Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars

It's FRIDAY! :) Welcome to the weekend.

Today's share is a recipe I found in a Christmas Cookies booklet; lucky for both you and me that Better Homes & Gardens puts their recipes online, too! :D

It's called Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars, and this is what I made instead of pumpkin pie for our family celebration last Thursday.

I'm going to give this a YES, PLEASE! It was a really nice change of pace; it tastes a lot like pumpkin pie without ALL the pumpkin or fuss. :D I really liked the gingersnap crumb crust.

I didn't tweak it at all. We didn't use the optional caramel topping - TOO much sweetness! We DID use French Vanilla Cool Whip - and did it taste decadent. :D

OK, I'm off! This weekend, open house craziness. Phew. :D Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!! Try something new, and let me know about it!!! :)

Butter Rum Fudge

Good Wednesday Morning!

Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite tried-n-true (TNT) recipes with you.I think I got the original from Food.com; this recipe is almost exactly it (there's a typo; there should be 12 ounces of chocolate chips!).

DO NOT TRY TO FIT THIS IN A 9x9 PAN! Gravy. The first time I did this recipe, I followed to the letter - well, as far as that goes. ;D It was so thick, I had to cut the piece in half width-wise! It's perfect - like my photo above - in a 13x9.

Now, then. My tweaks: I don't add walnuts and pecans. I add walnuts and a cup of raisins that I've soaked in hot water with a teaspoon of rum flavoring added. It plumps the raisins and gives them a boost of flavor. I also add just a bit more rum flavoring.

This fudge is one of Kenn's favorites. I only make it once a year, for the open house. This year, I added a few mini marshmallows, too, by accident - but it's still yummy. :D

I'm gone. Hopefully not crazy.... :D Have a wonderful, BLESSED day!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles

Welcome to Monday! Are you ready for this week? It's the last of November. Wow. Where DID this year go?!?!

Today's review is the last recipe from the Hostess Appreciation Luncheon - and it's dessert, of course. :D It's Simple Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles from My Baking Addiction.

OK, these are a YES, PLEASE! but I WILL tweak them a bit. :D I didn't do a thing differently from the recipe, I swear! :D

I loved the Biscoff cookies for this; they weren't overpowering or too sweet, and kept their crunch - which was a great texture contrast to the creaminess of the rest of it.

I will add more cream cheese next time; I love the flavor of cream cheese, and as one hostess said, "If you hadn't told me there was cream cheese in here, I never would have guessed!" If you like the cheese part of the cheesecake flavor to be less, then do this straight-up. :D

I served these in little juice glasses. It was really the perfect size to wrap up a big meal; cool, creamy, and not too big a portion made it a pretty perfect little treat. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Sooooo busy around here! I really hope you're planning on coming to the open house if you're local.... :D

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Roasted Cabbage

It's FRIDAY! How was your Thanksgiving? Are you still stuffed? :D Are your festivities continuing through the weekend? Are you decorating? :D

Anyway. Here's another recipe from our hostess luncheon; it's Roasted (I Wish It Was Grilled) Cabbage from Green Lite Bites.

The original blogger said she liked her cabbage crunchy; I don't so I put the wedges in for about an hour and 15 minutes. And they were still crunchy.

I'm going to give this a NO, THANKS. The Worchestershire sauce was a bit overpowering. I think we're going to try frying up the leftovers, and see if we like it that way better. So watch for an update; I'll need to do that this weekend, more than likely - I need the fridge room! :D

OK, I'm outta here! Working away for the open house! I hope you're coming. :)

Enjoy your weekend!!!! Be BLESSED!!!

Pork Chops with Apples & Stuffing

Happy Wednesday! :) Tomorrow is Thanksgiving; I want you to know I'll be counting each of you as blessings. Thank you for coming to see what I make, and for letting me know when you do try something I post! :)

I know I said last week that I'd be posting some of my tried-n-true recipes from now until whenever :D, but I want to share the luncheon recipes while they're fresh in my mind, so I can tell you honestly what I think.

This is from BettyCrocker.com, and is for pork chops with apples and stuffing.

This is definitely a YES, PLEASE! recipe. The pork was moist, the stuffing flavorful, and overall it was a great, easy recipe.

I did everything pretty much exactly as written. We used no-added-sugar apple juice; I think, next time, I'll use half chicken stock and half apple juice - I don't think the flavor was so very intense with all apple juice, and I'd like to cut out any extra carb I can. :) I also didn't use sugared cranberries. And it was wonderful!

OK, I'm outta here! Soooo much to do, so little time. :D May your Thanksgiving find you truly thankful; may you be with family and/or friends, and find yourself warm, clothed, and fed. We are so truly blessed!

Moose Munch

Good Monday Morning! did you have a good weekend? Are you happy about it being a short work week? :D There's lots to do here, if you need something to keep you busy.... :D

Anyway. :D Saturday was my Hostess Appreciation Luncheon for my Stampin' Up! hostesses, so this is another crossover post. :D For a really fun way to package this Moose Munch, please go to Lori's Stamping Spot to see today's post.

 I forgot to take a photo of just the caramel corn; I can't tell you how much I say YES, PLEASE! to this whole recipe. It was pretty, easy, impressive, and yummy. :D

Oh, yeah, You'd probably like to know where to find the recipe! It's from Pondered, Primed, Perfected, for Moose Munch.

 For the bags I show on my Stampin' Up! blog, I got five bags full from one batch of Moose Munch. Oh, was it good. :D I gave Kenn my bag, just so you know I didn't eat myself into a sugar coma. But anyway, it would make a FANTASTIC gift for office mates or neighbors.

OK, gotta jet - LOTS to do. There will be more recipes from my luncheon reviewed all week, so stay tuned! :D Have a BLESSED day!!

Christmas Cake

Good Friday Morning!
Whew, what a week! Starting today, I'm going to start showing you recipes I make for our open house, and tell you why I like them. Just a bit, because my days are SO FULL RIGHT NOW! Augh! :D

Anyway. I can't find WHERE I got this recipe from; I printed it off YEARS ago, and just tried it this week. So I'll put the recipe here, along with as much info as I can on where it came from. :D

25 Days of Desserts - Day 19

O merry thoughts
Christmas Cake

1 small package red Jello (cherry, strawberry, etc.)
1 small package green Jello (lime)
1 white cake mix and ingredients to make cake
1 container Cool Whip

maake white cake mix per box instructions, using two 9-inch round cake pans. After baking, let cakes cool for 10 minutes. Pop cakes out of pans; clean out cake pans and return cakes back to pans. Using a fork, poke holes into cakes at various points to receive jello. Make up the red jello with hot water only and pour evenly as possible over one of the cakes. Then make up the green jello with just hot water and pour over the other round cake. Put both cakes into the fridge for several hours. Place the bottom of the cake pans into hot water to help in removing the cakes from their pans. Spread the top of one cake with Cool Whip. place the other cake on top of the first cake and spread the remaining Cool Whip on top and sides. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Now, then. I used sugar-free Jello. And I hate wasting egg yolks, so I made my white cake with two whole eggs instead of three whites. :D

I really wouldn't recommend assembling this cake until just before serving; it slides around on that Cool Whip. Seriously; it will look like a cake wreck if you're not careful! :D

It's tasty, and fun, and refreshing! :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful weekend! Be BLESSED!!!!

Pumpkin Bars

Good Monday Morning!
Did you have a good weekend? It was absolutely STUNNING here - probably the last fall hurrah of the year. :D Low 70s, sunny - and I know some of my friends were dealing with snow. (I say "dealing"; I'd love to have snow!!!!!!)

ANYWAY. This recipe is a Taste of Home recipe; my mom actually brought home a Holiday Recipe cookbook she found at a garage sale. She's been craving something with pumpkin, and when I looked through the book I found this recipe. It's simple; I found it on their website, too, and here is the link!

As I said, it's a simple recipe. And it makes a big pan. We're going to give this a YES, PLEASE! What I did was mix up the whole batch, then cut the pan of bars in half and cooled and wrapped one half. They're in our freezer, waiting for someone to come visit. :D They were good; the frosting was good, and I *think* I cut the frosting recipe in half - and still didn't use it all. :)

OK, I'm off! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!!