The recipe below is for Fluffy Blueberry Pie and couldn’t be easier to make – this I promise. I also promise that it is so delicious, you’ll fight for the last bite. You can substitute peeled, sliced peaches for the blueberries and the pie will be just as remarkable. Either fruit would make an ideal Easter Pie recipe or a simple dessert for warm summer nights.
Fluffy Blueberry Pie Recipe
20 large marshmallows
1/4 cup whole milk
4 cups fresh blueberries (divided)
1 (8 oz) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked
In a heavy saucepan, combine marshmallows and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth.
Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, stirring several times.
Stir in 3-1/2 cups of the blueberries (or peaches, if you go that route). Take out and set aside 1/2 cup of the whipped topping. Fold remaining topping into blueberry mixture.
Pour into crust. refrigerate for at lease 2 hours. Top off with the remaining blueberries and reserved whipped topping.
Once your familiar with the recipe, you’ll want to try out different fruit. I would imagine that raspberries would be amazing and blackberries would probably have your family throwing themselves at your feet. Note to self: Put blackberries on the grocery list….
Yield: One 9″ Pie or about 8 servings.
The vegetarian recipe below is from the wonderful cookbook you see pictured above – The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Vegetarian. I’ve already reviewed this book on Get Cooking, so I’ll spare you the details about how much you need your own copy (which you do!). You can find my review linked below the recipe. I’m even more impressed with this cookbook now that I’ve re-read it and tried out more of the recipes. There are more than just recipes, of course, there is a wealth of information for everyone – whether you are…
- A vegetarian who hasn’t touched meat in years.
- A new vegetarian.
- A semi-vegetarian.
- A fish, and chicken-lover who is trying to eat more vegetables and more vegetarian meals.
- Eating a burger right this minute and wish I’d shut-up about veggies.
No matter what category you’re in, you’ll love this book. Personally, I’m a 4… a very happy 4 who is about to eat a fish sandwich for lunch. 
Vegetarian Recipe: Raw Hummus Romaine Roll-Ups
Serves 4 | Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Serving Size: 1 Roll-up
1 cup sprouted garbanzo beans (or steamed)
1/2 cup tahini
1 cup olive oil
2 TBS fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 TBS tamari
Salt
Pinch cayenne
Water
Large romaine lettuce leaves (washed, patted dry)
Feta cheese, crumbled
1 tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
Place the garbanzo beans in a blender or a food processor. Add tahini, olive oil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, tamari, salt, and cayenne, and blend until creamy.
Spread several tablespoons hummus onto 1 romaine leaf, and top with crumbled feta cheese, chopped tomato, and chopped cucumber. Roll and eat.
This makes an outstanding hummus – whether you bring the romaine lettuce to the party or not. I love this hummus served with raw vegetables and/or crackers.
From my own experience (this isn’t from the book), you can substitute creamy peanut butter for tahini and soy sauce for the tamari. Tahini can be pretty costly. It depends on the mood I’m in at the grocery store whether I buy it or just use peanut butter. I’m familiar with both and, honestly, can’t tell a discernible enough difference to recommend one over the other.
The wonderful recipe above is from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Vegetarian by Frankie Avalon Wolfe, M.H., Ph.D. You can read my review of the cookbook and see if you’d be interested in a copy of your own. Whether you are a vegetarian or not, this really is an outstanding book.
by Joi on February 23, 2010
Basset Hound Cookie Jar
Amish Orange Juice Cookies
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Cream shortening and sugar together. Add the egg and blend well. Add the orange juice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat well. Add the flour.
Bake at 400 degrees until set and golden brown – between 7 and 9 minutes, depending upon the size of the cookies. (Check at 7!)
Orange Butter Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
2 TBS butter
2 TBS orange juice
Blend together and spread onto cooled cookies. The quality and brand of your orange juice will affect the intensity of the orange flavor. Even the cookies with the least “orange” flavor are still outstanding, though. And when I say outstanding, I mean can’t eat just one delectable!
******* The gorgeous cookie jar at the top of the post is just one of an entire collection of dog and cat cookie jars available. I chose the beautiful Basset Hound in honor of one of my favorite dogs we’ve ever had – Honey. She was, undoubtedly, one of the sweetest, most warm-hearted animals to ever live and I simply adored her. If you click through the link, you can find your own dog or cat’s breed.
by Joi on January 20, 2010
My family and I have fallen completely in love with asparagus. One of my Christmas gifts from my husband was a bamboo steamer and asparagus is its favorite resident. Not only is steamed asparagus nothing short of delectable, it’s a nice, crunchy part of a healthy diet.
- Asparagus is low in calories
- Asparagus has very little sodium
- Asparagus is a very good source of potassium and fiber
- Asparagus is an excellent source of folacin, thiamin, and Vitamin B6
Naturally, even with all of that going for it, if it didn’t taste fantastic, it wouldn’t be invited back into the kitchen.
My favorite way to serve asparagus is steamed and, personally, I think I am the reigning queen of steaming (dusts left shoulder, then right shoulder). I guess it’s a personal thing, but I love for my steamed vegetables to retain a little crunch.. a little attitude. I want to know that it’s a vegetable I’m eating, not pudding! Below are a few key tips for steaming asparagus:
- When buying asparagus, look for smooth, round, and tender medium-sized spears. Be sure to look at the tips – you want the asparagus to have closed tips. Also, be sure the stalks are uniform in size, so they’ll all cook in the same amount of time.
- Cut or snap off the tough ends. Wash asparagus and remove scales if they’re sandy or rough.
- Steam asparagus in an electric steamer, a stove-top steamer, or a bamboo steamer for 6 – 8 minutes.
You can also microwave asparagus. For spears: Place asparagus spears in a square microwavable-safe dish about 8×8x2 inches. Add 1/4 cup water and microwave between 6 and 9 minutes. For Pieces: Add 1/4 cup water to cut up asparagus and microwave for 6 to 9 minutes.
Asparagus is wonderful lightly salted and served with lemon but my favorite way to serve it is with Hollandaise Sauce. Before you run from the room screaming, I’ve got your back.
McCormick and Knorr’s both make outstanding (and unbelievably fast and easy) Hollandaise Sauce mixes.
I have used mixes and I have made Hollandaise Sauce from scratch. I actually prefer the mixes! I’m not sure why that is, but the flavor and the texture is just 100 times better when made from a mix. It’s also about 100 times faster as well. Faster, easier, and tastier. That’s tough to top.
Grab some asparagus and a package of Hollandaise Sauce on your next trip to the store. If you haven’t eaten asparagus in a while, it might be better than you remembered.
While on the subject of asparagus, I’m going to hunt through some of my beloved heirloom cookbooks and recipes and find my grandmother’s wonderful Asparagus Casserole recipe. Even as a kid in a “But Granny, it’s greeeeeen!!!!” phase, I still licked my plate clean when she served her asparagus casserole. I’ll post the recipe tomorrow.
by Joi on December 10, 2009
This beautiful, delicious, and surprisingly guilt-free dessert is JUST the thing health-conscious cooks are looking for this Christmas. We want to serve beautiful and yummy desserts, but we don’t want to fall off of the healthy bandwagon we’ve been fighting so hard to stay on! Think of this Key Lime Pie recipe as a rope to hang on to.
Creamy Key Lime Pie Recipe
Prep Time: 30 mins. | Start to Finish: 3 hrs. 30 mins. | Yields: 8 servings
CRUST
2 cups Fiber One® original bran cereal
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
FILLING AND TOPPING
2 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1-1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
4 oz (half 8 oz. package) 1/3-less-fat (Neufchâtel) cream cheese, softened
4 containers (4 oz each) Yoplait® Fiber One™ Key lime pie yogurt
1/2 cup frozen (thawed) reduced-fat whipped topping
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and finely crush with rolling pin or meat mallet until cereal looks like graham cracker crumbs (or finely crush in food processor).
2. In medium bowl, mix crust ingredients until blended. Press crust mixture evenly and firmly in bottom and up side of 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until firm. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3. In 1-quart saucepan, mix water and lime juice. Sprinkle gelatin on lime juice mixture; let stand 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Cool slightly, about 2 minutes.
4. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add yogurt and lime juice mixture; beat on medium speed until well blended. Fold in whipped topping and lime peel. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
Nutrition Info:
1 Serving: Calories 180 (Calories from Fat 100); Total Fat 11g (Saturated Fat 7g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 25mg; Sodium 180mg; Total Carbohydrate 16g (Dietary Fiber 9g, Sugars 4g); Protein 4g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 10%; Vitamin C 6%; Calcium 10%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
The gloriously beautiful and nutritious salad recipe below is courtesy of Self Magazine’s web site, Self.com. It’s just one of the lettuce-less salads they recently featured in a slide show.
These salads are from the April 2009 issue and, in addition to the Chilled Shrimp Salad (below), include an Udon Noodle Salad. It looks AMAZING and I can’t wait to try it. As a shrimp addict, however, I have to go for the Chilled Shrimp Salad first, though.
The Chilled Shrimp Salad is rich in protein, antioxidants, and niacin (which, as Self points out, is great for your skin). Click HERE to see all of these great salad recipes. While on the site, check out the tons of other healthy recipes and articles. I could spend hours on their site reading articles without ever looking up.
CHILLED SHRIMP SALAD RECIPE
from Self Magazine
Dressing
* 1 clove garlic, chopped
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 6 tablespoons orange juice
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
Salad
* Juice and rind from 1 lemon
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp (tail intact)
* 4 chunks watermelon (1 lb each), cut from the rind, cut into cubes
* 1 pound heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges
* 1/3 cup crumbled feta
* 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
For dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender.
For salad: Fill a 4-quart saucepan with water and bring to a boil; add lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt. Add shrimp, cover, remove from heat and let stand until shrimp is cooked, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool 10 minutes, then refrigerate 30 minutes. Line a large platter with watermelon and tomatoes. Top with shrimp, feta and basil. Drizzle with dressing.
431 calories per serving, 9.6 g fat (2.5 g saturated), 3.7 g fiber, 49.4 g carbs, 41 g protein
I keep ALL of my issues of Kentucky Living. For one thing, I publish a Kentucky Blog (Genuine Kentucky) and need all the information I can get my eyes on.
Another reason is we travel around our state a great deal and these issues serve as guides.
Admittedly, however, the main reason is the recipes. I’m all about southern food, and the recipes in this magazine are always perfection waiting to happen.
I sought out (and happily found) an article from a 2005 issue about Dry Rubs. A dry rub is a combination of seasonings and spices that are rubbed onto meat prior to grilling. Grilling season is nearly here and I couldn’t be happier to see it. We had a LONG, frigid winter and baseball, flower gardening, and grilling are going to be sweeter than ever.
Use the dry rubs as the recipe is given or adjust the spices and seasonings to suit your own taste.
MEMPHIS-STYLE DRY RUB RECIPE
1/4 cup paprika
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
According to Kentucky Living, the dry rub recipe above is great for chicken and ribs. They suggest that when you are grilling chicken, you should rub the Memphis Rub inside and outside of the chicken. This recipe will generously coat a 4 to 5 pound chicken for grilling.
When grilling ribs, this recipe will coat 3 to 4 pounds of pork ribs.
STEAK DRY RUB RECIPE
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons dried basil
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
This Dry Rub recipe will coat a 12 to 16 oz. rib eye.
Pat the steak well with the mixture, making sure the entire steak is covered. Grill over hot coals as desired and throw away the steak sauce!
For more great southern recipes, check out the recipe section of Kentucky Living.com.
I’ve always been a huge fruit fan, but lately I seem to crave fruit as much almost as much as I do chocolate. The recipe below will make even the most reluctant fruit eater rethink the error of his or her ways. Be sure to begin preparations in plenty of time, as the fruit needs to chill for about an hour.
I guarantee you’re going to be wild about this recipe and will return to it again and again throughout the spring and summer. It would also be a perfect addition to your Easter dinner.
This one’s a total winner!
Fruit Salad Recipe With Sour Cream Sauce
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 can pineapple chunks (8 oz), drained
1 banana, sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1 cup seedless green grapes
1 cup sliced strawberries
Sour Cream Sauce (recipe below)
Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan and cook for 4 – 5 minutes, stirring constantly. You want the sugar mixture to reach a syrup consistency.
Cool completely.
Combine the fruit in a large bowl. Pour syrup over the fruit and toss lightly. Be sure the syrup has cooled – you don’t want to cook the fruit!
Cover and chill for at least an hour. Serve with the Sour Cream Sauce.
Sour Cream Sauce Recipe
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat the butter and powdered sugar at medium speed until smooth. Add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat until creamy. Cover and chill until ready to serve (or up to 8 hours).
Naturally, you can make fruit-y substitutions – replacing some of the ones in the recipe with blueberries or blackberries. I think a fruit salad comprised of all berries would be something worth trying. Hmmm, I might just do that this week!
I love a salad so much you’d think I was part rabbit. They’re healthy, light, bright, colorful, crunchy, and oh so delicious. In fact, I’m munching on one at the moment – in between thoughts.
Everyone knows they should be eating more vegetables and a salad with (or AS) a meal is the perfect way to go about it. The problem is, a lot of people think that throwing together some cut up iceberg lettuce and a chopped tomato makes a true salad. No wonder they don’t have any more excitement for them than they do. If that’s the only salad I ever enjoyed, I wouldn’t get that excited either.
Now, having said that, let me point this out, I think iceberg lettuce and a chopped tomato makes a find, quick, simple salad and I’ve been known to serve up this simple little combination, too. But each and every time? No way!
Below are my Top 10 ways to add personality and pop to a tossed salad:
- Don’t limit your salads to iceberg lettuce. I LOVE leaf lettuce and often throw in a little bit of shredded iceberg for the crunch. Since I build my tossed salads with my eyes (which love bright colors), I also like the contrast of the greens.
- Experiment with different tomatoes, but remember, you don’t always have to invite them. I adore tomatoes as much as anyone, but they can really make a tossed salad lose its gumption. When I do use
tomatoes in my tossed salads, I don’t add them to the bowl (that’s just asking for soggy lettuce). I serve them in a bowl nearby, so people can add as much or as little to their salad as they want. Also, some people are sensitive to tomatoes and would appreciate their absence. One of my daughters gets mouth sores when she eats too many tomatoes, so she never wants them on her salad. Also, remember to try different tomatoes – cherry, grape, roma, yellow, etc. Each creates a whole different eating experience.
- For extra nutrition and flavor, add baby spinach. Doing so not only creates more texture and color, it adds a great deal of nutrients. However, when using spinach in a salad, pay attention to the salad dressing you use. Personally, I think Ranch is the ideal partner for a salad with spinach. Bacon bits also pair splendidly with spinach.
- Speaking of Bacon Bits – get real! Using bacon pieces that you’ve made yourself is a delicious way to jazz up a salad. If you’re watching your weight, experiment with healthier bacon (or even imitation bacon slices) – microwave them as directed, tear them up and throw them in.
- Hard Cooked Eggs are delicious in tossed salads. I don’t throw eggs into my salads very often, but when I do – I’m always happy. They’re perfect, of course, with bacon pieces, tomatoes, green onions, and leaf lettuce. Croutons added at the last minute finish it off perfectly.
- Garbanzo beans , red kidney beans, and/or black beans are wonderful in salads. When making your salads, think outside of the produce aisle every now and then. Beans are nutritious and add a fun texture and splash of color. I always add beans to my Taco Salads – often several varieties. I use iceberg lettuce for taco salads, then I add ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, chopped chilies, chopped avocado (sprinkled with fresh lemon), chopped green onions, cilantro, tomatoes (this is the one salad I make an exception for and allow tomatoes in the bowl with the rest), shredded cheese, and a little jalapeno pepper. I make a perfect dressing for Taco Salad by combining Mayonnaise and Mild Sauce. I shake them together until I get the flavor I’m looking for. I finish the salad off with crunchy tortilla strips.
- You’d be amazed at the wonderful things banana pepper rings do for a tossed salad. Delicious! In the same aisle, there are other treasures you’ll want to try out as well: Olives, pickled okra (I leave them whole and serve them to the side), baby corn, and pearl onions.
- Get creative with the way you serve salads. There are DELICIOUS tortilla shell bowls served on the market. You drape them over a paper mold and bake them. In no time at all, you have beautiful, crunchy, and yummy tortilla bowls to serve your salad in. I use them mostly with tex-mex inspired salads, but have also used them with regular salads – and a favorite, Grilled Chicken Salad.
- Don’t use the same salad dressings again and again and again. Experiment! Kraft makes a fascinating Green Goddess dressing that’s always a hit in our house. Ranch, Catalina, Italian, French, Honey French, French with Bacon, Raspberry Vinaigrette (surprisingly delicious!) – there are just too many to get locked into the same one again and again. Also, while in the dressing aisle, look at how wonderfully creative the toppings have gotten. There are croutons in a billion different flavors, bacon bits, Salad Toppings (I love the one with sunflower seeds, nuts, etc.) and a new obsession of mine: Tortilla Strips. Kroger has a few varieties – a regular one and a Santa Fe variety. They’re both amazing and they make the salad so much more interesting – to look at AND taste. Plain sunflower seeds also make a fantastic salad topper.
- Make a great Chef’s Salad! Done right, a salad can be a meal all by itself. Start with your favorite vegetables, then add little strips of ham and turkey. If you like pepperoni, throw some pieces of them in there as well. Don’t forget slices of green or red bell pepper for an extra great chef salad.
Last night, I made what proved to be one of the best tossed salads I’ve had in a long time. It was a simple salad, actually, but delicious. It included:
- Leaf Lettuce
- Carrot strips
- Chopped red bell pepper
- Cucumbers
- Slices of radishes
- Sliced green onions
I bypassed cauliflower and broccoli because the store had them priced so high, they must not have wanted to part with them. By contrast, they had little interest in hanging onto the radishes, green onions, or cucumbers – so I compromised.
While my daughter and I were slicing and dicing, we both noticed how great everything smelled – as well as how beautiful the colors all looked. The red bell pepper was an amazing addition and a perfect stand in for tomatoes. I just finished a bowl and, since there weren’t any tomatoes in the salad, everything was a crisp, fresh, and crunchy today as it was last night.
I tried a new salad dressing this time, too. I grabbed a bottle of Olde Cape Cod Raspberry Vinaigrette Light at Kroger yesterday and half-expected my family to laugh me out of the house. I’ll have you know there are only a few tablespoons of it left! It was a huge, huge hit and everyone loved it. You’d never believe how great it smells.
Have fun with salads and mix things up. Purple cabbage, red onions, and grilled corn (scraped fresh from the cob) are also wonderful salad additions. Experiment with different fruits, too – mandarin oranges, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries – they’re all as nutritious as they are delicious.
Carrot Cupcakes with Sour Cream Frosting
This recipe makes 24 cupcakes!
2 -1/4 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup HP Hood Sour Cream
1-1/2 cups grated carrots
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners and set aside. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, spices and sugar, mixing well. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, oil, sour cream, carrots, pineapple and vanilla extract, mixing well. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, stir just enough to combine ingredients. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full of batter. Bake in the center of the oven until light and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from muffin cups to wire rack to cool completely.
Sour Cream Frosting
4 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup HP Hood Sour Cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
2-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients, except powered sugar, until well combined. With an electric mixer on slow, add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth. Decorate as desired.
I get unbelievably excited this time of year. Even recipes seem to get excited. We’re all thawing out and ready for bright colors, flowers, birds, and fun, lighthearted recipes. This amazing Carrot Cupckaes with Sour Cream Frosting features Hood Sour Cream, pineapple, butter, and confectioner’s sugar – when that team takes the field, you know a HUGE victory is about to happen!
And we all know how sweet victory tastes…
