Individual Balsamic Strawberry Shortcake

If you want to stretch the summer strawberry season, make some of these shortcakes to eat now and freeze a few more so you can enjoy them a little later on.

1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 - 8" vanilla cake, cut in cubes
3 cups Cool Whip topping

Using either a store bought cake or homemade, cut in 1 inch cubes and set aside.

Slice the strawberries into a saucepan and add sugar and balsamic. Warm on medium heat 2-3 minutes to let the juices release. Mix together the cornstarch and cold water and stir into the berries. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium and cook another couple of minutes until it begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and cool. I stuck the saucepan in the freezer a few minutes.

I used clear plastic 9 oz cups. Start with a layer of cake then a layer of Cool Whip. Add berries, cake, berries and top it off with Cool Whip.

Now if you are planning on using these right away by all means use whipping cream, but I planned on freezing some so Cool Whip was the better alternative.

Don't garnish the ones you are going to freeze.

Simply wrap the cup in plastic wrap and pop in the freezer. To use, thaw in fridge and then garnish with a fresh strawberry when ready.

We've got to stretch summer out any way we can!

Dog Ice Cake

For a cool treat any time, but especially today because it's our rescue dog Karma's 3rd birthday! She's been with us since last December and we are so lucky to have her. If you'd like to see what Karma's been up to check out InstantKarmaBaby on Instagram.

For this "birthday cake" I made layers of her favourite things.
Broth can be used for the liquid but because Karma has some allergy issues we have been introducing new foods very slowly. So no broth here.

For the first layer I added some carrot slices and parsley (for fresh breath) to a thin layer of water, then froze it.

Next I puréed an apple with some water in a food processor and poured that in.

If you make one of these just keep adding your pup's favourite things, you can include toys too, making layers and freezing as you go.

I ended this one with a layer of water with chunks of apple, parsley and carrot slices.

Unmould and celebrate!
Happy Birthday Karma!

No Bake Cornflake Cookies

It is too hot to bake! But these goodies are easy to make and won't keep you away from the pool long.

3  1/2 cups cornflakes
1  1/3 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate melting discs
1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbsps salted pumpkin seeds

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or microwave, then stir in the peanut butter.

In a large bowl mix the cereal, walnuts and seeds together. Stir in the chocolate and mix well.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined tray.

Melt the white chocolate and put it in a small plastic bag. Snip off the corner and drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.

Set in the fridge for about 10 minutes and these chocolatey snacks are good to go!

Also store them in the fridge so they don't get melty.
Did I mention how easy these were to make?

Rich Bacon Mac and Cheese au Gratin

Makes 4 creamy servings of comfort food goodness!

2 strips bacon, cooked to semi-crisp and crumbled
2 cups penne, cooked and drained

1 1/2 tbsps butter
1 1/2 tbsps flour
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne 
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 tbsps bread crumbs, I used Panko
2 tbsps parmesan
1 tbsp butter

Once the bacon is cooked, drain it on a paper towel then crumble and set aside.
Cook and drain the pasta, setting aside to cool.

Melt butter in  saucepan and add the flour. Whisk in the cream and cook over medium heat until it starts to thicken. It should coat the back of a spoon.

You can use table cream if you want it a little less rich. Stir in the dry mustard, cayenne, salt and pepper and finally fold in the shredded cheese and the pasta. Give it a taste test and if your seasonings are good then spray ramekins or a baking dish with cooking oil and spoon in the pasta.

Melt butter and mix with panko and parmesan. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top of the pasta and top that with the bread crumbs. 

Ready for the oven

Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes

Then.....stick a fork in it!

Coffee Crisp Cake Fail

Do not try this at home! Seriously.

It's upsetting when you try a recipe and it doesn't turn out right. But what's even worse is after it fails you look back at the recipe to see if you did something wrong and realize those beautiful pictures included in the recipe were staged to look like it worked.

The recipe included 1 - 2 layer yellow cake mix, some wafer cookies, coffee flavoured icing and chocolate glaze. Sounds good right?

So I baked the cake in a 13 X 9 pan, sliced it in half, and then lengthwise, to make 4 long slices.

Next instruction was to layer cake, then icing, a layer of wafer cookies and more icing. 

Continue layering...sounds ok right?

Here's the problem. My wafer cookies went right to the end of the cake which I thought worked out pretty good. But when I looked back at the original recipe (which I won't give you the link to, I'm too kind) the wafer layer ended about an inch from the end of the cake. So it seems the last wafer was put on in the opposite direction so when it was cut no wafers were cut and the butt ends of the ones going lengthwise stayed intact.

When I tried to cut through my wafers my cake went from this...

to THIS!

Epic fail

Easy Honeydew Sorbet

Summer is in full swing now! Here is a cool and easy treat that you won't need any special equipment to make.

4 cups cubed honeydew
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup water

Spread the cubed honeydew out without overlapping on a parchment lined sheet and freeze overnight.

Add the lemon juice, honey and water to the frozen honeydew in a food processor and pulse until you reach a smooth consistency. It might look crumbly at first, just keep going.

You may want to add a little more water or honey depending on your preference for slushiness and sweetness.

Serve immediately or store a couple of weeks in the freezer.
Once frozen just sit it out on the counter a few minutes before scooping.

Now to try cantalope......  : )

Taco Stuffed Sausages

When we camp we do not like to spend a lot of time cooking. But we still want to have good meals...no wieners and beans for us! Although we do have beans with our breakfast, but that's another story.

These are fun and tasty!

Take your favourite sausages, we used apple and cheddar here but spicy Italian would be great too. Grill them and then split lengthwise almost all the way through.

Add some crushed corn chips (Fritos), spoon on some salsa, then top with shredded cheese.

Wrap each one individually in foil and place back on the grill.

Or lay them in a frying pan with something to cover keeping the heat in. Warm for a couple of minutes...just long enough to melt the cheese.

Take a peek inside. If the cheese hasn't melted yet wrap them up for a couple more minutes.

Served here with rice and roasted red peppers, green salad and feta.  No boring "camp" meals for us!