The kid in all of us loves those sticky, chewy, sweet rice krispy treats.  I can’t tell you how many batches I have made over the years. My daughter always wanted them. I mean, ALWAYS. When she was little, she would sit up on the counter “helping” me. Sticky marshmallowy rice krispies all over her hands, on her face, in her hair….everywhere. Gosh, I miss those days. These days she makes her own….getting pretty creative, I might add.

Someone asked me to make something pink for a breast cancer fund raiser. I was trying to think of something fun and easy. It’s really too hot to bake, so I thought why not make rice krispy treats, but roll them into balls and put em on sticks. I just dropped a few drops of pink food dye into the melting marshmallow mixture. They turned out so cute and of course, yummy.

I just used the recipe on the back of the marshmallow bag, but I always add an extra cup of marshmallows to mine. and when I rolled them into balls, I rolled them around a mini marshie…so the marshie is in the center of the ball. This makes the stick stay in place and not come out of the ball so easily.

Pink Rice Krispy Pops

3  Tblsp. butter
6 cups of mini marshmallows
6 cups of rice krispies cereal
a drop of pink food dye or a small drop of red

In a large non stick pot, melt the butter and add the marshmallows and stir. Remove from heat. Stir in the color. Stir in the cereal. Butter your hands, grab your mixture and roll it into balls. Stuff a marshmallow in the middle, roll into a tight ball and gently push a stick into the center. At this point, point the sticks into a cake pop stand or a piece of styrofoam. Drizzle with melted chocolate or just sprinkle with colored sugar.

These are fun to do in pink and blue, for a baby shower!

I like the word Stromboli. It’s a fun word. Say it…..Stromboli, Stromboli, Stromboli. See? It’s also a great dish. It’s fun to make, super easy and it’s messy, everyone just loves it. I was first introduced to it by my friend Patti A., years ago. She is Italian and she would make this all of the time. It’s kind of like a pizza, a calzone, or a sandwich, all rolled into one. It’s usually stuffed with Italian sausage, pepperoni and cheese, but you can pretty much put any of your favorite ingredients into it. This is always a big hit with guests. I think you will have fun making it.

Stromboli

1  ball of pizza dough (found at your local grocery store, Trader Joe’s, your local Italian restaurant) Or you can make your own
Mozzarella or provolone cheese (shredded or sliced)
Italian sausage links, cooked and sliced
Pepperoni slices
Fresh mushrooms or bell peppers, olives…whatever you like
Pre made or store bought pizza sauce, for dipping

Heat oven to 400 deg. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Roll out your pizza dough into a 12″ x 14″ rectangle. Carefully lift it onto your baking sheet. Place half of the cheese down the center of the dough. Add the sausage, pepperoni and veggies. Top with remaining cheese. Gently bring up the long sides of the dough to the center and pinch the 2 edges together. Pinch the ends together. Poke a couple of small holes on top. Bake until golden brown, approximately 15-20 minutes. Heat up your sauce. Remove Stromboli from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Cut into 2″ slices, or cut it in half for 2 sandwiches. Serve with some pizza sauce on the side.

serves 2 -3 people

It’s hot. It’s humid. I am so over this heat we have been having here in southern California. It makes me want cold things, like iced tea, iced coffee, watermelon, and these cool pops. I found these cool pops bags at World Market. But since then, I have seen them at Bed Bath and Beyond as well. I made several different kinds. There are so many possibilities. But my favorite is pina colada………coconut cream, pineapple and rum. Well, actually I used vodka since I am not a rum fan. I had actually made myself a pina colada to drink…ahhhhh, yes. Then I thought “oh, this would make a great cool pop.” OMG, so good. Pops are fun to make, easy to just grab and go. So refreshing. I have about 20 of them in my freezer right now. 🙂 Make some! Today! Be creative!

Cool Fruit Pops

Pina Colada Pops – Mix together rum or vodka, coconut cream crushed pineapple. Drink some and make pops with the rest!!

Peach Pineapple – Chop up some peaches and mix with crushed pineapple with just a wee bit of pineapple juice.

Coconut Lime – Mix together coconut cream and fresh lime zest with a bit of lime juice. Add toasted coconut.

Strawberry Margaritas – Chop up some strawberries, mix with a bit of tequila and lime juice.

Pineapple Chile – Mix crushed pineapple, a bit of pineapple juice and some minced jalapeno. SPICY…yum.

Banana Coconut – Moosh some banana and mix with coconut cream.

No exact measurements. Just mix to your taste. As you can see, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy!!

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Oreo cookies. There are so many varieties of them now. They even Have Oreo Thins! Yes! Thins. I like Oreos, but I am not a fan of that icky white filling……like sugary shortening. GAHHH. So imagine my delight when I heard about these Thins. They almost sound kinda healthy, huh? Anyway, good luck finding them. I went on a 2 hour search for these things. Three grocery stores, all sold out. Finally I found them at the store that happens to be just 2 minutes away from me. I didn’t think they would have them! There they were…..waiting for me. I was so excited and read the words “get thin, eat these”. Yes!! OK, no…..that’s not quite what it said. I think it should have read “maybe if you don’t eat these, you may have a chance at being thin”. But alas, I bought them. Big sigh. Anyway, they are good….same great Oreo taste, but without all that gross filling.

So00000, let’s get to the recipe. A friend of mine has a birthday tomorrow and does he ever love Oreos….or anything cookies and cream. In fact, I added a bag of Birthday Cake Oreos to his birthday bag. So I figured he would just love this “bark” as it is often called. I prefer to call it “crunch”.

This is super, super simple. But everyone loves this and it makes great gifts.

Oreo Cookie Bark or Crunch

12 oz  of white chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli)
approx. 15 Oreo cookies, filling removed

Line a pan with parchment paper. Break up cookies in pieces. Crush some of them…leave some in big pieces. Sprinkle a few on the parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl in the microwave. Heat at 20 second intervals, stirring after each. This will prevent burning the chocolate. Give it a good stir to make sure it is smooooooth. Pour it on your parchment lined pan, right on top of the cookie pieces. Mixture should be about 1/4″ thick. Sprinkle the rest of your cookie pieces on the melted chocolate and push into the chocolate. Chill in the refrigerator until nice and firm. Break it into big shards of creamy cookie deliciousness. Store in airtight containers or cellophane bags. Keep chilled if the weather is warm.

This is one of my favorite dishes. Who doesn’t like mac n cheese? This version has chicken and broccoli. I saw a similar recipe a few years ago on Food TV. But that one had caramelized onions, and I hate caramelized onions. Blekh. I’ve posted my basic mac n cheese recipe before. It’s an old fashioned recipe…and my favorite of all time. I just added some cooked chicken and broccoli. That combo is really good and you have a whole meal right there. You can replace the broccoli with spinach if you are not a broccoli fan.

Everyone that I have fed this dish to, has absolutely loved it. I hope you do too.

Chicken and Broccoli Mac and Cheese

2 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced
cooked broccoli florets (as much as you like)

Add chicken and broccoli to your mac and cheese (recipe below). Simple as that.

Creamy Mac and Cheese
3 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 stick of butter
8 oz of Velveeta cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of milk or half and half, +/-

Cook the elbow macaroni in boiling water, to al dente. Drain and mix all of the ingredients together till cheese is melted and creamy. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4