Lemon-Buttered Dill Stuffed Potatoes

I love potatoes and these are wowee awesome!

Making these potatoes are a little more complicated than just mashing but they are worth it.  Even Mr. Meat Eater liked them and he is not really a potato fan. Fresh dill and fresh lemon juice are a must.   Just be careful when scooping out the potato pulp not to split the shell.  It helps to leave a thin layer of potato on the shell to make it more stable.

I think these would be easy to freeze if you have leftovers or want to make them as a freezer meal.

Lemon-Buttered Dill Stuffed Potatoes

4 large potatoes, baked
8 tbsps butter, melted
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tbsps fresh dill, finely chopped
4 tsps fresh lemon
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tbsp onion, finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for garnish if desired

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise and scoop out pulp, leaving the skin as a shell. It helps to leave a thin layer of potato still on the skin as it makes the shells more sturdy.

In a large bowl, mix potato pulp with 5 tbsps melted butter and remaining ingredients except paprika. Beat with mixer until smooth.

Scoop mixture back into the shells. Brush with remaining 3 tbsps of butter. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.

COOK’S NOTE: Potatoes can be made up and refrigerated several hours or overnight BEFORE baking.

Makes 8 servings.

Adapted from Dining By Fireflies.

Happy Cooking!

Strawberry Mousse

I love any flavor of mousse but so many of them use raw eggs that I don’t usually make them.  Yes, I know I can use pasteurized eggs but  for some reason, I don’t.  Anyway, this recipe doesn’t have any eggs at all.  It tasted like fresh strawberries which I loved.  I hate when I can’t taste the flavor.  It is also very easy to make.

Strawberry Mousse

1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup hot water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup whipping cream

Place the strawberries and sugar in a blender and process until pureed. Let stand for 30 minutes.

In a bowl, soften the unflavored gelatin in cold water. Add the hot water and stir until the gelatin dissolves.

Add the gelatin mixture to the pureed strawberries and process in the blender to mix well. Add the whipping cream and whip for 5 minutes. The mixture will not whip up like whipping cream usually does.

Pour into 4 dessert dishes and chill for 2 to 3 hours or until set.

Makes 4 servings. I made 2 large servings instead of the 4.

Recipe adapted from Something’s Simmering

Happy Cooking!

Key Lime Fudge

Mr. Meat Eater loves all things key lime.  I, on the other hand, could cheerfully live without it.  Since he’s such a nice guy, I make something key lime once in awhile.

I had seen a picture of key lime fudge on Pinterest but there was no recipe attached (that makes me crazy, btw) so I hunted around and found this recipe on Real Mom Kitchen.  We had a few friends over and I was tired of making chocolate fudge so I decided to try this fudge.  Much to my surprise, everyone loved it!  I took a bite and found it was not as sweet as I thought it would be and I would have liked more lime taste to it.  Everyone else thought it was perfect as is.

For the crust, I just followed the pie crust recipe on the box of graham cracker crumbs (just like Real Mom Kitchen did) so I am not going to write it out here but if anyone needs it, let me know.

Key Lime Fudge

Graham cracker crust following recipe on graham crumbs box
16 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp butter
1 lime, zested
3 tbsps key lime juice or lime juice ~ I use Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice

Preheat oven to 350º and line a 9×9 baking dish with aluminum foil. Butter the foil and set aside.

Place the mixed graham crust ingredients and spread in the pan evenly and press down slightly when even.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Place in a saucepan, the chopped white chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and 1 tbsp butter. Cook on low heat until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in zest and lime juice.

Carefully pour this mixture over the crumb crust and even out carefully with a spatula.

Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Before cutting, sprinkle a few graham crumbs from the box if desired.

Using the foil, remove the fudge from the pan and cut into small squares. Discard foil.

Makes about 24 pieces of fudge depending on how large you cut the squares.

Happy Cooking!

Strawberry Sour Cream Jello Salad

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I love jello.  It’s weird, I know, but I crave the stuff.  At one of my daughter’s bridal showers, this salad was on the table and I was in heaven.  I didn’t get the recipe right them so I searched around until I found it.

It’s easy to make but takes a little planning.  I made it with sugar-free jello and less fat sour cream so it was not full of sugar and fat.  Mr. Meat Eater loved it, too, and I think it would be great for picnics or BBQs.

Strawberry Sour Cream Jello Salad

1 large box strawberry jello ~ I used sugar-free
1 small box strawberry jello ~ I used sugar-free
2 cups boiling water
2 (10 oz) boxes frozen strawberries ~ I used berries in light syrup
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 (16 oz) container sour cream ~ I used less fat

Mix boiling water with jello in a large bowl. Add strawberries (Frozen is fine) and pineapple ~ all the juices from the fruit go in too.

Pour half this mixture in a 13×9 pan and leave the other half in the bowl. Put both in the refrigerator. When the bottom layer has jelled, spread sour cream over it. Pour thickened jello from the bowl carefully over the sour cream.

Chill until the all the jello is firm.

Makes 8-10 servings

Happy Cooking!

Red, White and Blue Trifle

This trifle is another recipe that I’m reblogging since it’s perfect for July 4th.

It’s very easy to make and looks very patriotic.  You can make it with all sugar-free products like I do or use the regular products ~ it’s great with either.  This recipe uses help from prepared products, but you can always make yours from scratch.  I always use more fruit than necessary and I never use the banana since I’m not much of a banana fan.

Red, White, and Blue Trifle

1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 (4 ounce pkg.) cheesecake flavor instant pudding
1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
16 ounce frozen pound cake, thawed
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup sliced banana

Mix together the milk and pudding mix and beat with a wire whisk for 1-2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in the thawed Cool Whip.

In a trifle bowl or large glass bowl, layer half the cake cubes, half the fruit, and half of the pudding/Cool Whip mixture. Repeat layers, ending with pudding/Cool Whip mixture.

Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes 12 servings

Happy Cooking!

Creamy Lemonade Pie from Simple Shortcut Recipes

Day 9 of 10 days of recipes from by Gooseberry Patch.  If you would like a chance to win a FREE copy of this cookbook, please follow the link and comment on THIS POST!  I’ll be choosing a winner tomorrow so please get your comments in before NOON!

Wow, is this a fabulous pie!  I love citrus anything so that’s why I chose this recipe and it really delivers that wonderful lemon flavor.

I made my own graham cracker crust because I’m not fond of the purchased ones.  I just followed the recipe on the box of graham crumbs.  Otherwise, I made the recipe as posted using sugar free pudding mix and the less fat cream cheese.

This pie would be just perfect for Easter or for a hot day in the summer.  I know it’ll be on my list to make often.

Creamy Lemonade Pie
Submitted by Kathy Grashoff, Fort Wayne, IN

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (3.4 oz) box instant lemon pudding mix
2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 (9 inch) graham cracker pie crust

In a bowl, combine the evaporated milk and the dry pudding mix. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 2 minutes until thickened.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the lemonade concentrate.

Stir cream cheese mixture into pudding mixture, mixing well.

Pour into a crust.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast with Blueberry Syrup

As a rule, I am not a fan of French toast but I have really started to like these overnight French toast recipes.  I think I made this one for Christmas breakfast for Mr. Meat Eater and I and we really enjoyed it.

I always use Challah bread for these kinds of recipes ~ it soaks up the liquids nicely and it’s a bit sweet.  King’s Hawaiian bread would work nicely, too.  I used frozen blueberries for both the casserole and the syrup and they worked perfectly.

I found the recipe on a blog called Real Mom Kitchen ~ it’s a very cute blog with some great recipes so check it out when you have a chance.

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast with Blueberry Syrup

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

French Toast:

12 slices bread, cut into cubes ~ I used challah but King’s Hawaiian would work
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) ~ I used frozen and probably about 1 1/2 cups ~ do not defrost
12 eggs
1/3 cup real maple syrup
2 cups milk

Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and blueberries evenly over the bread cubes and top with remaining bread cubes.

Mix together the eggs, milk, and syrup. Pour over bread cubes and cover the pan with foil. Refrigerate overnight.

Bake, covered, at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until fluffy and golden.

Top with sauce.

Makes 8 servings.

Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsps cornstarch
1 cup blueberries ~ I used frozen but fresh is fine ~ do not defrost
1 tbsp butter

Cook water, sugar, and cornstarch together until thickened. Stir in blueberries and simmer for 10 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted. Serve over the french toast.

Happy Cooking!

Garden Minestrone from Fresh from the Farmstand

Here is another recipe from Gooseberry Patch‘s Fresh from the Farmstand cookbook.  Don’t forget to sign up for my giveaway of a copy of this cookbook!  To enter, go to  THIS POST!  Entries on any other posts or on Facebook will not be counted!

I LOVE minestrone soup!  I also have a terrible habit of NOT reading a recipe through until I’m ready to start dinner.  I read the ingredients and that’s as far as I go.  I don’t see myself changing any time soon so I spend some time trying to figure out how I can change it up to work for me.  And that’s what happened with this recipe.  I didn’t start with dried beans so I used two cans of navy beans, rinsed.  My celery was so limp, I couldn’t stand to touch it so I threw it out and subbed fresh green beans.  Mr. Meat Eater refuses to eat anything with cabbage in it so I subbed spinach.  In place of the water used to cook the dried beans, I used chicken broth.  I also used 2 cans of diced tomatoes with the juice since tomatoes at this time of year are awful. I also threw in some oregano and basil. Soooooooo…same recipe?  I followed the recipe just using my substitutions.  You can make any recipe your own and this is just a good example of it.  This particular recipe is so good and that makes it easy to add your own ingredients.  My photo isn’t very good either, sigh ~ the white stuff is Parmesan which I have to have with minestrone.

The recipe was submitted to Gooseberry Patch by Kay Marone of Des Moines, Iowa.  Here is her recipe the way it is in the book.

Garden Minestrone

2 cups dried navy beans
10 cups cold water
2 to 3 tsps salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup celery, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cups ditalini, uncooked
1/4 cup chopped parsley

In a large soup pot over high heat, cover beans with water. Bring to a boil; boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand for 1 to 2 hours. Drain; rinse beans well and return to pot. Add 10 cups cold water; bring to a boil. Stir in salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for one hour.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, saute onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil for 8-10 minutes or until onion is lightly golden. Add this mixture along with the tomatoes to the simmering beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for another hour.

Stir in cabbage, zucchini, pasta and parsley. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Garnish with Parmesan, if desired.

Makes 8-10 servings.

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

Happy Cooking!

My Favorite Breakfast Casserole

Way back in May, 2008, when I started this blog, this was the first recipe I posted ~ without a picture ~ so I thought a do-over was called for.

This is really my favorite breakfast casserole and I served it at my recent EB Pink Party.  It’s the recipe I usually make for holiday breakfasts since it can be put together for the most part the night before.  It’s also very easy to add or subtract ingredients and make it your very own.  I never put in the tomatoes and I have made it with ham, bacon and sausage.  All three are good but I like ham the best.

When I make for a holiday breakfast, I usually make a fruit salad and some kind of sweet rolls or coffeecake ~ very easy and delicious!

I think I found this recipe on a B&B website but I’ve been using it for so long I don’t remember for sure.

Breakfast Casserole

1/2 stick butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 -3 medium tomatoes, chopped
12 eggs, beaten
1 24 oz bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1/2 to 1 pound cubed ham, thin sliced ham, cooked crumbled bacon, or cooked, crumbled sausage
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Melt butter and place in bottom of 13 x 9 baking pan (glass). Spread potatoes (still frozen is ok) in bottom of pan. Sprinkle chopped veggies over potatoes Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle meat over potatoes and veggies At this point, you may continue or casserole may be refrigerated overnight.

Pour beaten eggs over potatoes. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Bake another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

Remove from oven and let set for approx. 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with spatula.

Makes 6-8 servings

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

Happy Cooking!

My EB Pink Party, Berry French Toast, and a Giveaway

This giveaway has ended but check the giveaways link up above to see if there are any current giveaways going on!

Before I get on to business, I finally figured out a way to include printable recipes using google documents.  From now on, after each recipe you will see a link that says View Printable Recipe, click on it and it will take you to the recipe in google docs and you can print out just the recipe!  I will slowly start to add in all the recipes here but it will take awhile.  Until then, just follow the directions under PRINTING up in the bar right up on top.

Last month (or maybe it was August) I was contacted by Eggland’s Best to see if wanted to have an EB Pink Party in support of breast cancer awareness month.  I jumped at the chance.  EB sponsored my brunch and sent an amazing prize pack that I will send on to one lucky winner!   We had a great time at my brunch ~ these are my friends from our local dog park.  A few couldn’t make it and we really missed them.   We are a pretty diverse group of all ages AND our dogs all get along!

Between us in this picture, we have 13 dogs and 2 grand dogs.  I’m the 4th from the left if anyone is wondering!  Mr. Meat Eater took the picture so he will remain the mystery man 🙂

I can’t thank Eggland’s Best enough for the chance to have this party and for all they do to help in the fight against breast cancer.  I’m beside myself that they chose me and my blog to help pass along the word and that they have such delicious eggs.  I haven’t used any other brand of eggs in years!

One of the dishes I made was berry French toast.  I am NOT a French toast lover and anything that even LOOKS like bread pudding I usually run away from.  I don’t know what compelled me to try this dish but it has to be one of the best breakfast dishes I have ever made.  It’s super easy and is not the least bit heavy.

The recipe calls for French bread but I used a loaf of challah bread instead and I think a loaf of King’s Hawaiian bread would be just as good.  The other thing I like is that it calls for frozen berries so it can be made all year round instead of just during berry season.  The frozen berries are also cheaper to use.

I think this was the most popular dish at the brunch!

Berry French Toast

1 loaf of French Bread, cubed (I used Challah)
6 egg whites
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 (12 ounce) pkg frozen unsweetened mixed berries
2 tbsps cold butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Places cubed bread in a lightly greased 13×9 baking dish.

In a bowl, combine the egg whites, eggs milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt and pour over the bread cubes in the baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. I have never let it sit that long. I usually make it about 5 hours ahead and put in the fridge until baking time.

Bake, covered, at 350º for 30 minutes. Once you have put it in the oven, take the berries out of the freezer and let sit on the cupboard to defrost a bit.

In a small bowl, cut the butter into the brown sugar until crumbly. Sprinkle berries, the brown sugar/butter over the top and bake, uncovered, for 15-20 more minutes or until a knife inserted near the middle comes out clean.

Serve with maple syrup if desired. It’s really good with the syrup!

Make 8-10 servings.

VIEW PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

More brunch recipes to come this week!

Now for the giveaway.  Here’s what is included in the prize pack:

In the prize pack from Eggland’s Best you will get a set of 4 EB ramekins, 1 EB apron, 1 EB whisk, 1 EB spatula, 1, EB egg timer, 1 EB eco bag, 1 EB plush egg.

For a chance to win, just let me know your favorite dish to make for breakfast!  That’s it ~ very easy!

The giveaway will run until October 17 at midnight.  If you are the winner, you will have 3 days to get in contact with me!  I will use Random.org to choose a winner.

Thank you Eggland’s Best!!!!!!!

Happy Cooking!