Adventureful Mud Pie

 Ingredients: 

• 
  2 pkgs (3.4oz) vanilla or chocolate instant pudding
• 3 3/4 cups milk
• 1 pkg Adventurefuls cookies (crushed)
• 8oz package cream cheese
• 8oz tub of whipping cream
• 
  (can use reduced or non-fat milk, cheese and dessert topping if you prefer)

Directions:

1. Whip pudding and milk. Set aside. 
2. Save 1/4 cup crumbs and spread remaining crumbs in 9"x13" pan.
3. Spoon 3/4 of pudding over crumbs. 
4. Blend cream cheese and remaining 1/4 pudding. Layer it on top of pudding.
5. Layer on the whipping cream.
6. Refrigerate for several hours. 
7. Garnish with remaining crumbs just before serving 

Chocolate Decadent Pie

 This one was absolutely delicious and lived up to the name. My initial try at whipped topping was way too liquidy, so I've edited to just use Reddi-Whip or something similar. Despite my less than stellar first try, it disappeared rather quickly and everyone requested I make this one again. Adult supervision is required, especially when using the oven.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c Thin Mints, crushed
• 1 1/4c Trefoils, crushed (about 1 1/2 sleeves)
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/3 c butter, melted
• 1 1/2 c milk chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 c white chocolate chips
• 1 c sweetened condensed milk (divided)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (divided)
• 1 1/2 whipped cream (spray bottle the easiest)

Directions (Total prep time: 90 min)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Spray the inside of a 9" pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a bowl, combine Trefoil cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
4. Press mixture firmly into sprayed pie pan, covering bottom and sides. 
5. Bake 5-7min. 
6. Set aside to cool.
7. While crust is baking, you can use a microwave safe bowl to combine milk chocolate chips, 1/2c condensed milk and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Alternative: combine all ingredients and melt in a small double-boiler. 
8. Stir until all chips are melted and pour into bottom of cooled crust. 
9. Set in freezer while preparing the second layer.
10. For the second layer, use a microwave safe bowl to combine white chocolate chips, 1/2 c condensed milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Alternative: combine all ingredients and melt in a small double-boiler. 
11. When the first layer has cooled sufficiently, pour the second layer over top. 
12. Refrigerate pie for at least 30min to allow both layers to solidify sufficiently. 
13. Top pie with whipped cream. 
14. Sprinkle/decorate the pie with crushed Thin Mint cookies. 

Samoas Coco-Pine Chicken

Ok, I was suspicious of a savory dish made with Girl Scout cookies. This one was surprisingly good, though. Some sweetness, with that kick of garlic flavor. So give it a try and see what you think. 

Marinade

• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

Other ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 box Samoa Girl Scout cookies
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 cup peanut oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tbsp ginger powder
• 6oz can crushed pineapple
• 1 cup flour
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Procedures

1. Prepare marinade by whisking ingredients listed above together. Make sure your chicken breasts are 1/3 of an inch thick by pounding them with a meat mallet.
2. Cover and refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for at least one hour. 
3. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
4. Take 1/2 of the box of cookies and crush in a food processor.
5. Remove chicken from marinade and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Set up three bowls so chicken can be dipped in sequence - beaten eggs, then flour, then crushed Samoas.
7. Pan fry chicken until brown in the peanut oil.
8. Finely dice the garlic and mix it with the softened butter and ginger powder. 
9. Once browned, put the chicken into the baking dish. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 30min. 
10. Spoon the ginger garlic paste over the chicken in the dish. You can also pour some of the leftover marinade over the chicken. Top the chicken with pineapple.
11. Place the baking dish into the oven for 30min. 

Tagalong Banana Shake

Ok, so Girl Scout Cookies are delicious, but there are so many ways they can be enjoyed. Zoe and her friend wanted to do some cooking and I suggested they help me downsize our stock of last year's cookies before the new cookies show up for this year. Here's the first recipe they tried. I'd include a photo, but I wasn't fast enough to catch anything but the empty blender on film.

Ingredients:

1 box Tagalongs (peanut butter cookie dipped in chocolate)

1pt Vanilla Ice Cream

2 medium ripe bananas

4oz chocolate sauce

2oz skim milk

Procedure:

1. Soften ice cream, then place in blender

2. Rough chop cookies & add to blender. Blend 2min.

3. Add one rough chopped banana. Blend 1min.

4. Add chocolate sauce and mix until blended. Thin with skim milk, if desired.

5. Garnish with diced banana from remaining banana and serve in parfait glass with spoon.

Note: we substituted Adventurefuls (chocolate cookie with caramel coating) and found the chocolate sauce unnecessary.

To purchase ingredients and try this recipe at home, order online from Penny.

French Toast Strata

This is a great recipe for any morning when you know you've got an early start and you want something filling before you head out. You do have to have some prep time the night before it, though. Many of my Girl Scouts love this recipe at camp, even forgoing syrup as they eat it. They especially like that they wake up to the smell of it baking (I usually just pop it in the oven, then go back to sleep for another 40min or so).

A word about tools: I use my glass 9"x13" baking dish for French Toast Strata to make cleanup easier. I also have a lid to help store any leftovers for future breakfasts. However, I always worry about putting a cold glass dish into a hot oven and having the glass shatter. So...I usually put my glass dish into the cold oven, then preheat it so they warm together...so far no shattered glass dish. On the other hand, an aluminum tray or just metal pan wouldn't have that shattering problem and might not be terrible to clean if properly greased.

If making this dish at camp, do test your oven in advance to see whether it heats properly - they're not as reliable as my oven at home. Might be worth planning some brownies or cupcakes the night before to check oven functionality.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf french bread, sourdough bread, or challah (I've even had rave reviews when I've made this with stale hot dog buns, though)

• 4 ounces (224g) block cream cheese, softened to room temperature (optional - the kids often complain about the cream cheese, but it makes it more filling and I enjoy it)

• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 9 large eggs

• 3 cups (540ml) whole milk

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2/3 cup (133g) packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup raisins (optional - again, kids complain about these)

Crumb Topping

• 1/3 cup (69g) packed light brown sugar

• 1/3 cup (41g) all-purpose flour 

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 6 Tablespoons (86g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

 

Directions

1. Grease a 9×13 inch or any 3-4 quart oven-safe dish with nonstick spray. Slice then cut the bread into cubes, about 1 inch in size. Spread half of the cubes into the prepared baking pan.

2. Drop random spoonfuls of cream cheese (and raisins) on top of the bread. Layer the remaining bread cubes on top of cream cheese. (I like to make sure some cream cheese is still exposed on top just for looks.) Set aside.

3. Whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours and up to 24 hours. Overnight is best.

4. Prepare the crumb topping: Whisk the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Cut in the cold cubed butter with a pastry blender or two forks.

5. The next day: preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).* Remove pan from the refrigerator.

6. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the soaked bread.

7. Bake uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown on top. It will puff up as it cooks. I usually bake it for 45 minutes because I like it softer. Drizzle with optional maple syrup or dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm.

Cheesy Peppers and Broccoli

What on earth was I to do with all this broccoli and bell peppers? I was pleasantly surprised at how the following turned out - peppers sweet, not overwhelmingly cheesy, that little bit of ham to give the dish some hunger-stopping power. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb broccoli, cut bite-size
• 1 lb sweet bell peppers, cut bite-size
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 1/2 lb egg noodles
• 1 pack instant cheese from mac n cheese box
• 1/2 lb ham, cubed
• 2 tbsp Olive oil 
• 2/3 c milk
• 1 tbsp butter or margarine
• 2 ripe tomatoes, cubed
• salt & pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Boil water for making egg noodles. I chose these noodles because they don't get soggy upon reheating, which is how I serve most of my food. Regular pasta would likely be fine if you're serving everything immediately. Make egg noodles according to directions.
2. Warm the Olive oil in a deep skillet. Once wavy, add in the onion and peppers. When they start to soften, add in the broccoli and ham. Cook until the onions and ham start to have a little brown on them. Add tomato cubes and cook until warmed through. 
3. When pasta finishes cooking, drain it and return it to the pot. Melt the butter or margarine in it, then add the milk. I added a little more milk than the mac n cheese box instructions to help the cheese cover the additional veggies and meat. Finally, add in the dried packet of instant cheese from the mac n cheese box. Stir until well mixed. 
4. Pour pasta into skillet to mix with the veggie mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Serves 4

Caribbean Pork Tenderloin

Caribbean Pork Tenderloin

Succulent Salsa over pork with spinach and pearl barley

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 40 minutes

3/4 cup pearl barley
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
(can use chicken broth for more protein and calories)
3/4 cup water
1 ripe mango, peeled and pitted, diced
(can sub canned mandarin oranges for mango)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped ( optional)
1/2 (red) onion, chopped
1/2 tsp lime, grated
1 lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
4 potions pork tenderloin (about 1 lb)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
dash of sesame seeds (optional)
2 cups baby spinach


1. Preheat oven to 450*

2. Place a large saucepan over medium heat, Add barley and stir constantly until barley is toasted (pale golden), about 5 minutes.

3. Add Broth and water to toasted barley: bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 35 minutes.

4. While barley is cooking make salsa by combine mango (or mandarin oranges) bell pepper, jalapeno, onion, lime peel, lime juice, cilantro and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate to let flavors blend. ( Can be made ahead of time)

5.Lightly coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. Season pork with black pepper and garlic. Place pork in oven and bake 10 minutes. Brush on sesame oil and bake until juice run clear about 15 more minutes. Remove from oven let sit 5 minutes and then cut.

(Sometimes I don't like cooking with a broiler in the house so I will just stove top cook the pork in a frying pan. I also like the caramelized meat taste I can get with the stove. )

6. Divided the spinach between 4 plates. Top with pork, and spoonful of salsa. Add a portion of barley, serve and enjoy.

Icing for decorating cookies

Some quickie icing recipes that have worked nicely with the kids. A resealable freezer bag with a tiny hole cut in the corner is the easiest pastry bag you can come by. Recipes I've seen warn not to let icing come in contact with oil or plastic, but if you're using it all the same day that's no problem. Cover with wax paper or plastic wrap flush with the icing so it doesn't crust up when it is not in use.

Plain icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp water

Place sugar in bowl and add water by teaspoons until you reach desired thickness. If you are spreading with knives, aim for a thick paste. If you want to pipe out lines, go for a thinner consistency. Lay out without overlap for a few hours as the icing dries. Can stack with wax paper between once dried. Can store for four days at room temperature or a month in the refrigerator.

Royal icing (best for gluing together a gingerbread house because it gets rock hard):
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1 large egg white

From Joy of Cooking:
1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine 2/3 cup powdered sugar and one egg white.
2. Microwave on high until mixture reaches 160-175 degrees F (about 30-60 seconds). If you need to take more than on temperature reading, was the thermometer thoroughly or dip in boiling water before taking next reading.
3. Add 2/3 cup powdered sugar and beat on high speed until icing cools and holds stiff peaks.
4. Add more powdered sugar as needed to reach desired consistency. Color with liquid or powdered food coloring. Can be stored in covered container for up to 3 days.

Fennel Salad

Serving: 2
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 cup of fresh spinach
1/2 red sweet pepper, thinly sliced
Parmesan cheese

For the Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
4 Tbs lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
whisk all ingredients in a small mixing bowl until well incorporated

To serve
Toss salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.Add and toss 1/2 of the dressing and lightly toss.  Add more dressing until all the leaves are lightly covered. Place on to chilled plates and top with pine nuts optional.

Live Raw
Mimi Kirk cookbook

Apple Tuna Salad

Tuna with crisp apple and celery on a bed of lettuce with fresh tomato wedge
Servings:2
Preparation Time:10 min

Ingredients
1 can (6 oz) tuna, water packed,drained
1/2 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 Tbsp dill relish
1 tsp spicy brown mustard (or mustard of choice)
2 Tbs fat-free mayonnaise
1 apple, cored and diced
4 cups lettuce leaves
2 tomatoes,cut into wedges

Directions
1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine tuna, onion, celery, relish, mustard, mayonnaise and apple; mix well
2. Divided lettuce and tomato wedges between two separate plates.  Top with a portion of tuna mixture, serve and enjoy.

Body for Life Recipe

5th Avenue!

I am so excited, because I think I may have found a very close recipe for the 5th Avenue chicken and pasta dish that was at La Boulangerie in Grenada! If you didn't ever try this dish while in Grenada, you should still try this recipe, because it is so easy and tasty! Here are the details-
 

  

 Ingredients:

- 1 jar 25 oz. of "Victoria's Vodka Sauce"
- Fresh sliced mushrooms (or you can use a can of sliced mushrooms too)
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- Chicken (diced up)
- Penne Pasta (you can use any kind though)

Cut up the chicken and cook it in a pan with 1 tablespoons of olive oil until cooked through. Add the mushrooms and cook for a minute, then add the Vodka sauce and mix together and cook for about 10 more minutes. Cook pasta at the same time and then lay sauce mixture over pasta! So easy!!

Amanda's Menu Monday

Monday- spaghetti

Tuesday- Crockpot Cashew Chicken, rice (Trying it for the first time this week)

Wednesday- Chicken rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy and peas

Thursday- leftovers

Friday- french bread pizza

Saturday- Ward Halloween Party

Sunday- Dutch short ribs, mashed potatoes, peas


I don't even know if you guys are still doing this menu thing, but I thought I would add mine if for nothing more than to have a place where my menu is listed that doesn't get ruined or accidently thrown away. haha.

Dark Chocolate Rasberry Muffins!

One-Bowl Oatmeal Muffins: Basic Recipe (From Simple Bites website

These are amazing, I just made them last night and had to share! It is a yummy fresh summer bite to eat :) Enjoy girls!

 

Picture from Simple Bites

Oatmeal is one of the constants in the recipe and provides, in my opinion, necessary texture.
Be sure to read the recipe all the way through before getting started. You will note that the oats soak in the milk 1 hour prior to assembling the rest of the ingredients, so take that into consideration before starting out.
Makes 12 medium muffins

• 1 cup milk*
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, freshly ground
• add-ins of your choosing (see above suggestions) I used 1 cup of Rasberries, (fresh or frozen) and 1/2 cup of Dark Chocolate chips
• other add in ideas:
• 1 cup Raspberries, fresh or frozen & ½ cup Dark Chocolate, chunked or chips
• ¾ cup Diced Apple (Granny Smith or Russet) and ½ cup toasted Walnuts, roughly chopped
• ¾ cup Dried Cranberries & ½ cup toasted Pecans, roughly chopped
• ¾ cup White Chocolate, chopped or chips & 1 cup Blueberries, fresh or frozen
• ½ cup toasted unsweetened Coconut & ¾ cup Peanut-Butter Chips
• 1 cup diced Rhubarb, fresh or frozen & ½ teaspoon Green Cardamom, freshly ground
• ¾ cup Dates, pitted and chopped & ½ cup Pistachios
• ¾ cup Golden Raisins & ¾ cup grated Carrot

Combine milk, vinegar and oats in a large bowl and let stand one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a twelve-cup muffin tin and line with cupcake papers.
Crack the egg into the oat and milk mixture; add brown sugar and mix to combine. Stir in melted butter.

Sift remaining ingredients into the bowl: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, & spices. Gently fold into batter, taking care not to over mix.
Sprinkle add-in and flavorings of your choice and combine muffin batter gently.
Use a large ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop batter into muffin tins. Bake until light brown and tops spring back when gently touched, about 10-12 minutes. Note: Muffins will take slightly longer to bake if you are adding fresh fruit such as blueberries or rhubarb.
Remove from oven and cool in tins. To remove, run a sharp knife around the edges and pop muffins out. Enjoy!
*You may also substitute 1 cup buttermilk, and then omit the vinegar from the recipe.

Flora's Caramel Corn

3 qt popped corn

1 c nuts (optional)

1 c butter

1 1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Mix butter, brown sugar and corn syrup together. Bring to a boil in the microwave. Boil for 2 minutes for soft popcorn and up to 8 minutes for crunchy popcorn. Add vanilla and stir. Pour over popcorn and nuts, stirring well.

Menu - Sara J

Hey Ladies,

I'm in a cooking/meal idea funk. So, here's my menu for next week. As you can tell, most of my go-to recipes originated with this blog! I hope you'll post your weekly menus so we can all get new ideas!

Mon - Lemon Chicken Tenders, rice, sauteed green beans.

Tues - leftovers

Wed - Thai Chicken and Noodles, green salad

Thurs - leftovers

Friday - homemade pizza, smoothies

Sat - Ziti Parmesan, steamed broccoli, apple chips

Sun - Grilled chicken, grilled zucchini, baked potatoes, Caramel Corn.

Happy weekend to you all!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

This is so fun to have on St Patrick's day. Enjoy! Oh by the way, it's delicious!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ramen Noodle Salad

1/2 c vinegar

1/2 c veg. oil

1/2 c sugar

2 ramen seasoning packets for the sauce

Mix together

Add:

1/2 head broccoli

1/2 c sunflower seeds

2 packs of ramen noodles broken up.

Easy and Delicious and only sort of nutritious!

Grandma Spackman's Fudge Frosting

Grandma Spackman’s Fudge Frosting.

My mother is a tough connoisseur of frosting. She calls it her "crack cocaine." The other day she let me know she has officially switched to a new method of making chocolate frosting. What?! Impossible! So, I thought it would be worth sharing her valuable nugget of information. Interestingly enough, it’s her mother-in-law’s recipe. Somehow my mother skipped over it all these years. Anyway...here’s the recipe in my grandma’s words. (P.S. She’s Canadian)

The following is an easy substitute for real fudge icing (or frosting as you Americans say it) and is very good. I seldom use real fudge icing anymore and I don’t have the recipe with me – I usually just remember it.

Fudge Icing

2 cups sugar (powdered)

½ cup cocoa

Mix together and add

1 cup cream and

½ cup butter

Bring to a boil stirring constantly and then boil 5 minutes only. Let cool. Beat with mixer adding 4 or more cups of icing (or powdered in U.S.) sugar until of the spreading consistency. If it gets a little too stiff add a little more cream. Ice the cake. It will be wonderful.

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells!

(recipe & photo from The Sister's Cafe)

These shells are absolutely delicious. I like to serve them for company or when I need to take someone dinner and feed my own family at the same time, because this recipe makes a lot. You can also half this if you don't want to make so much.

These shells can be time intensive if you don’t break up the prep work. I like to make the filling the day before and then cook the shells and stuff them the day-of. The recipe makes two 9x13 pans. I always do one 9x13 and two 8x8 pans, and freeze one of the smaller pans for a later dinner. Be sure to buy two boxes of Jumbo Shells for this recipe, as you’ll need nearly 1 1/2 boxes.

Try serving these with the a salad and some yummy rolls or french bread!

Ingredients-

44 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (That’s about one and one-half 12-oz boxes)

2 c chopped cooked chicken

2 c fresh chopped spinach (I only used about 3/4 of a bag of baby spinach)

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese

2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (5oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1 2/3 c.)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 Tb dried parsley flakes

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 (26oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce (any variety)

Cook shells according to package directions (be sure to stir every once in awhile so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan and tear apart); drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease 2 13x9x2inch baking dishes.

In a large bowl, combine chicken and all the rest of the ingredients except mozzarella and spaghetti sauce. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella. Spoon into shells. Spread half of spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dishes. Arrange shells over sauce; top with remaining sauce. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes.

Makes 8-10 servings.