INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. fettuccine (half a box)
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. diced shallot
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. water
pinch black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
5 oz. baby bella mushrooms (half a box), sliced
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook the pasta as per the directions on the box and set aside.

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan and add the shallot. When it begins to brown, add the garlic, water, salt and pepper. Let simmer on low for 1-2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and simmer another 3 minutes, covered and stirring occasionally. Pour in the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Add the grated parmesan and cook another few minutes until sauce is slightly thickened.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix to incorporate. Top with the extra parmesan cheese and dried parsley flakes. Garnish with purple or green basil leaves.

It's so nice to have an easy alternative to frying chicken. Baking chicken is wonderfully healthy option too, but having the oven on in the summertime is just not fun. Here's one way to serve up some chicken and veggies with minimal stove time and maximum flavor!

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 lb. chicken tenders, cut into small strips

Marinade:
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp orange juice, lemonade or water

Sauce:
1/2 cup broth or water
1 Tbsp corn starch
3 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp salt

Vegetables:
1 medium green squash, sliced (unpeeled)
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 8oz box baby bella mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 small can sliced water chestnuts
1 can baby corn, cut into small pieces
1 cup frozen broccoli floretts

3 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil


INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine the corn starch and juice in a small bowl and add the chicken strips. Let marinate at least one hour.

Mix the sauce ingredients in another bowl and set aside.

Heat the two oils in a large nonstick wok. Add the chicken pieces without the remaining marinade. Cook on medium-high heat until the chicken turns white. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the vegetables to the hot wok and stir. Cover and let simmer until the vegetables are softened, approximately 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables and return the chicken to the wok. Mix thoroughly and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice.

This soup is so wonderful and so colorful that you might need sunglasses when you prep the veggies! It's so nice to work with our Creator's divine artwork and make something delicious from it. As promised here are all ten vegetables in chronological order.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp. oil
1/2 tbsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 1/2 tbsp. salt
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, peeled (chop one, reserve one)
4 mediums stalks celery, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1 zucchini, unpeeled (chop half, reserve half)
1 small butternut squash or spaghetti squash, peeled and chopped
2 cups broccoli, divided
1 small can green peas
3-4 quarts water


DIRECTIONS:

Reserve the whole carrot and half zucchini in a mesh soup bag and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large 8-quart pot on medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook until starting to brown. Lower the heat and add the spices. Stir quickly and add the chopped carrot, celery, potato, tomato, zucchini, squash and 1 cup of the broccoli. Cook for 5 minutes with the cover partially closed. Add the green peas, mesh bag of reserved carrot and zucchini, and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and let cook for 2 hours.

Remove the reserved vegetables to a plate and chop into small pieces. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until mostly blended. There should still be visible bits of vegetables. Return the carrot and zucchini, along with the reserved cup of broccoli to the soup and let cook another half hour. Stir well and serve.

This dessert is so easy to make and freezes so nicely that there's really no reason you shouldn't be making it. Also, kids and adults alike will both enjoy the creamy texture and visual appeal. The mousse is also quite easy to vary in the ways you present it. The recipe below yields about 15 of these mini trifle cups.

VANILLA MOUSSE

1 8 oz. Rich's whip
1-2 T. confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the whip until stiff peaks form. Add confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract and beat another 5 seconds until incorporated. Attach a Wilton 1M tip to a piping bag, or slip it through the inside of a gallon-size resealable bag. Add the mousse to the bag.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

1 8 oz. Rich's whip
1/2 cup praline paste
4 oz. high quality dark chocolate (the higher the percentage of cacao, the better)

In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the whip until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, melt the chocolate and praline paste in the microwave until smooth. Add to the whip and beat 5 seconds more until incorporated. Attach a Wilton 1M tip to a piping bag, or slip it through the inside of a gallon-size resealable bag. Add the mousse to the bag.

TOPPING

Sprinkles, crushed sandwich cookies, colored sugar crystals, edible pearls, etc.

Pipe vanilla (or chocolate) mousse into trifle cups, starting from the outermost part and working your way inwards and upwards. Repeat with the chocolate (or vanilla) mousse. You may also alternate brown and white, using two layers of each. Top with whatever topping you chose.

TIP: If using the trifle cups pictured above, you can simply put the filled cups back into the plastic box packaging, put that into a Ziploc, and freeze it compactly and efficiently!



NOTE: You can also do a variation of this with a crust on the bottom by doing the following. Pulse half a package of Oreo-style cookies with 2 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter in a food processor until you get crumbs. Press into the cups before adding the other layers.

This tastes like a restaurant dish and plates like one too! It isn't a healthy dinner but it will definitely be a bit more wholesome than your Chinese takeout alternative.

MARINADE: 

1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1 T corn starch
1 T water
2 T oil
1 package Chinese Pepper steak (very thinly sliced)

1 red and 1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 can baby corn, chopped into 1" pieces
1 can water chestnuts
frozen broccoli florets (desired quantity)

SAUCE: 

3 T soy sauce
5 T teriyaki sauce
1 T brown sugar
4 cloves crushed garlic
2 T flour
1 T sherry
1 T oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all marinade ingredients and add the steak. Mix well and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok on medium heat and add the pieces of steak, discarding any excess marinade. Once browned, reduce heat to low and cover. Let simmer for half hour, stirring occasionally and adding a tablespoon of water at a time if necessary. Once soft, remove meat from wok and set aside.

Add the peppers, baby corn, water chestnuts and broccoli to the wok and let cook for about 5-10 minutes, covered, until softened (not too soft).

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl and pour over the vegetables. Return the meat to the wok and let simmer on low for another few minutes until the sauce is bubbly. Serve over rice

This decadent treat is a health nut's nightmare! Whenever people label me as a health nut or something like that, I am quick to assure them that I also indulge in deliciously fattening and calorie-laden treats from time to time. I have one stipulation, though: the treat (or "cheat" as some may call it) must taste DELICIOUS!!! Not just look delicious. You know how so many of the sweet table delicacies at weddings and events are actually not so great once you bite into them? Cake too dry or too oily, fudges too margarine-y, chocolates too waxy, etc. This dream dessert, however, definitely passes inspection and is a worthy indulgence!

There are two variations that I came up with (there are plenty, I'm sure) so here they are. Both recipes are the same, with the second one using fewer of the ingredients. using the following ingredients I was able to make both recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE CAKE:

2 sticks margarine (or 1 cup oil)
1/2 cup granulate sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs`
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/3 cups flour
chocolate chips (I use most of a bag)

FOR THE LAYERED TOPPINGS:

peanut butter (I used natural PB without added sugar)
8 oz whipped topping (small Rich's whip)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup praline paste
1 oz good quality chocolate
14 oreo-style sandwich cookies
thin pretzel sticks
1 oz good quality baking chocolate
leftover chocolate chips from previous recipe (about a handful)
edible glitter / gold balls / garnish (optional)
1 tsp cocoa

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In an electric mixer combine all the ingredients for the chocolate chip cookie cake in the given order. Press some of the mixture into the bottom of an 8" square pan. Press the rest of the mixture into the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan. Bake both cakes until the edges are golden and the tops are set. Let cool.

FOR THE 8" SQUARE CAKE:

Spread the the peanut butter in a thin layer over the top of the cake. Separate 8 of the oreo cookies and remove the cream from inside. Arrange the 16 cookies over the top of the cake (4 rows of 4 each).

Whip the topping until stiff. Add the vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar and whip to combine. Melt the praline paste and good quality chocolate in a microwave safe bowl until smooth and add to HALF of the whipped cream. Save the other half for the next recipe. Spread the praline mixture over the oreo cookies to completely cover them. Reserve some for the next recipe.

Break the pretzel sticks in little pieces and sprinkle over the top. Toss the chocolate chips on top. Melt the baking chocolate in a ziploc bag and with the tip snipped off, pipe the chocolate all over to drizzle. Add the optional garnishes.

Freeze until firm and cut into squares!



FOR THE INDIVIDUAL ROUND DESSERTS:

While the 9" x 13" chocolate chip cookie cake is still warm, use a 2" round metal cookie cutter and press into the pan to create 8 circles.

Spread the tops with peanut butter. Separate the remaining 6 oreo cookies, removing the cream, and place one cookie half on each cake circle. You'll be left with 4 pieces. Crush them into crumbs and place around the cookie, as a border.

In a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip (large star), add the remaining praline mixture to one side of the bag and the whipped cream on the other side. This way, when you pipe, both mixtures will blend together nicely. Pipe swirly puffs on each dessert.

Sift the cocoa on top using a small sifter and garnish with edible glitter crystals.