Simply Decadent Ganache with Raspberries

Hello everyone! Mary Jane here with a simple, but deliciously decadent recipe for those days you need something fancy but foolproof. My dad's seventy sixth birthday was this week and although he loves chocolate, he just doesn't want a big to-do. He's a retired nuclear engineer who loves God, books, the quiet, birds, the forest, hiking, and peaceful moments. Sense a theme??
                                                    

(Mmmmm, like the inside of a truffle!)

  So, what do you get for a man who doesn't want a big fuss, but still deserves a little treat? Well, we brought over the guitar and played some oldies but goodies, and then handed him a perfectly sized treat for him and his wife. They're not the type to want or need a big cake, or even a full pie. But a sweet little ramekin of chocolate with a cookie crust is just their style.
Now, this recipe also made a larger ganache dessert, but be prepared if you're making a cute little dish like we were. Of course, it was no hardship to have TWO, but just a warning that this recipe makes more than the little pie you see.
                                                     
You'll need 2 cups of heavy whipping cream.
                                                 
8 oz of good chocolate...
Some basic sugar cookies (not pictured, but imagine about ten cookies crushed).
Mix the crushed cookies with 2 TBS of melted butter. Press into the ramekin. Bake at 275F for 10-15 minutes. Let cool.

                                                       
You can microwave the heavy cream and the chocolate, but I'm always afraid I'm going to burn it, so I melt it together in a pan on the stove, stirring constantly over medium heat. When it's all melted, pour into the cookie crust.
                                                      
Let cool overnight in the fridge, or at least two hours. This part is important. Otherwise you just have melted chocolate. When it's chilled, it gives it that velvety smooth texture.

 Line with raspberries or strawberries or chocolate shavings.
                                                          

(Fresh picked berries from down the road!)

We also tried a recipe that included mixing in a few TBS of raspberry jam. Meh. I liked the flavor, but maybe if it was strained... I didn't like the seeds IN the chocolate.

 Oh my goodness. So smooth and chocolatey...

Annnnnnd a close up...

 Ok, that's all for now! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and be sure to stop by my author pages Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael for all my book news!

The Simple Things

Well, the news broke last week, but in case you missed it...

I GET TO EAT REAL FOOD AGAIN!!!!!!

Yes, it really is those simple things in life that make us happiest. Like a baby's giggle, getting a cart at Walmart that doesn't have a gimpy wheel and being able to eat something besides soft foods. 

So what did I have for my first meal? 

I don't remember. 

Well, not completely true. I remember one aspect of it. 

Something I hadn't been able to eat in nearly two months.

SALAD!

Oh, yes it was so deliciously crunchy.

And the pizza I was craving?

That didn't happen until this weekend. But let me tell you, it was the BEST pizza I've ever tasted.

I think one of the things I've enjoyed most is being able to eat vegetables again. Sure I could have cooked them until they were mushy, but why? I mean, that's like eating baby food. Talk about yucko. 

But now, veggies are front and center.

One of my favorite summer salads is avocado-tomato salad. It's deliciously quick and simple.

This is pretty much all you need, along with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

So first, we need to cut up our avocado. The easiest way to do that is to cut it in half and remove the seed.

The cut each half in half. If it's a large avocado, cut each half in thirds.

Now peel off the skin.

Yep, just peel that baby back.

And cut cubes into a bowl.

Now cut up your tomatoes and add them.

Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and lemon or lime juice (this helps prevent the avocados from turning brown, and brown avocados rank right up there wish mushy vegetables), then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and toss together.

Heaven in a bowl.

Not to mention a meal in itself if you're me. Makes a great lunch.

Now while this recipe is super easy, I can make it even easier.

After cutting up your avocado and tomato, drizzle in some Italian dressing, toss and you're done. 

You could even add some fresh basil.

Either way, you can't go wrong.

So good, so refreshing.

So simple.

What are some simple things you'd miss if you had to do without?

Favorite Friday--dessert!

Missy, here. Sometime a couple of weeks ago, someone mentioned a pineapple upside-down cake. And (thank you), I started having a craving.

Well, I saw a mix at the grocery recently and snatched it up!! I made it (the same night as the disaster potatoes! LOL) and wanted to share. It was amazingly easy and delicious!

I used the Betty Crocker mix. Pineapple and topping are included. All you have to add is an egg, butter and water.

You melt the butter in the oven right in the pan. Then you sprinkle the brown sugar topping mix and the pineapple over the butter.You mix up the cake mix, water and egg and pour the batter on top of the other ingredients. Bake 40-45 minutes.

Immediately turn pan upside down on serving platter. Wait 1 minute and then lift off (it came off easily!)

Here's the gorgeous cake. Looked so yummy I wanted to lick the topping right off!

Here are the scraps left in the pan which I also wanted to lick right off. I won't tell you whether or not I did. :)

It's not a very tall cake, but it sure was good. We ate it in about 24 hours. I had it for breakfast the next morning!

Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup!

Missy, here. It was 77 degrees in Georgia yesterday, so my planned sharing of hot, yummy soup seems out of place! But I wanted to share a new recipe anyway. I tried this a couple of weeks ago and loved it. I first saw it made on Food Network on Ree Drummond's show (click here for the original recipe). She made it look so simple that I grabbed up ingredients I had on hand, modified her recipe and bit since I didn't have exactly what I needed, and made it that night. Here's my version.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 diced onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk (I only have skim)
2 cups half-and-half
freshly grated nutmeg to taste (just a pinch)
4 heads broccoli cut into florets (I had a bag of pre-washed veggies and used all the broccoli plus added some cauliflower to make the equivalent of about 4 heads)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cups grated cheese (I had a 4-cheese Italian mix on hand)
Optional: chunks of ham or chopped bacon (I used pre-cooked bacon)

Chop the onion. I wanted to show an easy way I've learned watching cooking shows. Peel it. Then cut off one end, but save the root end. Set it on the cut side, and then slice downward all the way around the onion (see the photo above). Then turn it back on its side, hold onto the root, and slice. It'll come apart in nicely chopped pieces. :)

Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent.

Sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir and cook for one minute. Pour in the milk and half-and-half. Stir.

Then add nutmeg, broccoli (and cauliflower if you want), salt and pepper.

Here it is steaming. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer on low until broccoli is tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Add the cheese and allow to melt
.

I chopped my pre-cooked bacon and stirred it in.

You can mash the veggies some or even put portions in a blender to smooth it. I mashed mine a little with my potato masher. Someday, I'll invest in an immersion blender.

Eat and enjoy!

Favorite Friday--Pigs in a Blanket!

Missy, here. I recently hosted my book club at my house. My kids get home from tennis practice around 6 pm, and I knew I needed to make snacks for book club that could double as dinner for the kids. Soooo...I headed to the grocery store (at 5 pm that day!) and decided to pull out an old favorite from when my kids were really young. Pigs in a blanket. I figured I'd leave them whole for the kids and cut into appetizer size for my friends. :) I also grabbed bags of pre-washed fresh veggies and served with Ranch dressing. Then sliced up a fresh pineapple. Easy to prepare for friends and hungry kids.

Ingredients:
Canned crescent rolls
Hot dogs (I like turkey sausage)
Sliced American cheese

Tear cheese into small strips.
Slice an opening in the middle of each hot dog, trying not to cut all the way through, leaving about a half inch uncut on each end (prevents cheese from leaking out).

Stuff a cheese strip or two inside each hotdog.

Separate the crescent rolls. These were generic and didn't pull apart as well as what I'm used to. I had to do some patching like Ruthy has talked about with pie crusts! :)

Lay stuffed hotdog at wide end and roll toward the point of the crescent roll.

Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Put the wrapped hotdogs on the sheet cheese-side-up. Bake according to package directions. Although they'll probably need to bake a bit longer. I don't remember how long, since my book club ladies had arrived by that time. We were chatting so I didn't pay attention. :) I think it was about 10 extra minutes, long enough to make sure they weren't doughy.

I only snapped a shot in the oven. No finished photo since I was occupied. I sliced them in quarters for the appetizer size (and then, since I hadn't had dinner either, proceeded to eat four! LOL). Kids just grabbed two or three whole hotdogs each. Yep, hungry from tennis. :)

Yum!

Tater Tot Casserole with Guest Linnette Mullin!

Missy, here. I'm so pleased to welcome Linnette Mullin today! She's sharing a fabulous recipe that she created.

Linnette's Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients:

1 bag of tatertots or potato rounds (average size)

1 to 1.5 lbs of ground beef

1 can cream of mushroom soup

¼ cup sour cream

2 cups of shredded cheese; Colby Jack or mild Cheddar

 

Preheat:

Whatever temperature is given on the tatertot instructions (mine said 450).

Mixture:

Brown the ground beef (I usually season it with a sprinkling of salt and onion powder… sometimes pepper). Drain the grease. Add soup, sour cream, and ½ cup of cheese.

Layer:

Pour the bag of tatertots in non-stick or greased 9x13 pan or large casserole dish. Spoon ground beef mixture on top and spread. Top with remaining cheese. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes and another 5-10 minutes uncovered. Yum!

Great for making ahead and spooning out portions to reheat in the microwave, too! 

My picky crew of six think this is amazing! 

Enjoy! :D

~ Life-Changing Romance ~

www.LinnetteMullin.com

~Author of "Finding Beth"~ 

PCWN - Palmetto Christian Writer's Network: Founder, Coordinator, & Member

Member of ACFW & HACWN, & Freelance Writer

"101 Facets of Faith" Contributing Writer

Thanksgiving Leftovers!

Missy, here. I wanted to tell you about a wonderful way to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers. I thought I'd share it today so you'd have time to add extra ingredients to your shopping list for next week. (Is it really approaching that quickly??!!)

Last year, I chaperoned a trip with my son's AP U.S. History class. We visited Boston and surrounding areas. At one stop in Concord, we let the kids go do lunch on their own. Several of the teachers and I hit a fantastic restaurant called Main Streets Market and Cafe. I had what I think may have been the best sandwich of my life. The Turkey Cranberry Wrap. I was in heaven. Recently, I decided to recreate this sandwich on my own. (I can't believe I didn't think to do it sooner.)

So, here we go! Pull out those leftovers and get to wrapping!

Get some of those low carb wraps I mentioned a few weeks ago. Spread on cranberry sauce. Your choice of type. My daughter chose jellied, "the kind that's shaped like a can."  :) Layer with baby spinach.

Add dressing. I heated mine.

Then layer on the turkey. Again, I heated mine.

Wrap up and serve with a side of sweet potato fries just for fun. :)

How easy is that?! And it's an amazing sandwich. I ate it leftover on three days last week! And didn't even get sick of it.

What's your favorite thing to make with Thanksgiving leftovers?