Tale of the Multi-Tasking, Craft-and-Design-Loving, Mother-of-Two, Singaporean-Living-in-US, Corporate-Working Mom Named Grace Hester

COOL WHIP + Phyllo = Yum

As the summer season approaches, I begin to look forward to bake-free and refreshing desserts that we can enjoy on our patio or at dinnertime.  I tend to go with recipes that I can put together ahead of time or quickly like a classic strawberry shortcake dessert made with store-bought ladies’ fingers, fresh strawberries, and COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, or a layered trifle (in chocolate or using a selection of fresh fruits like blueberries, strawberries, kiwis, oranges, bananas, pineapples).  

But when I saw this recipe on the Kraft Recipes website with Phyllo shells and knew I wanted to try it out – COOL WHIP AND PHYLLO?  Sign me up!

Here’s my adaptation of the recipe for Sweet Little Fruit Bites:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
• 1 pkg (1.9 oz. each) frozen mini phyllo shells (15 shells), thawed
• Fresh strawberries, each cut into quarters or smaller slices
• 15 blueberries (you can also use raspberries or both!)

Note:  They also recommend using fruit preserve for the topping but I skipped this ingredient this time as I wanted to first test out how sweet the combination would be.

Directions:

1)  Pipe or spoon COOL WHIP into the phyllo shells.  If you do not have a piping bag handy, you can fill a plastic resealable bag with the COOL WHIP and just snip off the corner for a piping opening.

2)  Top with fruit and preserve (you can use the same piping bag method to pipe the preserve if you like).

3)  Serve and enjoy!

Super easy and yum-O!  There’s just something about the touch of light-creaminess that only COOL WHIP provides that adds just the right touch to this dessert.  I thought the combination was sweet enough for my taste but I would be game to add just a touch of the fruit preserve on some of the shells for those with a sweeter tooth.  And everything just took minutes to put together.

I also pinned some of my favourite COOL WHIP recipes to my “Working Mom Recipes to Try” pinterest board. You can also find other COOL WHIP recipes by searching #COOLWHIP on Pinterest.

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

Happy Valentine's Day

Made 96 (and some) mini cupcakes for both girls' Valentine's Day parties at school.  Yes, I am one of THOSE parents who skimp on the frosting.  But I am quite sure they will make up for my attempt at rationing their sugar intake with the candy and treats that comes with Valentine's Day celebrations.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

It's Been a Long Day and a Long Week

Georgia Peach. All is better.

Tomatoes, Basil, and Mozzarella = Summer

You know how there are some recipes that reminds you of a season and that you cannot get enough of once the season arrives?  Well, the combination of tomatoes-basil-and-mozzarella is one of the base recipes I look forward to with the arrival of summer.  This "base" can be made into an appetizer, then easily tweaked into a summer salad with the addition of spinach and some asiago bread wedges, or it can also be tweaked into a pasta entree by using grape tomatoes, penne pasta, and bacon pieces.  Or place them between two slices of bread and pop them in-between the panini press.  Yum!

 

The appetizer is so easy to throw together.  Take 2-3 large and firm tomatoes, a log of mozzarella cheese, a few leaves of basil.  Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into slices, and stack them together.  Then place a leave (or two) of basil on top and drizzle extra virgin olive oil over it.  I like to add freshly-ground pepper on top for some extra flavor.  Mmm mmm mmm!

Chicken Tajine Rekindled My Love for Trying New Recipes

Thank you to P&G’s Have You Tried This Yet? program and Kroger for sponsoring my writing about trying new things and breaking out of my everyday routine. Click here to find great savings on high-performing P&G products at a Kroger store near you. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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At the church that we attend, there is a Global Cafe that serves up different culture's cuisines every week.  My husband and I really like their Chicken Tajine and I personally look forward to checking out the specials every week to see if "Chicken Tajine" is on the menu.  One day, it struck me that instead of just looking to the cafe for the meal every week, that I would try making it myself so I can have it whenever we were craving some. (A Eureka moment yes?)

I looked up a few recipes online and found one I liked but I ended up tweaking it a little for our taste.  I am including the recipe at the end of the blog post.  But here's how to make it,

Heat a large skillet and add the extra virgin olive oil and the garlic. Season the chicken with coarse salt and pepper.  Brown drumsticks evenly in the skillet (I suggest turning them every other minute to get a nice brown on all sides).
 

Cut up some onions and add the onions, raisins, carrots, zucchini, and chicken stock into the skillet.

 

 
 
Sprinkle the spices (mix them first) generously over the chicken and turn the chicken so the spices are mixed into the stock. 

 

 
Cover and reduce to moderate heat, then cook 10 minutes.  Remove the lid and stir.  You can also reduce the heat to low, and cook the tajine longer for a much more tender and flavorful tajine.  Here's how it looked after just 30 minutes of cook time.

 
We had it with herbed cous cous which was the perfect accompaniment to the chicken tajine.  Although it was yummy on the day of cooking, it was "outta-this-world-good" the next day.  Now I am wondering if I should get a tajine pot to make future cooking sessions more "official". Haha.  Anyway, here's the recipe as promised,

Chicken Tagine
(Makes 6 to 8 hearty servings.)

• 16 never-frozen chicken drumsticks, skinned fully or half-skinned
• 3 generous swirls of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika, ground
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric, ground
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 medium zucchini, diced

This experience totally inspired me to try cooking new recipes again.  I used to love to try out new recipes but to be honest, I let Life get in the way of that and our menus have become more and more predictable.  After trying to cook the Chicken Tajine by myself with success, I started looking at my old Everyday Food magazines for some inspiration for other recipes to try in the near future!  I think I might have to try seafood paella next. Mmmmm . . . . 

A Is For Alligator

I ate alligator meat while in New Orleans.  Did I mention that?  No I don't think so.  Actually I don’t think I even posted photos from that trip yet.  Oops.

 

ANYWAAAY, it tasted like the dark meat portion of chicken.  The awesome creole-style barbeque sauce totally made up for any reservations I might have had.  Final verdict:  I love seafood (is it considered seafood?) but gimme faux-croc (bags, shoes, etc) over real croc anyday.

 

Lunch at Sushi En (1051 Gemini Place, Columbus, Ohio) with Da Husband

 

 

Muffin Tin Monday

We have a house rule that they do not get dessert unless they finish their plate.  They had very little challenge finishing their food, after which they had a petit madeleine each.
 

Four Friday Faves: Bento Lunch Tools

Naia starts kindergarten in September this year and since without going into a rant about the lunch options being served at schools these days, I am preparing to get into the mode of making a lunch for her to take to school.  Everyday.

Inspired by blogs like What's for Lunch at Our House, Happy Little Bento, and Lunch in a Box:  Building a Better Bento,

Photo by Happy Little Bento

I started looking into bringing back bento-styled eating at home to allow Naia to become more familiar with it.  I say "bringing back" because having grown up in Singapore, I am no stranger to bento boxes or stacked containers.  I remember when we were strapped for money but had to be somewhere, my mom would make the food for the day and we would bring our own meal so we would not have to purchase lunch.  Thinking back to those days, I remember looking forward to the aroma of mom's home-cooking, rising from the insulated containers when it was time to open them for lunch or dinner.

Wow, what a trip down memory lane. :o) I miss my momma! (She's in Singapore)

I have to be honest, I did experience a little sticker-shock at some of the prices for the bento boxes so I am going to check out the Chinese Supermarket I visit to see if they have some.  But I did stumble upon some neat tools that I would absolutely add to my "chef's tools" to make the bento boxes just a little more fun.

(From Left to Right, Top to Bottom)

1. Plastic Egg Mold Rabbit and Bear
   from Kotobuki via Amazon.com
   
2. Stainless Vegetable Cutter, Set of 6
   from Kotobuki via Amazon.com
   
3. Easy Lunch Boxes
   from EasyLunchBoxes.com
   
4. Animals Food Picks
   from From Japan with Love

Mini Muffin Tin Dinner

The muffin tin meal idea seemed fun though in lieu of a regular-sized muffin tin, I used a mini-muffin tin.  I was also short on vegetables so carrots were it for this meal and I would add some kind of dip or yogurt next time.  It is such a great way to introduce variety and negotiate for the picky eater to try something new since it would be on her baking tin in such a small amount.  It was definitely a hit with the girls and Naia declared we should "eat this way for the rest of our lives!".