FOURTH OF JULY NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

 

FOURTH OF JULY NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

The older a person gets the more they become aware of how much they act and sound like their parents.  Often the things that drove us crazy about our mother or father, or embarrassed us as a teenager until we’d say, “I’m never going to do that,” comes back to haunt us in our adulthood when we find ourselves doing and saying the very thing we were positive we’d never do. I’ve discovered as a grandmother that the mannerism and habits we have inherited bring fond memories to cherish. One of my dad’s Dutch sayings when something went wrong or he got exasperated at something was- with a shake of his head, “If that isn’t the berries.”  Without realizing it (only to be brought to my attention by my one of the family members in amusement) I’ve found myself saying, “If that isn’t the berries,” myself.  Life has a way of bringing things in a full circle.  Hopefully one of these days my grand-kids will continue to carry on our Dutch family’s sayings.

This year for the 4^th of July celebration, I made a special dessert I discovered while going through my pile of recipes to try and tweaked that was an instant hit with my family.  The month of July is always hot and humid and the last thing one wants to do is spend hours in the kitchen baking and cooking.  My luscious Fourth of July No-bake Cheesecake is a perfect dessert for summer with its light, cool, creamy, and fruity texture.  The colorful red, white, and blue Fourth of July No-bake Cheesecake will add the finale to your festivities all summer long. You can mix match fresh fruit to the Fourth of July No-bake Cheesecake. And finally, what cook can resist a no-fail dessert that only takes around fifteen minutes to prepare?

 FOURTH OF JULY NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

12 graham crackers crumbled (about 2 c)

4 pkg cream cheese

1 c sugar

1 (8 oz) cool whip

1 c fresh strawberries sliced

1 c blueberries

Put the crumbled graham crackers in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and cool whip until smooth. Fold in the strawberries and blueberries leaving a few for garnishing.  Pour over the graham cracker layer and chill for 4-6 hours until firm. Serves sixteen.

Tip:  Here is an excellent recipe for fruit toppings to use in multiple desserts. 2 c of fresh fruit, (blueberries, raspberries, etc.) ½ c sugar, 2 tb cornstarch, and 1 c water. Bring to a boil the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Add the fruit and cook until thickened and

Father's Day Cottage Pie

FATHER’S DAY COTTAGE PIE

 Whenever I cook a large dinner I always end up with lots of leftovers to make sure that everyone gets plenty to eat- a throwback from my English grandmother, who wasn’t satisfied she had made a good meal until you were so stuffed you could barely move away from the table.  I love leftovers.  Some foods gain more flavor the second time around and after spending hours in the kitchen cooking it’s nice to have a something on hand for a quick and easy meal the next day.  My husband is a meat, mashed potatoes, and gravy type of guy so I often make a pot roast with all the trimmings on Sunday.  The only downside is you end up with several containers of leftovers crowding your refrigerator.  I’ve heard about Shepherd’s Pie and even looked at some recipes about Shepherd’s Pie, but it wasn’t until I saw a picture in a magazine with a totally different name that something clicked in my brain, caught my attention and imagination.  

“Shepherd’s pie” became popular around the 18^th century when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor. It is generally agreed that it originated in the north of England and Scotland where there are large numbers of sheep--hence the name. Shepherds’ pie is made from ground lamb (not beef; that is cottage pie) and vegetables baked under a potato topping, although in early cookery books the pie dish was lined with mashed potatoes as well as having a potato crust on top. Since 1877 the term “shepherd’s pie” has been used synonymously with “cottage pie” whether the principal ingredient used was beef or mutton.

This past Sunday while clearing up instead of grabbing microwave containers for the leftovers, I started layering the leftovers in a baking dish.  Not only did I save space in my frig, but when I decided to use what I call my Father’s Day Cottage Pie for a meal later all I did was add another topping and pop it into the oven.   My Father’s Day Cottage Pie was an instant hit with my husband.  So from now on whenever I find myself with several leftovers from a big meal, I plan on making a Father’s Day Cottage Pie. The neat thing about the Father’s Day Cottage Pie is that you can incorporate all kinds of leftovers and toppings this way- the amount of servings being relative to the quantity of food used.

FATHER’S DAY COTTAGE PIE

2 c cooked beef with gravy

1 c stove top dressing

1 c corn (drained)

2- 2½  c mashed potatoes

6 slices Velveeta cheese

1 tb minced chives

Layer leftover beef (cut into bite size pieces) and gravy in the bottom of a 7 x 11 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking oil.  Sprinkle the stove top dressing on top of the beef and then add the corn. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top to the edge of the baking dish. When ready to use place Velveeta cheese on top and garnish with chives. Cover and bake at 350º for 35 to 45 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.  Let sit for five or ten minutes. This recipe serves six.

Tip:  You can also freeze your Father’s Day Cottage Pie to save for a busy day later on.  Just be sure and cover securely before freezing. Then thaw out and bake in your oven for an instant meal!

COCOANUT ZUCHINNI CAKE

 

COCOANUT ZUCCHINI CAKE

May ushers in early summer along with Mother’s Day. Irises, peonies, and roses begin blooming while stores are overloaded with colorful flats of annuals to temp one every time they shop.  This is the month I plant corn in my veggie garden and set out my heirloom tomato plants that have been hardened off.  May is also the time when I open all the windows in my house letting the warm breezes blow away all the stale air inside while freshly washed clothes dry out on the line.

For Mother’s Day this year, I made a Cocoanut Zucchini Cake that quickly became one of my favorite desserts. My Cocoanut Zucchini Cake is perfect for heralding in summer with green specks of zucchini and its light and moist texture in two layers.  I’ve always loved cocoanut in any form, but toasting the cocoanut brings out its subtle flavor even more and adds a slight crunch to each bite. Best of all the Cocoanut Zucchini Cake is easy to make.

COCOANUT ZUCCHINI CAKE

1 yellow cake mix

2 c grated zucchini

1 (16 oz) container of cool whip

2 c shredded cocoanut

Prepare the cake mix as directed folding in the zucchini before dividing into two 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350º for thirty minutes. Cool. Frost the bottom cake layer generously with cool whip sprinkling half of the toasted cocoanut on the top and sides.   Add top layer and frost with the remaining cool whip. Garnish using the rest of the toasted cocoanut. Chill and serve.

Tip: For a quick and easy way to toast cocoanut spread ½ c in a thin layer on a plate.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir and continue microwaving for 30 seconds stirring each time until golden brown!

EGG SALAD

Did you know that the week after Easter is named “Egg Salad Week” because so many people like to make Egg Salad with their hard boiled cooked eggs?  I thought everybody knew had to make Egg Salad until we hosted evangelists and pastors in our home throughout the years.  Also while traveling around the United States with Dana in evangelism, I ran into cooks who had never heard of Egg Salad.  Can you imagine? So just in case somebody else has never tasted or made Egg Salad, I am featuring it for the month of April.

Egg Salad is good year round and simple to make, but particularly during the month of spring when fresh lettuce leaves begin to show up in the garden and the mind turns towards salads- as the weather warms up, my hens begin to lay more eggs.  Just add a heaping tablespoon of the Egg Salad to each fresh individual salad. My Egg Salad also makes a great sandwich, especially with home-made bread and lettuce.  My Egg Salad recipe may be plain to some folk.  You can add pickles, peppers, and/or olives- to jazz it up to your taste, just don’t ruin it by adding sugar (shudder). My Egg Salad recipe makes 5-6 cups and takes only 35 minutes (not counting cooling time). If this recipe makes too big a batch for your household simply cut it in half.  

EGG SALAD

1 dozen eggs

½ tsp salt

Place eggs in a medium sauce pan, add salt, and enough water to cover the eggs. Bring to a boil and boil for 30 minutes- cooking the eggs longer makes them easier to peel plus I love my eggs well done.  Let eggs cool. Peel eggs and place in a bowl.  Mash eggs. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste.  Then add:

1 tsp mustard

3 c mayonnaise

Mix well, chill, and then serve.

St. Patrick's Day Peas

 

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PEAS

This past week I was finally able to plant some veggies in my garden. I dug up the rich black dirt to prepare the soil, made rows, and planted tiny seeds of beets, carrots, lettuce, radish, and kale. Pushing fat mini bulbs of red onions in the ground gave me all kinds of satisfaction at the thought of fresh onions to come.  But when I sprinkled the pea seeds is when I really began to drool.

Lots of people hate eating peas- even my two kids (of all people). I don’t know if it was what they considered “torture” picking peas and the time consuming shelling that transferred to their taste buds that did the trick or what. I certainly did my best to raise them to become farmers like my grandparents.  There is something altogether fascinating about peas from the fat little seeds that you plant in the earth, to the delicate vines that produce lovely blooms that turn into fat pods you pick, and then delightfully eat. Raw or cooked peas have a distinctive taste that shouts spring.  As soon as I plant peas, my taste buds go into overdrive demanding fresh green peas.

To satisfy my craving for peas, I grabbed the next best thing- peas out of my freezer.  So once again in a valiant effort (my children call it stubbornness, but I prefer to think of it as the Irish in me) to convince my kids and all you pea hating people, I’ve come up with a sure-to-please pea recipe that I call my St. Patrick’s Day Peas. The St. Patrick’s Day Peas have a smooth creamy cheesy flavor that hints of spring. My St. Patrick’s Day Peas is another quick (only 15 minutes) and easy no-fail recipe that serves four to five.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PEAS

1 lb frozen peas

½ tsp salt

Cover the bottom of a small saucepan with water, add peas, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes.  Mix together:

½ c milk

2 tb cornstarch

Add to the peas. Cube:

 1 c Velveeta cheese

Add to mixture and cook until thickened and the cheese is melted.  Serve hot.

Tip: Adding ½ tsp of margarine helps prevent veggies from boiling over when cooking and adds flavor!