Oreo Cookie Cake

Over Memorial Day weekend we had a BIG family get-together.  Twenty-six people came.  I brought this dessert that I found on my trusty All Recipes app and it was gone in a matter of minutes.  It's not really a cake though.  It's more of a torte/pie. 

Oreo Cookie Cake

Ingredients: 

1 20 oz. package Oreo cookies
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 16 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

2 c. milk

1 3.5 oz. package instant vanilla pudding mix

Directions:

Crush cookies into bite size pieces.  Reserve 1 c. for top.  Mix butter and cookie crumbs.  Press into 9x13 pan.  Put in freezer for 5 minutes.
Blend 1/2 of the whipped topping, all the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.  Spread over cookie crust and return pan to freezer.

Prepare instant pudding with the milk according to package directions then spread over the top of the cake.  Spread remaining whipped topping on top of the pudding and sprinkle remaining cookie pieces over the top.  Keep cake refrigerated.

In my test kitchen:

I crushed the cookies right in the 9x13 pan.  After I pulled out the 1 c. of cookie pieces reserved for the top, I continue to crush the cookies a little finer for the crust. I used 2 sleeves of the 20 oz. package and I don't think I needed quite that many cookies.  I could easily use 1 1/2 sleeves next time.
I like cream cheese but I don't LOVE it.  So I took the advice that I read in a few reviews and lessened the amount of cream cheese from 16 oz. to 12 oz.  I also used a little bit more whipped topping in the cream cheese mixture...probably about 1/2 c. more than the recipe called for.  It made the mixture really light and airy and tasted more sweet than tangy.
I also took the advice of some readers and used chocolate instant pudding instead of vanilla so that the layering would be black - white - black - white. 
Finally, I'm not a fan of Cool Whip.  So I made my own whipped topping by doing 2 cups of whipping cream, 4 T. sugar, and 1 t. vanilla extract.

It was REALLY hard to scoop this dessert out.  It didn't really keep its shape very well.  So it doesn't look super appetizing when it is plated but it sure does taste good! 

~Happy Cooking!

Homemade Guacamole!

I was feeling a little festive last night and needed to use up the leftover pot roast that I had cooked on Sunday so I decided to make shredded beef tacos and guacamole.  Ole!  Who knew it was so quick and easy to make? 
It turned out pretty good.  Recipe below:

Guacamole

Ingredients:

3 ripe avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed

1 lime, juiced

1 t. salt

1/2 c. diced onion

3 T. chopped fresh cilantro

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 t. minced garlic

1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

In medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt.  Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic.  Stir in cayenne pepper.  Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor or serve immediately.

In my test kitchen:

I only bought two avocados...oops.  So I just halved the recipe.  And then I didn't have a lime.  So I had to use the pre-packaged lime juice.  I'm sure a fresh lime would've made it taste even better.  I'm really not a big fan of cilantro but I do think it is a must to include in the recipe. 

~Happy Cooking!

Sunday Pot Roast

Sunday is a good day to cook a Pot Roast.  Know what I'm sayin'? 

My mother-in-law's pot roast shreds down to tender chunks of meat.  I could never figure out how to cook it like she can.  So finally I just asked her how she does it!  Turns out the recipe is really easy.  I'll never cook a pot roast a different way again!

Sunday Pot Roast

Ingredients:

2 T vegetable oil

2-3 pound chuck roast (the more marbley it is, the better)

4-6 cubes beef bouillon

water

pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat oil on med-high on stove.  Braise both sides of the roast and place in a 9x13 casserole dish.  Fill the casserole dish with water until it is about 1/2  way up the side of the roast.  Drop 4-6 bouillon cubes in the water around the roast.  Sprinkle pepper across the top of the roast.

Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Flip roast over, cover, and turn oven down to 300 degrees and bake.  Occasionaly pour beef broth across the  top of the roast and recover with foil.  Cook until the meat starts to fall apart easily with a fork.

In my test kitchen:

I think my oven cooks hot.  So I cook my roast at 300-315 degrees for the first hour.  Then I turn it down to 280 degrees to cook the rest of the time.  It usually takes about 4 hours to finish and then I shred it with a fork and serve it with potatoes and brown gravy.  But the meat is typically so moist and seasoned so well from the beef bouillon that it doesn't really need much added to it.  Love this meal!

~Happy Cooking!

Mini German Pancakes

My mother-in-law shared a  breakfast recipe on facebook several weeks ago that sounded pretty good and easy to prepare so I thought I would give it a try.  It calls for basic ingredients that I always have on hand so it's a good recipe if you want to cook a nice breakfast on the fly!

Mini German Pancakes

Ingredients:



Clint laughed at me for trying to make the raspberry jam look pretty on the plate



1 c. milk

6 eggs

1 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. orange zest (optional)

1/4 c. butter, melted

Directions:

Blend milk, eggs, flour, salt, vanilla, and orange zest in blender.  Add butter a little at a time to temper the eggs.  Blend until smooth (be sure to get rid of all flour lumps.)

Pour batter into a greased muffin tins (about 1/2 full.)

Bake at 400 degrees until fluffly and golden.

Serve with fresh fruit, jam, honey, etc.

In my test kitchen:

I think this recipe would taste a little better with even more orange zest!  I really couldn't taste the orange at all.  I topped my pancakes with peaches and then drizzled some warm raspberry jam over the top and finished it with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. 

You would think from my picture that all my pancakes turned out perfectly round like this:

But really, that was the only one that looked pretty.  The rest of the pancakes looked like this:

I am thinking I filled my muffin tins too full and that is why they didn't shape well. 

Nevertheless, Clint said this recipe was a success and that he would like me to make them again.  I'm thinking a savory pancake would be good too.  So next time I am going to omit the orange zest and cook as directed.  And then I will fill them with scrambled eggs mixed with sausage or ham and then top with shredded cheese.

~Happy Cooking!

Black and White Strawberries

Mother's Day dinner was a success.  Clint grilled fresh herb-marinated chicken breasts and I made parmesan asparagus risotto.  And then I made this great blueberry ice cream that everyone loved.  It was a great ending to the night.  But wait...I pulled out a final surprise!  Chocolate-covered Strawberries!  It's not really much of a surprise because I try to make them for the moms in my life every Mother's Day. 

So everyone is lounging in our backyard.  Talking and resting.  And I bring out this beautiful display of strawberries.  My family oohs and aahs and rushes to take one off the plate.  I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.  Then I hear my dad say, "Wow...these are cold.  Oh! They're frozen!"  Yep.  My beautiful looking strawberries froze!  Needless to say, no one could eat them and my otherwise perfect meal ended with a flop.  We will talk about what I did wrong in a moment.  For now, here is the VERY easy-shouldn't be able to screw it up-recipe:

Black and White Strawberries

Ingredients:

1/4 c. + 2 T. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 t. raspberry liqueur

1 1/2 t. water

8 large strawberries, with stems

1/2 oz. white chocolate chopped, or 2 T. white chocolate chips

Line a large baking sheet with wax paper.  In a small microwaveable bowl, combine the chocolate chips, liqueur, and water.  Microwave on High, stirring twice, until melted and smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes.  Holding a strawberry by the hull, dip the berry halfway into the chocolate; set on the wax paper.  Repeat with the remaining berries and chocolate.

In another bowl, melt the while chocolate chips in microwave on High, stirring once, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute.  Dip a fork in the chocolate and drizzle over the strawberries.  Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens.  Serve chilled.

In my test kitchen:

I use raspberry extract...same thing as liqueur???  I don't know but it works out fine.  The first time I made these, I dipped the strawberries and put them in the fridge and when it came time to eat them, I pulled a strawberry off the wax paper and the chocolate hadn't set yet; it wouldn't really harden.  It still tasted good though.  I discovered that there are certain chocolate chips that just don't work well.  Nestle's chips are just more waxy.  I now use Ghiradelli chocolate chips and the chocolate hardens great.  So be sure to use a good quality chocolate. 

I have always put my strawberries in the fridge overnight and have never had them freeze before.  I realized that this time, due to the lack of room in my fridge, I had balanced the tray of strawberries on top of the package of cold/half frozen chicken breasts.  They must have been the cause for the freezing.  Oops.  I seem to have a lot of oopsies in my recipes lately.

The other problem I had was the white chocolate drizzle.  It would not harden this time.  I DID add a little water to it when microwaving because it wasn't smoothing out.  So that is probably the reason.  I think it might be best to melt this on the stove???

~Happy Cooking!

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

I had my mom and grandmother over for dinner on Mother's Day.  Two wonderful ladies deserved a special dessert...don't ya think?  Since I knew the weather was going to be warm I thought ice cream would be a great end to the meal.  I've made lots of lemon desserts lately and chocolate just seems more like a winter dessert so I decided to find an ice cream recipe with blueberries. I found this little gem on the All Recipes app on my phone.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Ingredients:

For the blueberry sauce:

1/2 c. sugar

1 T. cornstarch

1/2 c. water

1 1/4 c. blueberries
1 T. lemon juice

For the crumble:
2 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. butter, melted

For the ice cream:
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 (3.5 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 c. heavy whipping cream
2 c. milk
2 t. vanilla extract

To make the blueberry sauce:
Combine sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in water until smooth.  Stir in blueberries and lemon juice; bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. 

To make the crumble:
Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir in butter.  Press into ungreased baking pan.  (I used a glass pie plate but I think you could do a cookie sheet or a casserole dish too.)  Bake 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool completely on a wire rack, then crumble.

For ice cream:
Whisk sugar, pudding, whipping cream, milk, and vanilla.  Fill ice cream machine 2/3 full.  Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze.

Layer ice cream, crumble, and blueberry sauce three times in a bowl.  Swirl to combine.  Freeze until ready to serve.

In my test kitchen:

I will start by saying that this dessert was a big hit with everyone who tried it.  However, be prepared to dirty a million dishes while making this dessert. 

I did have a little trouble with my blueberry sauce.  I don't think it thickened nearly enough as it was supposed to.  I blame this on my oven (which I loathe.)  My oven takes a long time to get to the temp I want and then takes an even longer time to come down from that temperature.  So when it began to boil and I reduced it to low it continued to boil like crazy for a long time.  It almost boiled over several times.  I finally had to remove it from the heat entirely.  So I don't think it got the proper "simmer" time.  As a result, my sauce seemed a little runny and didn't spread as nicely when I was doing my layering.  I may try to add a little more cornstarch next time or try some creative work with two burners OR I might even try to use a blueberry pie filling instead.  We will see.

As I typed this recipe I noticed that it mentioned to transfer the graham cracker crumble to a wire rack to cool completely.  Um...didn't do this at all. I'm assuming it means to remove the crumble completely from the pan and transfer to the rack to cool?  I'm thinking maybe this will make it more crunchy?  My crumble was chewy...and I actually really liked it like that.  So try it whichever way you prefer.  I will try transferring it to a wire rack next time to see how different it may be.  I also thought the cinnamon was a little over powering so I will reduce it to 1/4 teaspoon next time as well.

The ice cream was great!  Who would've thought that instant pudding would be a great thing to freeze like this?  The thought sure didn't cross my mind!  Then again, I'm still an amateur at this stuff.  The only problem I had with this is that the recipe makes a LOT of ice cream.  And you really need it to get adequate layering of the three items.  But my ice cream machine isn't that big.  So it took several times to get it all done.  And of course, my machine takes 16 hours for the canister to re-freeze.  I ended up having to finish making the ice cream the following day.  If you plan to make this recipe, plan ahead and make it the day before.  That way you will have time to freeze and combine the remaining ice cream the next day.

I'm a little torn on when to serve this dessert.  When the ice cream is first finished freezing, it is way smooth and tastes amazing.  But it melts pretty easy so even though it is a great treat all combined with the other ingredients, it doesn't look super great.  I think it needs time to set up a little more.  After it's been frozen for a while, it looks a little prettier but just doesn't have that really creamy texture. 

Also, where the heck is the "cheesecake" part of this dessert?!? 

Still, it's a great treat that I definitely will make again! 

~Happy Cooking!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I found this delightful little recipe on facebook. 

A friend of mine had shared it and I'm always in need of new breakfast ideas.  Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! 

I love this recipe because it doesn't require a lot of strange ingredients.  I had everything on hand the first time I made them.  

Ingredients:

For the pancakes: 

4 c. flour

8 t. baking powder

2 t. salt

4 c. milk

4 T. vegetable oil

4 lg eggs, lightly beaten

For the cinnamon filling:

1 c. butter, melted

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 T. cinnamon

For the cream cheese glaze:

1/2 c. butter

4 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

Directions:

Combine melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in ziploc bag.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl combine milk, oil, and eggs.  Stir all ingredients togther until just moistened.  Batter will be lumpy.

In a microwave bowl, melt butter and cream cheese.  Stir together.  Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Add milk if needed. 

Heat griddle to 325 degrees.  (too hot will make the cinnamon burn.)  Pour batter on griddle for desired-size pancakes.  Snip corner of the ziploc bag containing the cinnamon filling and pipe onto pancake in a swirl starting at the center of the pancake.  Wait until pancake has lots of bubbles before turning.  Drizzle warm pancakes with cream cheese glaze and serve immediately.

In my test kitchen:

The first two times I made these pancakes, everything went smoothly.  But for some reason when I made them for some friends this weekend, it was a disaster!  My first tip:  DON'T SNIP TOO MUCH OFF THE CORNER OF THE ZIPLOC BAG!  As soon as I snipped the corner, I instantly knew it was too big and wouldn't pipe well onto the pancake.  So I tried to transfer the filling to a new bag.  Wow.  What a mess.  My hands had cinnamon and butter all over them and it was all over the counter.  By the time I got it transfered the pancakes on the griddle were too cooked to let the cinnamon settle into the batter.  So then when I tried to flip the pancakes, the cinnamon filling just melted all over the griddle and there was no visible swirl in the pancake.  So I recommend snipping (a tiny) corner off the bag just BEFORE you put the batter on the griddle.  You should also be sure to pipe the cinnamon filling onto the pancake immediately after getting your batter on the griddle. 

When I made these the first time I wondered why the instructions called to prepare the cinnamon mixture first.  I did as it said and my cinnamon piped really easily onto the batter.  I had been worried that I would need to reheat the filling just before I piped it but then I realized it needs to be sort of cold and settled in order to pipe well.  The mixture needs to harden just a bit so it doesn't run all over the pancake. 

I have also had some trouble with the glaze.  I don't think cream cheese likes to melt down very well in a microwave.  It kept turning out a little lumpy.  So this last time I melted the cream cheese and butter down in a saucepan and I added a couple tablespoons of milk at the beginning of the melt down.  Then I whisked in the powedered sugar and vanilla and added a little more milk.  It turned out much smoother.  So I would suggest doing it on the stove instead.

Also, this recipe makes a lot of pancakes.  I mean A LOT!  I halved the recipe and it still made at least 20 pancakes.  I guess it depends on how big you make them. 

~Happy Cooking!