UH-mayzing Pumpkin Cream Soup

I'm not going to beat around the bush for even a moment here. I made the most delicious soup last night and I am so excited to share my recipe with y'all. Sadly, I did not take a picture because I was too excited to sit down and consume my delicious meal of pumpkinny creamy goodness.

So last Friday, I got my wisdom teeth removed and had been subsisting on protein shakes for the better part of a week. Naturally, I ended up getting sick of them, so I decided to whip up a few batches of soup. First was my old broccoli cheddar standby. It was delicious, but nothing that knocked my argyle socks off. The next night, I decided to try my hand at mashed potato soup, which was good, but needed a lot of sour cream in order to give it that extra something it lacked. And let's face it, I've gained back nearly every pound I lost during recovery, so the last thing I need are gobs of cellulite-causing gremlins adorning my food. Anyway. Anxious to experiment again, I decided to go for my favorite ingredient, and make... pumpkin soup! The recipe that I found was a little bland, but with modifications, it was definitely the best out of the three I had made in the previous days. I think I may even like it better than carrot soup.

So here it is, ladies and gentlemen... the recipe you've been waiting for to satisfy each and every one of your orange-hued urges!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1 tbsp butter for sauteing (I nearly omit butter in soup recipes, but trust me on this one)
1 standard-size can of pumpkin
1 12-oz can evaporated milk (reduced fat or fat-free works just fine!)
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pepper
salt to taste

Method:
1. In a stock pot, saute onions in butter. Once the onions have begun to brown, add the garlic and continue sauteing for another 2-3 minutes.

2. Add stock, water, pepper, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir.

3. Add pumpkin and evaporated milk. Stir until well incorporated.

4. Let simmer on low for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a dash of salt if necessary. I did.

5. Pour into blender and puree. This may seem like a ridiculous suggestion since the pumpkin is already pureed, but you want to get the onions all chopped up and mingled throughout.

6. Eat and enjoy! This didn't even need sour cream. Yum! Pin It

Roasted Sweet Baby Peppers

Last night, as I was shopping for my date-night dinner, I stumbled upon a bag of baby peppers that happened to be on sale for a mere two dollars. Due to the fact that these little suckers were not only absolutely adorable, but also a complete bargain, I couldn't help but snatch up a bag to bring home. Immediately upon seeing them, I knew that they needed to be roasted. I mean seriously, there's really no other way to eat them.

 

 Having never roasted peppers in the oven before, I turned to the Internet, only to find several sets of instructions that suggested that I put them in an oven heated to 450' for thirty minutes. That was after I was supposed to coat EACH pepper in two teaspoons of oil. GTFO. Not gonna happen. So, I decided to do it my way, which meant that I was going to use far less oil and bake them at the same temperature that I did my shrimp. The result? Perfection to sixth power. Yes, that's a real mathematical equation.

I didn't really measure anything, so I'm going to skip the ingredients and jump straight to the method.

 

Method:

1. Pour 1/4-ish cup of oil into a baking dish. Add a dash of salt and a dash of pepper. What I sprinkled in didn't even equate to 1/8 tsp combined, so seriously-- a dash of each is quite enough.

 

2. Place about 1 pound of peppers in dish. Coat them with the oil mixture.

 

3. Bake at 350' for about 15 minutes, then increase the temperature to 450 and bake for another 4-5 minutes. If what you're baking it with needs to bake for longer than 15 minutes, then by all means, let the peppers hang out for a little longer at 350'... maybe like 6-7 minutes. It's as simple as that.

 

So the picture above also includes a serving of roasted butternut squash. Stay tuned because that recipe is coming soon. 

 

This is how the table looked after the shrimp, squash, and peppers were all done up.

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Teriyaki Marinade

It has been very, very busy in my house lately , which means that I haven't had much time to dedicate to cooking up crazy concoctions of tummy-warming goodness. On nights that I have only fifteen minutes and leftovers are not an option, I turn to stir fry. How easy is it to whip up a stir fry, you ask? It's as simple as cutting up raw chicken, tossing a bag of frozen wok-ready vegetables in a pan, and stirring up a simple yet delicious marinade.

Prior to last night, I never measured out any of the ingredients for my marinade. I decided, however, that if I wanted to share my masterpeice marinade with you, that it would be in my best interest to take the time to use my colorful measuring spoons and cups. I think it was worthwhile.

This marinade is sweet with aromatic notes of cinnamon and ginger. You may think that adding cinnamon and ginger is strange, but don't hesitate.... just do it because its so, so good. The flavor is almost reminiscent of a peanut sauce, but the catch is that there are no peanuts! Who would have thought?! Next time, I may try adding a tablespoon or two of the creamy stuff, ya know, just to see what happens. :)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamom
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp red wine vingegar
2 tbsp water (or more, depending on how strong you like the flavor)

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Pour over stir fry ingredients (chicken, beef, vegetables, etc.) and cook until meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

3. Brag to everyone on Facebook about how wonderful your cooking skills are. Don't forget to give me credit!

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Carrot Soup (You have 15 minutes, right?!)

History has never been my best subject, so the story I'm about to share may or may not be accurate. So during some war between the British and some other people, the very fawncy Englishmen heard that eating carrots would improve their eyesight. Therefore, in order to increase their odds of winning the war by being able to see their enemies, they gorged themselves with carrots. In fact, they ate so many that their skin turned orange! One summer day, my cousin and I, afraid of getting skin cancer, decided to test this theory and turn it into a rockin' tan. Our hue did not change, but I do believe we got sick because we each devoured about a pound of the orange stuff within a twelve hour period. Several years later, my mom got wind that I had been eating carrot soup for lunch and dinner for about a week straight and called to check up on me to make sure that my skin tone was not morphing into a certain color of the rainbow.

After realizing that the only part of my body that was affected by carrot soupapalooza was my weight (I lost eight pounds without trying). I decided to continue eating it for as long as I could stand. I have been making this recipe for a few years now, and it has yet to get old. It has the perfect blend of sweet and savory, and best of all, is loaded with vitamins. Also, it's a pretty awesome diet food because it's ridiculously low in calories but also extremely flavorful.

The measurements may not be totally exact due to the fact that I haven't actually measured anything other than the broth since 2009, but the instructions below should be more or less correct. Be daring and give my approximations a whirl. I mean- how bad can it be, right?

Ingredients:

1 pound-ish carrots, sliced into 1/2" thick chunks

6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 small onion, roughly chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed

pepper to taste

Method:

1. Locate the power cord, which should be connected to your crock pot. Insert into outlet.

2. Combine all ingredients.

3. Let cook on whatever setting you want. Need it in four hours? Done. Want to start this before work? Go ahead.

4. Once the cooking process has completed and the carrots are nice and soft, pour your soup (in batches) into a blender and puree the Hell out of it. Return each batch to large bowl or pot.

5. Combine all pureed batches and stir. If your soup is too thick for your liking, add water, and if so desired, a dash of salt. If it's too runny, oh well, better luck next time.

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Award- Winning Lemon Squares

No joke, my friends... these really are award-winning. In fact, when I was a mere Brownie Girl Scout, I entered a bake-off with these little gems, and happened to walk out with a blue ribbon! My seven year old self was so thrilled about this triumph, that I swore that I would never forget the recipe that earned me the right to brag to EVERYONE I know for years to come. I'm happy to report that I have yet to let anyone forget that I am a blue-ribbon baker.

So what's so special about this recipe that it deserves its own space on my blog? Well other than the fact that a panel of experienced judges deemed it to be absolutely divine, it does look rather cute when presented on a platter. What else is awesome about this dessert is that it's a no-bake recipe, which I continue to grow increasingly fond of as the seasonal temperatures steadily rise.

Since the onset of summer, I have developed quite an affinity for no-bake desserts. As someone who thoroughly enjoys baking, this comes as a shock to me, too, but who can resist whipping up something amazing without developing massive stains in the axillary region? Certainly not me.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Nilla wafer crumbs (this is equal to one box)
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 box instant lemon pudding
8 oz cream cheese, brought to room temperature
2 cups whole milk

Method:
1. Make Nilla wafer crumbs by placing whole cookies in either a blender or a food processor. Once you have all of your crumbs, pour them into a bowl of melted butter. As previously stated in the "ingredients" section of this recipe, make sure it's unsalted. If you try to be slick and use salted, please don't tell anyone that you got the recipe from my blog.

2. Press crumbs into a 9 x 13 baking pan. If you have the time (and I strongly recommend that you do), put your crumb-filled pan in the fridge for about an hour.

3. In a large bowl, combine the milk, pudding mix, and cream cheese. A word to the wise: Make sure the cream cheese has been brought to room temperature and therefore softened before attempting to blend into the milk and pudding. Otherwise, your mixture will be rather lumpy regardless of how long you used the hand mixer to whip it into shape.

4. After you have used your hand mixer to blend the ingredients, pour over the chilled cookie crumbs. Smooth evenly with a spatula and make a very fancy design, such as the silhouette of an ancient raptor skeleton. If you don't think it's possible to make pudding art, I challenge you to try.

5. Let your masterpiece kick it old school in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

** You could very easily turn this into a pie... just an idea for those of you who think you're above serving rectangles. Pin It

The Easiest Thanksgiving Turkey Burgers Ever!

If there's one thing I can say with confidence, its that I really love to eat. But it's not just that I love to eat, It's that like to eat comfort food. Unfortunately however, many comfort foods tend to make an appearance on many dieters' do-not-eat lists due to their high fat, sodium, and carbohydrate content. What's a girl who no longer fits into her favorite clothes to do? The answer is NOT to give up satisfying foods and replace them with boiled chicken and unsalted steamed vegetables. The ticket is to find foods that rub your appetite in all the right places (that's what she said), but are actually pretty good for you.

This is where the turkey burger comes in. Now what's better than an amazing turkey burger? Thanksgiving. Oh yes. You can have a miniature Thanksgiving feast without even dirtying a pan. And if you don't have a woman to clean dishes for you, why make a mess. JUST KIDDING. FYI, I'm a girl, so please don't leave hateful feminist comments. I will not approve them anyway.

Anyway, jump aboard the Turkey Express and ride it all the way to Yumville Valley!

Ingredients:
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey (Don't forget, just because it's turkey, it doesn't mean it's less fattening than ground beef. 85% fat is 85% fat regardless of what animal it comes from!)
1/2 box stuffing mix
cranberry sauce (For the love of God... NOT the jellied crap. Go for the gold [my nod to the Olympics] and get the whole berry kind!)
Buns or whatever

Method:
1. Mix dry stuffing in with ground turkey. Mold into patties. You should get about five. If you get four, though, I'm not judging... your secret is safe with me!

2. Grill or pan-fry until your patties are cooked through. Seriously... make sure this is cooked because I don't want to see you all dropping like flies from Salmonella Poisoning.

3. Assemble. Use cranberry sauce instead of ketchup. You won't be disappointed!!

4. Enjoy this with the pumpkin pie recipe below. The whole meal will make your eyes roll to the back of your head as if you've just had the most pleasurable experience of you life. Pin It

Creamy Delicious Yummy Spinach Dip

I am a sucker for a few things, and one of them is cheese. I'm also a fan of warm, creamy, comfort food (which coincidentally, often involve cheese), which is why spinach dip has become a fan favorite. Honestly, who can resist chopped spinach mixed in with loads of warm, melted cheese? Maybe all you wicked skinny people out there can, but for the rest of us, no way.

This recipe is not healthy, but you can certainly cut down on the calories by swapping out full-fat ingredients from reduced-cal ones. I often use Nunchablahblah cheese rather than regular cream cheese because it contains one-third less fat. I also have recently discovered "light" Alfredo sauce, which has replaced the traditional version. Yes, yes... I know. Jarred Alfredo sauce is somewhat of a taboo for Italians and also for people who are anti-anything-with-chemicals. Admittedly, I am one of those people who prefers to eat natural and organic foods, but sometimes it's necessary to splurge a bit, and by splurge, I mean eat processed foods that are packed with preservatives and ahh... xanathan gum.

For all of you natural foodies out there, I challenge you to take the xanathan gum test. If you don't die, I'll give you all the money that I've earned from writing this blog. Maybe not. How about a modest cut of what I've made? After all, I've spent three weeks of my life on this thing and have just passed the $3.50 mark.

Ingredients:
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1 brick cream cheese
1 box of chopped spinach, thawed and drained (make sure it's CHOPPED. Otherwise, you'll have this stringy mess that will probably get stuck on your hangy ball [uvula for all you science people out there])
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Tortilla chips for scooooping (Or for those calorie cutters out there... cut veggies)

Method:
1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine Alfredo sauce and cream cheese. Microwave for about two minutes. Mix after two minutes.

2. Add drained spinach and Parmesan cheese to bowl. Mix in and microwave for another two minutes and stir. Keep heating and stirring until the cheese is melted or until it's as warm as you like.

3. Eat with tortilla chips. Oh my gosh. Did you pee from excitement yet? No? You will. Pin It

Pasta and Creamy White Beans

When you don't eat a lot of meat and are deathly afraid of becoming anemic and/or developing Kwashiorkor, it's important to be creative when trying to incorporate iron and protein into your diet.  That's where beans come in- they're packed with iron, protein, and fiber, and are low in fat and calories. They're also super cheap, thereby making them an excellent choice for people looking to cook Moet & Chandon meals on a Keystone Light budget.

The recipe below calls for a lot of olive oil, which means that 95% of you will be too scared to make this, but before you write this recipe off forever, I beg you to please do a shred of research. As I've mentioned before, extra-virgin olive oil (when consumed in moderation) is good for you and is part of a heart-healthy diet. It contains the lowest saturated fat content and the highest monounsaturated fat of all oils. Olive oil is good for your hair, skin, and nails, and can actually help reduce your risk of heart disease. I'm no dietician, but I'm really good at justifying eating fatty foods!

So anyway, don't be scared to make this recipe! When made with whole wheat pasta, it contains all of your essential amino acids and will help protect you from having a heart attack for one more day.

Ingredients:
2 cans drained cannelinni beans
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 box pasta (I always use whole wheat shells)

Method:
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Make pasta. Once it's fully cooked (not al dente!), drain and do not rinse. 

2. During all of step 1: In a sauce pan, combine olive oil, salt, and garlic. Allow to lightly simmer.

3. Once the olive oil begins to take on a slight garlic flavor, add the drained beans and water.

4. Allow the bean mixture to simmer on medium for a few minutes. You'll know it's simmered enough when the mixture begins to look mucus-y. That's right... I'm not afraid to say when my food resembles phlegm.

4. Once your beans etc. have begun to look really yellow and gross, remove from heat and smash about 90% of them with a fork or a spoon. If you own a spork, go ahead and use that.Your mixture will become creamy. Yum yum delish.

5. Put drained pasta back into its pan and pour bean sauce over it. Stir until evenly coated. Now eat it. It's SO good!


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Pesto Chicken (10 Minute Dinner)

Rachel Ray thinks she's all slick with her thirty minute meals, but I've cooked something up that would turn her face red! Ten minute chicken! Oh yes, my friends... there's a new girl on the block and you can bet your chubby bottom that she doesn't have a raspy voice or swear by a garbage bowl!

I am a huge fan of pesto, as I'm sure you gathered from my recent Pesto Cannelini Bean Soup recipe. As I've branched out beyond my former cucnina comfort zone, I've learned that pesto sauce doesn't just have to be served over a steaming hot bowl of pasta (but if you're going to do this, eat it over tortelinni... Oh my goodness gracious!), but rather it can be used as a main ingredient in so many other recipes.

Pesto chicken is amazing and so easy. Sure, you could go ahead and make it more complicated by whipping up your own batch of the green stuff (I'd probably be really mad at you for upstaging me, but whatevs... we're probably not friends anyway!), but why bother when you can buy a decent jar at your local grocery store. The farmers' market always sells delicious pesto sauce, but it's $7. Since I try to be spendthrift, though, I reserve the expensive stuff for pasta-only dishes and use the cheap stuff when I'm adding other ingredients. So don't feel like a loser buying the cheapest thing on the shelf because I'll be right there with you, having one of those moments when we both reach for the same item at the exact same time.

Ingredients
1 pound chicken
3 tbsp pesto sauce (remember, it's okay to be a cheapskate!)
2 cloves pressed garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
lemon juice to taste, optional

Method:
1. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into 1"-ish chunks. They should be about 1" x 1".

2. Combine oil, pesto sauce, garlic, and lemon if you choose to use it. I usually omit this unless I'm using the marinade for seafood. This will be more of a rub than a marinade, but if you want to marinade, it will still be good and there won't be any waste. Doesn't it break your heart to dump a half a cup of olive oil down the drain? All. That. Money!

3. If you want to marinate them, go ahead... it will make it taste even more delicious. I usually do this before I go to work. If you don't have time to marinate, no big deal. Proceed to step 4.

4. Toss coated chicken into a frying pan over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

5. Serve it, bro! We've been eating partially ghetto style, so last night we had this with leftover beans and pierogies. Ha. Honestly, though, this would be awesome with roasted red potatoes or a side of pinata pasta (recipe on this blog). Pin It

Four Bean n' Veggie Salad

So ya' know those days when you're in dire need of a healthy meal, but have neither the time, nor the desire to cook? That's when you break out your can opener and go nuts as if your local library is having their annual book sale. Oh, you don't like getting once-read books for a quarter? Well excuse me... you must be too rich for my blood!

Anyway, this recipe is super easy and takes about ten minutes to make. Sure, I took the easy way out and chose not to soak beans for eight hours and spend my precious free time plucking corn kernels from off the cob, but it was absolutely delicious anyway! In addition to being delicious, it LOOKS amazing, which is really all that matters, right? Go ahead and sue me for being superficial. Seriously, though, this dish is packed with fiber, protein, and whatever nutrients are found in red peppers. I love it.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 can small white beans (they're actually called that)
1 can yellow corn
1 can cut wax beans
1 can cut green beans
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 large cucumber, chopped into chunks
1/2 bottle Kraft Lite Parmesan Asiago salad dressing

Method:
1. Drain and rinse all canned goods. Yes, I know it's soooo much work, but ya' gotta do it!

2. In a large bowl, combine rinsed beans and vegetables with fresh chopped cucumber and bell peppers.

3. Mix salad dressing in.

4. Serve either on its own or over a bed of salad. I served it over a bed of lettuce, and found that I wasn't able to scoop it up the way I would have liked to. Next time, I'll just serve as-is.

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Curried Lentils (Incredibly Easy!)

As I mentioned in my "Welcome" post, I don't like to prepare dishes that require an arm and a leg's worth of spices. That is why I have become quite a fan of all-in-one seasonings. I tend to stay away from "Italian seasoning", but McCormick's curry powder is actually kind of delicious! I know, I know... a thousand Indians just freaked out right now, but ya' know what... it's good enough for my all-American palate! For those of you from Rhode Island, I offer you the following warning: do not purchase curry powder from Job Lot. I have done this, and while it was a different type of dish (creamy chicken curry), my plate still looked like Benjamin Moore had personally dumped a bucket of dandelion-colored paint over my food and then proceeded to add random spices that made it taste the way I imagine a Japanese/Mexican/Cajun breakfast would.

Another word of warning: Before you make this, make sure you're wearing clothing that you don't mind throwing in the wash immediately after. Also make sure that you don't have anywhere to be right after dinner. In other words... if you plan to leave the house after your meal, be sure to shower and put on fresh clothes.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of lentils
1 tsp curry powder (the one that comes in the small plastic cylindrical container... no need to break the bank and buy the one in the fancy glass jar)
1/2 boiling onion, diced
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 cups chicken stock (Or you can follow my ghetto lead and use bullion + water)
3 carrots, cut into 1/2" discs


Method:
1. Get a large pot.

2. Combine all ingredients and turn the stove heat to high. Cover and let the stock come to a boil.

3. When the chicken stock comes to a boil, turn the heat to medium. Let simmer until the lentils are soft, about 45 minutes.

4. Serve with rice. To make rice that's equally as ghetto as the chicken stock, cook the rice as directed on the package and add a handful of coconut. Sometimes I add a little bit of sugar, too. The sweetness mixed with the spiciness of the curry is a great combination. I'm sure you could amp up this rice to make it more legit by adding creme of coconut, but I like to do things on the cheap, and I am satisfied with it this way!

Happy eating!! Pin It

Pesto and Cannelini Bean Soup

It's July and in the 90's on a daily basis, and for some reason, you've given up eating soup for the season. I'll bet you're the same person who still wears all black to a funeral and refuses to wear white after labor day. Am I right? I say it's time to break all the nonsense rules you've been foolishly living by, starting with the no-soup-in-the-summer one and whip up a quick batch of this soup. It's simple, delicious, and although it contains olive oil (dreaded fat!), it's of the monounsaturated variety and actually has health benefits when consumed in moderation.

Eww... the dreaded M-word. Let's talk about that for a second. Chocolate (chip cookies, brownies, cupcakes, frosting...), nuts, peanut butter... when it comes to thighs, apparently, there is a lot of truth in the phrase, "too much of a good thing".

The method for this recipe is not very detailed, but I expect that most of you have made soup before. It's kind of a "combine and eat" recipe, although I will warn you, don't add the beans until later, as indicated. When cooked beans boil, they break apart and lose their texture.

Ingredients:
5 cloves garlic
2 cans cannellini beans (I adore these versatile little suckers and always have a stock of them in the cabinets)
1 cup water
3 tbsp pesto (there IS a difference between good pesto and cheap pesto, but for this, Classico is just fine)
3 cups chicken or veggie stock (or you can be wicked cheap like me and use... gasp... bouillon cubes!)
1 cup chopped celery
1 red pepper, chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese (a crucial part of this recipe)

Method:
1. Combine water, stock, celery, red pepper, garlic, and pesto and bring to a boil.

2. Drain and rinse the cannelini beans. The best way to do this is to suck it up and dirty your colander.

3. When the celery has begun to soften a bit (you don't want this mushy, but you also don't want it to have a snap to it), turn the heat down to medium and add the beans. Allow to cook for a few more minutes.

4. Ladle into bowls and let cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese in each bowl. If you don't allow the soup to cool for a bit, the cheese (even grated) will melt and end up as a hardened mass on the tip of your spoon... and you won't be able to taste it.

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Pinata Pasta (Get Your Mexi On.. Kinda Sorta?!)

What in God's name is Pinata Pasta? Well first, I boil up a box of pasta, then just before it's al dente, I rip up a few colorful sheets of tissue paper and stir it into the water. This causes the paper to appear the way wilted spinach does. I then drain the water, add a bunch of other crap to the pasta-tissue mixture and devour like no other. You don't believe me? Good. I didn't think anyone was thaaat much of an ignoramus.

Pinata Pasta is basically like any ordinary pasta salad that you've had, but I think it's important to remind y'all that sometimes it's okay to revert back to old recipes. Plus, this is so colorful that during consumption, you'll feel as though you're riding a unicorn through a rainbow, which is not something I ever felt while eating traditional pasta salad. Seriously though, bring it your next summer cookout and you'll be a superstar... at least in my eyes.

Ingredients:
1 box of whole wheat pasta (I'm usually a shell girl, but I used these fantastic ribbed elbows that were absolutely perfect)
1 bottle of  salad dressing- I used Kraft fat free Parmesan Asiago (I know there are chemicals in this, but my thighs are at stake here, which means anything goes!)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
1 large cucumber (not those weird ones that come wrapped in plastic)
2 cans black beans
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method (It doesn't get much easier than this):
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Make pasta.


2. While the pasta is cooking, chop all vegetables, including spinach. To chop spinach, bunch it up and run a knife through it. You'll end up with skinny shreds. Skinny-- that's the theme du jour.

3. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it. I don't normally rinse my pasta, but I always do when making pasta salad. So rinse with cool water until the pasta is no longer hot.

4. Transfer to a large bowl and mix all the vegetables in. Pour salad dressing over and stir until you feel that you've gotten a fierce enough workout to qualify as an arm wresting champion. If you're going to eat this right away, it shouldn't need any salt, but it will probably require a dash or three the next day. Pin It

No-Bake Strawberry Cake Pie

So the other day while I was avoiding doing my library homework (Oh you didn't know? I'm 25 and working towards my Master's in Library Science) I decided that I just needed to make yet another dessert, but being that my apartment was an brisk 88 degrees, I determined that turning on the oven was seriously not an option. That's when it hit me to make an icebox cake. For those of you who have yet to hit the ripe old age of 25, an icebox is an old school refrigerator. Think "I Love Lucy". Oh wait... you don't know what that is, either. Darn. It.

So anyway, I found a recipe online for an icebox pie, but because I think that I can bake and cook better than everyone else, I decided to alter the square-shaped slop that I stumbled upon via Google.

I made this 36 hours in advance, and it was perfect. I wouldn't recommend making it fewer than 12 hours before serving, as the graham crackers may not have adequate time to absorb the moisture from the whipped cream. Basically, you want the graham crackers to soak up all the yumminess and take on a cakey texture.

Make sure you read the method before you go nuts with assembling the ingredients in a fashion that you feel appropriate!

Ingredients:
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Sleeves graham crackers
2 lbs sliced strawberries
1 tsp lemon extract
1/4ish powdered sugar
2ish ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:
1. In a 9 x 9 baking dish, arrange graham crackers so that they completely cover the bottom of the dish without much overlap. I used a deep dish pie plate, which worked just fine, but was kind of a beeyotch because it was round and the crackers are not. I also used honey grahams, but I will probably try chocolate next time. I am actually really excited about trying this!

2. Make whipped cream. Pour all of the whipping cream (less about 2 tbsp) into a cold bowl. Add lemon extract. Go to town with your hand mixer (or stand mixer- for those of who recently got married and got one as a wedding gift!) and beat until you have formed stiff peaks. Slowly add the powdered sugar, tasting before adding more.

3. Spread a layer of whipped cream over the graham crackers.

4. Arrange a layer of strawberries over the whipped cream.

5. Create another layer pattern of graham crackers, whipped cream, and strawberries until you run out. Your last layer should be strawberries.

6. Make ganache! Combine the leftover heavy whipping cream and the chocolate chips and slowly melt over the stove. Once the chocolate has completely melted and there are no cocoa chunks, drizzle over the top of the pie.

7. Chill until ready to serve.

I'm so glad that I decided to clean my stove before snapping these pics!

Go ahead.... spend the $7.50 necessary to complete this glorious concoction. I won't lie to you and tell you that this bomb is part of a heart-healthy diet, but I can assure you that it's actually refreshing and not nearly as dense as some of the other crapola that you'll come across when searching for new recipes on the dub.dub.dub. 

Enjoy and check back later to see what I've cooked up for dinner tonight! Pin It

Pistachio Coconut Pie

I love pistachio pudding and I owe this to my grandmother, who makes an amazing pistachio nut cake. Seriously, I'd eat pistachio stuff everyday, but I've been told that I need to eat a balanced diet, and I assume that horse cartilage (or whatever is in Jell-o) isn't on the food pyramid. Every now and then, though, I like to add a little bit of nuttiness to my repertoire.

So last night, I decided that I would make a pistachio pie for a cookout that my uncle is having. It's freaking hot here on the East Coast, and is therefore, too hot to bake... and wanting to steer clear of the traditional graham cracker crust (I wanted everyone to know that I had slaved away in the kitchen), I searched high and low for a bangin' crust that would leave everyone's jaw on the floor after consuming the dish.

So I bring to you... the Sort of No-Bake Pistachio Coconut Pie.

Ingredients:
2 packages of instant pistachio pudding (If you get sugar-free, I might cry. For real.)
2 cups 2% milk (I am anti-dairy milk [especially if it is not fat-free] for almost everything, but for this, you must go with 2%, otherwise it won't quite thicken the way it needs to)
1 container whipped topping
1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups coconut

Method:
1. Set oven to 350'. Arrange coconut evenly in a 9 x 13 cake pan and put in oven once it has finished preheating. "Stir" the coconut every few minutes, about three times, or until the coconut is lightly browned and toasted. Remove from oven and set aside about a teaspoon of the coconut.

2. Melt butter.

3. Add toasted coconut to melted butter and stir until evenly coated. Press into a regular pie plate. It looks like a lot, but if you press all the way up the sides, you shouldn't have any problems with overflow.

4. Put pie shell in freezer for a few minutes.

5. Mix milk and both packages of pudding together with a hand mixer (I use this Kitchenaid Mixer). Let set for about 2 minutes. Measure 1 1/2 cups of the pudding and spread into the pie shell.

6. Fold whipped topping into remaining pudding. Once fully incorporated, spread over the pudding-filled pie shell.

7. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if desired.

8. Chill until ready to serve.

Marvelous. I love this pie and so did everyone at the cookout!

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