A Real Christmas Gift!

For 4 years now I have made homemade truffles and given them out at Christmas gifts to family and friends. I think the first year I made one batch...this past Christmas I made approximately 175 truffles. Many people have asked me for the recipe because they simply can not get enough of them...so here it is! This is my basic recipe..make sure good quality chocolate such as Ghiradelli. After I roll the truffles, I dip them in chocolate and drizzle them with colored chocolate. I use Wilton's Candy Melts to dip them, which you can get at Michaels. Don't worry this isn't a replacement for your Christmas gifts from us...I still plan on making them each Christmas and I might experiment with an assortment of truffle flavors! ENJOY!





Chocolate Espresso Truffles


2 pound semisweet chocolate
1/2 pound good-quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened cocoa


Coarsely chop both chocolates and set aside. Heat the cream and instant coffee in a large saucepan, stirring to blend. When bubbles start to form along the edge of the pan, remove from heat. Scatter the chocolate over the cream, stirring gently until melted. Set aside for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the liqueur and vanilla. Stir gently, just until evenly blended. Scrape the chocolate into a shallow bowl. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or up to 1 week. Using a teaspoon or a melon baller, scoop up enough chocolate to make balls 1 inch in diameter. Place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Roll the balls in the cocoa, shaking off the excess, then transfer to wax paper until ready to serve. Best when served at room temperature.


Yield: Makes about 4 dozen truffles


NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 70(71% from fat); FAT 6g (sat 3g); PROTEIN 1mg; CHOLESTEROL 7mg; CALCIUM 7mg; SODIUM 3mg; FIBER 1g; CARBOHYDRATE 7g; IRON 1mg

Poundcake...the best of both worlds

This pound cake recipe came from a new cookbook I got for Christmas...Cooking Light's All Time Favorites. It's really simple to make...the chocolate batter has added chocolate syrup and baking soda to give the marbled effect. Dust it with powdered sugar and drizzle with chocolate syrup for a light, but decadent dessert.

Black & White Pound Cake (Cooking Light)

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter or stick margarine, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

3/4 cup chocolate syrup

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, and stir well with a whisk. Beat the butter in a large bowl at medium speed of a mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and vanilla, beating until well-blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk, beating at low speed, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Spoon two-thirds of batter (about 4 cups) into prepared pan. Add syrup and baking soda to remaining batter in bowl, stirring just until blended; spoon on top of batter.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Sift cocoa over top of cake.

New Year's Eve Party!!

This year we waiting until the last minute to plan something for New Year's Eve since I had to work. Normally we spend the week after Christmas at the beach and celebrate there. So this was our first year home. Since it was last minute we planned quick and easy appetizers. I also got two new cookbooks for Christmas so I made a few things from them. Paula Deen's Polynesian Chicken Wings were a big hit. I also made her spinach artichoke dip, but thought it needed more cheese and sour cream and/or mayo. Last year I made a Sugar Nut Brie for the cookie swap and decided it was an easy, yet classy dish and made it again. We had a ton of other food including mexican cheese dip, mozzarella sticks, buffalo chicken wings, shrimp cocktail, a cookie cake and chocolate fondue with fruit and marshmallows. And last but not least everyone loved the Flight Fuel...a quite original drink, made up by a family friend. We couldn't think of a better way to ring in the new year with good food, good drinks and of course good friends!

My 2nd Annual Cookie Swap!

This year we had our second annual Cookie Swap and we received some quite impressive cookies. My only complaint was we didn't make enough! The recipes below are some appetizers and drinks I made for the cookie swap. Each year I want to make a festive, non-ordinary cookie and I kept seeing this recipe in my magazine. I thought they came out pretty well. Be careful not to overcook them...they are very chocolately and make a perfect pair with a glass of milk.

Peppermint Bonbon Cookies

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup finely crushed hard peppermint candies
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
Additional coarsely crushed hard peppermint candies, divided
1/2 cup powdered sugar (optional)
2 1/2 teaspoons milk (optional)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels, melted (optional)

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan; cook over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/2 cup crushed peppermint and 6 Tbsp. sugar. Let cool 30 minutes.

Add eggs to melted chocolate, 1 at a time, stirring well. Stir in extracts.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to chocolate mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in chocolate morsels. Cover and chill dough 2 hours or until firm enough to shape.

Shape dough into 1 1/2" balls; place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 12 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and cracked on top. Sprinkle coarsely crushed peppermints onto cookies; press candy lightly into cookies. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on baking sheets. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Whisk together powdered sugar and milk; drizzle over cooled cookies, if desired. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired. Sprinkle cookies again with chopped peppermint, if desired. Let cookies stand until glaze and chocolate are firm.

Cookie Swap #1

I made these cookies for my first cookie swap that I just attending with my Nestie friends. We had a blast and even got more festive and wore our tackiest Christmas sweaters. These cookies weren't only delicous, but quick and easy to make. Ben was quite sad I was giving most of them away and I think would have rather eaten an entire batch of these than to get an assortment of everyone elses. The tartness of the cranberry makes a great combination to the sweetness of the white chocolate chips and sugar cookie base. For drop cookies, these are pretty enough for a gift too.

Cranberry White-Chocolate Cookies (Southern Living)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups white chocolate morsels
1 (6-ounce) package sweetened dried cranberries

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; set aside.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture gradually, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in white chocolate morsels and cranberries.

Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets.
Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes approximately 3 dozen.

Another Perfect Dessert for the Holidays!

Ben also made a dessert for Thanksgiving...Chocolate Drizzled Bourbon Pecan Tart! This was delish...I guess he was trying to compete with my cheesecake! I think he won when we left with half the cheesecake and only 2 slices were left of his dessert. We finally used a wedding gift...our Pampered Chef Tart pan...it's had an awesome tool to make the crinkles of the crust. While, I'm a little late after Thanksgiving, it'll make an awesome Christmas dinner dessert.

Chocolate Drizzled Bourbon Pecan Pie (Cooking Light)

1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
2/3 cup pecan halves
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking spray
1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 10 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in pecans. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray. Trim excess crust using a sharp knife. Spoon sugar mixture into prepared crust. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Drizzle chocolate over tart.

Pumpkin Cheesecake...Perfect for Thanksgiving

My very first taste of Pumpkin Cheesecake was the cheesecake factory...it was heaven. This comes in at a close second to the Cheesecake Factory. Sometimes I think Pumpkin Pie is a little too pumpkin-y, so this cheesecake is the perfect balance and sweet ending to a Thankgiving dinner. I made this to take to my in-laws for their Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night and hopefully, I won't come back with any left.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Cooking Light)

Crust:
56 reduced-fat vanilla wafers (about 8 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted
Cooking spray

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of allspice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

PreparationPreheat oven to 400°.

To prepare crust, place wafers in a food processor; pulse 2 to 3 times or until finely ground. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

To prepare filling, beat cheeses with a mixer at high speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (granulated sugar through vanilla), beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin; beat well.

Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust; bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours or until almost set. (Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when pan is touched.) Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature; cover and chill at least 8 hours.

Even more pumpkin...

This pumpkin dip tastes just like pumpkin pie. It's perfect with apples, ginger snaps, cinnamon graham crackers. Serve in a hollowed out pumpkin for the perfect centerpiece.

Pumpkin Dip (Allrecipes)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving.

This is salad....???

Who knew salad could be so fabulous. This super sweet, seasonal salad is a delicous and simple dessert that tastes exactly like caramel apples. I've made this 3 times and everyone has asked for the recipe.

Caramel Apple Salad

6 Snickers bars
6 granny smith apples
1 pkg dry butterscotch pudding mix
12 oz Cool Whip

Chop apples and Snickers and combine. Mix dry pudding with cool whip then stir into apples and snickers. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin...

During the holidays I get obsessed with pumpkin. I've found by far the best pumpkin bread...chocolate chip pumpkin bread. It's really easy and makes 2 loaves...Perfect for making one for you and sharing the other! This bread is made with pudding, which makes it super moist. And you can eat a slightly bigger piece since it's a light recipe from Cooking Light.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread (Cooking Light)

2 cups sugar

2 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup fat-free vanilla pudding

4 large egg whites

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Fall turns me into a baker and I've been dying to make some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Last year I made these from scratch and they were awesome, but this October has been unbelievably busy. So I received this recipe from a friend...not only are they quick and easy, but they're very low fat. We especially enjoy these for breakfast or a late night snack after dinner.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 box spice cake mix

1 (15 oz) pure pumpkin

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix spice cake mix, water and pumpkin until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide mixture among 20 muffins and bake for 20-22 minutes.

A sweet tart of a cake!

This past weekend we hosted our friends Kim and Jeff over for dinner. Of course I can not have guests over and make dinner without dessert. Once we decided to grill out, this gave me the perfect excuse for making this summer cake. You can find the recipe in the latest edition of Cooking Light and it tastes even better than it looks. We basically devoured this cake in one night with each of us having 2 slices. I sent a huge slice home with Kim and Jeff and Ben almost fought them for it too.

Simply adding lemon and lime zest to the cream cheese frosting really brings out the citrus flavors. It's a satisfying, substantial cake that isn't too heavy...making a perfect dessert for these final few days of summer.

Lemon Lime Layer Cake (Cooking Light)

Cake:
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup egg substitute
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk

Icing:
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 (8-ounce) package 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (about 10 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the cake, coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg substitute and the next 3 ingredients (through 1 tablespoon juice); beat well. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pans; tap pans once on countertop to remove air bubbles.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove cakes from pans. Carefully peel off wax paper. Cool completely on wire racks coated with cooking spray.

To prepare icing, place 1 teaspoon lemon rind and next 3 ingredients (through cream cheese) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth (about 1 minute). Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat). Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup icing. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake. Chill 1 hour. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.

Banana Split CAKE!

My dad made this cake for his dessert at the beach. It's delicious and even better the following day. If you love banana splits, you'll love this dessert...the best thing is it doesn't melt as quick. Make sure to serve with with lots of cherries on top.




Banana Split Cake (Paula Deen)

4 cups crushed graham crackers
3 sticks butter, room temperature
2 eggs
16-ounce box powdered sugar
20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
2 to 3 bananas, sliced 1
2-ounce container whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust, mix crushed graham crackers and 1 stick of butter. Line bottom and sides of a 13 by 9-inch pan with mixture. Bake crust for 5 to 8 minutes.

Beat the eggs, 2 sticks butter, and the powdered sugar until fluffy. Spread mixture on cooled crust. Add layer of crushed pineapple and layer of sliced bananas. Cover with whipped topping and sprinkle with nuts or graham crackers. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

A taste of summer.

Key Lime Pie (Cooking Light)

2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup Key lime juice (such as Nellie and Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice)
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 (6-ounce) reduced-fat graham cracker crust
1 1/2 cups frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat eggs and egg whites at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Gradually add juice, rind, and milk to egg mixture, beating until well-blended. Spoon mixture into crust, and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until almost set (the center will not be firm but will set up as it chills). Cool pie on a wire rack. Cover loosely, and chill 4 hours. Spread whipped topping evenly over filling.

Dessert Pizza!

Ben's pizza night at the beach wasn't complete without a dessert pizza. This pizza is made with regular unseasoned pizza dough, a chocolate hazelnut spread base, and a combination of chocolate chips and nuts. Ben used M&Ms and substituted walnuts for hazelnuts...what a sweet ending!

Chocolate Hazelnut Pizza

1 pound homemade pizza dough or purchased pizza dough
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread such as Nutella
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Position the oven rack on the bottom of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to a 9-inch-diameter round. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Using your fingers, make indentations all over the dough. Brush the dough with butter, then bake until the crust is crisp and pale golden brown, about 20 minutes. Immediately spread the chocolate-hazelnut spread over the pizza then sprinkle all the chocolate chips over. Bake just until the chocolate begins to melt, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the pizza. Cut into wedges and serve.

You will go Banana's for this....

Any one from the South will agree that Banana Pudding is a classic. When Ben brought home a Southern Living magazine with this recipe I knew it'd be a hit. Banana Pudding Pie is the ultimate Southern dessert. It was the perfect compliment to Lexington style bbq and huspuppies.

There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but it's easy and worth the wait! Make sure to hang on to your egg yolks--you'll be using them in the Vanilla Cream Filling.

Banana Pudding Pie (Southern Living)

1 (12-oz.) box vanilla wafers, divided
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large bananas, sliced
Vanilla Cream Filling (recipe below)
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

Set aside 30 vanilla wafers; pulse remaining vanilla wafers in a food processor 8 to 10 times or until coarsely crushed. (Yield should be about 2 1/2 cups.) Stir together crushed vanilla wafers and butter until blended. Firmly press on bottom, up sides, and onto lip of a 9-inch pieplate.

Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool 30 minutes or until completely cool.

Arrange banana slices evenly over bottom of crust. Prepare Vanilla Cream Filling, and spread half of hot filling over bananas; top with 20 vanilla wafers. Spread remaining hot filling over vanilla wafers. (Filling will be about 1/4 inch higher than top edge of crust.)

Beat egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves. Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing the edges.

Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and let cool 1 hour on a wire rack or until completely cool. Coarsely crush remaining 10 vanilla wafers, and sprinkle evenly over top of pie. Chill 4 hours.

Vanilla Cream Filling

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
4 egg yolks
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until it reaches the thickness of chilled pudding. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will be thick enough to hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted.) Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Use immediately.

A Meal Fit for A King...and Queen!

This past weekend we bought a new grill... and what better way to break it in than with the ultimate steak...filet mignon. Ben did a supberb job with the steaks. He wrapped them in peppercorn crusted bacon, seasoned them with salt and pepper...then grilled them over charcoal. I made ultimate baked potatoes, complete with more bacon and loads of pepperjack and sharp cheddar cheese. For the greens, I made one of favorite asparagus dishes...Lemon Asparagus. It's one of my Rachel Ray favorites and dresses up any dish.

To finish off our meal, I made a special request from Ben out of my new Perfect Scoop Ice Cream recipe book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is an ice cream fanatic. It has flavors of ice cream you can make with your home ice cream maker that you can't find any where else...such as Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream.

Lemon Asparagus

1 lb asparagus, trimmed

1 lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Steam asparagus in 1 inch of water in a saute pan for 5-6 minutes. Drain water, add olive oil, juice of the lemon, salt and pepper.

Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

7 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of salt

4 large egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup Guinness Stout

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.

Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. In a seperate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer over the milk chocolate, then stir until the chocolate is melted over low heat. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the cream, then the Guinness and vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refridgerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer instructions.

It's Been A While...

Before starting my new job Ben and I spent many days at the beach to enjoy my time off. So it's been a while since I updated the blog. We had a wondeful time at the beach and even made it to Charleston one day...just for the day. We enjoyed lunch at Stickey Fingers and dinner at The Noisy Oyster. Nothing beats their shrimp and grits.

In the mean time....I've made several dishes at home. One being a perfect summertime dessert...Blueberry Peach Cobbler. Last year at our wedding we made small jars of homemade blueberry jam. We found a blueberry farm near our house and picked buckets and buckets of blueberries. Almost one year later, we still have a few leftover blueberries we've frozen. But this dessert is wonderful with frozen peaches and blueberries from your grocery store as well.

Peach & Blueberry Cobbler (Cooking Light)

1 cup reduced-fat baking mix
1/2 cup regular oats
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chilled reduced-calorie stick margarine, cut into small pieces
4 cups frozen sliced peaches
2 cups frozen blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt (optional)





Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside.

Combine peaches and blueberries in a 2-quart casserole, and sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar evenly over fruit. Crumble oat mixture evenly over fruit. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until cobbler is bubbly. Top cobbler with frozen yogurt, if desired.

Christmas in May...

Since I've just started this blog I don't have too many pictures of food. I've made things a thousand times without ever taking a picture...why didn't I think of that before? Anyways...even though we're a good six months to next Christmas, I do have a picture of the Chocolate Candy Cane cake I made. It was so pretty in my new cake stand at the time. While you may have a hard time finding candy canes now, the round peppermints will work just as well. This recipe is originally from the Kraft Food and Family magazine (which is free and comes quarterly). I've adapted it a little, so here's my recipe. Enjoy!

Chocolate Candy Cane Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. (4-serving size) Jello Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
4 eggs
1 container (8 oz.) Sour Cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
4 squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, chopped
18 small candy canes, coarsely crushed (about 1 cup), divided
1 tsp peppermint extract
2 cans white frosting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, stopping frequently to scrape side of bowl. Beat on medium speed 2 min. or until well blended. Stir in chopped chocolate and peppermint extract. Spoon evenly into prepared pans.

Bake 40 to 45 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 10 min. Loosen cakes from sides of pans with metal spatula or knife. Invert cakes onto wire racks; carefully remove pans. Cool completely.

Place one of the cake layers on serving plate; spread evenly with 1 cup of the frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes just before serving.