I am back...... I have been on vacation the last week. First part of last week I was getting all my doctor appointments caught up, entered dish of the day on Wednesday and then on Thursday we left for Myrtle Beach.
The dish of the day contest is a competition that is held ever night at the fair during fair week. I was not going to enter anything this year but my best friend from school had been entering this year. Cindy had sent me a text telling me she had been placing with her dishes and that is all it took for me to get the fever, well that and it gave me an evening to spend sitting and talking with Cindy!! So I was only able to do Wednesday night this year since I was leaving for vacation the next day. I entered the Diabetic and Beef dish competition and won 1st place in both categories....woo hoo!!!
Sorry the pictures are not too good. I forgot to take pictures prior to judging. After the dishes are judged the bake goods committee cuts everything up into bite size pieces and then all the contestants have a pot luck so to speak. We get to go around the judging tables and get a bite sample of all the entrants. It is awesome! I love being able to taste all the other dishes. I entered Raspberry Cheese Tartlets for the Diabetic dish and my favorite Mom's Sloppy Joe's for the beef dish. I wish I would have remembered to take a picture of the tartlets as they were really good looking. I baked them in cupcake lines, put a dollop of unsweetened raspberry preserves on top and then topped that with a raspberry and mint leaf. My Uncle Jim was watching me set up the raspberry tartlets for judging and he was teasing me that one could go missing cause he liked the way they looked.
Here is a little peak at some pictures from Myrtle Beach. I will show you more in my next blog post.
Here is me on the 2nd street Pier
In this picture you can see the Sky Wheel. This picture was taken at night on the beach in front of our hotel.
We were not too happy upon arriving and finding this right outside our balcony just off the beach in the water. Although it did turn out not to bother us and did make for some entertainment.
Click here for the recipe for Mom's Sloppy Joe's
Raspberry Cheese Tartlets
adapted from Splenda World of Sweetness
Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons light margarine, melted
2 tablespoons Splenda, Granulated
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 50, reserve 10 for garnish)
Filling:
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt
1 cup Splenda, Granulated
1/2 cup liquid egg substitute
Garnish: (optional)
2 tablespoon sugar free red raspberry preserves
mint leaves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 muffin cups with liners.
To make the crust, mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and Splenda in a medium bowl until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cup.
Take the cup of berries and reserve out 10 for garnishing, with the remaining berries divide them evenly among the cups.
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until creamy. Add the yogurt and continue to beat scraping down the bowl as needed, until smooth. Beat in the Splenda and egg substitute , until well blended. Spoon the filling into cups dividing it evenly.
Bake just until the centers feel firm to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes
Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate until chilled , at least 2 hours
If desired, evenly spoon the 2 tablespoons red raspberry preserves over top of each tartlet. Place a berry and mint leaf on top of each tartlet.