Fourth of July Worthy Dessert Pizza

There are a lot of patriotic themed desserts out there for you to bring to your BBQ. I have a simple solution that will be a show stopper as well. It is dessert pizza.
I love dessert pizza because it is easy and you can use whatever fruit you have on hand to make it.

Here is how to make your fourth of July themed dessert pizza.

The first thing you need to do is make a batch of your favorite sugar cookies or to save some time just use a sugar cookie mix. The sugar cookies mixes are one of those things that I have found turn out just as well as sugar cookies that were made from scratch.

Once the sugar cookie mixture is all mixed up; roll out the mixture out flat on a baking sheet or a pizza stone (if you want to continue the pizza theme). While the cookie is baking, take a 8oz. container of cream cheese and allow it to soften. If you want a lower calorie option just use the 1/3 less fat cream cheese-there does not seem to be a huge flavor difference. 

Once the cookie has cooled and the cream cheese has softened, mix 1/3 of a cup of sugar into the cream cheese. Mix with an electric mixer until the cream cheese is completely mixed and slightly fluffy. Spread the cream cheese mixture across the cookie. 

Now comes the fun part-decorating the pizza. To keep a patriotic theme, I would use blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. I placed the berries in a circular pattern but you could easily create the American flag with fruit-using the blueberries as the stars and either strawberries or raspberries as the red stripes.

Take this fun dessert pizza to the picnic to have after the hamburger and hotdogs this July 4th. This dessert is easy to make and will allow you to enjoy some sunshine and other festivities. Enjoy!

Lucy Lemon Squares

If you want a perfect dessert for summer- lemon squares are the way to go. I love anything in a bar-who doesn't love desserts on the run. These bars are great to have around the house or they are awesome for something to bring to BBQ. Everyone will love them but they stand out from the brownies and chocolate chip cookies that everyone has had at a picnic before.
My family calls the lemon squares Lucy Lemon Squares because we used to have a Peanuts cookbook and the lemon squares were named after the Lucy character. My father loves lemon and I used to make the squares for him all of the time.
These bars just remind me of summer. If you like lemon-you will love these sweet and tart treat.
Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter, melted

4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5/8 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon of lemon peel

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and confectioners' sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven.
4. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Side Notes: I love to top my lemon squares with powdered sugar for a nice touch.

These bars are super easy to make. I hope you enjoy them as much as me!

White Chicken Chili

During this weird weather time we call Spring where it can be 85 degrees one minute and 32 degrees the next-I find it hard to make something that can works for both. So the other day when it was chilly but the sun was shining bright I decided to make White Chicken Chili. This is a great recipe because it is light but full of rich, hearty flavor. Naturally it is perfect for this crazy weather.

Another reason why this recipe is so nice is that it can be made for the amount of people that you have to feed from two to twenty. It can also have the heat level adjusted to your liking.


Here is the Recipe:


White Chicken Chili (This is enough for 2 to 4 people)


1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken
1 can of white beans (drained and rinsed)
1 onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 of a beer (I used PBR)
1 can of chopped green chilies
1 tablespoon of hot sauce
1 teaspoon of adobo seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
salt and pepper to taste


In a medium size pot or dutch oven cook the onion and garlic with some oil until the onion is translucent. Then add the green chilies and saute for about two more minutes.


Then add the shredded chicken, beans, and spices. Once you have mixed this mixture together you can add the chicken broth and beer.

Bring the chili to a boil then let the mixture simmer for ten to twenty minutes. The liquid will  reduce some. You can use this time to adjust the seasoning to your preferred spice level.


The longer you simmer the chili, the better the flavor. While letting the chili simmer- I made tortilla bowls. To make the bowl just take oven-proof bowls and put place a medium size tortilla shell in the bowl and fold it so it fit in the bowl. Bake the bowls in the oven at 400 degrees for about ten minutes or until the bowl is crisp.

When the chili is done, serve in the tortilla bowls and top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese.


This recipe is so very yummy and very healthy for you. If you do not like spice cut back on the spices and green chilies. And if you want more spice just add another add another can of green chilies. It is just that simple.

Enjoy!

Rocky-Road Bars

This week the weather was dark ad raining, so instantly I decided to make a nice comfort food. I decided to make Rocky-Road Bars. This recipe is so scrumptious and relatively easy to make.  


Here is the recipe:
 Rocky Road Bars
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
3 cups of chocolate chips
1 cup roasted salted whole almonds-chopped
1 cup mini marshmallows


Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9x13-inch pan. Cream the butter with the sugars, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Then beat in the eggs. Lastly stir in the flour, cocoa, the almonds and two cups of chocolate chips. 


Pat the dough into the pan and bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are set and center is still soft. Then add additional chips and the marshmallows to the top of the bars. 


The recipe says to place back in the oven for three minutes to soften the marshmallows but I feel that it needs more like six minutes.

Side Notes: I would not go out and buy special mini marshmallows for this recipe. I used some leftover snowman marshmallows from this winter, just use what you have. 

This recipe is a total crowd pleaser- I mean how could it not be! I mean I could not even get a picture of the bars before someone had to take some. Try these soon!

Black and Bleu Potato Salad

Now that it is starting to get warm outside and the sun is out my longer I feel like making summer-time food. Which for me that is picnic and barbecue food.
 So this past weekend I thought it would be good to make some potato salad. Now I am not the biggest fan of potato salad but my fiance is. Well let's be honest here, he is obsessed with anything from that realm from coleslaw to pasta salad to potato salad. He may just be obsessed with mayo.
But back to the potato salad. I feel like potato salad is one of those things that an exact recipe does not work. I mean everyone has their  own idea of what is needed to go in to make the perfect salad but they vary so drastically and people seem to be very opinionated on the matter. Since I am not the biggest fan of potato salad I decided to mess with the original and make a Black & Bleu Potato Salad with bleu cheese and bacon. Go big or go home, right?

This recipe did not have exact measurements-I played it by pretty fast and loose. 

Here is the general idea of what I did to make my salad-I started by I cubing up some Yukon gold potatoes (what I had leftover from St. Patrick's Day-lets say half of a bag) and boiled them until they were super soft. I chose to not peal them because I enjoy the taste and the look of the potato skins. You can peal them if that is what you prefer. 

Once I had boiled my potatoes, I let them cool off in the sink while running cold water over them.

Once the potatoes had cooled, I added 3 to 4 large "glops" of Miracle Whip. Now I know the debate between mayo or miracle whip is very controversial-use what you like best. After all you will be the one eating it!

Then I added about a 1/2 cup of horseradish sauce, 1/2 cup of bleu cheese, and 1/2 cup of crumbled, crispy bacon.

Side Note: I cooked my bacon in the oven. This is a just an easy, mess free way to crisp up your bacon. I mean even Rachel Ray does this.

This recipe can easily be tweaked to just how you like your potato salad-that is the beauty of it.

I served my potato salad with London Broil because I love steak. So enjoy your potato salad and the warm weather. Keep an eye out for future summer-time recipes.

Happy Saturday with Almond Cheese Danishes

Saying "Good Morning" can be a challenge sometimes. But when this cheese danish on your plate it will be a whole lot easier. This idea came about because I was going through cupboards and  realized that had some leftover puff pastry and a can of almond paste. So I thought why not put them both to good use? 

 I kind of came up with this recipe on my own out of basic baking knowledge but I real think you could really play with this recipe to make what you would like. I choose almond because it it truly my favorite.

Here is the recipe:

Almond Cheese Danishes

1/2 can of almond paste

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 8 oz Cheese Cheese softened (or I use the 1/3 less fat stuff)

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/3 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

Take the sheet of puff pastry and cut into nine squares. The whip together the cream cheese, egg, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. You can place a thin layer of almond paste on each of the squares of puff pastry and then spoon the cream cheese mixture over the almond paste. Once you have done this and fold two corners over lapping the cream cheese mixture. Then bake the danishes in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

This is what the danishes will look before you but then in the oven.

These danishes can really be made with anything. The almond paste can easily be replaced by lemon curd or raspberry jam or anything that floats your boat. You could also make a quick icing with some milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar to add something extra to these danishes and then sprinkle with slivered almonds. The wonderful thing about a danish is that there are so many possibilities.

This is what the danishes look like when they come out of the oven. These danishes are very delicious and helped to coax my fiance out of bed this morning. I would suggest making these for a special breakfast, a brunch or even as something quick to grab on the way out of the door to work. I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know how your danishes worked out.

From Hangovers to Leftovers: Dealing with what St. Patty's leaves behind (Part Two)

Now that it has been a few days since St. Patrick's day and for your sake I hope everyone is feeling back to normal. But you may still have some leftovers from the festivities. I have a ton of leftover Irish Soda Bread even though I have been grabbing a piece every time I go by the bag.

I decided since the bread is starting to get dry, the best solution is to whip up some bread pudding. I came up with this recipe on my own-it just spoke to me. The soda bread is perfect for bread pudding. It is a sturdy and will hold its shape in the custard but it has some nice flavor profiles that will shine through.

So here is my recipe for My Irish Soda Bread Pudding:

• 1/2 of a loaf of few day old Irish Soda Bread (cubed)- Here is the Irish Soda Bread Recipe I used
• 2 cups of buttermilk (which  used up the leftover buttermilk from making the bread in the first place- this can easily be replaced with milk or cream)
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• a few dashes of nutmeg

Set the oven at 350 degrees.  Place the cubed bread in a greased 8x8 baking dish. Whisk the remaining ingredients together and then pour evening over the bread. Then bake for 45 to 55 minutes; until the custard has settled and the top is golden brown.

I decided to top the bread pudding with a little hair of the dog and added a rum glaze. To make the glaze melt 3 tablespoons of butter, a generous splash of spiced rum and about a cup of powdered sugar. Then apply glaze while the pudding is still warm.

This was a simple recipe and a wonderful way to use up left over Irish Soda Bread. I think this recipe is perfect as dessert or brunch. Hope you enjoy this recipe.