A Giveaway!!! & Peanut Butter Parfaits

Are you familiar with CSN Stores? I wasn't until a few months ago. CSN Stores has EVERYTHING, from dining room furniture to cookware. Do you like to shop? I LOVE to shop! Browsing and deciding what to buy is one of my favorite things. My mother used to call it window shopping!! As a reader of my blog, you're going to get the chance to shop!!! CSN stores is giving one of my readers (in the USA or Canada) a promo code good for $50.00 in merchandise from their stores.

How to enter is simple!! Sign up to be a follower of my blog and leave me a comment! If you're already a follower, just leave me a comment and you're entered. Also, I'd love to hear what you like to shop for or your favorite place to shop. I will be picking a winner on August 1st. Good luck and thanks for reading my blog!!!

Now for this week's Foodie Friday recipe...Peanut Butter Parfaits. One of the fun things about baking cakes to decorate is you always have leftover cake tops. It’s fun to come up with creative uses for them. Cake Pops are a fun creation to make with cake tops. My final cake for the Fondant and Gum Paste class I took last month, was a Peanut Butter Cake. No recipe for this cake, just a yellow cake mix with a 1/2 cup of peanut butter added. It’s moist and delicious.

I decided to make Peanut Butter Parfaits with my leftover cake. Parfaits are so fun and a smaller (much less caloric) version of a trifle. As I was riffling through my glasses, I realized I don’t own parfait glasses. I know I’ve passed them up numerous times at Goodwill, thinking oh one more set of glasses, I don’t need them. How about stemless wine glasses?

Peanut Butter Parfaits

Peanut Butter Cake
Vanilla Instant Pudding
½ cup peanut butter

Whisk ½ cup of peanut butter, gradually whisk in 2 cups of milk. When smooth, whisk in the instant pudding mix. Chill 10 – 15 minutes. Layer the pudding and cake, finishing with a layer of pudding. Drizzle the top with chocolate sauce.

These parfaits were a quick and easy dessert.





I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

In My Garden

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

This is a family favorite, one you will always find at those holiday or birthday dinners. It’s also a recipe I go to when having dinner for a group. We had these ribs for Father’s Day and I asked Tim what side he’d like to go with them. How ‘bout that cheesy potato thing?, he said.

So the “cheesy potato thing” it is. It was a warm day and I try to refrain from using the oven on hot days. The way my kitchen is designed the heat just hangs in there and makes it miserable. I’ve made these before in my crock pot. The last time I made them, I did an hour on high and then about 3 hours on low. The hash browns didn’t seem done. I cooked these for an hour on high and then 4 hours on low. They turned out more like cheesy mashed potatoes but still were delicious. I think my mistake was I thawed these before I cooked them and I think that caused them to cook faster.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

2 lbs. hash browns
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cheese soup
1 c. milk
1 c. sour cream
2 c. grated cheddar cheese

Spray the crockpot with non stick cooking spray. Mix together the soups, onion, milk, sour cream and 1/2 of the cheese. Stir in the potatoes. Cook on high for 1 hour. Turn the crockpot to low and cook an additional 2 1/2 hours. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese and cook an additional 30 minutes.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's, Tuesday's at the Table and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday's.

Brownies & Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches

You know how a lot of people seem to be in search of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe? For me, it's the best brownie recipe. The Omaha paper had a best brownie contest a few weeks ago. I submitted my favorite recipe. My recipe wasn't chosen but it was fun to enter. When I saw Tiffany of A Spoonful and a Heap had chosen Chocolate (Walnut) Brownies for this week's SMS, I wondered if this one would end up being my new favorite.

The recipe calls for 45 to 50 minutes of baking time. Since my oven tends to run a little hot, I set it for 40 minutes. I didn't check it before the 40 minutes were up. I should have. 40 minutes was too long. Not that these are overdone, they're just not that "ooey gooey" brownie that I love. The flavor was pretty good but I like my "ooey gooey" brownies to be really chocolatey. These didn't have enough chocolate for me. They also tasted a little salty. I think that means when I didn't think I'd put the salt in, I already had :).

In honor of National Ice Cream Day, Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet is having an Ice Cream Social. All week, I've been contemplating what to make. Since these brownies came out a little dry, how about using the not so "ooey gooey" brownies for Ice Cream Sandwiches?

Recently, I've seen a couple of recipes on the blogsphere for Key Lime Pie Ice Cream.
After some searching, I found this Food Network Recipe. As luck would have it, I had all of the ingredients on hand. No trip to the store required, that's a good thing. I omitted the lime zest. My experience with zest in ice cream, is it all seems to gum up in one spot. Also, no graham crackers needed since, I was using this for ice cream sandwiches.

I wish I had planned in advance to make these brownies for ice cream sandwiches. I'd have used a different pan, one where they would have been thinner. I decided to take a chance and cut them in half. I had some casualties, so I have multiple sizes of Ice Cream Sandwiches.

If you like the flavor of key limes, this ice cream is for you. It's very tart but the chocolate sandwiches help balance it out. I can't wait to try Ice Cream Sandwiches again and this time I will plan in advance.




Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
Courtesy of Food Network

1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
4 to 6 graham crackers, for garnish
Directions
Mix ingredients together and refrigerate until cold. Pour into ice cream maker and mix for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to another container and place plastic wrap on ice cream and cover container tightly with a lid. Place in freezer for several hours.

When ready to serve, garnish with graham crackers.

Happy Pink Saturday!

I always plant a pot of geraniums for my deck. Normally by this time of year, they're starting to look a little parched from the heat and the wind. We've had lots of rain this year and the geraniums are looking beautiful!







I'd like to introduce you to Natasha of 5 Minutes Just for Me. She just made the most amazing Zebra Cake. Stop by and take look!

I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound!

Looks Can Be Deceiving - Garlic Scape & Basil Pesto

This is one of those recipes where I have to say, trust me this is delicious. I wish I had sprinkled some basil on the top of this for color. It doesn't look very appealing but it was delicious!

Garlic scapes are the flower stalks found on members of the Allium family (onions, leeks, chives, and garlic). Garlic scapes, which only appear on the finest hardneck garlic varieties, curl upward as they grow, straighten, and then grow little seed-like bulbs. When the garlic scapes are still in full curl, they are tender and delicious.

A few weeks ago, I picked up some garlic scapes at the farmer’s market. I’d never cooked with them before. At the stand where I purchased them, the grower said she uses them wherever she would use garlic. They can be used in frittatas, pasta and stir fry’s. When you use them in stir fry’s, they add a natural cornstarch like thickener.

We love pesto in the summertime. When I saw this recipe for Garlic Scape and Basil Pesto, I couldn’t wait to try it. Also, I was intrigued because this recipe uses almonds. I always make my pesto with those wonderful, yet expensive pine nuts.

This pesto is a refreshing change from traditional pesto. The garlic scapes add a nice bite and the almonds add a sweetness to the pesto.

Pasta with Garlic Scape and Basil Pesto
Courtesy of Serious Eats

- serves 4 -

Ingredients
4 to 5 garlic scapes, roughly chopped
Large handful basil leaves
1/4 cup almonds, toasted in a dry skillet until slightly browned
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound linguine or other pasta

Procedure
1. Combine the garlic scapes, basil, and half the oil in a small food processor or blender. Process or blend until the leaves and scapes are finely chopped, then add the nuts and remaining oil. Process or blend until nicely pureed.

2. Remove to a bowl and stir in the cheese. If necessary, add more olive oil to create a loose paste. Season with more salt if needed.

3. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salty water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water, and toss with the pesto. If necessary, add some of the pasta water to create a creamy texture. Serve with more grated Parmesan cheese.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum. Also, I am participating in my first Presto Pasta Nights. Pam from Sidewalk Shoes is hosting this week. I love her blog, stop by and check it out.

In My Garden