Canteloupe Pie – Say What??? That’s a New One!!!

Tags

Canteloupe, chilled, Cream Cheese, dessert, graham cracker crust, Pie, refreshing, vegetarian

My friend Jody posted this recipe on FaceBook and I couldn’t believe my eyes!  Canteloupe pie!?! I’d never heard of such a thing, but my curiosity was peaked. The cantaloupes here in California have been wonderful this year, so as soon as I received one in my organic produce shipment I knew I had to try and make this pie. Just as it sounds, it is light and refreshing! Canteloupe, cream cheese and a little orange juice mixed, chilled and served in a graham cracker crust makes for a cold, refreshing pie that is perfect to serve on hot summer day!

Canteloupe Pie

1 9″ graham cracker pie crust, chilled

1 med-lg cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut in chunks

1 8 oz block cream cheese (I used reduced fat cream cheese and it worked just fine)

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/4 oz pkgs unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp vanilla

Whipped Cream or Cool Whip

In a food processor, process cantalope until as smooth as you can get it. Pour 1/2 of mixture into a large bowl. Add cream cheese to remaining mixture in food processor and process until smooth. Add to cantalope in bowl and gently mix. In a small saucepan combine juice, sugar, and gelatin. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar and gelatin are completely dissolved. Slowly stir into cantalope mixture, add vanilla. Pour into chilled crust, refrigerate until completely set. Top with whipped cream and serve.

Depending on the size of your canteloupe, you might have extra filling. Don’t overfill your crust (like I did!!!). Save the extra, pour in bowls and enjoy as a pudding!

Enjoy!

Buffalo and Gorgonzola Mac and Cheese – Cheesy and Spicy! Yum!!!

Tags

Campanelle, Cream Cheese, Gorgonzola, hot sauce, mac and cheese, pasta, vegetarian

This was originally posted by the Fabulous Fare Sisters. It looked so good, I couldn’t help but share! This is definitely on my list of things to make! Three of my favorite flavors; cheese (especially Gorgonzola!) & Buffalo sauce!!!

STOP THE CLOCK AND TAKE THE PHONE OFF THE HOOK!!! Wow is this Mac & Cheese Good! If you haven’t heard me say it before, you’ll hear me say it now… I love mac & cheese. One night I sat down with a glass of wine (or two) and wrote down all the ways I […]

http://fabulousfaresisters.com/2016/05/09/buffalo-gorgonzola-mac-cheese/

Confetti Vegetable Terrine – A Beautiful and Delicious Party Dish

Tags

Cheese, crackers, Cream Cheese, Feta, spread, terrine, vegetable, vegetarian

I recently made this dish for my daughter’s college graduation party. I hadn’t made it in years. Why did I wait so long??? I forgot how fabulous it is!!! Between the cream cheese, sour cream, feta cheese and finely diced vegetables, this is some creamy goodness on a cracker!!! It is a visibly beautful dish. It’s not too difficult too make and it’s one of the best cheese spreads I’ve had. Even my food loving brother-in-law loved it and said it beat out any cheese ball or log he’s ever had!

I wish I could take credit for the recipe, but I cannot. This came out of a 1993 Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The recipe is older than the graduate we were celebrating!

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy it as much as we did! I did try to cut the fat by using reduced fat cream cheese, sour cream and feta cheese. It still tasted fabulous!!! I also chose to double the recipe and made two loaves of this. We had 50 people at our party, so wanted to make sure there was plenty.

This can be made up to 24 hours ahead, so it’s a great party dish! Gotta start that prep early when you’re feeding a large group!

Confetti Vegetable Terrine

2 – 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/2 cup chopped roasted sweet peppers or canned pimientos (I bought jarred roasted red peppers)

1/3 chopped black olives

1/2 cup snipped parsley

Edible flowers

Assorted crackers

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line bottom of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan with foil. Grease sides and set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl (I used my kitchen aid mixer here), beat cream cheese till south. Add feta cheese, garlic powder and ground red pepper. Beat well. Add sour cream, eggs, and lemon peel. Beat just till blended. Do not over eat. Stir in onion, roasted peppers and olives. Pour into prepared pan; spread evenly. Place loaf pan in a larger baking pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan to  a depth of 1 inch. I put the pans in the oven and then poured in the water. Didn’t want to spill boiling water on myself when trying to move the pan.This worked out well.
• Bake for 50 minutes or till center is soft set and stays firm when shaken. Transfer loaf pan to a wire cooling rack.Cool completely (about 1 hour). Cover and chill for 4 – 24 hours.
• To serve, slip a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen, then invert onto a serving platter. Remove foil. gently press parsley onto sides of the terrine and garnish with edible flowers. We have a society garlic plant in our back yard and I’ll usually use the flowers from that. Serve with crackers.

Enjoy and party on!



Pepper Jelly Over Cream Cheese – A Holiday Appetizer Favorite!

Tags

appetizer, Cooking, crackers, Cream Cheese, Food, pepper jellly, starter

  So someone gifted you with or you bought some fancy pepper jelly while you were happy and free on a wine tasting adventure. Now what?!?  Pour that wonderful spicy, sweet concoction over some cream cheese, grab yourself some crackers and now you’ve got something!!!

I had never had this delicious combo until I was well into my adult years. I just hadn’t been exposed to this combination. Everyone in our family just loves it, so it has become a regular appetizer at holiday gatherings. The creamy-ness of the cream cheese and the sweet of the jelly cuts the heat of the peppers in such a way that even folks that avoid spicy foods will love this dish.

The great thing is don’t even have to buy the expensive pepper jellys they sell at the wineries, but as you can see from my picture my husband is guilty of doing so. Our grocery stores here regularly carry a simple red pepper jelly that is also tasty and very festive looking.

So just pour or spoon that jelly over a block of cream cheese. I like to use the reduced fat cream cheese. Put a little serving knife out so people can smear some spicy sweet cheese on their crackers and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pasta – Super Quick and Super Tasty!!!

Tags

Cooking, Cream Cheese, Easy, Food, pasta, Ravioli, recipe, slow cooker, spinach

  
  

So my evil sister posted this recipe on Facebook. She’s not really evil! She’s actually pretty awesome, but she posts these fattening recipes! She is much better about going to the gym than I!

Anyway, this sounded good, so I thought I would give it a try. It was delicious!!! I forgot it was tortellini, so I went with ravioli. I also didn’t have the Italian style tomatoes, so I added fresh garlic and basil. I have a ton of homemade chicken broth in my freezer, so I decided to use that rather than buy vegetable broth. And as I usually do, I try to use reduced fat or fat free products. My grocery store doesn’t have non-fat cream cheese, so I went with the reduced fat.

I guess I complicated the recipe a bit, but it was still super easy and extremely flavorful! My recipe made aout 6 servings. We ate it with a green salad on the side.

Slow Cooker Pasta

3-8oz containers frozen ravioli or tortellini (I used a combo of chicken ravioli and cheese ravioli) 

1/2 salad size bag of baby spinach, chopped

1 -28 oz can crushed tomatoes in puree

1 – 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, not drained

2 cloves garlic, pressed or diced 

4 large fresh basil leaves diced

3 cups broth, I used homemade chicken broth

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese

Put all ingredients in slow cooker. I made sure there was some of the tomatoes on the bottom as a base before adding the pasta. I did stir during cooking a couple of times. 

Mangia bene!