Kaseys Korner

summer supper

This salad is SO delish that I've actually eaten it morning, noon and night!  I have been making it at least once a week this summer it's just that yummy.  Since we do enjoy it so much I thought I would share the recipe with you (if anyone is looking for a quick meal on a hot night)  I discovered it in the 2008 "Taste of Home" Prize winning recipes, it's listed as a side dish but we eat it as our main meal.  Here's what you'll need:

2 3/4 cups uncooked medium shell pasta, 1 cup chopped tomatoes, 1 sliced pepper, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup chopped green onions & 1/2 cup sliced black olives.  Cook pasta, drain and rinse in cold water.  Place in a large bowl, add remaining ingredients.  Mix dressing as follows:

1/4 cup Olive Oil, 2 Tbsps Lemon Juice, 2 Tbsps White Wine vinegar, 1 tsp fresh dill weed, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.  Whisk together dressing ingredients, pour over salad and toss to coat.  Eat immediately or refrigerate until serving.  Enjoy!!

pass the syrup

My daughter loves pancakes.  Any flavor, any size, but this chocolate chip version especially called her name when we were selecting something new to try from the "Chocolate Celebration" recipes by Paula Deen.  They were a bit sweet for my taste (even being the chocoholic I am) so next time, I'll put fewer chips in the batter.   Super easy tho and fluffy too (you separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat them until stiff peaks form).  I will repeat that technique with my other favorite pancake recipe because I enjoyed the texture so much.  If you care to try them out, here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp Sugar, 1 1/2 tsps baking powder, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda,      1 1/4 cups milk, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs (separated) 1 cup mini chocolate morsels

Mix all ingredients together except egg whites (which you beat separately) and add the mini chocolate morsels last.  Spoon batter onto the griddle, cook, serve and enjoy!! 

happiness is...

a sweet fruit tart.  YUM!!!  Besides ice cream, is there any more perfect summer dessert??  If so, I'd love to hear so I can try it out!  :-)

Chocolate what???

A couple weeks ago I picked up Paula Deen's 'Chocolate Celebration' because I could not stop thinking about the "Chocolate Flank Steak" (with pineapple salsa) recipe that I saw on page 90.  I know what you're thinking, I thought the same thing.  Chocolate flank steak???  Huh?  What??  When did chocolate become an entree ingredient??  Not that I'm complaining.  I think it should be a mandatory food group.  Just, well, it's different, that's for sure.  But I like switching things up and anything with chocolate can't taste bad so back I went to buy the issue.  Then it occurred to me (last night) that this might be the perfect thing to grill for Father's Day!  You know, meat for the men and chocolate for the girls!  (or is that too sexist??)  The pineapple/avocado salsa sounds delish too.  If you click on the picture to enlarge it, *I think* you can read the ingredients of both recipes.  If not, and you want me to post, please let me know.  and Happy Father's Day all! 

memory lane

Mmmmm.  Old fashioned strawberry shortcake.  Piled with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream.  Okay, I confess, this whipped cream came from a container and I didn't pick the strawberries but hey, the shortcake is all mine. Sadly that's about as authentic as it gets these days.  Strawberry shortcake invariably reminds me of my grandmothers.  I mostly remember picking strawberries with one grandmother and eating shortcake with the other, although I'm certain it could be interchangeable.  Memory is funny that way. The first time I recall eating it and being a "grown up" (because I got my very own dessert) was sitting at her table on Beach Haven Road.  Eventually she no longer made the homemade shortcakes opting instead for the convenience of the individual store bought ones.  I understand why, yet those flimsy, little yellow pieces of "sponge" are a total downgrade, changing the mix of flavors in an unfavorable way.  Yesterday I thought of her, when strawberries were plentiful at the supermarket and in tribute, I made the cakes.  Last night, as we indulged ourselves, I quietly let the memories flood over me and that was as sweet as the treat itself.   On that note, I'll quit blabbering and just say "Happy April," no fooling on my end.

crazy good

omg, this sandwich is soooooooo good.  It's a tasty concoction beyond words and I never thought I'd say that about a veggie sandwich!  I found the recipe in a book I recently purchased at Barnes & Noble bookstore, called "Delicious Lunches" (published by Love Food).  The sandwich is actually pictured on the back cover and definitely helped make the sale.  I've been trying to eat healthier lately and there are some great recipes in this book that are helping me accomplish that while tasting fabulous too.  The book actually identifies this recipe as "mini muffin pizzas" but it's an open face sandwich to me so I'm going to keep on referring to it as such!  lol  Start with a toasted whole wheat English muffin.  Mix a little tomato paste & pesto together and spread on the muffin.  Saute red onion, mushrooms & zucchini in olive oil until soft and slightly brown.  Add veggies to muffins.  Top with slices of tomato & mozzarella cheese. As usual for me, I didn't finish the last step which was broiling the sandwich (to melt & brown the cheese) but it would absolutely finish it off exquisitely. 

springtime salad

Today is our dear neighbors birthday.  Since she is going out tonight, we decided to make dinner for her last night.  The menu was chicken fajitas, this springtime salad and 7 layer bars.  The springtime salad is one of our favorites.  It has lettuce leaves, broccoli, strawberries, pineapple, oranges & sunflower seeds accompanied by a homemade dressing.  So delicious.  Definitely best eaten right away which we never have any problem doing!  The recipe came from a cookbook I purchased years ago called, "Best of Friends, etc." by Darlene Glantz Skees.   I had to laugh at myself (a common occurence around here) when I was making the dessert.  I pulled out my old hand mixer (once again) instead of using my beautiful new kitchen aid.  The kitchen aid was my Christmas present this past holiday.  I pulled it out of the box immediately and set it in a prominent position on my countertop but that's pretty much the end of story.  Although I admire it daily, I have yet to operate it?  go figure.  I wanted it desperately.  Maybe just for kitchen eye candy?  or to make me feel more like a "real" cook??  either way, I need to overcome this hang up darn it.  I need to know that it even functions properly for one thing.  So as I lovingly put my hand mixer away, I vowed it would stay on "vacation" and that "red beauty" would now become my "go to" appliance.  Would someone please hold me accountable to that vow?!!  lol 

frou frou cupcakes

I'm a little embarrassed for blathering incessantly about the weather yesterday since this AM it's a completely different story.  Beautiful springy day, cloudless blue skies & already 34 degrees at eight o'clock.  34 degrees may not seem like a heat wave to some people but since that's been our high temperature of late, and often much lower, it's definitely a noteworthy mention & something to celebrate!  Speaking of celebrations, tomorrow is Valentine's Day!  That snuck up pretty quickly, didn't it?  Love of any kind is spectacularly glorious so we absolutely had to do something in honor of the day.  I had recently purchased my daughter a book solely devoted to cupcakes (she loves to read any kind of cookbook).  If you are interested, I bought this scrumptious little book at our local Barnes & Noble for about $5.00.  It is chock full of delightful cupcakes the likes of which I've never seen before.  I am amazed cupcakes can be so gourmet.  My experience with them has been primarily thru children's birthday parties where they were mostly unappetizing, nondescript looking cakes slathered haphazardly with frosting.  I'm hard pressed to single out any one of the varieties mentioned in the book since I could wholeheartedly dive into any of them.  Having said that, the Choc mint mousse, rocky road, tiramisu, and banana caramel look especially appealing. For Valentines I picked none of those (go figure) opting instead for these frou frou cupcakes that seemed perfect for the occasion.  As you've already figured out, I am not a big cupcake baker. Most of the recipes in the book call for baking in texas size muffin pans using liners?  I never knew there were texas size cupcake paper liners?  When did that happen??  I better figure out where to purchase those before I try anything else.  Does anyone know?  Since I didn't have any, I did what I usually do, ignored that particular part of the recipe, sprayed the pans directly with pam and baked!  lol  Here's the end result.  As usual, I was pressed for time so I didn't toast the coconut & if you look closely the raspberries are still frozen.  ha  I'm sure that won't distract us in the least!  The recipe made six, which we plan to share with our neighbors because it's the Valentine thing to do, right?!  lol