Posts tagged ‘Kid Pleaser’
Red, White and Blue Trifle
This trifle is another recipe that I’m reblogging since it’s perfect for July 4th.
It’s very easy to make and looks very patriotic. You can make it with all sugar-free products like I do or use the regular products ~ it’s great with either. This recipe uses help from prepared products, but you can always make yours from scratch. I always use more fruit than necessary and I never use the banana since I’m not much of a banana fan.
Red, White, and Blue Trifle
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 (4 ounce pkg.) cheesecake flavor instant pudding
1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
16 ounce frozen pound cake, thawed
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup sliced banana
Mix together the milk and pudding mix and beat with a wire whisk for 1-2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in the thawed Cool Whip.
In a trifle bowl or large glass bowl, layer half the cake cubes, half the fruit, and half of the pudding/Cool Whip mixture. Repeat layers, ending with pudding/Cool Whip mixture.
Chill at least 2 hours before serving.
Makes 12 servings
Happy Cooking!
Lemon-Sugar Grilled Pineapple
When we lived in Hawaii, we could get pineapples practically off the vine. They were so sweet and delicious (and cheap!). We ate so many of them that I’m surprised we still like them! This recipe is perfect if you get a not-so-sweet pineapple like I did recently. A super easy grilled dessert that only uses 3 ingredients. The hardest part is peeling and cutting the pineapple ~ although it’s not really hard, just time-consuming.
We grill the pineapple after we finish eating dinner so it’s still warm when we eat it. This would also be great with some vanilla ice cream.
I found the recipe in an old All You magazine.
Lemon-Sugar Grilled Pineapple
1 fresh pineapple
2 tbsps grated lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar
Trim off the top and bottom of the pineapple. Peel the rind off being sure to get as many of the eyes off as possible as they are hard to eat. When peeled, cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and then into sections, making sure to cut the rind off each section.
Mix the sugar and zest in a ziplock bag.
Put a couple of the pineapple sticks into the bag at a time and shake until coated. Transfer to the grill and cook for 5-7 minutes or until you have grill marks and pineapple is softening up.
Cool slightly before eating so you don’t burn your mouth.
Makes 8 servings.
Happy Cooking!
Patriotic Cupcakes
Since Wednesday is Independence Day, I thought I would reblog these cupcakes. They really turn out cute and are not hard to make. The only thing you have to be careful of the amount of each color of batter you put in each cupcake paper. For me, 2 scant tablespoons of each color batter worked but it might be different for you. Try layering the batter for one and see how it goes. Don’t fill them to the top, about 2/3rds full should do it!
Fourth of July Cupcakes
18 1/4 ounces white cake mix
1 cup water (or as indicated on cake mix directions)
1/3 cup oil (or as indicated on cake mix directions)
3 eggs (or as indicated on cake mix directions)
1/2 teaspoon blue food coloring
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
1 (16 ounce) can vanilla frosting
red white and blue candy sprinkle
Prepare cake mix according to package directions.
In a small bowl, combine 1 1/3 cups batter with blue food coloring. In another small bowl, combine red food coloring with 1 1/3 cups batter. Leave the remaining batter plain.
Fill paper-lined muffin tins with 2 tablespoons red batter, 2 tablespoons plain batter, and 2 tablespoons blue batter. Do not swirl batter, leave it layered.
Bake at 350º for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in pan and then remove cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frost with vanilla frosting and decorate with sprinkles.
Makes about 18 cupcakes
Happy Cooking!
The Great Shake 2012 ~ Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes by Adam Ried
As you may have guessed from the title of this post, I am participating in The Great Shake 2012 along with several other bloggers. I was contacted by Judy and she asked if I would like to participate and I jumped at the chance. She sent me a copy of Adam’s book, Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes. You may recognize Adam from American’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Country, or as a columnist for The Boston Globe.
I LOVE this book! There are so many wonderful recipes that it was difficult for me to choose. My daughter and her husband happened to be here when I was trying to decide and between them and Mr. Meat Eater we went for….vanilla milkshakes. We will never be accused of being trend setters. BUT ~ this vanilla milkshake was the best one I have had in years and years. I am looking forward to trying some of the others over the summer and I will blog about them when I do.
You NEED a copy of this cookbook if you are a lover of milkshakes!!! Be sure to join us in a twitter chat tonight at 8 pm at #GreatShakes!
Ballistic Vanilla Shake
Recipe Courtesy of Adam Ried, Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes
1/2 cup cold milk, whole or lowfat ~ I used 2%
2 tsps vanilla extract ~ use pure vanilla
8 medium scoops French vanilla ice cream, softened slightly
Place the milk, vanilla, and ice cream in a blender and pulse several times to break up the ice cream. With the blender off, use a rubber spatula to mash the ice cream down into the blender blades. Continue pulsing and mashing the ice cream into the blades (with the motor off) until all the ingredients are well blended and the mixture moves easily in the blender making sure all is well blended.
Pour into a glass or glasses and serve at once.
Happy Cooking!
Cinnamon Roll Casserole
I forgot to mention in my last post that the picture of my daughter was taken by my friend, Ann, who I think missed her calling as a photographer. She took some great pictures!
I also wanted to mention that my picture of Zippy seen here can also be seen on Touch of Home Petsitting Blog! That picture always makes me laugh.
I found the recipe for this breakfast casserole on Pinterest and it’s from The Dishy Decorator and we loved it. It’s really more like a cinnamon roll French toast. It’ perfect by itself but adding bacon or sausage and fruit would round it out. It also couldn’t be easier to make.
Cinnamon Roll Casserole
1 tbsps melted butter
2 cans Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing (8 in a can)
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup real maple syrup
Heat oven to 375º and pour melted butter into a 13×9 glass baking dish.
Separate rolls from the cans and cut each roll into 8 pieces and place in dish over melted butter.
In a small bowl, mix eggs, heavy cream, cinnamon, and vanilla until well blended and pour over the top of the rolls in the dish. Sprinkle with pecan pieces and drizzle with the 1/4 cup syrup. I did not use the pecans and I just eyeballed the syrup and it worked out fine.
Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove metal tops from the icing and heat in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds at 50% power or until the icing is pourable.
Drizzle over the top of the cooled rolls.
Happy Cooking!
Brownie, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Cup Treats
Today, my recipe for Slow Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes is the recipe of the week at Gooseberry Patch. I don’t think I’ve posted this recipe here so grab it over there. It’s really good and can sit in the slow cooker for a bit if the rest of your meal isn’t ready.
This recipe is all over Pinterest and it looked really good and easy to me. Once I made it, I thought it was just OK while the rest of the family thought it was great and ate them all up.
Now this recipe uses lots of packaged products so if you want to make them from scratch I think it would work fine.
I happened to have a square muffin pan but I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use a regular muffin pan. Just make sure you grease the pan ~ the recipe didn’t call for it but it’s super hard to get them out of the pan if you don’t.
Brownie, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Cup Treats
1 box brownie mix (milk chocolate or fudge or use your favorite)
1 pkg miniature peanut butter cups
1 pkg Nestle Chocolate Chips (they are in squares in the pkg)
Generously grease a square muffin pan.
Take one chocolate chip cookie and press in the pan to cover bottom as in the picture above. Place one unwrapped peanut butter cup upside down on top of the cookie dough. Spoon some brownie dough over the peanut butter cup, covering it.
Bake at 350º for 18-20 minutes or until brownies are done.
Makes 12 treats.
Happy Cooking!
Easy Peasey Blueberry Cheese Danish
I am trying to cook my way through the all my food pins on Pinerest and this is one of the recipes on my Breakfast/Brunch board. The recipe I pinned was for blackberry cheese danish and although I like blackberries, I like blueberries better so I just switched the berries. In fact, I think almost any berry would work in this recipe.
This recipe came from the blog Lauren’s Latest, which is a really cute blog with some delicious recipes ~ check it out! She has step-by-step pictures, too.
Easy Peasey Blueberry Cheese Danish
Danish:
1 tube crescent rolls or 1 tube crescent dough
1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsps flour
1/2 pint fresh blueberries, washed and dried
Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsps heavy cream ~ more may be needed to get the right consistency
1 splash vanilla
Preheat oven to 375º.
In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla and set aside.
Unroll the dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Roll out the dough and place squares in a row lengthwise. Pinch the perforations together to form one sheet of dough.
Spoon the filling down the center of the dough leaving about an inch on both ends of the dough. Sprinkle blueberries over the top of the filling.
Make cuts on each side of the dough so the strips are about 1/2 inch in size.
Fold an end over the dough and start braiding the dough as you go down. Tuck the other end of the dough under the strips as best you can.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the dough is golden and filling hot.
Let the danish cool. While cooling, mix the icing and then drizzle the icing over the top. Sprinkle extra blueberries over the top if you have them.
Makes 8 servings.
Happy Cooking!
Ham and Cheese Pastries
What a whirlwind couple of weeks! Two showers for my daughter ~ one of which was at my house ~ so I have been busy, busy, busy. I did all the cooking for the shower at my house ~ breakfast in the dining room and lunch in the kitchen ~ and I did not take pictures of all the food. Oh well, I’ll have to remake them! Yesterday, we went to the venue and got the menu for the reception all planned. The wedding is coming up fast!
In between all that, I bought a new cookbook ~ The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook ~ the recipes are just wonderful and easy to do. If you get a chance, check it out. I highly recommend it if you like to bake.
This recipe came from that cookbook. Every Saturday Mr. Meat Eater and I go to a local bakery for breakfast. I am addicted to their ham and cheese croissants so I am always looking for a similar recipe and this one is as close as I have gotten.
It’s easy to make and we had them for dinner. I made half with the seasoning and half without since I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not. I did.
Ham and Cheese Pastries
adapted from The Bake in the Day Bakery Cookbook
Seasoning Mix
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp thyme
2 tsps pepper
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Fine sea salt to taste
Pastries
1 (17.3 oz pkg) frozen puff pastry, defrosted in fridge for 20-30 minutes
1/2 lb thinly sliced ham
1/2 lb thinly sliced sharp white cheddar
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water to use for egg wash
1 tsp fine sea salt
Preheat your oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the seasoning mix by mixing all spices in a small bowl and set aside. You’ll have extra to store for the next time you use this recipe!
On a floured surface, unfold the pastry and cut into 4 (5 inch) squares.
Arrange the ham and cheese in the middle of each square and sprinkling some of the seasoning mix over the top.
Fold two opposite corners over the top and press to seal. Transfer to baking sheet. Repeat with second pastry sheet.
Brush egg wash over the pastries and sprinkle with salt if desired.
Bake until pastries are golden brown ~ about 12-14 minutes. Remove from sheet and let cool on a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 pastries.
Happy Cooking!
Best-Ever Pot Roast from Simple Shortcut Recipes
Day 8 of 10 days of recipe from 
by Gooseberry Patch. If you would like a chance to win a FREE copy of this cookbook, please comment on THIS POST!
Pot roast is one of our favorite meals so it was easy to choose this recipe. I had never heard of cream of onion soup and could not find it anywhere around here so I changed the recipe up a bit. I used a can of French onion soup and left out the cream of celery altogether. It worked out great and tasted delicious. Either way, it’s a great recipe. Adding the extra salt may be something you want to leave out since canned soup is no salty to begin with. I really don’t think you’ll need it.
I totally forgot to take pictures until dinner was half over so they aren’t the best. Sorry about that! THe recipe was submitted by a cook who lives in the city next to mine!
Best-Ever Pot Roast
Submitted by Emily Runyon, Suffolk, VA
3 lbs redskin potatoes, quartered
16 oz pkg baby carrots
2 onions, sliced
1 to 2 tbsps oil
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of onion soup
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup water ~ half a soup can water is about 1/2 cup
sea salt to taste
Place potatoes, carrots and onions in a large slow cooker and set aside.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the roast on all sides. After browning, place in the slow cooker on top of the veggies.
Pour soups and water over the top of the roast in the slow cooker and sprinkle with salt.
Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours.
Makes 6 servings.
Happy Cooking!
Cheddar Biscuits from Simple Shortcut Recipes
Day 7 of 10 days of recipes from 
by Gooseberry Patch. For a chance to win a free copy of this cookbook, please comment on THIS POST!
This recipe has been around for a long time but it’s a good one and does taste like the cheddar bay biscuits at Red Lobster. They are super easy to make and really go with any kind of meal. I typically use half and half in mine because I think it makes the biscuits more tender ~ whether it does or not, I don’t know but in my head it does, LOL!
The recipe said it makes 10 biscuits but I used an ice cream scoop so I would have the biscuits all the same size and I only made 6. I also don’t think I would double this recipe but if I needed more, I would make the recipe 2 times. I’m just not sure it would double right. If anyone has done this, please let me know!
Cheddar Biscuits
Submitted by Molly Ebert, Decatur, IN
2 cups biscuit baking mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsps fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp garlic powder
In a mixing bowl, stir together the baking mix, cheddar cheese, milk, and parsley until a soft dough forms.
Scoop dough into 10 mounds onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake at 450º for 8 to 10 minutes or until the tops are golden.
Combine butter and garlic powder; stir until well mixed.
Brush biscuits with butter mixture while still hot.
Makes 10 biscuits.
Happy Cooking!
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