T.O.W. I'm Thriving On Variety

In my forever-ongoing desire to broaden my interests, I tired my second new recipe of the week.

First was the chili which-- and I must brag a bit-- was a rousingly spicy success. I can only credit the use of fresh angus ground beef (from one of my grandpa's best calves- yep, Meat is Murder, Tasty Tasty Murder-- so sue me), plus all fresh ingredients from our garden: crushed cherry tomatoes, finely-diced red onions and bell peppers, chopped oregano and my grandma's secret combination of spices.

Oh. my. god.

I let it simmer for a good 6 hours and I swear it didn't need anything except a sprinkling of shredded cheese (well, and some beans for my Yankee husband). I'm making a double batch this weekend and freezig it (plus we're tomato canning too).

Today's recipe was inspired by my sister-in-law's fabulous peanut butter cream pie, but with a twist. Officially, it's called Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ice Cream Crunch Pie. So basically an Oreo pie crust (made from scratch), crunchy peanut butter, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and crushed Oreo cookies on top. It has to chill for 5 hours, but I can't imagine it NOT tasting good, especially after my overwhelming desire to lick the bowl clean despite the inevitable whipped cream in my hair. But time will tell. :)

Baking tip of the day: Using Fresh Whipping Cream.
Whether it's in the ambrosia for Christmas dinner or a treat like today's pie, I like to use fresh whipping cream from the carton (as in instead of a tub of Cool Whip). It has less refined sugar, is infinitely fresher and, IMHO, makes for a smoother texture (especially for something you want to spread evenly, like a pie).

Alot of people thinks it's a pain in the butt, since you basically have to whip it from a liquid into a stiff foam (hence, taking the tub shortcut). My solution is a chilled bowl and hand mixer. Hand mixer, I know, just about everyone has one these days. The chilled bowl (the carton recommends the use of a narrow chilled bowl0 I know, pain in the butt) is easy too and cuts your whipping time down by about 75%. Don't wait until baking time and realize you need to chill a mixing bowl in the fridge for an hour. Buy a freezer bowl (places like Container Store and Bed Bath and Beyond sell them). Ours came from our Pampered Chef rep. Similar to a freezer mug, it's a double-layer hard plastic bowl with water inside that lives in the freezer for things like ice cream and chilled fruit but it works swimmingly for whipping cream. Buy a couple, wash them and put them back in the freezer after each use. Chilled bowl at your service. Problem solved!