Meals on Monday - Apple Cherry Dessert

Happy Labor Day one & all!  We've been celebrating since Saturday and it's been a wonderful weekend thus far.  For our family BBQ on Saturday, I brought a side & a dessert.  That's the perfect meal in my mind.... sides and dessert! :)

As a side dish, I made my Grandmother's Calico Beans... they were a tremendous hit.  Chris' family always loves it when I bring them.  They are a great source of protein & fiber (and if bacon was it's own food group, it's a good source of that too! :)  I'll share that recipe with you very soon... but... the star of the show was the dessert.

I made an Apple Cherry Dessert that was AMAZING!  It was so good the 9x13 pan was empty and there were only 10 of us.  It uses a homemade flaky pastry crust and with an apple cherry filling that's perfect for autumn!  So without further adieu here's the recipe - straight from my brain to you!

Apple Cherry Dessert
Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, cold
1/2 cup milk
1 egg separated

In large bowl combine flower and salt; cut in the butter until crumbly.  Stir in milk and egg yolk.  Chill in fridge for 15 minutes.  Divide dough in half and roll out each portion into a 9x13 rectangle.  Place bottom crust in greased 9x13 pan.

Sprinkle with 1 cup cornflakes.

Filling:
5-6 cups granny smith apples, peeled & diced
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling.

Mix apples with cinnamon, sugar and vanilla.  Stir in cherry pie filling.  Pour entire mixture on top of cornflakes.

Top with second rolled out crust.  Cut slits in top.  In small bowl, beat egg white and brush over pastry.  This creates that yummy, golden brown top.  Then sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar.

Bake at 350 F for 55 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Let cool on wire rack.

Glaze:
1/2 powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 or 2 tsp milk added slowly

Mix all glaze ingredients starting with less milk and slowly adding more until you get desired consistency.  Drizzle over top of the dessert.  Can be served warm or cool.  Refrigerate the left overs (if there are any!) :)

*Note:  I used Granny Smith apples because of their tartness.  The sweet of the cherry pie filling needs a little tart to balance it out.  It would also be delicious with peaches, rhubarb or pears!

I'll share with you Grandma's Calico Beans on another day.   Promise!
Enjoy your Labor Day!

  ~Dawn

Antioxidant Brownies - SUPER Delicious!!

Good Morning Foodie Friends!  Today's post for Meals on Mondays - hosted by my good friend Stacy Petersen, is actually better than a meal in my book.  It's a dessert... but if you cut it into small triangles, and put them on the plate just right it could be an appetizer... maybe... okay, maybe only in my dreams.  BUT, I'm going to share with you anyhow! :)

On Saturday I stopped over to visit with my Mom and she made a whole pan of BROWNIES!!!!  I know, shame on her.  She knows I'm a sugar addict teetering on the brink... none-the-less, there they sat.  All warm and chocolatey and calling my name.  But these weren't any brownies.  There was one special ingredient that gave me permission to call them healthy... ha, ha, ha!  Anything to grab another one!  She had added BLUEBERRIES to her brownies!  And they were supremely delicious.  I would never have thought of it, but then she reminded me of those delicious little chocolate covered bing cherries and chocolate covered blueberries that Harry & David's sell... and all was well in the world.

Seriously, these were so moist and delicious and loaded with antioxidants because that's what blueberries bring to the table and viola!

Blueberry Brownies
1 Box of Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker or Pillsbury Brownie Mix
      (I know, I cheat.... shhhhh, nobody else needs to know)
Eggs according to the package
1 1/2 cups fresh (NOT FROZEN) blueberries
    (Frozen are too juicy and your brownies will not bake through)
Oil - only use 1/2 of the amount called for on the box.

Mix Brownie mix, Eggs and Oil until blended.  Fold in blueberries and pour into a greased 9x13 cake pan.  Bake according to package directions and eat fresh out of the oven... and again in 20 minutes because I know you won't be able to have just one! :)

Enjoy! ;)

The BEST Grape Salad in the WORLD!

A few weeks ago at a family BBQ Chris' mom brought this grape salad.  She had gotten the recipe from a neighbor (can you believe they've been neighbors since 1969?) This is one of those neighbors that became like family - thus she's called Auntie D.  Auntie D had some descriptive words about just how good this salad is... but they wouldn't be appropriate for this G-rated blog. :)

After eating it, I can assure you all her adjectives were spot on!  So I'm sharing the recipe with you.  It's SUPER simple, yet is AMAZING.  Seriously, you wouldn't think grapes could be the star of the BBQ, but they were.  I could have eaten half of the pan!

Auntie D's Best Damn Grape Salad

4 lbs of seedless grapes (mixed red & green)

8 oz of cream cheese - softened

8 oz sour cream

1 tsp. Vanilla

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Spread grapes on bottom of a 9x13 cake pan.  Mix Cream Cheese, Sour Cream & Vanilla.  Spread over the top of grapes and mix in.  

For the topping, mix well - brown sugar and chopped nuts.  Sprinkle on top and refrigerate.

That's it... It sounds so easy because it is so easy.  But it tastes just amazing.  The cream cheese & sour cream blend w/ the vanilla tastes almost like caramel.  This could be a dessert as well as a side salad.  It just depend on when you want to eat dessert! ;)

This post is part of Meals on Mondays started by my good friend Stacy Petersen.  Anybody is welcome to join us and share your links.  Here's a link to Stacy's blog post where she has a super McLinky tool for everybody to share your links!  http://slmpetersen.blogspot.com/2010/07/meals-on-mondays_19.html Thanks for stopping by!

Cherry Rhubarb Dessert with Vanilla Icing!

It's that time of the year again... rhubarb time!  With the lack of rain we've had in WI (until this past weekend) the rhubarb seems to be a slow grower this year... not to worry though, with yesterday's rain & sunshine all week, I'm sure the rhubarb will make a liar out of me... and I'm O.K. with that! :)

Today's delectable rhubarb treat would be great with coffee as a pastry breakfast, or (because I can't wait until tomorrow) after dinner served slightly warm still as a fresh, light, flaky dessert.  Last year when I made this recipe, it was so delicious these bars got all gobbled up before I could even get a picture.  SO this year, I'm going to try to beat Chris to the pan an get a picture before they are gone... they really do bake up very pretty.

Here's the recipe!  Make sure when you want to make this you allow preparation time because you make the pastry crust by hand! (and it's worth every bit of effort!)

Cherry Rhubarb Dessert

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter - cold
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, separated
1 cup corn flakes (I used blueberry special K)
4-5 cups diced fresh rhubarb.  (See Note if you use frozen rhubarb)
1 1/2 cups + 1 Tblsp sugar, divided
1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 - 2 tsp. milk

1. In a large bowl, combine flour & salt; cut in butter until crumbly.
2. Stir in the milk & egg yolk.
3. Divide dough in half.
4. On lightly floured surface, roll out each portion into a 13x9 rectangle.
5. Place one rolled out piece into a greased 13x9 baking dish.
6. Sprinkle with cornflakes.
7. In a large bowl, combine rhubarb and 1 1/2 cups sugar, stir in cherry pie filling and vanilla; spread over corn flakes.
8. Top with remaining rolled out pastry.
9. Cut small slits in the top.
10. In a small bowl lightly beat the egg white; brush over pastry.  This will make the top bake up beautiful golden brown.
11. Sprinkle with remaining sugar.
12. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
13. Cool on wire rack.
14. In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over bars.
15. Store in refrigerator.  Can be served warm or cooled with ice cream or whipped cream.
16. NOTE:  If using frozen rhubarb, measure while frozen (5 cups).  Thaw completely in a colander, drain but do not press liquid out of the rhubarb.

I hope you take a chance an try this recipe.  I had no idea how wonderful the homemade crust was really going to be.  Like I said earlier, it's worth every ounce of effort you put into it! ;)   I'll post a picture later... if I can get one! :)

Picture posted at 7:35 pm... and the final grade is M... as in mmmmmmmmmm good! :)

Banana Alaska by Sandra Lee

My favorite show on the Food Channel is Simply Homemade with Sandra Lee.  She combines 70% store bought ingredients with 30% fresh to make amazing appetizers, dinners, DESSERTS and cocktails! 

This last week, she featured an amazing looking Banana Dessert she called Banana Alaska.  As we were hosting Chris' parents for dinner over the weekend, I thought they would be the perfect guinea pigs wonderful diners to sample my amazing concoction! 

It turned out delicious, but I did modify the recipe to suit my tastes.  The recipe called for a meringue topping to be broiled, but I didn't think that flavor would be perfect.  So I opted for a can of spray whipped cream and it was perfect.  Great Banana flavor, amazing ice cream... and here's the recipe for your delight!

Banana Alaska - Dawn's style

• 1 roll sugar cookie dough
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (plus a dash for dusting)
• 1 - 5.1 oz. instant banana pudding
• 3 cups milk
• 2 pints Haagen Daas Vanilla Swiss Almond Ice Cream, softened for 2 hrs. in refridgerator
• 1 banana sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced, toasted almonds (I toasted them myself - bake at 350 for about 5 minutes)
• Spray whipping cream
• 10" spring form pan

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.

For cookie layers:  In a bowl, knead 1/2 of the cookie dough w/ 1/4 cup of flour until flour is incorporated.  Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness on lightly floured surface.  Using the springform pan as a template, cut 1 large cookie.  (you want it to be slightly smaller than the pan as it will rise when baking)  Repeat with remaining cookie dough and another 1/4 cup of flour.  Place both large cookies on baking sheets or plates and cover them with plastic.  Place in the freezer and chill for 15 minutes.  Remove from freezer, place on cookie sheet (if it's not already there) and bake for 15 - 18 minutes until golden brown.

For pudding:  In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat pudding and milk until thickened.  Using spoon or spatula, fold in sliced bananas.  **Recommendation, after making this recipe, I would wait to mix this until an hour before you want to serve.  Then I'd make it and put it on the frozen layers and place in the refrigerator to set.  Then you'll get the banana cream pie effect without having frozen pudding.

To Assemble:  In the bottom of a 9 or 10" spring form pan, place 1 of the cookies.  On top of the cookie, spread with softened ice cream.  Layer with another cookie.  Top with banana pudding mixture and smooth.  Sprinkle with toasted almond slices.  Cover with a layer of plastic wrap and wrap a layer of aluminum foil completely around the pan over & under.  Freeze for a minimum of 8 hours, preferably over night.  See ** above for my recommendation. The double layer prevents leaking from the bottom of softened ice cream and it also stops the pudding from getting a layer of skin on top.)

To serve, use a hot towel or wash cloth, to soften the ice cream and pudding from the sides and release the springform pan.  Slice with knife heated under hot running water.  (It makes cutting through the frozen layers so much easier.)  Top with dallops of whipping cream and serve to your drooling guests! 

I'll definitely make this one again.  Next time, I'll use the ** recommendation so the pudding is soft and creamy rather than frozen.

Irish Dessert Chocolate-Guinness Cheesecake

Chocolate-Guinness Cheesecake- Recipezaar <---- Click for the recipe

I saw this recipe this morning on Facebook. Right in time to celebrate St. Patty's Day!!!

It sounds just delicious and I know, chocolate is a weakness for so many of us! I haven't yet tried it yet, but I'm anxious to do so.

What are your plans for St. Patty's Day? Do you have corned beef & cabbage?

I hope you have a wee bit 'o Irish luck this week!

Delicious Rhubarb Coconut Cookie Recipe

With Spring in Wisconsin, we have a plethora of beautiful things, tulips, daffodils, RHUBARB! With limited fresh produce coming out of winter the first batch of rhubarb is a special treat.

I love trying new recipes... rhubarb bars, rhubarb crunch, rhubarb sauce for pork chops or chicken... but this year I found a new recipe that is now deemed my FAVORITE rhubarb recipe. This recipe came from the Taste of Home, a wonderful cooking magazine published right here in Wisconsin.

So here's the recipe, I'm happy to share. And if you have a HUGE crop of rhubarb, it's great to freeze and re-create this special spring treat later in the summer! These cookies are a great, not to sweet, perfect refreshing treat!

Frosted Rhubarb Cookies
1 C. Shortening
1 - 1/2 C. Dark Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
3 C. All-Purpose Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 - 1/2 C. Rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
3/4 Shredded Coconut

Frosting
1 pkg (3 oz.) Cream Cheese
1 TBSP. Butter Softened
1 - 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar
3 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

In a large bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to cream mixture and mix well. Fold in coconut and rhubarb. (I mixed the rhubarb in by hand and it worked great!)

Preheat oven to 350. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake for 10-14 minutes until golden brown. Cool a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet to wire rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

For frosting, beat butter & cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over cookies & enjoy. **

**This is absolutely my favorite frosting recipe. I could spread this on toast in the morning it's so good!**

Hope you enjoy!

Who wouldn't want Dessert First???

As a true foodie, I have one motto... "Dessert First."

Some people just laugh, not realizing how serious I am. And it's not just about the sweet tooth in me. See, most people get so full on cocktails, appetizers and the main course, that they rarely leave room for dessert.

But, what I've found is if you eat dessert first and get full, then you box up your main entree and it makes a terrific lunch the next day!

So, live on the edge... have a little fun... explore your inner foodie... Enjoy Dessert First!

So here's a picture of our New Year's Day Dinner... it was supposed to be New Year's Eve... but I didn't get the roast out to thaw early enough.

What I want to dedicate this post to is the delectable Triple Layer Brownie Dessert you see on our plates. It was so easy to make, and even as I eat the left overs 4 days later, it's still as good as day 1.

Triple Layer Brownie Dessert
Layer 1. Make box of brownie mix according to the package and let cool completely.
Layer 2. 2 pkg. cream cheese (an 8 oz. and a 3 oz.), 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 cups Cool Whip.
Soften cream cheese. Slowly blend all ingredients until smooth.
Spread over brownie mix.
Layer 3. One 3.0 oz Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix, 2 cups cold milk
(don't use rice milk, pudding won't set)
Mix Pudding mix and milk until pudding just starts to set.
Pour over top of cream cheese layer and refridgerate for at least 1 hour.

**Can be served with a dollop of Whip Cream or a few crushed walnuts on top.