Oreo Fudge Ice Cream Cake

Easy and good, that's what I was after for my husband's birthday cake.  He loves ice creams cakes, so I thought this one looked really good and would be easy enough to complete during my son's nap.  I cannot say enough how easy this cake was to make.  Some might say it was a piece of cake ;)  All you need are 5 ingredients: 1/2 cup hot fudge topping, 1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip, 1 (3.9 oz) package of chocolate instant pudding mix, 8 Oreo cookies, and 12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches.


Everyone really enjoyed this cake.  When we sliced it, it looked perfect, just like the picture on the Kraft website.   It had such a beautiful presentation.  (I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any pictures of my sliced cake, but trust me it looked great!)

Although the cake tasted great, I know it could have been better had I grabbed the regular full fat, full sugar ice cream sandwiches that I intended to buy.  In a whirlwind trip through Target with a tired kiddo, I grabbed the first box I found, which happened to be 'no sugar added'.  This essentially translates into 'no flavor' in my book.  Oh well, I'm sure I'll be making this again and will be sure to grab the good stuff!  I wonder how this cake would taste made with Klondike bars and Nutella instead of the hot fudge?  I just might have to try this out ;)

Fudge & Cool Whip; Add the pudding mix; Add the Oreo's;  All mixed up.

Layers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the Cool Whip 'frosting'.

For the complete recipe, click here.

Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

You may have noticed that this blog has had some changes lately.....completely new design that fits my personality a lot better and just this past weekend I started adding recipe cards to all my posts.  I still have some recipe cards to make for the older posts, which I hope to finish soon.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think.  Are the recipe cards easy to use & read?  Constructive criticism is much appreciated!

Several years ago my husband came across this Chicken-Mushroom Quesadilla recipe in, I think it was, Men's Health magazine.  We love making it since it's so quick and easy, especially if you go the route I did this time.  I used pre-cooked frozen grilled chicken and frozen spinach.  I much prefer the frozen spinach that comes in a bag rather than the one in a box.  I dread thawing out that block of green, then to have to squeeze out all the water.  The bag kind is chopped up and there isn't all that extra water.  Fresh is best, but not always on hand :)

The chicken-mushroomy-spinach quesadilla filling is all ready to go.  I could eat it just like that!

Put some cheese (I used Kraft Mexican 4 Cheese blend) on the tortilla, spread on some filling, then top with more cheese.  Top with another tortilla.  

Flipping the tortilla without all the innards falling out can be tricky. So, what I do is use the cheese as my 'glue' to hold the thing together before flipping.  I press down on the whole quesadilla, focusing on the edges to 'glue' the two pieces of tortilla together as the cheese melts.  Then, with a large spatula underneath and my hand on top, I gently & quickly flip it over.  Yay, disaster adverted!  

If it doesn't work, no biggie, just eat it with a fork ;) It'll still taste the same!

All done, chicken-mushroom quesadilla perfection!

 To print, left click >file >print. To save file to your computer, right click on image, then "save image as".

Recipe Link: Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Quick & Tasty: Penne with Broccoli

Busy days, I love them!  I'm the type that always has to be doing something otherwise I go stir crazy, sort of like my 16 month old son.   So, when it came time to think about dinner, Penne with Broccoli was my ticket.  This is my go-to recipe for quick, easy & flavorful.  It's a solid recipe, but I add some grilled chicken to make it complete.

Thanks Lisa for sharing this recipe with me :)

 

Penne with Broccoli (from Hertha Verdurmen, San Francisco, California, Sunset, MARCH 2004)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  pounds  broccoli florets
• 1/4  cup  olive oil
• 3  cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2  teaspoon  hot chili flakes
• About 1/2 teaspoon salt
• About 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 12  ounces  dried penne pasta
• 1/3  cup  grated pecorino romano cheese

Preparation

1. Rinse broccoli and trim and discard stem ends. Coarsely chop tops and stems. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium heat, stir olive oil and garlic often until garlic sizzles, then stir in broccoli, chili flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is very soft and mashes easily with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water to pan if broccoli threatens to scorch.
2. Meanwhile, in a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, bring 4 quarts water to a boil; add penne and cook until tender to bite, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and return to pan.
3. Stir broccoli mixture into pasta along with cheese. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

UPDATE: Want a recipe card? Here you go!

To print, left click >file >print. To save file to your computer, right click on image, then "save image as".

Peanut Butter Balls

I was craving something a little sweet and indulgent tonight, but didn't want to spend a lot of time cooking since my dear husband needed to get in the kitchen to make us dinner.  I love that guy! (He made us sliders and a salad if you were wondering.  It was delicious!)  Anyhoo, an old recipe that I remember making with my mom when I was a wee little one came to mind: Peanut Butter Balls.  

Minimal prep and no baking required! It only takes about 10 minutes to make.

Peanut Butter Balls

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 3 1/2 crackers)

Chocolate sprinkles or powdered sugar

Instructions:

Crumb the graham crackers in a food processor. Add the nonfat dry milk, peanut butter, and honey.  Process until it is well mixed.

 Roll the dough into 1" balls and then roll in chocolate sprinkles (or powdered sugar). 

Keep refrigerated. Makes about 20 peanut butter balls.

I look forward to making these when Aaron is a little older. I think we'll have fun making these together :)

Enjoy!

Update:  If you want something a bit healthier or for the little ones check out this recipe for Almond Butter Balls. I haven't made it yet, but plan to soon!

Summer salads

Ahh another weekend in the books.  This weekend was full of fun summer bbq's with good friends.   I used these opportunities to share some new salad recipes I recently acquired.

Caramel Apple Deconstructed

I'll start with a yummy caramel apple salad that I got a few weeks ago from my mom. She had it at a bbq and was able to snag the recipe.  I would say it's more of a dessert than a side dish since it's pretty sweet. The best part is that I was able to whip it up super quick! What's even better is that I didn't feel a bit guilty while eating a big bowl full. :)

I have made the caramel apple salad using Lite Cool Whip and Fat Free Cool Whip.  I couldn't really tell a difference, but when I made it with Fat Free Cool Whip I only added 1 1/2 cups since I wanted the caramel taste to come through stronger.   I think next time I might chop up a chocolate bar on top. Yummo! Nothing gets better than caramel & chocolate in my book!  One more thing, I used a combination of granny smith and fuji apples.  I thought the tartness of the granny smith apples complemented the overall sweetness of the 'salad' very well.


Needless to say, everyone approved of this salad, well everyone except my husband, but that's because he's not a big fruit kind of guy.  Put some bbq pulled pork in front of him and he's in heaven. I'll get to the bbq pulled pork that has dubbed me the title 'pit meister' another time just to keep you salivating!

Orzo smorzo, but oh so good!
I never know what to do with orzo.  Why use rice shaped pasta when you could just make rice?!  However, I have to say that rice probably wouldn't taste very good in this summer salad that I got from a friend, Lauren Schenke.  It was fantastic and my good friend and Aaron's Godmother, Erica, gave it "two thumbs up".   The picture below just doesn't to it justice.  One of these years I'll get a fancy SLR camera, but for now I have to maximize the functionality of my little point and shoot.

The heirloom tomatoes I got from the farmers market worked out great in this salad since they were firm enough that they didn't squish all over the place.  I used fresh raw corn, but realized after making the salad that I was probably supposed to cook it first.  Oh well, regardless it tasted great!


By the way, if you're ever looking for good recipes, go to myrecipes.com to find all those fantastic recipes published in Cooking Light, Southern Living, Sunset, and others.  It's the first place I go for new recipes. No subscription or registration needed!

Orzo Salad with Corn, Tomatoes, & Basil (recipe link)
Cooking Light, JULY 2001

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• DRESSING:
• 2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  red wine vinegar
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 3  garlic cloves, crushed
• 
  SALAD:
• 1  cup  uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 2  cups  fresh yellow corn kernels (about 4 ears)
• 2  cups  chopped tomato
• 1/2  cup  vertically sliced red onion
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped fresh basil

Preparation

To prepare dressing, combine first 6 ingredients in a jar; cover tightly, and shake vigorously.

To prepare salad, cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain, and place in a large bowl. Spoon half of dressing over pasta; toss to coat. Cool to room temperature. Add the remaining dressing, corn, tomato, onion, and basil to pasta; toss to coat. Let stand 30 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

312 (16% from fat)

Fat:

5.4g (sat 0.8g,mono 3g,poly 1.2g)

Protein:

10.1g

Carbohydrate:

59g

Fiber:

5.1g

Cholesterol:

0.0mg

Iron:

2.9mg

Sodium:

318mg

Calcium:

27mg

Cooking Light, JULY 2001