Templeton's Delight

I'm going to go ahead and give my husband credit for naming this. Apparently the eclectic mix of ingredients reminded him of ol' Templeton from Charlotte's Web, running around the fair collecting various treats. Also there was a song about a smorgasbord and a goose or something. At least, that's how it happened in the animated movie.

I was in the mood for something chicken and soupy. I really wanted to use my crock pot since I don't use it enough. It a delightful mix of vegetables, spices, chicken, beans, and even bacon.

I loved the end product, however I'm going to make a change. I put everything in the crock pot raw and let it cook over night. I would highly suggest cooking the bacon first then adding it. Go ahead and put it in the beginning with everything else just make sure its cooked first. I ran into the problem of having a pretty thick layer of grease on top. I ladled it off but lost a lot of broth in the process.

2 Chicken breast

3 Cans chicken broth

1 Can diced tomatoes

Fresh ground pepper

3 Carrots

3 Celery stalks

1 Large clove garlic

3 large red skinned potatoes

1/2 red onion

1 Can navy beans

Fresh cilantro

Dash of sea salt

Dash of white pepper

Splash of red wine vinegar

5 Slices of Bacon (cooked and drained of grease)

1. Throw this all in your trusty crock pot.

2. Turn on high 6 hours.

3. After 6 hours check chicken, it should be ready to shred.

(I did mine on low overnight so I'm guessing on the time here. I should think 6 hours on high should be fine however feel free to turn on low and let it hang out for a while if your not in a hurry).

4. Top each serving with fresh cilanto and enjoy!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I'm not usually a big chocolate peanut butter person but this dish was outstanding!
Again I found this recipe on the food network but made some changes.
The original is called Miss Hilda's Favorite Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie.
When I made this for our friends last night the presentation was much better, tonight my whipped cream seems to have thinned out.

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1 cup finely ground chocolate wafer cookies, cream filling removed (recommended: Oreo)
( I went ahead and bought a pre made oreo crust )

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
4 ounces melted semisweet chocolate
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup toasted chopped peanuts ( I used honey roasted which I highly suggest)
8 oz. Whipping cream (I garnished with extra whipped cream)

Whipped Cream:
8oz. whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons sugar

With electric mixer, blend all together until peaks form.

Rich Chocolate Sauce:
3/4 cup half-and-half
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate instead)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
(I added a few sprinkles of light brown sugar)
1. In a small heavy saucepan, bring the half-and-half to a bare simmer over medium-low heat. 2. Remove from the heat.
3. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Whisk the half-and-half slowly into the chocolate.
4. Add the vanilla and butter to the sauce and whisk until the butter is completely incorporated.

The sauce can be kept refrigerated in an airtight container for several days, but it must be returned to room temperature before serving.

1. Combine the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and milk in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended and smooth, about 1 minute on medium speed.
2. Add the melted chocolate and the peanut butter and continue to blend for another minute on medium speed.
3. Combine the cream with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in another medium bowl. Beat with a whisk or electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate and peanut butter mixture until thoroughly incorporated and smooth.
4. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Smooth the top of the pie with a spatula, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

To serve, use a hot wet knife to slice the pie into 8 portions. Garnish with whipped cream ,the peanuts and drizzle with the Rich Chocolate Sauce.

This dish is pretty rich so you will need a nice big glass of milk to wash it all down!

Delightful Dill Potato Salad

Being pregnant I get a lot of cravings. Today I needed something with potatoes. Seeing as how it is Memorial Day weekend I thought potato salad would be appropriate. My husband detests mayonnaise so I needed to a substitution. I found that the Cucumber Ranch salad dressing I had in the fridge worked perfectly and gave it some extra tang. Again I pretty much eyeballed it to my taste.

This recipe doesn't feed too many so you might want to alter the amount of things.

5 Red skinned potatoes

2 stalks of celery diced

1 slice of red onion (I didn't put a lot in) diced

Couple tablespoons of Dill (I used dried, but fresh would be good to)

Fresh ground pepper

French gray sea salt

1 fresh squeezed lemon

1/2 of the lemon for zest

Fresh parsley

Fresh cinnamon basil

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoon Cucumber Ranch dressing

1. Place metal mixing bowl in freezer while preparing potatoes.

2.Chop potatoes into cubes boil with salt and pepper until cooked.

3. rinse with cold water and drain. Place in chilled bowl.

4. Dice celery and onion. Mix into bowl with potatoes

5 Add salt, pepper, dill and juice lemon into mix.

6. Add Mustard, dressing and zest of lemon.

7. Dice fresh herbs and stir into potatoes.

8. Mix together and served chilled.

Berry Dream Cake

This is a yummy spring desert that I came up with to use some strawberries and raspberries I had. It's pretty much a variation on strawberry short cake. I used puff pastry instead of shortbread and added a dark chocolate raspberry sauce. I pretty much eyeballed everything with this.

1 package rinsed and cut strawberries
1 package rinsed raspberries
sugar to sweeten
1 package puff pastry
1 8 oz container heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
confectionery sugar
8oz dark or semi sweet chocolate morsels or chopped bar
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 Half and Half

1. Use one sheet puff pastry, cut into squares. Bake according to package.

2. Slice strawberries and add them to bowl mix with raspberries and sugar to your taste. Set aside. (set aside about a handful of raspberries)

3. In small sauce pan bring half and half to simmer. Pour over chocolate, butter and vanilla. Whisk until well blended. Add raspberries and mash whisk all together. Turn off heat, let thicken

4. Once chocolate is melted add about a handful of raspberries to chocolate. With a fork mash into mixture.

5. Add teaspoon of vanilla to the chocolate sauce. Then confectionery sugar to sweeten.

6. In chilled bowl mix whipping cream with tablespoon vanilla and sugar to sweeten. With electric mixer, mix until peaks form.

To assemble:

Once cooled, take two squares puff pastry. On top of one place spoonful of whipped cream. Next take a spoonful of sliced berries. Top with another spoonful of whipped cream. Place the other puff pastry on top. Then reheat chocolate sauce (is best served hot) and drizzle over top of pastry. Put small drop of whipped cream and one strawberry and one raspberry to top. Sprinkle with confectionery sugar and ENJOY!

Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

I cannot take any credit for this recipe, however it was so good that I had to share it. The picture is of my finished product. It's easy to make and is a delightful change to everyday tomato and alfredo pasta.

I got this recipe from Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats.

Pasta with lemon cream sauce.

Chicken Squash Lasanga

Don't be fooled by the name it's actually really good. My husband is not big on vegetables but loves the idea of having them pureed and put into various dishes. We had some leftover pureed squash and decided to throw into the sauce. We also didn't have any ground beef on hand and thought chicken might be a nice variation. It turned out amazing!

I based this off of Emeril's 1-2-3 Lasagna.

You, of course, can alter the recipe for how many you are serving.

2 large chicken breasts

1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese

2 large eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 pound grated Mozzarella

1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (I always end up using way more cheese)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 dried (uncooked) lasagna noodles

Sauce

1/2 cup pureed squash

2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 medium yellow onion)

1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves garlic)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce 3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups water

1 teaspoon sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large sauce pan boil chicken with salt pepper and Italian seasonings.

3. Once chicken is cooked you can either shred or run it through the food proccesor, which we did.

4. In large pan add the tomato sauce, chicken and squash; simmer for 10 minutes.

5. In a large bowl fold together the ricotta cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, 1/2 cup grated mozzarella, salt, parsley, basil, and black pepper.

6. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 3-quart (13 by 9 by 2-inch) casserole.

7. Lay 3 lasagna noodles lengthwise down the dish. The noodles should not touch one another.

8. Spoon 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.

9. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella evenly over the ricotta.

10. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, for a total of 4 layers of noodles.

11.Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella over the top layer of tomato sauce, and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan.

12. Cover the casserole tightly with aluminum foil, and bake, covered, for 1 hour.

13. Remove the casserole from the oven, and remove the aluminum foil.

Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Fresh Tomato Soup

This is a variation of a dish I found called "Triple Tomato Soup" it called for sun dried tomatoes and didn't include the tortellini. I can't find the original anymore but I've changed it so much I don't think it matters too much.

This is a great fresh dish and could be done any number of ways. I just used what I had on hand. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
1 Large onion, sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 fresh tomatoes
½ of 6-oz. can no-salt added tomato paste
1 14-oz. can chicken broth
½ cup celery, sliced
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh parsley or cilantro
2 to 3 tsp. lime juice
Sour cream
Fresh Italian (flat -leaf) parsley
1 Package Cheese Tortellini

Preparation
1. Cook onion in hot butter, covered, over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until tender. Add undrained whole tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, celery, and parsley. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

2. In blender, blend half the tomato mixture at a time until smooth. Return to saucepan; add lime juice, heat through.


3. Prepare tortellini according to package.


4. Serve soup over pasta and top with sour cream and fresh herbs.