Apple Cranberry Fruit Salad

This is a delicious winter fruit salad. It's easy to make, colorful and people will be lining up for a second helping! It could even pass as a dessert with the marshmallows and cool-whip it has in it.

It's the perfect salad to take to your holiday dinner!

I think the original recipe is enough for about 10-15 people. I tripled the recipe last week and took it to a church dinner and it fed about 40 people.


Apple Cranberry Fruit Salad
2 cups raw cranberries - chopped (I just did a few pulses on the blender in small amounts)
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups diced apples
1/2 cup walnuts - chopped
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups mini marshmallows
8 oz carton Cool Whip

Combine chopped cranberries and sugar and chill overnight.

After chilling combine all ingredients.

A Quick Birthday Cake

October was a crazy month in our house. It was an endless 31 days of colds, dr's appointments, expected and unexpected traveling, and a surgery for my husband!

Our daughter had her birthday a week ago and had requested a Dora birthday cake. She had talked about this cake all month and I had great plans to make a fabulous fondant cake of Dora's adorable round face.

But then my grandfather passed away and I decided to travel the 3,000 miles back across the US (by plane of course) to the funeral. The funeral was on my daughter's birthday so we had to celebrate a few days early.

So all fondant plans went out the window and I made a cake from a box and slapped on some store bought frosting (not my favorite - a fab homemade butter cream recipe can be found here).

Then I got to decorating by cutting Dora out of a fruit snacks box and sticking her in the cake along with some fake flowers.  To finish out the look I took some green paper and cut it into grass to decorate the bottom of the cake.

She was thrilled with the result and happy to have her Dora cake for her 3rd birthday!

So next time you are in a jam like I was just look in your cupboards and toy box to find your cake topper decorations!

Mini Candy Bar Peanut Butter Blossoms

We have a few minutes between the kids soccer games right now so I wanted to share with you a variation to the classic Peanut Butter Blossom cookie with the chocolate kisses (you know the ones I'm talking about right?!)

Now these cookies are delicious just the way they are, but to mix things up a bit (and because the candy aisle is over flowing this time of year and was calling my name) I used mini candy bars and whoppers instead of kisses.

I mean what candy bar and peanut butter combination wouldn't be good?!  Umm, they are all amazing!

This recipe makes a ton - perfect for a football or Halloween party (or send them to work with your husband like I did)!

Enjoy.

Peanut Butter Blossoms - Betty Crocker
Makes 7 dozen

1/2	cup granulated sugar
1	cup packed brown sugar
1	cup creamy peanut butter
1	cup butter or margarine, softened
2	eggs
3	cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 1/2	teaspoons baking soda
1	teaspoon baking powder
	Additional granulated sugar (about 2 tablespoons)
	About 7 dozen chocolate candies Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in additional granulated sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Immediately press 1 chocolate candy in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Homemade Chocolate Pudding was a Sunday dessert staple in my childhood home. If my husband had his way we'd have it every Sunday too. 


It's creamy, rich, delicious and down-right sinful! You'll never go back to boxed pudding again!

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

1 cup sugar

6 TBSP cornstarch

6 TBSP cocoa

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 TBSP butter

Put sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt in a sauce pan. Give it a quick stir then add the milk. Turn on heat to med/high and whisk/stir it CONSTANTLY until it gets bubbly and thick. It takes about 7-8 minutes to thicken up.

Once thick stir in the vanilla and butter until melted.

Serve with ice cream. Enjoy!

Creamy Peach Pie

This recipe is my aunt Mary's and it is amazing. It's fresh, it's tart, it's sweet, it's creamy! I could easily eat a whole pie by myself.

Nothing says 'end of summer, beginning of fall' like peach pie.

Creamy Peach Pie
-Make 2 pies-

12-14 peaches
1.5 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 small package lemon jello (not the pudding)
8 oz cream cheese
8-12oz cool whip
1/2 cup powdered sugar

2- Cooked Pie Crusts

1. Puree 2-3 peaches in blender until it equals about about 1.5 cups
2. Bring puree and and sugar to a boil in pot on stove. Mix cornstarch and water - stir into puree mixture unil thickened. Mix in the jello powder until disolved.
3. Set aside to cool.
4. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and cool whip.
5. Divide and layer into the bottom of the prepared pie shells.
6. Slice remaining peaches and layer on top of cream mixture.
7. Pour puree over top of peaches.
8. Cool and top with cool whip.
9. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

I love zucchini! It grew in my garden as a kid and I can't wait to grow with my kids one day. In the meantime I've been purchasing it in mass quantities and enjoying every bit of it.

If you have zucchini growing like weeds in your garden or have been picking it up from the farmers market stand and want a new dish to use it in I've got the perfect recipe for you . . . Chocolate Zucchini Cookies.

I've just altered the cake mix recipe that I love. These are so easy! They passed the taste test by my husband and 4 year old son too.  They are moist, delicious and healthy (for a cookie that is)!

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

1 box chocolate cake

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1-1.5 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet and bake them at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. That's it. Easy huh?!

Watermelon Cake

My baby had her first birthday this weekend. When I saw this watermelon cake on Betty Crocker I knew it was the one. Simple, colorful and cute!

Watermelon Cake
adapted from Betty Crocker

1 strawberry cake mix - eggs, water and oil as called for on box
2 cubes butter - room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
1tsp vanilla
1 tbsp - milk
Food coloring (gel food coloring will make dark and bold colors)
1.5 cups miniature chocolate chips

Cake:
1. Make cake as directed on the box. Add a few drops of red food coloring to make the batter darker.
2. Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips to batter.
3. Pour batter evenly into 2 round cake pans.
4. Bake as directed on the box.
5. Let cakes cool before assembling and frosting.

Frost and Decorate:

1. Make butter cream frosting by mixing the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add milk to get desired consistency. For pictures and further instructions on making butter cream frosting click HERE.
2. Divide frosting into 2 bowls  - about 2/3 in one bowl and 1/3 in the other.
3. Add red food coloring to the larger bowl and green to the smaller. Mix thoroughly.

I don't have a cake stand so I just turned over a large plate as my makeshift stand. Put a dab of frosting on the plate to keep the cake from slipping off. Place 1 cake on the plate. If if has a rounded top take a serrated knife and gently level it off.

Cover the cake with a thin layer of red frosting on the top top surface. Place the second cake on top.  Use the remaining red frosting to cover just the top portion of the cake.. Go slow and try not to drag crumbs. (Freezing your cake a few hours before you frost it will help keep the crumbs under control.) 

Use the green frosting to frost along the edge of the cake. Add mini chocolate chips to the top of the cake! (To give the cake even more texture you could press green jelly beans into the green frosting.)

Here's the birthday girl enjoying her cake. No messy face or hands here. She'd only poke her fingers in it. 

I linked to Today's Creative Blog.

Dipped Oreos

If you are ever in need of a very quick and easy treat to take to a friend, a meeting, or for dessert I've got it for you - Dipped Oreos.

Grab some Oreos (any kind you like), chocolate chips, vanilla bark (whatever you want really) and some sprinkles. Slowly melt you desired chocolate in the microwave in 1 min increments or less to avoid burning.

Dip the Oreo half way, cover in sprinkles, and lay on wax paper too harden.

In a hurry? Stick them in the fridge or freezer for a faster set.

Give it a cute presentation stick them in a cellophane bag and tie it off with a ribbon!

YUM!!

American Girl Cupcakes

Our oldest daughter turned 7 recently and she LOVES the American Girl book series. She and I have been reading them together for over a year and now she can read them on her own (love that)! She reads them every night.

A few weeks before her birthday she was looking around americangirl.com and came across a  quick video of bakers making American Girl cupcakes (I can no longer find the video). She was immediately sold on these cupcakes being served for her birthday.

So the day before her birthday we made some of our own American Girl cupcakes and some resembling each of our family members. We had a lot of fun creating the girls and referencing the books to see what they look like.

If you have a daughter who loves American Girls or just want to make people cupcakes here is what you'll need.

You Need:
Cooked and Cooled Cupcakes
Butter Cream Frosting (recipe below)
Small tubes of writing icing (optional)
Cocoa - for dark skin and brown hair
Food Coloring - gel colors will give you more bold and true colors, like the red hair
Candy (think ahead of who you are creating so you will have appropriate eyes color, hair etc)

       - we used licorice, sixlets (for some of the eyes), piky stix/ cool aid (rosy cheeks) etc. . . .
       - Fruit leather would also work great for the hair
Ribbons or other accessories
Icing bag or plastic sandwich baggies

While you are baking your cupcakes you'll need to make yourself some butter cream frosting. I think store bought might be a little too soft for piping through a bag for hair and homemade is better anyway.

Here is my mom's recipe for butter cream frosting that we've been using forever! It's so good!

Butter Cream Frosting
2 sticks of butter - soft/room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1-2 TBS of milk- as needed

Beat the sugar, butter, and vanilla together. Add 1TBS of milk and mix. The texture should be soft, yet hold together well, not runny. Only add more milk if needed.

Color the Frosting

Divide the frosting in separate bowls so you can make different colors. We kept most of it white for the faces, but also made red, yellow and brown. Make brown by adding some cocoa - just add it little by little to get the taste you like.

Frost & Decorate

*To make the frosting smooth for the faces just dip your knife in a cup of water ad smooth it over the already spread frosting.

*To pipe on strands of hair, lips, and glasses we put the frosting in the corner of a baggie and just cut off a tiny tip. Always test how thick the line is by piping it out on paper first.

*Use candies for eyes and hair. We used small ribbon to add embellishments to make the cupcakes look like the American Girls. 

* Sprinkle on a tad bit of red pixy stix sugar to make rosy cheeks.

Samantha, Kirsten, Addy, Kit, Molly, Kaya, and Felicity

Here's our little family!

Have fun making, creating and eating your cupcakes!

Peanut Butter Smores

Our little family went camping last month and enjoyed making up a few new smores creations. Both centered around peanut butter and chocolate combinations! If you still have a camping trip in your summer plans take along some of these peanut butter goodies to kick your smores experience up a notch. 

You really can't go wrong with peanut butter, chocolate and gooey crispy marshmallows. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! Just use peanut butter cups instead of chocolate bars. Amazing!! Definitely my favorite.

Nutter Butters! Substitute the graham crackers with Nutter Butter cookies. Don't worry the chocolate is in there too. Gotta have the chocolate and peanut butter combination!

Not a peanut butter fan? Here are a few other smores creations we've done in the past - use chocolate frosting, marshmallow cream, or striped fudge cookies as substitutions to make some pretty tasty smores too!

Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Pie

My friend Heidi and her kids came over to swim last week. She was kind enough to bring me some food from her garden, rhubarb being one. She told me it would be enough for a strawberry rhubarb pie. 

I haven't had rhubarb pie since I was a kid. I'm pretty sure my grandma made it for a family gathering once. I have no recollection if I liked it or not. 

When I told my husband that I was going to make a strawberry rhubarb pie to take to a friends house this weekend he gave me a strange look.  He's never had it before. When he tasted a small piece of the celery looking type veggie (yep, it's a vegetable) he really looked at me weird. Rhubarb may look like celery and have a very tart taste, but it makes one amazing strawberry rhubarb pie. 

Everyone loved it and we had seconds and thirds. Go find some rhubarb and make yourself a pie. It's so good! 

The recipe I'm sharing comes right from Heidi's own recipe blog, Tasty Sensations. Check out all her fabulous recipes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Pie

From Tasty Sensations

1 egg

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 pound fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2.5 cups fresh strawberries, halved

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell (or go ahead and make it yourself.)

Streusel Topping

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup quick-cooking or rolled oats

6 TBS chilled butter

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg. Add the sugar, flour and vanilla; mix well. Gently fold in rhubarb and strawberries. Pour into unbaked pastry shell. 

2. For topping, combine flour, brown sugar and oats in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly (I wrapped mine with foil halfway through to prevent the crust from over-browning). Cool on a wire rack.

Watermelon Berry Star

Here is another easy, fun, and festive patriotic treat for this coming weekend. Nothing says summer more than watermelon and berries.  Happy 4th of July!!

Ingredients:

1 Large watermelon

Cool Whip

Blueberries

Strawberries

Cut a three-inch thick slice from the center of a watermelon. Place it flat on a cutting board and use a sharp kitchen knife to cut a star shape. (I printed out a star to use as a template.) Pat the watermelon dry with a paper towel.

Place the star on your serving dish or cake stand. Pipe some cool whip around the bottom edge of the star. I put some into a plastic bag and cut off the tip to pipe it out. Spread additional cool whip on the top of the watermelon. Decorate with berries as desired!

Wish I could claim this star idea as my own. I saw a picture of this on my apartment newsletter this week, but there wasn't a source. It was so simple and the watermelon and berries taste amazing together!