Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for July, 2011

Orange Dream Pie

Posted in Desserts, Entertaining Ideas, Pie, Recipes, tagged , , , on July 22, 2011| 5 Comments »

Thanks to the Schwan’s man, I had a carton of Summer’s Dream languishing in my freezer. If you haven’t tried it yet, it is pretty yummy. They blend vanilla ice cream with orange sherbet and package it frozen under the title of Summer’s Dream.

Really, it is dreamy.

I decided to try whip up a pie using a recipe in the Schwan’s catalog as a starting point. I tweaked it just a bit and ended up with a delicious pie that even Captain Cavedweller liked (which is really saying something!).

It was very simple and easy to make. Having the patience to wait until it was frozen and ready to eat was the biggest challenge. Especially for those of us who are patience-challenged.

Ingriendent's for Orange Dream Pie

Whip cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Add in whipped topping.

Scoop softened Summer's Dream into your prepared pie crust, just covering the bottom and sides.

 

Drain Mandarian Oranges. Captain Cavedweller likes to drink the juice and then I don't feel like I've just poured something delicious down the sink.

Scoop Summer's Dream into cream cheese and whipped cream mixture. Add in Mandarin oranges and blend together.

I skipped a few steps here as the ice cream was melting way too fast in our hot house. Pour mix into pie pan. Freeze for three hours (or longer) and garnish with whipped cream, Mandarin oranges and a sprig of mint if you want to get all fancy-pants. Which I did. And it was yummy.

Orange Dream Pie

5 cups softened Summer’s Dream

1 1/2 cups freshly whipped cream

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 15-ounce can Mandarin oranges

1 graham cracker crust

Substitution Note: If you don’t have a Schwan’s man who brings deliciousness to your door, you can easily mix three cups of vanilla ice cream with three cups of orange sherbet. If you don’t feel like making fresh whipped cream, a tub of frozen whipped topping works just as well. If you aren’t a lazy slug like me, you can mix crushed graham crackers, a spoon of sugar and melted butter to make the crust. Pat into a pan and refrigerate 30 minutes before pouring in the filling.

While ice cream is softening, drain the oranges and set aside.

If you buy a small package of cream cheese, use it all. If you are cutting a large package in half, use three ounces. Beat it until it is light and fluffy then add in whipped cream.

Spoon softened ice cream into crust. Use just enough to cover the bottom and up the sides – probably about 1 1/2 cups. Scoop the remaining 3 1/2 cups into the cream cheese mixture along with the can of oranges. (Reserve a few orange slices for garnish, if you wish).

Pour into the crust and freeze for three hours. Remove from freezer, slice and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and an orange slice for garnish.

Enjoy!

She Who Really Didn’t Need to Find Another Dessert She Likes

 

 

Read Full Post »

Canning Jar Drinks

Posted in Beverages, Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, tagged , , , on July 21, 2011| 1 Comment »

I was flipping through my Schawn’s catalog the other day and saw this idea for serving summer beverages and loved it.

You can fill a tub, cooler, bucket or whatever container you like with ice, fill jars with your beverage of choice, screw on the lid and not worry about spills. I especially liked the idea of being able to have a variety of drinks without a bunch of pitchers or containers taking up valuable counter or table space.

Most of us have some canning jars running around and even if you don’t, they are super inexpensive and you can find them everywhere this time of year.

Schwans also has a fun lemonade recipe to go along with this fabulous idea.

She Who Would Now Like a Berry Lemonade

Read Full Post »

Strawberry Shortcake

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, Entertaining Ideas, Fast Recipes, Recipes, tagged , , , on July 20, 2011| 1 Comment »

I love strawberries. Almost as much as raspberries.

One summer-time treat I can’t pass up is strawberry shortcake – in most any variation. Have you noticed some people use biscuits for the cake. Others use actual cake. My Mom always made shortcake from scratch. It was dense and sweet and often made me think she had baked a pan of cornbread from the look of it, but the taste was all shortcake.

On occasion, if Grandma had been baking pies and there was leftover crust, she would roll the crust into a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake until a light golden brown. Then she would break the crust into bite-sized pieces and layer it with fresh sliced strawberries that she had smooshed a bit release their juice and ice cream. I kid you not, it is delicious. Especially if you pour a little of the juice over the top of the whole thing. You could also use whipping cream. It also tastes divine but my favorite is vanilla ice cream.

So you need pre-baked pie crust. Whip up a batch with my Vodka Pie Crust  recipe. It is easy and so flaky. Then just layer it in a bowl with berries. You can put them in whole but I think they taste best when you slice them, sprinkle on just a bit of sugar and smoosh them just a bit. Then top with vanilla ice cream. Continue layers and pour a bit of strawberry juice over the top. Give the berries just a minute to soak into the crust and the ice cream to soften and then attempt to stay upright as your knees turn into a jello-like substance as bliss overwhelms you and your taste-buds start applauding.

She Who Needs to Make Some Shortcake

Read Full Post »

One of Those Days

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Entertaining at Home, Family, Musings, tagged , , , on July 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday was one of those days. You know the type… when you wonder why you ever bothered to drag your sorry self out of bed because that was the beginning of the descent into non-stop not-fun drama.

Ever have one of those days?

Phew… I’m glad there are a few hands raised out there.

My day started with me trying to gather up all the trappings I feel necessary to drag out the door with me on my way to work. In juggling the plunder, I inadvertently hit the panic button on my key chain which set my car alarm blaring at the early morning hour of barely after 7. I’m sure my neighbors and their out-of-town guests were thrilled for that rude awakening. Especially when it went on for goodness only knows how long because I couldn’t hear it until I actually opened the door and stepped outside. Sorry, Jennifer!

Arriving at work, I found my computer had been attacked by evil trolls and refused to boot up. I think it is the same set of ruthless, wicked minions who have invaded the phone line at work. So there I sat with no computer or phone which is pretty much like tying my hands and putting a blindfold on me for the day. Which was a great way to train a new assistant. The village idiot has got nothing on me considering my discombobulated state yesterday. The poor girl will probably turn tail and run while the running is good.

After blundering through the day by playing musical computers, and not getting half as much done as I had on my to-do list, I arrived home only to find Captain Cavedweller had his own disastrous day.  To top it off, he pulled in the driveway to find our garage door wide open (evil trolls are on the move, I tell you!) and an army of the tiniest ants I’ve ever seen swarming over our kitchen counter. Thankfully, they had not yet found my stash of peanut M&Ms.

Ah, so there was the bright spot in the day. My M&MS made it through unscathed.

She Who is Glad Yesterday is Finished and Done!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »