PATRICIA'S AWESOME CHOCOLATE PIE

I know what you might be thinking... What does Patricia mean by her "mysterious" chocolate pie? Right? Well, maybe not. I'll explain anyway. (I did decide to change it to "awesome" instead of "mysterious by the time I finished writing this post.)

First of all I have to describe my oldest recipe collection. I started it back in the seventies. It is 7 x 9" and is a 3-ring binder. I don't remember where I got it from, but it also has a gold circle sticker that says RECIPE BOOK on the edge. Inside is a half light weight card stock sheet that says Central Recipe Book and then goes on to tell you how to use it. It also contains 5 section Mylar indexes and a envelope for printed clippings. It was made in the U.S.A. by the Northern Central Co., in MIL, WIS but doesn't include a date. It was definite for beginners since it has such detailed instructions. (I must admit I don't remember reading them until now as I sit here to write this post. It brought a smile to my face and even a small chuckle.)

The name of the recipe that I had copied down on one of the ruled 8.5" x 5.5" sheets of paper is called Chocolate Chess Pie. They should have instructed me to identify the source of the recipe which might have helped me with its name, but they didn't and so I have no sources except on the clippings I have in the envelop.

The thing is ... the recipe isn't like any Chocolate Chess Pie recipes I have made or found. Since it has cream cheese in it, I looked up Chocolate Cream Pie but couldn't find any recipe like it. Basically I'm saying, I could not find any recipe like it. 

I had thought about making it when I made my recent Creamy Chocolate Pie which is also one I had written down on one of the ruled sheet, but when I realized the eggs weren't cooked, I kept turning the page until I found the Creamy Chocolate Pie that didn't have any eggs. When I was looking for something to make for the canasta group that I hosted last Tuesday, that fact went right over my head.

All of my younger life I have loved Lemon Ice Box Pie. I don't know how many my mother made during her life and I even made. It is still a family favorite at gatherings. I don't have any idea when I quit making them but do enjoy it when I go back to my hometown. Eating raw eggs in desserts fits in the category of things we did but is not recommended anymore. You know the list that includes having kids secured in a car in a car seat, being secured in a high chair, a baby sleeping on its stomach, children just going out to play and told to be home for supper, leaving your kids in the car while you went in the store, etc. Older people laugh and say it's a miracle we are here today.

Saying all of that, when it finally hit me, I was concerned and notified everyone that I had made a pie that contained eggs that were not cooked. I offered to make something else to serve if that bothered them. Everyone felt like I did about growing up and eating desserts with raw eggs and they couldn't wait to enjoy the pie. 

I obviously haven't tried this but when I was looking for recipes online like mine, I read a post from Sally's Baking Recipes for a French Silk Pie that called for eggs that weren't cooked that she had modified so she could cook the eggs to 160 degrees F. She cooked the eggs with the sugar in a double boiler over simmering water stirring constantly until the temperature reached 160 degrees F. about 10 minutes. She allowed it to cool for about 10 minutes before adding the cooled chocolate. If you are concerned about eating my pie with uncooked eggs, you could try that with the brown sugar and after cooling the mixture, add it to the cream cheese and cream the mixture together. It's just a thought since I haven't tried it to see if the pie comes out the same.

Printable copy of just the recipe.

PATRICIA'S AWESOME CHOCOLATE PIE

1     package (6-ounces/1 cup) chocolate (I used Belgian 54% cacao chocolate chunks)

1   package (8-ounces) cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 reduced fat Neufchatel at room temperature)

3/4  cup light brown sugar, divided

1/8  teaspoon salt

1     teaspoon vanilla

2     eggs, separated

1     cup heavy cream whipped (I used 2 cups thawed whipped topping)

1     (9-inch) prepared chilled graham cracker crust

Melt the chocolate over hot (not boiling) water,

then cool about 10 minutes.

Blend cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, salt, and vanilla.

Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.

Beat in cooled chocolate and

blend well.

Beat egg whites until stiff,

but not dry.

Gradually beat the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar;

beat until stiff and glossy.

(I had to transfer the egg whites into a large bowl, so beat them in a large bowl.)

Fold chocolate mixture into the beaten whites.

Fold in the whipped cream/topping.

Pour (spoon) mixture into crust

and chill overnight.

When ready to serve, you can add a dollop of the whipped topping you had left from the 8-ounce container.

The finished pie was so smooth and light tasting as well as making an awesome presentation.

CHOCOLATE CHIP YOGURT COOKIES

 My Pillsbury Healthy-Baking Fresh Approaches to more than 200 Favorite Recipes is currently my favorite new/old cookbook that I got at an estate sale. I love the healthy options and then I make my own healthy options so the recipe is even more healthy.

This cookie is so good! And we love the taste of it. I even took Friend Fran six of them and she loved them also. I think there are still a few in the cookie jar but not a whole lot. I might try some different flavored chips next time. They won't be miniature so I will chop them first. I do like the smaller chips in a cookie. It seems like you have more chips then in the small cookie.

I have another recipe from this cookbook to share with you in another post of some mini muffins I took to my dentist office when I got my teeth cleaned. I have several more already marked and I'm sure I will find more as I just look through it.

PRINT  just the recipe.

CHOCOLATE CHIP YOGURT COOKIES

1/2     cup sugar or stevia (I used stevia)

1/2     cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used 1/4 cup light brown sugar and 1/4 cup truvia sweet complete brown with a hint of molasses)

1/4     cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1/4     cup shortening

1/2     cup nonfat plain yogurt

1-1/2  teaspoons vanilla

1-3/4  cups flour (I used almost a full cup of all-purpose and the rest whole wheat flour.)

1/2     teaspoon baking soda

1/2     teaspoon salt

1/2     cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. 

In a large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, butter, and shortening until

light and fluffy. (I let the electric mixer run while I measured out the dry ingredients.)

Add yogurt and vanilla;

blend well.

Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt that you have blended in a smaller bowl.

I added a little at a time since I was stirring by hand.

Mix well.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls

2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

(I also made 12 cookies using the my cookie scoop, but the cookies stayed round and I preferred the looks of the rounded teaspoon cookie.)

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes (I baked mine 10 min.) or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute;

remove from cookie sheets to a wire rack to finish cooling.

The cookies made using the cookie scoop.

HIGH ALTITUDE- Above 3500 feet: Decrease granulated sugar to 1/3 cup; decrease brown sugar to 1/3 cup. Bake as directed above. 

STRAWBERRYCHICKEN SALAD

 I love sharing recipes with you. Most people you read my blog consider it a recipe or food blog even though I started it for more of a tutorial blog for quilting/sewing/crafts projects. If I were to collect the posts into categories (which by the way, if you view the web version of my blog would could see the index by "Labels" or categories), I do have more recipes than I do tutorials for projects. Tutorials take several hours to write, but I do feel good after I have written them.

AND most of my recipes lean more toward desserts than anything else, but everyone or at least most people like and want a little sweetness in their life. I say "a little" because I do try to reduce the sugar in many of my recipes but not the sweetness.

Saying this, I always enjoy sharing a recipe that isn't a "dessert" and that is what this recipe is. It all started with my cooking a frozen chicken breast in my slow cooker earlier last week to use in something that called for cooked chicken that we might enjoy for a meal. That day I threw together a chicken salad with half of the "pulled" chicken with things I had in my refrigerator. 

Move forward two days and Friend Janice and I were out going to estate sales and enjoying lunch out. We went to an estate sale for a Berry Farm in a nearby town. The house was what I would call an old farmhouse and most of the things were beautiful but I didn't have room or a need for anymore. As we were leaving, Janice stopped at a small bookcase in the kitchen of cookbooks. I told her I hadn't even looked at the cookbooks at the two previous sales we had been to as I proceeded to pick up one that looked interesting. I settled on a smaller one called Berry Lovers Cookbook. The "o" in Lovers was a drawing of a strawberry. It contains recipes using Blueberries, Blackberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, and other Berry Recipes. I actually found more interesting recipes in the cranberry section that I will be making and sharing soon, but this recipe in the strawberry section was the first one I tried.

Saturday I decided to use the rest of the shredded/pulled chicken making another chicken salad. I have never had a chicken salad using strawberries and admit it was different, but we really enjoyed it. I didn't have all of the ingredients (lime peel and chutney) and a few ingredients I omitted on purpose (curry powder and red onion) because they aren't my favorite, but you probably do the same thing when you make a recipe. I will share the original recipe since I referenced the cookbook, but indicate my changes. Would love to hear from you if you decide to follow the original recipe in the comment section below. I also cut the recipe in half since I only had a cup of cooked chicken. One other personal note: As I said I cut the recipe in half which meant 1/2 teaspoon of salt. This was too much salt for our taste since we don't eat our food with a lot of salt. Since I didn't use the chutney either, I did sprinkle a package of stevia over the salad to help combat the salt taste.

A printable copy of the RECIPE

STRAWBERRY CHICKEN SALAD

1/2       cup mayo or salad dressing

2          tablespoons chopped chutney*

1          teaspoon grated lime peel** 

1          teaspoon salt

1          teaspoon curry powder*

1          tablespoon lime juice**

2          cups diced cooked chicken

1          cup sliced celery

1/4       cup chopped red onion*

1-1/2    pints (2 cups sliced) fresh strawberries

lettuce leaves

In a large bowl, combine the mayo, chutney, lime peel, salt, curry powder, and lime juice.

Add chicken,

celery, and onion.

Toss, cover, and chill. (I omitted this as I was making it for us to eat then.)

Just before serving, slice enough strawberries to make 2 cups; gently toss with chicken mixture.

 

Line platter or individual serving plates with lettuce. Mound chicken salad in center. Garnish with remaining 1 cup whole strawberries. (Since I was making this for our lunch, I omitted the last step, but admit it would be impressive if serving friends for a luncheon.) 

*omitted

**I substituted lemon peel and lemon juice

I also made a sandwich for us which we shared.

The remaining I ate later as a salad with wheat thins. Yum!

ICE CREAM CRUNCH

 August is here which usually means hot temperatures. I think we had 3 days in a row of 95 or higher so that means a heat wave. We actually have a cold front coming in tonight so only 84 degrees forecasted for tomorrow along with rain.

Friend Susan served the canasta group this delicious Ice Cream Crunch for dessert back in June when it wasn't this hot, but it still tasted delicious that afternoon. She said she had made it twice before and toasting the rice krispies really made a difference. Besides being so cool and delightful it is easy to make.

ICE CREAM CRUNCH

2-1/2   cups rice krispies

1         cup flake coconut

1         cup chopped pecans

1/2      cup butter - melted (1 stick)

3/4      cup brown sugar

1/2      gallon vanilla ice cream

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Combine the first five ingredients. Spread the mixture on a deep cookie sheet with sides. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes stirring occasionally.

Allow to cool.

Grease a 9 x 13 - inch pan and place about half or more of the mixture in the pan. Spread the ice cream evenly on top. (Softened but not melted.)

Spread the rest of the topping on top of the ice cream and freeze. Serves 12 to 20. 

OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD PECAN WAFFLES

 

Can you believe it is already August? I don't know about you, but July went really quickly to be a month with 31 days. I saw this morning a friend's post from Atlanta of her children's first day back in school. If our older son Jeffrey were still teaching high school, he would be back at school in meetings before the kids would be starting in a few days. Here in Missouri the kids still have a couple of weeks before school starts. 

I remember this time of the year very well even though it has been sixteen years since I retired. I'm "saying" that really fast because it's so hard to believe it has been that long. It has been a good retirement so far though. I'm having a blast with friends I've made after moving to MO, learning new things like canasta and believe it or not, quilting. Let's just say "You're never too old to learn!" could never be more true. "Just be open!" is what I would add to that statement.

I would never have thought I would spend so much of my time in retirement searching for and trying new recipes. Heavens! I would never have thought I would be a blogger in my retirement years. I've eased off some since COVID, but I still try to post at least once or twice a week. Speaking of COVID, I would never have thought something would "steal" me of two years of my life ever. Those two years are just surreal. 

About three weeks ago my husband went to an estate sale with me since Friend Janice couldn't go with me. I bought a small lightweight waffle maker for $10 dollars and decided to make it. Wayne was a little skeptic but I told him our professional waffle maker like the ones you find in hotels for their breakfast bar was just so heavy and big and not very convenient to use and I LOVE WAFFLES.

Well, it didn't work so he brought up our older one so I could finish making the waffles. Long story short (yes, I do know how to tell a story shorter even though Wayne might want to disagree with that statement) I'm using our old one again. We found a place to store it in the kitchen so I don't have to go down to the garage to get it and it doesn't feel as heavy as I remember it.

I found this recipe in a Southern Living Homestyle Cooking cookbook and agree that they are "out-of-this-world" waffles. I cut the recipe in half because I didn't want to make 22 (4-inch) waffles, but I'm going to go on and share the full recipe since half the recipe wouldn't make enough for a family. 

A Printable  COPY of the recipe.

OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD PECAN WAFFLES

2-1/2    cups flour

1-1/2    tablespoons sugar   

1          tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4       teaspoon salt

2          large eggs, beaten

2-1/4    cups milk

3/4       cup oil

1/2       cup ground pecans (finely chopped in chopper)

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Combine the eggs, milk, and oil and

then add to the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.

Stir in pecans.

Bake in a preheated, oiled waffle iron until golden. 

Spread on the butter and a little powdered sugar and enjoy.

I hope your day is sunny and bright.

                                         

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BUNDT CAKE

 Friend Nora recently shared a chocolate cake she had made for her family and I asked her for the recipe as soon as I saw it. It took me a couple of days to make it as I was waiting for a cooler day to work in the kitchen. It only took a few days to eat it after sharing some with friends, but my husband is already talking about my making it again and making suggestions for the next one.

I have made Chocolate Zucchini Bread before but didn't compare the recipes. This one can be made with no-sugar-added if you like or as the recipe is written. You could leave the cake unfrosted or dust lightly with some sifted powdered sugar. The recipe looks like it had already been modified to be more healthy. 

A  PRINTABLE copy of just the recipe.

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BUNDT CAKE

1       cup raw sugar (or sugar substitute such as stevia or Splenda)

1-1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1/2    cup oil

1       tablespoon vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2       teaspoons baking soda

2       teaspoons baking powder

1       teaspoon salt

1       cup cocoa powder

3       cups shredded/grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)

1       cup mini chocolate chips

Frosting:

1/4     cup unsalted butter, melted (1/2 stick)

1/3     cup cocoa powder

2        cups powdered sugar

1        tablespoon vanilla extract

1/3     cup milk 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a bundt pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, vanilla, apple sauce, and oil until

it all comes together.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder together.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, half at a time.

Mix until the batter comes together.

Stir in the zucchini (I did half at a time) and

then chocolate chips.

Pour into pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.

Cool cake in pan on wire rack at least 10 minutes before removing cake to finish

cooling on serving plate.

If you wish, you can make the frosting and pour over cooled cake or just sprinkle with powdered sugar if you want to have less calories.

Whisk together the melted butter, cocoa powder that you have sifted, vanilla, and milk until smooth.

Drizzle over the cooled cake and sprinkle more chocolate chips on top if you like. (I didn't)