Creamy Fruit Salad

This recipe was good, however I wont make it again because I know of a better, easier, quicker way to make this thanks to my Great Grandmother. But I thought I would make this and try a different version. Not nearly as good.

This recipe is Creamy Fruit Salad
1 package 16 oz mixed frozen fruit, thawed and drained
1 cup whipping cream, 3 tbs white sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract
In mixing bowl whip cream to soft peaks with mixer. Add sugar and vanilla, continue mixing to combine. Fold whipped cream into fruit.
Alternatives: Add banana slices, coconut, chopped nuts.

I added chopped walnuts and coconut.

A better version of this would be to just use thawed cool whip and fruit cocktail or fresh chopped fruit is which I usually do.

My Great Grandma calls this Heavenly Hash. Along with all these ingredients she adds in mini marsh mellows and maraschino cherries. I have made this several times for get together and every single time I get lots of compliments on it. It tastes just as it sounds. Heavenly.

Magically moist chicken+Oven fried eggplant

So, the Cadum Pak'ju that I was to make, I messed up too. It turned out ok, but I wont post it until I make it the right way next time.

For Christmas Eve dinner I made Magically Moist Chicken breasts and Oven Fried Eggplant. This dinner was delish! I've had fried eggplant before but didnt like it. Oil poured from it and it really had no flavor. But this eggplant...Yum. I ate the entire eggplant myself. Nick doesnt eat eggplant...or anything that is a vegetable.

The chicken, he absolutely loved. This will now be a regularly made dish in the Alessi house.

Magically Moist Chicken (4 servings)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I had bone in skinned chicken breasts in the freezer I used up for this recipe and it turned out fine, I removed the skin before cooking)1/2 cup mayo, 1 1/4 cups italian bread crumbs
I also added in some other seasonings- whatever you wish and I mixed them into the mayo
1. Preheat oven to 425. 2. Brush mayo onto breasts, then coat with bread crumbs. 3. On pan arrange chicken breasts. Cook 20 minutes.
It's that simple.

Oven Fried Eggplant
1 large eggplant, 1 cup italian breadcrumbs (I just used left over crumbs from the chicken breasts) 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, salt, mayo
1. Preheat oven to 425. 2. In small bowl combine bread crumbs, cheese, salt. 3. Pare skin from eggplant. Slice crossways 1/4" thick slices. 4.Spread thin coating of mayo on each side sliced eggplant and dredge into the bread crumbs. 5. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. 6. Bake 10 minutes per side.

An EASY and YUMMY dinner!

Maple Dijon Chicken in the crock pot

Last night's dinner was Maple Dijon chicken in the crock pot. It turned out great excpet I made one mistake. I thawed out the wrong chicken pieces. Yup, instead of grabbing the bag of breast tenderloins, I grabbed the bag of wings. This dish would have been 10 times better had I used the right chicken. It was easy to make and I will make this again, only with the breasts instead. And I think I will double the amount of mustard for more flavor. Since I only feed Nick and I, I cut the recipe in half. Plus he doesnt eat onions or sweet potatoes.

1 lb chicken pieces, breast tenderloins work best. 1 cup chicken broth, 2 sweet potatoes peeled, chopped, 1 onion chopped, 2 tbs dijon mustard, 3 tbs maple syrup, 3 cloves garlic chopped, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp thyme

Put chicken in crock pot, toss with thyme, syrup, mustard. Add sweet potatoes. Add onion, garlic. Pour in broth. Add bay leaf.
Cook low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.

Since I used wings instead, when this meal was done the meat just fell right off the bones. It was so juicy and tender. But the skin of the wings wasnt good at all. Please use the tenderloins for this!!

I forgot to take pictures. Sorry.

Today Im going to try to make Cadum Pak'ju. It's a local dish here on Guam.

Lost my touch

The last 2 recipes I have made didnt turn out. I think party because I was sick so I really wasnt in the mood to cook.
I did the Orange Glazed Wings, they didnt turn out good. Nick didnt even eat his wings. And the Thin Mints I did, except I forgot to put the peppermint extract into the chocolate so that defeated the whole purpose of Thin 'Mints'.
Oh well...
Im going to make Dijon Chicken today in the crock pot. I'll let you know how it goes.

Simply Sensational Truffles

So, a couple of you want to make this recipe for the holiday coming up, as well as I do. I have never made these before so I dont have pictures (besides this one I stole) and I dont have an opinion of them yet since I havent made them. But, they do sound evil. Too evil. Evil meaning...cant stay away from them.

Here is the recipe. Taken from Kraft Foods.

Prep Time:
15 minTotal Time:
1 hr 15 minMakes:
18 servings, 2 truffles each


2-1/2 pkg. (20 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
decorations: chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts, multi-colored sprinkles

MELT 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.

SHAPE into 36 balls. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

MELT remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.

Sprinkle truffles with crushed peppermint candies in addition to, or instead of, the chopped peanuts and colored sprinkles


Hmmm, now that I've gotten to see this picture and read the recipe AGAIN, maybe I will make them in the next few days and let you all know how they turn out.

Thin Mint recipe coming soon! These, I HAVE made before!

Roasted Cornish Hen

This is so simple. Its nothing special just a good easy simple meal.

You need 1 cornish hen, butter or olive oil and whatever seasonings you like. I used McCormick's Grill Mates Chicken Rub, fresh ground black pepper and McCormick's minced garlic. This is the first time I used the minced garlic instead of using fresh garlic. I must say, I like the fresh garlic better. I think you can taste it much more and the smell through the house is amazing.

Rub the hen all over with butter or olive oil. I used butter since I was low on olive oil. Then sprinkle generous amounts of seasonings all over hen.

Bake about an hour on 450.

Another idea which I have done a few times is to put chicken broth in the roasting pan. Then when the hen is all cooked add a little flour salt and pepper to the juices to make gravy.

Crispy Chicken Wings

I WILL make these wings again. In fact, I will make this a regular dish in the Alessi household. These wings turned out better than I would have ever imagined had I not eaten them. Nick loved them too.

Crispy Chicken Wings, serves 4. However, for just Nick and I, I only made servings for 2.
1 tsp olive oil for baking sheets, 1 8oz package salted corn tortilla chips, 2 large eggs, recipe calls for 1 tsp paprika but I used McCormick's original chicken seasoning. Salt, Pepper, 12 whole wings

Preheat oven to 450. Line 2 baking sheets with foil paper, brush with oil. Set aside. In food processor pulse chips until finely ground. (Should be about 2 cups)
Transfer chips to shallow dish.

In separate bowl wish eggs and seasonings. Working in 2 batches, place wings in egg mixture. Remove wings one by one letting excess egg mixture to drop off. Transfer to ground chips. Toss to coat patting mixture with hands onto wing. Arrange on baking sheet. Bake switching pans 1.2 way through, 45 minutes.

Again, DELICIOUS! This was like eating Popeye's or KFC without the guilt and grease!
Go ahead...try it! If you do, let me know how you like it.

Parmesan Bow Tie Skillet

Parmesan Bow Tie Skillet
3 cups bow tie pasta, cooked, drained, 14 oz spaghetti sauce, 1.2 cup ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine pasta, sauce, ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 2 tbs Parmesan in large skillet. Cook on medium for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

If your looking for a dinner that is fast and easy, this is a great one to go for. My husband loved this dinner. I thought it was good but I'm not the pasta fan I once was. If Nick weren't such the picky eater, I would have added some veggies to this. Ground beef added would be good too. It reminded me of and easier version of baked ziti. I will makes this dinner again.

Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms

This is my very first recipe post! Since Im not sure if this blog will last, Im going to start out simple and not put too much time and effort into this just yet.
Last night I made Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms. Its very simple, very easy. I scaled the recipe down quite a bit since Nick doesnt eat any veggies. You need
1 bunch of asparagus and 1/2 lb mushrooms. The recipe calls for 2 sprigs of rosemary but instead I used McCormic's vegetable supreme seasoning. You also need about 2 tbs of olive oil, and salt and peper.

Preheat oven to 450. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place veggies in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and seasonings. Toss. Lay flat on cookie sheet. Roast 15 minutes.

I only roasted for 10 minutes and it turned out perfect. I like a little bit of crunch left in my asparagus.

ALso, I got a comment from Tina.
Tina said...
I love it.. maybe you could do a featured recipe once a month from one of your fellow bloggers :) that would be fun..im excited

I just want to let her know that I like this idea. Anyone else agree or disagree? Im not even sure I have enough readers to do this.

Welcome to my first post!

Welcome to my new blog! This will be all about my cooking and recipes. Please dont take me for a professional, I am not. I am purely a stay at home mom who likes to cook for her family for enjoyment. This site is brand new, so it's still a work in progress. Please, if you have any ideas, suggestions, advice or any questions, let me know any time!