Fresh Hurricane Cherry Pie

Hurricanites know about these cherries. They ripen quick and the birds get to them so I've never had enough of them to do anything with except eat them fresh off the tree as fast as possible. Well, I just so happen to have a lot this year so before they got old, we decided to try a Hurricane Cherry Pie.

I used this recipe as my guide:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/fresh-cherry-pie

My changes:

I used apple juice because I don't keep cherry juice on hand. 

I halved fresh cherries and added 4 cups to the hot sugar mixture and let it sit while I made the pie crust. I also brought the whole filing with the cherries back up to a boil to make sure the filing would set up. 

I added 2 tbs olive oil to the pie crust. 

For the filing I did not use nutmeg. I don't like it :)

I did use vanilla, almond extract and cinnamon. 

I actually followed the baking instructions and let it cool for about an hour. Goes great with vanilla ice cream. 

Shrimp Pasta in Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce

Dinner time is always hard for my brain. I get stuck making the same things over and over again, so going out always revitalizes my creativity and some times sparks enough curiosity that I try something new.

I've never made anything like this, but after a trip to (insert nationally recognized pasta chain name here) I was left really disappointed. The pasta was dry, flavorless and the shrimp was soggy and sad. It really isn't that hard to make an easy copy-cat dish, so here's my attempt.

Shrimp Pasta in Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce

I bought frozen shrimp that was un-cooked but shelled with no tails. I threw those in my favorite frying pan and cooked them on low with 1/4 cup of butter until they were pink. \

In a separate bowl, combine 1 tbs flour with 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1 cup of milk. Whisk together in the bowl until well incorporated. Before adding the milk and cream mixture to the shrimp, I added green onions - I like a lot of them - and let those cook just enough to get the flavor settled. I added a dash of my favorite garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Combine the milk and cream in the warm pan over low heat stirring constantly. I upped the heat a little to let the sauce thicken. Then I added a chopped tomato to the sauce before poring the entire mixture into my pot of freshly cooked pasta.

Add a side of crisp sauteed asparagus with olive oil for more greens, and that was dinner. Refreshing, flavorful and some what healthy. Definitely better than (insert pasta chain).

My New Favorite: Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These were a happy accident/ experiment. I needed a cookie, but I wanted something with substance. I found a recipe but being the impatient cook that I am I didn't do the one thing the recipe advised strongly. I didn't chill the dough. I mean, who waits to chill dough?! It didn't turn out too bad. I just made sure to press the dough in my hands and it was actually a very moisturizing process for my tired hands... And smelled wonderful.

Here is a link to the full recipe:

http://www.averiecooks.com/2013/12/soft-and-chewy-oatmeal-coconut-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Here are my secret weapons for this recipe:

Sweet Home Farms Honey Nut granola for the "oatmeal ", Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips and Better Body Foods organic extra virgin coconut oil. 

I also baked them for 8 minutes at 375. They were a little crumbly but crunchy around the edges. I'm ok with that! This is my new favorite cookie recipe.

Chocolate Mousse

Confessions from a chocoholic require me to share this little discovery. Here's what you'll need:

1 Chocolate Pudding Package
1 Cup Milk
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 Cup Sugar (to taste)
1 TSP Vanilla (to taste)

I really like my electric hand mixer and it has a whipping attachment. Whip up the pudding and milk, set aside. Start whipping up the cream until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and sugar and whip it all together. My portions may be slightly off- I kind of wing it and add more of the things I'm craving like more sugar or more vanilla to taste.

Take the pudding mixture and add a layer in the bottom of a short glass. In your pudding mixture, add a couple of scoops of the whipping cream to the pudding, whip and then add a couple scoops on top of the chocolate pudding in the glass. Repeat adding cream, whipping and layering as you see fit. It should look something like this:

And it tastes like heaven :)