Fresh Strawberry Cream Pie

Here's great recipe that takes advantage of seasonal fruit-originally posted on 8/20/10, it's definitely worth sharing again!

STRAWBERRY CREAM PIE

3/4c. Flour

6 Tbsp. Butter

1/3c. Pecans, finely chopped

3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1c. Heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1c. Cold milk

1 pkg. Vanilla Instant Pudding mix (4 serving size)

1-2c. Fresh Strawberries, sliced.

(the recipe calls for 1 cup of berries, but I always use 2)

3 drops Red food coloring

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees.

Combine the flour, butter, pecans, and brown sugar in a bowl. Mix until crumbly and moistened in appearance. Press into a 9" pie dish.

 Bake crust for 10 minutes, remove from oven and cool completely. (To keep the crust from shrinking during baking, place another pie dish on top of the crumb crust before baking. Remove after the crust has cooled for about 10 min.)

In a large mixing bowl combine the pudding mix and milk.  Whisk until the pudding powder is completely dissolved.  Let stand 5 minutes to thicken. Add food coloring.

Whip the cream and sugar together until the cream forms thick peaks 

(I whip the cream until it appears almost dry). 

Gently stir the whipped cream into the pudding mix, add strawberries and pour into the prepared pie crust.

Chill for 3 hours or until firm.  Garnish with additional berries and enjoy!

Basic Cream Puff Shells

The first time I decided to try making cream puffs I was pretty intimidated.  They seemed so complicated and I was sure my first attempt would be horrible.  Wrong!
The cream puff is so easy to make that it's kind of shocking! 
This is a basic recipe for the cream puff, and it works equally well with sweet or savory fillings.
In fact, try them with my Chicken Salad recipe, or my Pumpkin Spiced Cream Puffs recipe. 
Go ahead, give this recipe a try.  Your friends will think you've become a pastry chef!

Cream Puff Shells

1 c. water

1/2 c. butter or shortening

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. flour

4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
In a large sauce pan, bring the water, salt and butter to a boil.  Make sure the butter has completely melted.  When the water mix reaches a boil, add the flour and stir until the mix forms a ball, and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from heat.
With an electric mixer, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Here is the dough after adding 1 egg.

Consistency of dough after all the eggs have been incorporated.

Drop by large tablespoon onto greased or parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 20 minutes.
The puffs should be golden in color, and if you tap lightly on the top they will sound slightly hollow.

Remove to wire racks and cool completely.
Once completely cool, slice the top 1/3 of the puff off, and set it aside.  Remove any dough that is in the puff.

Fill with your choice of filling,savory or sweet and replace the top.  Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with chocolate, whatever makes you happy, and that's it!

 

Simple Apple Crisp

I know that most people seem to associate Apple Crisp dessert with the fall season, but I love I all year long!
Here is one I've made many times, and is easy to prepare.

APPLE CRISP

1 c. all purpose flour

3/4 c. rolled oats

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. butter, softened

4 c. peeled and chopped apples

(I love to use Granny Smith apples)

1 c. white sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. water

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until crumbly.

Press half of the crumbly mix into a greased 9 x9 baking dish. Cover with the chopped apples.

Ina large sauce pan combine the white sugar, cornstarch, water and vanilla. Cook and stir over medium heat until clear.

Pour syrup over the apples, and sprinkle remaining crumb mix over all.
Bake for about 45-50 minutes until the apples are tender. 
Serve with ice cream if desired!

I like the apples to still be a bit crisp when finished baking, but if you prefer them to be tender, bake as long as 1 hour. I think you will love this simple crisp!

Homemade Reese's/Twix Bar's

I originally saw this recipe on Hoosier Homemade's Blog, and I have been dying to make them.
They are really lovely, and although the recipe title is actually Twix Bar's I really thought they were more of a cross between a Twix candy bar and a Reeses peanut butter cup.
Whatever you want call them, they are fabulous!

REESE'S/TWIX BAR'S

Bottom layer:

1 sleeve Club Cracker's.

Lightly spay a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  Using approximately 24 crackers, line the bottom of the pan.

Caramel layer:

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. white sugar

1/3 c. milk

1/2 c. butter

In a medium sauce pan mix together these first 5 ingredients, and bring to a boil stirring often.  Continue to boil 4 minutes (The sauce will be a caramel color and pull away slightly from the side of the pan).
Pour caramel over the crackers, smoothing out evenly. Place a second layer of crackers onto of the caramel, and press down slightly.
Chill for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Top Layer:

2/3 c. peanut butter

1 c. milk chocolate chips

Place these 2 ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.  Stir well. If chocolate is still a little lumpy, microwave in 15 second increments stirring between each time.
Once smooth, Pour over second layer of crackers, smoothing to edges of pan, and chill again until chocolate is set.  (At this point, the original recipe calls for you to chill the chocolate topping until firm and then frost the crackers, but I wanted to take the simpler way out-lol).

Cut into cracker size pieces and enjoy!  Store in the refrigerator.

Source: Hoosier Homemade

Marshmallow Layer Brownies

I love brownies.  So do my family.  We're a bunch of happy campers whenever I make a pan of them.  We really love this recipe!

Oh boy...these are chocolaty goodness at it's best...

MARSHMALLOW LAYER BROWNIES

1 box brownie mix -family size works best-

(plus the ingredients to make the brownies)

1 (10 oz.) pkg. marshmallows

Frosting:

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter

4 Tbsp. baking cocoa

1/4 c. corn syrup

1/2 c. milk

pinch salt

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Using your kitchen shears, cut the marshmallows in half.  Set aside.

Prepare the brownies according to package directions for the 9 x 13 size pan.  5 minutes before the baking time is completed remove the brownies from the oven and cover with the marshmallows.

Return to the oven and finish the baking time of 5 minutes.
Place the baking dish on a wire rack to cool completely.

While brownies are cooling, place the sugar, butter, baking cocoa, corn syrup, milk and the pinch of salt in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, and then remove from heat.  Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, mixing until smooth.

Pour chocolate mix over the marshmallow layer of the brownies, spread to even it out, and allow to cool completely until frosting is set.

Cut into 24 equal size squares and store in an airtight container.  Your gonna love these!!!

We love linking up with:

http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/

Cheesy Potato & Egg Skillet

This is a great dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner! As Mikey used to say "Try it, you'll like it!"

CHEESY POTATO & EGG SKILLET

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 lb. baking potatoes, halved, & thinly sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 (14.5 oz.) can Italian-style diced tomatoes

8 eggs, beaten well

1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves, slightly crushed between your fingers

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the potatoes and onions: cover and cook for 16-18 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and golden brown.

Stir this occasionally as it cooks.  Add the canned tomatoes.

Pour the beaten eggs over the vegetable mix but do not stir.

Cover: cook an additional 12-14 min or until the eggs are set.  Top with the crated cheese and crushed basil, replace the cover for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

I love this dish with salsa served on the side.

We're linking up with:

Because we love Paisley Passions!