Ace's Angel Food Dessert

Last summer, my Dad created this dessert.  He's always had a "thing" for pound cake covered in strawberries.   In an effort to lighten that up, he traded the pound cake for angel food cake, added a few bells and whistles, and we've never looked back.  This is our go-to dessert at spring and summer family gatherings.

This post is light on words and heavy on pictures because it was the easiest way to explain how to assemble this recipe.  You'll note some very masculine-looking hands in the photos:  they're my Dad's.  I did a photo shoot with him as the star.  He was in heaven!  In case you were wondering, my Dad's nickname is Ace.  Hence, the title of this recipe.   

Enough chit chat.  On with the recipe...


What you'll need:

• One 8 oz angel food cake loaf.  (If you can't find a loaf, go with the regular ring-style cake)  Pop the cake in the freezer for at least 12 hours before you are ready to make the dessert.  The cake will be a bit more firm, which will help you slice through the cake more easily.    

• 3 lbs of strawberries, hulled and sliced into quarters.  Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the sliced strawberries and stir them up.  This will allow some "juice" to form.  Set the berries aside while you assemble the cake. 
• Optional:  1 small container of blueberries (sorry, I don't know the size).  These add a bit of color. 

• Lemon curd.  You'll find this in the jelly aisle of the grocery store.  If you've never tasted lemon curd before, it's a creamy and tart lemon custard.  It's absolutely delicious.  In this particular recipe, it enhances the brightness of the strawberries, rather than tasting overly lemony.  This ingredient is the key to this recipe.  DON'T SKIP IT.  
• Strawberry preserves.  My Dad prefers Smucker's Simply Fruit.    
• Cool Whip Light.  For dolloping on top.  
• An electric knife.  The electric knife will help you cut through the angel food cake without smooshing it.  (That's a technical term.  Smoosh.) If you don't have an electric knife, just go with a very sharp, serrated knife. 

Tex-Mex Beef Sammies

Yay! I'm officially back.  The test is done.  I've been celebrating my freedom from studying by trying out some new recipes and revisiting some old ones.  There's tons to post about.  

I'll start with my latest and greatest crock pot discovery:  Tex-Mex Beef Sammies.  This dish is essentially one of the best shredded beef sandwiches I've had: subtly spiced with smokey tex-mex flavors, and topped with an array of fresh garnishes, like guacamole, cheese, and red onion.  Yum!  

What caught my eye about this particular recipe was the use of...wait for it...cocoa powder.  Keep reading now!!  Cocoa powder and/or chocolate is actually an authentically Mexican ingredient.  It adds to the depth of flavor, rather than tasting like meat-flavored hot chocolate.  However, if you have any squeamish family members, I highly recommend that you keep the cocoa powder a secret until you are sure they like the dish.  

I made this recipe for Father's Day.  In fact, I cooked it overnight the night before and kept the crock pot on the warm setting for the rest of the morning.  I figured, what could be better than celebrating the men in my life with a large crock pot full of meat?  To my relief, the family agreed.  This was definitely a winner.  It seemed to suit everyone's taste, since the spice factor is subtle rather than powerful.  If you desire a powerful kick, just chop up a chipotle pepper or two and add to the crock pot before cooking.  It'll be beautiful.  

A note about serving: Make sure you utilize the savory broth (as in beef "au jus") that the meat cooks in when constructing your sandwiches.  In order to do that, I got hoagie rolls from my grocery store's bakery section that could stand up to being dipped into the juices without disintegrating, but weren't so hard that all the meat would gush out the other end of the sandwich with the first bite.  I HIGHLY recommend that you do the same.  Regular hamburger or hot dog rolls will not cut it.  Go for high quality rolls that are slightly chewy on the outside and softer on the inside.  

A final note about points:  I had a bit of trouble calculating the points per serving with my normal on-line points calculator.  When that happens I usually just make an educated guess.  Just know that chuck roast is fattier than leaner cuts (that's why it practically melts in your mouth.)  A 3 oz portion of cooked chuck roast is about 7 points.  Hopefully that will help you gauge your "pointage" for the day.   

Pesto Chicken Pasta

I'm back.  Sort of...

You may have noticed my absence from the blogosphere lately.  Well, there's a reason.  I've been on a self-imposed blog exile (a blogxile, if you will) while preparing for a teaching certification test I will take mid-June.  I've been studying like crazy, and not doing much cooking.  All my free time has gone to study.  In order to stay focused, I have restricted my blogging so that I don't get caught up in the fun of posting recipes when I should really be studying.  But in a few weeks, I'll be done with the test and I'll be back! 

In the meantime, here's a recipe that I've been holding on to, but can't wait any longer to share... 

I recently got a new cookbook by Robin Miller, who hosts Quick Fix Meals on the Food Network.  In her section about pasta, she talks about how one of her children gets up at the crack of dawn, so that's when you will find her boiling up pasta to use for the week.  "Eureka!" thought I.  The reason why I don't make more pasta throughout the week: the big pot that I don't want to have to clean up mid-week.  But if I were to do it when I had a little bit of extra time, and keep the pasta in the fridge for a few days until I'm ready to use it...well, that's just brilliant.  So that's exactly what I did.  The pasta was made during lunch one day, ahead of time, and waited in the fridge until I was ready to make the dish.

Robin also employs a strategy that says cook it once, use it twice.  For example, if she's making chicken breasts for dinner one day, she will make a double batch and set the extra ones aside to use later on in the week in another recipe.  "Genius!" said I.  So the chicken breasts were extra that I made from a dinner earlier in the week.  I love it when I'm ahead of the game.

When it came down to making the actual dish, the main components were ready and waiting for me.  All I had to do was heat up a few things and assemble it all.  Easy! 

About this dish: 

• It is delicious hot or cold.  It would make a great pasta salad to take to a picnic (perhaps minus the chicken).   
• Artichokes would also be an excellent addition to this.  Just chop up a can of drained artichoke hearts (not marinated) and toss them in the pan before the pasta goes in. 
• Finally, feta cheese was a great addition to the dish when I ate it cold.  It really brightened up all the flavors. 
• Oh and by the way...don't skip the salt in this recipe.  I tasted the final dish and thought, "Eh.  Not bad."  Then I salted the dish, tasted again, and thought, "Yowsa! That's a great dish!"  OK, perhaps I didn't say yowsa.  But maybe I did think it.  A little.  Don't laugh!   

Busy Mom's Food Find: Jello Mousse Temptations

I'm a huge fan of snacking on sugar free Jello pudding cups.  Yes, I realize they're made of chemicals.  However, I love that they satisfy my chocolate cravings for only 1 point, so I tend to look the other way.  Pudding is a staple in my "arsenal" of food finds.  So when Jello came out with a new product earlier this year, I HAD to try it.  It's a mousse, but it still only has 1 point for each little pre-packaged cup. 


My verdict? FANTASTIC! This mousse feels decadent and light, all at the same time.  My personal favorite is the "Dark Chocolate Decadence" flavor.  The name says it all.  

One little note about sugar free puddings:  all flavors are not created equal.  I have found, during my extensive love affair with these sweet little gelatinous wonders that there is something about the chocolate flavor that hides the chemical taste of the sweeteners better than the vanilla varieties.  At least for my taste buds, the vanilla-based flavors of sugar free puddings taste metallic and fake, where the chocolate-based flavors do not.  For all of you who are strictly against man-made sweeteners, I've probably just reconfirmed all your worst fears and solidified your determination.  For those of you who aren't as worried, stick with the chocolate! You'll thank me for it. 

One final note:  Jello has not paid me to write positive things about their products, or supplied me with free product of any sort. In fact, Jello has no idea who I am. I am writing this post purely on my own volition.

Deconstructed Crockpot Stuffed Cabbage

I'm beginning to notice a trend:  Everything I make, when photographed, looks like a big, red, gloppy mess.  Perhaps I have a taste for such concoctions?  I don't know. 

What I DO know is that this cabbage dish is divine.  It was born from two different recipes.  One gave me the idea of using the flavors of stuffed cabbage, without actually going to the trouble of stuffing the meat in the leaves.  That's EXACTLY how I roll!  Or don't roll.  Get it?!?!  Anyway, I had to try it.  Another recipe suggested better flavors than the first, so I went with that one for taste purposes. 

Cabbage is something I don't cook with much, but it's actually super cheap.  One head of cabbage ended up giving me 8 cups of chopped cabbage.  That's a lot!  Do keep in mind that it cooks down a lot, so what looks like a mountain of cabbage will actually reduce to a very manageable pile after applying a bit of heat. 

My family and I gobbled a whole crockpot of this up in the span of a few nights.  However, the next time I make it I am going to reduce the sugar content by AT LEAST HALF.  If not more.  It was too sweet for my taste.  But even with the extra sweetness, it was still a magical dish. 

NOTE: You may be wondering why I am still putting out crockpot recipes when the weather is decidedly warmer. Here's the deal: I believe that the crockpot is actually a warm weather friend. Aside from browning the meat in the beginning of the recipe, you don't need to slave over a hot stove. And most of the time, the stove-work will be done earlier in the day, when your kitchen is much cooler. I am a HUGE fan of crockpot cooking all year round.

This is the perfect dish to make on a weekend, when you have a little bit of extra time to do some light chopping (nothing too taxing) and to let the crockpot do it's thing.  It keeps well in the fridge and improves with each day it sits.  So feel free to make this on a weekend and serve it during the week, merely reheating what you need.  I served this on top of instant brown rice.  My Dad informed me that egg noodles are the traditionally appropriate side dish to go with such a meal.  I actually thought the rice was perfect, because it soaked up the yummy juices.  Go ahead and serve whatever makes you happy.

Busy Mom's Journal: Kid Food

My Fridays are nothing short of boring.  I don't really have much of a social life.  And honestly, I don't mind it one bit.  On a Friday evening, all I really want to do is play with my kid, put him to bed, and curl up with a book or watch some TV.  So in my quest to shirk all social responsibilities, I've stumbled upon "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" on ABC's Friday night line-up.  

This is the basic premise: Jamie Oliver (a cuter-than-cute British chef ) comes to America to tackle the obesity problem in one West Virginia town. His central place of intervention so far: the school cafeterias.  Both he and plenty of health experts believe that the enormous amount of processed food American children eat is leading to a rise in childhood obesity.  Being a teacher myself, I can attest to the fact that school food is some of the most processed stuff around.  Jamie's solution is to introduce the town to the idea of cooking with fresh ingredients.  Real pieces of chicken, instead of chicken nuggets.  Fresh fruits and vegetables, instead of french fries.  

I like that idea.  I think it's noble and good.  But I must say that it hits close to home and pings my "Mommy-Guilt meter".  More importantly, it hits close to my refrigerator.  I'll be the first one to admit that the easiest food to feed my son is full of processed ingredients.  At the end of the day, it's just too easy to heat up a turkey hot dog and some Easy Mac in order to get his dinner on the table fast.  That way he's happy and I can focus on making a healthier dinner for myself. 

What a double standard!  I feed my kid chicken nuggets regularly, but wouldn't make a steady diet of them myself.  In my mind, they're "kid food":  things we eat as children, but try not to eat too much of as adults.  What I feed my son is born out of ease and finding things that a toddler will eat.  [MOMMY-GUILT-INDUCED DISCLAIMER: Before you call Child Services on me, bear in mind that he loves to eat veggies and fruit, so there are plenty of those mixed in.  I also don't feed him very many sweets at all.  Animal crackers and yogurt are about it.  There.  I feel better.]  But even still, he eats plenty of processed food, especially in the protein department. 

So two nights ago in my endeavor to feed more "real" food to my son, he waited (with the aid of a few animal crackers to tide him over) while I made dinner: a healthy frittata made with leftover Easter ham and veggies.  We all sat around the dinner table and ate dinner together.  It was good.   

Can I do that every night?  Sure.  Will I do that every night? Probably not.  But I will definitely keep in mind that I am teaching my son healthy eating habits that will last his whole lifetime.  I will focus on finding easy recipes that both he and I can eat, made from healthy, whole ingredients without too much processing.  That way he can enjoy pure, healthy food and I can eat it too.  I'm not saying goodbye to kid food forever.  No way.  I think moderation is the key. 

So tell me about your family?  What do you feed your kids?  How do you feel about "kid food"?  Leave comments.  Discuss. 

Crockpot Tex-Mex Chicken

This taco changed my life.  OK. Maybe not.  But it was pretty darn awesome.  What it did do was transport me back to a time when I lived in downtown Los Angeles.  There was a lovely little tacqueria next to my apartment building.  On nights when I didn't feel like cooking, I would go downstairs to the lovely hole-in-the-wall establishment and get a chicken combo plate.  The chicken was juicy pieces of shredded chicken in a zesty sauce.  Each plate would come with rice, refried beans, warmed corn tortillas, a lovely chopped mixture of cilantro and green onion, and as many wedges of lime as I desired.  It was a beautiful thing.  I would take the plate back up to my apartment, sit on the floor and build my own soft tacos.  Glorious. 


Recently, I put a call out on Facebook for crockpot chicken recipes, and my friend Meg responded with this one.  She originally got the recipe from a Prevention Slow Cooker cookbook.  I've changed it just a tiny bit because that's what I usually do. 

Let me extol the virtues of this chicken dish by telling you it has many lives:  

• You can use it as taco meat. 
• You can make nachos with it.  
• You can freeze it for use later.  
• You can make tortilla/taco soup by adding some chicken stock or broth to it. 
• You can put this over baked potatoes and melt some jack cheese over top. 

This is my kind of recipe.  Lots of options!