berry easy "ice cream"

in my case, strawberry and blueberry "ice cream" made without an ice cream freezer. oh my gosh this is soooooo delicious and easy. i had seen this creamy concoction over at our best bites the other day and knew instantly i just had to give it a whirl. you can find the recipe here and while you are there take a moment to peruse this delightful blog, it's one chock full of wonderful recipes and reviews.

now back to the "ice cream", you don't need an ice cream freezer, good thing 'cause i ain't got one. once mixed, you simply put in a container and pop into your refrigerator's freezer for a few hours. it doesn't seem to get completely firm, but more like a sorbet consistency, no matter, it works and it works deliciously. i used a combo of thawed frozen organic strawberries and blueberries from trader joe's, excellent choice on my behalf, not only for the amazing taste, but killer color. so now i am already thinking banana, coconut and pineapple combo for the next go around. whadda ya think?

i hope you will give this easy fruit freeze a try! enjoy.

mom's 70's jello salad

this is so easy and so good, not healthy, full of artifical flavors and colors. yum. well it is and i wouldn't have it any other way. it is the 70's for pete's sake!

mom's favorite jello salad, circa 1974, can you dig it?

heat one 20oz. can of crushed pineapple in saucepan till hot, add a 3oz. pack of your favorite jello. i used strawberry, mom would also do lime, especially around christmas, the whole red and green color thing. anyway, let it cool for an hour. then stir in a 12oz carton of cottage cheese and put in fridge till thicken, maybe another hour. then fold in a whole 8oz. carton of cool whip, baby. you can put it all in a groovy mold, like my vintage tupperware one, or not. let it chill for several hours and that is it. i am eating it for breakfast right now. far out. enjoy.

so simple blueberry cobbler

i shouldn't even post these horrible pictures. you would have been better off just using your imagination. oh well, it looks funky, but this is one super tasty and super easy blueberry cobbler. let's cut to the chase and here you go. first, preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. walk away. get you a 8x8 dish and dump in some frozen blueberries, no need to thaw. i dunno, three cups or so. now, mix a teaspoon or two of either vanilla or almond extract(i use vanilla) and stir to mix with the berries. okay, in another bowl mix one cup all purpose flour, one cup sugar, pinch of salt and one egg. now, with your hands, squeeze, stir, squeeze, stir, mixing making sure the egg is thoroughly distributed. don't be afraid, squeeze the crap out the stuff all the while mixing making a streusel-y topping. you still will end up with some that won't be so crumbly, kinda dry, no biggie we are getting ready to fix that. sprinkle the streusel mixture all over your blueberries evenly as possible. okay, the kicker, go nuke a stick of butter and pour this all over the top of your cobbler. bake for about 40 minutes till bubbly and brown. cool long enough, so that it want burn your mouth and grab a spoon. holy moly! i do this with peaches(almond extract), too. you can use any fresh or frozen fruit. just imagine fresh blackberries....lordy.




that little bowl up top is mine, more whipped cream than cobbler. oh, that is the good stuff, too. real cream whipped with a sprinkling of homemade vanilla sugar and a shot of homemade vanilla extract. yum.

so, once again, excuse the down right embarassing pictures, but please try this simple cobbler recipe when you get a chance. you just can't go wrong. enjoy.

dark chocolate raspberry brownies

boy howdy are these some dark chocolate brownies. the recipe, dark chocolate cherry brownies, i found in the cooking light annual of 2008, as well as online. i knew i wanted to make them immediately, but i didn't have cherry, oh well, improvise. i also didn't have natural processed cocoa, only dutch, oh well, deal with it. also, only big jumbo ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips, oh well, not a bad thing. i made them. these brownies are good, a tad sweet, but very good. they are moist, chewy and full of flavor, super dark chocolate flavor. so dark, that the brownies scared my family at first, but once they got rolling they couldn't and haven't stop eating them. one more thing, make sure you used seedless jam, my one real, oh well, boo-boo. enjoy.

lemon sunshine cake

i swear, and i shouldn't, since this recipe came from a group of church ladies, but this is the easiest, moistest, tastiest cake i think i have ever made. it is down right delicious. this cake was recently served at a church function i attended with my cousin. it was a woman's fellowship group teaching you how to gift wrap. yep, gift wrap. you laugh. i did too, but i can't make a bow. can you? i can sorta make one now as well as fluff tissue paper, thank you very much. i have been to quite a few of these functions and although this particular one wasn't high on my list, i knew the refreshments and company would be worth it. i get quality time with my cousin and a few hours away from my kids. i always enjoy myself, whether we are adorning gift bags with zots/zaps or blowing eggs, we are always laughing. anyway, they served this cake the other night and i fell in love. i am not suppose to eat it i know, the whole diabetes thing, but i did take a bite, a rather big bite. holy moly! they gave us all recipe cards to take home. how did they know? divine intervention? ptl. enjoy.


lemon sunshine cake

mix and bake

one duncan hines lemon cake mix
one small package of instant lemon pudding
1/2 cup of oil
4 eggs
1 cup water

preheat oven to 350 degrees. pour into greased and floured tube pan(i used a bundt). bake for about 40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

while cake is baking make the glaze and set aside(i made a half recipe of glaze) which is four lemons juiced mixed with 2 cups powdered sugar.

when cake is done, immediately remove from pan. while still warm, poke holes in it with knife or skewer and drizzle lemon mixture onto cake(i brushed mine on with a pastry brush). let cool. refrigerate until ready to serve.

mocha chocolate chip muffins

i made these muffins the other day for the gang and boy howdy are they a keeper. this is a bon appetite magazine recipe and you can find it here. i pretty much followed the recipe with a few changes. not having buttermilk or pecans, i used milk soured with cider vinegar and skipped the pecans all together. i also used only 1/3 cup chocolate chips because my chips, from trader joe's, were huge. i am thinking next time, i will use buttermilk and throw in some walnuts. i truly think you could use any type of milk, but buttermilk really seems to add to the moistness of baked goods or so i believe, but i am not a trained professional. i also just like walnuts with chocolate much better than pecans. folks, these muffins are not super sweet, but are super good. also, they are moist with a rich, deep, chocolate flavor. i know they are good, not only because they are all gone, but because i snuck a top off one(don't tell the doc).

mocha chocolate chips muffins, better than anything you can make from a box or buy wrapped in cello with otis spunkmonkey stamped on top! go make a batch for the family today. enjoy.

ps-i did use the hershey's special dark cocoa in this recipe.

chocolate coconut bundt

first the lemon cornmeal cake, now this. i am popular in my house right now. i was thinking about the ol' pillsbury tunnel of fudge bundt cake mix the other day and suddenly remembered the chocolate coconut version. i just knew i had to duplicate it. the hubs loves the combination of chocolate and coconut, so i thought i would surprise him with this baby. needless to say, he was not only surprised, but is a very happy camper. once again, i can't eat any due to my diabetes, so i am relying on jamie to give his honest opinion of the cake. i quote, "it is fudgie, moist and i like the coconut part the best. will you make a pot of coffee?" well, okay...sure. i think it is a winner folks. he's wanting a second piece hence the coffee. now, making the cake is a breeze. you simply doctor a box of chocolate cake mix with instant chocolate pudding, whip egg whites for the coconut filling and layer in your bundt, well, maybe with a few extra steps in between. i really like the marbled look of the finished cake, too. it's so pretty with the vanilla drizzle. see.

i know this will be a real keeper at my house. how about at yours? enjoy.

beth's chocolate coconut bundt

coconut filling
2 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups flaked coconut(one small bag)
2 tbsp. of all purpose flour
2 tsp. of real vanilla

the cake
1 box chocolate cake mix(w/o pudding)
1 package chocolate instant pudding(4 serving size)
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

vanilla glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons of milk( i used ff half and half)
pinch of kosher salt
1/4 tsp. real vanilla
1 tbsp. of butter


preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour your bundt pan. i "pam'd" mine.

beat egg whites until peaks form. gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. fold in coconut, flour and vanilla. set aside.

next combine the cake mix, instant pudding mix, 2 yolks, 2 eggs, water, and oil in a large bowl. beat with mixer for 2 minutes. i actually beat mine by hand. pour a 1/3 of the batter into prepared pan. spoon in coconut mixture, spread around and then top with remaining batter.

bake for 50 to 55 minutes. i covered my cake about 40 minutes in with foil, so it wouldn't get too brown. remove and cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. cool thoroughly, and top with glaze.

to make the glaze, melt the butter and add the remaining ingredients. yum.

the baby shower cake

i volunteered to make a cake for the baby shower held in honor of my nephew's wife. i was inspired by a cake a friend of mine had made, changing it just a bit. i owe the success of this one to my bff julie, she can handle an off set spatula like nobody's business. i think it came out great!




oh, in case you can't figure it out, it is suppose to be a bathtub. see the tiny bar of soap?




ps-if you want directions on how we did it, just let me know and i will post.

beth's banana bread biscotti

i am quickly becoming a biscotti junkie. biscotti are so simple to make, versatile, low fat and just dang tasty. i had two spotty bananas that i hated to throw out, so rather than make boring banana bread, i made banana bread biscotti. oh my gosh they are good, a real keeper. i found a recipe on cooking light, this one here and adapted it to my liking using walnuts and rum. the cookies were crunchy with a chewy texture full of banana flavor. yummy. the biscotti were even better with a hot cup of coffee. i am posting my recipe adaptation below. enjoy.

beth's banana bread biscotti

• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 1.5 banana)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp rum or rum extract
  
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, dry toasted in a saute pan
  

preheat oven to 350°.

combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. combine banana, oil, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl; stir in flour mixture and walnuts (dough will be sticky).

turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead it till it comes together, flouring your hands often. place dough onto a silpat or parchment cookie sheet. shape dough into one long about 10 inchs with floured hands. flatten out with hands till about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. shape your log nicely, it won't spread. i try to have straight sides and rounded edges to get the traditional biscotti look.

bake at 350° for 23 minutes. remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes. cut each roll into about 12 (1/2-inch) slices. place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. reduce oven temperature to 250°; bake 15 minutes. turn cookies over; bake an additional 15 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire racks. if your cookies brown too quickly, just cover with some foil. store in an airtight container or your belly.

p.s. i think next time i will up the rum some, the banana overpowered it a little.

rebecca's mom's chocolate jack daniels fruit cake

i made a chocolate fruit cake spiked with jack daniels this past weekend and with thirty folks at my house on sunday to eat, it was devoured, not a scrap, a crumb left. i am going to send you over to the foodie blog it's located, so miss rebecca's pic can do all the talking. i think it is fair to stay it was a big hit. i did get to eat a piece though, moist, fruity, jd tangy and delicious. i am a loyal follower of ezrapoundcake, and when this popped up, i just had to make it. the cake is her mama's fruit cake recipe, a family tradition. while you are checking out the recipe, mosey around a bit, ezrapoundcake is one of my absolute favorite sites. miss rebecca cooks and bakes like i like, good ol' comfort foods, but she takes it to the next level of goodness. if you have ever had my(i use that term loosely) king ranch casserole, that is another one of her recipes and its dang tasty. please go check out ezrapoundcake and please go make one of mama's chocolate jack daniels fruit cakes today. it is too easy and too delicious not to and to quote ezrapoundcake, "guaranteed to get you into the spirit". enjoy.

peace and love, bethcomptoncalifornia