mmmmm: lemon trifle

summer is the time for cool desserts. this one is in honor of my sister. it's her absolute favorite. she'll fight you for the last bowl. it takes a little time to make but it is so worth the effort. enjoy!

lemon trifle

for the pecan crumble layer:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup melted butter

for the lemon custard layer:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup flour

1 3/4 cups cold water

3 egg yolks

2/3 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons grated lemon peel

for the cream cheese layer:

1 8oz. package of cream cheese

3 cups confectioner's sugar

8 oz. whipped topping or two cups of sweetened whipped cream

mix pecans, flour and melted butter together in a small bowl. press into a greased 9 x 13 pan. bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. remove from oven, set aside and allow to cool.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and the flour. Stir in the water until it is smooth. cook over medium heat, stirring while cooking, until hot and bubbly. reduce heat and continue cooking for two minutes more. 

remove the mixture from the heat. stir a small amount of the hot liquid into the egg yolks. add the egg yolk mixture to the pan and cook while stirring until there is a gentle boil. cook for two minutes more. stir in the lemon juice, butter and lemon peel. 

transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature without stirring the mixture. cover the mixture with wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

in a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioner's sugar until smooth. fold in whipped topping or sweetened whipped cream.

crumble the baked pecan mixture. begin layering the trifle. start with a layer of lemon custard. you will use approximately 1 cup of each part of the trifle per layer. top with whipped cream mixture and a layer of the pecan crumble. continue this process two more times. top the trifle with the remaining pecan mixture. refrigerate and enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: texas sheet cake

i'm not from texas but my grandparents were. we were raised hearing that everything is better in texas. this cake is proof of that. it is so decadent and, oh, so good. it's a crowd pleaser and there is definitely enough cake to share...though i'm telling you right now, you won't want to.

texas sheet cake

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2 sticks of butter

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

preheat oven to 400 degrees. mix flour and sugar in a large bowl and set aside. 

in a saucepan, heat the butter, cocoa and water until boiling. pour the boiled mixture over the flour and sugar mixture and mix well. add the eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla. mix well. pour the ingredients into a greased sheet cake pan. bake for 20-25 minutes.

cake icing

1 cup butter

8 tablespoons cocoa powder

12 tablespoons milk

4-6 cups of powdered sugar (this is approximate)

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

heat the butter, cocoa and milk in a saucepan until well blended. add the powdered sugar to the melted mixture until smooth and creamy. when the cake is removed from the oven, pour the icing mixture over the cake while the cake is still hot. top with the nuts. cool, slice and serve. amazing.

mmmmm, mondays: chocolate covered pretzels

my kids love little christmas treats. let's be honest. i do too. december is usually not a month that is big in the weight loss category in my house.

anyway, i love to make chocolate covered pretzels for the kiddos. they are so easy and they will last several days. grab your ingredients and go!

chocolate covered pretzels

one bag old fashioned dipping sticks

one bag milk chocolate chips

one bag white chocolate chips

christmas sprinkles (any kind)

melt one bag of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. start by microwaving it for one minute. mix well. return the chocolate to the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring each time, until the chocolate is a melted, smooth consistency.

dip each pretzel into the chocolate using a spoon to coat all but one tip. place covered pretzel on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. 

sprinkle with various holiday decorations. let cool at room temperature until set. 

remove from wax paper and share. repeat the process for the white chocolate covered pretzels and you're set! enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: apple crisp

perhaps i am not the person to post a dessert like this. i pretty much believe fruit belongs in a salad and not in a dessert...unless it is a strawberry covered in chocolate. then i'll make an exception.

still, this dessert makes me think of fall. it's pretty delicious served warm with a scoop of ice cream. sometimes i wish i could just eat the topping...but that probably wouldn't fly in the dessert category.

so here you go...apples and all.

apple crisp

8 cups apples, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2-1 cup butter

place sliced apples in a 9 x 13 pan. sprinkle them with water. put aside and prepare the crust. mix together the dry ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the apples. cut the butter into pieces and lay over the layer of apples and topping. cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes. serve warm with ice cream. enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: white chocolate, raspberry muffins

at this point, you can pretty much host a fantastic brunch with all of the breakfast recipes we've had lately. here is one of my newest favorites. i'm a sucker for raspberries and i will take white chocolate over dark chocolate any day of the week. these muffins don't fall into the "healthy" category...but they are pretty delicious. make them for a special occasion and enjoy a few yourself. you can get on the treadmill tomorrow.

white chocolate, raspberry muffins

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

3 cups milk

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoons baking powder

6 cups flour

2 bags of white chocolate chips

3 cups fresh raspberries (washed and patted dry)


preheat the oven to 400 degrees. spray three-12 count muffin pans with non-stick spray (i use canola oil spray and my pans from surlatable.)

Chicago Metallic Commercial II Standard Muffin Pan (Google Affiliate Ad)

using and electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until it is smooth. add the eggs, milk and vanilla and blend on a low speed. add the baking powder and chocolate and mix on low speed until incorporated. add white chocolate chips and blend on low to combine. pour in raspberries and fold in using a spoon or spatula. fill each muffin tin 3/4 full. dust lightly with sugar. bake 20 minutes or until an inserted knife is clean. enjoy! makes 3 dozen muffins (cut recipe unless you are feeding the masses!)

mmmmm...dry jello salad

okay, the name of this one might scare you off but it's really delicious and soooo easy to make. i love cool treats in the summer. i could pretty much live off of things out of the fridge and freezer. this recipe is perfect for a cool summer snack.

dry jello salad

1 small can crushed pineapple

1 can mandarine oranges, cut in half

1 large package orange jello

1 (8 oz.) package cool whip (you can use the low-fat variety if you like)

1 pt. cottage cheese

put the fruit in a strainer and let fruit drain for at least one hour. pour the fruit into a bowl and sprinkle dry jello over the fruit. mix well. add the cottage cheese and mix until smooth. lastly, add the cool whip and blend well. place in a large dish and refrigerate until ready to serve. enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: red, white & blue pound cake

 

i love patriotic holidays. i love memorial day and a national chance to honor our military. maybe it's my military heritage. maybe after living abroad, i have learned to better appreciate our country. either way, i embrace days that celebrate our nation and those who fight and have fought for it. so, in honor of memorial day, try a strawberry shortcake...and throw in some blueberries to add a patriotic punch.


red, white & blue shortcake

pound cake (recipe following)

strawberries: washed, stems removed, sliced and sprinkled with sugar

blueberries: washed

whipped cream: don't skimp on this. buy real heavy whipping cream. for one quart of heavy whipping cream, add 3/4 cup of sugar. beat it on high until it is thick and forms peaks. refrigerate until ready to use.


slice the pound cake and place a slice on the plate, layer with whipped cream and strawberries. add a dollop of whipped cream on the top and top with blueberries. enjoy!


sour cream pound cake (if you don't want to buy one from the freezer section...no judgement...it's about 50/50 for me)

3 cups cake flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup butter (two sticks)

2 cups sugar

6 egg yolks

6 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

preheat oven to 325 degrees. grease and flour a 9 inch bread pan.  mix flour, baking soda and salt. set aside. mix sour cream with vanilla. set aside. cream the butter. add and beat in two cups of sugar. add egg yolks one at a time and beat. add 1/3 of the flour mixture. add 1/2 of the sour cream mixture. continue with 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining sour cream mixture and the remaining flour mixture. in another bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on high until soft peaks form. gradually add 1/2 cup sugar until peaks are stiff. fold in the egg mixture. pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly. bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes until an inserted knife or toothpick comes out clean. let cool, slice and enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: easy peasy lemon bars

easy peasy lemon bars

ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour

2/3 c. powdered sugar

3/4 c. butter, softened

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 c. sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 c. lemon juice

extra powdered sugar

directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

combine flour, sugar and butter. put in greased 13x9 inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

meanwhile, in a bowl, beat eggs, sugar, flour and lemon juice until frothy. pour over the hot crust.

bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.

cool on a wire rack. dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares.

enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: turkey rice crispy treats

i'm always looking for cute things to make for or with my kids for the holidays. i saw a picture of something like this and thought i could duplicate it. here's what i did...

you'll need to make two batches of the following so shop accordingly.

4 tablespoons butter

1-10.5 oz. bag of miniature marshmallows

6 cups cocoa crispies

melt the butter and marshmallows over low heat in a large pot until smooth. add the rice crispies and mix until well blended. pour into a 11 x 14 rectangular dish sprayed well with non- stick cooking spray. using wax paper stayed well with nonstick spray, press the mixture firmly into the rectangular dish.

repeat this entire process but instead of pressing into an 11 x 14 dish, press into a large flat jelly role pan. you won't have enough of the mixture to completely fill the pan. that's okay. you will still have plenty to complete the turkeys.

allow both trays to cool and harden.

using round objects from your kitchen (i used a donut cutter and a round cheese shredder), cut the rice crispies into two different sized circles. use the larger pan to cut about 3 inch circles and the smaller pan to cut about 1 and 1/2 inch circles. i was able to get 24 circles of each size cut from the pans with some treats leftover.

here's what you'll need to decorate your turkeys:

1 bag small pretzel sticks

1 bag small pretzel twists

1 can vanilla frosting (this can be in a tub)

1 container of decorative chocolate frosting

1 bag of candy corn

stick the two circles together with the vanilla frosting. use two straight pretzel sticks in between the two pieces to become the turkey's legs. using more vanilla frosting, attach the twisted pretzels around the top edge of the larger circle to form wings. add another layer of frosting to attach the candy corn. using the chocolate frosting, attach one more candy corn for a beak and a little bit at the top for some brown feathers. it's not exactly the snack of champions but it is very cute and a wonderfully fun addition to your thanksgiving traditions.

enjoy!

peanut-butter-scotch o's

i don't know about you, but i love recipes that involve cereal. i use multi-grain cheerios for this one to make it a little less horrible for you. these really are good and are especially addicting while they are still warm and gooey.

peanut-butter-scotch o's

1 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups peanut butter

1/4 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

11 0z. package of butterscotch chips

6 cups cheerios (i use multigrain but regular o's work fine as well)

bring the corn syrup, brown sugar and peanut butter to a low boil in a large pot. remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. add the cheerios and butterscotch chips all at once and stir until all of the o's are completely coated. press into a buttered 9x13 pan. cut and enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: o'henry bars

i'm not sure where this recipe originated but it's one of my husband's favorite desserts from his childhood. he just celebrated his 40th birthday so this one's for him.

o'henry bars

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

4 cups oatmeal

1 bag chocolate chips

3/4 cup peanut butter

cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. add oatmeal. press into an 10 x 13 pan and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. remove from heat and cool.

melt peanut butter and chocolate chips over low heat. pour mixture over cooled oatmeal pan. spread chocolate mixture to coat oatmeal completely with a layer of chocolate. place in refrigerator to cool until ready to serve.


cut into 2-inch square bars.