Carla's Cherry Cream Cheese Pie

One of Charles favorite pies, 8 oz cream cheese, softened 1 cup whipping cream 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup powdered sugar 1 baked pastry shell or graham cracker crust Whip the cream till it forms peaks, fold in softened cream cheese sugar and vanilla. Spoon into pie shell, chill for at least 3 hrs in the fridge. Top with cherry pie filling or other fruit.

Sun Oven Roasted Roots Dinner

We like our roasted veggies but in the summer is is way to hot to actually roast them inside. Now that we have a Sun Oven I just cut up the veggies we want, toss them in a pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Then put it in the oven with the rice. They cook at the same time and are done at the same time. I put 4 cups of water and two cups of rinsed brown rice in the dutch oven. I put the lid on upside down so that the veggies can be placed on top.

Happy Eating!

Mango Pineapple Creamsicle Smoothie

This is a smoothie you can make when your fruit is getting old. I had two overripe mango's sitting in the fruit bowl. I hate waste so I came up with this smoothie. I also used some pineapple chunks and a banana I had frozen before they went bad. Here is the recipe, 2 overripe mango's (the skin should be wrinkly and they should be mushy), 1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple chunks, 1 peeled and frozen banana, 1 tablespoon homemade strawberry freezer Jam (optional). The point is to juice the mango as much as possible. I cut my mango's as they do in this Our Best Bites tutorial. Once the fruit is in squeeze the pulpy pit and skins to get all juices in the blender. Once they have been juiced throw the pit and skin away. Add your pineapple and banana.(They must be frozen) Blend on high for at least a minute. I have a Ninja blender and it takes about a minute to get super smooth. Depending on your blender it may take more or less time. This makes a great dessert or breakfast. We actually had them for a sweet snack. I love it because it tastes almost creamy like those old creamsicle popsicles, only no dairy! This would also make a good homemade popsicle. You could freeze it in ice cube trays and put a toothpick in each one as the popsicle stick or get a popsicle mold from the store. A great summer treat!

Black Bean Brownies

The first time I made black bean brownies was a disaster. They smelled divine but as as soon as they came out of the oven I knew it wasn't going to be good. It looked like dried asphalt. (gross) They ended up being dried out bean flavored bars. Yuck! It has taken me a few years to make some that work for my tastes. These are chocolaty, fudgy and only slightly sweet. Just the way I like em! :)

1 can black beans rinsed and drained, 3 eggs, 3 Tablespoons canola oil, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup coconut sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into 8x8 pan bake for 30 min at 350,until knife comes out clean.

Bruschetta

I ate this for lunch two days in a row. If I had more tomatoes then I would be having it for lunch today as well. No one else in our house likes this. (Can you believe it?? oh well more for me:) I am not ashamed to admit that I ate the entire plate... plus a few more...in one sitting. 1-2 Tomatoes diced (or you can use plum tomatoes halved or quartered) 5-6 leaves basil julienned 1-2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar couple dashes red vinegar Salt to taste 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 Tablespoon butter 2 cloves garlic, crushed baguette sliced into thin slices. Combine tomatoes, basil, vinegar's, and salt. Let sit. Melt butter with olive oil in frying pan. Saute garlic in oil/butter mix till fragrant. Then remove and put into the tomato mixture. Place baguette slices in pan coating both sides with oil/butter mix. Let each side brown.

Remove from pan, top with tomato mix. Serve immediately. The bread gets soggy the longer it sits.

Macaroni and Cheese

3 cups Macaroni noodles 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup chicken broth (plus extra for cooking noodles) 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup cream cheese 2 cup shredded sharp cheddar 1 cup shredded mozzarella 1 cup shredded Monterrey jack 1/4 -1/2 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese (to taste) Pepper to taste Cook noodles till al dente in 1/2 water 1/2 chicken broth. While cooking noodles, place cream, milk, cream cheese and flour in a blender. Blend till smooth. In a large pot or dutch oven It needs to be something you can transfer to the oven to cook.) Melt butter and add broth and cream mixture. Heat till almost boil. (you don't want to boil the milk mixture because it will curdle. You want it to be hot enough to melt the cheese. Stir till it is a gooey delightful mess of cheese sauce. Add pepper and taste to see if it is to your liking. Drain noodles and add to the dutch oven with cheese mixture. Bake at 375 for 20 min. You can put extra cheese on top. Sometimes I sprinkle paprika on top for color. Whatever flips your boat