Chocolate-Peanut Butter Truffle Pie

Eat dessert first?

That’s what Grenville asked this weekend.

This treat was made after after fellow blogger, Daisy, posted a photo and link for it to the Pillsbury® website. Daisy said she took only one photo as the pie didn’t last long at her house. Since that could happen here too, these photos were taken first – after all, aren’t chocolate and peanut butter food groups?

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Truffle Pie

This is a no-bake pie, except for pre-baking the pie crust. It has several parts and all are easy.

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust
9-inch glass pie plate
Mixing bowls, electric mixer

Truffle Filling

• 1/2 C whipping cream
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2  tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1 C creamy peanut butter
• 1 C powdered sugar

Topping

• 1/4 C dark chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp shortening
• 2 tbsp coarsely chopped salted peanuts

Heat oven to 450°F.

1. Bake as directed on box for One-Crust Baked Shell, using 9-inch glass pie plate. Cool on cooling rack, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in saucepan, heat 1/2 C whipping cream over medium-high heat until hot.
3. Remove from heat; stir in 1 C chocolate chips and the vanilla and mix until smooth. Spread truffle filling in bottom of baked crust. Freeze 15 minutes.
4. In medium bowl, beat 1 C whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth; fold in whipped cream.
5. Spread over truffle filling. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
6. In small microwavable bowl, microwave 1/4 cup chocolate chips and the shortening uncovered on High 30 - 60 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted. Drizzle chocolate over pie and sprinkle with peanuts.

ENJOY! – We did (after dinner)

If you hurry, there are leftovers.
But not for long, according to Grenville

It’s been a quiet week in Lake Onleybegone!!!

Tuesday was a big step forward at the “Historic Onley Station”. We started constructing the first model train table for our new kid’s program “Play With Trains”. This is a version of a program which started in Danville Pa. http://aaahgraphics.webs.com/wcengineerhome.htm. Ours will be open to all kids, regardless of age (even older kids like me). Wednesday evening, thanks to Chief Engineer Dennis, the board was finished, the track was layed, and the first test run was accomplished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday the ‘Historic Onley Station’ got a new sign designed like a main  line Pennsylvania Railroad station signs. The original sign was ‘lost’ many years ago, so our group, Society for the Preservation of the Onley Tran Station, Inc. (SPOTS) had a new one made. For more info click here http://onley-spots.blogspot.com/

Planting season is always a busy time here. The  tilling was finally finished Thursday and Friday a large lump in a neighbors yard was ‘tilled off’. The babies in the green house are all doing well and are getting anxious to make their debut.

  

 

 

                 With luck they will get planted Monday. That gives them a week to get watered in before having to survive a week on their own.

You might remember the story of the Maple tree we took down in front of the house, who’s chips are now part of the new “Butterfly & Hummingbird Meadow”. The spot where the tree was finally got spruced up and seeded with wild flowers (what else).  It will be a while before we see any results.

Friday started out with the simple job (not) of giving our hedges along our property line their annual trim. We are not ones who have the perfectly trimmed hedge row let alone a sculptured ‘Topiary’. While this may sound like a simple task you must understand that trimming 9 foot hedges are anything but simple, especially if you missed trimming last year (don’t know how that happened). To do ours our 8ft farm trailer has to be hitched to the tractor, Beatrice drives really really close to the hedges, I stand in the trailer with the electric trimmers with a long cord trailing me, and off we go. The project went very smooth. Beatrice even took a turn with the trimmer (and didn’t cut the cord). Unfortunately Saturday Beatrice went back and lopped off the last tall ones that we missed, then said “Could we take out that crape myrtle tree in the middle?”. Well out came the chain saw and down came the offending tree. This left a gaping hole in the hedges, luckily at the end of the row. THEN Beatrice said “Maybe we should just get rid of the stumps and last hedge”. Well out came the John Deere and removed the offending stumps. For some pics of this operation see her post. 

Saturday was a great day for planting anything according to the Farmers Almanac. So 8 rows of corn, 1 hill each of cucumbers, yellow squash, and zucchini went in (forgot the Butter Nuts) Lettuce, spinach, beets, beans, carrots, and leaks, were next to get planted. Next week the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant should be hardened off enough to plant. And what are tomatoes without some fresh Basil and a little mozzarella. So now it’s just a matter of waiting. Till then  there is asparagus and strawberries to hold us over.

Till next week, be kind to someone in need. Grenville.

Mother’s Day Wishes

Happy Mother’s Day

 

 

 

 

 

Here are three women credited with the observance of Mother’s Day in the U.S.

In the 1870s, Julia Ward Howe, who wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic, was distraught by deaths from the Civil War. She called on mothers to unite to protest their sons killing other sons. Howe suggested an international celebration of peace and proposed converting July 4 as a day to celebrate motherhood. Instead, June 2 was chosen and in 1873 women’s groups in 18 U.S. cities observed the holiday. Howe initially paid for many celebrations; most ended when she stopped funding them, except Boston Massachusetts, which celebrated the holiday for 10 more years.

Howe had been influenced by the work of Anna Reeves Jarvis, who after the Civil war ended in 1858, was organizing women in the Appalachia area of West Virginia to to work for better sanitary conditions through what she called Mothers Friendship Clubs. In 1868, she began working to reconcile north and south neighbors and is credited with saving many lives by teaching women the basics of nursing and sanitation.

Her daughter, Anna M. Jarvis campaigned to memorialize her mother’s  work and lobbied prominent businessmen and politicians to create a special day to honor all mothers. In 1908, at a West Virginia church service celebrating mothers, she handed out her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday. It was first celebrated by church attendance, letter writing, and later by cards, presents, and flowers. Anna Jarvis believed that the day's sentiment was lost with commercialization. In 1923, she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother's Day festival and before she died in 1948, Jarvis is said to have regretted starting the national celebration.

Spring Clean-Up

Our town is having a yard debris pickup this coming week, which is nice for a small town. Residents are given 10 large trash bags for leaves, grass and other small yard matter and can pile up larger pieces  (under 4 feet). When I suggested to Grenville that we might have stuff to put out after hedge and bush trimming, he said we would use the trimmings for compost. But, we decided to pick up the trash bags – just in case – enough said.
At noon, the yard cleanup pile looked like this.A crepe myrtle tree was growing in the hedges; we decided to take it out, including the stump. Now, the only thing we’ll have to cut here is grass.By 5 p.m., the pile looked like this.
This is the start of the newest wildflower garden in the front yard. We raked the chips  where a large tree was cut down last fall, then Grenville sprinkled wildflower seeds and recovered with the chips.
The birds should should enjoy the new bird bath and feeder that were filled and hung out this weekend. 

It’s was a busy planting weekend at The Frog & PenguINN and Grenville will have details in a later post.

Friday Funnies

It’s the weekend, well almost, and here’s another photo post of everyday shots with short captions. Taking a camera everywhere is always a good thing as fellow photo fanatics know. Check out what  Sandra posted today on  MADSnapper.

New use for plastic . . .  wonder how it works in rain?

 

 

 

Which way to go?

Grenville and I wish everyone a great weekend . Best wishes to all Moms, Grandmoms, Aunts and everyone who deserves to be celebrated on Sunday.

Complaining Works

It really does!

And I have a FREE $25 value Target gift card to prove it.

HOW did I get it? – I complained

About a month ago,  I posted how the gift card was to be sent as thanks for completing a Photographer’s Edge survey.The questions were answered and an explanation provided that I was no longer selling photo greeting cards.  Completed the survey and got a call that a $25 credit would be given towards future purchases.

NOT what I expected – show me the gift card, and they did, after I wrote to complain and might have mentioned a “bait and switch” tactic and something about reneging on an offer.

For folks not familiar with Target, it’s the second largest discount retailer in the U.S., behind Wal-Mart. It has a bull’s-eye trademark and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota .  In January, Target announced its expansion into Canada where it will operate 100 to 150 stores by 2013.

The closest Target retail store from the VA Eastern Shore is a 90-minute drive north to Salisbury, MD.  We won’t be going anytime soon as gas prices have curtailed some road trips. The GREAT news is that gift cards don’t expire.

If something’s not quite right – COMPLAIN – you just might get what you want (and deserve).

Thanks, Photographer’s Edge for following through on an offer.

Speedy Nuthatch

A couple of weeks ago, this colorful streak was all I could get of this was bird as it zipped in and out of the backyard feeder.

It took some waiting and a few more attempts to get a clearer image.

This was the best image captured. After checking a couple of bird books, I learned this is a Red-breasted Nuthatch, a small, compact bird with a  long, pointed bill, very short tail, plump chest and broad short wings. It is the most migratory of the four species of Nuthatches found in North America.

Red-breasted Nuthatches move quickly over trunks and branches probing for food in crevices and under flakes of bark. They creep up, down, and sideways and their flight is short and bouncy.  Some other nuthatch facts:

• A group of nuthatches are collectively called a “jar” of nuthatches.
• Red-breasted Nuthatches hoard excess food by wedging nuts into bark and then hammering them in with its bill.
• During nest building, the Red-breasted Nuthatch is aggressive, chasing away other hole-nesting birds such as the House Wren, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Downy Woodpecker. 
• They apply sticky conifer resin to the nest hole entrance and may carry the resin in its bill or on pieces of bark that it uses as an applicator.The male puts the resin on the outside of the hole while the female puts it around the inside. It may help to keep out predators or competitors. The nuthatch avoids the resin by diving directly through the hole.
• Red-breasted Nuthatches sometimes steal nest-lining material from the nests of other birds.
• Their enlarged hind toe and short tail help them climb up and down trees.

Pull Here, Lasagna and Game Night

Ever happen to you?

Try to tear open one of these packages which read pull here to reveal a zipper type closure inside for resealing the contents.

After struggling with these every time, my much easier solution – scissors.

The cheese was needed for lasagna dinner. Grenville made a loaf of rustic Italian bread – kneaded by hand – and put chopped fresh rosemary from our resident plant.

My meal contributions were home-made tomato sauce, meatballs, and lasagna. It was our turn hosting a game night get-together with friends, M & B.  This week’s game choice was Catch Phrase.

Because I’ve made this meal for years ,and don’t measure the ingredients, the following is more descriptive than exact.

Sauce: 3 large (28 oz.) cans of crushed tomatoes, seasoned with dried basil, marjoram, salt, pepper, chopped fresh oregano, which returned to the herb garden in abundance. I sautéed a chopped, small onion, 2 chopped garlic cloves, and some fresh chopped mushrooms and scallions. Sauce was brought to a boil and simmered for about 2 hours. Add more salt or herbs as needed after a tasting.

Meatballs: 2 lbs. of chopped meat, 3/4 C bread crumbs, 1 egg, basil, oregano, chopped onion, garlic powder. Mix together and roll into balls (size, your choice). Some folks (myself included) bake vs. frying. This time I added some olive oil to a deep and cooked them on top of the stove, turning often to brown all sides evenly. The meatballs were then drained on  paper towels and refrigerated while the sauce was cooking. The meatballs were added to the sauce before the lasagna was started. Putting them in the sauce flavors it and cooks the meatballs.

Lasagna: cook enough lasagna noodles for 3 layers to fit in a 9x13-inch glass. Prepare Ricotta cheese filling while noodles cook. My recipe calls for a large container mixed with grated cheese, 1 egg, and parsley. The egg holds the cheese together, grated cheese flavors it, and the parsley is just colorful.  Heat oven to 350°

After cutting open the grated Mozzarella cheese package, it was put it in a bowl. There were also a bowl of grated cheese, and one of tomato sauce. When the noodles were cooked and drained, the countertop resembled an assembly line. with layers of noodles, Ricotta, Mozzarella, and grated cheese and sauce. (No Ricotta on the top layer.) Then into a 350° oven uncovered for 40 minutes. If you can, it’s best to cook the lasagna early, then let it cool – much easier to cut. Putting hot sauce on each serving will heat it quickly.

Finished dish with enough for leftovers this week!

Almost forgot about dessert?  It was the cheese cake recipe first tried last December and repeated several times since. 

What’s Blooming at the F&P

Spring is colorfully blooming at The Frog & PenguINN.  Last week, we had a drenching downpour. Within a couple of days, perennials planted in the first wildflower garden last spring started blooming. While the second wildflower garden doesn’t yet have much activity, the purple martins are once again in residence. 

Last week, we seeded and mulched the new wildflower meadow, updates to follow on any growth sightings. This afternoon I wandered around the yard to show what’s already in bloom. The geraniums and petunias were planted last week.

Purple iris – first blooms in my favorite color.
Geraniums planted in pots by the front door.
Petunias planted on the back patio.
Dianthus in pots on the back re-bloomed from last year.
Dianthus returned to the wildflower garden.
Assorted blooms in the front and back yard.

What blooming in your part of the world?

Crispy Pan-Fried Pork Chops

In between outdoor yard work last week, we tried some new (to us) recipes at The Frog & PenguINN. Most of our recent menu experiments have originated from Cook’s Illustrated magazine. For us, breakfast is a good time to plan dinner, so we’ve been looking through back issues and doing that.

These pork chops were the remaining half of a pork loin; the first half was served as a small roast, cooked with garlic and fresh rosemary.

Crispy Pan-Fried Pork Chops

• 8 center-cut boneless pork chops
  (3-4 oz. each) ½ to ¾-in. thick
• 2/3 C cornstarch
• 1 C buttermilk
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tsp)
• 3 C cornflakes
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1/3 C vegetable oil
• 3 shallow dishes or pie plates

1. Place 1/3 C cornstarch in shallow dish.
2. Whisk buttermilk, mustard, and garlic in another shallow dish.
3. Process cornflakes, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, and remaining 1/3 C cornstarch in food processor for 10 seconds until finely ground. Transfer cornflake mixture to third shallow dish.
4. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200°. Season chops with salt and pepper.
5. Dredge each chop in cornstarch, shake off excess, coat with buttermilk mixture, let excess drip off. Coat with cornflake mixture and pat off excess. Transfer coated pork chop to wire rack set on rimmed backing sheet. Repeat with remaining chops. Let coated chops stand for 10 minutes.
6. Heat 1/3 C of oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place 4 chops in skillet and cook until golden brown and crispy, 2 to 5 minutes. Flip chops and cook 2 to 5 minutes longer, until second side is golden brown and crispy and center of chop registers 140°on instant-read thermometer.
7. Transfer chops to paper towel-lined plate, drain for 30 seconds on each side, then move to wire rack set on rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven to keep warm.
   Note: Don’t drain pork chops on the paper towels longer than 30 minutes or the heat will steam the crust, making it soggy.
8. Repeat process with remaining oil and pork chops.

The chops were served with sides of butternut squash (from last season’s F&P harvest) and asparagus (first harvest this year).

If you like spicy seasonings, try this Latin Spice Rub.

Combine in small bowl:

• 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp chili powder
• ¾ tsp ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Follow recipe for Crispy Pan-Fried Pork Chops, omitting ground black pepper. Coat chops with spice rub after seasoning with salt in Step 4. We didn’t try the spice rub this time, but it’s on our “to do” cooking list.