TRIPLE BERRY SMOOTHIE

1 cup frozen triple berries

1 cup soy milk (vanilla-flavored will make smoothie too sweet)
1/2 large banana, sliced
2 tsp honey

Place the berries, milk, banana, and honey in blender container.  Blend on high until smooth but thick, about half a minute.  Should be served immediately.

Note: This recipe makes 2 servings of 10-oz each.  Cut ingredients in half for 1 smoothie.

file photo

You can "fancy up" this drink by giving your glass a sugar rim.  Wet the rim of glass with water or by running a lemon or lime on the edge.  Dip the glass into sugar.

ICE CREAM BREAD

2 cups vanilla ice cream*, melted

1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup chocolate chips, optional
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles, optional

1. Preheat your oven to 350˚F (175˚C).
2. Cut a piece of parchment paper that will fit the bottom of a loaf pan and extended over the ends of the pan. You will use the paper to lift the bread from the pan.
3. Combine melted ice cream and self-rising flour. Mix until well combined.
4. Add any additional sprinkles, chocolate chips, or goodies to the batter.
5. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease with a nonstick spray.
6. Pour batter into a loaf pan and spread evenly.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes. (Baking times and temperatures may vary from oven to oven.)
8. Allow to cool fully before cutting.
9. *You may choose any ice cream flavor. Be aware, though, low-fat and/or dairy-free ice creams are not recommended as they will produce an inferior product.
10. Adapted from TASTY

file photo

PECAN BALLS

1/2 lb butter (use the real thing), room temperature

4 tbsp granulated sugar
2 cups flour (I use 1 cup white whole wheat and 1 cup all-purpose)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, flour, salt, pecans, and vanilla until well combined.

Roll mixture into small balls about the size of walnuts; place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Remove cookies from oven and cool slightly. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar. After cookies are completely cooled, roll again in powdered sugar.

photo from big oven

ORANGE ICED TEA

2 large oranges

4 cups boiling water
5 black tea bags
Ice cubes
honey to taste

Use a vegetable peeler to peel the oranges, being careful not to include the white part. Keep peel in a continuous piece if possible as you don't want to deal with a lot of little pieces of peel.  (Eat the oranges or use sections or slices in the tea.)

In a large heat proof pitcher, pour the boiling water over the tea bags and the orange peel; cover pitcher and allow tea to steep for 5 minutes.  Using a large slotted spoon, remove the tea bags.  Leave the peel in the tea and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To serve, remove the peel and pour over ice into glasses.  Use honey to sweeten to suit your taste.
A great treat on hot summer days!

file photo

QUICK AND EASY PRALINE BARS

24 Graham cracker squares

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange the Graham crackers in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan.

In a 2-quart saucepan, cook the brown sugar and butter to boiling; boil 1 minute while stirring constantly.  Remove pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  Pour the mixture over the Graham crackers and spread out evenly.  Sprinkle the pecans over the hot mixture.  Bake about 10 minutes or until bubbly.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Yield: 24 bars

file photo

PEANUT BUTTER CUP PARFAITS

1 pkg (3.9-oz) instant chocolate pudding mix

2 cups + 2 tbsp milk

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tbsp sugar

Chocolate sprinkles and peanut butter cups, optional for garnish

Prepare pudding mix according to the directions using the 2 cups of milk. Transfer 3/4 cup of the pudding to a bowl and whisk in the peanut butter and the 2 tablespoons of milk.

On medium-high setting, beat cream and sugar until stiff. Fold 1 1/2 cups of the peanut butter mixture into the cream. Divide half among 6 (6-oz) glasses. Top with the chocolate pudding mixture then the remaining peanut butter mixture. Transfer the remaining cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe on top. Cover and chill 1 hour.

If using, add the garnishes before serving.

recipe and photo Woman's World 2024

BASIC PIE CRUST FROM FOOD NETWORK

I got this recipe years ago from a pullout in a Food Network Magazine.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp cold vegetable shortening*, cut into pieces
10 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Pulse flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add shortening and one-third of the butter; pulse until mixture looks like coarse meal. Add remaining butter and pulse until the size of peas. Add 1/4 cup ice water and pulse a few more times. If dough doesn't hold together when squeezed, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing.

Divide dough between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pat into disks; wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

file photo

SPICED FRUIT BOWL

2 cinnamon sticks

2 cups unsweetened apple juice
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 pear, cored and cut into thin strips
1 red apple, cored and cut into thin strips
1 peach, peeled, pitted and cut into thin strips
1/2 cup pitted fresh cherries
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cinnamon sticks and apple juice to a boil; cook 10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool.  Remove and discard cinnamon sticks. Stir in the lemon juice.  Add the pear strips, apple strips, peach strips, and cherries to the juice.  Gently stir to coat the fruit and refrigerate to chill.  (May be chilled as long as all day or overnight.) Before serving, gently stir in the strawberries.

file photo

Yield: 4 servings

Note: This recipe works best with fresh fruit.  If you do not have fresh fruit, use unsweetened frozen fruit.

TRUFFLE BROWNIES WITH ALMONDS

1 box family-size fudge brownie mix

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 egg
3/4 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a large bowl combine the all the ingredients listed above.  Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 23 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Never overbake brownies!  Place pan on a wire rack to cool.

FILLING:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 block (8-oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp almond extract

Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, stirring until smooth.  Cook in 15 to 20 second intervals, stir after each to smooth so you can see if the chips are fully melted.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together.  Add the milk, almond extract, and the melted chocolate chip; mix together well.  Spread mixture over the cooled brownies.  Chill for about an hour or until firm.

TOPPING:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

In a small saucepan melt the chocolate chips with the cream over low heat, stirring often.  Allow to cool slightly and spread over the cream cheese filling.  Sprinkle the almonds over the top.  

Refrigerate at least an hour before cutting to serve.

The file photo.

TIPS FOR BAKING A BLUEBERRY PIE

If you love blueberry pie but would like yours to have more structure, here's a tip for you.

Add a peeled and grated apple to your blueberry filling! Apples are rich in pectin, a natural thickener, and will add structure to your filling.

Soggy crust? Before adding the filling to the pastry, sprinkle 3 to 4 tablespoons of basic cookie crumbs over the pastry. The cookie crumbs will absorb liquid released by the berries as they bake.

file photo