Add pizzazz to your breakfast with Overnight Oatmeal! It’s healthy, nutritious and delicious! I had a bowl of hot oatmeal every morning with raisins and walnuts for a very long time. When I heard about oatmeal made overnight in the refrigerator and eaten cold I was pretty skeptical. But we needed something to go with scrambled eggs (protein!) and the idea of a basic dish with lots of variations kept leading back to Overnight Oatmeal. Sauted apples were the first version we tried. Peel, slice and dice an apple and saute it with a tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan. Layer the hot apple with the cold oatmeal --- ummm, heavenly. Great for a leisurely morning. But there are lots of add-in and topping options. Enough to keep your tastebuds excited for a very long time. ... [Read More]
spring
Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
Rhubarb can be fresh or frozen. Cut fresh rhubarb into one inch slices; frozen is usually already cut. Fresh strawberries can be washed, stemmed and cut in half; frozen just need the package opened and the amount measured. Let frozen fruit thaw somewhat so you aren’t starting with a solid chunk of ice. Using the microwave is fair, if needed, to de-ice quickly . Cook fruit until it is just tender, about 7 or 8 minutes. Then quickly stir in the sugar and cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened. It’ll take about a minute to return to a boil so stir gently until the mixture does boil. Then boil for another minute until the mixture thickens, stirring intermittently. When thickened, remove from the heat. If you are a learning cook, it is sometimes hard to see how you can make ... [Read More]
Rhubarb Apple Crunch
I was delighted to find some late season rhubarb at the farmer’s market this past weekend. I’ve been pining for Rhubarb Crunch. It’s late enough in the season so I added some apple to the dessert to celebrate fall. This actually was the first rhubarb of the year because I totally missed rhubarb last spring. In fact, we missed the farmer’s market. We heard it was going to move but not where. In May, a facebook page celebrating the move came through my feed – but the farmer’s market was not on the highway where it was supposed to be. Then one Saturday morning I happened to drive through the mall parking lot. And there was the farmer’s market on the OTHER side of the mall from where it was last year. The fb page? Turns out it was the same city name -- but in a different ... [Read More]
Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars
I love rhubarb, especially in the spring. Put it atop a creamy cheesecake with a nutty crust --- mmmm. Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars – heavenly. So good you won’t want to stop eating until it’s all gone. One pound of rhubarb makes 3 cups of sliced rhubarb. The redder the color of the rhubarb, the sweeter the taste. So I hear. To me, it’s all relative and all tart! In fact rhubarb is one of the few tart things I do like. By the way, it is not a fruit. It’s considered a vegetable and is also sometimes classified as an herb. And the big green leafy top is poisonous so be sure to trim and discard it if you are harvesting directly from the garden. Place stems in plastic bag and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Rhubarb will keep 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator. To prepare, ... [Read More]
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
This Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake is the BEST cheesecake recipe ever baked. The toasted pecan crust has just the right flavor to set it apart from the run of the mill crust. The cheesecake is divinely creamy, so very rich and smooth. Make it plain without swirls and it is deliciously decadent. Add the subtle flavor of strawberries for the essence of spring amidst the decadance. Add beautiful deep pink swirls and you have a feast for the eyes – which makes the cheesecake taste even more wonderful. I told you my quest for St Paddy’s cheesecake led to me to developing two wonderful cheesecake recipes. The Ultimate No Bake Cheese cake. And this one. The secret is in the pecans added to the crust and the rich addition of a quarter cup of heavy cream. Skip either one and you have a ... [Read More]
Bunny Tail Truffles and Bunny Tail Games
Bunny Tails and Easter Egg Truffles are simple and easy to make. Shaping them and rolling the shapes in the coconut or sugar is a little on the time consuming side. But they are so darn cute, it’s worth it! My brother Jay and I would scarf down Mom’s shredded coconut stash as soon as we found the new hiding place. Maybe that’s why the younger ones in the family never learned to like coconut :=) More coconut for us – as in “none left”! Since not everybody is a fan of coconut for whatever the reason, half the mixture is made into colorful Easter Eggs. The moisture level varies among brands of cream cheese. I used Philadelphia cream cheese which is more moist than some of the store brands. The taste is the same, but pay attention when you add the last half of the powdered sugar. ... [Read More]
