Italian Cream Sodas

Geno loves Italian Cream Sodas. He always orders them when we go to Olive Garden or Carino's. I have had a taste of his at times, but could never justify paying the price for them. Now, I love them...because I have learned how they are made and can make them at home! And...you only need 3 ingredients: flavored syrup, sparkling water, and heavy whipping cream.

I don't have exact measures for the ingredients, and it really is a matter of trying it and figuring out how you like it. Geno likes A LOT of vanilla flavoring. I like a little more cream. You get the idea!

For your test run, put about 1" of flavored syrup in the glass. There are many flavors out there to try, but I suggest starting with vanilla (since pretty much everyone likes vanilla and you can use it in sodas if you don't care for the creme soda). Also, I would suggest paying a little more for a good quality taste. We bought the brand from Wal-Mart-since we were already there shopping-and it wasn't very good. We also bought the sugar-free French Vanilla from Sam's (a good price!), but we quickly learned that there is a huge difference between Vanilla and French Vanilla...it wasn't very good. I also have raspberry, and I know there is hazelnut. It is all a matter of taste, so make what you like. Next, pour in the sparkling water leaving about 1 1/2" to 2" of space at the top. Obviously, if you are using a shorter glass, you will need to make adjustments accordingly! Now, pour about 1" of heavy cream on top. This part looks pretty cool as the cream will sit on top and slowly sink to the bottom. Make sure you mix it up REALLY WELL before drinking. If you don't (and you use a straw), you will get a very strong vanilla flavor at first, and then just creamy sparkling water at the end. Not so good! ENJOY :o)

Love my Crock Pot

This is one of my absolute favorite summertime meals! Take some fresh green beans and add them to your crockpot along with some new potatoes and sliced up sausage links. You can make this lower fat by using turkey sausage, but Geno prefers the beef sausage for adding more flavor as it is cooking. Also, we changed to using canned new potatoes as they don't fall apart while cooking like fresh potatoes do. Serving this with some sliced tomatoes and homemade cornbread is such a yummy and easy meal.

Coconut Cream Pie

The picture doesn't look the best, but it tastes so yummy!

Geno seems to be craving cream pies lately. He wanted to try a couple from the freezer section of the store, and it just didn't quite taste right to me. We always seem to forget about dessert when we have company, so Geno was going to grab a chocolate cream pie from the store. I told him I would "make" (I hesitate to use that term!) it, but he was worried about how little time I had to fix it.

Oh ye of little faith...

Get a pie crust, bake, cool. Mix pudding, pour into crust, cool. Put whipped topping on before serving. (If you have time and want it to look nice, put the whipped topping on and allow it time to cool and set.)

He is hooked :o)

We had a fun conversation: Graham cracker crust or regular crust? Chocolate cream or coconut cream? Whipped topping or meringue?

We had the same three answers.

A match made in Heaven ;o)

Chicken and Noodles

This was on the menu for today. So very yummy! This recipe came from a friend of my friend, Sarah. Comfort food that is easy to make! I love how this recipe is laid out so that prep time and cook time work together.

I did not make the bread you see in the photo. It is the Everything Italian bread from the Wal-Mart bakery. Of course, we LOVED it and bought it one more time after this and then they stopped making it!!

1 medium white onion, diced

2 cups carrots, roughly chopped

2 cups celery, roughly chopped

1.5-32 oz. boxes chicken broth

1 rotisserie chicken

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 bag frozen eggs noodles

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large stew pot while preparing veggies. Add diced onion first. Once broth has come to a contstant boil, add carrots. Wait 3 minutes, add celery. Boil all veggies together 10 more minutes-they should be softening. Next, add the frozen egg noodles. Cook 20 minutes on med-high heat. When the noodles are added, start breaking apart the chicken. After the 20 minutes, add chicken. Then add whipping cream and let cook 5 minutes.

My notes: I really like lots of noodles, so I use the whole bag and just use all of the two boxes of chicken broth. Don't worry about using only 3/4 cup of the heavy whipping cream and having some left over, because you can use the rest to make Italian Cream Sodas for a treat later...recipe to follow soon :o)