Cherry Fluff

Remember that cherry fluff I talked about at Thanksgiving?  Well, here it is.  This is a tradition with our family, we have it at any holiday gathering.  I love to eat it with ham (sweet and salty) or just by itself!  It is so fluffy and delicious.  Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does.

The lighting isn't great in this picture, so it doesn't do it justice!

Cream together cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk

Add cherry pie filling, crushed pineapple, and nuts.  Stir and add whipped cream and marshmallows!

 YUM, dreamy fluffy goodness

Grandma's Cherry Fluff

1 block cream cheese (8oz), softened to room temp

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can cherry pie filling

1 large can crushed pineapple, drained very well

2/3 cup chopped nuts

1 small tub cool whip

1 cup marshmallows

Cream together cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk with beaters.  Stir in cherry pie filling, nuts and pineapple until well combined.  Fold in cool whip and marshmallows.  Eat immediately to make sure it takes right Chill in fridge for at least 4 hours.  I usually make it the day before to make things easier.  Enjoy!!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

God bless you all and I wish you the best.

Fall Trail Mix

I love this stuff and make it every year when the Halloween Candy comes out.  I like it a little too much so I have learned to make it to share with people, that way I don't have a whole batch of it to eat by myself.  This is the only way I like to eat candy corn.  When you combine it with the salty peanuts it takes like a payday.  This year I made a batch of it and took it to my lovely co-workers!

 YUM

I also attached Bible verses and notes to these if you are looking for an encouraging gift idea!

Fall Trail Mix

16oz can of dry roasted peanuts

1 bag of fall color M&M's (the normal size bag in Halloween candy isle, not single serving bag)

1 bag candy corn (I like the variety candy corn)

4-5 cups chex cereal

Combine in a large bowl.  It is also good with pretzels added in:)  I'm sure there are lots of other mix-ins to try as well, this is the way I like to make it!  Enjoy

The Fun of Food Gatherings

We have been to a couple food gatherings in the past week.  I always like thinking of things to make and tasting the things people bring.  Plus I love hanging out with friends and family.  As promised I am going to post the pictures from our small group gathering.  I also have Fourth of July pictures so this is going to be fun!

 Happy Fourth!!  Amber made this pudding dessert (we always called it Fat Boys Pudding).  I love this stuff.  It has a nut crust, cream cheese/cool whip layer, pudding and more cool whip.

 We also had a delicious taco salad, grilled chicken, grilled sausage, beef something and a great fruit salad

 All of it was delicious.  Oh, Danielle also made a chocolate chip cookie dough dip that was awesome (missed the pictures because it was in the fridge and then I was too excited)

 We went to my Aunt's for the Fourth and she had a sweet set up-literally!  This was the super cute centerpiece of the table.  The little chocolatey treats in the center were layered with cookie dough, a reese's and brownie on top.  So good!  Also there were little reese's cookie cups.  They were both amazing

 This was my favorite.  Avocado topped with toasted, lightly oiled almonds with tomato.  It was so so good.  It is my new favorite appetizer

 On to our fish fry!  We had fresh cut french fries

 My aunt had a really cool restaurant potato cutter

 That is my Aunt Kathy

 My awesome parents

 Fish Fry

 What a great bunch!

I helped with the fries and the hushpuppies

 She had awesome trays that were really big!

 I got about 3 more hushpuppies because they were so good

Dessert!  This fruit dip was awesome: cream cheese, Greek yogurt and marshmallow cream.  They said it was even parts of each (maybe a little extra marshmallow cream).  It was so yummy

She also had this cute little menu board that I may need to make.  You make little meal cards and put them up for each day of the week.  Can you tell she likes Pinterest?

I guess that about wraps up our Fourth.  Hope everyone had a great week and I have a few more yummy things to post about.  Be back soon!

Chocolate You Have Got To Try

TURTLES!  Okay, have you ever had homemade turtles?  I love them but always figured I didn't want to go through the trouble of making them.  Last year I tried this amazing, easy recipe and now I have to make them every year (especially for my Dad and brother).  I made a big batch of them before Thanksgiving and didn't want to post them because I was going to surprise my family with them.  Now they have eaten them all so it is safe to share!

Carmel and nuts (pecans or cashews).  At this point you dip them in chocolate-but I forgot to take a picture of them:(  Trust me they are mouth wateringly beautiful.

 Here are the caramels in the pan melting away!  You need to try this recipe:

Turtles

1 bag of kraft caramels, unwrapped

3 Tbsp. Butter

2 cups nuts (cashews or pecans)

16 oz dipping chocolate

Place caramel and butter in a double boiler.  Let sit until they start to soften.  You don't need to stir them very much.  When they are completely melted, take of heat, stir until smooth, and add nuts.  Spoon onto parchment as seen above.  Once they are cooled melt your chocolate according to the package directions and dip away!  These are very sweet and delicious!

BARKIN' DOGS!  I have posted about these before but I took a few extra pictures that may help with the process of making them. 

 

First, you need this little grill poker thing!  Get your ritz crackers ready with peanut butter on top (smooth or chunky).  Sometimes I put them in the fridge while the chocolate melts so the peanut butter doesn't melt as easy.

Place cracker in peanut butter side down.  Use poker to flip quickly.

Pull out and tap off excess chocolate!  It's that simple.  Usually I drizzle white chocolate on the top so they look awesome like so:

These are so delicious and simple to make!  People love them when you take them to events/gatherings.

Barkin Dogs

3 Sleeves Ritz Crackers

Plenty of peanut butter (I have used creamy and chunky-chunky is my favorite)

1 package chocolate almond bark (16 oz melting chocolate)

Top Ritz with peanut butter and put in fridge.  Melt chocolate in double boiler.  When chocolate is melted, dip peanut butter crackers in chocolate.  Drizzle with extra chocolate if you wish and devour!

Happy Friday!

Today was my last day of work at my after school job.  I was in charge of an after school program for a local elementary school.  I think I needed more experience with kids before managing 32!  It was hard but I am thankful for the experience.  I made so many goodies this week and took some to my awesome workers and our apartment staff and family/friends, etc.  The plates turned out so cute.  Check out the assembly line:

Sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, barkin dogs, chocolate spoons chocolate pretzels.  I also made separate baggies of chex mix!  They turned out so cute.

YUMMY.

It was a great day.  I woke up and had a lazy morning of coffee and a smoothie:)  Read my Bible (without feeling rushed!!!).  Danced around my apt like a goofy nugget.  Danielle and me went for a fast paced walk and then she helped me put together the plates-thanks!  We had a lot of fun.  After our plate making, I decided to make some Apple Bran Muffins to have for breakfast tomorrow...they are jumbo:)

I will post this recipe this weekend!  They are healthy and I want to make sure they taste good before I go posting it lol.

Just so you know...I am completely hooked on this egg sandwich.  I have had it for lunch 3 times in the past week.  What is it you ask?  A cauliflower egg and cheese folded omelet.  I toast my english muffin while the egg is cooking then add blackberry jelly and put it together!  I know this may sound gross/weird but it is sooooooo good.

Tonight Cliff and me were supposed to have a date night, but his flight was delayed, so I decided to make pizza last minute.  I threw this together with a Boboli (HEB brand) crust I had it the freezer.  I burned the outside edges of the crust, but other than that I was very delicious.

  Pepperoni, tomato, bell pepper, pineapple, and fresh basil!

I am hoping to post about some of my chocolate treats I have been making-stay tuned because there are going to be some good recipes!  Have a great weekend.

Weekend Baking

I woke up at 4:45am wide awake...what is going on?  I have been feeling good about waking up early but it's weird when I don't have to get up.  Since I got up so early I decided to make Chocolate Espresso Waffles!  I have not made these since college and I was craving them this morning.  I did pilates then headed to the kitchen to make the yummy waffles you see here.

 I may have put more mini chocolate chips on after this picture;)

 

Chocolate for Breakfast!

Wake up and smell the waffles! These Coffee-Chocolate Waffles are sweet and light, and full of good stuff — like fiber and monounsaturated fats. Plus, the yummy combo of espresso and cocoa powder is just delicious. Your morning pick-me-up never tasted so good! 
Coffee-Chocolate Waffles
Makes 5 waffles 
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole-grain pastry flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup 1 percent milk
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons espresso powder
3 tablespoons light olive oil
3 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (optional)
Maple syrup

Instructions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the milk, brown sugar, espresso powder, and oil. Whisk these ingredients together until blended. 
Preheat a waffle iron for 4 minutes, or according to the manufacturer's instructions. (A drop of water should sizzle and bounce when dropped onto the hot surface.) 
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer at high speed just until they form soft peaks. Fold the whites into the chocolate batter a third at a time, folding in the chocolate chips with the last third of the whites. Fold just until the mixture is combined. 
Spray the heated waffle iron with cooking oil right before using. Add enough batter to almost cover the waffle grids (3/4 cup) and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the waffles with maple syrup. 
Note: To keep the waffles warm, place them in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet in a preheated 250°F oven. 
Per waffle: 235 calories, 10g fat, 29g carbohydrates, 10g protein, 5g fiber, 400mg sodium

****This is a Denise Austin recipe but I can't seem to find the link online (good thing I made a copy of it!

We went to a community service project with our church at 8am.  It was cool they had tons of projects to do around the community and you could pick one based on your talents.  We had a little time before our project so I decided to do some baking/making.  First, I wanted to take cookies to the lady we were going to help...so I decided on my Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate  Cookies (great for Christmas!).  They have mostly wheat flour in them and they are so good.  They were really easy to work with today because I used parchment paper on my cookie sheets.  You need to try these cookies you will not be dissapointed-plus they have fruit and fiber in them-they are so healthy;)

 They are very good with a cup of coffee.

Fresh out of the oven.  Then it was on to Mom's Hot Cocoa!

This hot cocoa is a little expensive to make but it gives you a huge batch.  I always give it away at Christmas time.  It is full of cinnamon yumminess.  It feels so cozy in my stomach when I drink it!

 This would be a good gift idea.  A plate of baked goods with a jar of hot cocoa-how can you go wrong?

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies (Amazing!!!)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 ½ cup oats

1/2 cup dried cranberries (or a little more)

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or a little more)

Heat oven to 375.  Spray cookie sheets with PAM.  In large bowl combine sugars and margarine, beat until fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg, blend well.  In separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; add to wet mixture.  Stir in oats, craisins, and chips.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheet.

Bake 7-10 minutes.

*When these come out of the oven and are cooling they are a little tricky to work with.  Sometimes you have to push the edges in with a spatula but the end result is worth itJ  It makes about 24 average sized cookies!

We ate a bowl of chili with a side of a tortilla then we were off to our project!  After the service project, we came home and I cleaned a little.  I decided to go for a walk run because the weather was so nice!  After that I was very hungry for Bacon Mac.  This recipe is one of my favorite mac recipes-it is slightly adapted from this Cooking Light recipe.  We add a little more cheese and a little more bacon.

 This is the sauce on the stove before I add the cheese and bacon!

 It all melts together to create this delicious meal.

It gets a nice crispy topping because you broil it for a little while.

Served with a side of roasted asparagus.

I had a lot of cleaning to do after this meal but it was worth it.  I did a little blogging then we watched I Spy.  It was really funny.  I decided to try my new batch of Hot Cocoa and I freaked out because it tasted way different.  I don't know what was up with it but after trying a million (okay not that many but my tongue is burned!), I realized it needed more dry milk.  Geez I'm glad I fixed it because I crave that stuff every day and I was planning on giving lots of it away.  I also might have eaten a big ol' cookie!  I am getting so excited because my parents, brother, and sister-in-law are coming Monday!  I have lots of things to do before they get here (but it is fun stuff)-ahhhh it's going to be great.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Enjoy your Sunday.