I'm Published!

Well, I do have my name in name in this cookbook. And, it's my mom's recipe that's published. But still, pretty cool, right?! Here's the story. Over a year ago my mom learned that Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Illustrated) was holding a recipe contest for the Best Lost Suppers. My mom suggested I enter her Chicken and Rice Dish. I submitted an online entry and totally forgot about until a few months ago I got a letter congratulating me because my recipe had been chosen among the 1,000 plus entries. Pretty exciting! Well, I just received my copy of the book in the mail and was pretty excited so I thought I'd better post it while I have some time on my hands (tomorrow is baby #2's due date and I'm just sitting and waiting!). Of course, being America's Test Kitchen, they tested the recipe and made some changes to it (specifically adding carrots and peas), but I like it just how I've got it on the blog. Give it a try.

4th of July Ice Cream Cake

Inspired by this recipe, I made an "ice cream cake" for a 4th of July dessert. I used an 8x8 pan, spread whipped cream in the bottom, layered the ice cream sandwiches, spread on more whipped cream, and then topped with strawberries and blueberries. Delicious! The only problem is the berries, of course, freeze right along with the whipped cream and sandwiches when you put the dessert in the freezer. But, I didn't mind. I mean, frozen berries, whipped cream, ice cream sandwiches--that's my kind of summer dessert! And, it took about five minutes.