Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

You guys. I made my first strawberry rhubarb pie and it was amazing. It was pretty easy too. I used this recipe as a guide for the filling and made my favorite box pie crust (Betty Crocker, the same crust that my Mom has always used for her apple pie).

Our friends recently moved into a new house and had an excess of rhubarb growing in their yard, and generously gave us a bouquet of it. Thanks James and Bethany! The first thing that came to my mind was starwberry rhubarb pie, even though I've never used rhubarb before. Isn't it pretty? The giant leaves are poisonous, I learned. The bright red stalks are for eating, but are very tart/bitter and need a lot of sweetening. 

Enter strawberries and sugar. A winning combination! Such beautiful red. 

I had fun rolling out the dough, making a lattice top (use a pizza cutter), and adding a pair of hearts, just to make it cute. I'm no good at crimping the pie crust edges so I just try to roll it down and make it look halfway decent! 

The top got a tiny bit too golden brown but I caught it just in time. It was still perfectly cooked with the right amount of flakiness. The filling was sweet and bubbly and gooey, almost like strawberry jam. Yum. 

I cut the first beautiful slice and I was hooked! It tasted better than I imagined.

I confess, I ate three quarters of this pie. All. By. Myself. Not in one sitting. 

In my defense, I'm the only one in my house who likes sweets (until Marshall can decide for himself). 

I did share two slices. 

This is why I can't bake pies. 

I am weak. 

Ingredients:
3 cups of sliced fresh strawberries
2 cups of sliced rhubarb stalks
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Splash of orange juice or lemon juice
Pie crust of your choice (2 if you do a lattice top)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat fruit.
Pour filling into prepared pie crust. 
Cut dough to form lattice top. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle granulated sugar on top, if desired. 
Bake for 55-65 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling.
If crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil. 
Cool for 1 hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I was recently introduced to these amazingly decadent chocolate peanut butter cup cookies, by a new friend and blogger, Beka. I asked her for the recipe, which she found here. Not only are these cookies delicious, they are SO easy to make. I think it took me longer to edit photos and write this, than it did to whip up a batch of these sweet treats.

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 8oz bag Reese's Peanut Butter Cup mini's OR 12 pack of regular size, chopped up

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix together cake mix, oil and eggs until combined. Gently stir in peanut butter cup pieces.

3. Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls and bake for 8-9 minutes.

Your kitchen will look like you went on a candy binge. 

 I scooped them onto cookie sheets with a measuring tablespoon.

Recipe makes 24 rich and indulgent can't-have-just-one cookies. Enjoy!

Fancy Brownies

My co-worker Naomi made some amazing brownies, so I asked her for the recipe. She said she doesn't really have a recipe, she just adds/substitutes a couple of ingredients. I had to give it a try. 

Start with a box of Duncan Hines brownie mix. The family size makes a 13x9 inch pan. I followed the directions for cake-like brownies. The secret is the addition of mini-marshmallows, chocolate chips, and Bailey's Coffee Liquor instead of water. They were absolutely delicious. The amount of chocolate chips and mini marshmallows is up to you. I used about 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of mini marshmallows - most of which I folded into the batter at the end of mixing.

I sprinkled the rest on top before putting it into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. When the marshmallows are toasty and golden on top, it's probably ready. 

As for the Bailey's, the recipe called for 1/4 cup of water, so I substituted 1/4 cup of Bailey's, which equaled one mini bottle. Next time I might add two mini bottles to give it a little more coffee flavor. Yum! 

Next time you have a chocolate craving, these will definitely hit the spot! I might never eat plain-'ol-straight-from-the-box brownies again.

Ice Cream Cake

It's summer. It's hot. What could be better than ice cream? Ice cream cake. That's what. My husband isn't a big fan of desserts, but he does like ice cream cake. So that's what I made for his birthday. It's really easy to make an ice cream cake if you've never tried it before. Basically, all you to do is later your favorite ingredients in a pan and stick it in the freezer. Done.

My ingredient line up: French vanilla ice cream, double stuff sandwich cookies (Wegmans W O's or Oreos), Reese's Peanut Butter Cups mini's, whipped topping and rainbow sprinkles. These are all things that Andrew likes, but you can use whatever ice cream or candy you choose. The vanilla ice cream balances out the sweetness of the cookie crust and candy.

Once you're ready to start assembling the ice cream cake, leave the ice cream on the counter to start softening, while you work on the crust. After a few minutes, transfer the ice cream into a bowl and give it a little stir to help soften the center. Just don't let your ice cream completely melt into soup!

Meanwhile, place the sandwich cookies (Oreo's) into a large zipper bag. I used almost the whole package, except for about 7. If you want a thinner crust, use fewer cookies. Now mash them up! I used a meat tenderizer and carefully pounded them until they were crumbly. Don't be afraid to pulverize them. Once they are crumbly enough, add 2 Tablespoons of melted butter to the bag, reseal and mix with the cookie crumbs. This will help them stick together and create the crust.

Empty the cookie crumbs into a 13x9 inch pan. I like to use a metal one with a snap on lid. 

Using a piece of waxed paper and a meat tenderizer (or potato masher or a glass), flatten the cookie crust into the bottom of the pan until it's even and fills in the corners. 

Chop up the peanut butter cups. I used about 20-25 mini's. 

Fold the peanut butter cups into the softened ice cream. Spread ice cream mixture into the pan on top of the cookie crust.

Smooth it out, evenly distributing the peanut butter cups. Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to harden ice cream. 

After the ice cream has hardened a bit in the freezer, take it out and add the whipped topping.

Decorate with sprinkles or however you like. Cover and return pan to the freezer for a few hours (or overnight) so everything freezes.

When you're ready to serve your amazing ice cream cake, you can take it out of the freezer a few minutes ahead of time to soften a bit, so it's easier to cut into pieces. Then proceed to sing "Happy Birthday" and enjoy some delicious million calorie dessert! 


Ingredients:
1 gallon ice cream (French Vanilla)
1 tub whipped topping, thawed
1 package of Oreo sandwich cookies
1 bag Reece's Peanut Butter Cup minneatures 
Rainbow sprinkles
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

American Flag Cake

Every 4th of July, I think of this cake. It's red, white and blue. It's got strawberries, blueberries and whipped topping. And it's easy to make. What could be better? This year I added a little surprise inside.

I have seen recipes for a rainbow cake floating around and thought I would give it a try with red, white and blue. I mixed up a regular white cake mix, then separated the batter into three bowls, adding blue food coloring to one bowl and red to another.

Using a 13x9 inch pan, I poured in the white batter first, then layered on the red, followed by the blue (in a half-hazard way, as you can see). Then, using a toothpick, I swirled them together a bit. I wasn't sure how this would look after it was baked and cut into, but it was worth a try. I probably should have put the red down first, then the white, followed by the blue. I was too anxious to get it in the oven and see what it would look like! 

After the cake has cooled completely, spread one tub of whipped topping on top. Add blueberries and sliced strawberries to make the flag design.

When it was time for dessert, this is what it looked like - pretty cool! Just enough red and blue to not look too scary to eat it. Next time I might swirl it around a little more or try making stripes instead. The blue cake kinda looked a little greenish where the top of the cake turned golden brown. But it tasted delicious! 

Ingredients:

1 white cake mix (according to directions) 

Blue and red food coloring 

1 tub whipped topping, thawed

Blueberries

Strawberries

Happy Birthday America! 

Mini Wedding Cupcakes

For Ryan and Christina's dessert reception, I baked mini cupcakes (along with other talented bakers who made some incredible cookies). They were all so delicious! I have wanted to try my hand at mini cupcakes, but didn't have a pan or a reason - until now. 

I used a 40% off coupon at A.C. Moore (who actually has a wide selection of baking supplies) and picked up a Wilton 24 count mini muffin pan for around $5.99 (they were $15-$24 at other stores). I also got white mini cupcake papers and nonpareil sprinkles.   

I used one box of Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic White cake mix and followed the instructions. 

Then I spooned tiny amounts of batter into the paper lined pan. I would say 1/2 to 3/4 full is plenty (no not overfill). I adjusted the baking time to about 12-14 minutes, until they looked nice and golden. Be careful not to overcook. 

Fresh from the oven. Beautiful little golden domes. Let them cool.

In the meantime, I mixed up some frosting. I used a can of vanilla frosting (you can use whatever kind you like, except whipped). I added blue and green food coloring to try and match their wedding color (marine blue).

I spooned frosting into my trusty frosting gun (cookie press) and started decorating the cooled cupcakes with a star tip.

A little dollop here. A little dollop there. Some sprinkles on top. Ta-da! 

One box of cake mix yielded about 75 mini cupcakes! Only 66 fit on the tray. I don't know what happened to the other 9. There may have been some rejects. And I may have had to eat them. 

How cute is this cupcake? I'm pretty proud of this photo too. Look at that perfectly swirled frosting. I would definitely make these again, especially for a party or picnic. I wonder how mini blueberry muffins would be.

Raspberry Jell-O Whipped Pie

Did you know that January 23 was National Pie Day? I work with a bunch of foodies, so we celebrated by bringing pies to work of course. I tried a new recipe that was quick and easy. This isn't your typical pie because you don't have to bake it and it took about 20 minutes to make. The recipe called for strawberry, but I switched everything to raspberry. It was delicious, light and refreshing. This pink pie would make a sweet treat for your valentine! The original strawberry recipe can be found here at the Kraft Foods website.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh raspberries
2/3 cup boiling water
1 package (3 oz) Jell-O Raspberry Flavored Gelatin
Ice cubes
1/2 cup cold water
1 tub (8 oz) Light Whipped Topping, thawed
1 ready-to-use graham cracker crust (6 oz)


Directions:
Wash and dry raspberries (I left them whole, but you can chop them if you prefer). Add boiling water to gelatin mix, stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to make 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Whisk in whipped topping. Stir in raspberries, saving enough for garnishing top of pie. Refrigerate mixture 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture is very thick and will mound. Spoon into crust. Top with remaining raspberries. Refrigerate 6 hours or until firm.

Rice Pudding with Golden Raisins

My food photography stinks. I'm almost always cooking at night, so I don't have any natural daylight. I'm usually in a hurry to eat whatever I'm making. And I can't seem to get the right angle and make it look not-blob-ish. Please forgive these below-par photos and don't judge this delicious dish by them. 

Do you like rice pudding? I love it. I forget how much I like it because I hardly ever make it. My Mom made it fairly often when I was growing up and it was always SO good. It has to be eaten cold. My Dad and I would always try to get the last serving! It didn't last long in our house. This time I made it with golden raisins. Delicious. 

Ingredients:

4 cups milk

1 cup Minute Original Rice (not instant)

1 egg, well beaten

1 package vanilla flavor pudding and pie filling (not instant)

1/4 cup raisins (regular or golden)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

Combine milk, rice, pudding mix, raisins and egg in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture just comes to a boil (keep stirring, don't let it get stuck to the bottom of the pan). Cool 5 minutes, stirring twice. Pour into dessert dishes or serving bowl. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve warm or cool in refrigerator. 

Makes 10 servings (or less if you love it as much as I do)