Red, White and Blue Fruit Pizza!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I am working this weekend and on the 4th, but we have a few gatherings to go to this weekend and here is a dessert that I am taking to one of those fine, fabulous parties...I know, fruit pizza is a bit dated~but trust me, it tastes as wonderful as the first time you had it!

Fruit Pizza
2 pkgs. Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix (+ ingredients to make the cookies)
1 (8oz) cream cheese
1/2 C. confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 an 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip
Assorted fruit (I used red and blue, for patriotic reasons)
DIRECTIONS: Mix cookie mix according to package directions. Press dough onto a pizza pan. Bake at 375 for approx. 10-12 minutes (until lightly brown on top). Cool completely. Mix together cream cheese, confectioner sugar, vanilla. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of cooled cookie. Decorate with assorted fruit. (Note: if using peaches, please dip in Sprite or 7Up~as fruit will turn brown). Refrig. until ready to serve!!

HAPPY EATING and HAPPY 4th!!

Turkey Taco Salad!

I love taco salad! Well, actually I love anything taco~so I tend to make a lot of taco things for my family and since Jimmy was working late this past week and the rest of us had VBS I really didn't have a lot of motivation to cook and I needed quick things! This taco salad was a hit!even Ry said, "Boy, I really don't like lettuce but when it is in this salad it tastes pretty good." Oh the thoughts of a seven year old!!


Ready to eat!

1 Bag of salad mix or 1 head of iceberg lettuce chopped
1 lb. ground turkey
1 pkt. Low Sodium Taco Seasoning
2 Tomatoes, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 Can Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Can White Shoepeg Corn, drained
1 Pkg. Shredded Cheese
Tortilla Chips
Ranch and French dressing (I use Hidden Valley light Ranch and Ken's Light Honey French)
DIRECTIONS: Brown ground turkey and onion; add taco seasoning (following directions on back of taco seasoning pack), remove from heat and cool. Place lettuce in large bowl. Add tomatoes, pinto beans, corn and cheese. Now, you can do one of two things....add the taco meat directly to the salad and top with dressings and corn chips OR you can place some salad on a plate and top with turkey, dressing and chips. I did the latter because I didn't want soggy chips in my leftover salad.



HAPPY EATING!

I Scream, You Scream...

We all scream for Snickers Ice Cream....

This was an ice cream pie that I made for Father's Day!! What a yummy treat, the only problem is that the leftovers now sit in my freezer and they just call my name.....I recommend making this for a crowd.

Snickers Ice Cream Pie

1 pkg. Oreo cookies

1 stick butter, melted

1 1/2 Qt. Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream, softened

6 Tbsp. Peanut Butter

1 C. Caramel Sundae Topping

1 C. Peanuts

Chocolate Sauce/Caramel Sauce for drizzling

DIRECTIONS: Crush oreos and place in a bowl. Add melted butter to cookies and mix well. Press into bottom of 9x13 pan. Allow to cool. Mix together peanut butter and caramel topping. Pour over cookie crust and place in freezer to firm up. Cut ice cream into slabs and place over peanut butter/caramel mix. Smooth ice cream. Drizzle with caramel, chocolate toppings and then sprinkle with peanuts. Freeze for 8 hours. Serve.

HAPPY EATING!

Stay Tuned...

Hey everyone! Just wanted to quickly post...please keep checking the blog, I was on vacation last week and this week we have Vacation Bible School at our church so I haven't had much free time for cooking and posting!! I am hoping to get some new recipes posted next week!!

Thanks for reading the blog!

HAPPY EATING!!

Smoked Mozzarella, Chicken Gemelli Pasta Salad with Honey Dijon Vinegarette!

Last Friday my market friend and I were perusing the aisles and taking in all the smells, sites and tastes of Lancaster's Central Market we passed by "The Goodie Shoppe" stand and she had this pasta salad that looked fantastic. I was to impatient to wait in line to purchase some so I made a mental note to myself that I needed to try and re-create the salad in some way! Well, let me tell you....with produce from Meck's anything is possible!

Here is what I came up with:

Smoked Mozzarella & Chicken Pasta Salad w/ Honey Dijon Vinegarette

1 (1lb) Box of Gemelli Pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 Cup Baby Spinach

1 Container Grape Tomatoes, halved

1 Rotisserie Chicken

1 Block Smoked Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 of a red onion, diced

Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and place in large bowl. Pick the chicken and add to pasta. Add spinach, onion and tomatoes. Dice the mozzarella cheese and add to the pasta mix. For the dressing: 1/2 C. White Vinegar, 2 T. Honey, 1 T. Dijon Mustard, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 2 Tsp. salt, 2 Garlic cloves-minced, 1 C. Oil. Whisk together all ingredients, except oil. Once other ingred. are mixed, slowly add oil, while whisking. Pour over salad and mix. Refrig. 4 hours or until ready to serve.

HAPPY EATING!

Cowboy Caviar!

Yee Haw, this is the best stuff going! This recipe came through my friend Sherri and it can't get any easier! It is a great, quick dish to take along to a party or cook out this summer!

Cowboy Caviar

1 Can Shoepeg Corn

1 (15.5 oz) Can Black Beans

1 (15.5 oz) Can Black Eyed Peas

1 (15.5 oz) Can Pinto Beans

1 (15.5 oz) Can Chick Peas or Garbanzo Beans

1 Small Red Onion, diced

1 Green or Red Pepper, diced

1 Tbsp. Cilantro (optional)

1/2 C. Sugar

1/2 C. Oil

1/4 C. Vinegar

Directions: Rinse and drain canned items. Place in a large bowl with pepper and onion. Cook the sugar, oil and vinegar over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Pour over beans and stir together. Chill for 4 hours or longer before serving!

HAPPY EATING!

Grilled Pizza!!

Summer has arrived! FINALLY! I love summer and everything about it! Nothing beats barefeet, the smell of fresh cut grass, not having to wear bulky, winter coats, sitting by the pool.....yup, everything! If it gets to hot~find A/C, a swimming pool or a fan!

We are year-round grillers, but once summer hits, we grill alot more! Here is a fun, quick, easy dinner idea! It is a great idea for entertaining, too! Just set out a bunch of different toppings and let your guests make their own!!

Pizza on the grill!

Here are the variety of toppings that I used; for the sake of simplicity tonight, I even used the pre-made pizza shells! These are ones that I find a SKH~much better than the other name brand ones.....

Grilled chicken taco pizza....

Grilled chicken caesar salad pizza...

Plain Jane pizza...

There really is no recipe for this~whatever ingredients you would like to have on your pizza, is what you will need! Then just assemble the pizza, and grill on low until your cheese is melted. Watch carefully though, sometimes flames shoot up and burn the crust!

HAPPY EATING and HAPPY SUMMER!!