I went to Texas and they baked me a cake

I spent the past seven days with my son, daughter-in-law and 3 grandsons in Texas.  It was wonderful and I so did not want to leave, and no wonder.....

First, they baked me a cake.

Then they made me homemade pizza

Then they took me to a show

We ended up with grilled sausages for Mother's Day

Chocolate Mousse in 10 Seconds

I just bought a Magic Bullet after seeing my daughter's in action.  Whipped cream in 10 seconds?  I was so there. 

I had 1/4 pint of whipping cream in my fridge I needed to use up.  But I had no strawberries, nor any flour tortillas to deep fry for a shortcake, anyway.  Now I did have granulated sugar and some unsweetened cocoa powder.   Hmmmmmmmmmm......

I mixed some cocoa powder with some plain sugar and stirred a little water into it.  Into the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and cool.  What do I have?   Chocolate syrup.  Sort of.

I poured the rest of the whipping cream into the small container for the Bullet, added the chocolate "syrup", and 30 seconds later I had chocolate mousse.

Potluck Perfect

The season for picnics, barbeques, and general get-togethers is upon us.  I have found the perfect potluck dish.  It can be done partially ahead of time and is easy enough to finish off at the last minute before you leave for the party.  It is wonderful hot, but also good at room temperature.  It won't spoil.  It is pretty, it is healthy, and at the party last night, there were two penne noodles left in the bottom.  I was asked over and over for the recipe. 

Pasta with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

(the photo to the right is a free clipart; I did not photograph my dish)

Pasta of your choice (I used a box of whole grain penne)

Jar of pesto sauce (I used Classico brand)

Roasted tomato slivers

Start by roasting the tomatoes.  Buy some roma tomatoes, if small buy a dozen, if large you can buy less, depends upon how many tomato slivers you want in the dish.  Wash the romas, slice in half.  Scoop out the seeds and core with a spoon, if desired (you do not have to do this, but they are a bit easier to eat in the pasta if that core is gone).  Place cut side up in a foil lined baking pan.  Sprinkle with your choice of seasonings:  I used ground coriander (my new favorite), salt, and pepper.  I did not drizzle any oil on the tomatoes.  Roast the tomatoes until they are crinkly around the edges and 'look right'.  200-300 degrees; the hotter the oven, the quicker they roast.  In a hurry?  You can do a 400-450 oven for about 20 minutes.  Watch carefully so they don't burn.

Now you can store the tomatoes in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the potluck dish.  On the day of the party, set a large pot of water on to boil why you take your shower or such.  Boil a package of pasta according to the package instructions, drain.  Put the pasta back into the pot and pour a jar of prepared pesto into the pasta and stir.  Slice the tomatoes lengthwise into slivers and stir into the pasta.  Voila!

Pampered

I was able to visit my daughter this week and had such a good time, even if it was only for about 24 hours.  She made lunch, dinner, and breakfast for me and it was such luxury to not only not have to cook, but to have wonderful food.  We had our favorite, BLT's for lunch.  For dinner she marinated bone-in chicken breasts in orange juice and rosemary, roasted sweet potatoes, and made a homemade mango salsa. For breakfast I got oatmeal pancakes with fruit salsa and bacon.  I so did not want to leave!

A feast for the eyes and the tastebuds!

Let's start with bruschetta.....

Next roast the chicken breasts....

Anything is better with homemade salsa; this time it is mango and cucumber and pepper......







The reason I was able to visit her, I was with my husband in Pinehurst, NC for a conference and Jenni's house is 1 hour 20 minutes away from Pinehurst.  I did come back to spend the final night in Pinehurst, mainly because he was staying in a hotel built in the 1800's.