After Dinner Thoughts

"You definitely have to make that again, soon," said Mom about tonight's dinner. It was easy, quick, and yummy!

For the frittata I used one bunch of asparagus that I peeled and cut into bite size. Mom had read somewhere that peeling asparagus helps to keep it tender; you don't peel all of it, just the lower stalk. I used a small jar of marinated quartered artichoke hearts that I chopped a bit more. I also chopped one yellow pepper. I sprayed a non-stick skillet with Pam and sauted the vegetables for about 5 minutes. I beat 7 eggs and poured them over the vegetables and cooked on the stove top for approximately 3 minutes. Then put it all in the oven (400) for just over 10 minutes. I shook the skillet back and forth to loosen the frittata and "poured" it onto a plate to serve it. When served, I grated some sea salt cheddar cheese on top. OMG - this was delectable!

I also made Green Bean Medley, which we have had many times before. This time, however, I omitted the mushrooms. I cut the ends from some fresh green beans and cut them into bite sizes. Then I cut 2 carrots into matchsticks and cut a couple of slices of onion that I then cut in half. I steamed these vegetables for about 12 minutes over a low boil. I then took the steamer out of the pot, drained the water, put the vegetables back in the pot and added 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt and about 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. YUM!

And, finally, I had cut up a pineapple and some strawberries earlier in the day. I added some fresh blackberries and dinner was complete! Truly delicious! I know I've discussed the pineapple wedger from Pampered Chef before on this blog and I must repeat that this tool is one of the best kitchen tool investments I've ever made. I would very rarely purchase fresh pineapple in the past because of the difficulty cutting it. Well, those days are over - with the pineapple wedger, cutting up fresh pineapple is a snap. And, honestly, I don't think there is anything more flavorful than fresh pineapple.

And, then there was dessert. I had made a punchbowl cake Thursday evening for my bunco group Friday night. There was a bit still leftover. So, while it wasn't pretty it was still tasty. The recipe I have for punchbowl cake is basically assembly - there's no cooking involved, just putting several ingredients together and letting it meld overnight. I got this recipe from one of the church ladies that was serving lunch after a funeral I attended a few weeks ago. I went up to the ladies and asked who made the cake and when she identified herself, I asked for the recipe; she said people ask for that recipe all the time. So, here it is...

Punchbowl Cake
1 angel food cake, torn into bite size pieces
1 can crushed pineapple
2 pints frozen strawberries, thawed
2 medium bananas, sliced
2 cans Thank You vanilla pudding
1 small container cool whip
1/2 cup pecan chips

Assemble in a big bowl in the following order:
half of the cake pieces
half of the crushed pineapple
half of the thawed strawberries
slices from one banana
1 can of pudding
other half of the cake pieces
other half of the crushed pineapple
other half of the thawed strawberries
slices from other banana
other can of pudding

Put cool whip on top over all, sprinkle pecan pieces over all. Let sit in refrigerator overnight. This would also be good with some chocolate syrup on top - kind of like a banana split.

That's it - that's what we had for dinner tonight and every one of us really enjoyed it. No telling what's for dinner next week. When I figure it out, I let you know.