Miscellaneous Food Adventure Pics

Here are some pics of random meals I made that I didn't want to write about individually.  Enjoy!

Nutella Pancakes

Just mix some in with your normal pancake mix.  A big hit!

Blueberry Muffin Pancakes

I love everything purple!

Butter Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Inspired by P.F. Chang's. 

Used a packaged seasoning for the chicken, basmati rice, romaine lettuce.

Baked Broccoli Tuna Rice Casserole

Cook rice; Combine with canned cream of mushroom soup, chunks of tuna, and broccoli; 

Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes; Add crumbled potato chips on top; Serve!

Triple Decker Turkey Sandwich

This may be one of the prettiest sandwiches I've ever made. :-)

Toasted bread (3 slices); Layered with spinach, provolone cheese, pickles, mayo.

Spinach Mozzarella Bites

  

Just like the title says...

Stuff fresh spinach and mozzarella cheese in crescent roll dough and bake.  

Delicious!

Banana and Ice Cream Sandwiches

On a lasagna dinner night, I was inspired to make a lasagna-type layered dessert.  

This is what I came up with!

Graham crackers on the bottom; Layered with banana slices, ice cream, and caramel; 

Top with graham crackers; Set in the freezer for about an hour then enjoy!

Fruit Platter Paradise

This post is bittersweet for me to write.  I had so much fun making this creative fruit platter, but the person who I made it with is no longer in my life.  She was a neighbor and dear friend who donated all her possessions and moved away after her sister passed away.  I tried to stay in touch with her for a while, but she chose to start a new life and cut all ties with her past.  I still think of her constantly.  I don't know where she may be now (New Orleans last I heard), but this post is dedicated to her. 

Our Finished Product:

My friend found this idea in a food magazine.  Here's a list of materials (yes materials) and fruit that we used for this fun project.  Great for a shower or brunch-type event.

Food:

• Tons of red and green grapes - these are the main item used to cover the base/tiers
• Strawberries
• Pineapple
• Grapefruit
• Orange
• Lemon
• Homemade or store bought fruit dip(s)

Materials:

• A large, sturdy platter (we actually used a large picture frame covered with foil)
• Flat, foam circles in various sizes (found at a craft store)
• Wooden dowels (to hold up the tiers)
• Long toothpicks (like the sandwich ones)
• Floral pins (to hold larger, heavy bunches of grapes in place - image shown below)
• Tape
• Other fun, items to decorate with (fresh or fake flowers, small items that match your theme)

Step 1 - Construct the Foundation

• For us that involved first covering the frame with foil.  Then we covered the flat, foam circles with foil and grouped them for the tiers.  You could choose a different finish to cover the surfaces with, but be sure the material is food appropiate and that toothpicks/floral pins can easily penetrate it. 
• Next we taped the foam circles that would a part of the same tier together (between the two pieces).  
• Then we started assembling the tiers on the platter.  The lowest tier sits directly on the platter, so that one's easy.  We secured that first tier on the platter with tape so it didn't move.  This is very important for stability.
• We then cut the wooden dowels to create the tier level heights that we liked.  The dowels will go through part of the foam circles, so account for that when you're choosing the heights.  
• This next part was kind of a two person job...creating the tiers.  Starting at the next tier up, and moving one level at a time, we poked two dowels almost all the way through the lower foam circle of each tier (more can be used).  Then we placed tape on the bottom of the tier we were assembling (in the front section, opposite of the dowels) and adhered the taped portion to the tier below it as we set it in place.  This created some overlap, making each tier more stable and ensuring the tiers didn't move away from each other.  These have to be pretty even and sturdy because a lot of weight will end up on them (all those grapes!).  Once we were happy with the base it was onto the fruit!

Step 2 - Prep the Fruit

• You can use different fruit than we did, but ours didn't require much prepping.  The main  prep step was carving out some of the fruit to be used as a bowl for the dip(s).  We saved the top of the pineapple for a fun topper for the highest tier and used some of the fruit chunks on the platter, too.  

Step 3 - Setting Up the Focal Points

•  What I mean here is making sure the large pieces are displayed before adding the small pieces of fruit.  We placed all the hollowed out fruit bases (our bowls) along the tiers and put the pineapple top on the highest tier.  We secured them with a bit of tape.  TIP:  If you're going to be transporting the platter, do not put the dip in the fruit bowls until you get to your destination!   

• Here an idea of what our platter looked like at this point...

Step 4 - Landscaping!

• This is the fun part!  Start with the grapes.  These delicious orbs and their vines are perfect for hiding the raised tiers/dowels.  Do that first, and then you can fill in everything else later.  Don't focus on perfection.  This thing is going to be picked apart by party-goers, and the base/foundation will eventually be exposed.  Just try to fill in those gaps under the tiers as best as you can.  You can also place other items like flowers, etc. beneath the tiers so there's another dimension beyond the grape drapes.  For draping the grapes from the tiers, use many floral 'pins' as I called them earlier.  They hold quite a bit of weight and keep the vines securely in place.  The pins look like this:

• Once you drape and secure the grapes down from the tiers, get creative!  Start filling the entire surface of the platter and tiers with the remaining fruit.  Use the long toothpicks to secure other types of fruit to the foam tiers.  Everything else can pretty much be set on the surface of the platter and even piled on top of each other.  Use those other decoration items, too.  We chose flowers to brighten up the platter even more.  

If you're transporting the platter, cover is well with plastic wrap, and make sure you keep it level.  It's good to use a platter with a raised edge to keep any fruit juices contained as well.  Add the fruit dip to the fruit bowls, and enjoy!  Here's another look at the final platter...

Enjoy!