Frozen Peanut Butter Pie - My Recipes

Today I'm featuring a website that I browse daily.

It's: My Recipes. On this site you have access to over 33,000 recipes in over 150 categories from Southen Living, Cooking Light, Real Simple, Coastal Living, Sunset, just to name a few. You'll find what you are looking for, could be one of their to 5 recipes, a delicious desser or ideas for a picnic.

In the grilling section you will find ideas for summer menus, outdoor entertaining, secrets to great grilling, several recipes for the best grilled ribs, perfect potato salad, must-have Margaritas and many more.

If one of your concern is your health and you're trying to achieve to eat healthier you'll find delicious recipes, smart cooking strategies, a summer food survival guide.

You will spend couple hours browsing their different section like: Quick & Easy, Menus & Parties and also wine. For your next party you'll find a list of their top 20 wines for just under $20 and pairing wine with grilled food.

They also have a blog: You've Got to Taste This.

I made great recipes from this site and since the weather is so nice, in the Valley, I needed to prepare a frozen treat for my family. After browsing I decided to make the Frozen Peanut Butter Pie. What I like about this dessert is that you can prepare it ahead of time, freeze it and serve it at your next party. This dessert is refreshing, has just the right amount of peanut butter in it and with chocolate shavings on top you will satisfy your sweet tooth.

For recipe please visit My Recipes website:
Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

And also don't miss their giveaway for the ultimate Weber Summit Grill.

Cruise to Alaska

We went on a cruise to Alaska, for 7 days, with the Norwegian Sun. It was a seven day roundtrip to Vancouver. We stopped in three ports: Ketchikan, Juneau & Skygway. In Skygway we took a bus tour to Yukon.

We loved cruising, it was our first time. Lot's of great shows at night and the food was delicious. We had a stateroom with a balcony. I strongly recommend a cruise to Alaska. The scenery is breathtaking.

Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club

Edited June 27: Please note that I am going on a cruise for 1 week tomorrow. I will not be able to visit your blogs and leave comments. See ya in a week!!!

I have been a fan of Cooking Light for more than 15 years now. Their magazine is one of my favorites. Always filled with good information and recipes. I also collect their Annual Cookbooks. Over the years there is so many recipes from Cooking Light that has become favorites of my family. The Spicy Asian Noodles with Chicken is ready in less than 30 minutes and it's delicious. In the winter I like to make their Slow Cooker Char Siu Pork Roast . Leftovers makes perfect sandwiches.

I am an active member of the Cooking Light Community Boards. Years ago I learned that small groups were gathering together for Supper Clubs. I wanted to start one but never found any interest in the city that I have lived in. Recently a group of bloggers that I have been following for some time now developed the interest in Cooking Light recipes and we decided to virtually meet for our First Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.

I am excited to announce that two girls from Canada - Hélène & Val and three girls from the States - Shelby, Aggie & Jamie are part of this group.

For our first Supper Club we are going to celebrate Canada Day and July 4th. We have created a menu from Cooking Light recipes that are delicious. We all believe in eating healthy and to commit to a healthy lifestyle.

We are launching this exciting Virtual Supper Club project with Cooking Light!!! Tomorrow you can read about it on their website. I'll post the direct link in this post.

Edited to add this link:
Virtual Supper Club on Cooking Light

For our first Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club Val of More than Burnt Toast brought the main course of Maple Grilled Salmon, Jamie brought a side dish of Charred Corn Relish, Aggie brought a Spinach Salad with Stone Fruits and Maple Spiced Pecans, Shelby brought a Curried Chicken Salad with Nectarines and I brought a dessert of Cool, creamy chocolate dessert.

We tasted the dessert tonight and it was so good. I love the layers of cream cheese with cream, chocolate pudding, more cream & chocolate shavings on top. This dessert makes a lot and is perfect for a potluck. I will be making it again.

Now I would love to introduce you to my friends:

Val of More than Burnt Toast is a single mom living in British Columbia, Canada of a 21 year old university student who juggles a full time job and 2 part time jobs; as well as being the co-founder of BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine (a group of food bloggers raising funds for the School Meals Programme). How does she manage to fit a health lifestyle and exercise into her daily routine....by having 3 hour lunch breaks!!!

Aggie of Aggies Kitchen is a Florida gal who loves to eat good food...and feel good eating it. She is a stay at home mom to two young energetic children and has a husband who loves food almost as much as she does. Nothing makes her happier than feeding her family and friends.

Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club is Married nearly 18 years to her Greek/Italian husband and mom to "tween" twin daughters. She lives in a coastal, military town in the Panhandle (the arm) of Florida and works part-time for a financial institution. She started her food blog 2 months ago through the encouragement of her sister-in-law, Aggie, who is also part of this group. She enjoys trying and sharing new recipes as well as teaching her daughters the basics and joy of cooking.

Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch is a mom of two young men and wife to the infamous Grumpy living between the Adirondack and 1000 Island region in Northern New York. Inspired by her Grandmother, she started her blog as a record of memories and recipes and it gradually brought forth a passion for photography and writing along with a whole new world of internet blogging friends! She satisfies her "need" to bake by feeding the "starving" college students and staff at her place of employment and recently started a venture called HoneyB's Kitchen.

Hélène (myself) is a stay-at-home mom of three (20-18-15) that loves to cook and bake. She has lived in seven provinces and now resides on Vancouver Island in Canada. She enjoys sports, camping, travelling, hiking, skiing, yoga with her family. Eating healthy is a lifestyle for Hélène. She loves to serve high quality home made meals to her family. She likes to introduce them to new flavors and diverse ethnic cuisine. She has been a fan of Cooking Light for more than 15 yrs now. She is an active board member that likes to share her passion for food with the other members. Over the years she had tasted many Cooking Light recipes that have become family favorites.

Stay tune because we will be hosting a Regional Cuisine event in August.

PS: FYI I will be going on a cruise Sunday for a week to Alaska. We will be onboard of the Norwegian Sun. I'm so excited to go. This is my first cruise. They have a restaurant onboard that features Cooking Light recipes.

Recipe:

Cool Creamy Chocolate Dessert

Blueberry Muffins

We have colder days now in the Valley so I'm back to baking. Yesterday I have seen those Blueberry Muffins featured on The Bitten World blog. I've made them today just before the boys got back from school. They were greated with freshly baked blueberry muffins. They are really good. My son gave me the thumbs up.

Applesauce-Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

I've been enjoying the nice weather we had in the past couple weeks so I did not have a chance to update my blog. In the summer I love spending time outside. There is so much to do. Going to the beach, walking, travelling, camping, picnics.

This Applesauce-Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake is a great treat to bring on your hikes or picnics. It's a one-bowl recipe, I love those, and you can prepare it in only 10 minutes. I like the fact that it has 2 cups of applesauce and different spices. When you mix chocolates chips with cloves, cardamon & cinnamon you end up with a cake that delivers flavor wise.

I've seen this cake on Noble Pig's blog and made it right away. I have to give high marks for this cake and this is already a favorite.

On a side note I'm going to Seattle on Sunday. I need your recommandations. Please leave them in the comments section. Thanks in advance :)

Recipe:
Applesauce-Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake on Food & Wine

Artos/Christopsomos BBA Challenge

This is the second bread I made for the BBA Challenge. We had to bake a Greek Celebration bread. I choose the Christopsomos. You need two days to make this bread. The first day you prepare the polish and the next day you mix the polish with rest of the ingredients.

Lot's of flavors going on in this bread. During the kneading process spices, nuts, fruits and extracts are added to the dough: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, orange extract, almond extract, golden raisins, dried cranberries, and walnuts.

This was my first experience with a Greek Celebration Bread. I have never tasted one before. At first I did not fall in love with the bread but the more I eat it the more I like it. I especially liked it toasted with butter.

I don't think I will make this bread again but I am satisfied with the results. I learned new techiniques. Next recipe we are making are bagels.

Greek Celebration Breads from other BBA’ers:

Pinch My Salt
The Yumarama Bread Blog
Appoggiatura
Italian Food Forever
White Apples A Blog

Snickerdoodle Cookies

My love for this blog all started back in March 2008 when I first was introduced to this spicy couple viewing their first cooking video online. They immediately captured my attention with their own style and mix of culture. They are adventurous in the kitchen and they bring each recipe to a professional level. Since then I’ve been following them in their culinary adventures.

Always seeking for perfection and looking for the best Snickerdoodle recipe, Todd developed his own recipe. I have to say that I was impressed and immediately wanted to try ‘the’ recipe. I’ve never had a Snickerdoodle cookie before and this was the chance to taste one. I had all the ingredients on hand and started baking. You will find different Snickerdoodle recipes on internet and one ingredient that is often missing is cream of tartar which will give the cookie a tangy flavor. You will experience that when you mix cream of tartar with baking soda your cookies will rise quickly and then collapse. You will have a cookie that is crunchy on top and chewy in the center. After the first bite I was in love and can’t wait to try the Pizookie recipe that Todd developed with his Snickerdoodle recipe. My sons raved about these cookies and one of them shared them with friends at school.

For recipe visit White on Rice Couple Blog:

Snickerdoodle

Note: After school my son said: mom my friend wants you to make these cookies every week now for school.

Anadama Bread - BBA Challenge

I'm doing the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge. Nicole of Pinch My Salt has invited us to join her in baking our way through Peter Reinhart’s book: The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread .

We will be backing one bread per week. The first bread wa the Anadama. I have never heard of that bread before I opened the book. It's pretty simple to make. I did halve the recipe because I only wanted one bread and did use only one tbsp of molasses instead of three. I did not want a sweet bread. The bread was really good the day I baked it with butter, maple butter & in a ham & cheese sandwich.

The next day I toasted the bread and eat it with peanut butter. Was really good. Can't wait to bake my next loaf of bread from that book. I do recommend this book to anyone who has the patience to learn to bake great bread.

Cranberries Hazelnut Crisps

When we entertain it's important to have good company, a great platter of cheeses, good wine & excellent crackers. Our favorites are the Raincoast Crisps but they are pricey at $7.00 a small box. They are addictive. After doing a search I've found a great recipe on Dinner with Julie's blog.

Who would have think that those delicious crackers would be so easy to make. They require two bakings like biscottis. The key is to slice them really thin to obtain that crispiness. It's best done if you freeze the loaf of bread after the first baking. If you don't have honey at home you can use pure maple syrup, like I did. These crackers are good served with cheeses & a good Red Pepper Jelly. It's so much fun to entertain when you have good quality food.

Rhubard - This is the Season

Quick post today. I found rhubard at the Farmer's Market and made rhubarb compote. All you have to do is cut your rhubard, add sugar to taste and cook until your rhubard is very soft and begins to fall apart, about 20 min. Rhubard can be frozen, I did in small Mason jars. When I want to eat rhubard I just microwave it for 50-60 seconds.

Ideas to serve your rhubard:
-Lemon poppyseeds muffins
-Vanilla ice cream
-Yogourt