Holiday Cooking Blogger Style #2 edition

Overwhelmed with Joy is hosting a holiday recipe exchange..I love cooking during the Holidays. Looking over all the recipes, I'm going to enjoy making so many of them. Our family has a couple recipes we serve up every year! Here are mine.



If you love Pumpkin Pie, you'll love this. It's really smooth and creamy.
PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 package instant sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups Cool Whip, thawed

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, pudding mix, pumpkin pie spice and evaporated milk. Mix well. Fold in 1 cup of the Cool Whip. Pour filling into pie shell. Chill for a couple hours, or until set. Top with remaining 1/2 cup Cool Whip.
Category: Dessert

This recipe we make for every occasion, birthdays, holidays, or just because it just sounds good some days! When we do make it, my husband always begs me to save him some. It's one thing that's very addicting.
My MIL's Shrimp Dip
16-oz of thawed shelled,deveined,and cooked shrimp,chopped
1 pkge. cream cheese,room temp, cut up
1cp. shredded cheddar cheese
2cps. salsa
Mix all ingredients together.

Zucchini cupcakes with Cream cheese frosting

Baking these cupcakes reminded me of when my mom would harvest the last zucchinis from her vegetable garden as Summer came to an end, and baked her famous Zucchini bread.

It's been ages since I'd had my mom's Zucchini bread, and while I was reading Kayln Denny's article, "Zucchini Madness, the Final Chapter: Zucchini Bread, Cakes, Cupcakes, and Muffins", I came across Garrett at Vanilla Garlic, and his recipe for Zucchini cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting . What I love about these cupcakes, is the plump raisins, and the turbinado sugar, give it a natural sweetness, not that sickly sweet taste, and the cinnamon gives it, it's warm Summer flavor. And how could I forget the cream cheese frosting. The recipe for the frosting is so easy, I'll never buy store bought again. You just blend butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
The best part about it, is my kids love them. So, they don't know exactly what's in them, but all they care about is how good they taste.

Here's a recipe from All Recipe's. I subsituted the walnuts for raisins, and left out the chocolate.

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar for about 10 minutes or until thickened and pale. Blend oil into the beaten egg mixture.
In a small bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir flour mixture into egg mixture until just blended. Stir in zucchini and raisins. Spoon in batter into 24 paper-lined or greased muffin cups, filling the cups 1/2 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until fork or toothpick inserted in a cupcake's center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; let cool completely. Spread with cream cheese frosting.

I hope you enjoy not only baking them, but savoring their Summer goodness.

Key Lime-Raspberry Cheesecake

Key Lime Raspberry Cheescake

2 Cps. graham cracker crumbs

6 Tbls. butter , melted

1/3 cup sugar

Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter. In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter; mix well. Press into bottom and 3/4 the way up the sides of prepared springform pan; refrigerate.

Filling

4- 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1-1/2 Cps. sugar

5 eggs

1 T. grated lime rind

1/2 C. lime juice

1 8oz. container sour cream

1 cp. fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar; beat until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in lime rind and juice. Stir in sour cream. Place raspberries evenly at the bottom of prepared pie crust. Cover raspberries with cheesecake batter. Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until filling is set. Turn oven off; prop the door open. Let cheesecake stand in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan; cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8hrs, or refrigerate overnight.

Recipe of the Day: Lemon Iced Tea Sorbet

What is more refreshing than a tall, cold glass of frozen 'Iced Tea'?

Lemon Iced Tea Sorbet

What's for Dinner? Briam,Macaroni and Cheese, Meatloaf, and Cheesecake Marble Brownies

Above is my Summer comfort foods dinner. Our family loves macaroni and cheese, but it wasn't until I made this recipe for Baked Macaroni and Cheese from Alton Brown, that I told myself, even though it's more expensive than Kraft Macaroni and cheese, there is no comparison in how good it tastes. It really is a comfort food.

My husband loves vegetables, and I get tired of broccoli, and green beans, when yesterday Ms. Cellenia posted about Briam a Greek side dish of roasted Summer vegetables. I'm not a huge fan of eggplant and tomatoes, but when roasted in beef broth and olive oil with garlic, it becomes a very satisying and very healthy side dish.

What can I say about meat loaf, as a child growing up there was something about meatloaf I just didn't like. Most of my dinners I use ground beef, beef stroganoff, enchiladas,spaghetti with meatballs, but meatloaf is one of those versatile dishes, that you can add anything to ground beef to make it. In mine I used eggs, seasoned bread crumbs, parsley, dijon mustard, ketchup, worchestire sauce, salt and pepper and onions.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe has the best of both worlds, Cheesecake, and Brownies. What dessert can be better than that. Here's the recipe from Epicurious.com Cheesecake Marbled Brownies.

See if you can eat just one!

Blog Review~La Tartine Gourmet

Besides showing beautiful photos of food, Beatice the author of La Tartine Gourmet ,shares with her readers her original recipes, tips on what she does while she prepares her creations, and some very useful cooking information. It is no surprise her blog won the 2006 Best Food Blog Award.
Take a look at this recipe for her Cheesecake-Marble brownies. They look sinfully delicious. Looking for something a little more healthier, then this post Summer and it's Gifts will give you a feast not only for your eyes, but good for you too.

Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

Mark Bittman of the New York Times is brillant. Just what I've been looking for some FAST, EASY Ideas for Meals. Here is his article, Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less . Some of the ideas that caught my attention,

#14 Put a few slices of chopped prosciutto in a skillet with olive oil, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic and a bit of butter; a minute later, toss in about half a cup bread crumbs and red chili flakes to taste. Serve over pasta with chopped parsley.

#28 New Joe’s Special, from San Francisco: Brown ground meat with minced garlic and chopped onion. When just about cooked, add chopped spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted. At the last minute, stir in two eggs, along with grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.

#76 Make a thin plain omelet with two or three eggs. Sauté cubes of bacon or pancetta or strips of prosciutto until crisp. Cut up the omelet and use it and the meat to garnish a green salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.