I found this recipe on Pinterest. Original blog post bekicookscakesblog.blogspot.com. I tweaked just a bit.  I can’t begin to tell you how good this one is! In my top three favorite desserts of all time!

For the Crust/Topping:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 c. chopped pecans

1 c. butter chilled 

Fruit Filling:

4 c. chopped rhubarb

2 c. chopped strawberries 

1- 3 oz. pkg. strawberry jello

2- 8 oz. brick cream cheese (room temp)

2 c. sugar (divided)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper in bottom of a 9×13 pan. Mix crust/topping ingredients together with a pastry mixer till crumbly. Pour half into pan and press down. Bake for 10 minutes.  While baking, mix rhubarb, strawberries, strawberry Jello and 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside. Next, mix room temperature cream cheese, remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue mixing until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over crust. Then spoon all fruit on top of that. There will be a thick layer of fruit. Crumble remaining topping over fruit. Bake for 1 hour or until center is not jiggly and topping is brown. Cool on counter for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. Enjoy!

Sometimes I just need a place to store my recipes. It’s a sign of the times that it’s easier for me to pull out my phone and look at my blog than to dig through my cupboard and find my recipe file. French cream frosting, my favorite frosting. Straight from my mom. Putting this on zucchini cake tonight. Enjoy!

A great recipe from a previous co-worker’s wife. She was an excellent cook, home gardener, from scratch kind of lady. Sneak in those veggies with this delicious cake! I like mine with a dusting of powdered sugar, but you could frost this with cream cheese frosting or chocolate frosting. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake:

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1 cup room temp butter 

1 t vanilla 

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 t baking soda 

1/2 t salt

2 cups shredded zucchini 

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

  
Oh my word. This is so good I can’t even tell you. If you like old fashioned custard pie, you will live this!  This is an interesting recipe because it has one batter, but as it cooks it separates into three layers.  The bottom layer cooks up like pie crust, the middle is a true custard and the top is almost like cake. Just wonderful and very easy to make. I hope you enjoy it it as much as I did!

German Custard Cake:

4 eggs separated 

3/4 cup sugar

1 stick butter softened 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat an 8×8 baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix egg whites until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Set aside. In another bowl, mix egg yolks and sugar until blended. Add butter and vanilla and blend smooth. Beat in flour slowly, adding milk until well combined.  Slowly fold in egg whites, do not over mix. Pour into baking dish. Bake for 45-55 minutes at 325 degrees, or until set in the center and top is light brown. Allow to cool. When ready to serve, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

I saved this recipe for my husband. He lives verde salsa and I thought this might be a quick and easy dinner to throw together. I made the chicken filling this morning and just put it in the refrigerator until dinner time. Then I just filled the tortilla shells and baked as normal. My husband and son lived  these and said they were more than happy to add them into our normal dinner rotation. Enjoy!

  
 Green Chicken Enchiladas

2 cans chicken 

Olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped 

Salt to taste

1 T garlic minced

Sauté onions in olive oil until soft. Add chicken and garlic.  Add salt and any other seasonings, I used thyme and oregano. Sauté about 7 minutes on medium heat.  At this point, I let cool a few minutes and put in a container in the fridge. 

1 jar verde salsa

1 can green enchilada sauce

Mexican shredded cheese

6-8 large tortilla shells, soft

Pour about 1/2 the jar of salsa into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. I then microwaved the tortillas for about a minute to soften them and make them easier to work with. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture onto tortilla. Add a small amount of shredded cheese. Fold tortilla into packets. Place fold down into pan. Pour can of green enchilada sauce over and about 1-2 cups of the Mexican shredded cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Garnish with lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Enjoy!

Just a classic cinnamon roll recipe for your enjoyment. I have yet to get them to turn out like the ones from my childhood little local restaurant, but these are great on a cold winter morning. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls 

1/4 cup sugar

1 pkg yeast

1 egg

1 cup very warm water 

1 T melted butter

Mix these until blended. Add 3 cups of flour. When mixed, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, put in a warm place and allow to double in size. Spread flour on counter and roll out dough into a rectangle. Melt 6 T of butter and spread over dough. Sprinkle with about 1 cup of brown sugar and then 5 T cinnamon. Roll the rectangle up so you have a roll. Cut into 2″ slices and arrange on a sprayed cookie sheet. Again, cover and put in a warm place, allowing them rise to the size you want. Bake rolls at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add frosting. Enjoy!

Frosting

1 cup butter room temperature 

4 cups powdered sugar 

2 T vanilla 

3 T milk

Mix well with a mixer. 

This week the temps are going to be in the 90’s.  And our A/C is on the fritz, so if I don’t have to turn on the oven I’m happy.  While on vacation last week, I poured over a bunch of recent cooking magazines.  A popular recipe for this time of year is pizza on the grill.  So I thought I’d give it a shot tonight.  This turned out better than I could have hoped, I actually ate three pieces and my hubby at the rest!  And while most of the recipes called for homemade dough that you cook on the grill, I cheated and used a thin crust Boboli crust.  Try this recipe this week, I promise you’ll love it!

Shrimp Pizza on the Grill:

frozen tail-off deveined shrimp (as much as you want on your pizza)

1/2 cup butter

extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 t. parsley flakes

1 t. italian seasoning

1 can of mushrooms

sliced sweet onions

quartered cherry tomatoes

1 cup feta cheese

1 Boboli thin crust

start with a thin crust Boboli

I used my extra virgin olive oil from Old World Olive Press in Rockford.  I also used their Italian seasoning.

Throw a dash of olive oil in a fry pan.

mmm…add butter, garlic, seasonings and shrimp.  scampi it up!

brush crust with olive oil

once shrimp is done, place on crust

keep the butter in the pan after you’ve removed the shrimp and add the onions and mushrooms.  saute till tender.

meanwhile, cover crust with feta and tomatoes

add onions and mushrooms.  i also drizzled just a LITTLE bit of the butter sauce because it was so darn good!

bring outside and throw on a grill heated to medium high.  cook for about 5 minutes until crust is crispy.

this was my first helping.  yummmm!

this was my hubby’s plate.  he loved this and ate the entire pizza other than my three pieces.  mmm…

I am on vacation this week.  We are up at a cottage on Campbell Lake near Hesperia enjoying the sun, water and sand.  The cottage is great and we are having tons of fun!  Unfortunately, there is no internet or phone service.  I’m handling it pretty well, considering I live on my computer and can’t stand to be disconnected from the internet.  But I promise when I get back to civilization, my blog posts will continue daily.  Until then, here is a quick post while I sit at McDonald’s in Fremont using their free wi-fi about annual photo shoots.

Every year on New Year’s Day, I set up a neutral backdrop right in my house and take new pics of the boys.  I normally take their shirts off and just have them in jeans, but I realize this will soon come to an end as my oldest is getting embarrassed by this.  I love the simple setup of a black backdrop in front of our big picture window at about 11am.  The lighting is great and most people can do this right at home.  A few years ago I used a dark brown blanket and loved that too.  Here are a few shots from our 2011 session.