Orange You Glad I'm Back?

So, I haven't blogged for a while.  I've missed it.  Not sure if you have missed me though.  I've been sick - but I am on the road to recovery!  And while being ill, my taste-buds were rendered useless.   I hope everyone had a nice Easter.  This salad reminds me of the many family gatherings that we once had on my maternal side of the family.  Enjoy!

Orange Fluff Jell-o Salad

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 Small Box Orange Jell-o

1 Cup Cottage Cheese

1 Small Can Mandarin Oranges

1-8oz Container Cool Whip + more for garnish if desired

Step 1:  Prepare Jello according to the package and chill until firm.

Step 2:  Once Jello is firm, mash with fork.  Add the cottage cheese and stir until well combined.  You can use the electric mixer for this if you wish - it will break up the cottage cheese into smaller bits.

Step 3:  Fold in the Cool Whip into the Jello.

Step 4:  Gently fold in the drained oranges into the Jello mixture.

Step 5:  Chill until ready to serve.  Enjoy!

Cracked-Top Jello Cookies

Summertime.  We have a love-hate relationship.  I hate heat and humidity and sometimes even sunshine.  But I really do love the longer days and not wearing a coat.  As a child, I usually hid in the basement where it was cool and dark until the evening hours (my parent's house did not have air conditioning).  Then, in the cooler hours, I would go for long bike rides, hang out with friends and enjoy life.  One of the summertime staples that helped me through those long, dreaded, high humidity days - were these cookies.  They are definitely a summertime cookie - fruity, sweet and slightly tangy.  You can use any flavor Jello you want - experiment with your favorites!  I made a batch of orange ones and a batch of cherry lemonade as well.

Cracked-Top Jello Cookies

Yield: 3 - 4 dozen, depending on the size

Ingredients:

1 Cup White Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup Shortening

1 Egg

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

2 Cups Flour

2 Teaspoons Baking Soda

2 Teaspoons Cream of Tartar

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Small Package of Jello
Food Coloring (optional)

Step 1:  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Prepare your cookie sheets by greasing them.

Step 2:  In the bowl of a mixer, cream the sugars and shortening.  Add the egg and mix well.

Step 3:  Add the remaining ingredients and mix until incorporated.  Please note, the food coloring is optional.

Step 4:  Roll dough into a 1-inch balls.  This cookie dough is a bit more dry than a usual cookie, so make sure you really roll them well. DO NOT FLATTEN THEM.  

Step 5:  Bake for 13-15 minutes.  Remove from oven, remove cookies from the baking sheet and place on cooling rack.  Let cool.  

Can't help being overwhelmed with emotion each time I see my mother's handwriting!

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

This may just be my kryptonite (I don't even know how to spell that!).  Seriously, I am addicted.  These scones are the reason I have gotten up each morning for the past 10 days.  The anticipation of eating them with a nice iced latte is almost too much!  They are tender, slightly buttery with fresh, juicy raspberries and sweet bits of white chocolate.  And they are a cinch to make.  I promise.  These would be great for a 4th of July breakfast . . . sub 1/2 the raspberries with blueberries and you'll have a red, white and blue scone!

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Yield:  12

Ingredients:

6 Oz.  Fresh Raspberries

1 Cup White Chocolate Chips

2 and 1/2 Cups Flour, plus more for your work surface

1/2 Cup (1 Stick) of Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 Cup Sugar + additional for sprinkling on top

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

3/4 Teaspoon Course Salt

2 Egg Yolks

3/4 Cup Buttermilk

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two large cookie sheet by spraying them with non-stick spray and set them aside.

Step 2:  In a food processor, pulse together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and pulse until pea-size pieces form. Don't have a food processor?  No problem!  In a large bowl, add the same ingredients.  Cut in the butter until pea-sized pieces form.  This can be done using two forks or by using a pastry cutter.

Step 3:  In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg yolks. Slowly pour the buttermilk mixture through feed tube into processor, pulsing until dough just comes together.  Or, if you are not using the food processor - pour over the crumbly mixture in the bowl and gently stir with a rubber scraper until just barely incorporated.

Step 4:  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface pat flat with your hands - just flat enough to sprinkle the raspberries and white chocolate chips on top.  Next, carefully fold the dough in half and pat out again.  Be sure to capture any escaped raspberries or white chocolate chips and exile them to the top of the dough.  Fold the dough in half again and pat out again.  Once again, capture any renegade raspberries or chips and exile to the top of the dough.  Once last time, fold in half and pat down - this time pat down to about 1 inch high oval/rectangular shape. 

Step 5:  Cut the dough into 12 pieces.  You can this with a sharp knife or pizza cutter by cutting down the center to make two long pieces - and then cutting each long piece into 6 equal pieces.  Using a spatula to gently lift the scones one at a time - place them on the cookie sheets (6 scones per cookie sheet).  Sprinkle the tops of the scones with sugar and place the baking sheets into the oven.  Let bake about 15 minutes, until just beginning to brown.  

Let cool slightly before eating.  Store in fridge.

Rhubarb Crisp

Part of embracing the spring and early summer is to:

1. Thank the Lord for the living through another winter and

2.  RHUBARB!!!

I <3 Rhubarb.  Always have, always will.  Unfortunately, I do not have any rhubarb plants.  So, I depend on friends and coworkers - and I highly grateful to them when they provide!  I was very fortunate this week that one of my coworkers brought me some rhubarb.  HAPPY DANCE!!  I asked the teenager what she would like .  .and this is what she chose.  Good choice, Teenager... good choice.

Rhubarb Crisp

Ingredients:

6 Cups of Rhubarb, washed and diced/sliced

2 Cups Granulated White Sugar

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1 and 1/2 Cups Oatmeal

1 and 1/2 Cups Flour

2/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Cup Butter, melted

Step 1:  Prepare a 9x13 baking dish by spraying with baking spray.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2:  In a large bowl, add the rhubarb, white sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.  Mix together.  Pour the mixture into the 9x13 pan and spread into an even layer.

Step 3:  In that (now) empty bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, and baking soda.  Mix together.  Add the butter.  Mix together.  This will be lumpy, but do the best you can.

Step 4:  Spread the flour/sugar/butter mixture over the rhubarb in the pan.  Break up an large chunks of the dry mixture with your fingers.

Step 5:  Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes - until hot and bubbly.  

To serve, scoop out a big spoonful into a bowl.  Adorn with either whipped cream or ice cream.  For an even better treat - just pour a little 1/2 and 1/2 over your serving (swoon!).  

Creamy Lime Parfaits

I have a very bad case of spring fever.  We had a taste of nice weather the other week, but it is once again snowing today.  Ug.  I am hoping this yummy dessert will help lift my spirits!  Think:  it's a little bit like key lime pie, but creamier and a little less tart.  Oh.So.Good.

Creamy Lime Parfaits

Serves:  4 large servings or 6 regular servings.
Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

3 Tablespoons Corn Starch

1 Cup Water

1/3 Cup Lime Juice

Green Food Coloring

2 Egg Yolks, slightly beaten

4 oz. Cream Cheese, room temp and cubed

Whipped Cream (or Cool Whip)

Cookie or Graham Crackers (optional for garnish)

Step 1:  In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch;  mix well.  Stir in the water, lime juice and egg yolks.  Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minute.  Add cream cheese and stir until cream cheese is melted and mixture is smooth.  Add a few drops of green food coloring and stir until well combined.  Cool to room temp.

Step 2:  Once the lime filling has cooled, stir in 1/2 cup of the whipped cream.

Step 3.  Gather your serving dishes!  I used 4 small mason jars.  Add roughly a quarter cup of the lime filling to each jar.  Then an equal amount of whip cream.  And then more lime.  And then top with remaining whipped cream.  Garnish at own will.

JELLO Pinwheels

Okay, I cannot lie:  I LOVE JELLO!!

There.  I said it.  I do. I really, really do.  Always have.  We ate it weekly when I was a kid.  Typically, it would be a Saturday night and served as a side dish with whatever sandwich we were eating for dinner.  Sometimes though, my mom would use it as an ingredient in other things - such as cookies or cake.  Those were delicious too.  But this post is for something I found while cruising the internet.  I found the recipe at www.joyofjello.com .  It looked fun, cute and yummy - right up my alley.  Plus, half of my family isn't really too impressed with Jello in general.  My youngest is only two - so we'll see if he follows mom.  I'm hoping he enjoys these.  And if not, the recipe doesn't make a whole bunch - rather, enough for he and I to enjoy.  I used raspberry Jello - but this would yummy with whatever flavor floats your boat.

Gelatin Pinwheel/ Fruity Roll-Ups

1 (3 oz.) pkg. jello

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Lightly spray an 8 or 9 inch pan square pan with non-stick cooking spray and make sure it is spread well.

Stir together water and jello powder in a glass bowl and microwave for 1 minute.   Remove bowl and stir well making sure jello is dissolved.  If necessary, return to microwave for 20 seconds or so to make sure jello is dissolved and stir again.

Add marshmallows and return to microwave for 20-40 seconds or until marshmallows have just begun to puff.  This is the key to a successful marshmallow layer!  If you over cook the marshmallows, they just dissolve and your roll-up will not have two distinct layers.

Whisk quickly until marshmallows are dissolved.

Pour quickly into prepared pan and chill in fridge for 45 minutes or until well set.  Creamy layer will float to the top.

Remove the pan from fridge.  At this point,  the jello should be very firm and easy to handle.  Gently pull one side away from pan and lift entire sheet onto counter.  Starting at one end, roll up tightly.  With seam side down, cut into 10-12 (1/2) inch slices.  We found it easiest to cut with a piece of thread or dental floss.  Just put the string around roll-up, cross and pull.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.