Thursday, August 29, 2013

Frosty Lemon Ice


If you are planning a Labor Day celebration 
or an end of the summer party
I have the frosty cool drink for you!

This Lemon Ice is the easiest, most
refreshing drink you could whip up.



We enjoyed something like this 
poolside
this summer
and you know I had to come home and
try to recreate it.

Then we made it at Lake Powell a couple
of times and everyone loved it.

Soooo easy!

Frosty Lemon Ice Recipe

1 container (1.75 quarts) vanilla ice cream
(I like to use Dreyer's Slow Churned - half the fat!)
12 oz. lemonade concentrate (thawed)
raspberry syrup for a garnish

Pour the thawed lemonade concentrate into 
your blender container.
Soften the ice cream by placing the container in
the microwave for 45 seconds.  Scoop the whole
container of ice cream into the blender.  Use your
ice or liquefy setting and blend.  If it is a little thick
you can thin it with 1/2 C. Sprite or 7 Up.

Pour into glasses.  Garnish with raspberry sauce
if desired.  You can also pour a little raspberry sauce
in the bottom of the glass if desired.
Serve with a straw and a spoon. 



I got these cute flat spoons at the grocery store in
bright colors.  They are Diamond Brand
Slider Ice Cream Spoons 
and come 24 to a pack in aqua, pink and green.

The raspberry sauce is from Costco, it is
Red Raspberry Kodiak Syrup.  My sister
in Texas said she couldn't find it at her Costco,
but if you can find it, it is fabulous, quick
raspberry sauce.

Give this one a try.  I can't get enough of it
and using low-fat ice cream, I don't feel
nearly as guilty eating it!!

I will be posting this with

Monday, August 26, 2013

Jalapeno Popper Dip




This will have your tastebuds popping all over the place!
I needed something fun to take to a pool party
and settled on something savory rather
than something sweet.

Wow, it was creamy and yummy with just as much kick
as you want!  

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese
1 1/2 C. Mexican blend cheese
1 C. mayonaise
1/2 C. parmesan cheese
1/2 - 1 - 4 oz can sliced jalapenos
1- 4 oz. can green chilis

Topping
1/2 C. panko crumbs
1/4 C. melted butter
1/2 C. Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

In a food processor, blend the cream cheese, cheese, mayo, 
parmesan, jalapenos and chilis.  
You need to use a food processor to blend the  jalapenos and 
chilis well.  If  you are worried about heat, start with
1/2 of the can of jalapenos adding more if desired.

In a small bowl mix the panko crumbs and melted butter.

Place the mixture in a 2 quart oven proof casserole
with Pam.  Spread the cheese mix in the dish.  Top
with 1/2 C. Mexican cheese and then the crumb mix.

Garnish with half of a fresh jalapeno stuffed
with the cheese mix and topped with the crumbs
if desired.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly around
the edges.

Serve with chips and a sliced assortment of breads.


It is nice to garnish it with a jalapeno to warn
everyone that this is a spicy dip.  We used the full
can of jalapenos and it had plenty of kick.  Adjust
the heat as desired.




It was a huge hit!  We were going to a BBQ that week
too, so I made it again and the pan was scraped clean.

SUPER YUM!
I am posting this with

Friday, August 23, 2013

Lake Powell Fun



Oh, the places we have been!
A lot of our family fun during summer months
is spent at Lake Powell.

This is my son Marcus.  I can do the stand up
jet ski, but I certainly can't do this move. 
This was shot with my new Canon G15
that has slow motion video shooting -
so fun for this kind of sport action. 


Monday, August 19, 2013

Sweet Corn Cake


Do you remember Chi Chi's Mexican restaurant
that served a fabulously sweet cornbread-like side
dish scooped on your plate?  
This is a copycat version of theirs and is
quite similar to Cheesecake Factory's Sweet
Tamale Corn Cakes.
This side dish is sweet and airy and perfect with
BBQ or Mexican and is highly addicting.  You
definitely need to make a big pan as people are
going to be back for second helpings.

My sister Jean made this for us at Lake Powell
to go with smoked brisket.  She made a
big 9x13 inch pan and it quickly disappeared.

She got it from the Top Secret Restaurant Recipes
Cookbook by Todd Wilbur but
you can get it from his website.
He also has a recipe for Cheesecake Factory's
Sweet Tamale Corn Cakes on his site, along with
all of the side sauces that go with it.


Jean quadrupled his recipe and baked it in a 9x13 pan.
I love how deep that made it.

Sweet Corn Cake

6 C. frozen corn, thawed
2 C. butter, softened
1 1/3 C. masa harina (we can get that in any grocery
store by the flour or Mexican section)
1 C. water
1 C. cornmeal
1 1/3 C. sugar
8 T. heavy cream (or whole milk)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Spray a 9x13 inch pan with Pam.

In a large food processor coarsely chop the corn.  You will
leave some of the corn whole. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy then add the
masa harina and water.  Blend until well mixed.

Add the chopped corn and cornmeal and mix well.  
In another bowl mix the sugar, cream salt and baking 
powder.  Add this to your corn mix and blend until
combined.  

Pour batter into the pan and cover with foil.  Place it in a larger
pan filled 1/3 of the way up the pan with hot water.  Bake for
60-75 minutes or until it is cooked through.  You should
be able to touch it and have it spring back like a cake.

Remove from oven and remove the pan with the
corn cake in it from the water.  Let  sit up 10 minutes.

You can scoop it out as Chi Chi's used to
or cut it into squares.

I garnished mine with Trader Joe's Corn Salsa
and On The Border Salsa.






Jean's daughter was so thrilled that Jean was
finally featured on my blog!  I love it that
someone even cares!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Ham and Swiss Sliders


If you are into Pinterest
you have probably seen these all over the
place and they are being repinned
for a good reason - these are fabulous
and so simple to make.


We were at Lake Powell and my daughter
Amanda and her new husband Casey
chose to make these.
Who would think a simple ham and cheese
sandwich could be taken to such new heights
by a mustard and poppy seed glaze, but it really
makes an amazing sandwich
perfect for a meal or a luncheon
or even a party.



Ham and Swiss Sliders
(I adapted my recipe from Annie's Eats)

24 small buns - we used King's Hawaiian Rolls
24 - 24 slices ham - we used Black Forest Ham
12 slices 2wiss cheese - we used baby Swiss
mayonaise - to spread on buns

Glaze
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds
1 1/2 T. yellow mustard
1/2 C. butter, melted
1 T. grated onion
1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray Pam in the bottom of 2 9x13 inch pans or a 13x18 inch rimmed baking sheet.  

Split the buns in half and spread one side with mayonaise.  Cut the Swiss
cheese in half and lay on the slider.  Fold 1-2 pieces of ham and lay it
on the Swiss cheese.  Place the sliders close together in your pan.  

Mix the glaze ingredients together and brush onto the tops
of the buns.  Let some of the sauce run down the sides.
Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes or until
the cheese is melted.

These are small and go quickly.  
Super, super yummy.  You can even make them 
up a day ahead and bake them that day.

Expect people to eat at least two. 




Ok, so if you are like me and you have
seen them everywhere but haven't
made these yet, give them a try.  Any small roll
will do, but King's Hawaiian adds such a nice
sweetness.


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Miss Utah County and Her Little Miss




I am so thrilled to announce that my dear, dear friend
Hannah Harkness,
a piano performance major at BYU
won the title of
Miss Utah County this
past Saturday
and my oldest granddaughter
Kylie was her Little Miss.


Hannah was stunning in her gold gown that was
absolutely perfect on her.
She played Flight of the Bumblebee
which she told us is a 90 second
performance with 1, 197 notes
performed during the minute and a half.
Here she is flanked by her attendants.


Kylie had told me one day while we were 
driving down the road that she only had two
dreams in life, one Hannah had already made
come true by asking her to be her Little Miss
and the other was to go to Paris!


After Hannah's title was announced 
Kylie yelled out, "I did it!"  We all had
a big laugh at that.

What a character!!!
Congratulations to Hannah
There isn't a sweeter girl that could have
been awarded the crown, nor a more
talented one that I know.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

A Pan-full of Sugar Cookies - Like Sweet Tooth Fairy


I am a sucker for a good sugar cookie
and there is one in town that we are 
in love with at

They are just barely baked
so they just melt in your mouth and
have a hint of coconut and almond flavoring.

When my sister from Texas came to visit
a couple of years ago we discovered these
and went back every day!  
Addicting.


So when her daughter, my niece, brought over
some bar sugar cookies she made off
Pinterest, I decided to play around and 
see if I could make one that reminded
me of
Sweet Tooth Fairy's fabulous cookie.


What's great about this idea is that 
you mix, pat in pan, bake and frost
all in a few steps and you have
a pan-full of melt-in-you-mouth
sugar cookies
without flouring and rolling and 
frosting each cookie.


They are perfect for feeding a crowd.

She got the recipe from
who got it from
and
and the Repressed Pastry Chef
said she got it from
so who knows where the original sugar
cookie recipe comes from, but we loved it.
This is a variation on the above to make
mine more like Sweet Tooth Fairy's.

A Pan-full of Sugar Cookies Recipe

1 C. butter, room temperature
2 C. granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring
5 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda

Cream the butter and sugar and then add the eggs
one at a time, scraping sides between additions.
combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl
and whisk together to incorporate the salt and the
soda.

When the sugar and egg mixture is light and fluffy,
mix in the flour mixture and combine well.

Spray a large sheet pan
13x18x1
(You used to be able to buy these in Costco
and also at most kitchen stores.)
Press the dough into the pan and smooth out.
Place in a preheated 375 degree oven
for 12-13 minutes.  You can easily
overbake these and I would rather have
my sugar cookies a little underbaked.
I baked until it looked dry on the top,
it will sink a little when it cools.

Cool completely and frost with
Almond Coconut Frosting

3/4 C. softened butter
6 C. powdered sugar
1 tsp. clear vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring
5-6 T. cold water 
pink or red food coloring
sprinkles

Place all ingredients in a mixer bowl using the
whip attachment.  Whip until creamy.  Add 
additional water if needed 1 T. at a time to
make a creamy soft frosting. Add the food coloring
a little at a time to make a pink frosting.  Beat for 5-7
minutes to make it really creamy.

When the pan is completely cool, frost the
cookies and add the sprinkles before the
frosting sets up.  Let the frosting set up
before cutting.  



Even though the pan makes a ton of cookies,
they will go quickly because you hardly
have to chew!!



I think the coconut softens and rounds out the
almond flavoring.  If you aren't a fan of
almond flavoring, just use 2 tsp. vanilla
for the frosting, but we love our frosting
with almond and this twist on it
makes a fabulous frosting.

I made these to take to a pool party -
trying to get in the last few before
summer ends.


Sure enough, you serve sugar and 
mermaids come swimming up for
a bite!

I will be posting this with



Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Watermelon and Cucumber Salad


There is something that just screams summer about
a fresh cold watermelon.

This salad was inspired by a local restaurant
La Jolla Grove
that features this seasonal dish. I had tried to
recreate it last year but hated it and had to
wait until this summer to go and have it 
again.  It is served with a sweet lemon
vinaigrette at the restaurant.

What you want is a sweet vinaigrette to accent
the watermelon, not a savory vinaigrette.  That
had been my mistake last time.  Now I have it
right and you can make your own dressing or
use a sweet bottle vinaigrette.


This is so simple and easy and
refreshing
that we have already made it quite 
a few times and have tried quite
a few dressings with it.

Watermelon and Cucumber Salad

4 C. cold seedless watermelon, cut into small cubes
(I like the small seedless variety)
3/4 C. finely cubed cucumber, cold
2 C. mixed spring greens
2-3 T. feta cheese
sliced cucumbers for garnish
1 C. sweet fruity vinaigrette
(I have used Whole Foods Tangerine Dressing
and Marie's Raspberry Vinaigrette and a
homemade Lemon Vinaigrette)

Lemon Vinaigrette
1/4 C. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 C. white sugar
1 T. grated onion
2 T. white corn syrup
1/2 C. vegetable oil.

Mix the lemon juice, white sugar, onion and corn syrup.
Slowly whisk in the vegetable oil.  Store in refrigerator.

To assemble salad

On serving plate or platter, place the spring greens
and drizzle with a small amount of the salad dressing
of your choice.  Toss lightly

In a medium size bowl place the watermelon cubes,
the cucumber cubes and toss with the remaining
dressing.  Toss lightly and place in a mound on
top of the greens.  Sprinkle with the feta cheese.
Garnish with sliced cucumbers if desired.
Serve cold.


Hope you give this fun recipe a try.  It is the
essence of Summer!




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