Cherry Pie Oh My!

I love Aldi! Back before Christmas I found canned, pitted cherries at Aldi much cheaper than you can find them at bigger stores. 

I saw a beautiful heart covered cherry pie on Pinterest and thought I could reproduce. 

The pie recipe can be found in any staple cookbook. Better Homes and Garden's, for example. I used 1 1/3 c sugar, 1/3 c flour, 2 cans drained pitted cherries and 1/4 tsp almond extract. 

I used refrigerated all ready made pie crusts. I didn't know what to do with the edges on the bottom crust and ended up forking the edges.  For the top crust I cut out little hearts and arranged over the top. 

It baked a little longer than necessary, but I think it's still very pretty and it tasted SO good! 

There's still time to make one for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day! 

Easy As Pie Cake!

This is a wonderfully easy cake to throw together in a pinch. 

 

My favorite version uses a white cake mix and peach pie filling made in a 9x13. 

 

All you need is a can of pie filling, cake mix and 3 eggs. I used a yellow cake mix and strawberry pie filling this time. 

 

I made it in a greased bundt pan sprinkled with sugar. I don't know that sprinkling with sugar added anything. I never frost this type of cake as I think it's perfect without frosting. 

 

Easy As Pie Cake 

Mix a dry cake mix, can of pie filling and 3 eggs with a spoon until combined. Do not add the water and oil the cake mix calls for. Pour into a greased bundt pan or 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Apple pie filling - use a spice cake mix

Cherry pie filling - use a chocolate cake mix

Peach pie filling - use a white cake mix

Lemon Bars

I had a can of lemon pie filling from Aldi that needed to be used soon and so I made lemon bars.  

 

To make mix a yellow cake mix with one stick of softened butter. Set aside half a cup and press the remaining into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. 

 

Spread one can of lemon pie filling over the top. 

 

And sprinkle with the reserved cake mix. 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Makes for a quick dessert when you need something fast!

Angel Lush Cake

My parents came over for lunch on the Fourth and I made this quick and easy dessert using ingredients I got that morning at Walmart. 

 

This recipe has been around for a while and I've made it several times. I just checked to make certain I hadn't already shared it. 

My mother can be picky and she hadn't thought she'd like this cake, but that changed after having a bite. Easy, quick, light and cool; a perfect summer dessert! 

You start with a store bought angel food cake. You could make your own if you prefer. Cut it into thirds. The cake I got this time was rather small, so I only cut it in half. 

 

Mix one 20 oz can of crushed pineapple (undrained) with one 3.4 oz box of instant vanilla pudding. Fold in one 8 oz container softened cool whip. 

 

Spread filling between the layers and over the top. Since I only had two layers, I had a lot of filling leftover and I poured it into the middle. 

 

My parents didn't care about appearance and I used my favorite bundt cake cover to store the cake; an upside down rubbermade storage container. Store in the refrigerator. 

Smores

I needed a snack to share with others for a recent cross-stitch gathering. I didn't decide till last minute and took Dill Pickle Dip and Smores. I got the idea for smores on Facebook. Taste of Home posted a recipe, but it had more ingredients than I thought necessary to make them, so I winged it! These are too easy.   

Spread marshmallow fluff onto graham cracker and top with another square to make a sandwich. Freeze while you complete the next step. 

 

Melt chocolate almond bark and allow to cool to room temperature. Dip frozen marshmallows graham squares in chocolate and return to freezer to garden. 

 

You need to freeze them to control the ooze. You can see in the picture above that several have already started to ooze.  Freeze for a few minutes till hard and then transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator. 

I thought they were good, though next time I'd use chocolate or chocolate chips in place of the almond bark. They can be decorated with sprinkles. 

Make This Often!

It was Monday.  Mondays are hard. I’ve been off two or three days (I have every other Friday off) and though I try to keep the same sleep schedule, I don’t often succeed at waking up at 5:30 on the weekends.  Its also our busiest day at work.  The last hour of work I began thinking through my evening.  I needed to do a load of laundry and take out the trash, which means I have to clean out the refrigerator.  I hate cleaning out the refrigerator.  I waste a lot of food folks.  Take for instance the taco pasta.  It was really good, once or twice, but not for five, six or more meals in a row.  Yes, I could freeze the dishes, but I’ve never had great luck with freezing individual dishes and more often than not I end up throwing out the frozen dish. Meat is the exception to this. I'll freeze and reheat taco meat, BBQ pork, etc. 

Thinking about the contents of the refrigerator and what I’d be throwing out, I remember that I had 2 large (32oz) containers of strawberries I hadn’t used up yet and they were getting past their prime.  We had used some for strawberry short cake;

 

But there were still a lot of strawberries left.  So, pitch or use them?  I didn’t want to freeze them.  My go-to use up those strawberries recipe is for strawberry banana muffins.  I love those, they’re easy and they freeze great, but it was Monday.  I was too tired to want to bake up a couple batches of muffins.  Tuesday night I had plans, Wednesday night was bible study and I was fairly certain they wouldn't make it till next weekend.  So, I started googling strawberry recipes and found one for strawberry crisp. 

RUN, don’t walk to the store to get the ingredients to make this NOW!  I’m not kidding!  I make notes on the recipes I’ve printed from the internet and file them into a 3 ring notebook after I've tried them. My note on this recipe; Make This Often!  It was that good!  A little tart, but that added to its charm!

So, hull and quarter 32 oz of strawberries.  Toss with cornstarch and sugar.  Spread in a greased 9x9 square pan.

 

Melt a stick of butter. Combine flour, oats, sugars, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in the melted butter.  Mix well. 

 

Crumble over the strawberries. 

 

Doesn't that look delicious? 

Strawberry Crisp

Recipe source; 

Num's the Word

32 oz of strawberries, hulled and quartered

¼ c white sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c old fashioned rolled oats (missed in the original post, thanks for the catch Patricia!)

1/3 c white sugar

1/3 c brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

½ c butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9x9 square pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a bowl toss strawberries, ¼ c sugar and cornstarch. 

Place berries into prepared pan.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, oats, 1/3 c sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.

Add melted butter and mix well.

Crumble oatmeal mixture on top of strawberries.

Bake for 35 minutes or until topping is golden and berries are bubbly.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (optional) 

 

My father's birthday dinner

My fathers birthday fell on a Monday right after I had finished painting, so his birthday dinner was postponed. I had thought I'd make chicken and dumplings, but we decided to have that another time. Instead we had;

 

I have always wanted to make a brisket and have been waiting for them to go on sale. A good price is $2.48 or less a lb. It was on sale at Checkers for $2.28 a lb when I bought mine. I made it using the Pioneer Woman's recipe found 

HERE

 

Lyncoln wanted to assist. 

 

I cooked it for 9 hours and my father shredded it for me. 

 

This is just a third of it! I'm planning on freezing the leftovers to eat this summer when it's too hot to want to cook. 

Dessert was to have been chocolate chip pie, but I struggled getting it done. Eventually it got too done and ready too late for us to enjoy. We enjoyed it the next day and I sent most of it home with my father. I thought it was good, but really rich. I'd make it again if I had the occasion to. 

 

Click 

HERE for Pioneer Woman's brisket recipe that I used and HERE for Bakerella's recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. 

Easy Coconut Crumb Cake

This was so good and I wasn't even sure I like coconut! I made it to send home with a friend who had come to town. Her favorite pie is coconut cream and I thought of her when I read this recipe. 

Recipe adapted from 

Grace and Good Eats

Easy Coconut Crumb Cake

1 box classic white cake mix and ingredients called for on the box

1 c sweetened coconut

1 cupvanilla wafers 

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp vanilla  

Crush vanilla wafers. 

Prepare cake mix as directed on box. Gently stir in coconut, vanilla wafers, pecans and vanilla. Bake according to box instructions. I baked mine in a 9x13 disposable pan as I was sending it with a friend. 

 

Frost with vanilla frosting and sprinkle additional chopped pecans on top. I was going to do this, but my friend said it was fine without the frosting. She thought it would be good with a scoop of cool-whip. 

I forgot to take a finished picture, so this is the one she sent me after her husband had "sampled" it!

 

Blender Cake

Did the title catch your attention? The instructions caught mine when I read them. A cake mixed entirely in a blender. I had to try it. 

Brazilian Carrot Cake

Wash and chop 2 cups of carrots. Put in a blender and add eggs and canola oil. Blend until smooth. 

 

Add sugar and pulse. 

 

Add flour, salt and baking powder. 

 

The recipe doesn't say how big of a blender you need and mine just barely was big enough. I've had my blender 10+ years and I think this is just the second time I've used it! 

Bake the cake in a greased bundt pan. 

 

You were to make a chocolate glaze to top the cake, but I skipped that step. I think it would have made it better. 

Visit Our Best Bites for the recipe 

HERE

Honey Sesame Chicken in the Crock Pot

Cookbook Club went a little differently this month with only one able to attend. I decided I'd make a main dish and dessert and Jenna agreeded to bring sides. 

For dinner I made Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken. 

 

The recipe was very easy. Just mix up honey, soy sauce, diced onion, ketchup, canola oil and minced garlic. 

 

Put a 3 lb bag of frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a crockpot, top with the liquid mixture and cook on low 8-10 hours or 4-6 on high. 

 

Once the chicken is done, you thicken the sauce, shredded the chicken and spoon it over rice. (Neither of us could open the new container of sesame seeds, so none shown.)

 

We also had homemade rolls and fruit salad.  The rice is a box found in the freezer section at Walmart. InnovAsian Vegetable Fried Rice. Just puncture the bag and heat in the microwave. Yum! 

 

The chicken was really good and I'd make it again.  To get the full recipe, visit Fantastic Family Favorites blog

HERE.

Quick and Easy Pie

Most everyone has probably had this pie. It's been around for a while and will probably continue to be around as its so quick, easy and good! 

This is all you'll need. Two containers of lime yogurt, 1 box lime jello (I normally use sugar free, but this is what I already had on hand), graham cracker crust, cool whip and water. 

 

Mix together 1/4 c boiling water and the package of jello until jello has dissolved. Cool slightly. Stir in both packages of yogurt. Fold in cool whip. Poor into pie crust and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. 

 

I love vanilla wafers with my banana pudding and graham crackers with this pie. So, I took the leftover Graham crackers from February when I made Valentines, crushed them and poured over the top of the pie. 

 

Not very pretty, but no one will care once they've had a bite. It's so so good. 

 

I've only once gotten it to firm up as shown in pictures, but don't let that bother you if it happens to you. You'll still love it!  You can do this with other flavors. For instance strawberry yogurt and strawberry jello. I think peach and lemon might be good flavors, but haven't ever tried them. Why change something that you really love? 

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

Do you ever find a recipe and think to yourself; I can’t wait to try this, only to find it later and think; What was I thinking?  That was the case with this recipe.  I got all the ingredients some time ago eager to make it, but then when I decided to make it I was for sure it wouldn’t be anything good.  I was wrong.  They turned out great and were very easy to make.  They'd good for lunches or a bake sale. 
 

(Of note, I don’t have it written down where the recipe came from so can’t give credit where due.)

 

Layer one is a tube of peanut butter cookie dough spread out on a ungreased 9X13.  Bake 10-13 minutes or until edges are beginning to brown and the middle is set. 

 

 

Throw on 2 cups mini marshmallows and throw back in the oven and bake until the marshmallows puff up (4-5 minutes). Remove and cool.

 

Give Josey a marshmallow to play with (and remember to pick it up later before it gets stuck to the bottom of your shoe or becomes glued to the dining room rug). 

 

In a sauce pan over medium stir and melt 2 cups chocolate chips, ¼ c. sliced butter and ½ cup peanut butter.  Stir until smooth.

 

 

Remove from heat and add 2 c rice krispie cereal and ½ c salted peanuts. 

 

 

Drop by spoonfuls over marshmallows and spread to cover. 

 

Cool and cut into bars.

So, I have an entire pan of these and I don’t want to eat them, so... I took them to work where they’ll eat anything and everything.  Now I’ve got an open package of rice krispie cereal.  I could make rice krispie treats, but I’m thinking of trying something else.  Stay tuned!