Strawberry Angel Cake

I made this for a dessert get together on Wednesday and it was a bit hit.  Of course, it was also one of three things that were actually homemade :)  This is one of the simplest recipes I know for a strawberry dessert and I'm pretty sure it was the only thing my grandmother could make that actually tastes good.  Yay!

1 3oz. pkg. strawberry jello
1 3oz. pkg. frozen strawberries
1 Tbsp. Sugar
6” angel cake
1 pkg. cool whip
    
     Dissolve jello in 1 ¼ cups boiling water. Add thawed strawberries and sugar. Cool until it jells and the fold in cool whip. Lightly fold in angel caked (in pieces) and place in a 9x9 pan. Refrigerate and when ready, serve with more cool whip on top.

Side note, when it says "until it jells" it just means thick and almost jelled.  If you wait until it is completely jello, the cool whip will not mix in or set correctly.  If you do wait too long and it will not mix in, just add about 1/4 cup of hot water and stir, then add the cool whip and angel food cake.

This is a great dessert for a summer cookout.  It's not too fancy and its fruity and light.  I'm not a big fan of desserts like cake in the summer unless there's fruit involved  :)
Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Taco Pie

What in the world is taco pie? I'll tell you what it is, pure deliciousness, that's what! All the flavors of spicy tacos in a crescent roll crust baked and served with melting cheese on top! Not to mention, it is SO easy! No real measurements, just eyeballing for the most part.

My boyfriend loves this dish, in fact, the first time I made he ate half the pie. Half. That man can put away some food for sure but still, half the pie. I think it was a winner!

Ingredients:

2 crescent roll tubes, I use Pillsbury
1 lb either ground chicken or beef
1 jar salsa, I usually use Ortega, medium heat
1 2-cup bag shredded Mexican mix cheese
extra condiments such as vegetables: lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeno
and sauces: hot sauce, sour cream, salsa, cheese

Preheat the oven according to the crescent roll directions.

First, break out a glass pie plate and cover it on the crescent rolls.  You may need to spread them, pull them, pinch them etc.  You can use the extras and just bake them off as crescents OR, my personal favorite is fulling them with jams, chocolate chips and other goodies.  I tend to like chocolate and strawberry jam mixed.  Bake them off and you have a simple desert! Yum :)

In a non-stick frying pan, cook the ground meat until browned.  Add the jar of salsa and mix evenly.  you want it to be juicy, but more soup so cook it down a bit. Add about 1 cup of the shredded cheese and mix in evenly until melty and wonderful.

Scoop, pour, spoon, or whatever method you choose to get that meat mixture into the prepared pie plate! Bake in the oven for the time stated on the crescent package. Once done, sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly over the entire pie.  Turn off your oven(unless you're baking the extra crescents) and keep the pie in there for the cheese to melt into taco heaven.

Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes, if you can anyway :)

I like to serve this with spicy black beans and Mexican rice

White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread

 Hello everyone! Ready for the holidays?  I have been baking up a storm lately between the cookies and pretzels its been a constant sugar high.  I found this recipe online a few years ago and it was an instant classic.  It has a definite holiday taste with the dried cranberries and the white chocolate chips. The ground pistachios on top add a nice crunch and nuttiness as well!

Ingredients: 

½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature

¼ cup granulated white sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla

¾ cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup fine yellow or white cornmeal

1 tbsp. rice flour or cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries

¼ cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup finely ground pistachio nuts

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and place the oven rack in the center of the over. Have a ready 8 inch tart pan with removable bottom.

In the bowl of your electric mixer or by hand, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl whisk together the all purpose flour, cornmeal, rice flour, and salt.  Add this mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and beat just until incorporated. Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Press the shortbread dough evenly into the tart pan. Use a sharp knife to score the shortbread into 12 even wedges.  Sprinkle the top of the shortbread with finely ground pistachio nuts.

Place in the preheated oven and bake until the shortbread is a nice biscuit color, about 40-50 minutes.  Transfer shortbread to a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from tart pan. Place the shortbread round on a cutting board and cut into 12 wedges.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy and happy Holidays :)