An EASTER Dilemma...

Last year, I had a family cookout for Easter - no hassle cooking for a wonderful holiday so that we could enjoy our family time. This year, I am going even EASIER- I ordered a Boston Butt and it will be picked up on Saturday in time for a great family dinner on Easter Sunday. We will be pulling in some homemade touches, but the main cooking is DONE for me! Gotta love that, right?

However I will be making either strawberry ice cream or strawberry cake. My Daddy (yes, I am 41 years old and still call my father Daddy and my Yankee husband snickers all the time at that) loves STRAWBERRY anything. He prefers cake so I might bake a cake, but The DAVE loves ice cream- as he has displayed this Spring/Easter Break by having not one but two Cookout shakes to my '0'. So that's my Easter dessert dilemma- whom do I make happy?

So here we go with two recipes.... who knows what I will do! These are both super simple so I might end up doing both.... Yeah, that's just what the fat girl ordered!

Strawberry Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1-2 tsp vanilla
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon of strawberry syrup juice.

1. Slice or process strawberries with sugar substitute. Set aside and let the strawberries make their own syrup juice. You will need a tablespoon of that juice.
2. Mix together sugar and milk on low speed for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add cream, vanilla, and strawberry juice.
4. Turn on machine and add mixture. Let machine go for 25-30 minutes.
5. Add strawberries during the last five minutes of the mixing.

Adding a little chocolate sauce on top with whipped cream is a GREAT hit.



Strawberry Pudding Cake

1 white cake mix
1 box of vanilla pudding mix
2 cups fresh strawberries

1. Prepare the cake, with red food color if you'd like, as directed in whatever cake pan you desire. Bake according to the box- yeah, a little semi homemade here! I guess you could use a strawberry cake mix, but I like the white.
2. Prepare the vanilla pudding with a drop or two of red food coloring if you'd like. Using sugar free/fat free pudding at this house!
3. Process or slice strawberries with sugar substitute and set aside while the cake bakes.
4. Sprinkle strawberries, reserving a few berries for garnish, over the top of the cake and then spread the pudding on top. Garnish with reserved berries. Put in fridge for about an hour before serving.

So what will I do? Check back for pictures after Easter!

He's not Italian, but loves him some Italian food...

I never did make much Italian food before meeting Dave.. but he absolutely loves Italian!It has a lot to do with the fact that my grandmother did not do Italian foods so my Daddy does not care much for Italian- he recently acknowledged that he has 'put up with' my mom's spaghetti for 45 years. So when we were first dating, I made what I called Pasta Bake- basically a baked pasta with cheese! I had no idea that the Dave liked it so much until he complained that I never made it anymore. He often times complains that I stopped cooking when we got married, but considering the lack of significant weight loss by him, you know that is not true. So I have decided to surprise him tomorrow evening with a pasta bake- which is simple and yet, Dave approved!


Pasta Bake

4 cups cooked pasta- I use what I have and sometimes a mix!
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup green pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1.5 cups pasta sauce
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup or more of mozerella cheese


1. Prepare pasta and set aside.
2. Brown meat, peppers, and onions together using a large sauce pan. Season with salt and pepper- you can use garlic salt if you like it. After browning, add pasta sauce and tomatoes along with Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese at this point.
3. Add the pasta to the sauce and combine- then put into a 13x9 glass casserole. Add mozerella cheese and mix in a bit- use the rest to top the pasta combination. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes until cheese begins to melt and get bubbly.

This isn't really a recipe, but just how I do something! I never really thought about how much or when to do some of the steps so play with this one, but it works! Dave loves him some Italian and this fits the bill when I don't want to do meatballs or put together a lasagna.

I knew I had not just thrown it away...

I found my hand blender! It was in the last place I saw it over three years ago- on top of my fridge in a old Coca-Cola crate. I used it yesterday to emulsify the cream of mushroom soup that I used for a wonderful tender pot roast.

So for the time being, Dave will not have to pick out pieces of mushrooms the size of tic tacs from his rice or food! And I can have the flavor of mushroom soup!