When we were invited to our friends', Jamie and Martin, annual Fourth of July celebration, I didn't have to think too long before I decided what I would bring to share...a fruit pizza. I have been wanting to make one and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give it a try.
If you google fruit pizza and look at the images, you can see all sorts of attempts people shared. Since it was the 4th I wanted to use strawberries and blueberries and do my rendition of the flag.
For the recipe, I found this triple chocolate one in a Pampered Chef cookbook called More Doris Christopher's Stoneware Sensations Baking with the Family Heritage Collection. She used strawberries and mandarin oranges for the fruit but you can use any fruit you prefer. Her package of refrigerated cookie dough was 18 ounces, but they don't make them that size anymore. Mine was a tad over 16 ounces. She also used a 15" round baking stone but mine is more like 13 inches. I went on and used it though (I didn't have another round "pan") since my cookie dough package was a little smaller. She highly recommends using a 15 - inch "pan" because the cookie dough crust will spread during baking. Make sure you have the crust in the center. I was off just a little bit so it was at the edge of one "side". It didn't cook over the edge though.
Click here for a printable version of just the recipe.
FRUIT-TOPPED TRIPLE CHOCOLATE PIZZA
1 package (16 - ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
2 squares (1 - ounce each) white chocolate for baking (I weighed out 2 ounces of white chocolate wafers)
2 tablespoons milk
1 package (8 - ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup thawed frozen whipped topping
strawberries, cut in half
blueberries
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 + tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
For crust, shape cookie dough into a ball in the center of a 13 to 15 - inch round baking stone.
Using a lightly floured rolling pin,
roll out dough to 12 - inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick.
Round the edges with your finger
to make edges smooth.
Bake 11 - 14 minutes or until edges are set. (Cookie will be soft. Do not overbake. I did bake mine the full 14 minutes.) Cool 10 minutes.
Carefully loosen cookie from baking stone using a serrated bread knife; cool completely on baking stone.
Microwave the white chocolate and milk in a covered microwave dish on HIGH for 1 minutes;
stir til smooth. Microwave an additional 10 to 20 seconds if necessary.
(I did need to microwave mine 10 more seconds.) Cool slightly.
In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar;
mix well.
Gradually stir in white chocolate mixture until
smooth.
Fold in whipped topping;
spread over crust.
Hull strawberries before cutting them in half.
Arrange fruit over cream cheese mixture.
Microwave chocolate chips and butter on HIGH 30 seconds; stir til smooth.
(I added about a teaspoon more butter and heated briefly to melt and
stirred til well blended so that it would be the consistency to drizzle.)
Drizzle over fruit. Chill 30 minutes. Cut into wedges or squares to serve.
Fuzzy Naval Cake. If you are like me and my husband Wayne, this just might sound like a disgusting cake. The intro for the recipe talked about a Fuzzy Naval mixed drink, but we had never heard of it.
Fortunately when I asked some of the volunteers at the thrift shop (HPC Thrift Shop), my overwhelming response was, "Oh yeah, drank those back in the 70s. Orange juice, right?" Since the recipe called for rum extract, I decided it must have been orange juice and rum.
As word spread in the shop, it quickly disappeared. I haven't had quite that reaction from anything I have brought in a long time.. The recipe from Dessert Every Night by Jo Anna M. Lund with Barbara Alpert was intended to be almost sugar-free and fat-free. I didn't have 1/2 cup of stevia so I just used the real thing. I did use vanilla extract because I didn't have any rum extract and couldn't find any at HyVee, the closest grocery store to us. I also used the rest of the liquid in the canned peaches for part of the orange juice in the frosting. Read the recipe carefully as there is a lot of dividing the ingredients into two amounts and adding them at separate times. The cake is full of chopped peaches which is an added treat!
Click here for a printable version of just the recipe.
FUZZY NAVAL CAKE
1 16-ounce can of peaches, packed in fruit juice, drained, and 1/4 cup liquid reserved
2 cups unsweetened orange juice (divided)
1-1/3 cups nonfat dry milk powder (divided)
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup stevia or Splenda
1 teaspoon baking flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise (I used salad dressing.)
1 teaspoon rum extract (I used vanilla extract)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 (4-serving) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1-1/2 cups Sugar-Free whipped topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 - inch cake pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Coarsely chop peaches (while draining). (Forgot to take a picture. You can see them in the picture below when I added them to the mixture.)
In a bowl, combine the reserved liquid (1/4 cup), 3/4 cup orange juice, and 2/3 cup dry milk powder with a whisk.
Set aside.
In a large (batter) bowl, combine the flour, stevia, baking powder, and baking soda with a whisk.
Add mayo, liquid mixture, and rum or vanilla extract.
Mix well just to combine.
Fold in chopped peaches and
pecans.
Pour mixture into pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until tests done.
Place pan on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, combine dry pudding mix and remaining 2/3 cup dry milk powder with whisk and then
add remaining 1-1/4 cup orange juice. (I poured the remaining liquid from the canned peaches first and then finished filling with the orange juice to measure 1-1/4 cups of juice.)
Mix well with a wire whisk.
Fold in whipped topping making sure you have completely blended it.
Spread mixture evenly over cooled cake.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Cut into squares to serve. Refrigerate leftovers.
I guess it is a good thing that I am still volunteering at the thrift shop (HPC Thrift Shop) because it means I have at least one recipe to share with you each week. I have been trying to eat less sweets this summer to lose a measly five pounds. (It may only be five pounds I would like to lose, but they are the hardest five pounds I have ever tried to lose.) Anyway so that means I have not been spending as much time in my kitchen as I usually do.
I found this recipe in my Amish Cooking cookbook. I took a picture of the cookbook just to share with you and then realized that the picture on the jacket cover is of the Fresh Blueberry Cake. Looking at their picture and then at my picture, it is hard to believe they only used 1 cup of blueberries. I definitely would recommend adding at least 1-1/2 cups of blueberries. Some of my square - servings only had one or two blueberries. The cake tastes great though so it wasn't a total loss.
Click here for a printable copy of just the recipe.
FRESH BLUEBERRY CAKE
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup blueberries (Use 2 cups for more blueberries in cake)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 - inch pan. Set aside.
Wash the berries, dry them on a paper towel.
Cream the butter,
(you can speed this up a bit by cutting it in slices)
then add the sugar a little at a time, and
cream it again.
Sift the flour, salt, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl.
Add the eggs and some of the flour mixture.
Blend this slowly,
adding the milk and the rest of the flour.
(I added the milk and the rest of the flour alternately beginning and ending with the flour.)
Dust the berries with a little flour.
Add them to the batter and fold them in.
Pour batter into pan and sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar or nutmeg, or whatever appeals to you.
Bake for 45 minutes.
(I waited and sprinkled the warm cooked cake with cinnamon/sugar mixture.)
Cut into squares to cut. Can serve with whipped cream or ice cream or plain.
On Father's Day we were able to spend the day with at least one of our sons, Patrick. Too bad that our older son Jeffrey wasn't there but it's not easy for them to make the nine hour trip from CO to come here. Patrick decided to BBQ for our dinner and asked me to bring the coleslaw.
My mother always made such good coleslaw but I could't find a recipe in her recipe box. I was thinking about making a 24-Hr Coleslaw but changed my mind when I saw it was a vinegar based coleslaw. (We prefer the salad dressing based coleslaw.) I was going to take the easy way out and buy a bag of the coleslaw mix, but Aldi didn't have any. They did have a head of cabbage so I decided I would just cut it up. When Mother eventually started buying the bagged mix, she would still chop it up finer. She didn't like coleslaw with big pieces of cabbage and so neither do I. It's been a long time since I last made some coleslaw, but this one turned out pretty good. Patrick made sure he got at least half of what was left to enjoy for leftovers.
COLESLAW
1 head of cabbage
1 cup grated carrots
2/3 cup salad dressing (Miracle Whip)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 - 3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon celery seed
Finely chop the head of cabbage.
I filled my large batter bowl to the top.
Combine the cabbage and the carrots in a really large bowl.
Combine the salad dressing, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and celery seed in a smaller mixing bowl and
stir til well combined. (I made half as much the first time and then made another mixture when it wasn't enough.)
Add the "dressing" to the cabbage/carrots mixture (remember I started out with a smaller amount and then ended up making a second helping - don't worry the recipe I gave above is the doubled amount of ingredients) and
stir til it's thoroughly coated.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Granddaughter Madison requested that her daddy make his peach cobbler and I seconded the motion. He learned how to make it when he was in the Boy Scouts. It has been quite a while since I have had any to enjoy, so it was a special treat for us all. You can read about his Dutch Oven Cobbler here.
For crust, shape cookie dough into a ball in the center of a 13 to 15 - inch round baking stone. 
Using a lightly floured rolling pin,
roll out dough to 12 - inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick.
Round the edges with your finger
to make edges smooth.
Bake 11 - 14 minutes or until edges are set. (Cookie will be soft. Do not overbake. I did bake mine the full 14 minutes.) Cool 10 minutes.
Carefully loosen cookie from baking stone using a serrated bread knife; cool completely on baking stone.
Microwave the white chocolate and milk in a covered microwave dish on HIGH for 1 minutes;
stir til smooth. Microwave an additional 10 to 20 seconds if necessary.
(I did need to microwave mine 10 more seconds.) Cool slightly.
In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar; 
mix well.
Gradually stir in white chocolate mixture until
smooth.
Fold in whipped topping;
spread over crust.
Hull strawberries before cutting them in half.
Arrange fruit over cream cheese mixture.
Microwave chocolate chips and butter on HIGH 30 seconds; stir til smooth. 
(I added about a teaspoon more butter and heated briefly to melt and
stirred til well blended so that it would be the consistency to drizzle.)
Drizzle over fruit. Chill 30 minutes. Cut into wedges or squares to serve.
