Strawberry Milk Shakes

July is National Ice Cream month and strawberry ice cream is my favorite ice cream flavor . . . here is one of my favorite things in the world, Strawberry Milk Shakes . . .

I substitute no fat half and half for the milk and strawberry frozen yogurt and omit the sugar when I'm seriously dieting.

1 1/2 pints strawberry ice cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh strawberries (or frozen)


Directions

Pulse all of the ingredients in a blender until the ice cream begins to break down, about 5 pulses, then blend on high until completely smooth.

Serves 4


A fabulous variation to this recipe to make an Orange Freeze . . .

use Orange Sherbet instead of ice cream, omit the strawberries

Make it richer by adding some vanilla ice cream . . .

Cottage Cheese Fruit Salad

This is one of those recipes that is so versatile and adaptable to your taste and dietary needs. It is what I make to take care of my sweet tooth when I'm seriously dieting . . . it is excellent even when made with no fat cottage cheese and sugar free jello.


Here is the basic recipe . . .

24 ounces cottage cheese
1 (12 ounce)container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (6 ounce) package orange flavored gelatin mix
2 (11 ounce)cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 (20 ounce)can pineapple chunks, drained


Blend together the cottage cheese, whipped topping
and gelatin. Add the oranges and pineapple; mix well
and refrigerate until chilled.


Variations . . .

Strawberries with strawberry flavored gelatin

I love adding walnuts and coconut to any combination
(sorry, I don't measure - I go by how it looks in the bowl)

Fruit cocktail is excellent with any flavored gelatin

Experiment with different flavors and fruits

Chicken Parmigiana and Garlic Bread

Tyler's Ultimate is one of my favorite cooking shows . . . his meals are always practical, relatively easy and his presentation is awesome.

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence See this recipe on air Friday Jul. 18 at 3:30 PM ET/PT. Show: Tyler's Ultimate Episode: Ultimate Chicken Parmigiana

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons 1 medium onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 bay leaves 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted 1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed Pinch sugar Pinch red pepper flakes Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds) 1/2 cup all-purpose flour Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 tablespoon water 1 cup dried plain bread crumbs 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced 1 pound spaghetti pasta, cooked al dente Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil, reserve the rest of the basil for finishing the chicken. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm. Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs on a plate, add the 1 cup parmesan, chopped parsley, and garlic powder Season with salt and pepper and stir with a fork until thoroughly combined. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once. Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and arrange the mozzarella on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and remaining basil. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with spaghetti. Herbed Garlic Bread 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), at room temperature 2 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt and extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 loaf crusty baguette Extra-virgin olive oil Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For the bread, stir together the butter, mashed garlic, and herbs in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Tear open the loaf of bread lengthwise, spread the herb-garlic mixture over both halves and sprinkle with a little olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes.

Pocket Pies and Toaster Pastries

Alton Brown, "Good Eats" on the Food Network . . . his was about pocket pies and toaster pastries tonight. As a single woman who loves to cook, this is a perfect recipe for me.

Usually I don't like to freeze foods, other than meat and seafood, but this is the type of food that is perfect to freeze. He demonstrated sweet and savory recipes . . . an excellent idea for leftovers (he put leftover beef stew in pocket pies as an example).

An excellent episode . . . sorry, but I usually don't like his shows, his personality is way too corny for me, but if you have Food Network on demand and this idea of pocket pies sounds good to you, look it up and watch it.

In the meantime, here are the recipes from this episode . . .

Pocket Pies Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005 Show: Good Eats Episode: A Pie in Every Pocket

Pastry: 9 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 cups 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 2 1/2 ounces shortening, approximately 6 tablespoons 3/4 cup milk 1 egg mixed with 1 to 2 teaspoons water Vegetable, canola oil or butter, for frying Curried Mango Filling, recipe follows Chocolate Filling, recipe follows In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse for a few seconds and then pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the shortening and knead it into the flour with your hands until it is crumbly. Add the milk all at once and mix in with a spatula until it begins to come together. Lightly flour your hands and the countertop and turn the dough out onto the countertop. Knead the dough ball, folding over 10 to 20 times. Using a rolling pin roll the dough to 1/3 to 1/2-inch thickness, then cut into rounds using a 2 1/4-inch ring. Roll each round as thinly as possible or to 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto the dough, brush the edges of half of the dough lightly with the egg wash, fold over and seal the edges together with the tines of a fork, dipping it into flour as needed. Gently press down to flatten and evenly distribute the filling and snip or cut 3 slits in the top of the pie. Dock pies that are going to be deep-fried, instead of snipping or cutting slits. To pan-fry pies, place a medium saute pan over medium low heat along with 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable, canola oil or butter. Once heated, place 2 to 3 pies at a time into pan and saute until golden on both sides, approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side. Allow to cool 4 to 5 minutes before serving. To deep-fry pies, heat vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or a large heavy pot to 375 degrees F. Once hot, add 1 to 2 pies at a time and fry until golden brown, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. To bake pies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place finished pies onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. To make toaster pastries: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Divide dough in half and roll out to less than 1/8-inch thick. Cut into 4 inch by 5 inch rectangles. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto center of one piece of dough. Brush the edges with egg wash and top with second piece of dough. Seal edges by pressing together with tine of fork. Gently press down to flatten and evenly distribute the filling and dock the top of the pie. Repeat with second half of dough. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely and place into zip-top bags until ready to toast. The pies will not be brown until toasted. Curried Mango Filling: 4 mangos, peeled and diced, approximately 2 cups or 12 ounces 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup cider vinegar 2 teaspoons curry powder 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice Place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a bowl and place in refrigerator to cool completely before using as filling. For each pie place 1 to 2 tablespoons onto the center of the dough. Follow directions above. Yield: enough for 10 to 15 pies Chocolate Filling: 2 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder Pinch kosher salt 10 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature Place the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and butter into a large zip-top bag and squish to combine. Cut a whole in 1 corner of the bag. For each pie, pipe 1 to 2 tablespoons of mixture onto the center of the dough. Follow directions above. Yield: enough for 10 to 15 pies