Tag: Weekend cooking

Summer/Holiday Desserts

Makeover Monday Meals- Weekend Edition

ccanton84

Summer Celebrations

With the unofficial start to summer just a few weeks away, we’re beginning to see summer grilling displays in every grocery, big-box store, and supermarket. Backyard barbeques have come a long way from the days of simple grills with charcoal, long wooden benches, and citronella candles.

Many people have turned their backyards into five-star outdoor cooking and entertaining areas with gas grills so elaborate it puts the kitchen stove to shame. Then there’s the outdoor brick oven to make pizza, nan, or pitas.  Folding lawn chairs have been replaced with sumptuous outdoor living rooms to keep guests happy and the party going.

 

Nevertheless, there is one area where outdoor cooking falls a little short, and that’s dessert. Granted, ice cream, sorbet, gelato, and smores, are all easy and sweet ways to cap off a meal, but what if you want to make a splash for dessert without overheating yourself or your kitchen?

Try the no-bake dessert route. All you need is a premade graham cracker, or cookie crust of your choice and a filling. What better way to start than with this no-bake key lime pie? It’s quick, easy, elegant, and can be made ahead of time. Your guests will be wowed while they stay cool.

Three Ingredient No-Bake Key Lime Pie by Kirbie’s Cravings adapted by Still A Chick Lit

Makes: 1 8 or 9-inch pie or 12 mini pies

Serves: 10 (pie)

INGREDIENTS

    • 3/4 cup (177 ml) lime juice + 1 tbsp lime zest

    • 2 (14 oz) cans of full-fat sweetened condensed milk (vegan sweetened full-fat condensed milk)
    • 1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust (Gluten-free graham cracker crust)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Add lime juice and condensed milk to a large mixing bowl. Stir until evenly combined and lime juice is fully incorporated into the condensed milk. Stir in lime zest.
  • Pour into pie crust. Level the surface with a spatula. Place pie into fridge for several hours or overnight to set. Keep the pie in the fridge until ready to serve. If you want to decorate the pie, wait for the filling to set and then decorate. Then put the pie back into the fridge until ready to serve. You can make the pie 2-3 days in advance.

NOTES

  • You want to leave the pie in the fridge until right before serving because of its creamy filling. When you first take it out of the fridge, the custard will be just firm enough for you to cut through into slices. As the filling comes to room temperature, it will start to soften and won’t be as stable for cutting, which is why you want to keep it chilled until right before serving. If you want a more stable filling, try the cream cheese version.

  • I have only tested this recipe using fresh squeezed lime juice. You can use regular limes or key limes. Regular limes are easier and you will need approximately 6 regular limes to produce the amount of juice needed. If using key limes, you will need approximately 20 key limes.

  • This recipe uses two 14 oz cans of condensed milk, for a total of 28 oz or 794 grams. 14 oz refers to weight, not volume.
  • I piped dollops of whipped cream on top and sprinkled on some additional lime zest for decoration.
  • I used a 9-inch graham cracker pie crust for this recipe. You can also use a 10-inch pie crust but your filling won’t be as tall (though it will be a little more stable).
  • This pie is very sweet but traditional key lime pie is very sweet. If you prefer a less sweet pie, you can make the cream cheese version which will taste more like a lime cheesecake.
  • Cream Cheese Version:
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk (vegan sweetened condensed milk)
  • 1 block cream cheese (dairy: light cream cheese) (non-dairy- vegan cream cheese)
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 1/2 tablespoon lime zest
  • Bring the cream cheese to room temperature first to soften it, then beat it with a mixer until light and fluffy. Then mix in the condensed milk, juice, and zest. Pour batter into pie crust. Place the pie into the fridge for several hours until set.

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Adaptable Recipes, Dinner, Fall Comfort Recipes, Food Glorious Food

Weekend Comfort Meal- Fresh pasta in Bolognese Sauce

ccanton84

When it comes to comfort meals, pasta is right up there at the top of the list. Spaghetti, ziti, rotini, fusilli, linguine, cavatelli, and Fettucine are just a few in a vast number of shapes. They are served in a variety of delicious sauces or gravies, depending on who you ask, but the bottom line is, the sauce feels and tastes like love.

With a plethora of responsibilities at work and at home, taking the time to make pasta and a Bolognese sauce during the week isn’t something that aligns with most schedules. However, if you want to treat your family, friends, and yourself to something wonderful, this recipe for homemade pasta and Bolognese sauce is for you.

Homemade pasta is a snap. It can be made with an old-fashioned pasta machine. If you have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, you can buy the pasta attachment. Both are reasonably priced and make for a good investment.

This recipe has been adapted for:

  • Vegans/Vegetarians
  • Gluten-Sensitivities or Celiac Disease

Fresh Whole Wheat Homemade Pasta by Love and Lemons adapted by Still A Chick Lit

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus ½ cup white whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled (gluten-free all-purpose flour)

3 large eggs  (Just Eggs liquid vegan egg replacer or ¾ cup silken tofu pureed with ½ teaspoon baking soda)

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Place the flour on a clean work surface and make a nest. Add the eggs, olive oil, and salt to the center and use a fork to gently break up the eggs, keeping the flour walls intact as best as you can. Use your hands to gently bring the flour inward to incorporate. Continue working the dough with your hands to bring it together into a shaggy ball.

Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. In the beginning, the dough should feel pretty dry, but stick with it! It might not feel like it’s going to come together, but after 8-10 minutes of kneading, it should become cohesive and smooth. If the dough still seems too dry, sprinkle your fingers with a tiny bit of water to incorporate. If it’s too sticky, dust more flour onto your work surface. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Dust 2 large baking sheets with flour and set aside.

Slice the dough into four pieces. Gently flatten one into an oval disk. Run the dough through the pasta machine three times on level 1 (the widest setting).

Set the dough piece onto a countertop or work surface. Fold both short ends in to meet in the center, then fold the dough in half to form a rectangle (see photo above).

Run the dough through the pasta roller three times on level 2, three times on level 3, and one time each on levels 4, 5, and 6.

Lay half of the pasta sheet onto the floured baking sheet and sprinkle with flour before folding the other half on top. Sprinkle more flour on top of the second half. Every side should be floured so that your final pasta noodles won’t stick together.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Run the pasta sheets through the pasta machine Repeat with the remaining dough. Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes.

Bolognese Sauce

2 celery stalks, chopped fine

2 carrots, chopped fine

1 medium sweet or yellow onion, chopped finely

3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

2 tablespoons, fresh basil, chiffonade-style

2 tablespoons, fresh parsley, chopped

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 pound ground beef (Vegan Ground Meat)

¼ cup tomato paste

1 can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed,

¼ cup red wine

1 ½ teaspoons Salt

1 teaspoon Pepper

Virgin Olive Oil

In a large pot, heat olive oil over a medium flame until hot. Add the celery, carrots, and onions. Turn the heat down, and sauté for six to eight minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook until it begins to darken and begins to caramelize. Add the ground beef and cook through.  Add the red wine, followed by the tomatoes, herbs, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer on low for 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally and taste to adjust seasoning.

 

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