National Raspberry Pie Day

I know the raspberries are going crazy at my parents house right now.  I’m going through a ton of recipes to get to putting them to use, but who doesn’t love a pie?  Many think of pies as only for the rainy season, but it doesn’t have to be that way at all.  Dessert doesn’t have to be unhealthy or difficult.  Try out this pie to hit the best of both.

1 quart (4 cups) raspberry sherbet
1 cup hot fudge topping, slightly warmed
1 creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumb crust (6 oz)
1 cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping (can use non-fat)
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Let container of sherbet stand at room temperature about 15 minutes to soften on counter. While sherbet softens, spread 1/2 cup of the fudge topping carefully over bottom of crumb crust; place in freezer for 15 minutes to set.

2. Spoon and spread sherbet over fudge topping in crust. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 3 hours.

3. To serve, microwave other half of fudge topping on High 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle. Garnish individual servings with dollop of whipped topping, drizzle of fudge topping and several fresh raspberries.

A big reason I love this recipe is the fact that it is non-dairy. There are very few creamy pie recipes I can eat.

National Cheesecake Day

It’s national cheesecake day and honestly, it’s a love-affair I miss greatly.  Being lactose intolerant means I can no longer have cheesecake.  I know there are alternatives with the tofu and other products, but I haven’t tried them yet.  I’ve been slow on trying them because I”m worried about being disapppointed.  I truly love cheesecake and finding an alternative would be way better than any other food out there.  lol

Cheesecake saves quite well for days in the fridge and freezer.  Not for months on end, but definitely for a couple of weeks if tightly sealed up.

Important thing about cooking a good cheesecake is to have all ingredients at room temperature before mixing.  This means the eggs and cream cheese people.  Set it out to warm up and whip into a creamier consistency.  You’ll be very happy you did.

Going Meatless a Few Nights a Week

by Ann Martin

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a vegetarian, but don’t want to fully commit to a lifestyle change just yet? Why not try preparing a few meatless meals a week to see if it’s for you or for your family? Even if you are looking for ways to save on the weekly grocery bill, eating a few meatless meal a week will really save you money. More and more people, no matter their reasons are going meatless at least a few times a week.

There are health benefits for eating a few meatless meals throughout the week. By having the meals focused on vegetables, grains, beans, etc, you will be consuming more nutrients and vitamins. Since these food items are typically high in fiber, in turn you will feel full and eat less. For those people that include ample fruits and vegetables into their diet know that they are low in both calories and fats and help them maintain their ideal weight. Finally, by including more and more vegetarian elements into your diet, you will drastically reduce your risk of heart disease. Put out your dinnerware and get ready to try some delicious, yet healthy vegetarian dishes.

Here are some helpful suggestions on how to include some protein into your diet, without eating meat.

• Eggs – They are the perfect food for morning, noon, and night! Try a vegetable frittata for lunch or maybe a fris?e salad with poached eggs (of course, try and leave out the bacon!)
• Milk – It may seem silly, but you can incorporate milk into so many things, like: sauces, soups and desserts. See if you can squeeze in that extra cup where and when you can.
• Tofu – This can be substituted in almost any recipe that calls for meat. There are many varieties of tofu, so make sure you read up on which one would hold up best in the recipe that you’ll be using.

Now, there are some wonderful meatless recipes out there for you try. Here are some menu ideas to get you started to making a few meatless meal for you and family to enjoy during the week. Who knows, maybe you’ll make very Monday a “Meatless Monday”!

• Ravioli with Tomatoes, White Beans and Baby Spinach
• Shell Pasta with Chickpeas and Broccoli Rabe
• Eggplant Lasagna with Ricotta and Asiago Cheeses
• Stir-Fry with Tofu and Oriental Vegetables
• Homemade Pizza (think of all the yummy toppings you could add!)
• Cheesy Tomato Risotto (again, add in mushrooms, peppers, etc.)

As you can see, there are endless possibilities that you can create in the kitchen that do not require meat. So get online, talk to some friends and see who can come up with the most delicious meatless meal! After creating your recipe, set up a buffet using your Noritake colorwave platters and have your family and friends sample your meatless masterpieces.

Save Some Cooking Time Mom

Below are some quick ways to get ahead on a couple of meals for those long work days.  Nothing fancy, just some ideas to get in that freezer.

Make Ahead Freezer Meals – For Women on the Go

by Darlyn Burkle

Make ahead freezer meals could be the answer to a busy woman’s dinner time blues. Have you ever come home from work or running the kids to their activities, to find that you have nothing in the house to eat for dinner? Maybe you have come home and you were too tired to prepare a full meal for your family? Did you know that make ahead freezer meals could save the day?

Make ahead freezer meals are perfect for a family, couple, or single person. Let me tell you a little bit about these meals. They are easy to prepare and are a wonderful life saver.

Make ahead freezer meals require proper planning. You will need to plan at least a couple hours but three or four hours would be better. The reason for this is you will be preparing the meal from start to finish and you will be doing more than one meal during this time period.

There are a couple of ways to prepare make ahead freezer meals. You can do each one of them separately or you can prepare them all at once. Here is an example.

If you are preparing four meals, two are with chicken and two are with hamburger, you could prepare the chicken meals together and when you are finished prepare the hamburger meals or you could put the chicken in the oven to cook and prepare the hamburger meals while that cooks. Once the chicken is complete you would finish that meal.

If you don’t want to prepare the entire meal you can cook up the chicken so the only thing needed is to warm it up. You can do the same with fried hamburger. If your family enjoys hamburgers, you can create the patties ahead of time so you won’t have to do that step. You can even add the seasoning to them if you wish, and then pop them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Make ahead freezer meals are also possible with crock-pot cooking. Creating crock pot meals ahead of time is super easy. All you do is put all the ingredients needed in a bag with the seasoning. Then all you have to do is open the bag and dump it into the crock pot and turn it on. What can possible be easier than that?

Here is a list of items that can be created ahead of time for make ahead freezer meals.

o Fried hamburger – cooked
o Baked Chicken – baked
o Hashbrowns – baked and shredded
o Potato squares – baked and cubed
o Hamburger patties – seasoned and ready to cook
o Chicken strips – cooked and sliced

Cooking or at least preparing these items ahead of time can save you anywhere from a few minutes to a half hour of time. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of time for me.

Make ahead freezer meals are meals that are already cooked and sitting in your freezer. All you have to do is place it in a dish and into the oven to warm it up. Other make ahead freezer meals can also include meals that are all put together, all you have to do is cook them. These types of meals are wonderful for a family on the go, a couple who works long days, or a single person. Whatever your situation is, make ahead freezer meals are the way to go.

Pickling at Home

I grew up with a great-grandma, grandma and Mom that canned.  Pickles was just one of the many things that were put in a jar to save from our gardens or the local produce stand.  I lucked out and my mother-in-law also liked to make pickles.  We’ve spent many a summer coming up with new twists on what we will pickle.

Pickles are very easy to make and with so much more variety than our grocery shelves can show.  There was a time in history when pickling was one of the best ways to preserve food, but with better shipping available, it fell out of favor.  Today, you will find most pickles in the form of cucumbers that have been made into bread and butter slices or mixed with dill.

There are many different kinds of pickles out there.  Fresh-pack pickles only need to be cured for a few hours in a vinegar solution before they are ready to eat, and as you can see, they are quite simple to make.  Fermented pickles are soaked in brine for a month and are quite a bit stronger.  Fruit pickles use whole or sliced fruit that have been simmered in a syrup of some sort, while relishes are made from chopped vegetables that have been cooked in a vinegar solution.

To get started making pickles, take a look at a simple recipe.  Wash some cucumbers and slice them down to about three to four inch chunks before soaking them in a brine solution that is roughly1 cup of salt to 2 gallons of water for about 12 hours.  Then drain them and put the pickles into a  jar, adding spices like mustard seed or dill before covering them with a boiling solution of one and a half quarts vinegar, half a cup of salt, one-fourth a cup of sugar, two quarts of water and two teaspoons of pickling spice.

With this basic recipe, you can get to pickling quick.  But you’ll find it can get even simpler.  In many Asian countries, the large white radish known as the daikon is often pickled.  Unlike the European radish, the daikon is quite mild and even a little sweet.  To pickle a daikon, simply sprinkle cut slices of daikon with salt for an hour before gently rinsing them clean.  Then cover them with white vinegar or rice vinegar for a few hours and you’ll find that they are quite ready to eat.  Depending on your taste, you can add a little bit of sugar or pepper to the mixture.

Pickling in general is a largely intuitive process, and you’ll find that with just a little bit of practice, you can make some excellent pickles that all of your friends and family can enjoy.  Experiment to find out what crazy twists your family can come up with.

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