Chocolate and Fruit Trifle

Happy New Year!!  My hope for everyone is peace, health and joy in the new year for my family and friends.   We are going to have our annual family dinner, crab legs and filet, before everyone heads out to celebrate.   I cherish this special time,.   The dessert we have with our meal varies, however, one of the often requested is the Chocolate and Fruit Trifle, one of Taste of Home's Fast Family Favorites.   This scrumptious dessert layered with devil's food cake, a creamy pudding mixture, red berries and green kiwi is perfect for the holidays.   With all of the fruit, we like to rationalize that this is perfect start to everyone's new year's resolutions.   I like making it is a clear crystal bowl to show off the festive red and green.  This defnitely needs to be made the day that you are serving it.  Also, once you cut into it, it no longer looks appealing, but the leftovers are still delicious.   I hope this becomes one of your favorites as well.

Ingredients:

1 package devil's food cake mix

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup cold water

1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

1 T orange juice

2 C fresh strawberries, chopped

2 C fresh raspberries
2 C kiwifruit, peeled and chopped

Prepare cake batter according to package directions; pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. pan.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean.

Cool cake completely.   You will only need about half of the cake for this dessert.  Cut up 1/2 of the cake into about 8 cups of bite-size pieces, and set aside.  I save the other half in a gallon ziploc and we snack on that later, unfrostened.   

In a mixing bowl, combine milk and water until smooth.   Add pudding mix; beat on low speed for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.   Fold in the whip cream.

To assemble: spread 2-1/2 cups of pudding mixture in a 4-qt. glass bowl.   Top with half of the cut up cake; sprinkle cake with 1 T orange juice.   Arrange half of the berries and kiwi over the cake.   Repeat the pudding, cake and fruit layer (saving some of the berries and kiwi for the topping, about 1/4 c of each).   Top with remaining pudding mixture.  Spread remaining fruit around the edge of the bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Chicken Won Ton Wrappers

Years ago, I had a version of this at a friend's dinner party and thought that they were delicious.   All members of my family agree, and they are now a staple at just about every family function.   The beauty of these appetizers is that they are tasty and look great, yet are extremely easy to prepare. 

Ingredients:
3 to 4 chicken breasts
2 T lemon juice
8 oz ranch dressing
2 T paprika
won ton wrappers

Tools:
mini muffin pan
food chopper

Poach the chicken breasts.  I have found the easiest way to do this is to clean and cut up the chicken into bite size chunks.  Put into a 2 quart microwable bowl, add lemon juice and cover with water, so liquid is about 1 inch above the chicken.  Microwave on high for about 8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.   Let cool.  Rinse and pat dry.  

Preheat oven to 375.   Shred or chop cooled chicken.  I like to use my Pampered Chef Food Chopper, one of my favorite kitchen tools.   Once all chicken is chopped, add 6 to 8 oz ranch dressing and the paprika.  You will want to add enough dressing so that the mixture is moist, but not so much that you have an excess of dressing.  

Place one won ton wrapper into each mini muffin cup and add a heaping tablespoon of the chicken mixture.  Bake for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown.   Serve warm.

Chicken Paprikas

Being part Hungarian, one our favorite dishes is Chicken Paprikas.   One of the gifts that I received from my grandma for my shower was the Secrets of Hungarian Cookery, 180 Hungarian Favorites cookbook.   The original recipe calls for the chicken to be fried and then cooked on the stove or in an electric fry pan.  I have found it easier to bake in the oven, and have changed the recipe slightly to incorporate some Polish elements that my husband loves.

Ingredients:
1 onion chopped
1 T paprika
1 cut up whole chicken, or drumsticks and chicken breasts on the bone
1 15 oz. can chicken broth
1 15 oz. can stewed tomatoes
salt
pepper
8 oz. sour cream
1 T flour

Preheat oven to 375.   Spray a roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray.   Place chicken in the pan, add cut up onion, salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle 1 T paprika on the chicken and then add the can of stewed tomatoes and chicken broth.   Bake for 45 min to 1 hour, until chicken is done.   While chicken is roasting in oven, make dumplings  (see below).  As a side note, our family of 4 generally goes through a double batch of dumplings with dinner.

Remove chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.   Strain broth and drippings to a saucepan, to use as a base for the gravy.  Over low heat, add 1 tsp paprika and 8 oz. of sour cream.  To slightly thicken the gravy, add 1 T flour. Whisk until smooth.    Serve over chicken and dumplings.

Dumpling recipe:
1 C flour
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 tsp salt

Mix the above ingredients together.   Either use a dumpling maker or scrape bits into a pot of boiling water.  Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.  Rinse with cold water and drain.   Add 1-2 tsp of butter.

A Dish In Progress

Hello and welcome to A Dish In Progress!!   Some of my fondest memories growing up are creating at the side of my mother and grandmothers, who have been my inspiration over the years.  Nothing is better than the smell of apple pie in the oven or spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove.  Every holiday and special event is marked by a special dish, and often the smell of one of these dishes causes me to reminisce about the past.

I have been cooking & baking for over 30 years.   When I first started to cook, I would get frustrated when the recipes I got only listed ingredients and not precise measurements.  I know now, that is because every recipe is a "dish in progress" to be tailored to your individual tastes, and that this is half the fun.   I enjoyed learning to cook with family and have great pride in passing this down to my children.   I love to make my family's favorites.   Some of our best holiday memories are in the kitchen.

I believe that family meals are important, albeit difficult, in today's world of working parents and busy kid schedules.   It is often challenging to find time to cook, let alone eat together.  My blog is dedicated to family fare, i.e., quick and easy, family friendly recipes and tips.  I have learned over the years that there is no shame in taking "shortcuts". 

Enjoy the time around the table with your family.  Some of our best conversations have occurred over a meal.  From Sunday morning breakfast to evening meals, we make it a priority to eat together as much as possible.  

Thank you for visiting.   I appreciate the opportunity to share our favorite recipes and look forward to hearing your stories and successes in the kitchen.