Tour of Italy

Hope you enjoyed today's show! Let us know how your Italian feast goes. We would love to hear from you! Below are today's recipes. Remember that each recipe serves 8-10 people. So, invite your friends over, and let your kids be proud that they were able to help prepare a meal for company!!!

Sundried Tomato Bruschetta

1 baguette

1 jar Sundried Tomato Pesto (We used Classico brand, found near the spaghetti sauce in your grocery store.)

1 (12 slice)pkg. Provolone cheese

Have your grown-up helper slice the baguette into approximately 20 slices. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pesto on each slice of bread. Break cheese slices into quarters. Top with 2 pieces of provolone cheese. Broil on high for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese begins to turn golden and bubbly.

Caesar Salad

2 bags chopped romaine lettuce

1 bag garlic cheese croutons

4 oz. fresh parmesan cheese, shredded

Your favorite Caesar dressing

Toss first 3 ingredients. Pour Caesar dressing to taste.

Stuffed Shells

1 (32 oz.) container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 1/2 c. mozzarella

1 c. fresh parmesan cheese, grated (plus additional for topping)

1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 (2lb.) jar spaghetti sauce (your favorite)

1 box jumbo pasta shells

1 (10 oz.) box frozen spinach, thawed and patted dry

Have your grown-up helper boil shells for 14-15 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water to stop cooking process. Pour 1 cup spaghetti sauce in a 9x13 baker.

Meanwhile, mix ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and eggs thoroughly. Separate mixture into 2 halves. Add spinach to second half of mixture.

Fill halve your shells with cheese mixture and place in 9x13 baker. Top with 1 cup spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese to taste. (You can top with mozzarella, as well.) Repeat steps in second 9x13 baker with spinach mixture. (You can use browned ground beef or Italian sausage instead of spinach, if you prefer.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until heated thoroughly.

Tiramisu Pudding Parfait

1 cups milk

1/4 c. instant coffee granules (You may use 1/8 cup if you desire a less strong coffee taste.)

1/4 c. sugar

1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip

2 boxes Cheesecake flavor instant pudding (8 servings total), plus ingredients to make pudding

16 Ladyfingers (Need 2 cookies per parfait.)

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix 1 cup milk with instant coffee granules and sugar until coffee and sugar are dissolved. Mix in container of Cool Whip. (Mixture will be runny.)

In a separate bowl, prepare pudding according to package directions. Chill in refrigerator.

Break Ladyfingers into quarters. Place 4 pieces in bottom of parfait glass. Add 1/4 cup. coffee Cool Whip mixture. Next, add 1/4 cup pudding. Top with shredded chocolate chips as desired. Repeat layers one time. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to eating. (This allows the cookies to absorb some of the coffee mixture. Enjoy!

Tootie-Fruity!

Thank you to everyone who listened to our Saturday morning edition of Cooking with Mommy today. We chose to postpone our scheduled show yesterday due to Tropical Storm Fay. Although we never lost power, the lights flickered several times before and after the scheduled show time, and there were several tornadoes in the area. We thought it was a safer bet to postpone the show until the bad weather had passed. Thank you for all of your patience!!!

On to the good stuff! =) Below you will find the recipes from today's show. We hope you enjoy our spin on delicious fruit-filled treats!

Fluffy Fruit Dip

Although we didn't get a picture of this first snack specialty, we're sure you'll love it. It's super easy to make, and tastes delicious with any fruit.

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 (7 oz.) container marshmallow creme (We used Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme)

Mix ingredients until fluffy and smooth. Serve with assorted fruit of your choice. We recommend strawberries, pineapple, grapes, berries, etc.

Strawberry Soup

This chilled soup is a sweet and tasty way for kids (and their grown-up helpers) to enjoy strawberries!!!!

1 qt. fresh strawberries, tops removed

1/2 c. sugar

16 oz. whole milk (you can use cream, if you prefer)

2 oz. sour cream

3 oz. strawberry yogurt

Put strawberries (with tops removed) in a bowl. Pour sugar over top and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, assemble your ingredients. Put half the strawberry/sugar mixture and half the milk in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth. Serve cold!

Frozen Banana Salad

This tangy treat is sure to delight your taste buds. This one's considered dessert in our house! Thanks to Sue Turner for this recipe!

2 cups sour cream

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple

1 Tblspn. lemon juice (This keeps the bananas from browning.)

1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional; we use walnuts)

1/2 cup sugar

4 bananas, mashed

1 tsp. salt

1 (8 oz.) jar maraschino cherries, quartered (Reserve liquid.)

Mix all above ingredients well. May add just enough cherry liquid to get the shade of pink you want. Pour into 9x9 inch pan. Freeze. Garnish with a dab of sour cream and top with a cherry.

Almond Fruit Pastry

Straight from our test kitchen to you, we hope you enjoy the following fruity treat! It's super easy to make. The kids can do every step!




















Almond Fruit Pastry

1 can crescent rolls
1 pkg. frozen fruit (Your choice. We used mixed fruit because it was on hand. Mixed berries or strawberries would be great, too!)
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 Tblsp. sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove crescent rolls from can, being careful not to separate triangles. Lay flat on baking sheet. (Hint: We used stoneware. If you are using a metal pan, you may want to grease the pan.) Pinch all perforations to seal, leaving you with one large rectangle of dough. Fold each side over 1/4 inch to make edge.

Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and almond extract. Spread mixture over dough, stopping at raised edges. Spread frozen fruit over top of cream cheese mixture. Top with sliced almonds.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Build Your Own..., cont.

Okay, so another favorite in our house building on the "Build Your Own.." concept is Build Your Own Pizzas. My husband used to work as a multi-unit supervisor for a pizza franchise, and in my opinion, makes the most FABULOUS pizzas. He's our resident pizza expert, so we often give the job of making the dough to daddy.

Sometimes, though, when daddy's not home (or just doesn't feel like making the dough) we opt for something more easy. Who said that making a meal with kids needs to be tough? There are three options for your pizza dough at home, if you are not taking the homemade dough route. First, is the packaged dough shells. These tend to come in a plastic package, often in the deli/bakery section of your grocery store. Secondly, some grocery stores have pre-made dough patties in the bakery for purchase. They look like moist balls of dough in a bakery plastic bag. Lastly, in the refrigerated case at the grocery, near the canned biscuits, you can find cans of pizza dough.

For easy nights, we often go for option number three. We find it is best to parbake (partially bake) the dough before putting any toppings on it. Set your oven for the temperature on the package. After it has preheated, place your dough on a pan (we prefer stoneware for this), and place in the oven for 6-8 minutes. Keep an eye on the dough. You want it to be slightly hardened on the outside, and starting to become golden, but you do NOT want a fully baked crust. Use your judgement on this folks.

Assemble various pizza toppings. Be creative here. While you can definitely purchase pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni, you can also branch out with various veggies and alternative sauces. Try an alfredo sauce as your base or cheddar instead of mozzarella. See what veggies or fruits your kids may want to try - or try your hand at a dessert pizza. The possibilities are endless.

Check back tonight, and I will post a pizza recipe to try out with your family. I'm going to check with our resident pizza expert for a creative recipe from his recipe box.

Until then, have fun cooking in the kitchen with your kids!!!

**UPDATE**
Sorry that it took so long to post this recipe. Apparently, I did not give our resident pizza expert enough notice regarding my need of a recipe. I promise to give him better notice in the future. In the mean time, I am sure you will not be disappointed. As promised, a creative pizza recipe straight from the mind of Master Pizza Maker, Mark.

Hawaiian Summer Dream Pizza

1 can refrigerated pizza dough
1 6oz tub of pineapple cream cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 bananas, chopped
1 small can of pineapple tidbits, drained (Reserve liquid.)
1/3 cup coconut flakes
2/3 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup chopped Macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to temperature indicated on pizza dough package baking instructions. Spray a 10x14 cookie sheet with cooking spray. Carefully stretch the dough to the length and width of the cookie sheet. (We sometimes use a small rolling pin for this, although Mark usually uses his hands.)

Bake the dough until lightly golden brown, approximately 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it. As we stated earlier, we don't want it to get overdone. (As this is a dessert pizza, we are baking the crust more thoroughly.)

Remove pizza from the oven and let cool slightly. Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy. Apply to pizza dough leaving a ½ inch border for your crust. Evenly sprinkle the following toppings (in order) on the pizza: bananas, pineapple tidbits, coconut flakes, and Macadamia nuts.

Combine brown sugar with 1 ½ tablespoons of reserved pineapple juice. With a spoon, drizzle the brown sugar mixture over the top of the pizza.

Place pizza back in the oven and bake an additional 5-7 minutes. Remove and enjoy!