Peach Cobbler Ice Cream Cake

Yesterday was my moms, something something, birthday.  She didn't want to have a party and just wanted to relax in the pool all day.  I had told her about a recipe I had come across in Food Network Magazine a few weeks back that she said sounded great. I had told her I would make it for her birthday, just because there is no party doesn't mean you shouldn't have a cake! What's better than an ice cream cake in August......? Well, a Peach Cobbler Ice Cream Cake! 

This is not a cake you should attempt to make last minute and expect to just throw it together, there are many many steps involved.  I would have to say this is the most time consuming cake I have ever made. Not so much actual work but waiting. You get to wait anywhere from 15 minutes to 6 hours through the entire, I'd say, 10 hour process. Now don't get me wrong, it is TOTALLY worth it and easy, just time consuming. 

Like I said, this one came from a magazine and I followed the recipe exactly, see below for ingredients and directions:

 

 Now mine didn't quite look exactly like the original but I would say it came pretty close and the flavor was amazing!  Happy Birthday Mother, I love you! Enjoy!

 

 

Blackberry Tarts with Homegrown Blackberries

Today when I arrived home I took a walk through the garden as I do every night. As I took a look at the progress of our fruit and vegetable plants I noticed that it was finally time to harvest some blackberries! I began to pick them and soon realized I needed a bowl! I filled it up and started to think about what I should make with them. 

 

I had bought some pre-made mini graham cracker crusts and also had a tub of cool whip.....that was all I needed!  I began to smash the blackberries with a fork in a large bowl, being careful not to burst all over, blackberry stains are not something I want to have to deal with!  I then began to fill my shells half way with just the berry pieces, reserving the juice.  Once filled I added about a third of the tub of cool whip to the liquid and mixed thoroughly.  I then topped the tarts with the blackberry infused cool whip and topped with a single fresh picked blackberry!  Super easy for a last minute dessert for two or an intimate gathering.  Enjoy!

 

Bridal Shower Tea Party

Now this post is way overdue, but with summer comes long days and jam packed weekends. With summer also comes wedding season which means showers, bachelorette parties and the actual weddings. I was not expecting to be in one of my best friends weddings but when she asked me I was so excited and honored, this was my first time being a bridesmaid and I knew exactly what to expect. I have planned enough weddings in the past few years which is why I was probably more excited about being a bridesmaid then the normal girl.  Part of a bridesmaids job is throwing the bridal shower. The bride knew exactly what she wanted, so there was no issue with choosing a theme, it was a tea party. Floral dresses, big floppy hats, tea cups, honey favors, tea sandwiches and desserts, which brings me to this post. 

Baking is my thing, yes I like to cook, but baking is what I love. The bride is on pinterest, obviously, so I started there for inspiration, and she gave us plenty to work with!  To me the final details of baking is what makes a dessert, you know, the pretty part, not the technical. When you are hosting an event with lots of food, your guests will first judge what they choose by sight. If it doesn't look pretty to the eye, then chances are they won't choose it and move on to what looks nice. My main project was a tea party Barbie cake.

The bride and I did not meet until high school but learned that we were both obsessed with Barbie growing up. (To think if we were friends in our younger days!) I got to work with the technical part, baking and shaping her gown, and the MOB made the most beautiful floppy hat to finish her off (details!). I then started with the pretty part, frosting! Hand-piped mini flowers, round and round and round until she was perfect! What a hit, everyone loved her and asked when to cut it....hahaha obviously she wasn't going to be cut up until later that night when the shower was over, silly people! Sometimes when things are too pretty you just can't break down and ruin it to soon!

Next I got to work on three different mini desserts served in their own little individual "shot glass". Three flavors, banana cream pie, chocolate Oreo and cherry cheesecake, all with their own little silver spoon. These were quite simple ans they had to be, I made about 100 of them! The secret, pudding! So simple yet so pretty and delicious. The banana cream pie was made with banana pudding, mini vanilla wafers and fresh sliced banana. The chocolate Oreo was Oreo pudding and mini Oreos and lastly the cherry cheesecake was cheesecake pudding and cherry pie filling. The key, serving in cute little individual glasses, neatly layered and finished with a mini silver spoon. Who can resist a cute, little, easy individual dessert. This makes it easy to grab and enjoy. The small portion also allows you to try one of each and not feel as guilty! I'll say it once more, presentation, finishing details to make food beautiful is key. 

So you may be thinking that I was done, well I wasn't. What's a tea party, or any party for that matter, without cupcakes! I decided to make two types, white chocolate raspberry chocolate and also Strawberry Pineapple.  I used basic boxed cake mixes for both cupcakes, chocolate and strawberry.  On the chocolate I then used the white chocolate raspberry frosting flavoring and added that to pre-made butter-cream frosting, topped it with a fresh raspberry and beautiful! On the strawberry I substituted the water in the cake instructions with pineapple juice and reserved the actual crushed pineapple (from 1 large can of crushed pineapple) to add to butter-cream frosting.  Lastly, I picked up some cute little floral cupcake pan liners at Michael's just to make them stand out and go along with our theme.  One last time, making things pretty is the best part of baking! Enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini

There is nothing better in the hot summer months than fresh veggies from the garden!  We have planted a wide variety this season, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, beans, swiss chard, brussels sprouts, corn and lots and lots of herbs.  When veggies are freshly picked you don't want to boil them and lose that fresh picked flavor.  So tonight when we picked our first zucchini of the season we decided to grill it.  In my opinion it is the best way I have ever had it!

So this is super easy, all you need to do is slice your zucchini into fours.  While we wanted to stick to not losing the natural fresh taste we decided to lightly brush it with olive oil and then just add some salt and pepper to taste. Place them face down on the grill and cook until lightly chard. Remove and serve as the perfect summer side.  I decided to serve these with my Sauteed chicken with Browned Sage Butter!  Enjoy!

Sauteed Chicken with Browned Sage Butter

With it being summer most people like to enjoy grilled food.  For us we cook almost every night on the grill, both the meat and the sides.  I am getting to the point that I just can't seem to eat anymore grilled chicken.  So tonight I decided to saute chicken breasts in the house with some browned sage butter.  It was so delicious (and easy) that I plan on making it again this week! Here is what you will need to make this fresh juicy chicken.

2 Chicken Breasts (cut in half and pounded to 1/4 inch)

1/2 Cup Flour

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Olive Oil Cooking Spray

5 Tablespoons Butter

2 Sprigs Fresh Sage

3 Teaspoons Fresh Thyme

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

First you want to salt and pepper your chicken to taste.  Next spray down your saute pan with the olive oil cooking pray and heat your pan.  While the pan is heating, lightly coat each side of the chicken breast with flour.  Now it is time to add your chicken to the pan, cook on medium heat about 4 minutes on each side (or until cooked through).  Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.  Immediately add the butter and sage sprigs to the hot seasoned pan. Cook until butter is browned.  Remove the sage and add the thyme to the butter, cook about 30 seconds (being careful that the thyme does not burn).  Lastly add the lemon juice to the pan and throw the chicken back in.  It is now time to serve and top with the butter sauce! 

Although I am tired of grilled chicken, veggies are still delish on the grill!  While I was making the chicken my husband threw some fresh corn on the cob and zucchini that be picked fresh from the garden on the grill to have with our chicken.  Perfect summer meal, Enjoy!

Corn Bowl

So tonight's original dinner was a mess!! I didn't get home until about 8:30 and then had to cook dinner.  I ran to the store to grab a quick pre-made frozen stir-fry dinner......yes I know, they are terrible for you! Well then, it must have been a sign I shouldn't eat it when I put it in the pan and forgot about it and burnt it....ooopps!

So this means that I needed to think of something quick, since at this point I was starving.  I through a bag of steamfresh corn in the microwave to hold me over.....then I took a look in the fridge to find some tomatoes, olives and kielbasa.  I simply sliced all three and sauteed in EVOO until the kielbasa was cooked.  Threw this on top of the corn and that was dinner!

Honestly, it was DELICIOUS!  I will probably make it again as both Scott and I loved it, this shows you never know what you can do when your starving with what you have in the fridge! Enjoy!

Men Can Cook Too!

Men can cook too!

I texted my husband tonight to tell him I would make American Chop Suey, his favorite, when I got home.  When I get home late he usually will start dinner, the protein at least, so I can just throw together some sides when I get home.  I wanted to make sure he didn't bother tonight.  If you have read my post on American Chop Suey, you know I don't eat it.  My husband texted me and asked if I could let him know when I was on my way, at this point I knew he would be cooking something for me, and I was right! 

He made me an egg sandwich, but not your typical egg sandwich.  There is no bread in this sandwich, the eggs are the bread, and in between them is the kielbasa, tomatoes and taco cheese for a bit of heat. Topped with salt and pepper to finish.  A simple, quick and most importantly, delicious sandwich, without all the carbs of bread! It was so good I had him make me another, might just be a new favorite!