Daring Bakers August Challenge

This was my first Daring Bakers challenge. Being as I LOVE to bake I was stoked about my first challenge and to top it off, we were making chocolate Éclairs. I figured I had this one in the bag being as I used to make cream puffs all the time. I forgot to account for the fact that It’s been over a decade since I’ve made some (yikes, I feel old now). In my attempt to conquer these tasty pastries I learned a few things:

1. I am way too easily amused
2. I really really need to get a pastry bag
3. Parchment paper is smarter than I am
4. Chocolate makes all things better.

I started with the chocolate pastry cream and it all went smashingly. Although when my oldest son came home he looked at me like I was a looney as I happily stirred my bowl of chocolate in a sink full of ice water. He simply shrugged and moved on being as odd occurrences aren’t really anything new in our household.

Next came the cream puff dough. This is ideal if you want to get rid of that nasty arm flab, because when you’re done, your arm will be NUMB! First you boil milk, water, salt, and butter, then dump in the flour and stir like there’s no tomorrow. Just when you think you’re done, stir for another 3 mins. Whew! Now you can break out the good ole mixer and beat in your eggs one at a time. This was my favorite part! I found it so fascinating the way the dough would change consistency and color with each addition. I got so carried away with it that I added an extra egg. The only thing that stopped me from adding a dozen more was that the dough revolted, turned into “The Blob” and tried to swallow the mixer.

The Choux Pastry attacking my mixer

After the dough is ready you simply pipe it onto some parchment paper and toss it into the oven. Now this would be easy if you have a pastry bag. She of little kitchen accessories doesn’t have one. Being the intelligent woman that I am I decide to make one out of parchment paper. You simply make a triangle with the paper and roll it up. Easy peasy right? NOT! I could not get the darn thing to roll up big enough to actually put the dough in it. Of course I blamed the paper, after all it couldn’t be MY lack of brain cells. My kitchen looked like the paper gnomes just had a riot. There were paper shreds and splatters of dough everywhere. This is the part of the recipe where you find me desperately searching for that bottle of Vodka. Eventually I did manage to get a couple of spoonfuls of dough in my high tech bag and squeaked out a few “chubby fingers”. I then gave in to the enticement of the simple “plop it on the paper” cream puff. Ahhhh much better.

The results of the pastry bag fiasco somehow it actually puffed!

The rest of the recipe was blissful chocolate sauce. The hardest part of that was not eating it all up. Due to my weirdness about getting my fingers messy when I’m eating and my deep desire to conquer the parchment paper pastry bag, I decide to pipe the glaze on top instead of covering it whole. And yes, I did finally show that paper who’s boss. Boooyah!

Ta Dah! Eclairs!

Thank you Tony Tahhan and MeetaK for a great challenge from Chocolate Desserts By Pierre Hermé written by Dorie Greenspan. Be sure to check out the other Daring Bakers results.

the recipe:
Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.
Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.
Notes:1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.
Assembling the éclairs:
• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)
Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.
Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.
2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.
Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
½ cup whole milk
½ cup water
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature
In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.
Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.
Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your hand mixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.
Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
2 cups (500g) whole milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75g) sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
Notes:
1) The pastry cream can be made 2-3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.
Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)
1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
2) It is best to glaze the éclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.
Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)
4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup (250 g) water
½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
Place all the ingredients into a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
It may take 10-15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Operation Baking GALS

I've joined up with OPERATION BAKING GALS, an awesome group of bakers who have banned together to send yummy treats to our troops. So often we take for granted the sacrifices that others are making for our benefit. It's very easy to have a complacent attitude about our military because they're not in our front yards. That fact alone should make you thankful that they do such a great job. Our service men and women voluntarily agree to sacrifice their lives for the benifit of total strangers. It's time for every American, whether you agree with what's going on or not, to "grow a pair" and support the men and women who give their all to uphold America's great name.

You do have the right to disagree and leave me a nasty comment. Just remember to tell the military "Thanks" for giving you that right.

While you're at it, check out this link. It will put a lot of things back in perspective. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGHtMPJ3KtA&feature=related

Ok, so now that we've had that little chat, we sent off our package of yummy goodies today. We made Brownie Cookies, M&M Blondies, Rice Crispy Treats, and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. We sent along a few other goodies like a mini football, lollipops, and a few decks of cards. After explaining to Miss Danielle about what we were doing, she told me that we needed to send them a guard dog to help "catch the bad guys". She found a lovely little stuffed pug to send along and made sure he didn't get left behind.

This was my first time sending things overseas and I sure hope it makes it okay. I followed the advice of another baker and tried stuffing apple peels between layers of towels to keep the cookies soft. I guess if they get hard in transport, they will make lovely paperweights, door stops, or even weapons if need be. Anyhoo, I had a blast baking and hope it helps bring a smile to one of America's Heroes.

Oatmeal Raisin cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a seperate bowl, then stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Eat a spoonful of dough just to make sure it's good (hee hee). Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9-10 minutes until light and golden. Let them cool for 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely.

Dansclan: Another video!

You've got to check out my hubby's post. It'll CRACK you up!!!
Dansclan: Another video!

From“Chicken in Every Pot” to “Blog on Every Monitor”

Last night as I lay wrapped in my little blanket cocoon, I pondered why exactly blogging is so popular. It’s quite liberating to give your thoughts a way to exit your over crowded mind. Maybe a bit like a storage closet for those burdensome worries and thoughts that pollute your everyday life. Also, it's a lovely politically correct way to brag about your life and those that you are proud of without the backlash of actually saying to someone, "Ha ha, my kid (spouse, sister, dog, microwave oven, etc) is better than yours!". The fact that others can read it feeds the human need to be heard and to feel that someone, somewhere thinks that what you have to say is important. Of course, we can't forget that blogs also make it possible for every person on the planet to be a "Published Writer". Now we all have something to brag about at those pesky high school reunions. Sweet huh?

McApple Insanity

It's true I have lost my mind and delved into the trenches of.... well, you'll see.

Yesterday was one of those "Papa Roach" days so my hubby gave me the day off and hooked up some Mickey D's. Being good "health conscious" parents, we made sure the kids had apples instead of fries with their 35 fat gram burger of nutritious emptiness. After eating, there was one pack of apple dippers and caramel left over so it went into the fridge to await it's next life.

This morning I awoke to the realization that there just was not enough coffee in the world to get me running on all four cylinders. I opened the fridge to start making breakfast and eyed a can of Pillsbury Pizza crust and those blessed apple dippers. This is where the gates to Dough Boy heaven open and little angel food cakes begin singing. Eureka! Instant caramel apple cinnamon roll type breakfast thingy!

I unrolled the pizza dough, spread the caramel sauce over it, tossed on chopped McApples and topped it with cinnamon.

Rolled it up and made a ring and put some slits on top just to be fancy schmancy. The crazy thing is, it was actually good.

Don't worry, to make up for the complete lack of nutrition, I made up some strawberry and V-8 smoothies. Hmmm, now what can I do with all these taco sauce packets from Taco Bell?

One Potato, Two

I’ve had a yearning for some potato bread for days now. Unfortunately the potato police have been most successful in thwarting my mission....Until today. Mwaaaa haaa haa!

Today was a beautiful overcast day, the kind that screams for oven fresh baked goodies. Dan was off doing manly man things, the boys were “enjoying” their first day back at school and it was just me and the mini-munchkins. The only way for it to be a more perfect bread making day would be for a kitchen fairy to magically appear and “Bipity Bopity Boo” me enough counter space to properly knead dough. Nevertheless, my mind was set, the forces of nature were on my bread making side and no one would stop me from my starchy victory.

I asked Danielle if she wanted to help make some bread. Her little hazel eyes lit up and she skipped into the kitchen saying “I’m the Little Red Hen and Sam is the cat” (it’s one of our bedtime stories). After helping mix all the ingredients, she got her very own ball of dough to knead and bake. Which, by the way, was the cutest darn thing to watch! We even put a letter “D” on hers with my trusty food coloring markers (again, the elation of a dollar well spent). Of course, she picked the color yellow with which to write, and surprisingly it showed after baking.

The thing about baking bread is that it forces you to slow down a bit. Gives you time to think things over while providing a lovely little workout for your arms. Really, when was the last time you took 10 mins to just smoosh something? It’s quite therapeutic. Truthfully, my favorite part of making bread is getting to punch down the dough after the first rise. Especially when you do an old fashion, I only have a fourth of a teaspoon of yeast left, over night rise where the dough is all spongy and uber inflated, yet the surface is so smooth and pillowy. Deep breath in and POW. The dough is helpless against your release of pent up angst. Then you get to smoosh it again! Yeah, I like bread.

So here’s our Potato Onion Wheat(ish) Rolls and some pics of Miss Danielle in all her “Little Red Hen” beauty: Be sure to note her first self made roll. It’s the one on the bottom with the yellow “D”, just in case you weren’t paying attention to what I said earlier.

Savoring the goodness of Starch

"Hey mom, Melvin the giraffe likes it too!"

Mmmmm!

Potato Onion Wheat Rolls
1 cup warm potato water
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp honey
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp onion powder

Put potato water into large mixing bowl, add yeast and honey and let sit for 10 mins to proof. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix flours, salt and onion powder together. After yeast mixture has become frothy, stir in mashed potatoes and flour mixture until it forms a ball. If it's too sticky, add more flour; too dry add more water (FYI: you'll want to lean more on the sticky side).

Roll the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 mins. Shape into a ball and place inside a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap or a dish cloth. Let rise until doubled in size (about 60-90 mins). Punch down dough and smoosh the air out of it. Divide dough into little balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover again with plastic wrap/dish cloth and let rise again for an hour(ish).

Cook at 375 degrees for 15-20 mins. Once baked, brush butter on tops and cover again with plastic wrap/dish cloth and let cool.

Tain't Nothing Yummier than..

a take charge kind of guy. I'm not exactly sure why, but great googaly moogaly, it makes me swoon to have a man who stands up for his family and says "Now look here Pilgrim, your foolishness is messin' with this here homestead and I'm giving you 'till dawn to mount up your pony and ride out of town." Okay, maybe not those words exactly, but I'm sure it was some John Wayne-esque phrase. Truth is, he could've just said, "Blabbity boo, yippy skippy wipiquad". I was busy being enthralled by the vision of my strong manly man, golden hair glistening in the sun, swaggering up to his foe as he says to me, "Stand back ma'am, I'll take care of this rascal." Ahhhhhh, smelling salts anyone?

Wipiquad

Well that's just cheating at Scrabble.

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

These are the best banana muffins ever (no really, EVER)! I adapted it from a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa which you can find here. The husband doesn't do crunchy so I had to nix the nuts and banana chips (moment of silence, sniff, sniff). In my attempt to feel less guilty eating these, I used only whole wheat flour and cut the sugar and butter and added more banana. Since these were for little hands, I made 18 small muffins filling the cups only half full, but it would probably make a dozen regular ones.

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup applesauce

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

2 tsp pure vanilla

2 bananas, mashed

1 banana, chopped

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup sweetened shredded

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In seperate bowl, mix butter and sugar together until sugar is disolved, then blend in with other dry ingredients. Next, blend the applesauce, egg, milk, vanilla and mashed banana together and mix into the flour mixture until well blended. Fold in the chopped banana, oats, and coconuts. Fill muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 mins (until toothpick comes out clean). Cool and eat.

Cute as a Bug

All this cuteness thanks to German engineering and American Hallucinogens.

Go ahead and Give Peace a Chance!

El Pollo Loco-chilada

Tonight I decided to make Chicken Enchiladas. I know I just went off on a “too hot to cook” tirade, but it’s my kitchen and I can do what I want within it. I should’ve taken this as a warning, but we are talking about me here and I don‘t do warnings very well. Anyhoo, I have two different recipes for Chicken Enchiladas, one takes ALL day to make and includes lots of homemade stuff, the other is a bounty from the pantry/freezer and takes about one hour from gathering ingredients to tossing it on the table. I opted for the latter.

Now, every good cook knows that the first thing you do is gather your ingredients. I am not such a good cook. Being as Sam and Danielle have decided now is the time to have kitchen races, I figure I better just get at it, so I grabbed the sour cream and threw it in the bowl with the soup. I search the upper cabinet for a can of chicken broth and then the lower cabinet, which requires me to actually sit on the floor. Sam takes this as a cue that it’s Sit on Mommy Time! Of course there’s no broth, so after convincing Sam that it’s okay to let Mommy stand back up, I search the closet (my poser pantry). Meanwhile, the kids spot the step stool. Nothing says Zen quite like two toddlers having a tug of war over a step stool. I tell them to stop, naturally, Danielle, in her big sister way, instantly lets go and sends Sam sailing into the swing gate. Ahhh the joyful sound of hearing my son hit high C and hold it for 2 minutes. Everyone count with me….10.….9.…(deep breath in)…8.….7.…(deep breath out)…. After giving up on the hope of finding broth in the closet or the freezer, I grab the bullion and pray the Blood Pressure Police don’t find me.

So now I’ve got my chickeny-sour creamy-soupy goodness blended, seasoned and ready for the veggies. I go to chopping the peppers and realize that I have in fact defrosted broccoli. I ponder for a moment if I can pass off broccoli for peppers. Nahhh. I grab the sliced peppers from the freezer and decide I’ll just chop them frozen and they can defrost INSIDE the enchiladas. So now I’m ready for the cheese. Being the freak that I am, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy the pre-shredded cheese (seriously, do you know what they do to keep the cheese from sticking to itself. Ewwwwwww). I grab my slab-o-cheese and my flat grater and begin shredding . As my arm begins to cramp, my mind drifts to the good old days with my food processor. Oh the times we had together, chopping, grinding, shredding, mixing. Why, oh why, did I have to push you to the limits? RIP my sweet food processor.*sigh*.

Somehow between all the, “Stop doing that.”, “Put that back.”, “What is in your mouth?”, and “No, the kitty doesn’t want to be a hat.”, I finally manage to get the enchiladas in the oven. Just as I’m thinking to myself, “Does Flintstones make a children’s chewable tranquilizer?”, the timer goes off and I’m saved by dinner! WHOOO HOOO!

So here for all to enjoy is the recipe for Quick Enchiladas adapted from Menus 4 Moms:
2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
8 oz. sour cream
1 onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
Cilantro, cumin, garlic to taste
8 whole wheat flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese
1 chopped tomato (optional)
Combine soup, sour cream, and 3/4 can chicken broth. Set aside 1 cup of this mixture. To the remaining mixture, add chicken, onion, pepper, and spices to taste. Add 1 cups of the cheese.
Fill tortilla with mixture, roll up, and place in pan. Add the remaining Chicken broth to the reserved soup mixture and pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas and top with tomato. Cook enchiladas at 350° until bubbly (about 30 mins).

If You Can't Take The Heat, Get Out Of The Kitchen

With it being hotter than a frying pan outside, I realized the need for no cook, or pretty darn close to no cook, meals. Here are some to help you make it through these roasting days.

Chicken Caesar Salad
8 cups chopped romaine
1 can (12oz) cooked chicken (drained)
1/3 cup parmesan
1/4 cup bacon bits
1/2 cup croutons
Pepper to taste (me likey LOTS of pepper)
1/4 cup Caesar salad dressing
Mix it all up in a bowl and insert fork. Slice some peaches with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for dessert. Yumm-a-licious

Bean Burritos
1 can refried beans
Shredded cheddar cheese
Whole wheat tortillas
Your choice of additions (tomatoes, romaine, sour cream, olives, etc)
Put beans in bowl, top with cheese and nuke until warm and melty. Smear it in the tortillas with your choice of additions and serve it up with some chips and pico de gallo. For dessert, sliced strawberries and kiwi with yogurt for dipping. OLE!

Crisp Chicken Slaw
3 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped broccoli
1cup chopped carrots
1 can (12oz) cooked chicken (drained)
1/3 cup Hendrickson’s dressing
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Toss and serve with cheese cubes and whole wheat crackers. Watermelon for dessert, so you can have seed spitting contests. Yee-haw!

Italian Tuna Pasta
16oz penne pasta
1can tuna (drained)
1/3 to 1/2 cup basil pesto (depending on how saucy you feel)
6(softened)sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 can (14oz) artichoke hearts, drained and cut to your liking
1 small can black olives (drained)
1/2 red onion, sliced
Feta cheese for topping
Heat water to boiling, add pasta, put on lid, TURN OFF HEAT and let sit for 15 mins (don’t peek at it). Rinse pasta with cold water and mix everything together in a bowl, top with feta. Sliced plums topped with sherbet for dessert. Delizioso!

Cali Subs
1 can (12oz) cooked chicken(drained)
Whole wheat hoagie rolls
Sliced Avocado
Alfalfa sprouts
Swiss cheese
Bacon Pieces
Chopped grape tomatoes
Miracle whip
Make sandwich with above ingredients (tricky, I know, lol). Serve it with a tossed salad and for desert mix a can of tropical mixed fruit with cool whip and walnuts. Surf-o-rific! (FYI: My sammich is pictured with Mediterranean Terra Chips)