Little D.'s Big Idea

I love when my kids take an interest in the food they eat. And no, I don't mean when they request to eat pizza and noodles every night. I mean when they stop and think "Hey, this will taste good together!" This is exactly what happened last week, when  Little D, and I hit the local Costco. We always buy bananas there because they are awesomely cheap. I noticed Little D. was deep in thought

 (as deep as you can be at the ripe old age of 4 1/2.) 

He turned to me and pipes up "Ma, can you make me a banana pie?"

Awww...just warmed my heart. Not only does he take the time to think if bananas will be good in a pie, but he has complete faith in his Ma that I can make him a banana pie. Warmed my heart to a golden brown ☺

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie


One recipe Pat A Pie Crust

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup water, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream or Rich's Whip, whipped

3 ripe bananas, sliced in circles
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup whipping cream or Rich's Whip, whipped


Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare pie crust according to instructions. Pat into pie pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool while you prepare the chocolate cream. 
In a microwave or double boiler, heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water and butter/margarine until the chocolate and butter are melted. Cool for 10 minutes. In a small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160°F, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in chocolate mixture. Allow to cool. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into the pie crust.  Put in freezer to set, approximately a half hour. When set, arrange sliced bananas on surface of the pie. Microwave the peanut butter for 60 seconds. Drizzle over bananas. ( It doesn't have to be perfectly spread, just drizzled over the top.)  Spread remaining whipped cream over peanut butter. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with chocolate sprinkles or chocolate syrup. 

And yes.....it passed the test. Little D. licked his plate clean. Phew!

.....Now Z-Monkey has started brainstorming....stay tuned for his great idea!

 ( Not to be confused with Z-Monkeys birthday cake debut which will be posted next week. Can you believe its been a whole year since his Lego cake?! We are planning on topping that one, so stay tuned- it should be fun!!)

Strawberry Shortcake

Once upon a time, there was a couple who we shall call " The Cutest Couple In The World." The Cutest couple in the world loved to eat out. Their favorite restaurant was called "That Chinese Restaurant In The Mall." And everytime TCCITW would go to TCRITM, Mr. Husband would order wonton soup and beef and broccoli. Mrs. Wife didn't like to be boring, so every time she would try something new. One time it was sweet and sour chicken (because how can sweet and sour chicken be bad?!) and another it would be cashew chicken. Most times Mrs. Wife enjoyed her lovely dish, while Mr. Husband smugly ate up all his beef and broccoli (for he knew that this was a delicious and reliable dish.) And every time. TCCITW would happily lick their ice cream off their plate (from their very yummy fried ice cream balls) and say, "Wow, that was amazing." Well one day, the moons were not aligned correctly, and Mr. Husband decided to veer from his normal science of ordering. Instead of ordering the usual wonton soup with beef and broccoli, he decided to tear a page out of Mrs. Wife's book, and order something new. Hot and sour soup. Oh dear. Although the name sounds like Hot and Sour Soup would be something delicious, it is in fact, a bowl of hot ketchup, thinned out with water.* Poor Mr. Husband. Oh how Mr. Husband despises anything with ketchup in it. Mrs. Wife, being the sweetheart that she is, valiantly switched her bowl of steaming, delicious won ton soup, and bravely ate the hot and sour soup, bite after ketchupy bite. And they all lived happily ever after.**

*Literary license may have been used.

** And Mr. Husband remembered that there was a very good reason why you should always order the same exact thing every time you order out- it will never disappoint. 

This leads us to the fact that every year (well the past two years) Big D requests a strawberry shortcake for his birthday, no more, no less. 

Happy Birthday Big D! You know you are awesome!

Judy's Strawberry Shortcake

Recipe has been removed by author. For more information on this cake please see ordering information here. 

Blueberry Pie- all for you!

One of the best purchases I ever made for baking was ramekins. Ramekins are little ceramic dishes, just the right size for a personal size pie or soufflé. They can go straight from the oven to the table, and are dishwasher safe. How much better can it get, right?? Anyways, I bought these ramekins last year, and I have used them so many times, I lost count! From apple crisp to molten chocolate cakes, they are perfect for dessert. You see, the problem that I have with desserts is that there is a whole pie. Meaning, after all is said and done, and you finished your piece of pie, there is 3/4 of a pie staring at you in the face, just begging to be eaten. These ramekins neatly solve the problem, and with blueberry pie inside, they are really delicious!

This recipe is really part of my childhood memories. Anytime we went blueberry picking, you can rest assured that  a blueberry pie wouldn't be long in coming. Serve it warm, topped with whipped cream, and you will understand why it needs to be made in individual sized dishes!

Blueberry Pie

Crust

1 stick margarine, melted

1 cup flour

2 tbl. sugar

Crumb Topping

2/3 cup brown sgar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup instant oats

1/3 cup margarine

3/4 tsp cinnamon

Filling

3 cups fresh blueberries

6 tbl sugar

1/4 cup flour

dash cinnamon

Mix crust ingredients together to form soft dough. Divide into 8 ramekins, and pat down to cover the bottom. Combine all the filling ingredients, and gently mix. Pour into ramekins. Mix crumb topping well, and sprinkle over blueberries. Line the bottom rack of the oven with foil in case the pies drip. Bake at 350, for about 40 minutes, until blueberries bubble around the sides. This pie can also be made in a 8 inch square, or 9 inch circle pan. Follow instructions above, but double the filling ingredients. You can also freeze these raw, and bake them as you need them. 

Now go dig in!