Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

I was looking for a simple, refreshing dessert for our Christmas in February family dinner.

I saw this on line, and thought it would be purrrrrrrfect!
I made some modifications, but the filling is the same as the original recipe.

This recipe was featured on the Oprah show as the most requested dessert on the menu at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.  

Get ready for a sumptuous taste sensation with this easy to make, fresh, colorful key lime pie!

Delicious!

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust:

• 3/4 pound graham crackers
• 4 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 sticks melted butter 
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt

(This recipe calls for a lot of butter.... I used the traditional graham cracker crust on the box of graham crackers).

Using 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter or margarine.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.

Filling:

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 can (14 ounces) condensed milk
• 2/3 cup fresh Key Lime juice
• 1 lime, grated zest

Topping:

• 1 carton non-dairy whipped topping (Cool Whip)
• 2 tbsp. maraschino cherry juice
• Maraschino cherries for garnish

Directions:

To make the graham cracker crust:

Break up the graham crackers, place in a food processor and process to crumbs.  Add the melted butter, sugar and salt and pulse until combined.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan, forming an even layer on the bottom, sides, and edge.  Bake the crust for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool.

I used a spring form pan to bake the crust in, so I could display it on my cake pedestal.

To make the filling:

While the crust is cooling, in an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, whip the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until fluffy, 6 minutes.  Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to whip until thick, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed  and slowly add the lime juice until incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until the filling has just set.  Cool on a wire rack, and then refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Spread with the Cool Whip topping mixture.  Add the maraschino cherries for a garnish.

For Printable version  Key Lime Pie

Enjoy!

Family Dessert Time!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This salad could also easily double as a dessert.  This salad has a crunchy nutty-like pretzel crust with a sweet cream cheese layer with a strawberry topping.  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups crushed pretzels
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons white sugar

• 1- 8 oz.  package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1- 8 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed

• 2- 3 oz. packages strawberry flavored jello
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2- 10 oz. packages frozen strawberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter and 3 tbsp. sugar; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until set.  Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and 1 cup sugar.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spread mixture onto cooled crust.

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.  Stir in still frozen strawberries and allow to set briefly.  When mixture is about the consistency of egg whites, pour and spread over cream cheese layer.  refrigerate until set.

Printable Version of  Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Family Pictures

Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple Chicken*Family Christmas

Christmas in February?

Bacon-Wrapped Apple Chicken

My husband's side of our family celebrated our family Christmas dinner this year on February 17th.

We not only wished each other a Merry Christmas, but also a

  Happy New Year and Happy Valentine's Day. 

The celebrations may not have been on time, but the food was memorable.

The first dish was a delicious blend of flavors that slow roasted in the crock pot for 8 hours.

The aroma filled the house with flavors of bacon, chicken, and barbecue sauce that made your mouth water.  This turned out to be one of my favorite flavor combinations.  It was a definite hit with the family.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup BBQ sauce, we used Sweet Baby Rays
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup lemon juice (fresh or from a bottle)
• 5 apples, peeled and chopped, we used Gala
• 16 bacon slices

In a small bowl, combine BBQ sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and peeled/chopped apples.

We cut each chicken breast in half then wrapped each piece with two slices of bacon and placed in a greased slow cooker.

Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is done.

This recipe was found on line from www.chef-in-training.com

Printable version of  Slow Cooker Bacon -Wrapped Apple Chicken

The sauce on this chicken is rich and flavorful.

Family Food & Conversation

Enjoy!

Click here for Strawberry Pretzel Salad

&

Key Lime Pie

Pot Sticker Soup

This is the Year of the Snake.

(Picture from About.com, Heather Cross)

Over 1.3 billion people in China and millions of Chinese around the world celebrate the first day of the

Chinese New Year- February 10, 2013.  It's the most important of Chinese holidays, kicking off a celebration that lasts for 15 days and culminates with the Lantern Festival. On this night of the full moon, families mingle in the streets carrying lighted lanterns, often creating a beautiful light display.

My Chinese Lantern given to me by my friends  Xiaopeng & Lei.

Each year is associated with one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.  For 2013, it's the Year of the Snake.

A month in the Chinese calendar spans a single lunar cycle.  The first day of the month begins during the new moon, when no sunlight falls on the lunar hemisphere that faces the earth.  A lunar cycle, on average, lasts 29.5 days, so lunar month can last 29 or 30 days.  Usually, there are 12 lunar months in a Chinese calendar year.  In order to catch up with the solar calendar, which averages 365.25 days in a year, an extra month is added to the Chinese calendar every two or three years.  As a result, Chinese New Year falls on different days each year.

(from EarthSky.org)

Pot Sticker Soup

I saw a recipe for Pot Sticker Soup in Better Homes and Gardens, namely,  New Years Day Dumpling Soup. I modified the recipe from the online version.  This soup makes a complete meal with the addition of some egg rolls to round it out.  It warms you up on a cold winter's evening.  It will be a great night to curl up in front of the fireplace and savor a hot, steamy bowl of this delicious soup.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups of chicken broth
• fresh ginger, 1/2 inch piece (2 teaspoons grated)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded 
• 1- 10 oz. package frozen pot stickers with sauce
• 2 medium carrots or several baby carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch strips to make 1 cup
•  or 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 small bunch green onions, trimmed and diagonally sliced
• 8 ozs. fresh mushrooms
• 3 tbsp. corn starch 
• soy sauce to taste

Printable Version of recipe.  Pot Sticker Soup PDF

Gather the ingredients. 

Pour 2 cartons chicken broth into soup pot and bring to a boil.

Seed and finely dice the jalapeno pepper.

Cut white ends of green onion and slice green stem diagonally.

Reserve some of the green onion for garnish.

Finely grate fresh ginger to make 2 teaspoons.

Add green onions to boiling chicken stock.

Add diced jalapeno pepper.

Add fresh grated ginger.

Cut carrots into thin 2 inch strips.

Slice the mushrooms.

Add mushrooms to the pot.

Add carrots to the soup pot.

In a small bowl empty the seasoning packet from the pot stickers.

Stir 3 tablespoons cornstarch into the seasonings until well blended.

Add the frozen pot stickers into the pot.

Reduce heat to a simmer.
Cook covered for 8-10 minutes until pot stickers are heated through.

Pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup and simmer until  thickened.

Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with green onion strips.

Serve with egg rolls.
Happy Chinese New Year!

Enjoy!

These Good Luck Chopsticks in my blog were a wedding gift from my friends, Xiaopeng and Lei.
These particular chopsticks are a message of Good Luck when presented as a gift.  They mean harmonious and long-term marriage.  Two pairs of chopsticks represents faithful companion.
Chopsticks also mean pure friendship when presented to friends.
Thank you, Lei & Xiaopeng, for the lovely wedding gift.