March is finally here. I’m waiting on my seed order to arrive so I can get some tomatoes and peppers started inside. It’s still too cold and wet to till my garden, but in a couple weeks, I can start my tiller and make sure it is ready for a long garden season.
But, in the meantime, I have been trying some new recipes for my friends and family to enjoy.
My wife gets first taste, then, if it passes her inspection, I take some to the Pendleton CVS pharmacy and the local Hacienda Vieja for their opinion.
If our daughter and her family come down from Fort Wayne, I know our grandson Benjamin will be more than willing to sample anything I make.
While almost all of my recipes are made from scratch, two of the following recipes use a store bought pie crust. While my home made crusts are better, ready-made crusts are quicker.
Biscoff Butter Pie
4 ounce cream cheese, softened
½ cup Biscoff cookie spread
3/8 cup powdered sugar
8 ounce Cool Whip topping, thawed
1 Graham cracker pie crust, 9”
1/8 cup caramel sundae syrup
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, Biscoff spread, and powdered sugar until combined. Fold in HALF of the Cool Whip topping. Spread in crust. Cover with remaining whipped topping. Drizzle with caramel syrup. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
(NOTE: Biscoff cookie spread is found in the grocery store with the peanut butter. It comes in a small jar and looks like peanut butter. You can substitute Nutella for Biscoff.)
This next recipe is easy to make. I really cheat on this one. I don’t make any of it from scratch, but it still tastes great.
Fruit Dream Pie
1 Graham cracker pie crust
3 egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz. )
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 can (21 oz.) fruit pie filling, chilled
In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks until well mixed. Stir in sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. Pour into pie crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool for one hour, then refrigerate at least three more hours. Top with pie filling. Store in refrigerator.
(Note: We like cherry and blueberry filling. Peach is good also. I will try blackberry next.)
Being a diabetic, I can only sample small pieces of my creations. I just enjoy trying new recipes and I have a list of people who are anxious to eat anything I fix.
If there is something I make that I really want to eat, I test my sugar four times a day, so I know when I can cheat a little. I only do this when something looks so good I can’t pass it up.
I went on insulin 15 months ago. Since that time, I have had absolutely NOTHING to eat, snack on or sample between meals.
Before that time, I always had a bag of M&M’s, cookies or other snacks in my truck at all times when we were on the road.
This next recipe might be my downfall. It tastes like an Almond Joy candy bar, one of my favorites.
Coconut Crème Almond Chocolates
1 jar marshmallow crème (7 ounces)
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 dash salt
9 ounces chocolate candy, chopped
2½ teaspoons solid shortening
40 whole almonds
In a large bowl, mix marshmallow crème, coconut, vanilla and salt until blended. Refrigerate covered, at least 1 hour. Shape mixture into 1 inch balls with an almond in the center. Place on wax paper on a cookie sheet. Refrigerate, covered for at least 3 hours. In a microwave, melt chocolate and shortening in 15 second intervals. Keep heating and stirring until smooth. Dip coconut balls in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place on wax paper and let stand until set.
(Notes: Seven ounces of marshmallow crème is about 2½ cups. Six Hershey bars are nine ounces or use 9-ounce chocolate bark. Mixing crème and coconut into balls is very messy. But the final outcome is worth it. If you can’t eat nuts, just leave them out.)
Rich Creason is an award-winning outdoors and travel writer whose work has appeared in local, regional, national and international publications for 40 years. Born in Anderson, he is a graduate of Markleville High School. He lives in South Madison County with his wife, Susie. He may be contacted at [email protected].