Chocolate Fondue

I recently returned from a wonderful river cruise in Europe with my husband and my parents.  We had a wonderful time!  Our first stop before boarding the boat was Lucerne, Switzerland.  Chocolate everywhere!  My kind of place.  We had lunch one day at a little restaurant on a side street....a fondue house.  We grabbed a table outside and checked out the menu.  We had every intention of having cheese fondue but when we saw the prices (holy cheese!) we quickly decided on the cheapest fondue item for our meal:  chocolate fondue (and that was still really expensive).  

It. was. uh. mazing.  (That's my hubby in the pic below, enjoying a tasty chocolate lunch in the heart of Lucerne.)  Then we found out it was nothing more than melted chocolate bars and cream.  What?!?  I knew as soon as we got home I had to try this with the kids.  So we did.  And it tasted exactly the same!  Well, until our makeshift fondue pot exploded.  Yeah, that wasn't as tasty.  The next time we made it we didn't worry about having it on a flame.  It didn't stay in the bowl long enough to harden up anyway....we ate it too fast!

Ingredients:

6 small Toblerone bars

heavy cream, about 1/2 cup to start

1.  Unwrap the bars of chocolate, break them up, and place the pieces in a saucepan with the cream.  

2.  Stir while it melts and remove from heat when the mixture is smooth.  Add more cream to get your preferred consistency for dipping.

3.  Serve with cut up fruit, pretzels, cubed pound cake, etc.  My personal favorites are strawberries and fresh pineapple.

You can use any combination of Toblerone flavors.  We used half-yellow packaged bar, half blue-packaged bar (I believe those are the technical terms).  My local grocery store carries those as well as a dark chocolate and a white chocolate.  Mix and match to your heart's content!

Skinny Pumpkin Butter

Welcome Fall! Time to have your soaps, candles, and breakfast smell of pumpkin. This pumpkin butter is SO yummy on toast or mixed into a bowl of oatmeal. What's super nice about this is if you are counting points for Weight Watchers, 2 tablespoons of this yummy pumpkin butter is only 1 point. Yeah!

Skinny Pumpkin Butter
1 (29 oz.) can pumpkin puree
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 C. apple cider (or juice)
1 C. packed brown sugar
2-3 cinnamon STICKS (trust me, must be sticks)
1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.
- Bring mixture to a boil.
- Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently.
- Adjust spices to your taste.
- Makes 3 3/4 cups.

Storage Options:
- Freeze for a few months
- Refrigerate for a few weeks

**DO NOT CAN THIS! It is not safe to can pumpkin, due to its low acidity and variable water content there is a high risk of harboring botulism causing bacteria. (According to University of Georgia Agriculture Extension)

From Skinnytaste

Fresh Tomato Pie

A friend who was moving away :( brought this over when we invited her family over for dinner before they left.  I have always wanted to make a tomato pie and this recipe is scrumptious.  She got it  HERE. As for the pie crust recipe, I tried a new one and that is why you see the funkiness in the photo.  I decided to NOT give you a link to that one quite yet (although it tasted really good), until I have used it more than once.  The link I have provided for the crust is my tried and true pie crust recipe.

Ingredients:
Pastry for 1-crust 9 inch pie (see this  RECIPE )
evaporated milk
4 cups sliced firm ripe tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp. salt (okay, I typed this up before I actually made the pie--too much salt.  Tweak it.)
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp. dried leaf basil
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (I used the grated)
1 large clove garlic, smashed and minced


1.  Line pie plate with pastry.  Flute the edges.  Brush shell with evaporated milk.

2.  Bake shell at 450 degrees for 5 minutes .

3.  Fill the baked shell with sliced tomatoes and sprinkle with salt, pepper and basil.

4.  Combine mayonnaise, Parmesan, and garlic; spread over the layered tomatoes.

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or until tomatoes are cooked and pie is golden.


Source:  southernfood.about.com

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

    As summer winds itself to a bounteous close, I wanted to share this recipe while the veggies in it are still in season. It is a GREAT way to use up some of that zucchini and those tomatoes I never have quite enough uses for. My kids (who hate zucchini and said tomatoes) even like it. Win-win!

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup
     Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

• 3 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped)
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
• 1 ½ cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or more :) to taste

Directions

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add the zucchini, basil, parsley and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes (I always do it longer, until it is pretty tender). Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir and cook for one minute to remove the raw flour taste. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking or stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice; mix well. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (it will continue cooking for a few more minutes). Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn.
2. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in the cheese just before serving.

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are fun and festive and pretty darn tasty.  It's a party in a cookie!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. yellow or white boxed cake mix (I used a funfetti mix)
1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 c. (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips (I used 1/2 white and 1/2 semi-sweet)
1/2 c. sprinkles

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, sift together flour, cake mix, and baking soda.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed.  Mix in the egg and vanilla until creamy.

2.  Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  Do not overmix the dough.

3.  Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 4 days.  This step is mandatory.  The dough is fairly sticky, so chilling the dough is required in order to keep the cookie from spreading too much.

4.  Scoop rounded tablespoons of the cold dough onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Shape your cookie dough balls to be "taller" than they are wide.  Make sure to keep dough chilled when working in batches.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are slightly browned.  The centers will still appear very soft, but the cookies will set as they cool.

6.  Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 4 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source:  sallysbakingaddiction.com

Easy French Bread

 If you have never made bread before, this is a perfect place to start! This is such an easy, delicious bread! And really it's hard to mess it up! It makes fabulous garlic bread, French toast, delicious sandwiches and bread bowls! It will be a family favorite!

Easy French Bread

Ingredients:

2 TBSP yeast     

5 TBSP oil

2 ½ cups warm water                      

1 TBSP salt                           

2 TBSP sugar                                       

6 cups white flour 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and knead in a mixer (like a Bosch or Kitchen Aid) for 10 minutes. You can do it by hand with a bowl and spoon, but just add half of the flour at first and stir for a while until the "batter" seems smooth. Then add in more flour and mix until it gets too difficult to stir by spoon. Dump it out onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining of the flour. I actually do not ever exactly measure the flour. I know I have enough flour when the dough is no longer really sticky, but be careful to not add too much. You do not want the dough to be stiff or dry. A little less flour is better than too much!

2. Let the dough rise in the bowl until doubled. Punch down. (I usually cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel to keep it from drying out.)

3. Divide and form into 2 french loaves. (Or you can braid it!) Cut top of loaves three times with a serrated knife. You can also brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  

4. Let rise until double - 30 mins or so. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 400 °. (Shorter for a soft crust, longer for a thick and chewy crust.)  

Notes: 

*You can also put balls of this dough on a cookie sheet to make “Bread Bowls”. Once baked, cut out center of round loaf and  pour in a creamy soup. Make the Bread Bowls any size you want.

*People love to receive this as a gift, especially the braided bread below!

Here is how I form the loaves:

Then put it on a baking sheet and cut the top of the loaf, and let it rise.

If you want to braid it, divide one half of the dough into 3 equal pieces, and roll out each piece with your hands into a long skinny "snake". Pinch the ends together, or start braiding it however you can. I often have to rebraid it because I get messed up a bit, like in the picture below. I eventually got it right. : ) Pinch the ends together and tuck them under and try to make it pretty. Even if it's not perfect, it will still look pretty and taste delicious!

 I forgot about my bread that morning while I was homeschooling my children, and I let it rise a little too much. It got huge, but it was still gorgeous and delicious! You can spread a little butter on the top of the hot loaves when it comes out of the oven. ENJOY!!!

Zucchini Pasta with Lemon Yogurt Sauce

I am not kidding when I say that we have been eating a lot of zucchini around here. If you are friends with me on FB you might have seen a picture I posted of my counter full of zucs! It has been good though because it has given me the opportunity to try new recipes. This is one that I got from Ezra Pound Cake. I followed the sauce recipe but I cut my zucchini differently and used some yellow squash from my garden as well. 

Zucchini Pasta with Lemon Yogurt Sauce 

8 ounces pasta of your choice 

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt 

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

3 medium (8-ounce) zucchini, cut however you like them. (Here I used 2 zucs and 1 squash)  

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 

1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook according to the package directions. Remove 1/4 cup of the cooking water, and set it aside. Drain the pasta. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, Parmesan, lemon zest, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, (and squash, if using) and cook just until wilted
4. Use a spoon or spatula to push the zucchini aside so a space on the bottom of the pan is clear. Add the garlic, and cook for 15 to 30 seconds, until golden but not really brown.
5. Mix the garlic into the zucchini.
6. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. 
7. Add the zucchini mixture to the pasta and add the yogurt sauce. Toss to combine. Add the reserved pasta cooking water a tablespoon at a time, if necessary, to thin it. Divide among four bowls and serve.