A Quick and Easy Valentine's Day Treat

I hate when Valentine's Day falls on weekdays.  We don't celebrate much, but I always like making a nice dinner and a little treat.  When it falls on a weekday I don't have much time after work.  This dessert is a nice little solution to that problem.

There's really not much to it.  You can use your favourite brownie recipe or boxed brownie mix.  For the filling, I used Dr. Oekter's Chocolate Mousse Supreme.

Bake the brownies in a 9 x 13 pan, this way they are not too thick.

Make the mousse while brownies are baking and let it sit in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

Let the brownies cool completely.  When cool, use a heart shaped cookie cutter (at least three inches in size) and cut out an even number of hearts.

Scoop the mousse into a piping bag and pipe mousse onto half of the hearts.  Top with remaining half of the hearts.  Decorate with remaining mousse and/or icing sugar.

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Pie In February - Yes, please...

This past weekend we were hit with the winter storm that hit most of Eastern US and Canada.  Its been a couple years since we've seen a single snowfall like that.  While the hubby was out tackling the driveway (and three or four of our neighbours'), I felt inspired to make a summery treat to overcome the winter chill outside.

(My hubby had already done the driveway twice, not that you can tell.  In the end, our area got 30 cm and the blowing snow created drifts well over 50 cm high in some areas.)

The recipe is based, mostly, on the recipe for Lemon and Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie from oh my! Sugar High.  I think that may be one of my new favourite websites.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup milk
1 box Jello lemon instant pudding
1 can  blueberry pie filling


Steps:

Mix melted butter into graham cracker crumbs.  Press into 10 inch pie pan.

With electric beater or stand mixer, beat cream cheese on medium until smooth and fluffy. Set aside.

With electric beater or stand mixer, beat milk and pudding until fully mixed and thickening.  Add cream cheese and mix until blended and smooth.

Spread a thin layer of blueberry filling on the crumb crust (be careful not to create any holes when spreading the filling).

Spread the lemon cheese mixture in the pie crust.

Top with remaining blueberry filling.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

In the words of my hubby - "That's f@#$ing awesome!"  I guess it turned out okay.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Cranberry Mayo

I've been making these for years and, for some reason, recently I've been asked for the recipe by a few people including my mum.  These are super quick to make and great any time of year.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers (makes six)

600 grams ground turkey
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/3 cup prepared mustard
2 tsp bbq sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 slices of cheddar cheese
6 large hamburger buns

Mix all ingredients together, except cheese.  Separate into six equal shares and separate each amount into two parts.  Make six patties (half of the meat mixture should still be left over to make the top side of the patties).  Place one piece of cheese on each patty.  Using the remaining mixture, make the six top patties and place on top of cheese.  Close each patty.

Winter instructions: Broil on High for 10 minutes, flip and broil for 8 minutes.  Optional - add more cheese slices on top and broil for one more minute.

In the summer, grill until fluids come out clear.

Cranberry Mayo

4 tablespoons canned cranberry sauce (with whole cranberries, not the jelly type)
2 tablespoons mayo

Stir until well blended.

Dress buns with mustard on one side and cranberry mayo on the other side.  You can, of course, add lettuce, onions or tomato slices depending on preference.

Last time I made these my hubby scarfed down four of them!