20 Recipes for Summer

Summer is here! Okay, well maybe not “officially” but I think all the moms out there can agree that summer starts when school lets out. Now that it’s hotter outside and the days are longer we want to avoid turning on the oven as much as possible and either grill or eat light, refreshing meals.  I don’t know about you but my kitchen gets really hot when I use the oven so I will definitely be planning any baking for very early in the day and relying more on the grill and other summertime fare.

Here is a roundup of 20 recipes that are summer worthy from appetizers to desserts, and not a one requires an oven.

Appetizers: Bruschetta, Cherry Caprese

Salads: Deviled Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Cheeseburger Salad, Chopped Thai Chicken Salad, Chili Lime Chicken Salad, Greek Chicken Salad with Grapes & Pecans

On the Grill: Grilled Balsamic Chicken, Bourbon BBQ Sliders with Garlic Aioli, Honey-Lime Chicken Kabobs

In the Crock Pot: Honey Sesame Chicken, Sweet Chicken Rio, Cashew Chicken, Chicken Teriyaki

Cool Desserts: Chocolate Banana Pudding Pie, Mud Pie, Watermelon Petit Fours, Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert, Easy Eclair Dessert

Marvelous Mondays, Melt in Your Mouth Mondays,

Chocolate Banana Pudding Pie

I didn’t know anything about ‘nanner pudding until I came down South. It’s like the mascot of Southern desserts down here, and any Southerner will agree that it is a staple at potlucks and family gatherings. I haven’t made one in quite some time so when Hubby said he’d been craving banana pudding it was nothing to whip something up. Now, there are lots of recipes out there, and even some die-hard ones that go a little above and beyond (I’m talking toasted meringue and everything). I like to keep it simple.

A traditional banana pudding has just a few main ingredients: banana flavored pudding mix, bananas, and vanilla wafer cookies. In fact I posted a recipe well over a year ago here. But this time I decided to get a little fancy, and it’s easy to see how simple it is to change up a simple recipe and make it something more.

1 chocolate crust

2 bananas

1 pkg instant banana pudding

2 cups milk

1/2 cup Nilla wafer cookies

1/2 tub cool whip, thawed

1. Make pudding according to package directions and set in fridge for about 5 minutes.

2. Slice a banana and place all over the bottom of the chocolate crust. *Sorry, I just bought a premade crust. No recipe for that here just yet.

3. Take about 3/4 of the banana pudding and pour into the crust, over the bananas. Spread out evenly.

4. Place the cookies on top of this pudding layer, about 9 cookies, and then slice the second banana and layer them here, too.

5. Combine the remaining pudding with the cool whip and top the pie.

6. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Must keep cool. (I recommend some time in the freezer, if necessary)

7. Drizzle some chocolate syrup over the top, if desired, and enjoy!

In & Out of the Kitchen, Love in the Kitchen, Simple Supper Tuesdays, Cast Party Wednesday, Wednesday Extravaganza, What’s in Your Kitchen, Two Girls and a Party, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Treasures, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Fidlers Friday, TGIG, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Marvelous Mondays,

Caramel Praline Tart

Reblogged from The Home Heart:

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I've been waiting quite some time to be able to share this awesome tart with you. I made one weeks ago, but alas, it fell apart in my fridge, and I was so angry I picked it up in chunks and threw it across my kitchen. I had streaks of sticky caramel and clumps of pralines and pie crust everywhere!

Read more… 229 more words

Did you know that April is National Pecan Month and yesterday was National Pecan Day? In honor of the pecan I've decided to share this re-post worthy recipe with you. Make it soon. It's awesome :)

A Little Bit of Everything Cookie Bars

Ever go into your pantry and find yourself looking at odd measurements of leftover ingredients?  This recipe is perfect because you can put anything in it; any kind of nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, and even caramel pieces. Use your imagination.

For this recipe I literally used up random leftovers that I had taking up space in my pantry. So not only did I clean out some cabinet space I also got a whole pan of awesomeness to boot.

Sigh. It was liberating.

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup organic sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup unbleached flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups quick oats

3/4 cup pretzel bits

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chips

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup  pomegranate infused dried cranberries

1/2 cup mini malt ball Easter eggs*, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350* and lightly grease a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Into mixture put butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Mix until creamy.

3. In separate bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir in oats.

4. Pour flour and oat mixture into the mixer with the butter and sugar mixture. Mix well.

5. Add in pretzels, chips, nuts, fruit, coconut, etc. *Except for the malt balls or any other  candy/decoration. You may need to dig in with your hands at this point to really mix everything together.

6. Spread it out evenly into the prepared 9×13 pan and then push the malt eggs into the top randomly. This part is completely optional. You may want to use M&M’s or some other holiday candies for a different occasion.

7. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool before cutting into bars.

Chocolate Mug Cake

Most people have heard of the 5 minute mug cake by now, but I came across this recipe and realized it had been emailed to me ages ago. I don’t even remember where it came from. It’s as good a mug cake recipe as any and you can easily customize it to your taste. I made this for dessert night because I needed something fast and easy for the boys. Serve it with some chocolate or caramel syrup, and a dollop of whipped cream if you have it. It’s a winner.

4 T flour

4 T sugar

2 T cocoa

1 egg

3 T milk

3 T EVOO

3 T mini chocolate chips

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 large microwave safe coffee mug

Add dry ingredients into the mug and mix well. Add the egg and combine thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips and vanilla, and mix again.

Place mug into the microwave and cook for 3 minutes. Don’t worry if it rises over the top of the mug. Allow to cool a little before tipping out onto a plate.

Cake will look wet at the bottom- do not put back into the microwave or it will overcook quickly. Just let it cool a minute, slice it up, and top it with some cream and sauce.

One mug made a big enough cake for me to slice it three ways. However, you may want a whole one to yourself!

Pots au Chocolate de Creme

Pots au Chocolate de Creme…which basically just means “hand me that pot of chocolate over there.” This dessert will hit every person’s chocolate spot and it is also super easy to make. They will think you’ve been slaving away over this gourmet dessert, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

As you know Dessert Nights around here are Mondays and Thursdays. We’ve recently had to reinforce dessert nights because Number Two got into the nasty habit of asking the same two questions every night: ‘Is it dessert night?’ and ‘Can I have a dessert tonight?’ Consequently we got a little slack and all the boys had been eating desserts several times a week. It’s kind of hard to implement the “it’s not dessert night” excuse when they’re looking at you like, “Give me a break, Mom.”

I realized that it’s more about control than anything else, and truthfully I wouldn’t want to be deprived of a fantastic dessert like this either. The key to this recipe is you put it together early on (even a day before if need be) and let the rest fall into place. That way you are not running around trying to fit all of your meal preparations together at once.

This is so chocolatey, rich and creamy. It’s a cross between a custard and a mousse. Are you drooling yet??

1 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz. high quality semi-sweet chocolate*

6 large egg yolks

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tsp powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 250*. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream milk, sugar and vanilla. Whisk to blend and bring to a soft boil. Add the chocolate and whisk until it’s all melted. *If using a bar of chocolate make sure you use a high quality chocolate like Lendt, Ghirardelli or Valrhona. Coarsely chop before adding to the cream mixture. I couldn’t find any good bars in my store so I used Ghirardelli chips.

2. In large bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks. Then, in a slow, steady stream, add the chocolate-cream mixture, whisking until smooth. Make sure you add the hot mixture slowly so you don’t cook the eggs. Divide the mixture among 6 ramekins or small custard bowls (about 6 ounces each. I measured this using a 2/3 cup measuring cup. Perfect.) Place them into a large baking pan with high sides.

3. Make a water bath in the baking dish by adding cold water about half way up the sides of the ramekins. This will help regulate the heat while cooking. Cover tightly with foil and place into warm oven for about an hour.

*At 250 my oven seemed barely warm enough to cook even this. After an hour it was still pretty un-cooked. I then turned the oven up to 300* and gave the custard another 25 minutes or so. Make sure you keep an eye on this dessert and adjust the temp and cooking times according to your oven.

4. When done the custards should jiggle slightly in the center when shaken. The custards will thicken as they chill, so take out of the hot water and allow them to come to room temperature. Then refrigerate until cold. Serve cool.

5. When ready to serve, whip up the remaining 1/3 cup heavy cream with the powdered sugar and serve the mousse with a dollop of the cream on top.

 

Valentine’s Day Yumminess ~ 2013

Round-ups are a great way to gather many wonderful recipes for a specific event all at once. While I don’t claim to have the absolute best recipes in the blogging world, I do happen to have some tried-and-true (that means approved by the boys) that I’m sure you will enjoy. If you’re looking for some new yummy things to treat your family with, take a look at these. You may just approve them as well.

Coconut Cream Tart

 

Red Velvet Brownies

Chocolate Strawberry Whoopie Pies

Chocolate Mousse Napoleon

Easy Eclair Dessert

Mud Pie

 

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert

Caramel Praline Tart

Chocolate Pretzles

You might be thinking this is too simple to be a real post, but nobody ever said a recipe had to be difficult for it to count. Sure, you can just go buy some Flipz for that prepackaged and processed junk your body loves and will thank you for (not), or you could satisfy your sweet tooth with a litte homemade chocolate dipped pretzles of your own.

Since Christmas we have seriously cleaned out the junk and as promised I have not made any desserts so far this month. But that didn’t stop me from craving something chocolate and there was nothing in the house that would do. Then it came to me during one of my staring-into-the-fridge moments. I had leftover Ganache (believe it)! All I had to do was heat that up and submerge a few pretzles into it, place them on a sheet of waxed paper, and set them in the fridge to harden.

Viola!

I will say this however, unless you’ve got extra ganache laying around the house, don’t bother. A package of chocolate bark would do an even better job (though then you’d be dealing with preservatives and addtives…so there’s that).

Another idea is to sprinkle holiday-themed candies on them before the chocolate hardens. Since Valentine’s Day is around the corner some cute little pink, white, and/or red sprinkles would be darling. Hey, I think I may just do that

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Crumble Bars

Welcome back to another Fantabulous Friday where you get the recipe to an awesome dessert! This is what I made for the boys this week and it was a hit!

*FYI: This recipe can easily cut in half. Since we are not huge dessert eaters (they would like to be, I assure you) half of a recipe is perfect because it gives us a taste, maybe a bit leftover for later, and then no extra to go to waste.

(Full Recipe)

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 cups old-fashioned oats

2 cups flour (I used  a 1/2 unbleached & 1/2 whole wheat mix)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 pkg (8 squares) semi-sweet chocolate baking squares

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (can substitute crunchy)

HEAT oven to 350*F.

BEAT butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Combine oats, flour, and baking soda, then add to sugar mixture; mixing well.

PRESS 3 cups of crumb mixture onto bottom of 13×9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. {I used the butter paper to grease pan liberally. A great use for any extra softened butter that sticks to the paper. Also just a good way to utilize everything without any waste. Cool, huh?}

MICROWAVE chocolate in small microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until melted, stirring after 45 seconds. Stir in peanut butter. Carefully spread over crust; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.

BAKE 22 to 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely.

Yeah, I'll be licking that...

Enjoy!!