Cool Summer Recipe -- Microwaved Corn on the Cob

Thanks for all of the birthday love, everybody!!  I had a great day.

Back when Michelle came to visit, I fixed corn on the cob using my microwave.  Although Michelle had never seen corn cooked that way, it's the only way I do it!  It's fast and keeps your kitchen blessedly cool.  Start out by shucking and cleaning your corn.  Don't worry about drying them off; you want a little bit of moisture left on the ears. 

Hello, cuties.

 You will need one piece of wax paper for each ear of corn.  The paper needs to be a little bit longer than your corn.  Place your corn on one corner of the wax paper...

...and roll it up!  Twist the ends of the paper like a Tootsie Roll.

I put my corn on the side of the paper that feels more papery, with the waxy side on the outside.

Put your corn in the microwave.  I like to use a plate, but you don't have to.  If you are cooking more than two ears of corn, arrange them like the spokes of a wagon wheel.

Microwave on high.  Start with one minute per ear of corn and then check; I like to gently squeeze each ear to find out if it's still really hard and needs more time.  I think two ears for Mr. W and me usually takes about four minutes total.

Carefully unwrap and then season with butter, salt, pepper, whatever you like!

Yum...that's summer goodness right there!

I am linking this post up to

*Remodelaholic*

Cool Summer Recipe Challenge!

It's Summer. It's Hot. You still have to make dinner....but what to make on an extremely hot day?Join us in our First Recipe Contest!!

We've shared some of our favorite No-Oven recipes & we want you to share YOURS!!!

Each week we will share our readers best No-Oven recipes & YOU get to decide who is

"The Queen of Cool".

The winner will recieve bragging rights & her own set of  popscile molds (they are the favorites of Kate & Sara from Our Best Bites)

Contest Rules:
E-mail us at: shesaidblog@yahoo.com with your No-Oven recipe.Your recipe can cover any course from drinks & appetizers to dessert and anything in between and a picture of the finished dish (up to 2 photos). Be specific with measurements, directions and the size of cans, packages and pans so others can successfully make your recipe. Include a few words about the origin of your recipe. Share any compliments it's received, plus any variations you recommend. You may only enter one recipe. We will be accepting recipes from July 14th -August 31st.

We will post all of our readers fabulous recipes and you will have a treasure trove of cool, easy, yummy no-oven recipes to try.  You will will try them out and come back and leave feedback on the recipe (or recipes...who says you have to cook just one?)

On September 5th we will ask all of our readers to come back and vote on their all-time favorite No-Oven recipe. In the event of a tie Michelle & Nan will make the final decision.

Grab a button and let all of your blogging friends know that you are a part of this challenge (and to come vote for your recipe!!) The more the merrier and the more recipes...the Better!!
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Any questions? E-mail us at shesaidblog@yahoo.com

Happy Birthday Nan!!

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Stuffed Artichokes

Behold  the Beauty, the Majesty, the Yumminess of the Artichoke!

This is one of my All-Time favorite veggies to eat and while they may look complicated...they aren't.

Picking your artichoke is very important. You want to look for a nice green color without too much brown edges or scarring (signs that it's old). Also you want to see some purple at the base of the leaves. Finally when you are holding it, and it's feeling heavy, give it a sqeeze. Do the leaves cave in? (another sign of an old artichoke) or do you hear a sqeeky sound and it feels firm? (the sign of a good one!)

Washing. If you wish to cut the tips (the pointy ends) of the leaves I would do it at this now (use kitchen sissors). Now put the choke under the water and make sure to open some of the leaves so the water can get in & around (if you didn't cut the tips off be careful, you might get poked). Then hold it upside down to drain out.

Then cut the stem off and put it on a microwave safe plate (be sure that it's sitting evenly)

Take a spoon and Stuff breadcrumbs down into the leaves (ya know right where there is a pocket). Keep pushing back leaves and stuffing them until you reach the top and you can't pry any more leaves open.

Melt some butter (2 TBS), lemon juice (1 TBS) and pour over the top. Add a bit of water to the bottom (2-3 TBS) of the plate and cover in plastic wrap

Yummmy do you see all that stuffing? Do you have to stuff the artichokes? No - you don't, but it makes it more filling and exciting!!

You want to Cook your artichoke in the  microwave (in your really clean microwave I might add) on high for

3 minutes for a small artichoke

6 minutes for a large artichoke (the artichoke pictured is a large one)

Aaaaah ....so yummy....I'm drooling. But how can we tell that it's really done?

 Pull a leaf out (watch out it is literally steaming hot. I usually use a pot holder to handle it)

Can you pull the leaf out easily?  (If yes move onto the next question. If  No, cover it up and put it back to cook for 1 minute. Repeat until you can pull out a leaf. Do not exceed a total cooking time of 15 minutes)

Bite the base of the leaf  is it soft or crunchy? (well to be technical you scrape the end of the leaf off, as you can see)

Soft = Go and eat

Crunchy = cook one more minute

Eat! Pull leaves off  one by one dipping them in your preffered dipping sauce and eating each leaf at the base.

You have a few choices of dipping sauces out there. I've heard of melted butter or Mayo mixed with a bit of balsamic vinegar or even Ranch dressing.

My preffered dipping sauce is a simple Vinegarette of: Olive Oil, Vinegar, salt & pepper and basil

Once you get to the very thin leaves that are tipped wth purple and slightly translucent stop and pull them off (sorry I don't have pictures of it) You want to scrape off the Fuzz with a small knife. This Fuzz is the "choke" of the artichoke. Once scraped off you will be left with a grayish base of the artichoke - the Heart - this is the main event!! Cut up the heart and savor it, dipping it in the sauce.

How did you do? How was it? Let me know!! I want some feed back.

We are still looking for recipes that don't use your oven. It's summer FiNallY!! So turn off your ovens and show us what you can do!! E-mail us your no-oven recipe to shesaidblog@yahoo.com (include recipe & picture of the dish)

I Linked Up to these parties

*Remodelaholic*

Tatertots and Jello: Weekend Wrap Up

I {Heart} Naptime Sundae Scoop

Raspberry Cream Pie...and a Challenge!

We have our winners (winners were selected by Random. Org) They are #1 & #10

 

Hope said... I'm a follower!

Rebecca said...

I know it is summer when I can go outside without shoes on and walk through the grass!

Congratulations Hope & Rebecca! Please e-mail your addresses to shesaidblog@yhoo.com so we can get your nailpolish to you!

And now for a yummy recipe and an AWESOME Summer challenge that we hope you take part in!

One of the fun things we did when we were together last month was make this pie.  This is a cherished recipe from Nan's family and the perfect summery dessert:

easy, sweet, and...

no bake.

Since summer is upon us and so is the heat, we thought we'd share this amazing dessert with you!

Here's what you are going to need:

 

2 9-inch graham cracker pie crusts

2 envelopes of Dream Whip (found on the baking aisle)

1 cup milk (we were feeling decadent and used half & half!)

2/3 cup sugar

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 package Danish Dessert (usually near the Jell-O)

1 package raspberries, thawed and drained

Best friend optional, but makes cooking more fun!

If you are feeling adventurous, you can make your own pie crusts by mixing crushed graham crackers and some melted butter and pressing it into your pie tins.

Michelle's masterpiece!

Start out by mixing both envelopes of Dream Whip and the milk in a mixing bowl.

Use a mixer to beat until the mixture forms peaks.

These are soft peaks -- notice how they're a little droopy?

In reality, we probably should have mixed this until stiff peaks formed (stiff peaks will stick straight up), but we were on a deadline. :)

Add sugar and cream cheese to the Dream Whip mixture and mix until incorporated.

We also added some of the liquid from the raspberries, which gave our cream a lovely pink tinge.

Yum!  This is good enough to eat by the spoonful.

 Spoon this mixture into your pie shells...

...and spread it out evenly.

Pop your pies in the refrigerator or freezer while you make the topping.

Follow the instructions on the package for cooking your Danish Dessert.

It will get really thick, like this:

Let it cool for a minute or two, then gently fold in your raspberries.

Spread on top of the pies, like a glaze.

Is your mouth watering yet?

 Admire your handiwork.

 Cover your pies.  If you use store-bought crusts, they usually come with little plastic lids for covering.

Since we made our crusts, we stuck toothpicks in the pies and then tented them with Press'n Seal.

Refrigerate your pies for 3-4 hours, until set.

If you're in a hurry, stick 'em in the freezer.

There will be a little bit of a mess to clean up,

but it's totally worth it.

Besides...

 cleanup can be fun!!

After the pies have set, gather your family and friends around and share with them this culinary wonder.  They will love you forever and beg you to make this pie on a regular basis.

Please note: this pie does not keep for very long for two reasons:

One - It's so yummy that everyone will want another piece.

Two - The graham cracker crust will start to get soggy,

so plan to make this the same day you want to serve it.

Okay, you've seen the recipe, so what's the challenge?

We want to know YOUR favorite summer recipe!

Send us the instructions for your favorite summertime recipe and we will share it here on She Said!

Everyone can try each other's recipes, and then at the end of the summer, everybody can vote for their favorite.  The winner will receive a prize and eternal glory as the first She Said Recipe Winner!

Any recipe is fine: main dish, side dish, dessert, entree, beverage, whatever, but please make sure it is a

no-bake recipe --

we want to keep our homes as cool as possible this summer!

Email your recipes & picture of your creation to shesaidblog@yahoo.com.

We will post as many recipes as possible through the summer!

Ready, set, go!

Giveaway is Extended!!

We heard a few of you were having trouble being able to comment in our giveaway post. Hopefully I have fixed the problem!
The giveaway is Extended - so you still have a chance to win!!
The giveaway closes Friday June 17th and TWO lucky ladies will be announced & will each win a bottle of

NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Pink Promenade Creme

*** Don't comment on this post! Go down and comment on the Giveaway Post below! Good Luck!***

Bring on the Summer Giveaway!

I know that it's summer when: I can wear flip flops!!I get chilly easily and when I can have warm summer sun on my tootsies then I know that it's here!
Speaking of tootsies...how  long has it been since they've seen the sun? and better yet....will you allow them to be in the sun?
I am a nailpolish girl. Always have been and always will be. I love the look of well manicured hands and feet - it's so...feminene, beautiful & GIRLY!! From my first days with Tinkerbell peel off nailpolish to my two-coat "arsnic"-smelling (according to Mr. S.) adult nailpolish I LOVE it all. If OPI, Sally Hansen....Wet & Wild are hearing me I would LOVE to be a nailpolish tester!!
....okay enough about my affinity for nailpolish, back to the topic on hand...
So, your toes...are they cold? Do they look like winter?
Break 'em out of those socks, pull out the polish and let's get them ready for summer!!

You Will Need:
Nail polish remover
cottonballs  & Q-tips
Nailpolish (this summer bright colors are in!)
Flip flops
the Telephone
a Book/remote control.....if you are questioning the last three items on your list they are of necessary convienience. If someone comes to the door, calls & to pass the time while your toes are drying you have everything you need at your fingertips...walking needs to be at a minimum!
Remove your old, chipped, nailpolish - be sure to get every bit of Carribean Sea (or whatever color you have) off those toe nails. Next, do a quick wash (soap & water) of those feet and a complete Dry.

Once you are ready (everything is at reaching distance and you have at least and hour to yourself) get yourself as close to your toes as you can. I tend to bend myself in a yoga-looking position, today we will call it "Polish of the Toe". Sit on the floor with knees bent at the chest. Take your right foot and place it on top of your left knee. Take a deep breath in and a slow exhale. You should be able to hold your foot with one hand while polishing with the other.

Pull out the Polish and let's go to town! In this picture I am currently using Tangerine Dream - oh yeah. I usually do two coats of a color. Depending on how - cheap - the  nailpolish is you may need to do more than two to get your desired color (cheaper nailpolish is "watered" down). If you really, really want to you can do a top coat of clear, but I find that my pedicure lasts just fine without it - a manicure is another story! You can use toe seperators if you have them. I usually don't. You can use cottonballs if you need to (I usually use it for my pinky toe b/c it bends in a bit)

 Then let them Dry. Give yourself some time. Read a book. Watch a movie. Chat with an old friend. Give your polish at least 20 minutes (unless you are using fancy "express" finish polish) before you move around too much. I like to give myself an hour and here is why:
1. It will be DRY. I can walk, put my feet in socks and or slip into the covers without fear of smudging
2. An hour to do whatever I want!!
You can correct any mistakes with a Q-tip dipped in nailpolish remover or you can create some pretty fun designs with the tip of your nailpolish brush. Be creative.

There ya go! Don't they look pretty? Don't ya just want to put them in some sandals and walk around? I do!

Score some polish of your own and get ready to rock them in flip flops this summer (because it's gonna come eventually)

Here is how! **make sure to leave a SEPERATE comment for each entry that you make**

1. Mandatory Entry: Become a  Follower!! We love our readers and we hope that you love us back by following our blog! (already a follower? Just let us know!)
2. Become a Fan on Facebook - we love getting more friends!
3. Repost this giveaway on your Facebook or Blog (leave a link so we can see it!)
4. Finish this sentance: I know that it's summer when ______________

The contest closes on Friday June 17th. There will be TWO winners. Each will get a bottle of

NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Pink Promenade Creme

Mocha Mish Mash  gave a pretty sweet review on this polish and she knows her stuff!