Recipes Archives - Page 17 of 21

Love is Caramel

August 24, 2016 by Susan 8 Comments

This easy caramel sauce is perfect to whip up for a spontaneous ice cream sundae or dipping slices of apples. No candy thermometer needed.

I think love is caramel. Sweet and fragrant; always welcome. It is the gentle golden colour of a setting harvest sun; the warmth of a squeezed embrace; the easy melting of two souls into one and a taste that lingers even when everything else has melted away. Once tasted it is never forgotten. – Author Jenny Colgan

I have made ‘real’ caramel before. You start with white sugar and burn it just enough to get caramel-y but not enough to scorch. Delicious indeed, but time consuming. And frankly, stress that I don’t need in my life.

If you, like me, occasionally need to whip up a quick caramel sauce…this is for you!

2-Minute Hot Fudge Sauce

August 23, 2016 by Susan Leave a Comment

This easy hot fudge sauce comes together in just a couple of minutes with just three ingredients. It will definitely satisfy your chocolate cravings!

So I didn’t actually time it, but can’t take more than 2 minutes to make this Hot Fudge Sauce. Maybe 3.

I wrote yesterday about the ice cream floats we made for our Titanic Girls Movie Night. Since I had gotten the ice cream at Costco, we had leftovers, of course. So I did what any nicest-mom-in-the-world would do…I made sundae toppings!

We’ll just go ahead and make this whole week’s posts about ice cream. What do you think of that? Tomorrow I’ll tell you how to make the world’s easiest caramel sauce.

Monday was our first day back to school, so let’s end summer with a bang. (And by bang I mean ice cream).

Cheesy, Grilled, Stuffed Jalapenos and Other Spicy Solutions

August 15, 2016 by Susan 10 Comments

We are a drop site for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program that we belong to. It’s wonderful, because all summer and autumn long we get a box of produce, just picked that day, delivered to our doorstep. Have you had corn that was just picked? What about melon? I’m pretty sure the cantaloupe that we got last week was the best melon I’ve ever eaten.

Another perk, which doesn’t happen very often, is that if someone else doesn’t pick up their box, we get to keep it!

That happened last week. Double the tomatoes, double the carrots…and double the jalapenos.

Ooey Gooey Triple Chip Skillet Cookie

August 10, 2016 by Susan 8 Comments

An ooey, gooey dessert that you mix in the same skillet you bake it in! I make mine with semisweet, white, and milk chocolate chips.

Just last night my husband sidled up to me after dinner and sweetly asked, “Any chance you’ve got plans to bake something sweet tonight?”

“Well,” I said, “I could make a skillet cookie. But we don’t have any ice cream, and you kind of need ice cream with—.”

Before I could finish the reply came from the other room. Our 16 year old son said, “I’ll go get ice cream.” Oh the joys of having a kid who drives!

This dessert may give my dulce de leche bars a run for their money in the melty, ooey, gooey yumminess department. But the best thing about this is how easy it is. You make it all in the skillet!

How to Preserve Basil

August 8, 2016 by Susan 12 Comments

Freezing basil to add to recipes year round is so easy! All you need is basil, olive oil and ice cube trays. It’s my favorite way to preserve summer.

There’s nothing like walking out onto your deck and picking fresh basil to add to a recipe. But sadly, for much of the year in Minnesota, that is not an option.

I am a terrible gardener, but I’ve always been successful with basil. It grows gangbusters for me, for some reason.

Several years ago, I looked into various ways to preserve my harvest. To maintain freshness, I decided against drying. I found a number of different methods of freezing herbs. Some involved water as a base, some oil. I tried both methods and have settled into what I like best. Olive oil.

This is such an easy process, y’all.

Quick Refrigerator Pickles

August 2, 2016 by Susan 14 Comments

Have an abundance of cucumbers? These refrigerator pickles are a little bit sweet, a little bit tart and a lot easy!

I don’t know if these even technically qualify as ‘pickles’. I suppose you could call it a marinade, or even a cucumber salad. I call them pickles because they look like pickles, and I eat them like pickles.

Whatever you call them…make them!

Do you have an abundance of cucumbers this time of year?

We get veggies from the local CSA we belong to, and have been getting lots of cucumbers lately. I LOVE fresh sliced cucumbers, but it’s nice to have different ways to make them. Especially ways that make the goodness last!

Because these aren’t covered in boiling brine and pickled for months, they have a fresh, cucumber-y crunch and taste. They last in the fridge for several weeks.