I was charged this Thanksgiving with desert, and was happy to oblige! This was my first take on a chocolate cream pie! I borrowed heavily from Lauren Allen at https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/chocolate-cream-pie/ and made a few small changes to make it my very own!
Ingredients:
Crust:
28 Oreo cookies (I use the peanut butter filling, but it’s not important)
5 Tablespoons butter
Chocolate Pudding Filling:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 ½ cups of whole milk
6 large egg yolks (minus the egg whites)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
6 Tablespoons butter
8 ounces of a name-brand semi-sweet chocolate
1 ½ Teaspoons vanilla extract
Whipped Topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 ½ Teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Utilizing a food processor, break down the Oreos until they are crumbs.
Pour the Oreo crumbs into a bowl.
Melt the butter.
Pour melted butter into the Oreo crumbs and stir.
Using fingers, press mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie dish. Ensure the sides of the dish are covered, as well.
Bake for 10-12 minutes and set aside to cool.
Add sugar and milk to a medium saucepan and whisk frequently over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
In a second bowl, and the egg yolks and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
Once the first bowl is simmering, temper the eggs by adding several spoonfuls of the hot liquid into the egg mixture.
Carefully pour the egg mixture into the saucepan. Whisk continuously until the mixture starts to boil.
Take saucepan off the heat and whisk in the butter, chocolate, and vanilla extract. I run the chocolate through a food processor before adding. Stir until there are no lumps.
Pour the entire filling into the cookie crust and smooth until even. Place wax paper over the top, gently, but so it is touching the pudding and put in refrigerator. I like to keep in in the fridge overnight, but six hours or so would be okay.
Whipped Topping:
The following day, add whipping cream to a mixing bowl and mix electronically on high speed for two minutes.
Add the sugar and vanilla extract and continuously mix for three minutes.
Spread the topping evenly over the pie.
Dressing:
Anything works here, such as Hershey Kisses, Oreo crumbs, or chocolate curls. I like to take one King-Size Hershey bar and grate it with a cheese grater over the entire pie.
Continuing with my Italian theme, yesterday, I attempted for the first time, homemade spaghetti and meatballs, complete with marinara sauce. I have to say, it was delicious, and I found a couple of alterations to the recipes I was borrowing from to fit my needs!
Homemade Meatballs:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ diced onion
1 pound ground beef (80% lean)
1 pound ground pork
2 eggs
¼ bunch chopped fresh parsley
3 cloves of crushed garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Cover a large baking sheet with tin foil and gently spray with cooking spray.
Soak breadcrumbs in milk for 20 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions until brown (approximately 10 minutes).
Mix beef and pork evenly in a large bowl. Stir onions, breadcrumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into the meat until combined (I use my hands, but a spatula will also work). Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Wet your hands. Roll meat mixture in balls approximately 1 ½ inches in diameter and arrange onto the baking sheet. Leave about ½ inch in between each meatball (use two baking sheets if necessary).
Bake in the preheated oven until a brown glaze appears and the meat is cooked through (15-20 minutes).
*Prepares approximately 32-40 meatballs.
Homemade Marinara Sauce:
Ingredients:
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion (peeled and cut in half)
2 large cloves garlic (peeled but left whole)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt, if needed to taste
Instructions:
In a medium saucepan, combine tomatoes and juices, halved onion, garlic cloves, olive oil, and oregano.
Bring sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. After about 15 minutes, crush the tomatoes against the side of the pot.
Remove the pot from the heat. Throw away the onion. Smash the garlic cloves into the sauce. Crush the tomatoes as you see fit. I prefer to use a blender to make a fine, smooth sauce, but that is totally up to you.
Add salt if necessary.
Cover to keep warm while you are tending to the meatballs or cooking the spaghetti.
*Makes enough sauce to merit 8 ounces of spaghetti.
NOTE: The quantity of each ingredient will depend on how many people you are feeding, as well as how much leftovers you desire. Here, I am feeding myself and three other people.
Boneless Chicken Breasts (6)
1 cup flour
6 eggs
1 can Panko breadcrumbs
1 can Italian breadcrumbs (I go heavy on the breading)
2 cups shredded cheese (feel free to experiment with different flavor cheeses)
3 tablespoons Italian seasoning (feel free to experiment with seasonings)
Vegetable oil (eyeball it!)
36 ounces marinara sauce (can be jarred, which is my lazy way out!)
1 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place the eggs in a pan and beat/whip.
Whipped egg
Place the flour on a piece of wax paper or in a dish.
Combine the Panko breadcrumbs, regular breadcrumbs, parmesan, and seasonings onto a separate piece of wax paper or a dish.
Flour and breadcrumb mix
Slice chicken breasts in thirds. Depending on the size of the breast, you may be able to slice into fourths.
Sliced chicken into thirds or fourths
Dip each chicken slice into the flour and gently wipe off any excess.
Dip each chicken breast into the whipped egg.
Dip each chicken breast into the breadcrumbs. Use a little muscle in order to get a lot of this particular mixture on the chicken.
Preheat vegetable oil in a large pan. Brown the chicken on each side. They do not need to cook all the way through. That said, I like to brown them to where they are quite crispy.
Crispy browned chicken
Place enough marinara sauce in the bottom of a glass cooking dish to cover in a thin coat. Add browned chicken and lightly spread marinara sauce and a healthy amount of shredded cheese and parmesan over the top. Again, I tend to go heavy on the cheese. Apply any way you wish. Experiment! Have fun!
Bake 20 minutes or until golden.
Heading in to bake
Use an oven thermometer to determine thorough cooking of the chicken. Depending on the number of chicken breasts you are cooking, you may need repeat steps 10 and 11.
Out of oven
Cook ¾ box of pasta. The pictures in this example are of linguine, however, I usually prefer angel hair.
I recently shared someone’s homemade mac and cheese recipe. Yesterday, I had the desire to try it, albeit with a few minor tweaks that made this delicious dish my own.
Ingredients:
1 box dry elbow macaroni (16 oz)
4 Tbsp salted butter
2 cans of evaporated milk (12 oz)
1/3 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
4 cups grated cheddar cheese (can be bags of shredded)
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (can be bags of shredded)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 small 8 oz back of Doritos (flavor is up to you)
Instructions:
Boil a pot of water. Add the box of macaroni and a dash of salt. Cook as desired.
Drain into colander and pour pasta back into the pot.
Add the butter. Stir until the butter melts completely into the macaroni.
Find a large bowl. Mix the milk, evaporated milk, eggs, and garlic salt until it is a nice fine combination of the ingredients.
Find another bowl and mix together the cheeses.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a 9X13 inch baking pan.
Layer the bottom of the baking pan with approximately a third of the macaroni. Next, layer a third of the cheese. Repeat until completed.
Pour the milk mixture over the top.
Sprinkle the paprika across the top.
Break the entire bag of Doritos and distribute over the top. Crackers work here, as well.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. The extra five minutes may be all it takes for that amazing crunch that I love!
Whipped Owl 