Uncooked Banana Pudding

I just made this for an enrichment activity and it was very yummy. And super easy. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com

8 oz sour cream (I used fat free)
8 oz whipped topping, thawed (I used fat free)
5 oz pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
2 c whole milk (I used skim)
1 16oz pkg vanilla wafers
4 bananas, peeled and sliced

In large bowl combine sour cream, whipped topping, pudding mix and milk. Stir well. In the bottom of a trifle bowl or other glass serving dish, put a layer of cookies, then a layer of pudding mixture, then a layer of bananas. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 10 servings

Enjoy!

O'Henry Bars

My favorite recipe with sugar! My dad is completely obsessed with these! They are easy, creamy, sweet, and oh so rich!

1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 oz. butterscotch chips
6 oz. chocolate chips
1 cup white karo syrup
1 cup chopped blanched peanuts
3 cups rice krispies

Bring sugar and syrup to a boil. Stir in peanut butter, peanuts, and rice krispies. Press into a buttered 9X13 pan. Melt chips and spread on peanut mixture. Let chocolate set and cut into squares.

Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Can you tell that I LOVE sour cream?!?!

This is another favorite. It's really like coffee cake. It's can be a dessert and it's also great for brunch.

1 box butter recipe cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 heaping cup sour cream
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans or walnuts)
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon

Combine cake mix, sugar, eggs, oil & sour cream in mixer. Fold in nuts.

In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar & cinnamon.

Grease bundt pan with butter then line with flour. Put 1/3 of the brown sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan. Add 1/2 the cake batter. Layer another 1/3 of the sugar mixture. Add the remaining cake batter. Top with remaining sugar mixture.

Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes.

Death by Oreo

This is a spin on Hello Dolly's but for Oreo lovers. But beware! they are highly addictive so I suggest you make them to take to a function so they're not sitting around your house.

1 pkg Oreo's
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Grease 13 x 9 x 3 pan with PAM.

Place Oreo's in gallon size Ziplock bag. Crush with rolling pin. Add melted butter.

Spread 1/2 the Oreo's in pan. Spread chocolate chips & marshmallows. Cover with remaining Oreo's then evenly spread sweetened condensed milk on top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I wanted to get this posted before Valentine's Day because it's perfect for the day of love...but I guess I'll have to spin it as a wonderful way to celebrate President's Day!

This is such a simple, fun, and fancy treat to make. And it doesn't get much kid-friendlier than this!

Have your kids grab some of this from your baking aisle next time you go grocery shopping:

Then let them wash some of these and leave to dry:


Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave for about a minute...stir...heat an additional 10 seconds or so until it's deliciously melty. Have your kids dip the strawberries and lay them on some wax paper to cool. Keep in the fridge until ready to eat.

Bananas & Lemons

I know that I'm not even close to the right weekly ingredient but these are just too good. I will start with the Lusciously Lemon cake. Doesn't that just sound awesome?

1 pkg yellow cake mix
2 c cold milk
1 1/4 c water
2 pkg (4 servings each) Jell-O Lemon flavor instant pudding and pie filling
1/3 c sugar
2 TBSP powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Pour into greased 13x9 in baking dish; set aside.

Pour milk and water into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and granulated sugar. Beat with wire whisk 2 min or until well blended. Pour over batter. Place baking dish on baking sheet to catch any sauce that might bubble over sides of dish as dessert bakes.

Bake 55 min - 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes (sauce will thicken slightly as it cools). Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve.

This is great with some vanilla ice cream. Seriously, this is amazing!

And now for Triple-Layer Banana Cream Pie Bars

1 1/2 c crushed Nilla Wafers (about 60 wafers)
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/3 c butter/marg
3 bananas, sliced
3 c cold milk
2 pkg Jell-O Vanilla Flavor instant pudding and pie filling
1 1/2 c thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix wafer crumbs, pecans and better in 13x9 in baking dish; press firmly onto bottom of dish. Bake 8 min. Cool 10 min.

Top crust with banana slices. Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min or until well blended. Spoon 2 cups of the pudding over banana layer.

Gently stir 1 c of the whipped topping into remaining pudding; spoon over pie. Top with remaining 1 1/2 c whipped topping. Refrigerate 3 hours. Serve.
Makes 16 servings.

You really have to try both of these, they're great!

Black Cherry Oatmeal Crunch Squares

This isn't a picture I took but this is what they should resemble...

I got this recipe from my home teacher in college who surprisingly brought my roommates and I better goodies than any visiting teacher ever did. They are crumbly and sugary but worth every bite! I've tried it with different flavors of jam...although black cherry or raspberry are among the favorites. It's fun to make before church (unless you have church at 9am!) and then it has cooled by the time you get home.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup softened butter cut into pieces
1 cup black cherry jam (or other jam)


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter 9-inch square pan.

Stir together flour, oats, and brown sugar. Cut in the butter with two knives or pastry blender until crumbs are the size of peas.

Remove 2 cups of mixture; set aside. Press remaining mixture into pan and up the sides. Drop jam over crust and spread it out. Sprinkle the rest of the crust over jam.

Bake 50-55 minutes and let cool for 2 hours.

Oatmeal Krispie Cookies

These are the best cookies ever. My neighbor just made some for us and I had to beg the recipe. I haven't made them myself yet for just one reason..... I'm scared I will eat the ENTIRE batch. Seriously, these are now my favorite cookies. Hope you enjoy them!!!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup reduced fat spread, like Olivio or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 T. Vanilla

4 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

4 c. flour

4 cups old-fashioned oats

4 cups Rice Krispies

About ¾ cup Heath Toffee bits

About 1 cup butterscotch chips (sorry, I never measure these things)

 Directions:

Cream butter, spread, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add soda, powder and flour and blend. Stir in oatmeal, krispies, toffee and butterscotch. Mix until blended. Roll into balls and place on greased cookies sheet. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes.

 

Strawberry/Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

Everyone loves a good cupcake, except for me. I really don't like cupcakes or cakes for some reason, so the fact that I LOVE these cupcakes should tell you how good they are. They remind me of strawberry shortcake but better. This recipe is from the show Every Day Italian that's on Food Network, but I edited it a bit because I like to make them a tiny bit different. They are delicious!!!
Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 oz) box white cake mix
• 1 1/3 c water
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (6 oz) container raspberries, cut in half
• 1/2 container fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped
• 1 c heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 c powdered sugar

Directions:
Line 18 muffin cups with muffin papers. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, water, egg whites, melted butter, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a large bowl for 2 minutes, or until batter is well blended. Using about 1/3 c of batter for each cupcake, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
Bake the cupcakes until they are very pale golden on top, about 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely on a cooling rack.
Using a fork, coarsely mash the raspberries and strawberries in a medium bowl (not too runny!). Beat the cream and powdered sugar in a large bowl (for a while) until firm peaks form. Fold the mashed fruit into the whipped cream.
Spoon the cream atop the cupcakes. Keep in fridge until you serve them! Enjoy!!!
PS: I have a picture of what they look like that I will post later on, don't have my camera cord right now.

White Chocolate Cheesecake (No-Bake!)

My husband loves white chocolate cheesecake. So for his birthday I found this recipe at RecipeZaar.com and it was SO easy and really yummy. The recipe says to put toffee pieces on it which would be REALLY good, but my husband loves gummy bears so we did it with gummy bears and even though it sounds a little funny it was actually pretty good!

Ingredients:
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (8oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 9-inch graham cracker crust
1/3 cup toffee pieces (or gummy bears or other favorite topping!)

Directions:
Melt chocolate chips slowly in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Stir in softened cream cheese (if your cream cheese is too cold when you add it, it will harden the melted chips so make sure the cream cheese is softened or melted a little before you add it in). Stir until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Pour into crust and cover. Chill until set (about 4-5 hours). Sprinke with topping.

Cake pops

This idea is from the bakerella blog. It is a little messy but easy and cute. So, the basic idea is this:

*Make a packaged cake mix (red velvet is fun for Valentine's Day) according to the box instructions.
*Let it cool completely.
*Crumble the entire cake into a large bowl and mix with a whole canister of frosting (Cream Cheese is best, but anything works).
*Shape mixture into balls (or hearts) and freeze for an hour or so. You can add candy sticks to make them into pops or just leave them like this for a more truffle like treat.
*Right before you take the cake shapes out of the freezer, melt some candy melts. (You can get these at craft stores. i even saw them at WalMart.)
*Cover each cake ball in melted candy coating and pop in the fridge to harden the candy.

So, there are a million ways to make these about the cutest thing you have ever seen. Check out the Halloween ones for proof of this. Over and out!

JELL-O Knox Blocks (Jigglers)

Ever since Thanksgiving we have been enthralled with Knox Blocks. I've also done it for preschool and I'm going to do it at our upcoming annual Valentine's Dress-to-Impress Kid's Dance Party! Each child gets to stamp out their own heart JELL-O jiggler. I love that they are mess free!! I also love to see how excited the kids get for them.

YOU NEED:
4 c. boiling water
9 oz. JELL-O (any flavor) p.s 9oz=3 small packages or 1 1/2 large packages
4 packages Knox-unflavored gelatine (1 box has 4 packages in it)

THEN:
Mix everything together slowly with a wire whisk. You can scoop out the bubbles if you want to...or not. Pour into 17x12x1 cookie sheet. I put the cookie sheet mostly into the fridge and then pour the liquid into it to avoid spilling it in transport. Chill until set--I always make it the night before. Let the kids cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Hint: Dip cookie cutter into water every so often to help with cutting. Finally, get ready for lots of smiles and laughter.

Shortbread Cookies

While at Rob's parents' house a couple days ago, his mom and I made some yummy Christmas cookies. One of her favorites are these Nut Shortbread Cookies. I'd never had them before, but I love them! And, of course, they're super easy.

1 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c nuts, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients, then chill for at least 1/2 hour. Roll to 1/2 inch thick. Cut, bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Toffee

I got this recipe from a friend here in MN.  It is delish, and I think it makes a wonderful holiday treat!!  Oh, it is really easy too.  And sorry, it doesn't freeze..... hahaha.  

Line 15x1 pan (jelly roll pan) with foil and grease with butter (or spray with Pam).

Place down one layer of saltines and set aside (you might need to break some of the saltines so they fit).

In a sauce pan, combine 1 cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar.

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until it starts to caramelize.

Pour over saltines and spread around.

Bake for 7-9 minutes @ 350° F.

Pour 1 bag (2 cups) chocolate chips over the hot caramel.  Let melt and spread all over.

Sprinkle toffee chips on top.

Let cool for about 2 hours (or as long as you can stand it!)

Break apart and ENJOY!

Yummy Fudge!

I love this no bake fudge, so yummy and my kids love to help!
Bachelor Fudge
1/4 lb. butter (1 stick) softened
1/4-1/2 c. cocoa
3 oz. cream cheese
1 lb. powdered sugar (3 3/4 c. unsifted)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Sift powdered sugar and cocoa in a gallon size bag. Mix butter, sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. (smush and smash the bag until all the lumps of butter and cheese are gone). Press into pan, or roll into logs. Press nuts on top or roll the fudge into them. Refrigerate- store in refrigerator. Vary amount of cocoa depending on individual taste.

Best Pumpkin Pie ever!

Hi Girls! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with good food and good company! I will have my family up from NC and hopefully there will be a new baby to show off soon as well. We were actually at the hospital yesterday, I called it a dry run (aka. false alarm)! I guess it happens to the best of us. Anyway... I love pie! I love to bake all kinds of pies! I have always liked pumpkin pies but they haven't been on favorite list until I found this recipe. My family always stuck to the Libby's can for the pumpkin pie recipe (which is a fine pie). But this one is more creamy and rich. If you like Pumpkin pie, try this recipe and hopefully you will LOVE it too! Also this recipe is glutten free as long as you don't use a crust. My dad has celiac disease so I put some in a small oven proof bowl for him to enjoy with us.

The best pumpkin pie or pudding

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Whipped cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Dump all the ingredients (except the whipped cream) into a blender and pulse until thoroughly combined.

2. Pour the mixture into buttered individual ramekins or ovenproof soup bowls, or the unbaked pie shell of your choice. (Decorate the top with little leaves cut from pastry, if you like.)

3. Bake for 15 minutes at 425F, then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 45 minutes, or until set. Allow to cool for 1 hour before serving. Top each portion with whipped cream, if desired.

My Grandma Audrey's Texas Sheet Cake

You all MUST make this around Christmas.

Cake:
2 C flour
2 C sugar
1 C butter
1/4 C cocoa
1 C water
1/2 C buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour and sugar. Boil butter, cocoa, and water. Let cool slightly. Pour over flour/sugar mixture. Add buttermilk, soda, eggs, and vanilla. Pour in greased 9X13 jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min.

Frosting:
1/2 C butter
6 Tbsp milk
3 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/4 C cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Combine butter, milk, and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Cool. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix well. Frost cooled cake.

I love her cake so much I named my daughter after her! :)

Poppy Seed Cake

This cake is a family favorite! My mom found this recipe and we had it all the time growing up. It is super simple and it doesn't need frosting (I am not a big frosting fan). It comes out kind of like a spice cake so I thought of this recipe with the weekly ingredient being a favorite spice! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 Yellow cake mix
1 small box Instant French Vanilla Pudding
4 eggs
1 Cup water
1/2 Cup oil
1/3 Cup sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons poppy seeds

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
Mix cake mix, pudding, eggs, water, oil, sugar, and cinnamon with a mixer for two minutes. Add poppy seeds and hand mix them in. Pour into prepared bundt pan.
Cook for 45-55 min.
Let cool and turn it out of the pan. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar.
It tastes really good served with fresh berries, whipped cream or ice cream.

Peanut Butter Treats

I know the theme is berries this week, but last week was kids party snacks, and I'm running late...so I'm still going with that theme for this post.

I made these last night and am now addicted. I even woke up in the middle of the night craving them and polished them off at about 3am.

Peanut Butter Candies

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar until blended. Beat in cracker crumbs. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Carefully spoon a small amount of chocolate mixture over each candy. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.

Yield: about 1 dozen.
Nutrition Facts
• One serving: (1 each)
• Calories: 110
• Fat: 7 g
• Saturated Fat: 3 g
• Cholesterol: 8 mg
• Sodium: 69 mg
• Carbohydrate: 11 g
• Fiber: 1 g
• Protein: 2 g

Choco Peanut Butter Cake

This is a super yummy, tiny cake. Its from a cook book called Lil Gourmet, and all the recipes make really small cute cakes. Which is actually the perfect size for my kids because we eat the whole cake instead of wasting half.

Cake:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup+2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups peanut butter and milk chocolate chips divided (reserve 3/4 cup for frosting)

Frosting:
3/4 cup chips
6 ounces cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour cake pans. (two round tiny pans)
Mix cake ingredients in bosch.
Pour batter into cake pans and sprinkle with chips save some for second batch
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes

Frosting:
melt peanut butter/milk chocolate chips and add to rest of frosting ingredients, stack cakes and frost.

Makes 2 two-layer cakes