Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Easy Chocolate Whipped Cream


An easy chocolate dessert, that will impress your guests! 


Homemade whipped cream is a must with certain desserts: strawberry shortcake, any flavor pie, sweet waffles/pancakes, cobblers, well the list goes on and on. But whipped cream is not just an accessory to a another dessert. In my opinion whipped cream is dessert enough on it's own! Especially when you add in CHOCOLATE
This whipped cream is a lot like a moose, without all the work!


I made two different desserts with the whipped cream, but honestly the possibilities are endless! Take this recipe and run with it! There's so much you can do. 



CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM

Ingredients:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
 3-4 tbsp powdered sugar (adjust to taste)
½ tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
½ cup raspberries, rinsed/dried
2  tbsp mini chocolate chips (1 tbsp per serving)
Chocolate sauce (for garnish)

Directions:

·         If using a stand mixer put bowl and whisk attachment in freezer for as little as 10 minutes. Very cold ingredients and tools help stiffen and stabilize the whipped cream and it’s worth taking the extra time to do this step!
·         Add whipping cream to the bowl and whisk on a high setting until soft peaks form. At this point I add in the remaining ingredients (with exception of cocoa powder) and whisk again until it’s stiffened up a bit. Taste the whipped cream. If it’s not sweet enough for your tastes add in a little more sugar until you are happy with the sweetness. I prefer not so sweet.
·         Once you are happy with the sweetness, add in the cocoa powder and whisk on a low setting, or fold into cream.
·         For the dessert take a few of the raspberries and 1 tbsp chocolate chips and place in the bottom of a small glass cup. Add a good amount of chocolate whipped cream to the cup. If desired garnish with chocolate sauce, extra raspberries and chocolate chips, and powdered sugar.
·         This dessert is easy, impressive, and delicious! Enjoy!




This dessert would be great to make for company, or to take to a party. Just layer it in clear party cups!


My puppy, Brie, was very jealous she couldn't have any! Poor girl! 

That's not all folks! Here's the second dessert you can create with this delicious whipped cream!

COFFEE INFUSED SPONGE CAKE CHOCOLATE TRIFLE




This is another quick dessert you can make that utilizes the chocolate whipped cream and you just have to try it!


You mix up a quick coffee/espresso sauce to pour over the sponge cake. I love these little sponge cakes. I honestly always forget about them until I go to the grocery store and see them eyeing me as I pick out strawberries. "Oh yeah," I think, "Those make pretty great strawberry shortcakes... but ah... better not." Sometimes I give in to the little voice, and I'm always glad when I do. 


Then just layer it with the chocolate whip! I did two layers and topped it with regular whipped cream (the canned stuff) and a strawberry! This was delicious! Almost like a tiramisu knock-off dessert. 



Hope you will try and enjoy this lovely dessert!
Thanks for stopping by! 
Mrs Crafty Cook



Friday, July 3, 2015

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus


A yummy delicious side item perfect for your next grill out!


Asparagus is such a lovely vegetable, lately I make it all the time. I saute it for stir-fry, salads, even quesadillas! It's wonderful roasted and served along side an entree. But you know what takes asparagus over the top? Wrapping it in bacon... and grilling it. Oh me on my. Leave the steaks behind, because THIS is what I'm eating. 



Super easy stuff here. Take your asparagus and cut off the tough ends. Take small bundles and wrap a piece of bacon around and around until it's nice and snug. I actually cut my bacon in half long-ways, but hey the more bacon the merrier right? Make sure you take a tooth pick and secure the bacon to the asparagus. This step completely slipped my mind and you will see why it's important later. 


Once that's done I put the bundles on a piece of foil and took it straight out to the grill. I did spray my foil with a non-stick spray... although I'm sure you could certainly get away with not spraying, because the bacon grease cooks out of the bacon and will stay on the foil. I kept the asparagus on the foil while cooking because things seem to have a way of falling through the grill rack... and I can't bear with losing any of this deliciousness. 


A few minutes on the grill and you're done! Just cook the bundles until the bacon starts to crisp up. When they're done hit them with some lemon juice! It brightens the asparagus and cuts through some of the saltiness of the bacon, and it brings out all the other flavors. YUM!!! Crack some salt and pepper over them and you're done! YAY because I'm hungry. 


Now remember what I said about the toothpicks? Well this is what happens when you neglect to secure the bacon. I mean... duh Kaylee. Bacon shrivels up as it cooks so it only makes sense that it completely fell off most of my bundles. Except the one! Thanks lil' buddy. Just make sure you secure your bacon. Trust me, it's edible and delicious either way... but much prettier and easier to eat when it stays. 


Need some help figuring out what to serve your bacon wrapped asparagus with? Well here's a MEAL IDEA for ya!
We had steaks (my first filet mignon actually!) Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes, and the bacon-wrapped asparagus. It was so so so so yummy.


Thanks for stopping by!
Mrs. Crafty Cook

Think you'll like this recipe? Try it along side these Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes!














Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes-- Pintrest Review


Simple, easy, yummy, cheesy! These are all words that describe this slow cooker potato dish. It will go perfectly with your next meal! Make them ahead and freeze them for cheesy potatoes anytime!!


I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes on Pintrest. It was posted by Six Sisters Stuff. They have an awesome website, I love all the recipes they have. Since this is their original recipe I'm not posting a recipe of my own for this, but rather a review. 


First of all I doubled the recipe. My idea was to make a couple to put away in the freezer and make later. In one batch I used frozen potatoes and in the other I used fresh potatoes that I diced. 


After you mix up one batch put it in a labeled gallon size freezer bag, push out all the air, and store flat in the freezer. When you're ready to make, thaw them in the refrigerator the night before. The day you cook them pour the contents of the bag into a greased crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. 


These are yummy and cheesy potatoes! I give them 4 out of 5 stars! It's a great recipe because it's super easy and it takes good! The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is I felt that maybe it lacked a little seasoning (nothing some salt and pepper added at the end won't fix). Also the potatoes seemed somewhat more "mushy" than I was hoping. That aside, my husband loved them and said the recipe was a keeper. 


I garnished the potatoes with some green onion and a little extra cheddar cheese. YUM!! You know what would make it even better? Some crumbled bacon bits right on top! 


Thanks for stopping by! 
Mrs Crafty Cook


Think you might like this? Try my recipe for Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus to pair along side your potatoes.