It was a HUGE hit ...

The Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Dessert went over famously at our picnic on Sunday. My husband and kids were hoping for left-overs to bring home. No such luck!

Here are a couple of things I learned from making this recipe ...

1. If you're making this on a hot, humid day, put the Oreos in the refrigerator for a couple hours prior to crushing them. Otherwise the cookie filling is very soft and makes crushing the cookies a bit messy.
2. If you don't have whipped topping (because your children used it up and neglected to add it to the grocery list), another flavor of ice cream on top works just fine! I happened to have some Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream in the house which was a wonderful topper for this dessert.

This one is definitely a keeper!

~Judy

Read more...

BBQ Shrimp

Here's another summer treat. Seafood is made that much better by grilling.

Soak wooden skewers in water 20-30 minutes to prevent scorching. You'll need approximately 16 ten-inch wooden skewers.


Lemon-Basil Sauce:
2 cups chopped basil leaves
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon peel
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced

Whisk together or process in a blender/food processor.

Run 2 parallel skewers through two shrimp. Add a piece of scallion, then two more shrimp.

Grill shrimp 6-8 minutes on a side, turning onnly once. Serve with sauce for dipping.

Read more...

Kitchen Wisdom

I love to collect old cookbooks, especially those from folks I know. My kitchen is small, so I don't own nearly as many as I'd like, but those that I do have are very special. One book I find especially intriguing came from my dad's mother. It's not really a cookbook, but a volume of what I like to call "kitchen wisdom". It's titled "Your Household Guide" and was published in 1951 by Walsworth Brothers.

I thought I would occasionally share some tidbits from this book under the title of Kitchen Wisdom. Hopefully you will find these as interesting and helpful as I have! I love to take a glimpse back at households of years gone by. I find that the truly helpful wisdom stands the test of time.

Two snippets of wisdom to share for today . . .

To evenly distribute wear on sheets, put the small hem at the top of the bed at least half of the time.

Place the egg in a pan of water. If fresh, it will lie on its side. If a few days old, it will tilt upwards. If stale, it will stand on end. If very old, it will float.

There, now don't you feel wiser already?!

Read more...

Oreo Ice Cream Dessert

I've been brainstorming in vain for a new recipe to make for our fairly regular Memorial Day picnic. This year it will be at a friend's house, and I wanted something new and exciting that would leave people asking, "can I get that recipe?!" My friend Robyn saved the day when she shared this delicious dessert that apparently is a hit for her family. I can't wait to give this a try next weekend!

In a 13x9" baking dish, place a layer of crushed Oreos (flavor of choice - I'm going to use mint).
Add a 1" layer of ice cream of choice (I'm going to use french vanilla)
Next, drizzle half a jar of favorite hot fudge sauce (I'll use my own recipe - to follow)
Repeat another lay of crushed Oreos, followed by another layer of ice cream.
Top with favorite whipped topping and sprinkled with more crushed Oreos.

Freeze "hard" before serving (at least a couple of hours).

Mom's Hot Fudge Sauce

2/3 cup baking cocoa
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups powdered sugar

In a medium sized sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in cocoa. Stir in milk and sugar alternately. Bring to a boil and boil while stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat allow to cool just a bit as the sauce will thicken.

Thanks Robyn!!

Read more...

Teriyaki Steak Kabobs

The grill came out of it's winter home in the garden shed, so it must almost be summer. I love summer foods ... grilled "anything" is our food of choice. This is one of our favorites.


2 lb boneless steak cut of choice (I tend to use boneless chuck)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Cube meat to desired size. Mix together all marinade ingredients and marinate meat cubes 2-3 hours before grilling.

Thread meat on skewers, alternating with onion, zucchini, or other cubed veggies. Grill until meat juices run clear.

Read more...

Butter Rolls

We all know company's coming when I make these rolls. They're so easy to mix up in the bread machine, and turn out very light and buttery. They taste especially yummy with homemade apple butter or honey.

OVEN: 350 degrees

6-7 ounces milk (room temp)
1/4 warm water
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
3 1/4 cups bread flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Measure all ingredients into bread pan and run on dough setting. Remove from bread machine and divide dough into 12 pieces. Grease your favorite muffin pan and fill with dough. Cover and let raise in a warm location until doubled in size.

Bake 25-28 minutes. Remove immediately from muffin pan to rack for cooling.

Read more...

Country White Bread

This is a standard for us. A very reliable recipe that can be changed up as you desire. I sometimes replace two cups of the bread flour with a white wheat flour. This makes a nice sandwich bread, or great for breakfast toasted.

OVEN: 350 degrees

7-9 ounces milk (room temp.)
1 large egg
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter, softened
4 cups bread flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Measure all ingredients into bread pan. Run on dough setting. Transfer dough to large greased loaf pan. Cover and let raise until doubled in size.

Bake 25-28 minutes. Remove immediately from loaf pan to rack to cool.

Read more...

Sheila's Granola

At a recent work conference my friend Sheila made this wonderful granola. I don't know about you, but any granola recipe I've ever tried has had 20+ ingredients and took hours to cook at a low oven temperature. This recipe, on the other hand, uses just six ingredients and is done in 45 minutes. You can change it up with your favorite dried fruits to give it a little zing. I make it about once a week and have enough for 4-5 breakfast meals (if I can keep my son out of it!).

OVEN: 300 degrees

2 cups quick oats
1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 cup shredded coconut
1 can fat free condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Bake for 45 minutes ... stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool until the granola is dry. Store in an air-tight container. It tastes great with milk, though I prefer to mix it into fat free French Vanilla yogurt. Yummy!

Based on how long it's been since I've posted a new recipe, it's obvious that I need some quick-to-make recipes like this one!

Read more...