Pour on the chocolate, cake

I bought the angel food cake from the Walmart discount bakery shelf for only $1.66. I had the intentions of using up our strawberries on it. When I went to make the strawberry shortcake dessert I discovered that the strawberries started to mold. Bummer! But all is not lost. Pull out the bottle of chocolate someone had given you for free.

Warm the chocolate in the microwave according to the directions on the bottle.

Pour just about the whole bottle on the cake with back and forth motions over the cake....yea, that looks about perfect!

Let is set only as long as you can stand it! Enjoy!

Alternative: use canned frosting that is melted slowly in the microwave. Just do a few seconds at a time (stirring in between) so you won't over melt it.

Fruit Delight, A Real Treat

After spending the weekend in the wonderful sunshine with family, friends, egg hunt games and fabulous food, it is hard to get back to the routine of Monday. I pray you all had a wonderful blessed Easter Weekend! Today's recipe I am sharing because it just fits with backyards, pot lucks, sipp'in ice tea, lounging under a shade tree, and simply enjoying a sunny afternoon! It is a family favorite. It comes from my mother-in-law. She gave it to me years ago but since she always makes it, I hardly do. This is one of those family dishes that is always served at holidays, bbq's, picnics, and even camping trips. It is easy to prepare and travels well. I decided to surprise my family with it last week (just because) to enjoy after dinner. It is an old recipe and probably goes by many names but in our house we affectionately call it Fruit Delight. It is a delight for sure! It has crazy ingredients such as vinegar and egg yolks. But when complete it is a cool, sweet, smooth, creamy--delight!
Here is what you need:

Ingredients:
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 can fruit cocktail
1 TBS vinegar
1 TBS water
2 egg yolks beaten
1 tub cool whip
1 package graham crackers

Open can of fruit cocktail and drain syrup into pot on stove (set the fruit aside to use later).

 Add the bag of marshmallows and melt down in the syrup on low heat, stirring often. Crush graham crackers in ziplock bag. I used a wooden pestle.

 Then sprinkle some into a 9x13 pan (save half for topping). I happen to be at my friend Heather's on this day so I divided this up for 2 smaller dishes.  So they can have some delight after dinner as well!

Once I had the dishes ready I then beat 2 egg yolks and set aside. As soon as the marshmallows were melted down I took off the heat and added the vinegar and water, mixing well. Then I slowly added the beaten egg yolks.

After eggs were blended in I set this aside to cool for at least 30 minutes. Once cooled I then added the fruit and entire cool whip container mixing well.

Then pour over the graham cracker lined pan. Top with remaining graham crackers and refrigerate until firm.

Enjoy! If you have a family favorite please share below!

print recipe

6 Reasons you may like Potato Chip Casserole: New Meal Monday

Ok, so this is not a new recipe for me but maybe for you? I was feeling sentimental (missing my dad and grandmother). And Potato Chip Casserole sounded good for dinner. This is one my Grandma Lois used to make.

If you never have had this, you may like it for the following reasons:
1) You like potato chips
2) You like cheese in your casserole
3) You like tater tot casserole
4) You like tuna casserole
5) You like any casserole
6) You like comfort food

Ingredients:
Wavy or Ruffles original potato chips
1 can tuna drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of evaporated milk (regular milk will work too)
grated cheese (I used rest of havarty and colby)
pepper

 In a baking dish mix tuna, canned soup, cheese (leave some to put on top), pepper and the milk. Once combined slowly add the potato chips- careful to break up chips but not crush them. It will look like this when ready for oven:

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until casserole is bubbling. Then add remain cheese to the top and put back in oven to melt the cheese.

Enjoy! What is one of your comfort food recipes? Please share in the comments below.

Print Recipe

Banana bread, you smell good!

Few things in this world smell better to me than these: the scent of lavendar lotion on my newborn baby,
Dear Hubby in his Old Spice, the sweet smell in the air just after a rain on a warm day and bread baking in the oven. This banana bread in particular does not disappoint in smell yumminess! It also happens to be tasty and easy to make.

 The first thing I always do is pull out bananas from the freezer. I will always use frozen bananas because once they have thawed a little, they are so easy to incorporate into the mix. I have tried over ripe non frozen before and it just seemed like more work to mash them down.  

Freezing bananas are easy, just toss over ripe ones in the freezer as is. No need to package them. The will stay for at least a month in the freezer just as they are. When you want to make some bread just grab 3 from your stash. A tip though: defrost on a plate not the counter. As they thaw out the peels turn black and I have actually stained my counter top. Whoopsie! Once the bananas have thawed, I break off the bottom end and squeeze the banana out into a bowl.

The original recipe I used came from here . I have made this so many times now that I have adapted it to our tastes. One of the things I added was cinnamon. In my opinion most any bread other than bread for lunch/dinner should have some cinnamon in it. I also use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour. I also have included some oatmeal once, but Dear Hubby didn't care for it that way.

Ingredients:
3 frozen bananas thawed 
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
healthy dash of cinnamon
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut oil (or lard) into the baking pans set aside. Empty bananas into bowl and mix with the melted butter. Batter will be lumpy. Add in sugar, egg, and vanilla and mix some more. Sprinkle in the baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix in to the batter. Add the flour last and mix just until evenly blended. Pour mixture into two 8.5x4.5 inch loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. 

Enjoy!

print recipe 

Sweet, simple, money saving alternative to soda and juice

I grew up putting a tea jug out in the sun on a warm day and drinking sun tea in the summer. I married a man who drinks it all year long. So I quickly learned how to make it from the stove top  when it is too cold for sun tea. We go through about 2 gallon jars a week. It is quite simple and inexpensive to make. It saves us a ton on sugar intake, as it only takes a minimum amount to sweeten the tea. It also happens to save on the grocery bill because I send a 16 oz plastic jug with Dear Hubby to work everyday. Between that and his water he rarely has to spend money on a soda or sports drinks. Sunshine loves it too, and will actually ask for tea instead of soda or chocolate milk when she gets a kids meal somewhere.

Here is how to make it:
Fill a pan 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil on stove. Note: I have a pan I only use for tea because overtime it gets stained. Once the water is boiling I take it off the burner. I add 5 bags of tea and let steep for 5 minutes. If you like it stronger add another bag or two. Five seem to be just right for us. 

While the tea steeps in the pan I fill a gallon glass jar with 3/4 full of warm water. I use warm so the sugar (about 1/3 cup) will mix in. If you don't want sweet tea then skip this step. We like is sweet! Note: I do not like the plastic jugs with spouts at the bottom that the stores sell in the summer time. Why? Because the spouts always seem to end up leaking. I look for glass gallon jars with no spouts at yard sales and thrift stores. After the tea has steeped I pour it into the gallon jar and give it a good stir. And that's it! A sweet, simple, money saving alternative to soda and juice. 

Fun, Fast, Fruit Salad

Once a week Sunshine and I attend a local homeschool coop. It gives her some extra classes during the week, time with friends, and I get to connect with other moms who homeschool. This particular week we had a potluck lunch. I had signed up for a couple of items. One of them was a fruit salad. I forgot to go the the store the night before and so this is what I came up with the morning of. 

Ingredients: 

Frozen mixed berries

2-3 Yoplait blueberry yogurt cups

1 small can pineapple

1 small can mandarin oranges

2 small apples cut cup

3 Tbs powered sugar

1/2 tub cool whip

I first put the yogurt in a bowl then added the powered sugar. I add the sugar because I know the berries are a bit tart. I then add the cool whip and get it all mix in together.

I drain the oranges and pineapple and peel and cut up the apples. These along with the berries all go in to the yogurt mix. I cover and let it set in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

This was really easy and yummy. Any fruit on hand would be delicious and my guess is, just about any flavored yogurt would work too. You could even add marshmallows and coconut if you wanted. I like the fact that I was able to use what I had in the house! Do you have a favorite fruit salad you like to make? Please share!

print recipe

 linking up at:Faith filled food for moms 

Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe on Pinterest, I got the full instructions from here
This was easy and very delicious to make and I was able to adapt it to what I have on hand as well as our taste buds.

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded chicken
6 flour tortillas
1 can chicken broth
1 small can green chillies
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
3/4 cup of sour cream
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 cup shredded cheese
garlic seasoning to taste

The first thing I did was shred the chicken and seasoned a bit then mixed in some cheese to the shredded chicken. I used what cheese I had on hand 1/2 havarti and half colby. I then placed some of the chicken mixture on the flour tortillas, folded and placed fold side down into a greased baking pan. I continued until pan was full.

Then I melt the 3 Tbs of butter into a sauce pan on medium heat. When it is melted I add the 3 Tbs of flour and stir to mix the flour in. I then let it cook for 1 minute.

I then add 2 cups of chicken broth and let it thicken on med-low heat. Once it has thickened I added the sour cream, chilies, and crushed tomatoes. Pour over the the enchiladas, top with the rest of the cheese and bake for about 20-25 minutes on 350 degrees. When finished baking turn on broiler for 1-2 minutes to finish melting the cheese. Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Crockpot Creamy Italian Chicken

I found this recipe in small recipe book that I have had for a few years.

 It is titled: 101 things to do with a slow cooker.

 It was yum! To quote my daughter "mom, this is 100 plus 100 % good!"

Here is what you need: 4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix, 1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of condensed chicken soup. Mix the salad dressing and condensed soup together, then "smother" over the chicken breasts in crock pot. The recipe book says to cook on high for 6-8 hours or on low for 10-12 hours. The chicken I used was not frozen solid so it did not need the full 6 hours to cook. 

It was easy! I then just fixed up some buttered noodles and served with a veggie. 
It was so good, I forgot to take a picture before we ate it all. 

What's for dinner at your house tonight?

Print Recipe 

Sharing on: Thrifty Thursdays