easy and delicious dessert

I have made this dessert twice in the last month and I love it. It's super easy: just make your favorite brownie recipe and let it cool completely. Then mix up a box of chocolate pudding and pour it over the brownies and refrigerate until set up. Then top with cool whip and garnish with chocolate shavings or crushed m&m's (Easter colors are pretty) and refrigerate until ready to serve. It's a nice change of pace from plain brownies or plain pudding and it's yummy. My mom used to make it when we were growing up. Mmm...

cheese enchiladas

This recipe is easy, pretty cheap, tasty, and vegetarian. It's pretty kid-friendly because of all the cheese and their not spicy. I love them with a lot of shredded lettuce, some extra sour cream and chopped tomatoes. I've made them with low fat and fat free cheeses before and it worked out fine.

Cheese Enchiladas

from Betty Crocker

2 cups shredded monterey jack (8 oz.)

1 cup shredded cheddar (4 oz.)

1/2 cup sour cream (light and fat free work fine too)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)

2/3 cup water

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 whole green chilies, seeded and chopped, optional

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

8 corn tortillas (I use flour because that's what I like and I usually use about 12)

1. Heat oven to 350

2. Mix cheeses, sour cream, parsley, pepper and onion; set aside.

3. Heat remaining ingredients except tortillas to boiling in 2 quart saucepan, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Pour into ungreased pie plate.

4. Dip each tortilla into sauce to coat both sides. Spoon about 1/4 cup cheese mixture onto each tortilla; roll tortilla around filling. Place seam side down in ungreased rectangular baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas.

5. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with additional shredded cheese, sour cream, and chopped onion if desired.

update

The cutting boards are in and they are heading your way this week. Be prepared! Again, thanks for being patient. And sorry about the shortage of posts lately. We'll see if I can't correct that this week too.

sorry!

So, I can't seem to find those cutting boards in stores anymore. Sorry about the delay. I will get them to you as soon as I can. Thanks for being patient!

and the winners are...

Lincoln and Laura were right on with guesses of 10. Congratulations! I'll send those cutting boards out to you this week, so if you want specific colors let me know soon. I'll send two to each of you. Thanks for guessing!

yum

We had pesto pasta tonight for dinner, which is a pretty light dinner, so I thought I'd look into my new cookbook for a good Italian bread to go along with it. I found the following recipe:

Rosemary Focaccia

from Baking Illustrated

makes one 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 inch rectangle or two 8-inch rounds

Dough

1 medium baking potato (about 9 oz.), peeled and quartered

1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

3 1/2 cups (17 1/2 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl and pan

1 1/4 tsp. salt

Topping

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves

3/4 tsp. course sea salt or 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1. For the dough: Bring 1 quart water to a boil in a small saucepan; add the potato and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain the potato well; cool until it can be handled comfortably; press it through the fine disk on a ricer or grate through the large holes on a box grater. Reserve 1 1/3 cups lightly packed potato.

2. Meanwhile, using a standing mixer or food processor, mix or process yeast with 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup warm water until combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (or put the work bowl lid on) and set aside until bubbly, about 20 minutes. Add the remaining dough ingredients, including reserved potato. If using mixer, attach the paddle and mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium; continue kneading until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. For the food processor, process until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 40 seconds.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough is puffy and doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

4. With wet hands (to prevent sticking), press the dough flat into a generously oiled 15 1/2 by 10 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet. If the dough resists going into the corners (and it probably will), cover it with a damp cloth and let it relax for 15 minutes before trying to stretch again. Or, if making rounds, halve the dough and flatten each piece into an 8-inch round on a large (at least 18 inches long), generously oiled baking sheet. Either way, cover the dough with lightly greased or oil-sprayed plastic wrap; let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough is puffy and doubled in volume, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. With two wet fingers, dimple the risen dough at regular intervals. The dimples (there should be about 2 dozen) should be deep enough to hold small pieces of topping, herbs, and pools of olive oil.

6. For the topping: Drizzle the dough with the oil and sprinkle evenly with the rosemary and coarse salt, landing some in pools of oil.

7. Bake until the bottom crust is golden brown and crisp, 23-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Cut rectangular focaccia into squares or round focaccia into wedges; serve warm.

I would make this bread again just for the smell. It was amazing. I didn't have a potato, so I went out on a limb and used one cup of prepared potato pearls (which is 1 cup hot water mixed with 1/2 cup potato pearls). It worked out really well and was easier. This is definitely worth a try.

still here

Just tying up some loose ends here...

For anyone who cares (mostly me) here are the pies I tried in order from best to worst:

1. French Silk

2. Berry

3. Banana Cream

4. Pumpkin

5. Apple

My personal preferences made it hard for those last two to rank very high on my list. But the french silk was far and away my favorite and it was the quickest to be eaten.

And, I got a fabulous new cook book for Christmas from my sister. I am excited to post recipes and information from it in the next few weeks.

Finally, I don't know about you, but I think we should ring in the new year with another give away. So...

If you can be the first to guess how many rolls of wrapping paper I bought on clearance after Christmas this year, I will send you two of those little cutting boards I posted about here. I'll even take requests on color. And we'll give you a week to guess. I'll announce the winner on Saturday, January 9th. Good luck!