Strawberry Triffle and Cream

Last weekend I shopped at HEB, and in the produce department strawberries were advertised on sale and noting a Limited Edition.  The Limited Edition Strawberries are from San Diego California, and these strawberries are a treat in season.  I thought to myself, “Sandy you have to take advantage of this moment and make something marvelous with these strawberries”.

Thoughts of cake, cream, and wonderful fresh strawberry juice came to mind.  So the fun begins, follow me down the aisles of HEB to purchase ingredients in order to make an easy and enjoyable dessert.

15 ounce pre maid angel food cake in the bakery department

2 – 16 ounces of the Limited Edition Strawberry, although you can purchase any brand of fresh strawberries.  I am partial to California Strawberries, and I ask you, can you guess why?  I give you one chance to answer that question.

Wash, stem, and slice the strawberries adding 1 cup powdered sugar, stir and set aside.  Stir occasionally promoting the strawberries to juice.

And if you have my cookbook, make a recipe with my Strawberry Sauce, page 147.  This is a special sauce made with Amaretto.  You will need only 1 cup of this sauce along with the fresh strawberries.

1 large container (16 ounce) of Cool Whip – Lite

1 package of jello brand vanilla instant pudding
1 ½ cups of milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix the pudding mix, cold milk, and vanilla extract with a wire whisk and then fold in the thawed container of cool whip, set aside.

 In a trifle bowl cut angel food cake into 4 sections, because you are going to make 4 layers of the cake, strawberries and cream.  (In fact you will use all parts of this dessert in 4’s)  Cut into pieces ¼ of the angel food cake.  Drizzle the juice and strawberries over the cake.  Top the strawberries with the cream sauce, and repeat layers ending with the cream sauce.

Refrigerate overnight for better results.  You will want the strawberry sauce to moisten the angel food cake adding wonderful layers of sweet flavors.  Enjoy my friend and just have fun!

Pigs in Puff Pastry

I made these last weekend and these were a hit.  Easy, so easy to make and definitely you are going to have fun!

1 package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry – in the frozen section at the grocery store

1 pound link of Prasek’s Smokehouse Sausage - I purchased pork and beef
This sausage takes me back to when my family ate Czech Sausage.  I call the sausage Czech Sausage because I am Czech, and sausage was always at our table for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
There are so many different types of sausage you can use for this recipe.  Use the brand and type of sausage you prefer.
4 tablespoons mustard – get creative using the mustard.  You can use plain mustard, but why when there are so many to pick from?   I used honey mustard with jalapeno’s.  Have fun choosing something  wild and exotic  or just plain fun.

That is all there is to this, here is what you have to do to put it together.

Place your sausage (if you purchased the Prasek’s Sausage) in a skillet, cover with water, cover and cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes.  Drain and set aside while preparing the puff pastry.  I do this to cook some of the fat out so that once wrapped with the puff pastry, the pigs in puff pastry will not be too greasy.

Work with only thawed puff pastry, which has been thawed in the refrigerator.

Prepare a sided cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and place puff pastry one or two at a time depending on the size of the cutting board.  Roll out slightly, but not too thin.  Spread the four tablespoons over the surface of the puff pastry.  Cut the puff pastry in squares about 4 X 4.  Slice a piece of sausage which will work with the square, about 2 inches.  Wrap each square over the sausage and place seam side down on parchment paper/cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. 

Serve warm, oh my gosh, get a cold glass of beer, I prefer red wine and just enjoy and have fun with everyone!

Fun Size Candy Cheesecake

Hello!  I want to share with you a cheesecake. I am posting a recipe which is near and dear to me.  If you have purchased my cookbook you have read my cheesecake section and how cheesecake had come to my life. 

You will need to have a 9 inch diameter and a deep sided 3 ½ inch to 4 inch side.  Cannot make this recipes with a shallow spring form pan.  You can purchase my spring form pans on ebay.  I hope you enjoy because I had a blast creating this recipe.

Spray your spring form pan with a non stick coating, bottom and sides.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Graham Cracker Crust
2 cups of graham cracker crumbs – I feel if you have a food processor, the food processor makes the best graham cracker crumbs.  If not, that is okay as well, place 1 ½ packages of graham crackers and seal bag.  Roll a rolling pin over the bag until all the cookies have been crushed.
6 tablespoons butter melted
¼ cup granulated sugar
Mix in a bowl until well blended and press the graham cracker crumbs into bottom of the prepared spring form pan.  Place spring form pan on a sided cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove and start preparing the filling;
6 ounces of cream cheese – room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
6 large eggs - room temperature
Beat sugar and cream cheese until well blended on medium speed of mixer for about 2 to 3 minutes, scrapping down the sides and beating well once again for 2 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time until well blended again, beating on medium speed.

½ cup sour cream

½ heavy cream
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
Add the sour cream, heavy cream and extracts one at a time, beating well until well blended.  You may also need to scrape down the sides, making sure cream cheese filling is well blended.

Prepare the fun size candy as follows;

Use any type of chocolate candy fun sizes, these are the candies I chose.

In a bowl open 3 bags M & M’s,  cut the following candy bars in small pieces;  4 Butterfingers,
4 Snickers, 4 Musketeers, and 4 Reeses Peanut Butter.

Fold gently into the cream cheese filling and then pour the cream cheese filling into the spring form pan and bake at 325 degree for 30 minutes, cut down oven to 300 degrees and bake for 30 minutes, cut down oven to 275 degrees and bake for another hour until cheesecake does not jiggle too much when moved gently in the oven.  Baking could take another 30 minutes.  If the top is browning too much or cracking definitely, cracking, your cheesecake is done.  If the cheesecake is golden brown on top and still jiggly cut oven to 250 degree until finished baking.

Sour Cream Topping

3 cups of sour cream
¼ cup of granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Pour sour cream mixture over top of cheesecake and do not place back in the oven.  Just let the cheesecake set until cooled and then refrigerate overnight until well chilled.  After taking the cheesecake out of the oven take a sharp thin knife and run the knife along the sides of the cheesecake.  This will make a very neat appearance to your cheesecake once the spring form pan is removed.  After the cheesecake is chilled you will need to run the knife along the sides again to remove the spring form pan.

Enjoy, have fun, create and you may want to open a bottle of dessert wine of your choice to have even more fun!

Baked Mushroom and Blue Cheese Appetizer

This appetizer is a rich and fulfilling appetizer best used with spreading with your favorite garlic toast or crackers.  The combination of the mushrooms, cream, and bleu cheese enables you, you cannot eat just one.  One important issue to remember, you just have to have fun.  Serve alongside a favorite steak recipe, salad and yes you have got it, a bold wonderful full bodied red wine.  Now we are having fun!

2 ounces of bottom mushrooms, washed stemmed and quartered

2 ounces Shitake mushroom, washed stemmed and quartered
2 ounces Portobello mushrooms, stemmed and cut into ½ inch squares
Salt and ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 cup of Madeira Wine – This can be stressful, looking online there are bottles that start at 19.99 and bottles all the way up to 650.00 and most likely even more than this.  Do not panic, the lower price bottle will work.  Not all of us have a spending budget for a 600.00 dollar bottle of wine.  Always always, just have fun within your budget!

1 cup of heavy cream

5 ounces of a Maytag Blue Cheese
2 tablespoons of minced fresh chives

Roast washed and drained mushrooms with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic on a sided cooked sheet lined with parchment paper.

On the stove in a medium saucepan cook the 1 cup Madeira Wine reducing to 1/3 cup.  Add cream and cook until cream and wine have been reduced to 2/3 cup.  Add mushroom, blue cheese, and serve warm with garlic toast or crackers.

Wonderful!  Enjoy!  Have a lot of fun!

Baked Cauliflower, Onions, and Chick Peas

I love vegetables, and I cook a large amount every week.  Usually I cook my vegetables on the stove, but lately I have enjoyed baking my vegetables.  The flavor and texture are all together different.  I am hooked on baking in the oven.  Until we have our 100+ degree summer, I will keep baking my vegetables in the oven.  Try it, experiment and the main one thing to remember, just have fun!

Place in large bowl

I head of cauliflower, washed and rinsed well. 
Cut the florets in bit size pieces
1onion sliced thinly
1 can of chick peas – well drained

Measure

1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon black ground pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 6 clove garlic chopped
I also realize there are many of you which do not prefer the taste of curry.  No problem, leave it out, I am most sure the vegetables will be just as awesome to your liking.  But if you do like curry, the thyme and curry are explosive together.

Thoroughly mix the vegetables, olive oil and seasoning until well coated.

Place vegetables on a sided cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour tossing a couple of times to make sure vegetables cook evenly.

Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.    Serve with fish, salmon, chicken or beef.  You will enjoy and do not forget the wine!  Let's Have Some Fun!

Heaman Casserole - Second Edition

If you have purchased my cookbook, you will know the story of the Heaman’s Casserole dating back to 1975!  My husband loves this recipe and we make it just for him during the year to fulfill his craving.  Recently he had his own idea in order to revise and excite an old recipe.  I said go for it, use your imagination, you know what I love to say,  “Just Have Fun, Let’s Have Some Fun”!  In honor of my husband and the love he has for this simple comfort food, enjoy!  

If you have my cookbook compare the different ingredients!  Just a few items changed, makes this a total different recipe.

½ pound of lean hamburger meat

½ pound of Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage – he chose the hot Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage
1 onion chopped

Brown the hamburger meat, breakfast sausage, and chopped onion.  Drain the fat from the meat well pressing with white paper towels until much of the fat has been drained off.

Boil in a large pot of boiling water salted 12 ounces of egg noodles.  Boil 5 minutes until al dente.

1 can of cream style corn, I use Green Giant

1 can tomato soup, I use Campbell’s Soup
2 teaspoons of granulated garlic
1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned Salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 can well drained  black pitted olives chopped – definitely optional, I realize there are a lot of you out there which do not prefer olives, in fact you just hate them.  That is okay, this recipe will be great even without  the olives

1 pound of Velveeta Cheese

Mix the cooked meat with onion, cream style corn, tomato soup, egg noodles and seasonings. 

Spray a 9 X 13” pan with non stick coating.  Spread ½ of the mixture, add ½ pound of the Velveeta and ½ can of the chopped black olives.  Spread the other half of the meat and egg noodle on top of the first layer.  Top with the remaining Velveeta and black olives.

 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes until all warm and bubbly.  Let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.  A salad with all the fixings, warm garlic buttered French bread and of course a bottle of your favorite red wine are all great accompaniments with this casserole.  The main thing, I know you know, just have fun!!!!

New Items on Ebay to Have More Fun Cooking and Baking with Sandy

http://myworld.ebay.com/slpon2656/

Please follow this web link to many items I have for sale on ebay.  So many items to have more fun cooking and baking with Sandy!

I hope you have as much fun as I have had with all of these items.

Enjoy!