Cocoa Fudge Sauce

Do you ever make your own chocolate fudge sauce for ice cream? I've made this yummy sauce for years, since my kids were young. My whole family loves this with ice cream and many times I make brownies so we can have brownie sundaes! Or, instead of brownies, make Toll House Pan Cookies. Yum! Cocoa Fudge Sauce is not hard to make-it takes less than 10 minutes and it's made with ingredients you probably have on hand.

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Let cool then use for sundaes with your choice of toppings! It's so rich and decadent and perfect for for summer get-togethers as everyone can build their own sundae! How easy is that!

COCOA FUDGE SAUCE ( from the revised Hershey's 1934 Cookbook)

1/4 cup of cocoa

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 T. cornstarch

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup milk

2 T. butter

2 tsp.. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients in a large sauce pan. . Add corn syrup and milk and blend well. Bring to a boil and boil for 5-7 minutes and then remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Cool completely and serve over ice cream. Boil for 5 minutes and this sauce will be similar to Hershey's Syrup, so if you would like it a little thicker, boil for about 7 minutes,(I boiled it for 7 min.). Let cool completely and refrigerate, where it will thicken up. In the top photo, I used the sauce straight from the fridge, which made it thick and fudgy! Enjoy!

If you need some ideas to round out your 4th of July celebrations, I may be able to help! Sundaes with the fudge sauce above would be great for dessert, as would my Sour Cream Pound Cake, especially if it's topped with fresh fruit or berries! Or how about my Pineapple Sheet Cake? It feeds quite a few people. Or Red Velvet Cupcakes with some red, white and blue sprinkles on top. For the grill, we have Grilled Ginger Peach Glazed Chicken, California Kabobs or Grilled Spice Rubbed Pork Chops. Need some ideas for side dishes? How about Lynda's Baked Beans, my Red Skinned Potato Salad, or my Quick Pasta Salad. Spring Macaroni Salad with Peas is a real favorite too. Don't forget the Black Bean, Corn and Tomato Salsa, or my Guacamole dip. These are both crowd pleasers! Hope that gives you some ideas! Happy 4th of July everyone!

24 Hour Coleslaw

Do you like coleslaw? Not everyone in my family does, so for years I rarely made it. When I did, it was this slaw, which is big on flavor and it's one that most people will like, if they like slaw, that is! It needs to be made ahead of time because the dressing is boiled for just a bit and then poured over the shredded cabbage ingredients and then it needs to marinate for several hours. It's a recipe you should make the day before you want to serve it. It's perfect for for the 4th celebrations as you can make it ahead, and have it the whole weekend. It is supposed to last 1 week or more, but ours gets eaten waaay before then. I am lucky if it lasts 4 days as my husband loves this stuff and will eat it for a snack! I found this recipe in a couple of church cookbooks even before I was married, so I don't know it's origin or how long it's been around. I do have another slaw recipe, but decided to share this one because it can be made ahead, which frees up your time some on the day you want to serve it. So, let's make slaw!

24 HOUR COLESLAW
1 medium head of cabbage, shredded, about 2 pounds; ( or use the bags of preshredded cabbage from your store)
1 onion finely diced
1 green bell pepper finely diced or shredded
Place cabbage, onion and bell pepper in a very large bowl
Dressing mix:
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup salad oil, I used canola
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp dry mustard
Bring dressing ingredients to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over cabbage mixture while hot. Cover bowl and place in fridge for overnight or 24 hours before serving. Stir well before serving. I have a friend who adds a few sliced, stuffed olives to this slaw before serving, which adds a tasty touch, but my family won't eat them. Sigh~Anyway, this is a tangy, sweet delicious slaw which goes with any meal, indoors or outdoors, so enjoy!

Pasta and Shrimp Primavera

A few weeks ago, I won a contest at Grace's blog, A Southern Grace! I won! The prize? Well, the folks from Garofalo sent me pasta, three different varieties of delicious pasta! We love pasta in this house, so I was very happy, let me tell ya! Garofalo sent a pound of whole wheat spaghetti that I decided to use for this Pasta and Shrimp Primavera. A few years back, I had made a primavera that was loaded with veggies and had a tomato base instead of a cream base. But, I have lost the recipe, so I decided to wing it again and came up with my own version, which is extremely good! I will make this again and again as my husband and I really enjoyed it. It's a fairly quick meal, suitable for weeknight dinners, but yet nice enough to serve to company!

First of all, you need to prepare all the veggies, then saute some shrimp in olive oil. I bought frozen shrimp that was already shelled and deveined. That saved a lot of time, plus, I can't buy fresh shrimp here. I removed the shrimp from the skillet and added some asparagus, onion and zucchini and sauteed until tender crisp. Don't overcook!

I added a little more oil, some minced garlic and sauteed til fragrant. I wanted to use fresh, diced tomatoes, but mine aren't ripe yet, so I used a can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes, which worked really well. Add the cooked shrimp and stir this mixture til tomatoes are heated through. Add 16 ounces of hot, cooked pasta.

Toss ingredients together and serve! Be sure to add cheese! It is a delicious, very flavorful and healthy dish that isn't too time consuming to prepare. It was wonderful with Garofalo's whole wheat spaghetti, but you could use any pasta you desire. Enjoy it with a salad and some crusty bread.

PASTA and SHRIMP PRIMAVERA

16 ounces of cooked pasta

1 bag of frozen, shrimp- shelled and deveined (I used a 14 ounce bag)

2-4 T. olive oil

5 or 6 garlic cloves, minced

1 zucchini squash, or yellow squash, diced in bite size pieces

1 pound of asparagus, ends trimmed off and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 medium onion, diced- I used a red onion

1 can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes (about 15 ounces), or 2 cups of fresh, diced tomatoes

fresh basil- I used about 3T. of chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

Fresh Parmesan cheese or Feta cheese

Cook pasta and drain. While pasta is cooking, prepare all the vegetables. Break tough ends off of asparagus and cut stalks into 1 inch pieces. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then in half lengthwise again, and slice. Dice onions. Now, in a medium hot skillet, add 1 T. of olive oil and add in shrimp. Cook about 2minutes until shrimp are pink and opaque looking. Remove the shrimp from skillet. Add another T. of olive oil and add squash,onion and asparagus to the skillet-saute until crisp tender, about 4-5 minutes. Move veggies to side of pan and if needed, add more olive oil to saute the garlic. Only cook the garlic until very fragrant but not brown. Pour in the tomatoes and basil and stir to heat through. Stir shrimp back in and add the cooked pasta and toss well. Place primavera on plates or in a pasta bowl to serve. Serve with plenty of Parmesan cheese or Feta cheese. Enjoy!

So, are you a fan of whole wheat or whole grain pastas, or do you prefer the regular white pastas? NOTE: If you'd like an extra kick of flavor, try adding a good pinch of dried red pepper flakes with the garlic, and cook as directed.

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

I'm addicted to strawberries. Have been since I was a little girl. My favorite way to eat them is right off the vine, but when they are no longer in season , I'll definitely buy them from my local grocery store. They aren't as good as the farm fresh berries, but when you're an addict you'll take what you can get! When I saw this recipe for Strawberry Yogurt Muffins from Culinary Wannabe awhile back, I knew I'd have to try them. Then, the people from Stonyfield Farm contacted me to see if I wanted to try their Oikos Greek Yogurt, and of course I said, yes! So, I made these delicious muffins with the yummy, creamy Oikos Greek Yogurt. These muffins are the perfect addition for breakfast, brunch or anytime snack and have so much flavor, plus with the yogurt and whole wheat flour, they are a very healthy choice. Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY YOGURT MUFFINS

1 cup AP flour

1 cup whole wheat four

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chopped strawberries (I used 1 1/2 cups, I'm an addict, remember!)

2 eggs

1 cup yogurt, I used Oikos organic nonfat Greek yogurt,

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl mix the flours, sugar and baking soda together. Add the chopped strawberries and stir to coat. In another bowl, mix together the eggs and yogurt, then add the butter and vanilla. Gradually add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Don't over mix, but the batter is going to be very thick. Distribute dough evenly into 12 greased muffin cups. Since I used more strawberries, I had 14 muffins instead of the 12. Muffins will be full. I sprinkled some coarse sugar on top of the muffins. Bake at 375 degrees for about 2o-25 minutes
until golden. Betcha can't eat just one! They are sooo good!

I used paper muffins liners for these muffins, but we had trouble with them sticking to the muffins when we first tried them. However, the next morning the liners came off much better. I'll probably just spray the pans with baking spray from now on. And I will be making these strawberry muffins again, many times. They are just that good! Any strawberry addict will love them!

Toll House Pan Cookies

I'm late getting this post out, but I had a really good reason- I've been helping out my son and daughter-in-law since they brought our darling granddaughter home from the hospital! She is a perfect little doll and seems so strong, already rolling onto her side today in her bassinet. Maybe, I've just forgotten what newborns can do in these many years since I had a little one. :)
But back to a recipe. I pulled this one out of the past as this cookie bar was a favorite of my children and the neighborhood kids when they were all young and busy playing outside. My daughter asked me the other day how come I hadn't made these in so long. Truth is, I had forgotten about them for awhile, but after making them yesterday, all three of my adult children were very happy with me! And my DIL loved them. I just assumed that everyone has made these, since it is an older recipe put out by Nestle years ago. These Toll House Pan Cookies helped me create some great memories for my kids. Maybe you will like them too!

Toll House Pan Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 12ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2-1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 15x10x1 inch baking pan with baking spray. In a small bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, mix the butter, both sugars and vanilla until creamy. Beat in the eggs. Gradually add the flour mixture; mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Spread into the baking pan and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Cool and cut into squares. Ha, they usually don't get a chance to cool! But with these bars, they're good warm or cool. These bars are a great anytime snack for young or old!

And it's a quick way to have homemade chocolate chip cookies and fulfill your cravings! Bar cookies are the way to go in the summer when it's too hot to have the oven on for very long. Enjoy!
UPDATE: I had incorrectly put the flour down as 2 2/4 cups, but have changed it to 2 1/4 cups; hope I don't mess anyone up!

We have a baby!

I have been MIA for several days and this adorable little girl in the photo is the reason! Grandma (me), is holding this little bundle of joy who is less than an hour old in this photo. She has completely captivated our hearts already and we can't wait until she comes home! Her middle name is Grace, named after her Great-grandma, my MIL. Needless to say, my Mother-in-law was so pleased to learn that her new great-grand-daughter would carry her name. I've always loved my MIL's name , so I'm thrilled to have another Grace in the family and I believe little Grace will have the same strength of character as her great grandma. Oh yea, mommy and daddy are doing fine, ready to go home and be a family. And lose lots of sleep!
Tommorrow, a new recipe!

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner

I don't know about you, but I love making skillet meals, you know, where everything goes in the skillet and and it's done, except for making a salad! I came up with this dish years ago as something quick to make on really busy nights. It started as a side dish and then I decided to add chicken to it and it became a main dish! I've also used ground beef in place of the chicken, but we really prefer the chicken. You need to chop the onion, garlic and peppers before beginning and cut the chicken into about 1 inch pieces. I sometimes slice a carrot and add to the mix too. Heat oil in a large skillet; add the onion, peppers, garlic and chicken and saute til chicken is about half cooked- then add spices, corn, broth, salsa and rice. Cover pan with lid and cook 15 minutes on low heat.

Take off lid and add black beans and stir gently with a fork. Put cheese on top and lid back on the pan for another 5 minutes with the heat on low. Remove pan from heat.

And you are now ready to eat! It cooks in 15-20 minutes, so this is about a thirty minute meal by the time you chop the veggies! That's easy enough! Serve with a salad and maybe some tortillas or cornbread. My husband loves the leftovers rolled up in a tortilla with lettuce and tomato, and more cheese of course!

SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN and RICE SKILLET DINNER

From Lynda's Recipe Box
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup white rice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

1 poblano pepper, diced, or you may use bell peppers or jalapeno or any you want, really

1 carrot, peeled and sliced, optional

1 cup of frozen or fresh corn

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups chicken broth, low sodium if possible

1 cup Pace salsa or picante sauce

1 1/2 ts. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. sea salt

2 T. oil

1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

In a large skillet, over medium high heat, heat the oil and add the diced onion, minced garlic and the chicken pieces and stir around until chicken is beginning to turn white. Add the chili powder, cumin, corn, diced peppers and salt and pepper. Stir in the chicken broth and the salsa. Next add the rice, but don't stir. Put lid on pan and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Remove lid and add black beans to mixture in the pan and stir gently with a fork. Really, you just want to distribute the beans evenly without stirring very much. Stirring the rice at this point can result in mush! After adding the beans, sprinkle 1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese over the rice and cover pan with lid and let set another 5 minutes. Dinner is now served! Sprinkle with cilantro or chopped green onions, if desired. Hope you enjoy!

NOTE: This is a mildly flavored dish. For more heat/spice, use hot peppers like jalapeno, more garlic and maybe a spicier salsa.

I am submitting this recipe to Patsy, at Family, Friends and Food, where she is having a contest sponsored by Pace. If you have a recipe that used Pace salsas, head over to Patsy's blog and enter your recipe. You could win free Specialty Salsas! Submit your recipe by this Saturday!