Summer Favorites

Blackberry Cobbler

September 15, 2011 – 6:59 pm

I must admit that I am SO excited for fall!! Summer sure took its sweet time arriving in the Pacific Northwest this year and the hot summer days were a welcome change. But now that school has started, football season is here and we’re all settling into a routine once again I am ready for my favorite season. I love warm sweaters, boots, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin candles (see a theme here?), cooler temps and falling leaves. So this wonderful blackberry cobbler is my farewell to summer this year. We were playing at one of our favorite little parks when we spotted tons of delicious, ripe blackberries ready for picking. I turned them into this delicious cobbler that we all loved and will definitely make again each year for blackberry season. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cups white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/4 cup boiling water just until mixture is evenly moist.
In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water. Mix in remaining 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, and blackberries. Transfer to a skillet, and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Transfer to an 8×8″ baking dish and drop dough onto the top of berry mixture by spoonfuls.
Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until dough is golden brown.

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Greek Panzanella

July 10, 2011 – 2:24 pm

After a very long food blogging break, I am back! Life is certainly crazy around here especially in light of the fact that we welcomed our fourth son into the world just over two weeks ago. But I miss blogging and there are quite a few recipes making the blog rounds that I am dying to try!

This delicious Greek Panzanella is one of my very favorite salad standbys. I just made an entire batch for myself today and ate a huge plate full for lunch. It is SO yummy! I love the bright flavors from the different veggies and the simple vinaigrette. And whoever thought that bread belonged in salad was a genius in my book! This recipe would be perfect to take to a summer BBQ. It can be eaten at room temp and doesn’t require refrigeration. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

For the salad:

2 tbsp. olive oil

6 cups French bread cubes (1 inch)

Kosher salt

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced ¼-inch thick

1 red bell pepper, large diced

1 yellow bell pepper, large diced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

½ red onion, sliced thin

6 oz. crumbled feta cheese

2.5 oz. can sliced black olives, drained (kalamatas would also be good if you like that sort of thing)

For the vinaigrette:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1¼ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

To prepare the salad, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over medium-low heat, tossing frequently, for 5-10 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the heat.

Combine the cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onion in a large bowl. To make the vinaigrette, combine the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil to create an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives, and bread cubes. Mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend (if you can wait that long!)

Source: http://annies-eats.net/2010/08/12/greek-panzanella/

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S’mores Brownies

August 13, 2010 – 5:09 pm

I adore S’mores! But only when they are done correctly. To me that means a golden brown and gooey marshmallow. Not charred. Roasting a perfect marshmallow takes practice. Fortunately for me I am married to a man who worked as a Camp Counselor for 7 summers and he’s got his marshmallow roasting technique down to a science. Now I do have to knock him a bit because he doesn’t like s’mores at all. Who doesn’t like s’mores? Sinful. So today when I wanted to bake something for him to take to work, I thought of trying my hand at s’mores brownies and this is what I came up with. YUM! Most recipes I looked through said the same thing. They taste great but they are a nightmare to cut and serve. The marshmallows glob up and though they taste good, they make for terrible presentation. Well if you know me at all by now, my food has to look good as well as taste good. After all, how could I photograph it for all of you to drool over otherwise? So here is what I came up with and they tasted delicious and as you can see, look scrumptious too!

S’mores Brownies

1 Box Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix (the only place I can find them is at Costco), batter prepared according to package directions for a 9×13″ pan
1.5 cups coarsely chopped graham crackers
1 package large marshmallows
1 cup milk or semi sweet chocolate chips

Prepare brownie batter and pour into prepared 9×13″ pan. Sprinkle graham crackers evenly over the top of the batter. Bake as directed on package.
Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over brownies and place the pan on a cooling rack.
Cool completely then cut into squares as desired.
Cut each marshmallow in half, making sure to have enough for each brownie. Place cut marshmallow on each brownie and broil them in the oven until marshmallows reach desired golden brown color. Keep an eye on them because they brown quickly.
Remove from oven and enjoy.

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Cobb Salad Pizza

August 2, 2010 – 10:56 am

Who doesn’t love pizza? Cooking Light does it again with another delicious, healthy and simple dinner idea and at only 8 WW Points per serving, it fits quite nicely into the program and allows you to eat pizza without a bit of guilt!

Serves: 4 (2 pieces each)
Ingredients

1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated thin-crust pizza dough
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled blue cheese, divided
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 slices applewood-smoked bacon
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast cutlets
1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
2 cups lightly packed mixed baby greens
1/2 cup diced peeled avocado

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.
Unroll dough on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat dough into a 14 x 12-inch rectangle. Lightly coat dough with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 8 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven; sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons cheese. Set aside.
Combine oil, vinegar, mustard, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.
Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble bacon into oil mixture. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
Add chicken, tomatoes, and onion to oil mixture; toss gently to combine. Add greens; toss gently. Top crust evenly with chicken mixture, avocado, and remaining 2 tablespoons cheese. Cut into 8 pieces.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 377
Fat: 13.9g (sat 3.1g,mono 7.1g,poly 2.4g)
Protein: 21.8g
Carbohydrate: 40.3g
Fiber: 2.6g
Cholesterol: 40mg
Iron: 2.9mg
Sodium: 731mg
Calcium: 57mg
Weight Watchers Points: 8

Recipe and Photo: Cooking Light

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Blackberry Limeade

July 24, 2010 – 3:31 pm

I think the best way to describe this is summer in a glass. It’s so refreshing and perfect for blackberry season. So make a batch, pour yourself some in a frosty glass and kick up your feet while you sway in your hammock or lounge by the pool.

6 cups water, divided
3 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
8 thin lime slices
Fresh blackberries (optional)

Place 1 cup water and 3 cups blackberries in a blender; process until smooth. Press blackberry puree through a sieve into a large pitcher; discard seeds. Add remaining 5 cups water, sugar, and juice to pitcher; stir until sugar dissolves. Place 1 lime slice and a few blackberries, if desired, into each of 8 glasses; pour about 1 cup limeade over each serving.

Source: Cooking Light

Nutritional Information:

Calories:
125 (2% from fat)
Fat: 0.3g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 0.8g
Carbohydrate: 31.9g
Fiber: 0.7g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg
Iron: 0.4mg
Sodium: 5mg
Calcium: 22mg
WW Points: 2

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I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

July 19, 2010 – 11:00 am

Over the weekend I hosted an ice cream social for some friends. It was SO much fun!! Definitely something I plan to do again in the near future.

Ice creams included French Vanilla, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Northwest Blackberry with Dark Chocolate Chunks

Toppings included brownie crumbles, cookie dough, sprinkles, hot fudge and caramel sauces, chopped peanut butter cups, gummy worms, mini swedish fish and homemade whipped cream.
I offered sugar and cake cones and waffle bowls for serving.

Other items included freshly baked brownies and homemade mini chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches. I LOVED the ice cream sandwiches! Thank you Martha Stewart!

Recipes all found below.

The set up

Some of the Toppings

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Cute little taste testers

And onto the most important part…. THE RECIPES!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Makes 1.5 quarts

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

In a sauce pan over medium heat, stir together 2 cups whole milk, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Heat until the milk start to steam, but before it starts to boil.

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup of whole milk and the cornstarch. Stir until no lumps remain.

Add the cornstarch mixture to the heated milk and chocolate mixture and bring to a low boil. Boil until thickened. The mixture will look the consistency of chocolate pudding. Remove from flame.

In a small sauce pan, heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Once boiling, remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir the cream and chocolate mixture until incorporated.

Stir the cream and chocolate mixture into the cooling chocolate ice cream base. Place in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap or a lid, and put in the fridge until cool.

Once cool, follow the manufacturers instructions on the ice cream maker to churn ice cream. Once the mixture has chilled and thickened in the ice cream maker, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of peanut butter (microwave peanut butter until it’s pourable). Don’t over mix. You want a nice ribbon of peanut butter running through the ice cream.

Transfer the ice cream into a freezer safe container and drizzle in the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Cover and freeze about 3 hours or until firm.

Source: Joy The Baker

French Vanilla Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream, milk, and vanilla and whisk to blend.
Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Source: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream & Dessert Book

Mini Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches
Makes 12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, egg, and vanilla; beat until smooth. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; mix in 1 cup chocolate chips.
Using 1 rounded tablespoon per cookie, drop mounds of dough, about 1 1/2 inches apart, onto two baking sheets. (You’ll have 25 to 30 cookies.) Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes; transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Scatter remaining chocolate chips on a plate. Place about 2 tablespoons ice cream between 2 cookies, bottoms facing in; press gently. Roll the sides of each sandwich in chips. (If ice cream is melting, place sandwiches in freezer until firm enough to roll in chips.) Transfer sandwiches onto baking sheets. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours; then wrap individually in plastic. Freeze up to 2 weeks.

Source: Martha Stewart

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Berry Season!!

July 14, 2010 – 8:21 am

One of my favorite things about living in Oregon is berry season! We have to be a bit patient as often our berries come late in the season; but it’s SO worth the wait. Our berries are plump, juicy and sweet… like nothing you can find in the store. Yesterday the boys and I ventured to a berry farm and picked the perfect amount of berries for our family. Plenty to snack on, make a batch of jam and of course, dessert! I made blackberry raspberry jam and a wonderful triple berry crisp.

Blackberry Raspberry Jam

2.5 cups crushed blackberries
2.5 cups crushed raspberries
7 cups sugar
1 (1 3/4 ounce) package fruit pectin

Directions

Carefully measure out the berries, put them into a very large pot (8qt).
Carefully measure sugar in a lg bowl.
Add the pectin to the berries a little at a time, stirring constantly.
Heat on hi, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a FULL boil.
Add sugar ALL at once, stirring.
Bring mixture back to a full hard boil, stirring constantly.
Boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and ladle into clean, hot 8oz jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top.
Wipe the rim of the jar and put canning lids and rings on firmly tight.
Place in canner with very hot water, make sure water is 1 inch above jars.
Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Remove and set them upright on a towel to set for 12 hours.

Alternatively, you can make freezer jam. Here’s how you do that:

Blackberry Raspberry Freezer Jam

3 cups blackberries
3 cups raspberries
5 1/4 C sugar
1 box pectin

Mash berries with a potato masher one cup at a time. Add sugar to crushed fruit. Stir and allow to sit for ten minutes. Put pectin and 3/4 C water into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil for one minute. Add mixture to berries and stir for about three minutes until sugar is dissolved. Pour into containers. Allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Keeps in the refrigerator for about three weeks or up to a year in the freezer.

Triple Berry Crisp

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, gently toss together blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and white sugar; set aside.
In a separate large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press half of mixture in the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan. Cover with berries. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture over the berries.
Bake in the preheated oven 40 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Note: I made mine in two 8×8 pans. One to keep, one to give away.

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Northwest Blackberry Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Chunks

July 9, 2010 – 4:50 pm

Yes Sir-y… I have officially died and gone to ice cream heaven. When I first saw homemade blackberry ice cream on P-Dub’s site I knew I had to try it. I whipped up a batch today and made some modifications and literally licked the ice cream maker when it was done. Heaven.

2 pints fresh blackberries (about 24 ounces)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
12 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Add blackberries to a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Cook over low heat, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Mash with a potato masher to break up and then drain using a fine mesh strainer, pressing berries to extract as much juice/puree as possible. Set aside.

Heat half-and-half and 1 cup sugar in a separate saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated.

Add heavy cream to a separate bowl.

Beat egg yolks with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and slightly thick.

Temper the egg yolks by slowly drizzling in some of the hot half-and-half mixture, about a cup total, whisking constantly. After that, pour the egg yolk/half-and-half mixture into the pan containing the rest of the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat (depending on how hot your stove gets) until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into the bowl with the cream. Stir to combine.

Add blackberry juice/puree to the cream/custard mixture and stir. Chill mixture completely in refrigerator for 2 hours, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick. My machine took 40 minutes. Add chocolate chunks the last 5 minutes of mixing time. Place container in freezer to harden for an additional two hours.

Adapted from: Pioneer Woman

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Watermelon Cooler

July 1, 2010 – 9:20 am

Just in time for the Fourth…. a refreshing drink for those hot summer days!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds (4 cups) sliced seedless watermelon, rind removed
1 cup lemon sorbet
1 lemon, zested
1 1/2 cups cold water
Watermelon wedges and mint, for garnish

Directions
In a food processor, blend watermelon, sorbet, and lemon zest until very smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cold water; cover and refrigerate until very cold. Serve over ice and garnish with watermelon wedges and mint.

Source: Food Network/Paula Deen

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Frozen Mocha Toffee-Crunch Terrine

June 29, 2010 – 9:11 am

Yum! Just saw this over on Martha Stewart’s website. Although I haven’t made it yet, I can tell by what’s in it that I would LOVE it. This is definitely on the top of my “to make” list. It starts out with a creamy base of marscapone cheese, fresh whipped cream and vanilla. Then you divide it in three equal parts and add toffee bits to one, chocolate to another, and coffee to the last. In between layers are chocolate wafer cookies and the whole thing is frozen. Sounds amazing to me!!

Ingredients

Makes 16 slices.

19 chocolate wafer cookies
11 ounces mascarpone or cream cheese, or a combination
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup toffee bits
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons instant-coffee granules

Directions

Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with 2 sheets of plastic wrap, with long sides overhanging by about 3 inches. Arrange 3 wafers, flat side up, in a row in the bottom of the pan.
In a large bowl, beat mascarpone and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. In another bowl, beat cream until it holds soft peaks. In three additions, fold the whipped cream into the sweetened mascarpone with a rubber spatula.
In a bowl, mix 1 1/3 cups mascarpone mixture with toffee bits. In a separate bowl, mix another 1 1/3 cups mascarpone mixture with chocolate and cocoa powder. Dissolve the coffee in 1 teaspoon hot water; stir into the remaining mascarpone mixture.
Spread coffee mixture in prepared pan. Cover with 8 wafers, overlapping if necessary. Spoon chocolate mixture into pan; cover with 8 wafers. Spoon toffee mixture into pan.
Wrap pan with overhanging plastic; freeze at least 4 hours and up to 2 weeks. To serve, invert onto a serving platter. Remove plastic. Let terrine sit 5 minutes, then cut into slices.

Tip: Run a sharp knife under hot water to cut this layered cake into neat slices.

Source: Marthastewart.com

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