...long time

I realize I have been gone for quite some time... I haven't given up cooking, or blogging.  Nope, no chance of getting rid of me that easily!  I have, however, been ridiculously overwhelmed with school. BOO!!  School!!

Today, I have a little reprieve, though.  From school anyway.  We're having a cookie exchange at church tomorrow - and each person is supposed to bring 3 dozen cookies to exchange.  What does that mean in my world?  It means..... even if we bring a dozen of each type... and there are 12 people exchanging .... we would each get one cookie of each kind.  That kinda freakin blows!  I hope other people have considered this and will  also bring more than one dozen of each type.  Plus, I have never found a cookie recipe that only makes 12 cookies.  That is stupid.  Who in his/her right mind would only want 12 cookies?  Nobody, that's who!

Soooooo - I'm making 6 (yes, I'm making my mom's flavors, too) kinds of cookies - and when I say cookies, I mean I'm going to make some biscotti and peppermint bark and pretend like that equals cookies... because I want biscotti and peppermint bark, dammit!


Hopefully, I can get this accomplished, and get at least a couple of recipes (or extreme failures) posted for you folks this week - turns out I have a couple of vacation days.... someone should pressure me in to excessive blog posts while I have the chance!

Eat Me! ....I'm creamy and sweet

I made a layered dessert for Friday Treats at work.  Guess what?  I'm not giving you that one yet!  Oh, I know!  Stop whining!  It was a chocolate thing, and it is rich, and frankly, I just ate so much pasta for dinner, I don't want to think about rich and chocolaty! But, I'm going to give you a portion of the recipe, because when I made that dessert on Friday morning, I realized that one of the layers is amazingly tasty - and I used it for another purpose.  While this could still be pretty unhealthy (okay, it is a sugary mess) it is still better than the full on layered chocolate thing. (I ate it for breakfast on Friday - it is REALLLLLLY unhealthy as far as breakfasts go... but not the worst possible thing you could eat as far as desserts go!)

Best part of this - four ingredients, five minutes or less.  That's right, I just stuck it to two shows with one recipe!

What you'll need

• 8oz cream cheese, softened
•  1 cup of  confectioner's sugar
• 4oz Cool Whip (please do not attempt to use real whipped cream.  It doesn't hold up to the weight of the cream cheese)
• Strawberries (if you want to use another type of fruit, go ahead.  I just find that strawberries and cream cheese are delicious together)
• A knife
• A bowl for serving
• A bowl for mixing (If you have one with a lid, use it.  Then you won't need a storage container)
• A storage container
• A sink, running water, soap, towels
• A mixer (I use a hand mixer)
• A scraping spatula
• A spoon for eating with

Okay, I'm pretty positive that you should be able to get your hands on those items.... and I think that should be all you need!

Let's do this!

1. Wash your hands, use the soap on them.... while you've got the water running, rinse your fruit. Roughly chop the fruit into the serving bowl.  (Please don't chop off a finger!)  Wash your hands again, and dry them this time.
2. Dump the cream cheese and sugar into the mixing bowl.  Mix well.  Use the scraping spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl down.  Mix in any of the stuff that you scraped in.
3. Fold in Cool Whip.  (By that, I mean use the lowest setting possible - I don't expect you to put muscle into this!)
4. Remove beater(s), scrape off cream cheese mixture into the bowl.  Lick any remaining deliciousness off of the beater(s) before you worry about putting them in the sink.
5. Slap a dollop (or in the case of the photo I provided, a huge scoop!) of this creamy concoction on top of the fruit.  Grab your spoon, and ingest. 
6. If you didn't use a mixing bowl with a lid, be sure to move it into container and store it in the fridge.  If you did.... then just pop the lid on and toss it in the fridge for breakfast in the morning! 

So, if this takes you more than five minutes to make... you didn't read the whole post before you started.  That isn't my fault!  Read, get your stuff together, then begin.  It is important that you cream cheese be softened before you start mixing.... so, when you're planning to make this... put your cheese out a few hours early.  No, I don't think that counts in how long it takes to make.  Opening the fridge, grabbing one item, and tossing it on the counter where it will be ignored for three hours.... nope.  You're a lazy jerk off if you think that counts!  Have fun with this - let me know what other kind of delicious stuff you put this on!  I thought it would be tasty if you put it on some chessmen cookies or something... whatever! OH - graham crackers are healthy.. spread it on that! HAHAHAHA!  You can find this one in phoodos with all of the past recipes.  Look for more to come next week!  (or sooner if I get wild and crazy!)  Enjoy!

Eat Me! ...I'm easy!

Okay, I know this is late.. might as well consider it early!  I did give you an entire menu last week!  Here's a quick, easy, and rather healthy dish.  Serve it as a side, or make it the star of lunch!  Honestly, this would be delish as a sandwich.  Get some good crusty bread, take a stance on including the basil or not.... I can GUARANTEE it will be delicious, because I ate it every day when I went to Italy!

Sooooo, hit the farmer's market, or your garden, or any other place you can get some tomatoes.... and get ready for this!

What you'll need

• Tomatoes
• Mozzarella (not the tiny balls, and not the super hard block)
• Olive Oil (the good stuff)
• Salt (I use sea salt in a grinder - FANCY)
• Pepper (freshly cracked is better on this one)
• Fresh Basil
• A knife (pretty sharp one)
• A cutting board
• A decent size plate/platter
• Tongs
• Sink, running water, soap, kitchen towels (yes, the s is there for a reason)

I'm fairly sure that is all you'll need to get this one together.  I'll stop dragging my feet, and get a move on!

Let's do this!

1. Wash your dirty hands! (I don't want to know where those paws have been, I imagine it isn't good...wallet, grocery store aisle, garden dirt, seeeeeee!) Yes: water, soap, ABCs, water, towel.
2. After your hands are clean, give your tomatoes and basil a shower.  When you're comfortable with the level of cleanliness your produce has achieved, let it rest on a kitchen towel to drip dry a bit.
3. Gather your remaining items in a central location, bring the produce over to the party, and let's get chopping!
4. (Cutting board + knife + careful use......) Slice your tomatoes, grind some S&P over them, then let them rest on the platter while you slice the mozzarella.  (Yep.  Cross-contaminate to your heart's desire.  Honestly, I don't think you're cross-contaminating jack in the situation!  The stuff is all going together in a raw presentation, no big freakin' deal!  Obviously, if something is wrong with your board or tomatoes, you'll already be getting sick when you eat the tomatoes!  Don't be ridiculous!  Use a clean board when you start, and I already told you to wash off your produce.)
5. Once you have your tomatoes and cheese sliced, arrange in the fashion you prefer.  I do lines, alternating tomato and cheese.... 
6. Once arranged, drizzle some good olive oil over the top, add a bit more S&P if needed, and give it a rest while you quickly chop the basil.
7. Once chopped, sprinkle the basil over the top, garnish with a few leaves if desired.

Done and done!  Simple, quick, and delicious!  Notice, I didn't give you any idea of how much tomato or cheese to use.  I feed about six, side-dish style... with two big tomatoes and an equivalent amount of cheese.  You know I don't actually measure stuff when it isn't necessary!  Leftovers are great on a sandwich: hot or cold... yep!  make it a panini!  If you don't make enough, it should be easy enough to make another round!  Do enjoy!  Share your stuff with us via sausage links, and despite the simple instructions that I expect you'll have memorized... this will be indexed in phoodos for your convenience!  Happy cheffery!