I don't normally buy coconut because I don't like the texture. I love the taste, I love the smell, but not the texture. My friend Kimberly gave me an extra bag of it to cook with and it's been sitting in my fridge for awhile, just waiting for inspiration to occur. Lucky for us, it occurred last week in the form of a dessert recipe. Growing up, my neighbor Cathy used to make us a dessert called dump cake. This is a very easy pie/cobbler dessert where you just dump everything into a cake pan and bake. I took that idea and used the coconut to make a cherry cream cobbler. It is delicious and very simple to make. It is a perfect summer dessert: fast, easy, and unforgetable :)
Cherry Cream Cobbler
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 Cup Almond Flour
1 and 1/2 Cups Pecan Meal
1 Cup Coconut
1 Stick of Butter
For the Filling:
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Can Cherry Pie Filling
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 11" deep dish baking pan.
2. Take out 2 bowls. In one, mix together almond flour, pecan meal, and coconut. In the other, mix together milk and cherry pie filling.
3. Spray pie pan. Pour milk and cherry pie mixture on batter. Spread out evenly. Pour flour and coconut mixture on top.
4. Melt butter. Drizzle over the top of the cobbler. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Top will be golden brown when finished. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
It is so hot in St. Charles, but I don't want to stop cooking! To avoid heating up our whole house with a gas oven, I made stuffed green peppers in my slow cooker. They turned out great, were a snap to make and really easy to clean up. I had 3 HUGE peppers, so I cut them in half and stuffed each half. If you have smaller ones, feel free to use the whole pepper.
Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
3 Large Peppers (green, red, yellow or orange)
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 & 1/2 Cups Cooked Instant Brown Rice
1/2 Cup Black Bean & Corn Salsa
1 Egg
3 TBSP Hummus
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Water
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1. Cut peppers in half. Take half of pepper with stem. Carefully cut around stem and pull out seeds.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together ground turkey, rice, salsa, egg, hummus and salt. Stuff peppers with mixture.
3. Pour 1/2 cup of water into bottom of a large slow cooker. Place stuffed peppers into cooker. Cook on high for 90 minutes. Place shredded cheese on top of peppers and cook for 15 more minutes on high. Keep on warm or low until ready to serve. Serves 4-5 people.
Sometimes I look in my pantry and refrigerator and think, "I have no idea what to make for dinner." Usually if I stand there long enough, something catches my eye and voila, I know what we're having. If you're having one of those days, here's an easy soup recipe for you to make :) Serve it with a salad and warm garlic bread and you have a great meal. Plus you'll probably have some leftovers to freeze for another one of those days when you're at a loss as to what to make.
3 Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 Can Tomato Soup
4 Cans of Beans (I used red, black & butter)
Lg Can (28oz) Crushed Tomatoes
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Chopped Ham
2 Cooked Pork Chops, Chopped
1/2 Large Onion, Chopped
1 and 1/2 TBSP Minced Garlic
1 TBSP Onion Soup Mix
1 Tsp Salt
Grated Cheddar Cheese
1. Pour all ingredients except cheese into a slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours until soup thickens up. Stir every so often, so soup won't burn.
2 When finished, top with grated cheese and serve. Serves 6 to 8.
Cauliflower and cabbage are not my favorite veggies. I love cole slaw and I love fried cauliflower, but beyond that they're just okay. My family feels the same way. We had a whole bunch of frozen cauliflower and cabbage that we needed to use up. This dish was a huge hit for everyone. Celia even had thirds! So now I have a third way to serve these veggies that everyone loves.
Au Gratin Cauliflower & Cabbage
Ingredients:
4 to 5 Cups of Cooked Cabbage, Chopped
1 to 2 Cups of Cooked Cauliflower, Chopped
1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Milk
1/4 Tsp Dill Weed
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
Large Squirt of Mustard
1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan or Roman Cheese
2/3 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/3 Cup Bread Crumbs
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cabbage and cauliflower in a large baking dish or bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together mayo, egg, milk, dill, onion powder, salt, mustard and parmesan cheese. Pour over cabbage and cauliflower and mix.
2. Bake for 20 minutes. Spread cheddar cheese and bread crumbs over top. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes until cheese has melted and bread crumbs have browned.
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This is a recipe for Gordita filling. My husband loves Mexican food. Gorditas are really easy to make and they're a neat treat for your family. To make the gordita shell, you'll need to buy Corn Masa Mix from your grocery store. I found it at Aldi's, but you can find it at almost any store. Follow the directions on the bag for gordita or tortilla shells. In case there aren't directions, you're going to want to mix equal parts of water and mix to make a dough. Heat up a skillet with oil. Make dough into balls and flatten out. Fry dough in your pan until both sides are golden brown. Fresh gorditas are the best! You'll never want to go back to Taco Bell :)
Here's a recipe for a potato filling to top your shells with. This recipe makes enough for 6 to 8 people. This is a mild filling, spice it up with red pepper flakes and jalepenos if your family likes spicy. Enjoy!
Potato Gordita Filling
Ingredients:
5 to 6 Baked Potatoes
1 Lb Ground Turkey
1& 1/2 TBSP Dried Cilantro
1 TBSP Cumin
1 TSP Onion Powder
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste.
1. Chop up potatoes into small chunks. Brown ground turkey in a large frying pan. When brown, add olive oil and potatoes. (I leave some of the skin on the potatoes.)
2. Add spices, water and cheese. Cook until turkey is completely finished, cheese is melted and potatoes have become soft. Add water while cooking if your filling becomes to dry!
3. Spread filling on Gordita shells and top with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa.
We have had a super busy summer! The best part of it is we have been to a couple of international markets or stores. It's always fun to use new ingredients when cooking! Here's a recipe for Asian noodles and chicken. We went to City Market in Kansas City earlier in the summer and I bought the noodles and sauce at the Chinese grocery store. You can also find similar items in your local grocery store. This was a great dish for Celia and Charlie to practice using chopsticks with.
Asian Noodles and Chicken
Ingredients:
3 Cups Cooked Chicken, Chopped
1/3 Large Onion, Diced
2 Small Zuchinnis, Chopped
2 Cups Frozen Stir-Fry Veggies
1 1/2 Cups Korean BBQ Sauce/Marinade
2 Sheets Rice Noodles
1. Chop and prepare all ingredients before starting to cook. In a large wok or frying pan, start to cook onions in a thin layer of olive oil. Cook for 2 minutes on high.
2. Add zuchinni and veggies to onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add sauce and chicken and cook covered on medium heat for 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
3. While cooking chicken, heat a large bowl of water in the microwave. When warm, place rice noodles in bowl. Soak for 2 minutes or until soft. Drain water and cut noodles several times with kitchen scissors. Add noodles to pan and mix together with veggies and sauce. Cook until sauce thickens and serve immediately. Serves 4-6.
