Chocolate Eclair Dessert

A friend served this dessert at her house last week, and it is so yummy and easy that you need to go make it for yourself!  :-)

Since Oliver is finished with school, he was more than happy to help me make it while his younger sister and brother were napping. :-)

First, cover the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish with a layer of graham crackers.

Measure 3 cups of milk.

Pour the milk in a mixing bowl. 

 Whisk the milk with 2 packages of instant vanilla pudding.

Fold in a container of Cool Whip. The Cool Whip was definitely his favorite part!

Pour half of the pudding/Cool Whip on top of the layer of graham crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers, and pour the rest of the pudding mixture on top. Then add one more layer of graham crackers.  

While this is going on, place a can of chocolate frosting in the microwave (take the foil off first!) and heat it on high for 1 minute. 

The only mishap was when I wasn't checking on the frosting in the microwave like I should have, and apparently it boiled over. Oliver proudly told his friend the next day, "My mom did a science experiment in the microwave! She melted a can of frosting and it exploded!" Ha ha ha. 

Take whatever frosting you have left over after it "exploded" in the microwave, and pour it on the top layer of graham crackers.  

Cover it and set it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Super easy, and yummy!

Chocolate Eclair Dessert
(recipe from All Recipes)

2 sleeves of graham crackers
2 (3 oz) packages of instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups of milk
1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip, thawed
1 (16 oz) container of chocolate frosting

Line the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish with graham crackers. 

Combine pudding mix and milk, then fold in the Cool Whip. Spoon half of the pudding mixture onto the layer of graham crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers, then spoon on the rest of the pudding mix. 

Top with one more layer of graham crackers.

Melt the frosting in the microwave for 1 minute (OR LESS!!!). Pour frosting on top of the top layer of graham crackers.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Enjoy! 

Lemon Pound Cake

If you've ever had the lemon loaf from Starbucks, you will like this recipe!  Not only does it taste almost like their cake, it's also very easy to make. And it tastes even better a few days later, after the glaze has really soaked into the cake. YUM. 

(Recipe from Picky Palate)

Cake:

1 box yellow cake mix

4.3 oz cook-and-serve or instant lemon pudding mix (I only found cook-and-serve at my store)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup skim milk

4 large eggs

8 oz light sour cream

6 tbsp lemon juice

Icing:

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.

Mix all ingredients together, pour equal amount into each loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until done.

To make icing, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice and stir until it's smooth and creamy. Drizzle onto the warm cakes and enjoy!

Creamy Pasta with Sausage and Tomatoes

I used to make a weekly dinner menu so I would always be prepared for dinner, but then the 3rd baby came along and . . . 1 year later I still haven't gotten back in the swing of menu planning. :-)  Since I'm usually scrounging at the last minute to find something for dinner, the other day I found the All Recipes Dinner Spinner app and downloaded it on my phone, and it's not only fun but I've made two yummy recipes from it! This is the first one -- Creamy Pasta with Sausage and Tomatoes.

You'll need:

1 (12oz) package pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled (I used regular smoked chicken sausage and it was fine)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup diced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced (I used ~2 tbsp minced garlic)

(I also added ~2 cups of chopped fresh spinach)

1 (28oz) can Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped (I used 2 14oz cans of Italian-style diced tomatoes)

1/2 cup heavy cream (I used 1/2 cup whole milk)

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp minced fresh parsley (omitted)

Cook pasta, drain and set aside. Heat oil and saute onion and garlic.

After onion and garlic have caramelized, add sausage and cook on both sides until browned. Add spinach and cook a little bit longer, until it's wilted. 

Take a few minutes to play with the sweaty baby boy.  :-)

Stir in tomatoes, cream and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir cooked pasta into the sauce and heat through. 

Yum! Delicious, super easy, and it took about 20 minutes from start to finish. Everyone gobbled it up. I'm definitely making this again. :-)

Spinach feta burgers

This is a yummy burger recipe that I found on a friend's blog. It's so easy to make and delicious. Not to mention, I like making hamburgers because it's easy to get most of the food prep done while the baby naps, and I can easily hold him on one hip while cooking the patties. It's the little things. ;-)

Here's the recipe:

1 lb lean ground meat (I used extra lean beef because my grocery store was out of ground turkey)

1 egg, slightly beaten

4-5 oz fresh spinach, finely chopped

3/4 cup low-fat feta, crumbled

1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp coarse ground pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Form into patties and either chill for later, or start cooking them in the skillet. I cooked mine about 8 minutes on each side (my patties were a little plump).

I served mine on whole wheat slider buns (the perfect size for kids!) with lettuce, tomato, and mustard, and with roasted baby gold potatoes and a salad on the side. Yum!

Hummus is yummus

My kids and I love to eat hummus. I started making my own when Oliver was a baby, mainly to save money since he ate so much of it! I started with a basic recipe but over time I've changed it to suit our tastes.

I recently found this smoked paprika at Costco, and it is so good! I love the way it smells, too. Such a nice, smoky aroma. And it adds such a nice flavor to the hummus.



Ingredients:
2 15oz cans of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
3/4 tsp salt, more or less
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 + 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp minced garlic
~1/4 cup water, more or less

Place all of the ingredients in your food processor.


Blend them up until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add more or less water, depending on the texture that you prefer.


This is a really good recipe for kids to help with, because they can dump the beans and spices in the food processor, help you squeeze the lemon, etc. And it only takes about 5 minutes from start to finish, and then they get to eat it right away! (You just might want to warn your little helpers that the food processor will be pretty loud.)




And voila! Yummy, homemade hummus that costs less than $2.00 for about 1 quart, and is a perfect dip for fresh veggies and whole wheat crackers. Or, if you're like my kids, you can also use it as a dip for strawberries, grapes, or blueberries. :-)

Chocolate mint cookies

I'm not the best cookie-baker, but I do like to make cookies (and eat the results). Yesterday I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies using Andes mints pieces instead of chocolate chips, but I couldn't find my chocolate chip cookie recipe. So I experimented a little and came up with this really yummy recipe.

Warning: these cookies are very addictive!!!

Chocolate mint cookies
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag (12 oz, I think?) Andes mints pieces

Preheat oven to 375.
Cream sugars, vanilla, and butter together. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy.
Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.


Then beat together until nice and creamy. Resist the urge to eat all of the cookie dough.


Stir in Andes mints, and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes at 375 degrees.

They taste like Thin Mints (the Girl Scout cookies) and I should have made a half batch because I can't stop eating them. So delicious. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies

I've tried a few peanut butter cookie recipes, but this one is my favorite so far! It's from the back of the Jif jar. (And, believe it or not, I actually followed the recipe, except I added M&Ms and miniature peanut butter cups!)

Irresistible Jif Peanut Butter Cookies
3/4 cup Jif creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 375 and set out cooling racks for cooling cookies.
2. Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.
3. Combine all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 375 for 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet. Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.



These are the "cookies" that my helpers made! The top picture is Buttercup's pan, and the one below is Oliver's:



And last, but not least, here's a cute picture of Buttercup washing up after she finished with her ingredients. It reminds me of a similar picture of Oliver (scroll down to the 5th picture to see it) when he was about the same age! :-)

Oven-fried talapia

This is one of the recipes that I used to make about once or twice a month, but it never turned out just right. I've used it for chicken and fish, and usually the meat would end up dry while the crust would be goopy.

Then, the other afternoon, I tried the recipe again with chicken, but was rushed for time and ended up baking it at a higher temperature. And guess what? It turned out SO much better than before! The chicken was juicy and tender (we didn't even need knives to cut it), and the crust was crispy and crunchy. I tried it again tonight, with fish this time, and got the same results. Fabulous!

Here's the recipe, using tilapia. If you use chicken, you'll need to bake it for about 15-17 minutes. As a side note, I almost never measure ingredients when I cook, so this is my best estimation . . .

Oven-fried Tilapia
6 boneless tilapia filets
1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry ranch seasoning
1 tsp ground mustard
parmesan cheese

Move top oven rack to the upper level. Preheat oven to 450. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a shallow dish, mix all of the dry ingredients, excluding parmesan cheese. Dip the fish in the dry ingredients, coating each side. Lay each fillet in the baking dish (it's okay if the sides touch). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until fish flakes apart easily. Enjoy!

Mmmmmmm, carrot cake!!!

My hubby's birthday was this week! Every year I ask him what kind of birthday cake he wants, and he always says that he wants carrot cake. I made him one once a long time ago (I think it was right after our second anniversary!), but I finally decided to try it again this year. He does so much for me and the kids, and is more than deserving of a simple carrot cake. If that's what he wanted, then I was happy to make one and it was an easy way for me to show him my appreciation!!



I made the cake while the kids were napping, so they didn't get to help with that part. But they were up and around when I made the cream cheese icing -- definitely the best part of the cake!!



I used this recipe, but as usual, I didn't follow it exactly (recipes are more like a guideline, right?). The verdict? This cake is SO good that over half of it is gone already (less than 24 hours after we cut it!) and I am definitely not waiting another year before I make it again. :-)

Here is the recipe, with my additions/changes in bold.

Carrot cake:
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cups coarsely chopped carrots
1 cup chopped pecans (omitted, Hubby doesn't like pecans)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease two round cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Stir in carrots. Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake at 350 for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Cream cheese icing:
6 tbsp butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup chopped pecans (omitted)

In a medium bowl, whip butter, cream cheese and vanilla until fluffy. Add powdered sugar a little at a time and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake and enjoy!!