Picnic Pasta Salad

My family doesn't agree on many picnic side dishes...one doesn't like mayo, one doesn't like potatoes...on and on.

The one side dish that everyone DOES agree on is my picnic pasta salad. You can personalize this recipe to your family's likes.

  
Picnic Pasta Salad

1 lb. of rotini (corkscrew) pasta, cooked and drained well
1 C. sliced black olives
6 oz of cheese, cut into small chunks - use your family's
favorite. I used Monterey Jack cheese this time. We also like
mozzarella, cheddar and/or Muenster.
3 plum tomatoes, diced small
1/2 of an English (seedless) cucumber, diced small
Salad Supreme topping (find it in the spice isle), to taste
1 lg. bottle of a hearty Italian dressing

To assemble:

Add the rotini to a large bowl. Stir in the olives, cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Sprinkle on the Salad Supreme. I usually use 1/2 of the bottle but if you're not familiar with the taste, I would suggest stirring in one tablespoon at a time until you achieve the taste that you like. 

Stir in 1/2 of the bottle of Italian dressing or more - until the salad appears to be wet but not soaking in dressing. Mix well.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hrs or overnight. In my opinion, the longer it is refrigerated, the better it tastes.

When you are ready to serve, remove from refrigerator and stir well. Stir in more Italian dressing if needed.

June '10 Cookie Carnival - Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies

My spin on the second cookie for June's Cookie Carnival is Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies.

The original recipe is Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies from Cooking Light.

I searched and searched several stores in my area here in NC but I couldn't find almond paste anywhere. Many people who I talked to had no idea what it was. I decided to try to find a recipe for making here at home. 

Almond paste is fairly easy to make yourself - providing you have blanched almonds. The recipe that I used is from Taste of Home.

I would not recommend using sliced almonds with skins. Although the almond paste turned out ok, the cookies dried out really fast and didn't last overnight. However, the cookies were really tasty right out of the oven.

My favorite part of the cookie was the blueberry jam that I made for the cooking filling. The recipe is from a cookbook that I will be doing a giveaway for in the coming days!

Classic Blueberry Jam 
from Put 'em up!

8 C. blueberries
2 C. sugar
1/4 C. bottled lemon juice

Combine the berries with a splash of water in a med. nonreactive pan. Bring to a boil, stirring and crushing the berries to release their juice. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Stir in the lemon juice. Continue to cook at a steady boil, stirring frequently, until the jam reaches the desired gel.

Remove from the heat and let the jam rest for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to release air bubbles and prevent fruit float. Skim any foam from the top of the jam.

Refrigerate: Ladle into bowls or jars. Cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

I waited until the jam had cooled down and then used it to fill the cookies.

Here's a link to the Kids Bake Cookie Carnival recipe: S'mores Cookie Bars.

From June thru August, there will be 2 recipes sent out for the Cookie Carnival - the first will be a kid's cookie recipe and the second will be a little more complex(but definitely nothing too complicated!).

Everyone is invited to bake one or both of the cookies! Get the kids involved!

If you haven't joined the Cookie Carnival yet...what are you waiting for? I'd love for you to join us!
Here's how!

 **New**

I've had a few people email me to ask "Can I join the Cookie Carnival without having a blog?"

YES!  You can join the Cookie Carnival if you follow these rules:

Please email me to let me know that you would like to join. I will add you to the email list so that you will start receiving the recipes each month. At this time please let me know that you will be participating via email.

1. You must email me one picture of your cookies - no bigger than 50 x 50, please.

2. Please include a sentence or two about yourself - ex: your name and where you live

3. Please include a comment about the cookies - good or bad or just a thought pertaining to the cookies.

4. Please let me know if you followed the recipe as written or if you made changes - and if you did, what changes did you make? I will post those changes, too.

I look forward to meeting and talking to everyone! If you have any questions or comments about the Cookie Carnival, please email me! yinzerfan {at} gmail {dot} com

Happy Baking!
Tami                                                                                                                                                                    

June '10 Cookie Carnival - S'mores Cookie Bars

Ooey -- Gooey -- Delicious!

Three little words to describe these cookie bars!

June's Cookie Carnival Kids' Bake cookie recipe is the S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookie from Hershey's.

My daughter and I had a lot of fun baking these cookies together.

We had even more fun eating them! These little bars are delicious right out of the oven while the chocolate and marshmallows are still runny and melted. They are also very good the next day once they've had a chance to cool down. The cookie bars are quick and simple to make & would be a great treat to take to a picnic, to make for a child's birthday party or to sell at bake sales.

The only substitution that I made to the recipe was to use semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of the chocolate bars. I also ground my own graham cracker crumbs using honey graham crackers.

S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1-1/3 cups (8-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S
Mini Milk Chocolate Bars OR 5
HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate
Bars (1.55 oz. each)
* 3 cups miniature marshmallows

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle mini chocolate bars over baked layer or arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit.

 4. Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. 16 bars.

Perfect with a cold glass of milk and a good book!

From June thru August, there will be 2 recipes sent out for the Cookie Carnival - the first will be a kid's cookie recipe and the second will be a little more complex(but definitely nothing too complicated!).

Everyone is invited to bake one or both of the cookies! Get the kids involved!

If you haven't joined the Cookie Carnival yet...what are you waiting for? I'd love for you to join us!
Here's how!

**New**

I've had a few people email me to ask "Can I join the Cookie Carnival without having a blog?"

YES!  You can join the Cookie Carnival if you follow these rules:

Please email me to let me know that you would like to join. I will add you to the email list so that you will start receiving the recipes each month. At this time please let me know that you will be participating via email.

1. You must email me one picture of your cookies - no bigger than 50 x 50, please.

2. Please include a sentence or two about yourself - ex: your name and where you live

3. Please include a comment about the cookies - good or bad or just a thought pertaining to the cookies.

4. Please let me know if you followed the recipe as written or if you made changes - and if you did, what changes did you make? I will post those changes, too.


I look forward to meeting and talking to everyone! If you have any questions or comments about the Cookie Carnival, please email me! yinzerfan {at} gmail {dot} com

Happy Baking!
Tami

May '10 Cookie Carnival Round Up!

Welcome to the Cookie Carnival's May Cookie Round Up!
(no, I'm not crazy...I know that it's June but I'm running behind again.)

Cookie Carnival members had a choice of making 1 or 2 cookies for May:

Martha Stewart's Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
and/or  
Berry Cream Cookie Snaps from Taste of Home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was a fabulous turn out this month!

Please take a couple of minutes to check out everyone's goodies. Every one of them look delicious!

Katrina@BakingandBoys said "If you’re looking for an easy cookie that is super chocolaty, this could just be it."

Rebecca@Beurrista said "A special feature of The Cookie Carnival is that one needs to bake just once a month, and only if one wishes! A low-key and no pressure type of group is just my cup of tea."  - I'm glad you've chosen to bake with us, Rebecca! ~ Tami 

 
Carol@NoReasonNeeded didn't fair well with this cookie recipe. Hang in there, Carol! Better luck with June's cookie recipe! Be sure to read about her mishap...she's such a good sport!

Krista@IntheKitchenwithKrista made both cookies! Here's what she had to say.....

"These cookies are soft and chewy and chocolaty!"

"With strawberries in season right now, this is the perfect "seasonal" recipe for those of us who are Mid-Westerners."

Cristine@CookingwithCristine made both cookies, too! Here's what she had to say....

"The chocolate cookies definately are outrageous. I am glad I quartered the recipe (which yielded 4 cookies) because I would've definitely eaten the whole batch given the opportunity!"

"It looks more like a cannoli than a cookie! The cookie itself isn't very fancy... the inside is what gives it the most flavor. Inside the cookie is a delicious strawberry/cream cheese mixture."

Chaya@MySweetandSavory said "I am not sure the pictures will do justice to this cookie.  Look at the one, split in half and see the chocolate oozing out!"

Stephanie@ConfessionsofaCityEater said "The cookies just scream,"Eat me with milk!" - Welcome back to the Cookie Carnival, Stephanie! ~ Tami 

Juliana@HorneandoAlgo said "Can you imagine? Chocolate overflowing everywhere!" -Welcome back to the Cookie Carnival, Juliana! ~ Tami 

and my cookies.....

Tami@TamisKitchenTableTalk said "My daughter and I had a great time baking the chocolate cookies. In under 1 hour you can have warm, gooey super chocolaty cookies from start to finish!"

Adding in one more!

Hollly@Phe*Mom*enon said "If you are like me and love pretty much all types of brownies and have ever wondered what it would be like to have one with all your favorite aspects rolled in to one - this is your cookie."

Thank you! Thank you! to everyone who participated this month! 

If you aren't already a member of the Cookie Carnival, I would love for you to join us!!

 For more information on how to join in on the fun!


****Exciting News for Summer!***

Since many of us have kids who love to bake with us, I've decided to include a "kid friendly" recipe, along with a regular monthly cookie recipe, during the months of June, July and August! If you would like to include a picture of your child with their cookies, I will include it, too!

I realize that not everyone is celebrating summer vacation in their parts of the world like we are here in the US, but I hope that you will join in on the fun with us anyway!

Even if you're just a kid at heart, everyone is welcome to make one or both cookies each month!

Keep an eye out in your inbox....  June's cookie recipes are on the way!!


Happy Baking!

Tami

May '10 Cookie Carnival - Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

 Calling all chocolate lovers!!

Cookie Carnival members had a choice of making 1 or 2 cookies during May - Martha Stewart's Outrageous Chocolate Cookies and/or Berry Cream Cookie Snaps from Taste of Home.

My daughter and I had a great time baking the chocolate cookies. I taught her how to chop the chocolate and she had a blast using the hand mixer to mix up the cookie batter. This recipe comes together very quickly - in less than 10 minutes. In under 1 hour you can have warm, gooey super chocolately cookies from start to finish!

I've read several Cookie Carnival member's comments on these cookies and I agree that they are "brownie-like" in texture. Our cookies were firm on the outside (but not crispy) and then on the inside they were moist and filled with creamy chocolate bites...yum!!  I used a large cookie scoop and ended up with 15 large cookies. The next time I will definitely use a small scoop because just one of these cookies was enough to fulfill my sweet tooth. It was very rich -- (Gasp!) dare I say that it was almost too chocolatey?!? I bet that peanut butter, butterscotch or mint chips would make great subs for some of the chocolate chunks. I'm sure the kids would love M&Ms in there, too!

We give this recipe two thumbs up!

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
by Martha Stewart

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
 
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.

**Notes**

Our cookies baked for 13 1/2 minutes per tray. Keep a close eye on them after 12 minutes to make sure that they don't burn.

I allowed the first tray of cookies to cool for almost 10 minutes but then I found that some of the cookies were hard to remove without breaking. I removed the cookies from the second tray after only 5 minutes and they came off of the tray with no problem.

I'd love for you to join us in the Cookie Carnival! 
Click here for more info. on how to join.


May's Cookie Carnival Roundup showcasing everyone's delicious work will be posted tomorrow! Be sure to stop back here to check it out!