Pasta- good enough for a restaurant

Pasta- such an easy way to please people.  Especially when you need to cook for a lot of people, it's easy to make a lot of it.  + Pesto- the best thing ever made with fresh basil.  Although this is not the cheapest recipe on my blog, if you are cooking for a special occasion, or want to make something that tastes like something you'd eat sitting at a gourmet restaurant, then tie on your apron and get ready to cook my Pesto Pasta!

Ingredients (amounts will vary on amount of people.  This is for 4 servings)

Pasta- you can use any kind, but I used 2 packages of fresh linguini found in the fridge section
Chicken- 3 raw chicken breasts chopped in nugget sized pieces and marinated in a little olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper
Prosciutto- 3 slices from the deli- sliced into small strips (it may look raw, but because of how it's cured you don't need to cook it.)
Pine nuts- toasted in a pan until golden brown
Pesto- you can buy this fresh in the fridge section by the pasta, or feel free to make your own if you grow basil!
Sun dried tomatoes- grab a jar of them that are in olive oil, they are more moist and flavorful.  Chop several into thin slices

Cook pasta, fry chicken in pan til golden brown and cooked through.  Toss pasta and pesto together.  Serve on plate and sprinkle with chicken pieces, prosciutto, pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes.  The thing about this dish is that everything adds a little something to it, a different texture, and a different flavor, but everything goes so well together! 

Strawberry Pretzel = Magical

One of our family favorites at holidays is what we like to call Strawberry Pretzel (or Strawberry Pretzel Salad). It may sound strange at first, but it will change your life when you put that first bite in your mouth.  Just as a clarification too- this is not a dessert, but a side dish.  Jello salads are always a side dish.  Now please prepare to have your tastebuds changed forever!

This is from my Aunt Kathy:

2 cups crushed pretzels

3/4 c melted butter

1 (8 oz. ) pkg cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 (8 oz. ) cool whip

2 small or one large package strawberry jello

2 cups boiling water

2 (10 oz.) packages frozen strawberries (I get the frozen sliced ones)

1. Mix crushed pretzels with melted butter.  Spread in 9 x 13 inch glass dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool completely.
2. Mix softened cream cheese, sugar, and Cool Whip with hand mixer.  
3. Spread over cooled pretzel crust.  It is essential to spread to edges and make a “seal” over the pretzels.  Otherwise the jello will seep down and make the pretzels soggy and yucky.
4. Cool in refrigerator.
5. Mix Jello and boiling water, add frozen strawberries. Cool til room temperature. Pour over cream cheese layer.
6. Chill until jello is firm.
7. To serve, cut into squares.
8. Enjoy!    YUM!           

The secrets of an ice cream cake

Everyone loves ice cream, and everyone loves cakes.  But an ice cream cake?  So much better.  When you go to a store (unless you want to spend the big bucks) you normally have very limited options of flavors for this delicious frozen dessert.  The trick is- to spend way less money, and get the flavors you want!  It is not hard at all, but there are a few steps that are very important.

Step # 1:  Pick out 2 of your favorite ice creams-  in this picture I used cookies and cream and mint chocolate chip.
Step # 2: Grab a box of cookies- oreos, grasshoppers (the chocolate covered chocolate mint cookies like Girl Scout Thin Mints)  chocolate chip, graham crackers.  Crush them up in a gallon ziploc bag.
Step # 3:  Get out 2 round cake pans and some sturdy non-stick foil.  Line both pans with the foil
Step # 4:  Press cookie pieces in bottom of both pans.  (If you are using graham crackers or some other dry cookie you may want to mix them with a few tablespoons of melted butter or chocolate to help them stick together better.
Step # 5:  Take out ice creams and let them soften enough so you can stir them and spread them in the pans on top of the cookie crust but not so much that it's liquid.  You may add in chopped strawberries, pieces of cookie dough, nuts, chopped candy bars, more crushed oreos or pretty much anything you find delicious
Step # 6:  Carefully spread one of your types of ice cream in one pan, and the other flavor in the other pan.  Freeze them for several hours, but not all day or all night, or they will be very hard to slice.
Step # 7:  Make whipped cream.  Cool Whip does hold up better than fresh whipped cream and doesn't melt, but doesn't taste quite as good.  Whichever you choose will work.  If you are making it- Beat a large container of whipping cream with a tsp of vanilla and some stevia or powdered sugar (til sweet enough) until it looks the consistency of whipped cream
Step # 8:  Once the ice cream pans are frozen solid, take one out and leave the other one in.  Flip it upside-down onto a plate and carefully peel off the foil.  Flip back onto a plate so the cookie part is on the plate.  Stick this plate back into the freezer and take out the second pan and repeat.  Stick this plate back into the freezer and take out the first one, spreading quickly the whipped cream on the top and replacing in the freezer.  Repeat with the second.
Step # 9:  The most important part is to leave the cake in the freezer until right when you are going to serve it, because it begins to melt within minutes.  Take out both pieces and stack one on top of the other, frosting the sides with whipped cream.  Replace in freezer until ready to eat- hopefully soon!

You may of course press cookie pieces around the entire cake, but just remember to keep putting it back in the freezer when it starts to melt.  They taste absolutely delicious, and it's awesome that you can make them however you please!

** To make this easier, you can always make it in a 9x13 inch pan.  Just put cookie pieces right in bottom of pan (leave out foil) and spread the ice cream on top.  Freeze and top the whole thing with whipped cream. This is faster and won't melt so easy (and won't make a mess), it just depends on how you want it to look, but the taste will be the same.**

The Best thing since sliced bread

Bread. One of the oldest foods in the whole word, and we are still eating it and loving it.  Many people shudder at the thought of making their own bread, not even knowing where to begin.  Although bread is not difficult to make by any means, it is crucial that you follow the directions exactly.  Even if you don't get it perfect the first time, don't give up!  The consistency of bread can even be affected by the weather- the amount of moisture in the air, so it may not even be anything that you can control. When you have a loaf in the oven, don't be opening the door and slamming it shut, because that can affect how poofy it turns out to be (or how well your bread rises). 

If you are going to begin your bread making attempts, may I suggest that you start out with a banana bread, or this Irish Soda Bread. 

Irish Soda Bread

It is called Soda bread because it has Baking Soda instead of yeast.  Yeast bread you have to mix up, let it rise, knead it, let it rise again and bake it. Soda bread is easy and very fast because you don't have to let it rise. Just mix it up and stick it in the oven for an hour.  It is absolutely delicious, and has a sweeter taste to it than French bread (for example), but it would make great sandwiches. It is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. I find it better with honey or jelly than garlic butter, but you may like it either way.  It calls for Cream of Tartar- a white powder found in the spice section in the baking aisle of the store.  This is also used when making meringues.  Just make sure you have buttermilk on hand!  Since you won't probably use the whole jug of buttermilk, just use the rest when you make pancakes :) 

My favorite pancakes  you don't have to put bananas and pecans in them, you can put in blueberries, strawberries, apples, coconut, almonds or chocolate chips.  They turn out fantastic though :)

Who doesn't love cornbread? 
Baked or fried, it is always delicious.
Well, if you don't feel like waiting for
it to get done in the oven,
or you don't want the oil from the frying-
try it in a waffle maker.  Grab a box of Jiffy cornbread mix next time you are at the store for 59 cents and bust out your Belgian (or any other) waffle maker you have and have delicious, fluffy cornbread on your plate in 2 minutes!  One box made 3 whole waffles in my waffle maker, which turns out to be 12 pieces.  I put a little sour cream on them instead of whipped cream on waffles, but honey is still always good too.  FYI- the recipe for the cornbread waffles is on the side of the Jiffy box.  These are by the biscuit mixes on the baking aisle in the store in a little blue and white box.  Enjoy!