Berry Trifle

Holy Cow, I made a dessert. I am not really a baker anymore because quite frankly I love baked goods too much to have them in my house and if they are here I eat them. So it isnt really that often that I make any type of dessert. This was for Mother's Day and I love to make trifles. I have 3 recipes that I make anytime I need to bring dessert. They are so quick and easy to make and its just something different. I got my trifle bowl in Wal-Mart about 10 years ago and I think it was maybe $10. I would say it was more then worth the investment.

Berry Trifle

borrowed from All Recipe.com

Ingredients

• 1 (10.75 ounce) package prepared pound cake, cubed
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen blueberries
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries**I used fresh because they were on sale**
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen blackberries
• 2 tablespoons praline liqueur**I sub in Orange Juice**
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. Place cubed cake in bottom of large glass serving bowl. Layer the blueberries, raspberries and blackberries on top of the cake. Sprinkle with praline liqueur.
2. In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, milk, condensed milk and 1 cup of whipped topping, stir well. Pour mixture over frozen berries. Top custard with remaining cool whip. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours, enough for the berries to thaw before serving

MY DIRECTIONS

I make two layers. I put 1/2 the cake, 1/2 the fruit, 1/2 the pudding mix and then repeat. Then I put the cool-whip or whip cream on top. I feel like its better for distribution when spooning it out.

Soft Tacos with Apples and Onions

Still trying to use up apples…….Seems like a strange combo I know but these are really good. Very savory. I made these last year and I don’t think I seasoned them enough. I followed all the measurements this time and they were really tasty. I like them with some sour cream too. Just another way to use up apples and new variation on tacos. I also think if you use a regular pan and not non-stick they would get more golden. I think I should have let the onions go longer but I was hungry.

Chicken Soft Tacos with Sautéed Onions and Apples
from cooking light
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups thinly sliced onion
2 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 apples)
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt, nutmeg, and pepper.
Add chicken to pan; sauté 7 minutes or until golden.
Remove the chicken from pan; keep warm.
Melt butter in pan over medium heat.
Add onion; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.
Add apple; cook 6 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.
Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Return chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.
Heat tortillas according to package directions.
Arrange 1/2 cup chicken mixture evenly over each tortilla.

I served it with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Pears
We had a lot of pears in the house because of fruit of the month so I thought why not get rid of 2 fruits at one time

Roasted Pears and Sweet Potatoes
From Everyday Foods
2 sweet potatoes, sliced 1 1/2 inches thick
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Coarse salt
2 Bartlett pears, cored, quartered, and halved


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Scrub 2 sweet potatoes.
Quarter lengthwise; slice diagonally 1 1/2 inches thick.
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne; season with coarse salt.
Roast, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Core and quarter 2 Bartlett pears; halve crosswise.
Add to the potatoes; toss all with another tablespoon oil.
Continue roasting until potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 minutes more.

VERDICT on the side dish
YUM. Seemed a little weird to roast pears but the flavor was really good and it was really easy. The seasoning was a really good mix. I always forget that roasting things is so simple you just have to think ahead. I will make these again for sure

California Chicken Salad and Summer Soup

ALL THE PRETTY COLORS

Tonight's meal was an array of beautiful colors. I am not sure how it happened but I picked a lot of veggie filled recipes this week and we have 2 recipes tonight PACKED with veggie goodness
First up
SUMMER SOUP
I tried to find out the origins of this recipe but I have no idea where I copied it from

INGREDIENTS

4 cups fresh corn kernels or two 10 oz. packages frozen corn, thawed **you don't need to cook the corn before you de-cob it, I did but a contributing chef Lauren said I didn't need too--
thanks L***
2 cups non-fat milk
1 tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
1 small zucchini (about ½ lb.), diced
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
¾ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Put 2 cups of the corn and the milk into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 2 cups corn and the broth and bring to a boil.
Add the pureed corn and the tomatoes and cook until warmed through but not boiling.
Add the salt and season with pepper.
Serve garnished with the basil ribbons.

VERDICT
This soup was....good. Healthy, full of veggies, and Jackson and Doug really liked it so that says something. I wish I knew I didn't have to boil the corn 1st because that would have cut down on my cooking time. I had 2 servings of this soup. The 2nd had cheddar cheese added and I liked it more with the cheese. I also think it would be great with some toasty croutons. I think I needed to add more fresh basil then I did also. Overall it was a good quick, healthy soup and I will make it again for a perfect lunch. It did pair nicely with the next recipe for........


California Chicken Salad
borrowed from the blog Delicious Meliscious

INGREDIENTS

4-5 cups mixed salad greens

5 large strawberries, sliced

1 mango peeled and sliced

1 avocado peeled and sliced

2 chicken breasts, grilled & diced ** I used Monterrey Chicken Seasoning**

Directions: In a large bowl, place salad greens, then add all other ingredients. Serve drizzled with the poppy seed dressing below, or the dressing of your choice.

Balsamic Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

Source: Adapted from a post on the CookingLight.com Community

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 tsp. splenda or sugar

1 tbsp. fat free mayo (optional)

Directions:Whisk together all the ingredients

VERDICT

I really liked the freshness of this salad. I loved the combo of the fruit and the avocado, it looked beautiful on the plate. And would be perfect to serve for an Easter brunch or shower luncheon. I wasn't so crazy about the dressing. It was kind of bitter because of the balsamic and I think there are much better poppy seed dressings out there (and on this site) This is my least favorite of the 3 poppy seed dressings I have made in the past 2 weeks. But if you like Balsamic I would give it a try because maybe it was just me and my tastes. I think I need to take a break from the poppy seeds in case I need to take a drug test.

Battle of the Poppy Seed Dressings

Its the battle of the Poppy Seed Dressings

I think if I had to take a drug test I might fail because of the large amount of poppy seeds in my system. Over the 4th of July weekend I made Dave & Kim's Famous Berry Salad & Poppy Seed Dressing (which I didn't get around to posting about yet) and tonight I made a Chicken Poppy Seed Salad. So I figured I might as well post the battle royal together.

Dave & Kim's Berry Poppy Seed Salad

Borrowed from Dave & Kim

Please excuse the really bad picture. I made this for a BBQ and didn't have my good camera and didn't think to take another picture once I dressed the salad. And for some reason I cant get the picture to be right side up. So basically the battle is already tainted by bad PR for the Berry Salad.

INGREDIENTS

Salad

1 container blueberries

1 large container strawberries sliced

3 romaine heads shredded

Dressing

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs. poppy seeds

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 cup oil

Mix salad. Mix dressing in a seal able container and shake until mixed. Pour on salad

Now for our competitor

CHICKEN POPPY SEED SALAD

borrowed from The Sister's Cafe

Spinach leaves
Romaine leaves
Grilled chicken, sliced (grill with lots of lemon pepper seasoning) **I actually used Rotisserie this time and it was really good**
Red onion, sliced thinly
Crispy bacon, crumbled
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Toasted almonds (or you can sugar the almonds. Put sliced almonds in a pan with lots of granulated sugar (about equal amounts). Cook on medium heat until sugar melts, coating the almonds as they brown.)

The best part... The Dressing:
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tb Maui or Vidalia onion, chopped ** I substituted Shallot because they didn't have either in my store today**
2 cups canola oil ** I used 1/2 canola 1/2 EVOO because I ran out of Canola**
3 Tb poppy seeds

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender, then slowly add the oil, blending until thick. Stir in poppy seeds. Toss all ingredients together with generous amount of dressing before serving.

*This makes a lot of dressing! If you need a really big salad for a party then start with a large bunch of spinach, large head of romaine, 4 chicken breasts, 1 lb bacon, etc. I rarely make a salad that big so that is why there are no "amounts". So have fun with it - you're going to love it!

The dressing before the poppy seeds--What a cool color. Jackson thought I was making smoothies

Now it looks like its dirty
VERDICT

Ok so there is a clear winner in our house and the Chicken Poppy Seed Salad TAKES IT!

Thoughts on the Berry Poppy Seed Salad---

I do love the Berry Poppy Seed Salad as well, but for me it is a great lunch salad and a side dish. It is absolutely perfect to bring to someones house because it so easy to throw together. Another thing the Berry Poppy Dressing has going for it, is its a lot lighter then the Chicken Poppy Salad Dressing. Although I think it only probably makes 1/3 as much so maybe all things are equal.

Thoughts on the Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

PERFECTION--No SERIOUSLY

It tasted like something you find in a restaurant, not on my kitchen table. Doug (aka the Chief Taste Tester) said this was the best salad we've had and I asked "in this house or ever" and he said "EVER". That should be all you need to know because he has eaten his fair share of salads and for this one to be the best EVER---that's huge. I feel badly that I had to change a few things because since I have never made it before I wanted to follow the recipes exactly. That was my intention but my pantry had other ideas. I also felt like using Rotisserie Chicken tonight because I like my salads to be as quick and easy as possible and so I skipped the grilling of the chicken. But let me tell you, make sure you don't skip out on sugar coating the sliced almonds. It was quick & easy and packed a giant flavor punch. Who knew it was so easy to do.

The only thing I need to work on is 1/2ing the dressing recipe. It made A LOT of dressing and since there is only 2 of us the salad wasn't very big and I dumped a lot of it out and still have a whole salad shaker full.

So for all the Poppy Seed Salad fans, try both and let me know which you like better.....