Yesterday we went to a family reunion on Chad’s side. It was a pitch in and I decided to bring a dessert. I have tons of recipes starred in my Google reader! I decided to go back to the beginning of the starred recipes and start making them. So far I have made about 5 different things out of probably over 300!!!! These bars turned out great and were super simple to put together! That is always a plus.

This is a Pillsbury recipe but I actually found it from this site.




Oatmeal Carmelitas

from Pillsbury

2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose or Unbleached Flour (I used Gold Medal)
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups margarine or butter, softened (I used butter)
1 (12.5-oz.) jar (1 cup) caramel ice cream topping
3 tablespoons Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose or Unbleached Flour (I used Gold Medal)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1/2 cup Milk chocolate and 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I usually use Walnuts but omitted nuts this time)
Heat oven to 350°F.
Grease 13x9-inch pan.


Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Reserve half of crumb mixture (about 3 cups) for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of greased pan.
Bake for 10 minutes or until light brown.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine caramel topping and 3 tablespoons flour; blend well.
Remove partially baked crust from oven; sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.
Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Return to oven; bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set.
Cut into bars.

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Strawberry Ice Cream

I have been anxious to get my ice cream maker out this summer. I have only made ice cream once and it turned out to be a disaster. I followed the instructions to a tee this time and luckily it turned out great!I have my list of flavors I want to try, my next one is mint chocolate chip.


Strawberry Ice Cream
Source: All Recipes

INGREDIENTS
1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
3/4 cup white sugar
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons light corn syrup

DIRECTIONS
1. Place the berries into the container of a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. Pour into a large bowl, and set aside.

2.Heat 1 1/4 cups of the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to bubble at the edge of the pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup cream, and corn syrup. Gradually pour the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Strain custard into the berry puree through a sieve, mix, and refrigerate until chilled.

3.Fill an ice cream maker with the mixture, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Macaroni and Cheese

Chad and I had some friends over recently for a cookout. I found this macaroni recipe and decided to try it out. It was such an easy recipe and required very few ingredients!! I will definitely be using this recipe from now on!

I found this recipe on this blog.INGREDIENTS

1 16 ounce box of pasta (cooked)
16 ounces Velveeta cheese, cut into small pieces
16 ounces Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 stick (or more) Butter/margarine, separate into quarters, cut into small pieces
Milk (about a cup)
Salt and pepper (to your taste)

DIRECTIONS

In the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish spread a quarter of your butter.

Layer down half your pasta, a quarter of butter pieces, salt and pepper, half the Monterey jack add half the Velveeta.

Repeat above step.

Top with the last quarter of your butter pieces and evenly pour milk over the top.

Bake on 325 for about an hour. It will be nice and bubbly and little brown in some spots.

A new toy!!

For Christmas my parents got me a food processor! I am so excited to start using it. I broke it in this weekend and made some bread crumbs. My mom had a ton of rolls left over from a party and didn't want to keep them. I graciously took them off her hands! I am so excited to find other uses for my new toy! If you have any ideas let me know!

Back to the Grind

So I'm finally back from my month of vacationing. My husband and I just got back from New York/ Montreal. We visited the Saratoga/Lake George region in New York.
While in New York we stayed at a bed and breakfast. The owners gave us excellent recommendations on places to eat in the area. One place we chose was called the 132 Glen Bistro. It was a small little place but the food was great!
Chad chose the filet mignon and I chose the cowboy pork chop. It was huge. Both meals came with excellent mashed potatoes and vegetables.

While in Montreal. We also had some great food. I was dying to get a good crepe. We found this cute little restaurant in Old Montreal. Our table was placed right in front of this cute open window. I got a strawberry crepe that was served with whip cream and two delicious scoops of ice cream.



So now that we are back we've gotta get back to work. Hopefully I can get back in the kitchen considering I only cooked 2 real meals this entire summer!!

Louie Giglio - Laminin

Found this video on another blog. Hope you like it.

Charlotte

Every year at Christmas my grandma makes a Charlotte Russe. The way she prepares the Charlotte Russe is with a custard and ladyfingers on the outside.

Well this weekend we went to my grandma's for her big derby party she has every year. I found this recipe for a charlotte and thought she would be interested in it.

Her friends always make such great and decadent food for this party and I thought I should make something to go along with it all. This recipe was actually pretty simple to make. It tasted great but unfortunately I think it came out dry.

Orange Layer “Charlotte” with Buttercream Frosting and Berries
For the cake:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier (I just used the juice from the orange I zested)
1 Tbsp Orange zest
4 large egg whites

For the frosting:
1 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier(Used the OJ again)
1/4 tsp lemon extract

For assembly:
Ladyfingers (approx 36 for an 8-inch cake)
1/2 pint of blue berries
1/2 pint of raspberries
1/2 lb strawberries
Ribbon (approx 2 yards)

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of two 8-inch diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds; spray parchment. Dust pans with flour, tapping out any excess. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 3/4 cups sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla, Grand Marnier, and orange zest. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating until well blended between additions. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining sugar. Beat egg white mixture until stiff glossy peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold egg white mixture into batter in 3 additions. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto rack; remove parchment paper, turn cakes over, and cool completely. Level the cake layers, if necessary.

For frosting: Cream cream cheese and butter on low until smooth. Turn the mixer off and add all powdered sugar at once. Turn mixer on “Stir” until the powdered sugar is mostly incorporated and increase speed to low. Add Grand Marnier and lemon extract; mix until smooth (approx 4 minutes). Thin the frosting with water or milk, if necessary (I added about a Tbsp of milk).

For assembly: Rinse the berries and pat dry. Cut the top from the strawberries and slice thinly. Spread approx 3/4 cup frosting on bottom layer, top generously with raspberries and blueberries, lightly pressing the fruit into the frosting. Top with second layer. Frost tops and sides of cake liberally.

Sift powdered sugar lightly over the top of the ladyfingers. Pipe a line of frosting onto the back of the ladyfingers and apply to the side of the cake, allowing about 1-inch of the cookies to stick up over the side of the cake. Press onto the cake. Arrange remaining blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries over the top of the cake, as desired. Tie with a ribbon. Refrigerate overnight if not serving the same day.

Notes: The amounts above are half the original recipe, which makes 2 10-in cakes.

Yields: 1 8-inch, 2-layer cake
Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2006