Fudge upside down cake and ice cream. YUMMY

This past Friday my wife and i got a babysitter and had dinner with another couple from our church. This couple insisted we bring nothing and they would take of the night. And Boy Did They!

First- we had a killer salsa which was from Costco- Mango Salsa- not sure how to describe other then- go buy it now!
Then dinner came – Pork Loin marinaded in Italian dressing and grilled to perfection. Huge baked potatoes dusted with kosher salt. Then the veggies – oh the veggies- Zucchini sauted in chopped garlic, what i am guessing was an unhealthy amount of butter- but lets call it the way we tasted it- INCREDIBLE! As well as some yummy steamed Cauliflower sprinkled with shredded cheddar.

That alone would be a homerun meal fit only royalty, but then came dessert.

They were still cooking it when we got there- so I got to see how this meal unfolded. She basically followed the recipe and I would suggest you do the same.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 Cup Sugar 2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup milk 1/2 brown sugar
1 cup flour 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups boiling water

Cream together 3/4 cup sugar and butter – Stir in Milk.
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons cocoa together.
Add creamed mixture and beat until smooth.
Stir in walnuts.

Spread batter into 9 inch square pan.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over batter.
Pour boiling water over top.

Bake at 250 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
The cake will rise to the top and boiling water will combine with the sugar/cocoa mixture to make rich chocolate syrup underneath.

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or plain in sherbet glasses or sauce dishes.
Forget that – grab a fork and eat it out of the pan.

It was simply put …. SICK.. in a good way- incredible delicious, yummy, tasty, awesome..

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No Bake Cheesecake is great! God Bless America!

So you realize you forgot to pick up something or you are sick of bringing that chocolate pineapple cake from the national grocery store. Why not try something you can whip up and really impress your friends and family. This is my wife’s recipe and we use it nearly every 4th of July. Here we go!

Ingredients:
2 Pkg Cream Cheese (8oz. Each)
1/3 Cup Sugar
2 tbsp. Lemon juice (optional)
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Thawed
1 Graham Cracker Crust
- Strawberry halves & Blueberries

Lets make it!
Beat the cream cheese, sugar & lemon juice in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended
Gently stir in 2 cups of whipped topping
Spoon into crust
Refrigerate 3 hours or until set
Then, spread Cool Whip over top
Arrange berries in rows to resemble flag

WAH-LAH – awesome no bake cheesecake 4th of July Dessert

Enjoy

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Grill it up- throw it on some lettuce

If you have been following me for any time you know I love Grilling (BBQ’ing) and for much of my life I was a salad junkie. Recently I had Lapband surgery and one major issue I have now, is the inability to eat salad in any great volume, but I still love to make it. My wife and girls could live on salad. So what I have included here are the 3 best recipes from the net for grilled salads.

In a week or 2 I am going to cook one of these with the family. I figured it is a hot weekend, maybe someone would want to try something different. I know even I am exhausted with burgers after my 3rd family bbq of the weekend.

This is not any order-
Wilted Caesar Salad –

Grilled Asian Salad -
Quick and easy
Grill scallions and unshucked corn. Chop the scallions and cut the corn from the cob. Mix with soba noodles (you can find them at a Whole Foods) and toss with a sesame-soy vinaigrette.

Grilled Caprese Salad-
Take your romaine and lay it on a pan or tin. Grill until it just starts to brown/blacken.
While that is cooking, grill Italian bread – then add garlic rub, top with grilled tomato slices, basil, fresh mozzarella, and extra-virgin olive oil.

There is so much you can do with veggies and salad on the grill. It is a fun way to play food and flavors.

UPDATE: Although not a salad- we are grilling veggies tonight
Eggplant, Zuccini, Squash, Onions, Peppers
Take these and mix the following and let them marinate for at least 2-3 hours
3 tsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves- Crushed
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Sage
1 tsb Rosemary

Here is what it looks like before it hits the grill

We may also- take some Jersey Tomatoes and Mozzarella = grill’em up -stack’em up and eat’em up!

Enjoy!

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Ingredients
1 package Fettuccine
Vegetable cooking spray
3.4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts – cut into strips of 1/4 inch
1 – 10 oz package pf frozen creamed spinach- thawed
1 Cup Milk
4 oz (1/2 of a typical block) Cream Cheese – Cubed into 1 inch sections
Salt
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Cook pasta & drain. Spray large skillet w/ cooking spray, heat over medium heat.
Add chicken- cook 3-5 minutes or until no longer pink.
Add spinach, milk, cream cheese cubes, and salt: Heat to a boil
Reduce heat- simmer for 5 minutes
Toss Pasta & Sauce

Put into your serving dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

Should make 4-6 servings- depending on your families size

Personal Note- grab some fresh italian bread and when no one is looking use it like a sponge on the skillet and you can get all of the creamy spinach left overs!

Enjoy!

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VIDEO RECIPE: HAMBURGER PIE from Creative Bond Media on Vimeo.

Crisp Cheese over tomoates, ground beef & biscuits- topped with some oregano!

Last week I mentioned to my wife- i know it is hot out, but I am craving my Mom’s famous Hamburger Pie. As you will both read and see (video coming shortly), this is easy to make and tastes great! Imagine a hamburger in a pie dish topped with cheese and tomatoes- BINGO! Yummy!

Here we go:

8-16oz shredded Mozzarella  ( depends on how much you like your cheese )
1 Medium Tomato
Baking Dish at least 9 inch
Biscuits ( I love Pillsbury Grands)
Oregano

Brown beef and drain
While that is cooking, remove biscuits and line dish. Typically there is one extra biscuit ( it is ok to eat the dough) flatten out with fingers to create a dough shell in the bowl.
Slice tomatoes thinly
You can pre-heat the over to 350 at this point.

Once ground beef is ready – add to baking dish with dough shell
Top with Tomatoes
Top with a healthy amount of Cheese
Sprinkle with Oregano

Place in over top shelf until cheese is Golden brown

Remove- slice and serve

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This is Cous Cous

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 Cups baby spinach
1 (15 oz.) can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 Cup cherry tomatoes, each cut in half
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (10 oz.) box of Couscous (I like the Whole Wheat kind, it’s better for you and doesn’t taste any different)
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup of grated Parmesan

1. Warm olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the spinach, white beans, cherry tomatoes and shallot. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes until the spinach is wilted.
3. Add chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring mixture to a boil.
4. Stir in the box of Couscous, Cover the pot and remove it from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and pepper and serve.

Varieties:
Use veggie broth instead of chicken.
Stir in cooked meat
Use different beans

If you like it- tell me- it is your job to convince me to make this.

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Stuffed Bread

Ingredients:
1 bag of raw spinach
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 roll of pizza crust (I prefer Pillsbury thin crust)
1 bag of shredded mozzarella
1/2 pound of Italian sausage (I use sweet)
2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 325 (Doublecheck the pizza crust package).

1. Crumble and fry sausage until no longer pink. Drain.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute garlic in olive oil. Gradually add spinach and saute until all spinach is wilted.
3. Unroll pizza crust on a baking sheet. Spread spinach on crust. Sprinkle sausage over spinach. Sprinkle cheese over sausage.
4. Roll pizza crust lengthwise. Fold ends under. Place roll foldside down on pan and make some slits in the top.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Serve in slices. If you like, serve with marinara sauce as a dip.

As always – hope you enjoy- please comment if you have tried this – would love to hear what you thought.

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