Blue raspberry cotton candy ice cream sandwiches

During the summer I have been doing some kid's cooking classes and the response has been great!! We have made chocolates, cupcakes, ice cream, pies, and plenty of messes. Last week I did an ice cream class and we made ice cream sandwiches. We used the Pillsbury raspberry cookie mix to make our cookies for the sandwiches. You can make giant or bite size cookies, but be warned the smaller the sandwiches the easier they are to just pop in your mouth. Before you know it they will all be gone!!

Since the sad Blue Bell epidemic ice cream is a touchy subject for this ice cream loving Texan, so when it came time to pick a flavor I was extremely surprised by the Great Value cotton candy flavor. I am not a huge fan of cotton candy flavored stuff but this ice cream is awesome. Plus all the pretty colors from the swirled ice cream and the blue cookies made these sandwiches tasty AND adorable.

My four year old little girl had a blast making these so I hope this recipe is one that you can have fun making with your kids!!!

Blue Raspberry Cotton Candy Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients
1 box of Pillsbury blue raspberry premium cookie mix
1/4 cup of flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1 egg
3 Tbs water

Great Value ( or your favorite brand) cotton candy ice cream
Sprinkles (of course)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Combine cookie mix, flour, butter, water and egg in a medium bowl. Mix until soft dough is formed. Shape into an even number of balls. Place on an untreated cookie sheet about 2 inches apart then press slightly to flatten cookies.
Bake 7-8 mins then cool for at least 3 minutes on the cookie sheet then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Flip half the cookies flat side up and top with cotton candy ice cream. Then place another cookie on top and roll the edges in sprinkles. Freeze in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Cherries

I have not been a very good blogger lol. Between cooking and running a catering and meals to go business, running sprints after my 4 year old daughter, and squeezing in just enough time to shower I haven't had much time to write anything. The summer is always a little slower at work so I have started doing some cooking classes which has allowed me to create and try out new recipes!!!!!

The first class that I did this summer was a Kid's Chocolate Factory class and it was soooo much fun. There was chocolate on the floor, on the walls, on all their faces and probably the ceiling as well! We started off the something easy and stuffed cherries with cream cheese then dipped them in chocolate. These were so good and really fun to do with kids.

Cream cheese stuffed chocolate cherries:

Ingredients 

60 fresh cherries

Filling 

2 oz spreadable cream cheese 

1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoon whipped topping or whipped cream 

Chocolate 

10-12 oz good quality milk or dark chocolate

2 tablespoons semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (optional)

Directions 

Wash and dry cherries. Remove stems and pit cherries. We used a plastic straw to get the seed out then placed the cherries on paper towels to dry.

 

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Gently stir in whipped topping and place mixture in a piping bag with a tip that will fit inside the hole of the pitted cherry.

Dab each cherry dry and fill with cheesecake filling. In a small ziploc bag, melt about 1 oz of chocolate. Pipe a small amount to “seal” the top and bottom of each cherry. Set the cherries on their side on a parchment lined pan. Place in the freezer for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place a small amount of the chocolate in a microwave bowl. Microwave at 30% power in 30 second increments until most of the chocolate is melted. (You don’t want to melt it all the way, stirring will melt the remaining pieces).

Dip each cherry into the melted chocolate turning to coat. Allow excess chocolate to drip off and place cherries on a parchment lined pan

 Melt 2 tablespoons semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips in a small ziplock bag for about 20 seconds in the microwave. Snip a tiny piece off the corner and use to pipe a design on your chocolates.

 Cool at room temperature 15 minutes. Refrigerate until serving.

Christmas-Movie-Aholics

The cold weather in South Louisiana is FINALLY here!!! Right on cue as well the Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel are here to put even the biggest scrooges in the holiday spirit. Yes we are cheesy-Christmas-movie-AHOLICS. There's nothing better than a weekend spent curled up on the couch sipping hot chocolate and watching these quite addicting movies. The holidays also mean baking......and LOTS of it in our house. So Tracy & I cranked out some cookies (yes I will admit to baking store bought cookies on a blog about cooking) & casseroles while we watched all the mistletoe smooching & Santa Clause magic. Tonight we will definitely be tuning in for the premier of the cute new movie Northpole so for a quick & easy dinner I decided to take advantage of having some free time to make use of all the extra breads crowding up the fridge & pantry. These egg dishes would be great for a holiday breakfast or a brunch get together.

Ciabatta Bread Brunch Casserole

2 onion poppy ciabatta sandwich rolls
2 zucchini squash
1 2.25oz can of sliced black olives (drained)
8 eggs
1/4c low fat milk
1 10 oz can of rotel  
1/2 tsp Slap Ya Momma (or other Cajun seasoning)
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4c of shredded mozzarella

Cut the ciabatta rolls into cubes and place into casserole dish. Cut the ends off of the zucchini & chop into small pieces. Add the zucchini & olives to the casserole dish & toss everything together. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the eggs & milk. Stir in rotel & seasonings. Pour the egg mixture into the casserole dish & mix everything together to make sure that all the bread cubes are coated. Top with mozzarella & bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 mins

 Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl French Toast Casserole

About half a loaf of Pepperidge Farm cinnamon swirl bread
About half a loaf of Pepperidge Farm pumpkin cobbler bread
10 eggs
1/4c low fat milk
1c vanilla Greek yogurt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4c light brown sugar
1/4c pecans

Cut the cinnamon & pumpkin breads into cubes and put into a casserole dish. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the eggs & milk. Whisk in the yogurt & cinnamon. Pour the egg mixture into the casserole dish & stir together to coat all of the bread cubes. Sprinkle the brown sugar & pecans on top. Cover with foil & bake at 350 degrees for  30-40 mins

Avocado Lime Devils

I hope everyone had a great Easter!! The weather was beautiful for hunting Easter eggs & other than a finger getting shut in the door, the day was perfect. Also, thanks to Paleoing it for the last 2 weeks I have lost 7 pounds & felt a new Easter dress was necessary to celebrate!!! I have found eating the Paleo way to be a lot easier than I though it would be. Like any change in your diet, you have to get used to the adjustment of what you can & can't have, but with the Paleo diet you aren't "giving up" your favorite foods. We haven't bid farewell to sweets or comfort foods, we've just changed the recipe. With Easter this weekend I took an easy classic recipe & put a Paleo twist on it. I absolutely love deviled eggs & in our family they are a holiday staple but all the mayo & mustard is a big no-no. I used an avocado as replacement to get the creamy texture. The avocado lime deviled eggs were ridiculous!!! I'm not sure if I'll go back to the classic recipe.....ever!!

Paleo Avocado Lime Deviled Eggs

10 boiled eggs peeled

2 avocados

3 Tbs of fresh squeezed lime juice

Slap Ya Momma or other Cajun seasoning

Cut the eggs in half & put the yolks into a small bowl. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop the avocado out into the bowl with the yolks. Add the lime juice. Using a fork mash the yolks & avocados together until smooth. Season to taste then refill the egg whites with the yummy green goodness.

No More Ice Cream!!??

I first heard about the Paleo diet from a few of my customers who were on the diet but still looking to take advantage of the "night off from cooking" that my meals to go business offers. So I started my research on Pinterest (of course) & experimented with some different recipes until I was able to add in a few pre-made Paleo dinners to my menu rotations. I had a HUGE response & have continued adding Paleo dishes & even figured out ways to "Paleoize" menu favorites! 

I get a lot of questions from customers about the health benefits of eating Paleo  & how it compares to other diets out there, so I've decided to go a step farther than experimenting with recipes. We are going Paleo!!! Of course the thought of a life without ice cream was quite sad for Tracy....

 & me too because seriously who doesn't love ice cream!!??? 

We decided to kick off our Paleoism officially we'd start with a will power boosting Strawberry Banana Hazelnut "ice cream." To treat yourself for hitting weight loss, fitness, or other goals is necessary in my opinion. This recipe allows you to give yourself a little treat without the guilt!!!

 Strawberry Banana Hazelnut Paleo Ice Cream

Ingredients

4 bananas peeled & frozen

1/4c of almond milk

1 cup of sliced strawberries

1 Tbs of honey

1/3c hazelnuts

In a food processor or blender blend the bananas & almond milk until smooth. Pour into a medium size bowl & stir in the strawberries, nuts, & honey. We poured our mixture into a plastic throw away container then placed it into the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. Then spoons up & enjoy!!

Guacamole Yummy

The warmth of summer is definitely on it's way, even though Mother Nature is having some slight mood swings. In South Louisiana crawfish boils are well underway & the backyard grilling days are here. Whether you're the party goer or the party thrower this recipe for homemade guacamole will make you the hero!!! It's easy, quick, & if you have little chefs running circles in your kitchen like I do, this recipe allows those little hands to help.

Guacamole

Ingredients
1 box of Wholly Guacamole (if you are crunched for time) or 5 avocados
1/4th of a red onion
6-8 roma tomatoes
2 limes
1 jalapeno pepper
4 Tbs of red wine vinegar
1 Tbs Slap Ya Momma seasoning

Begin by washing the tomatoes then cut them up & add to your medium size mixing bowl. Next using the Pampered Chef Manual Food Processor. This is a great step to let the kids help with, Tracy Lynn LOVES to use the processor. Once the onions are chopped up add them to your mixing bowl as well.

 

Juice the 2 limes & add to the bowl along with the vinegar & seasoning. Slice the end off of the jalapeno then slice in half longways. If you want a good kick to your guacamole add the whole pepper seeds & all the the processor & chop. If you want a really mild spice level scrape all the seeds out or just use the seeds in half of the jalapeno. Mix those ingredients together. Add the avocados last. If you are using fresh avocados peel, take the pit out & cut into little pieces. Once all the ingredients are mixed together in the bowl you may not even need chips!! This recipe is a family favorite that almost gets eaten by the spoonfuls by itself.

If you are feeling extra crafty, homemade tortilla chips are fun to experiment with. Here is the base recipe we use.

Homemade tortilla chips

Ingredients

1 pkg of tortillas

oil, for brushing

salt

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush each tortilla with a little oil then cut them into triangles. Sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven until browned and edges start to curl. (about 10 minutes, but check them often)

Chicken & Asparagus Tostadas

So with the school year starting back my meals to go business has be SUPER busy again!! Which is awesome & I am so thankful for the pickup in my business, but as you can tell it has left me with no time to post recipes :( Well today I had a day off so Tracy & I got a little time to recipe experiment!! We started off our day with a some Cheese & Egg Biscuit Minis. These are great to do on Sunday to have for a quick breakfast during the week. I put our extras in snack size ziplocs (2 minis in each bag) to be able to grab & go!!

Cheese & Egg Biscuit Minis
6 large eggs
Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Butter Tastin Biscuits
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
3 Tbs lite sour cream

Preheat oven to 350
Take the biscuits out of the tube & cut each one on half giving you 16 mini biscuits. Bake for 10-14 minutes. Remove & let cool on a rack.
While the biscuits are baking beat eggs in a medium size bowl. Add sour cream & cheese to the eggs. Spray mufin tins & divide the egg mixture between 16 muffin cups. Bake for 10-14 minutes.
When the biscuits have cooled  cut each one open & add a cheesy egg piece.

Servings: 16   1 biscuit= 142 Cal 7.7g fat 3 WW pts 


We also got a little creative with dinner tonight!!! I had some asparagus in my fridge & wanted to use it because I LOVE asparagus & so does Tracy. This recipe may sound a little odd but trust me the flavors definitely work together to make a yummy & lite dinner.

Chicken & Asparagus Tostadas
3 cups of chopped asparagus ( or 1 bundle chopped into bite size pieces)
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
2 chicken breasts cooked & cubed (about 2 cups)
1 can Green Giant Mexican corn
1 can of black beans (drained & rinsed)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp Slap Ya Momma (or other cajun seasoning)
12 white corn tortillas
12 Tbs of your favorite hummus
1 cup of shredded Fiesta cheese

Preheat oven to 400
Spread the 12 tortillas on a stone baking sheet or cookie sheet. You can drizzle with olive oil if you want, but I didn't this time. Bake for 15-20 mins until they are crispy.
Heat oil in a large pan. Using a garlic press mince garlic cloves. Add asparagus & garlic to the pan & cook for 10 mins.

Add the chicken, Mexican corn & black beans.cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, & seasoning. Cook for 15-20 mins or until the chicken is heated all the way.

Spread 1 Tbs of hummus on each tortilla to start your tostadas. Divide the chicken & asparagus mixture between the tostadas & top with the cheese.

Servings: 12   1 tostada= 242 Cal 8.9g fat 5 WW pts