Orange Kissed Coconut Cream Pie

Once again, I meant to take a picture of this before taking it to our Sunday BBQ. I totally forgot to though. So, for those who actually had a piece, comment and let everyone know how delicious it was. This pie is so tangy, light and refreshing. I have to give credit to my mom for passing the recipe on to me though. She has a very good eye for recipes.

Orange Kissed Coconut Cream Pie

1 pre-made pie crust

Filling
1 c. sugar
3 T. corn starch
1 c. water
1/4 c. orange juice
1 T. orange peel
1/4 c. butter
3 egg yolks
1/2 c. coconut toasted
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. whipping cream

Toppings
1/2 c. whipping cream
2 T. powdered sugar
1/4 c. coconut toasted
2 T. sliced almonds toasted


Instructions
Filling
Prepare oven to 450. Prepare pie crust for unfilled, one crust pie according to box. Bake @ 450 for 9-11 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool crust completely. In medium saucepan-combine sugar and cornstarch, blend well. Stir in water, O.J., butter, orange peel and egg yolks. Cook over med. heat until mixture thickens and boils-about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. refrigerate 1 hour (I do not do this. I run really cold water into the sink and place the pan in it to cool. It only takes about 10 minutes for the mixture to cool enough to proceed to the next step.). Once cool, stir in 1/2 c. coconut and sour cream. Whip cream and fold into rest of filling. Spoon mixture into pie crust.

Topping
Whip cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. spread whipping cream over filling. garnish with almonds and coconut.

Refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving (I put mine in the freezer for 15-20 minutes). Store in fridge.

*If you have any other questions, email me or post them in the comment section.

Other flavors of Melona

I finally got to try the other flavors of Melona ice cream bars. At the H mart they are having a big sale on these ice cream bars. When I stopped by last night to buy a box, I was delighted to find that not only are they $2 off right now, but they had samples of every flavor. The cute little Korean woman who was doing the samples insisted that I try every flavor. She then dug down to the bottom of the freezer for the most frozen boxes so that it would not melt it the Philadelphia heat on my way home. And last but not least, if you bought 3 boxes they gave you this mini cooler thing to be able to keep them cold. I only bought 2 boxes but the girl loved me so much that she gave me the cooler thing anyway. The whole experience just made me laugh. It was so different from the typically Philly customer service.

As for the flavors, the melon is still my favorite. The mango comes in second. The banana and strawberry were definitely at the bottom of the list. The banana tasted too fake to me. Don't get me wrong, I love banana flavored Runts candies. I just don't want my ice cream to taste like them. The strawberry was similar in its fakeness. I would suggest sticking with the melon flavor.

Chicken Souvlaki

This recipe was delicious. If you like tzatziki, the combination of the cucumbers, dill, yogurt, lemon juice, and olive oil is essentially just unmixed tzatziki. The whole thing was so simple to make and tasted so good. If the chicken was grilled ahead of time, it would be the ultimate of a simple meal for a weeknight.

* I altered this just a little to work with things I had. I only made a 3rd of the dressing (I was cooking only for me). I used chicken I had grilled rather than a rotisserie chicken. I left out the onion but added tomato instead. And last but not least, I didn't use fresh dill. I wish I had fresh dill in my garden, but I don't. I just wasn't willing to go to the store for it.


Chicken and Dill Souvlaki
Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
kosher salt and pepper
1 2 1/2- to 3-pound rotisserie chicken, meat sliced
2 Kirby cucumbers, sliced into thin half-moons
1/2 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia), thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
4 flat breads
1/2 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek-style
Directions

In a large bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Fold in the chicken, cucumbers, onion, and dill. Divide the chicken mixture evenly among the flat breads and serve with the yogurt.


* this recipe is from this Real Simple Magazine

Bruschetta

Currently I have an over abundance of tomatoes. This means that pretty much every post for the next little bit will include tomatoes because I have to find new recipes to use them before they go bad. This one is simple but still one of my favorites. I was not 100% faithful to the recipe but you can start with the suggested amounts and add more of whatever you think it is missing. For me it was garlic. I like my bruschetta to be so garlicky it knocks you over, so I added an extra clove (or two). You just can't beat a homemade bruschetta with homegrown tomatoes and basil. Hope you enjoy it too.

Salad de Maison

I'm not sure where my mom first got this recipe, but it is now a Seamons family staple. If there is a get together happening, there will most likely be Salad de Maison there. I recently took it to our neighborhood Sunday BBQ and it seemed to be well received. Unfortunately, I do not have any picutres of it to post (I meant to take one last night but forgot.) It looks much like a regular green salad, but the garlicky dressing with all the toppings is just divine.

Salad de Maison
2 heads Romains lettuce
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup croutons
1/2 pound bacon, torn into small bits

Dressing
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 oil (I usually cut this down to 2/3 cup)

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

This has been one of my favorite recipes to make for our Sunday BBQs. It doesn't take very long and the results are amazing. If you love portobello mushrooms, this is a good recipe to have on file.

Gazpacho Part II

Hmmm... well, the soup has gotten better with some time, but it still isn't my favorite. Can't really put my finger on why. If you have a good recipe, please let me know.

Gazpacho

Just finished making a batch of gazpacho soup. I haven't tried it out yet, but I sure hope it is good. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. If the recipe is worth posting, I'll definitely put it up. Oh, and if you know of a really good cold soup recipe, gazpacho, cucumber, or anything else, send it my way. It is so hot and muggy that cold soups are the only thing that sound good right now.

Melona Ice Cream Bars

Technically this isn't a recipe, but it is something you can eat and most definitely should eat. In May, Spencer and I discovered Melona ice cream bars at the H-mart, a Korean market in Upper Darby. They were giving out samples and both Spencer and I fell in love. They are so creamy and the melon flavor is delightful. They also make banana, strawberry, mango, and green tea. I've honestly only ever tried the melon, but one of these days I will give the other fruit flavors a whirl.

Cucumber Soup

Found this in last months Real Simple. The night I made it I wasn't so sure about it. The next night I had it for dinner and found it to be so much better. I think that letting the flavors mix together for a little bit before serving really pays off in the end. I only ate it with bread and no olives or cheese.

*Just a little bit of warning, the two jalepenos really give it some kick, so if you do not like spicy stuff, you might want to cut back on the peppers