In this video, Betty demonstrates how to make a perfect (and healthy) Fourth of July dessert–her Strawberry-Blueberry Parfait! It is colorful (red, white, and blue), dramatic, and delicious! And super easy to make!!!

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh strawberries, washed, dried (with paper towel), and quartered
2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and dried
2 tablespoons Splenda (or sugar or other artificial sweetener)
1 carton strawberry glaze (I used sugar-free.)
8 oz. carton frozen whipped topping, thawed (I used fat-free.)

Instructions:

Add 1 tablespoon of Splenda to 2 cups strawberries and stir. Also add 1 tablespoon of Splenda to 2 cups of blueberries and stir. For a pretty parfait, you will need an appropriate clear glass. I used a sundae glass.

In the bottom, place a small amount of whipped topping. Next, put a few small strawberry slices, followed by strawberry glaze. Then, put a few blueberries on top of the glaze. When you put these layers in the glass, make sure that each layer can be seen all around the glass. Repeat this layering, up to the last layer.

For the last layer, place a generous amount of whipped topping, and then top it off with strawberry slices and blueberries (no glaze, because it would kill the effect of the whipped topping at the top). Done! It’s that easy! It is perfect for the 4th of July, but is very elegant for a fancy summer party!! Happy 4th!!!

Always Enjoy!

In this video, Betty makes another patriotic dessert for Independence Day–a Blackberry/Raspberry Fruit Pizza! It’s red, white, blue, and yummy–perfect for a 4th of July celebration with family and friends!

Ingredients:

16.5 oz. roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
15 oz. can ready-to-serve vanilla frosting
1 pint fresh blackberries, washed and dried with paper towel
2 pints fresh raspberries, washed and dried with paper towel

Directions:

Slice a 16.5 oz. tube of refrigerated cookie dough into 1/2-inch slices and place them on a round Pyrex pizza dish. (If you don’t have a pizza dish, just place the dough slices in a circle in a baking pan.)

Use your fingers to press the dough slices together evenly, forming one big cookie. Make sure that the thickness of the cookie is uniform throughout.

Bake your large cookie at 350-degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

When it’s done, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely. (You may put it in the refrigerator to cool quickly, after it has cooled a bit initially.) When your big cookie is cool, spread the entire 15 oz. can of vanilla frosting evenly on top of it.

Place your washed and dried pint of blackberries carefully at the center of the pizza, on top of the frosting in a circle.

Next, place your 2 pints of raspberries in a ring around the blackberries on top of the frosting.

Done!!! It’s that quick and easy!!! Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. When ready to serve, cut the “pizza” into wedges, and serve them on nice serving plates. Have a safe and happy 4th of July holiday!

Always Enjoy!

This Baked Cannelloni recipe is a hearty Italian pasta dish which will satisfy even the largest of appetites.  And it will be extra tasty with the delicious Garlic Bread recipe below.

Ingredients (serves 4… preparation time:  30 minutes)

• half cups olive oil
• 17-1/2 oz ground beef
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• half tsp dried oregano
• half cups white wine
• 2 balls of mozzarella, sliced
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 2 cups (1 pint) milk
• salt and pepper
• 30 oz tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• half cups white wine
• salt and pepper
• 16 cannelloni shells
• 2 medium saucepans
• 1 whisk (optional)
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 medium cooking pot
• 1 bowl of cold water
• 1 oven dish
• 1 slotted spoon
• 1 ladle
• 1 colander

Directions

Fry the onions

1. Place the cooking pot on a medium heat, add half of the oil and warm through. Once hot, add the meat, onions and oregano.
2. Stir well and leave the meat to brown . This will take approximately five minutes.
3. Add half a cup of white wine, season with salt and pepper, stir and leave to evaporate for roughly 2-3 minutes.

Make the béchamel sauce

1. Place a second pan on a medium heat, add the butter and allow to melt. Add the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes, continually stirring.
2. Gradually pour in the milk, while continuing to stir and bring it the boil. When it thickens, remove it from the heat.

Combine meat and sauce

Pour the béchamel sauce into the pan of meat, add the two egg yolks and stir well.

Make the tomato sauce

1. Place another saucepan on a medium heat, add the butter and let it melt. Once melted add the onions and let them sweat down until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally.
2. Add half a cup of white wine and leave to evaporate for approximately 3-5 minutes.
3. When the wine has reduced add the chopped tomatoes, sprinkle in a little salt, stir and bring to the boil. Once boiling turn the heat down to a simmer and leave to cook for 15 minutes.

Cook and drain the pasta

1. Add the cannelloni to a pan of lightly oiled, salted, boiling water. Stir and leave to cook for 9 minutes.
2. Once cooked remove from the pan and place immediately into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Leave for 1 minute then drain into a colander, shaking off excess water and set aside.

Preheat oven

Set the oven to 400ºF, 200ºC, or gas mark 6.

Make the cannelloni wraps

1. Place one pasta square onto a flat working surface. Spoon some of the meat mixture into the center and roll lengthwise to form a cylinder shaped log. When completed, transfer to the oven dish.
2. Ladle over the tomato sauce, place the sliced mozzarella on top and season with salt and pepper.

Bake and remove

1. Place the dish in the center of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
2. When cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes (I’d let it stand for a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes) before serving.

Serve the baked cannelloni

Slice into portions, transfer to a serving plate and garnish with a little greenery for that extra splash of color.

Always Enjoy!

This delicious Garlic Bread recipe fills your kitchen with the wonderful aroma of garlic.  It’s very simple and quite easy to prepare and is a very tasty accompaniment for soups and pasta dishes.

Everyone at your dinner table… whether guests or family… will find it impossible to resist!  Be sure to have enough slices on hand because your guests will beg for more!  YUM!

Ingredients (serves 2… preparation time:  5 minutes… cooking time: 20 minutes)

• 1 baguette
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 7 oz butter
• 3 tbsp parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 bowl
• 1 garlic crusher
• 1 knife
• 1 bread knife
• aluminum foil
• 1 chopping board
• 1 spoon

Preheat the oven

Set the temperature of the oven to 175ºC, 325ºF, or gas mark 3.5.

Make the garlic butter

Spoon the butter into a small bowl. Place some of the garlic cloves into the crusher, squeeze the handle tightly down and scrape off the crushed garlic into the bowl. Continue this process until all the garlic has been crushed. Next, pour in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and stir well.

Slice and fill

Place the baguette onto the chopping board and cut across diagonally, into 2-3 cm slices, without cutting completely through the bread. Create a gap between the slices, add a dollop of the garlic butter, and smooth it down. Finally spread any remaining butter over the top of the baguette.

Wrap in foil

Unroll the aluminum foil and tear off a large enough piece to wrap the baguette. Place the garlic bread into the center of the foil and wrap it up making sure that you seal the ends well.

Bake

Place the baguette into the center of the oven and cook for ten minutes. Turn it over, cook for a further 10 minutes and remove it from the oven.

Serve

Once cooked, unwrap the baguette, cut through into slices and serve.

Always Enjoy!

These Garlic Shrimp Triscuit Appetizers will be fabulous for your New Year’s Eve party!  They’re not only attractive… they’re also pretty delicious.  Try them… you won’t be disappointed!

Ingredients

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

24 Triscuit Roasted Garlic crackers

2 oz Philadelphia Neufchatel cheese (softened)

1/4 tsp lemon zest (if you don’t have a zester… use a grater)

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp fat free milk (regular milk is fine)

24 deveined and rinsed shrimp (about a pound)

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.

Spray a 24 cup mini muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside (even if the tin is non stick).

Place eggs and water in a flat pie dish and beat well.

Add 12 crackers to the egg mixture and allow them to stand for 4 minutes bbefore removing.  Repeat with the remaining 12 crackers.

Press each soaked cracker on the bottom and up the sides of your prepared mini muffin tin.

Bake the crackers for 8 to 10 minutes until they’re lightly browned.

Carefully remove the Triscuit cups from the pan with a mini spatula or a butter knife and place them on a baking sheet that has also been spraying with cooking spray.

Return the cracker cups to the oven and bake again for 30 to 35 minutes until they’re totally crisp.

Mix together the cheese, zest, juice, and milk in a bowl and set aside.

Clean, devein, and rinse shrimp.  Pat dry.

Spray a non stick skillet with cooking spray and add the garlic and shrimp.  Cook on medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes until shrimp are beginning to turn pink. Remove from pan.

Place Neufchatel cheese mixture into thoroughly cooled cracker cups.  Top each cup with a shrimp.

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Always Enjoy!

Here’s an easy, meatless New Year’s Eve appetizer for you to offer your guests.  Although I haven’t prepared these yet… they look pretty tasty!

Ingredients

cocktail  rye, pumpernickel, or other deli style bread

1-1/2 c Hellman’s mayonnaise (DO NOT use Miracle Whip)

2/3 c finely grated Parmesan cheese

3 T finely minced onion

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

oregano

Directions

Preheat oven to broil (450 to 500-degrees) and place parchment paper on baking sheets to prevent extra cleanup.

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a bowl.  You can use a pastry bag with a fancy tip or just place a dollop on each round (or whatever shape you’ve cut).

Sprinkle oregano lightly on the tops and place under the broiler… (place your oven rack in the second slot from the top)…  for 2 to 2-1/2 minutes until lightly browned.

Note: I apologize for not giving you the quantities of bread rounds or the final yield.  What I recommend is to make up the mayonnaise mixture and make your bread cut-outs as you go… no left-over bread!

Always Enjoy!