Keep Cool this Labor Day with Frozen Lemonade Pie

I couldn’t help but share this Lemonade Pie recipe for several reasons:

1. Anything made with lemons is cool.
2. The weather for most of the country has been exceptionally hot this summer. After tending to the needs of the family garden and yard, nothing quenches my thirst like a tall glass of lemonade. This cold, tart and sweet beverage is my drink of choice during these hot months.
3. If you can’t tell from my recent postings, I love pies!

So to me, Cool + Lemonade + Pie = A very good thing. This refreshing summer pie is perfect for a Labor Day get-together with family and friends.

When developing the recipe, we tried to keep things cool by using a purchased graham cracker crust and used the microwave to warm the evaporated milk to dissolve the gelatin in (no need to heat up the kitchen unnecessarily).

We wanted the filling to have some “pucker power,” so we used lemon juice, grated lemon peel and lemon-flavored gelatin. Evaporated milk brings richness to the filling and the whipped topping brings lightness. Sugar free lemon-flavored gelatin, sugar free whipped topping and fat free evaporated milk can be substituted for the regular products.

Presentation of the pie is most important. We call for the remaining whipped topping to be spooned around the edge of the pie, but it can certainly be spread in the center. It is perfectly okay to leave the topping off. You can also use candied lemon slices or fresh lemon slices for garnish.

If you take this pie to a gathering, do so in a cooler filled with ice or ice packs – it transports really well since it has been frozen. The whipped topping and lemon slices for garnish can be placed in the cooler as well; the pie can be topped right before serving. Keeping the plastic lining cover that comes with the prepared crust, flipping it over and crimping the foil edge over the rim of the plastic cover makes for a secure covering.

Make sure to keep cool this long weekend, pucker up and enjoy this pie!

Links:

• Frozen Lemonade Pie
• More yummy pies
• Enter our Sweet School Year sweepstakes

Snowballs in Summer

Snowballs in August? You bet! These frozen treats are a tasty way to say goodbye to the final days of summer. Just pick your favorite ice cream or sorbet, a few of your favorite coatings and you are ready to roll… literally!

My kids and I made Summer Snowballs last weekend and we had a ball. For coatings, my triplets chose s’mores (crushed graham crackers, mini marshmallows that have been cut into quarters and Nestlé Toll House Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels), chopped malt balls and crushed chocolate cookies. Once everyone has decided on a coating, place each on its own plate.

Next, you will need to line a baking sheet or tray with aluminum foil, parchment or wax paper. Be sure the baking sheet will fit in your freezer. Keep the lined sheet in your freezer as you get ready to scoop the ice cream.

For our snowballs, we chose vanilla and chocolate Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light Ice Cream (or Edy’s on the East Coast) as well as Strawberry Häagen-Dazs Fat Free Sorbet. The scoop we used served up about ¼ cup of ice cream, which was just perfect for a snowball.

Roll a scoop of your favorite ice cream or sorbet into the coating and swirl the plate gently to coat the ball. You can also press the coating into the ball if needed. Place the coated snowball on the sheet in the freezer. It’s best to work with one snowball at a time. If the snowballs aren’t eaten the same day, store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Here are some of the snowballs my kids and I made (and ate!) together.

Pretty cool way to end the summer, right?

Links:

• “Beat the Heat” Summer Snowballs
• More fun ice cream recipes
• Häagen-Dazs recipes
• Get a Dreyer’s coupon/newsletter
• Get an Edy’s coupon/newsletter
• Get a Toll House coupon

Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad: the New 7-Layer Salad

For those of you who grew up in the south or the mid-west, or “just north of Texas,” your mom probably made 7-Layer Salad, or at least had it in her recipe repertoire. If she didn’t make it at least once, her mom probably did.

This was a very popular salad that swept the American interior in the 1950s – and maybe even made it to the coasts – with its sophisticated layered presentation, flexibility for ingredients you might be cleaning out of your fridge and the plentiful mass of mayonnaise on top. In the south it’s heavy on peas, and it makes a great picnic or pot luck salad.

Chris’ Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad is a healthier version of this 7-Layer Salad using spinach and whole wheat tortellini and I decided to make it for my mom when she came to town. She fondly remembers the classic 7-Layer Salad from my childhood (as well as a variety of wine punch recipes involving a fancy punch bowl and polyester bell bottoms) and was eager to try this lighter, updated recipe.

I used my new punch bowl/cake stand to showcase the salad and made just a few substitutions: I used a chunk of Italian parmesan cut into wide strips with a vegetable peeler and I replaced the canned olives with a gourmet mix of fresh olives with their pits from the local grocer. I also made my own Greek salad dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper (I added a dash of buttermilk to evoke some of the classic taste for my mom).

It was delicious, light and very satisfying as a summer meal. It was even better the next day after marinating in the dressing overnight. My mom was delighted too. Next, we’re moving on to the punch.

Links:

• Layered Mediterranean Tortellini Salad
• More salad recipes
• Get a Buitoni coupon

Put Some Summer in your Sweets with Coconut Flan

Flan is my family’s all-time favorite dessert. No other treat can compete with the sweet and smooth experience that a flan provides. My husband and I both have a huge emotional attachment to flan because we grew up eating it as a perfect ending to the multiple course meals commonly eaten in Spain.

Flan is relished by nearly all Central American and South American countries as well as Spain, which influenced the new world with this traditional postre. Flan actually originated in France – with roots in Roman times – as crème caramel.

Today I bring you an airy Coconut Flan. Infused with coconut flavor, it’s a twist on the typical vanilla flan and uses fat free sweetened condensed milk. Coconut milk replaces regular milk in this recipe making it an interesting and summery version of this Latin favorite. You can also use other flavors like lemon, guava, strawberry or even plantain to infuse a little summer into your flan.

Try one for a family gathering (or just for yourself) and let me know your best concoction!

Links:

• Coconut Flan
• Plantain Flan
• More flan recipes
• Get a La Lechera coupon

Spin on Summer S’mores: Toasted Java Chip Crumble

August 10 is National S’mores Day. Yes, this campfire favorite has its own day! And it should; it’s comfort dessert at its best. Just about everyone has put their own spin on this classic treat (Nestlé Kitchens included). There is no “right” way to make a S’more; you can make it anyway you like it.

This spin on S’mores came from Rosemary Mark, a culinary professional that works with our Häagen-Dazs team in Oakland, CA. I recently met Rosemary at the IACP conference in Portland, OR. When she saw on my badge that I was with Nestlé, she mentioned that she created several recipes for Häagen-Dazs. Before the meeting, the HD team had sent me a handful of recipes to consider and of course, I tested them all. One recipe (this one!) really stood out and it turns out, Rosemary developed it. Small (culinary) world!

Rosemary did something very creative with the marshmallows. Recognizing that large marshmallows were too large and miniatures were too small, she cut the large marshmallows in half. She pressed the sticky side of the marshmallows in crushed graham crackers then placed them crumb-side-down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Then she broiled the marshmallows just until they were golden. Genius!

I flipped a few of the marshmallows over in the image below so you can see that they didn’t stick to the foil.

Rosemary paired these toasty marshmallows with Java Chip HÄAGEN-DAZS All Natural Ice Cream for a sophisticated twist to this campfire favorite. You can find more of Rosemary’s delicious recipes on her blog.

Links:

• Toasted Java Chip Crumble
• Frozen S’More Pops
• Gimme S’More Pie
• Backyard Fun Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• More Häagen-Dazs recipes

Make your own BBQ Sauce & Spice up Chicken Drummettes

I love barbecue, especially in the summer. There’s nothing like the taste of homemade barbecue sauce and the smell of it grilling outside! But even if I don’t feel like going outside to grill, I make BBQ chicken in the oven using a very easy BBQ sauce recipe.

It’s extremely easy to make with very few ingredients and steps and it’s the perfect BBQ sauce for any meats such as chicken, fish or steak. You can also make it your own unique sauce by adding a few extra spices, or a little more or less of some of the ingredients. This sauce has a Latin twist, adding chili powder and hot sauce. My favorite ingredient to use is Chipotle-flavored hot sauce. It gives a smoky, sweet and hot flavor to the meat, and it is to die for!

For this recipe I use a product called Sofrito (found in your grocer’s international section), which is a natural cooking base or paste made from tomato, onion and garlic. Using this base saves me time in the kitchen; I don’t have to chop onions or garlic, wash extra dishes or get my fingers smelly. Just add it in the blender with the rest of the ingredients, and the sauce is done. Watch how how easy it is to make BBQ sauce.

Then, I marinate the chicken in a tight zip lock bag for 24 hours before baking it at 375° F for about 25-35 minutes.

I turn the chicken halfway through the baking time, and also baste the chicken with the sauce several times on each side. This way, you get a yummy glaze on top.

I love to serve these with healthier oven-baked fries and a green salad. I also made my own simple, light salad dressing by whisking fresh lemon juice (a lot of it) with extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon of dijon mustard in a large bowl. Then I tossed my favorite salad greens in the same bowl.

Even my little girls at home love the spicy and lemony flavors, colors and textures of this whole meal – they were my very first testers and gave me double thumbs up!

Links:

• Barbecue Chicken Drummettes
• Video: Making BBQ Sauce & Chicken Drummettes
• More Summer Recipes
• More on Maggi products