sugar.

Lunch:  Some other options are Greek Pita Pockets,  Shrimp and Spinach Salad, Classic Quiche, and Gazpacho-Pasta Salad

Tuna and Bean Salad: Serves 4
6 oz. can solid white tuna in water- drained
16 oz. can cannellini or other white beans-rinsed and drained
2 plum tomatoes diced
2 tsp. dried basil
Ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. powdered garlic
1 Tbs. oil
2 Tbs. Dijon or spicy mustard
Mix the last 5 ingredients well and set aside to let the flavors form a dressing. Gently toss the first 6 ingredients. Then add the dressing. Allow the whole to chill for 30 min. at least to meld flavors. Serve on lettuce lined plates garnished with a sprinkle of basil.

Turkey Mousse: Serves 4
1 ½ cups chicken or turkey stock
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cups minced cooked chicken or turkey – Deli, canned or leftover
¼ cup mayonnaise** See options at bottom
1 small onion minced
1 stalk celery minced
½ tsp. curry powder
1tsp. celery seeds
¾ cup heavy cream whipped ** See options at bottom
Soak gelatin in a microwave safe cup with ½ cup of stock until softened and risen. Microwave for30 sec. or until dissolved. Mix in all remaining ingredients except cream and chill until beginning to set. Fold in whipped cream and spoon into a lightly oiled 1 qt. mold. Cover and chill overnight. Unmold and serve on a lettuce lined plate.
** Cream can be replaced with yogurt. Use 1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt and increase mayonnaise to ½ cup.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches: Serves 4

Anyone who likes French Toast will love this

½ lb. cooked ham – sliced

½ lb. cooked White meat turkey – sliced

½ lb. Swiss cheese- sliced

1 loaf (preferably bakery) unsliced whole wheat or 7 grain sandwich bread

Mayonnaise

Dijon or spicy Brown mustard

3 eggs

1 cup – possibly more – milk

4 Tbs. butter – at least

Divide the cheese and meats into 4 piles each. Mix the eggs and milk. Cut 8 slices of bread. This is one recipe where I like the bread sliced rather thick at least ½ an inch. Lightly toast the bread and spread one side of 4 slices with mayonnaise, and one side of the other 4 with mustard. Divide the cheese for each sandwich into 3 piles. Put 1/3 on the mustard covered bread slice; top with ham, then 1/3 cheese; then the turkey, then the last 1/3 cheese, and cover with the mayonnaise spread bread slice. The reasoning here is that the cheese in melts and holds the sandwich together. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in a skillet, if you have one that holds 2 sandwiches good, melt 2 Tbs. of butter. Dip both sides of a sandwich in the egg mixture then gently fry them in the butter, first one side and then the other, until both are brown and crispy, and the cheese has melted. Repeat with the rest of the sandwiches. Serve hot. 

Dinner: Among the other choices are My Beef Kabobs, Chicken with Cherries, Pork (or Turkey) Loin with Apricot Glaze and Salad Nicoise. These recipes point out specific tasks for children.

Chicken with Mustard and Honey: Serves 4-easy to divide and/or multiply
NOTE: The seasoning ingredients are placed under the skin to help them infuse the meat. This can be done by children and they can count the cooking time.
4 large chicken thighs
4 tsp. honey
4 tsp. Dijon or grained mustard
¼ tsp. ground black pepper—optional
Garlic Powder NOT garlic salt
Mix the honey, mustard and pepper, if using. Lift the skin on the chicken and place 2 tsp. of the mixture on the meat sprinkle with garlic. Place the pieces slightly separated in a roasting pan. With ½ inch of water or broth in the bottom. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven for 30- 40 min. or until juices run clear when pricked with a knife point.
A pan sauce can be made by adding a bit of apple juice, cider or broth to the pan drippings to deglaze.

Double Punch Lasagna Roll-Ups: Serves 4
Save for the actual cooking, children can do most of the work in preparing this dish.
If you need to plan ahead for an oven-ready dinner, this casserole keeps wonderfully well for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator, and makes a good party dish, but the stuffed noodles have to be served as separate entities. Don’t randomly cut into the dish.
1 lb. ground turkey (Frozen rolls ex. Jenny-O, work well here. The finer ground seems to compact more easily for stuffing. Be sure to thaw before cooking.)
1 medium onion chopped
(1) 4oz. can mushrooms-stems and pieces – drained
2 tsp. chopped garlic
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
¾ cup ricotta cheese
1 Tbs. oil
4 Lasagna noodles broken in half (or cut after boiling)
(2) 8oz. cans tomato sauce
7 oz. canned diced tomatoes = ½ a 14 oz. can- drained and juice reserved
2 ½ cups milk
5 Tbs. flour
5 Tbs. butter
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese in small cubes ( peppers optional)
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Salt to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese and paprika to garnish
Cook noodles in boiling water until very tender @ 10 min. Drain and keep in cool water so they don’t dry out. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat and sauté onion until soft @ 3 min. Add mushrooms for 2 min. then add garlic for one minute, then turkey, separating it between the fingers as it goes into the pan, and 1 teaspoon each of the oregano and basil. Cook, stirring, to keep meat separated until it browns @ 5 min. If mixture begins to seem dry or stick to the pan, add a bit of the reserved tomato juice. Stir in ricotta and remove from heat.
Lightly coat a casserole about 9x9x3, with cooking spray. Spread tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and second teaspoons of oregano and basil, in the bottom. Lay out the noodles, and put an equal portion of the meat mixture on each. Roll the noodle around the stuffing, until the ends meet, and carefully lay each, seam side down in the prepared casserole.
In a saucepan, over high heat, melt the butter until it foams. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour to make a smooth paste. This is called a Roux. Add the milk, and stirring constantly to incorporate the roux, return the pan to the stove over medium heat. Continue stirring until sauce thickens, never allowing it to boil (lift the pan for a moment if it starts to) @ 3 min.
When it has thickened, stir in the Jack cheese until it melts, add the nutmeg and salt. White Sauce often does need salt (see Sauces and Gravies Link) Pour this sauce over the noodles, dust with grated parmesan cheese and paprika to garnish. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake until sauce bubbles and slightly browns about 30 min.

Salad Nicoise:

Ideally this should be made with grilled Tuna steaks thinly sliced, but canned works well. Just be sure it’s a good brand of Solid White Albacore. This recipe is actually for 6 servings, but I find it does 4 well. Kids love making this because they can safely do most of it themselves…

1 head Boston lettuce – sometimes called “Garden” or “Bibb” – if not available buy Romaine NOT Iceberg

1 lb. redskin or new potatoes

1 lb. whole green beans

4 hardboiled eggs – peeled, halved lengthwise and chilled

1 large red or Bermuda onion in fairly thin slices

3 large or 4 medium tomatoes peeled and cut in medium slices OR pint box cherry or grape ones

(1) 2oz can anchovy fillets drained oil reserved for dressing

(1) 5oz can colossal pitted ripe olives – drained

(2) 7 oz. cans solid white Albacore Tuna in water – drained

Kosher salt 

White wine

Dried tarragon

Fresh ground black pepper

DRESSING RECIPE BELOW

Cut the potatoes in quarters, or halves, depending on size. Boil them separately or together with the beans until the potatoes are done and the beans still crisp about 10 min.

Drain well, run under cold water to stop the cooking and cool. Place the potatoes and beans in an oblong container, so they can spread to marinate, with ½ cup white wine and 2 tsp. dried tarragon. Allow to marinate at least ½ hr. or all day. Separate the lettuce leaves, wash well and allow to air dry. Cover a large platter with the leaves. Pile the tuna, topped with the anchovies in the center, and attractively arrange the other ingredients, in separate sections, in a surrounding circle. Sprinkle with the salt and fresh pepper.

Dessert: Here there are three recipes to show the variety. Some other choices in the book are Baked Alaska Pie, Fruit Pizza, Chocolate No-Cook Bars, Cherry Cobbler and Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Easy Berry Angel Cake # 2

1 purchased pound cake
8 oz. tub of Whipped Topping
1pt. box of strawberries
Save several nice berries for decoration. Slice the rest and sprinkle with sugar. Allow to rest a few hours for the juice to extract itself. Just before serving, cut the cake into 3 layers. Spread first with 1/3rd of the whipped topping, spoon ½ the sliced berries over it allowing the juice to drip down the sides. Repeat with 2nd layer. Finish with 3rd layer topped with the rest of the whipped topping and the reserved decorative berries.

Dump Cake

2 cans fruit pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
½ cup butter or margarine melted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon – optional
Spread the pie filling in the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan, mix with cinnamon if using. Cover with the dry cake mix and pour the butter over all. Do not stir. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven 30 min. until top is golden. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Fruit Gelati: Makes 1 quart
2 bananas
2 papayas
1 Orange grated to yield 1 Tbs. zest and 1 Tbs. juice reserved
1 lemon grated to yield 1 Tbs. zest and 1 Tbs. juice reserved
1lime grated to yield 1 Tbs. zest and 1 Tbs. juice reserved
½ cup sugar
1 quart milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Blend or process all ingredients until blended. Pour into a shallow pan and freeze until firm. Process again until smooth, pour into a bowl and freeze until solid-overnight is best. Scoop as ice cream to serve.
Variation: Substitute 1 ripe pineapple diced and 4 peeled and diced kiwi for the other fruit.

Jul 7

Ice Cream Sodas_ Awful Awfil Shakes and Banana Spits in 2022

ICE CREAM SODAS, AWFUL AWFUL SHAKES and BANANA SPLITS UPDATED FOR 2022

If July 4th had an iconic food, it would be ice cream. The date also opens the short season when ice cream is an acceptable, guilt-free, cooling snack at any time of day.  The common delivery methods are cone, pop and cup, and they do the job. But their results fade compared to the ultimate satisfaction derived from any of the 3 traditional classics, the Ice Cream Soda, the Awful, Awful Shake and the Banana Split.

Unfortunately, between the disappearance of soda fountains and our obsession with dieting and low-cal food, people have forgotten ice cream sodas, Awful Awful shakes and banana splits, much less realized they’re simple to make at home, in so many more flavor combinations as well as nutritional alterations. There’s a huge variety of ice cream flavors as well as frozen yogurt and sherbet-not just water ice. If you can’t find what you want, DIY is an option too. See post on flavoring frozen yogurt Aug.13, 2020 and making ices on July 26, 2018. Moreover, a vast array of toppings, syrups, frozen fruits and juices are now available and flavored seltzer water is sold in every market. 

Using these options cuts the caloric content and fat content of sodas Awful Awfuls and Banana Spits in half, about the same as a slice of cake or piece of pie and less than most sandwiches. The splits using cheese and fresh fruit can go even lower. The total amount of calories and carbohydrates depends on the specific ingredients chosen for each confection.

Today, every home has freezer space and a blender, the 2 original objections to DIYing these treats. All you need are spoons, glasses and/or dishes, straws and an ice cream scoop is helpful. Create-your-own parties are great ideas, especially for kids. Just put ice cream containers in a cooler and put out optional toppings and flavorings.

I’m a huge fan of these treats, as you will be if you give them a try. To earn how simple they are to make and how popular you can be by doing so, read on….

RECIPES:  Frozen yogurt s an option in each of these recipes. To learn how to create your own individual flavors see my post for Sept.1,2016 and Aug. 13, 2020

Ice Cream Soda:  Sodas are not only easy to make but to clean up as I’ve written in other posts 

detailing ‘building’ them and discussing different flavor and caloric options. (See June 28, 2018, July 4, 2019, July 30, 2020  and  July 15, 2021.) Not only is there frozen yogurt now, but sherbet which melts at the rate of ice cream and is creamier than the old water ice. This opens the door to fruit flavored sodas using thawed concentrated fruit juice as syrup and flavored seltzer water. There are more syrups and frozen fruit products in markets then there ever were in soda fountains.

In its heyday, sodas were only offered in chocolate and vanilla, except in ice cream parlors. The most popular choice was a combination nicknamed ‘A Brown Cow’.

Basic Ice Cream Soda Recipe:  Single serving
20 oz. glass
3 Tbs. flavored syrup or + to taste (or concentrated frozen juice-thawed)
¼ cup milk
2 scoops of ice cream, frozen yogurt or sherbet
About 1 cup chilled club soda, seltzer water plain or flavored(Not sparkling mineral water) or other carbonated drink, cola, ginger ale or other pale soda pop.
Pour the syrup into the bottom of the glass; add milk, about of 1 oz. soda and 1 scoop of ice cream. Stir gently around the sides of the ice cream lifting the syrup up around the scoop. Slowly add more soda to fill the glass ¾full, mixing the contents gently as you pour. Add the other scoop of ice cream, and fill the glass with the soda water, creating bubbles.

Awful, Awful, Shake:  The main difference between the Awful, Awfuls (awful thick, awful good) and regular milkshakes (both recipes below) is that they contain iced milk. Iced milk was developed by Bonds Dairy in New Jersey in the 1940s and became very popular in the ‘50s-‘60s. Bonds created the Awful Awful as a promotion and licensed it to Newport Creamery in Rhode Island, where it is considered a local icon. Friendly’s copied it, calling it the Fribble, until they purchased the Awful Awful name years later. As a child allergic to cream, a Bonds ‘Burger and Shake’ shack near Atlantic City was life altering.
Ice Milk is now labeled Low-Fat Ice Cream and available even In Walmart. The criteria are the product contains less than 10% butterfat, which opens the door to using frozen yogurt. The fat in frozen yogurt comes from cultured milk instead. Full fat frozen yogurt typically contains 3–6% milk fat, while low fat frozen yogurt contains 2–4%, taking the Awful, Awful into the ‘healthy(ier) food’ category.
As with sodas, the original Awful, Awfuls were chocolate or vanilla, but they, too, are open to a wide variety of flavors, flavorings and frozen items on the market. They do require a blender-the only one of these 3 classic treats to need an appliance-that should be no problem in today’s homes.

The original Awful, Awful recipe from the 1950s:  Per serving

6 oz. of whole milk
2 oz. of syrup
3 scoops of ice milk
Blend until incorporated and serve with an ice cream spoon and a jumbo straw

Regular Milkshake: Serves 2*

1 pt. ice cream
2/3 cup milk-preferably whole milk but any fresh milk is acceptable
Blend until smooth. Serve with a straw.
*NOTE: There is no syrup in a regular shake; the flavor comes from the ice cream alone. For a thicker shake use 2 cups ice cream to ½ cup milk

Banana Split: This is the oldest of the 3 treats, dating from an Ohio ice cream parlor in 1907.It’s also the one whose name has constantly stayed in public awareness. The blending of ingredients creates so pleasing a flavor that it’s led to a whole category of desserts-everything from cakes, puddings, pies, to pizza and salad. However, we’re only concerned with the ice cream version and its offshoots.

Banana Splits are easily altered because the ingredients are presented unchanged. A banana is split lengthwise and the haves laid along the edges of an oval dish. 3 scoops of ice cream, originally chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, are placed in the center, toppings are added, usually hot chocolate syrup, wet nuts and whipped cream. 3 cherries are placed on top as garnish. Obviously, more than the flavors can be changed. The center has been filled with frozen yogurt, sherbet, yogurt, even cottage cheese. Fruit compotes or berries have replaced the toppings. (See Aug. 13, 2020)
Recipes for the original Banana Split and a healthy version are below.

Banana Split: 1 Serving
Traditional Recipe

1 banana
3 scoops of ice cream-chocolate, vanilla, strawberry are traditional
¼ cup chocolate sauce- hot fudge is an option
3 Tbs. wet nuts
@1/4 cup whipped cream
3 cherries
Split the banana lengthwise and place each half along the long side of an oval dessert dish. Place the ice cream scoops in the center. Pour on the sauce and the nuts; top with the whipped cream and garnish with a cherry on top of each scoop.

Healthy Version
1 banana
3 scoops frozen yogurt*
¼ cup blueberry topping** or other fruit compote***
2 Tbs. toasted slivered almonds
3 Tbs. lite whipped topping
3 strawberries

Follow the directions above substituting the updated ingredients.
* This can be made even healthier by replacing the Fro-Yo with 3 scoops of chilled, plain or vanilla Greek yogurt or 1 cup cottage cheese.
**Berry Topping: Yield about 1¼ cups
(1) 10 oz. pkg. frozen berries of choice in syrup-thawed
¼ cup jelly or jam made from chosen berries OR equal amount apple, mixed fruit or red currant.*
1 Tbs. cornstarch
Drain 2/3 cup syrup from berries, adding water, juice or ginger ale to make up the difference if there isn’t enough syrup. Combine syrup, jam and cornstarch in a saucepan and cook over low heat until cornstarch is dissolved and mixture thickens. Remove from heat, stir in berries and chill until serving.

Serve in spoonfuls on top of dessert.
*For frozen bagged blueberries, place frozen blueberries with 1/3 cup water in a saucepan and cook over low heat until berries thaw, adding sugar to taste until sugar dissolves, then remove berries and proceed as above.
***The healthiest choice of all is simply to scatter berries over the top, slicing the very large ones