MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM PIE

            

This recipe is indeed a family favorite and it has been a long time in the making.  When the kids were little I made this pie a couple of times for special celebrations and then of course I lost the recipe somehow.  Well, I made the mistake of telling my children that I lost the recipe, so now when I ask them what cake they’d like for me to make for their birthday, they always get a faraway look and say, “wouldn’t it be great if you hadn’t lost that recipe for the chocolate mint ice cream pie”?  Now I have made all kinds of great homemade cakes (if I do say so myself) and I have purchased countless ice cream cakes, but nothing seems to measure up to their memory of that crazy pie.  So for my daughter’s recent birthday I spent way too much of what’s left of my dwindling brain power to put together---what I think is as close as I’m ever going to get--- to the revered pie.  So here it is world----and to my children I say----it’s time to move on people!

Ingredients:  for the crust

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

2 T. butter

2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Instructions:

*In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and the butter, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and pour over cereal.

*Immediately spread the mixture evenly into a large deep-dish pyrex pie plate.  Make sure to spread along the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate using your hands (which you can spray with PAM to make it easier) or a spoon. 

*Place in the freezer until it hardens.

Ingredients:  for the 1^st   ice cream layer

Note:  I use 2 different kinds of ice cream (with my own additions) for  each of the two ice cream layers.  You may use any flavor(s)  of ice cream you prefer or even just make one larger layer of ice cream, instead of two smaller layers.  You may also spread a layer of crushed cookies between the two ice cream layers.  I was trying to develop a distinctively mint pie  in this case.

2 cups Organic, natural mint- chocolate chunk ice cream (white, not green in color), softened

1 cup of oreo cookies, crushed

1 square of semi-sweet baking chocolate, slivered

Instructions:

*Mix softened ice cream with crushed cookies and slivered chocolate.

*Spread over chocolate Rice Krispie pie crust

*Cover and return to freezer to firm up (15 minutes).

Ingredients:  for 2^nd ice cream layer

2 cups mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened (green in color)

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

*Mix softened ice cream with chocolate chips

*Remove pie from freezer and spread mixture over first layer.

*Return pie to freezer to firm up ( 15 minutes)

Ingredients:  for topping

2 cups heavy cream

1 t. vanilla

4 T. confectioner’s sugar

3 drops of peppermint extract (omit if not making a mint pie)

Instructions:

*Whip cream with vanilla, peppermint and confectioner’s sugar until stiff peaks form.

*Remove pie from freezer and spread topping across the pie.

*Return pie to freezer to firm up (30 minutes).

Ingredients:  for Ganache

4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate (4 baking squares or chocolate chips)

8 T. heavy cream

Instructions:

*Melt chocolate and cream until chocolate is melted, stirring constantly.

*Add more cream if desired

*Place ganache in a “decorating plastic squeeze bottle” and draw lines, designs or write names on top of frozen pie as desired.  You may also simply use a spoon to

TZATZIKI SAUCE

Today I’d like to share with you my daughter’s recipe for Tzatziki  Sauce/Dip.  It is delicious and very versatile!  She recently used it as a dipping sauce for chicken satay.  I plan on serving it this weekend as a dip for raw vegetables.  I hope you enjoy trying it with your family…I think they’ll love it!

Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber, roughly chopped

2 T. kosher salt

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, chopped (optional for me)

1 t. dried dill or 1 T. fresh dill

Additional salt and pepper to taste

3 cups Greek yogurt

Instructions:

*Place chopped cucumber and 2 T. kosher salt in a colander.  Let sit for 30 minutes to allow moisture to be drawn out.

*Shake off excess salt from the cucumber and discard the excess salt.

*In a food processor, blend cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper until smooth.

*Combine mixture with the Greek yogurt and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

COCONUT CUSTARD PIE

Today I want to share my Mother’s recipe for a delicious pie that is great any time of year.  It is best to make it ahead and then refrigerate it so that it is cold when served.  You can top it with fresh berries and/or whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, melted

5 eggs

1 and ¾ cups sugar

¾ cup buttermilk

2 t.  vanilla

Pinch of salt

1 and ½ cups of grated coconut

2 unbaked and thawed, 9 inch pie shells or 2 flat unbaked pie pastries(placed in 2---9 inch glass pie plates).

Instructions:

*Place all ingredients, except coconut into a blender (with a lid).  Mix well

*Whisk in coconut.

*Pour into the 2 pie shells.

*Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

GRILLED SALMON SALAD

                 

Here is a great way to use leftover grilled salmon. Usually fish is not that great as a leftover but this turned out really good!   You may notice there are a lot of ingredients to the salmon salad I made.  However you can eliminate any ingredient that doesn’t appeal to you and/or add ingredients that you think would work.  Just be open to the capers and the fresh dill if you’ve never tried them.  They are delightful!  Serve the salmon salad over a variety of lettuce and spinach or on your favorite toasted bread.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 cups of chopped grilled salmon

¼ cup finely chopped sweet onion (I used Vidalia)

½ cup finely chopped celery

½ cup finely chopped and peeled cucumber

1 T. capers

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1 T. chopped fresh dill

1/8 to ¼ cup chopped almonds

Splash of fresh lemon juice

½ t. black pepper

Mayonnaise---enough to bind mixture together (I used olive oil mayonnaise)

Instructions:

*Mix all ingredients together and serve over lettuce or on toasted bread.

CHICKEN WITH SWEET RED CHILI SAUCE

                     

Today I have a ridiculously easy supper idea to start off the week.  It is a bit obvious but hopefully it will remind you to seek out ready- made sauces  from your favorite grocery or specialty store.  Then use them with whatever meat you have on hand (chicken, pork, beef) to create a dish that your family will think took you forever to prepare.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:  I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs but you should use whatever chicken pieces you enjoy most.  You can even use a variety of chicken pieces---just make sure they are roughly the same size and weight so they can cook for the same amount of time.

Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)

Sweet Red Chili sauce (I used Thai Kitchen brand)

Instructions:

*Spray pyrex baking dish with PAM (size depends on amount of chicken you are making).

*Place chicken pieces into dish

*Pour sauce (generously) over chicken and turn each piece to coat.

*Bake at 375 degrees until chicken is done (juices run clear) and tender.

*Serve over rice with broccolini or zucchini and salad.