Cappuccino Mousse Trifle

So last night was my mom and my little guy's birthday (one turned 53, the other 2...you can guess who was who). So for Nathan we had cupcakes, courtesy of this awesome caterer we know, and for Mom we had this. Steve hates coffee and coffee-flavored things (this and strawberries are the only things he doesn't like. Oh, and raisin-containing foods) so I can only make things like this when we are having people over. Of course, I could make them and eat them all myself, but that wouldn't be a good thing. As it is, I have half of this left over that I have to eat all by myself. But it was really good. This recipe came with my Pampered Chef trifle dish. This is the first time I used the dish that I really wanted. Jessi says I should mark the box with tally marks to prove that I'm using it. That way when I want another specialty dish and Steve says I will never use it, I can say, "Yes I do use my specialty dishes. As you can see by these tally marks, I used this trifle dish on Nathan's birthday. What's the matter, don't you love our children?" And he will let me get the dish.

Cappuccino Mousse Trifle
1 16 oz frozen pound cake (I used Sara Lee)
2 1/2 cups cold milk
1/3 cup instant coffee granules
2 pkg (3.4 oz each) vanilla instant pudding
16 oz cool whip, thawed, divided
1 square semi-sweet baking chocolate, grated
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Cut pound cake into 1 inch cubes; set aside. Whisk together milk and instant coffee; let stand 5 minutes or until dissolved. Set aside 1 cup of the milk mixture. Add pudding mixes to remaining milk mixture; whisk until it begins to thicken. Gently fold in half of the cool whip. To assemble trifle, place half of the cake cubes into the bottom of trifle bowl, pressing down gently. Pour half the reserved milk mixture evenly over cake cubes. Top with half of the pudding mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 of the grated chocolate over pudding. Repeat layers one time (reserve remaining chocolate for garnish). Spread remaining cool whip over entire top of trifle, creating a smooth surface. Sprinkle remaining chocolate and cinnamon over the cool whip. 10 servings.

So I'm pretty sure everyone liked this. Even though Corinne, Grampie's girlfriend, left like 2 bites on her plate. I wanted to say "what's wrong with my dessert? Eat it!" But I didn't, I just threw it away. But my in-laws, my parents, my sister, and Grampie all ate it. Then Steve's friend Simon came over and he ate some too. So this is a keeper, even though I can't make it again until there's a big to-do over something. And even then I probably won't make this exact thing again because I have other recipes I want to try in this thing. One of them contains strawberries...

Colorful Chicken Pizza

Because you cut up crayons on it. Nah, just kidding. It's because it has red & green pepper. Anyway, we had this for lunch after church yesterday. It was very good, but Emma and Nathan had chicken nuggets. I knew they wouldn't like it and didn't want a battle. Sam had some but I could tell he wasn't crazy about it when he left some on his plate. He is getting to be a big eater, and usually finishes a lot of food as fast as Steve does, leaving me & Emma still chewing and talking long after they are done...this one is from Simple & Delicious May/June 2008.

Colorful Chicken Pizza
1 Boboli pizza crust (14 oz) (I used whole wheat, which only weighed 10 oz, but it was fine)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pkg (6 oz) ready-to-serve grilled chicken breast strips (they won't tell you, but I will...they're Oscar Mayer and they're near like the prepared chicken pot pies and stuff...and they only cost $2.69, which is way less than what I was expecting)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded pizza cheese blend
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
2 oz smoked gouda cheese, shredded (I left this out)
2 tbsp minced fresh basil (I left this out, too...I don't like mincing herbs so I was going to use dried, but I just forgot about it)

Place the crust on an ungreased 12-in pizza pan (I used my lg Pampered Chef round stone). Brush with oil. Combine the chicken, barbecue sauce, onion, and garlic; spoon half over crust. Sprinkle with pizza cheese. Top with remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle with peppers, gouda cheese, and basil. Bake @ 450 for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted. 6 slices.

Okay so this was good, but small. There might be 6 slices, but not 6 servings. The three of us cleaned it up. We decided this would be good if we had friends over, and just the 4 grownups ate the pizza, and if you had a salad or something to stretch it, and the kids had peanut butter and jelly. But it was yummy. Very gourmet, and I think moderately healthy. Cheese is good for you, containing calcium, a necessary nutrient for bone health. So this is a keeper!

Spanish Noodles 'n Ground Beef with Corn Bread

First off I just want to say, what a dumb recipe name...plus after making them, these weren't even Spanish. And, not even that good. It's from TOH pg 105. And we had this with cornbread, and I got that recipe off the corn meal box. I thought if it was going to be Spanish, then corn bread would be good with it. And the cornbread was good. Usually I make cornbread from a mix, but I had this cornmeal under the counter and I don't really remember buying it. And it's just a smidge outdated. On the cornmeal box, it says "try these recipes" like you have to, so I was like "okay, okay, I'll try a recipe...but I'm not making cornmeal mush (one of the other recipes on the box)."

Spanish Noodles 'n Ground Beef
1 pound ground beef
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 1/4 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a lg skillet, cook the beef, green pepper, and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the noodles, tomatoes, water, chili sauce, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the noodles are tender, stirring frequently. Top with bacon. 5 servings

Easy Corn Bread
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cornmeal (of course it says "Quaker Enriched Cornmeal" but I bet you can use any kind)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites or 1 egg, beaten (of course I used a whole egg...if not what would I have done with 2 egg yolks?)

Heat oven to 400. Grease 8 or 9 inch pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil, and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm. 9 servings.

Okay, so the noodles in the main dish never got fully cooked. I let it sit for like 5 minutes longer than the recommended cooking time...the water was all gone and it was turning to mush, and still the noodles were chewy. The flavor wasn't bad really, but I couldn't get past the noodles. Did Steve eat it? Why, yes he did. And he said it was good. Sometimes I wonder about him, really. The kids picked at it, as did I, getting the good stuff, which was mostly the crumbled bacon on top. And, Emma doesn't like bacon, so I ate her bacon too. So we won't be saving this one. But the cornbread I'll keep. I didn't have a simple cornbread recipe before this...usually when I use a mix the cornbread comes out yellower, and this one was just pale yellow, but it was good. But I am throwing away the rest of this expired cornmeal.

Chewy Brownie Cookies

I made these cookies today while Nathan was sleeping...I got the recipe from a pack of Crisco sticks...weird, huh? But my kids all love brownies so I knew these would be a hit. And they were. Steve hasn't even gotten home yet to try one, but I still know they are a keeper because of the great response from the little ones...of course since it is a Crisco recipe, it does contain Crisco, which I'm pretty sure is bad for you...it does have less saturated fat than butter (according to the Crisco people) but I happen to know that to turn fat solid like that you have to make it be evil trans fat...this is two desserts in a row with Crisco...I will have to broaden my dessert horizons a bit here before we all die of hardening of the arteries...how young do your kids have to be the start them on the aspirin-a-day regimen?



Chewy Brownie Cookies
2/3 cup (2/3 stick) Crisco shortening
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


Heat oven to 375. Combine Crisco, brown sugar, water, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat eggs into creamed mixture. Combine flour, cocoa, soda, and salt. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time @ 375 for 7-9 minutes or until cookies are set. Do not overbake. Cookies will appear soft and moist. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to cooling rack or sheets of foil to cool completely. About 3 dozen cookies.


So I personally like brownies the best when they are still batter. Once they are baked they lose 94% of their charm. So I was hoping these would be a bit more like batter, since it does say they are "chewy." But they were mostly a cookie-like texture with a chocolate flavor. The chocolate chips were a nice touch. So these are a good, but should be a rare, treat.

Lemon Chicken

So I have finally finished the recipes I wanted from the March/April Simple & Delicious, and have moved on to the May/June issue...and my Sept/Oct just came 2 days ago! I can not catch up...maybe I will have to up the number of recipes I make in a week, like 3 in 2 weeks instead of 2...but I'm sure Duke Frugal would not approve the budget increase =) Hee hee...So anyway this is the first one from the May/June, which we had last night.

Lemon Chicken
1/3 cup biscuit mix
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups lemon pie filling (which ended up being almost a whole can)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce

In a lg ziploc bag, combine biscuit mix, seasoned salt, and pepper. Add chicken, one piece at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown chicken in the olive oil on both sides; drain. Transfer to a 13x9 baking dish. In a bowl, combine the pie filling, water, vinegar, and soy sauce; pour over chicken. Bake, uncovered, @ 375 for 40-45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

So this was just okay. It caught my interest because of the lemon pie filling. But it wasn't anything fabulous. The kids all ate it (except Nathan) and we did, too, but it just wasn't anything spectacular. So I won't be saving this recipe, since I have so many more recipes for chicken that we just love. But it was interesting anyway for a change. My dad would say, let's not have this again real soon.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

So these have a lovely picture by them as well, and I knew Steve would just love these. And I was right. They are quite good, and I'm sure they are also quite bad for you...but they were a hit, and we only have things like this like every couple weeks or so...that's probably still too often. But I love to bake so I guess that ends the argument. They are kind of like whoppie pies, except with cookies instead of cakey like things, and peanut butter filling. From TOH pg 562.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
1 cup butter flavored shortening (see how bad?)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I accidentally put 1/2 tsp and you can't even tell)
Filling:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5-6 tbsp milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter, and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten to 3/8 inch thickness with fork (how precise...I certainly did not measure...just do it until it looks right). Bake @ 375 for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks to cool. For filling, in large mixing bowl, beat peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread on half of the cookies and top each with another cookie. Yield: 2 dozen sandwich cookies.

So anyway these were good. Emma helped me make them which is always fun. Nathan had two cookies without filling when he woke up from his nap and really liked them. Steve came home from work and had one and declared that now he loved me more (more than he did previously, or more than someone else, I am not sure. But either way I'm ahead). So these are a keeper!!

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

So I thought this would be good. It has an accompanying picture which looks tasty. But at the end of the day, they were like meatloaves with a different kind of sauce...from TOH pg 103.

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy
1 egg
1 can (10.5 oz) condensed French onion soup, undiluted, divided
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp cold water
6 cups hot cooked egg noodles (I just made 1/2 of a bag, I didn't measure)

In a large bowl, beat egg. Stir in 1/3 cup soup, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture; mix gently. Shap into 6 oval patties. In a skillet, brown patties over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside; drain. Add the water, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, mustard, and remaining soup to skillet. Bring to a boil. Return patties to skillet. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Remove patties. Combine flour and cold water until smooth. Stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve patties and gravy over noodles. 6 servings.

So this wasn't bad, although Sam and Emma weren't crazy about it. I wasn't either. It wasn't bad, just not that good either...but if you guys like this sort of thing then this may be for you.