Strawberries and Cream Angel Food Cake Roll

Phew! Happy Monday! Have you had a good six weeks?!? I don't know about you, but I've had soooo much to do, time has FLOWN.

Today's recipe review is what I made for our Christmas Day dessert, Strawberries and Cream Angel Food Cake Roll from Brown-Eyed Baker.

I had an admission to make: I've never done a cake roll before. My baby sister is fantastic at doing them - she does a pumpkin roll every fall that's beautiful and sooo good! - but I've seen too many of them crack and fall apart. I was REALLY nervous about doing this, but my sister gave me a pep talk and encouraged me to just go for it. So, I did. :D

I followed this pretty much to the letter, except for skimping a little on the strawberries inside the cake roll - it's the middle of winter, and they were a bit crunchy. :D

My verdict: YES, PLEASE! - especially when strawberries are in season, and would color and flavor the whipped cream more. My husband liked the fact that there was a variation of texture in the angel food cake, that it wasn't all just soft. :D It really was pretty easy; when I started to unroll the cake, it did start to crack - but I propped it up on rolled kitchen towels like my sister suggested, and didn't try to force it to unroll any further. I took my offset spatula and "stuffed" the center with the cream, instead of spreading it.

OK, I'm outta here! It's COLD here today! Brrrrr... :D Have a wonderful day, my friends. Be BLESSED!

Harvest Pear Crisp

Welcome to Wednesday! Are you having a good week? I hope so! Kenn and I are still gone. :D

Today's recipe is for Harvest Pear Crisp from My Recipes.com.

This is another YES, PLEASE! recipe - it's originally from COOKING LIGHT, which means my mom won't groan too much about its ingredients. :D And we used oat flour instead of white/wheat, so my dad could enjoy some of it, too.

Mom put it together for me, because I got crazy busy the day I was going to do it - and the pears my friend, Maria, brought over needed to be used before I had another free day. Thanks, Mom and Maria!!! :)

Mom used pecans, even though the recipe said walnuts - and it was SOOOOOOOOOOO good!!!!

Let me know if you've tried anything I've shown you yet! :D I hope you have a wonderful day. Be blessed, friend!

Banana Split Kabobs

Happy Friday!

Are you enjoying your summer? How on earth did we get to the middle of July, people?!? This year is FLYING by.

Today's share is quick, easy, takes no heating of your oven unless you want it to, and is a YES, PLEASE! with any age group. :)

This is Banana Split Kabobs from Lemon Tree Dwelling.

(BTW, if you're relatively new here, just click on the link above to go right to whatever I'm sharing!)

Now, the only thing I changed was that I also picked up a sour cream angel food cake and made some kabobs with that rather than the brownies. I looked at purchasing fresh precut pineapple, but whole ones were on sale - and right now, they're only 00 cents at Aldi's! - so I cut my own pineapple up.

They were fun, they were pretty, they were yummy, and they were a hit. :D What more can one ask for?!?

OK, I'm outta here! :) Have a wonderful day, and a wonderful weekend, and try something new! Be blessed, friend!

Samoa Bundt Cake

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

2014. Goodness, this year - I know when I was little, Y2K seemed SO far into the future... :D Here's hoping and praying that 2014 finds us more at peace with each other, with our lives, and with our paths.

ANYWAY. :D

This CAKE. When I saw this cake, I knew I had to try it - it's Samoa Bundt Cake from *betsylife.

Now, then. You'll notice there are three min bundts on this plate. Let me explain something: as a family, we've cut SO far down on our intake of food, we have leftovers from a regular meal. I didn't want my sister and brother-in-law and niece to leave, and us have almost a whole bundt cake left!

So I make the whole cake recipe, but only did six mini bundts - since that's how many mini cakes were in my pan. And I threw away the rest of the batter. Yes, it was a little wasteful, but better than eating all that cake I certainly could kill myself with, and I only threw away the batters.

This is a YES, PLEASE! dessert. The cake batters were easy to put together; the cake, as a whole, is just lots of steps. This isn't a cake you can just throw together, unless you purchase premade dulce-de-leche. And I don't think I've seen it around here! I popped my milk into the crock pot and let it simmer away all day the day before I wanted to make the cake. I also toasted the coconut when I had some other baking to do, so the day I made the mini cakes I just baked them off and let them cool. Christmas Day, my baby sister made the frosting and assembled the cakes for me - I really felt awful, and was trying to ration my energy. :)

The other three cakes are in the freezer, waiting to be needed. A half cake is PLENTY for me for a serving! They're fun, incredibly rich, and do taste just like the Girl Scout cookie - although I'd like a little more caramel consistency in there. :D But I'm not willing to put more sugar into it, so it's great the way it is. :D

OK, I'm outta here. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have a great week! Be BLESSED, dear friend!

Apple Pudding Cake with Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

It's FRIDAY!!! :D Are you thrilled? Or are you BUSY? (Both works... :) )

Today's recipe is for Apple Pudding Cake with Cinnamon Caramel Sauce from Betty Crocker's website.

I made this dessert for my 2013 Hostess Appreciation Luncheon for my Stampin' Up! hostesses; it's a perk for ONLY my hostesses from the past year. We all get together, I make a homemade-everything lunch, and we do projects that I won't ever teach anywhere else. There are door prizes, and lots of fun, but it's USUALLY the food that wins the day. :D

This year wasn't any exception. This cake. OH, THIS CAKE. It's DEFINITELY a YES, PLEASE! It's easy, SUPER moist, decadent, and did I mention how GOOD it is? :D

Honestly, the cake was good on its own. The caramel sauce put it completely over the top; I felt guilty for even LOOKING at it. :D I did double the recipe and put it into a 13x9 pan. That's the only thing I did differently.

OK, I'm outta here, friends. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Be BLESSED!

Caramel Apple Stuffed Biscuits

Welcome to Wednesday! Are you having a good week? I'm spending most of today with a dear friend, and I'm so looking forward to it! :)

Today's review is for another recipe; this one is for Caramel Apple Stuffed Biscuits from Cookies & Cups.

First, let me say I took the lazy way out; I used canned biscuit instead of mixing up the Bisquick. Mom had given us a 5-count can of Grands, and I wanted to use it before it went bad. Also, I haven't had a chance to put together a home version of Bisquick yet, and I don't want all the unhealthy stuff that is in it. (I know, like the Grands were any better...)

Anyway. That made this recipe super easy. :) And they were surprisingly yummy! Just enough glaze stuck to the tops - most of it ran off. :D The filling was tasty, and when they were warm, they perfumed the air with that wonder fall smell of cinnamon and apples. :)

If you're looking for a quick something to make, either for breakfast, dessert, or a quick snack, I think these fit the bill just fine - that's a YES, PLEASE! :) If you're cooking for someone who has to watch their carb intake, this is a NO, THANK  YOU. Whew!

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!

Baked Apples

Welcome to Friday! I hope you've had a great week!

Today's review is this recipe from Skinny Chef for Baked Apples.

I was SO disappointed in this recipe. It's a NO, THANK YOU - even though it smelled heavenly. Yes, I overbaked the apples - I did it in the oven, because I had it on a low temp for banana bread - but that wasn't it at all. The filling was simply not good. So I might play with the METHOD, but not that combo of ingredients again.

I also bent one of Kenn's grapefruit spoons trying to use it to core my apples! :D I found that my melon-baller worked fantastically, as long as I didn't try to force it to do too much at once.

OK, I'm outta here! Another busy weekend coming up. :) Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Easy Cannoli Cups

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!! Today's my last day here at the blog for a bit; I fly out with the sunrise on Monday. I may try to get a few posts up for you for next week, but I simply can't promise anything - I'm gonna be BUSY. :D

Today's recipe is for Easy Cannoli Cups from gimme some oven.

I made these to take for that funeral meal I mentioned in the garlic French bread post; I figured they would be easy to transport and put on a buffet table. And they were! :)

I'm gonna give these a YES, PLEASE! If you don't like really sweet desserts, these fit the bill. There's not a lot of confectioner's sugar in the filling, and those are wanton wrappers. To be honest, I *might* bump the confectioner's sugar a bit the next time - but the mini chips on top are a must-have. They're the perfect tiny touch of chocolate! And, although I thought about doubling the recipe, one package of wonton wrappers made LOTS of cups, so I didn't need to double the thing at all - I have a half-batch of filling in the freezer for another time. :D And you can use those cups for LOTS of different fillings, too.

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL weekend! BE BLESSED!

Boston Cream Poke Cake

Here we are again! :)It's another FRIDAY, the last in March. Wow, is this year FLYING by?!?!

Today's share is another recipe, this one for Boston Cream Poke Cake from Lil' Luna.

I think I liked the IDEA of this more than I like the final thing. It was good, don't get me wrong - I love pudding poke cakes! - but the chocolate pudding wasn't as chocolatey or gooey as the real thing. I'm thinking that, perhaps, only using half the milk in that top layer, or making a thin layer of ganache for it. :D I'm going to keep it in the "good recipes to have", just in case I need it. :D And just in case I get around to playing with it, too. But there are so many other things out there to try!!!

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Try something new! :)

Lemon Icebox Cake

It's FRIDAY! Have you had a great week? I sure hope so! Congratulations to everyone who has a jar of Biscoff Spread coming your way! :)

I promised today would be a share and review of the cake I made for our Valentine's Day celebration; here it is! It's a Lemon Icebox Cake from Cookie Baker Lynn.

It was tasty. It was NOT worth the trouble it took to make!!!!! How do I score this? I'm giving it a personal NO, THANK YOU - but that's because it is a FUSSY frosting/lemon mousse. SERIOUSLY.

I made the angel food cake in two 8" square pans; I had a tube pan, but didn't use it once in the three years I had it, so I got rid of it. The cake was very good; angel food cakes are a bit fussy, but one usually goes into scratch-baking it knowing that fact.

The lemon mousse/frosting? THAT was kind of crazy. First, you make very sour lemon curd. Then you whip cream, add gelatin, and add it to the curd to make lemon cream. And FINALLY you add meringue to the whole thing, split the cake into 4 layers, and stack.

If you decide to make this, it's GOOD. It's a big cake, light and fluffy and lemony and a treat. But go into the process knowing it will take you a good two days to make sure everything is ready to go. And it's NOT cheap; between the cake and the mousse, it took about 16 eggs. For ONE ingredient in ONE recipe.

I'm glad I tried it. I'm glad I made it for my dad - he despises chocolate, so we can't serve any when we do a special event together. But I'm not saving the recipe.

OK, I'm outta here!! :) Let me know what you think of this one. I'd love to hear if you're planning on making it! Take pictures, and tell me your story! :)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! It's another busy one for us - we're out of here SOON! BE BLESSED!

Cream Cheese Lemon Bars

Happy Wednesday! How's your week going? If you're in middle Tennessee, are you enjoying our spastic weather patterns?!?! Sheesh. Is it any wonder so many people are sick right now?!?

Anyway. :D

This recipe is for cream cheese lemon bars from a site called Recipetips.com.

 I'm afraid I'm rather ambivalent about this one. It wasn't really lemony, it wasn't really cream cheese-y. I'd gotten the lemon cake mix to keep in the closet, because several of my Pinned recipes call for one. So I decided to use the mix for this recipe.

My dad had to help me get the crust ingredients all mixed; I don't know if I've mentioned, but I have trouble with my wrists and my family sometimes helps me out when I'm cooking. :D It was an interesting crust, kind of crumbly (as a dough) like a shortbread, except it had an egg in it.

You mix up the lemon juice and zest and cream cheese with the powdered sugar, then divide that in half. Part is for the middle layer, and the rest acts as the icing. It was really lemony, but it wasn't enough to really brighten the whole thing, in my opinion.

Normally, I'll add lemon extract as well, but I wanted to make this one as straight as *I* could. :D I didn't tweak anything.

So I think I'll move it to my "A good recipe to have" board, but not plan to use it unless I'm a little desperate. :D I think my sentiment was echoed through the house - but it's almost all gone, anyway. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Make your week great!!! Be BLESSED! :)

Cheryl's Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies

Good Friday Morning! I hope you've had a great week, and are looking forward to your weekend. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Michael and Haley, our groom and bride tomorrow. :)

Anyway. Today's another share that I learned to only make around Christmas, because I absolutely LOVE these. They're fantastic, soft and chewy. They're from BettyCrocker.com, and are called Cheryl's Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies.

Well, I'll admit it: part of my reasoning for posting these is so I have the link to the recipe while we're in Oregon. :D They're SO simple to make, but would be wonderful to have on-hand for weekend guests.... :D

I don't tweak these at all. I accidentally added too much brown sugar one time, and don't recommend doing that if you can help it. :D These kind of taste like chocolate chip cookies, but a little different, and a lot easier. :D

I can't think of anything else to tell you about them, except you won't regret making them! :D

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!! Be BLESSED - and try something new!

Colossal Caramel Apple Trifle

It's FRIDAY!!!! :D Have you had a good week? Did you get everything done that you wanted? Do you have big plans to relax this weekend, or anything FUN!??! :D We're wrapping up our show this weekend - it seems our weekends are busier than most of our weekdays.... :D

Anyway! Today's recipe is yet another TASTE OF HOME recipe, this time for Colossal Caramel Apple Trifle. And for another recipe for basic crepes from allrecipes.com. That one's for my own idea, which you'll get for FREE! :D

First, let me say: when the original recipe says, "Colossal", that is what it means!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's made for church potlucks, and it would feed fifty people!

We got the ingredients to make the WHOLE thing, then I spent some time studying the recipe.

First modification: we didn't want to make it in a big trifle bowl - let alone a punch bowl! - because we need portion control around here. So I decided to make them in individual trifle bowls.

For the cake layers, I made a yellow cake in a jelly roll pan; when I was ready to assemble the trifle, I used one of the trifle dishes to cut out the cake circles, and then even cut them in half lengthwise - it was a lot of cake for those dishes! We used sugar-free pudding, and lower-sugar apple pie filling.

Because we were using the individual trifle dishes, I could only fit one layering of the trifle in. But that was enough!

This is not a light, fluffy dessert, people. It's very filling - and very good! And very, very sweet. I'm keeping this recipe, but in a "good recipe to have" file, not my favorites. I can't imagine making this for anything BUT a ptch-in again, and even then, I'd probably still half the original recipe. It's a LOT of trifle!

I had SO MUCH of the layering stuff left! I got struck with an idea, however: we do a make-your-own-crepe breakfast on Christmas Morning. (We make the crepes ahead, and just warm them up that morning.) Why not put the ingredients out, so we could make a crepe with the pudding and apples as filling?

So that's what I did - mostly so I could show you! :D I put a spoonful of the spiced pudding down on the crepe, then the apples. I didn't add the caramel, because apples already don't do nice things to my blood sugar, and I didn't need the extra problem! :) It was good - but again, VERY filling.

So, there you have it, people. I actually took the concept and created two new dishes. LOL!

Have a wonderful weekend! Try something new! And let me know you're reading this, because I'm feeling like I'm whistling in the dark. :D BE BLESSED!!!

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!!! :)

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!

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!!!!

Lemon Pudding Cake

Happy Wednesday!

How are you today? Is it beautiful where you are? It is here; almost 80 degrees, the sun is shining, there's a light breeze, and the colors are still beautiful - but on their way out, which seems early. Oh, well. :D

Today's recipe is brought to you from Food and Wine, for this lemon pudding cake.

There's not a lot to say about this pretty little cake. I didn't have the correct size of ramekin, but it worked just fine in bigger ones. I'm going to give these a YES, PLEASE! - if for no other reason than they're easy and have usually-on-hand ingredients. :)

The cakes were good cold, too. Very lemony and bright! As you can see, I sprinkled powdered sugar on them - I mean, they ARE dessert, right? :D There's not a whole lot more to say about these. They're a basic little cake, and make a nice end to a meal!

OK, I'm outta here. :D As I said, it's a beautiful day, and I'm distracted by the beautiful trees in the back yard. :D Be BLESSED! Try something new, too. :D

S'mores Muffins

Good Monday Morning! And HAPPY OCTOBER!

How was your weekend? Did it go quickly? I swear! As photographers, our weekends are booked so often; they're much more full than I usually enjoy. :D And this one was no exception - but what would I give up?!? Nothin'. :D

Today's review is of another recipe from Taste of Home, for "I Want S'more Muffins". (Yes, I still roll my eyes at that name....)

If you saw my Facebook status last week, you already know my reaction to these. It's not just a YES, PLEASE! It's a OH, MY! YES, PLEASE! :D

The recipe only makes six muffins. And in my case, that's probably an EXCELLENT thing. :D My biggest recommendation is to eat them while they're still at least slightly warm - although they're still wonderful cold.

And if you drop one while trying to tip them out of the pan, it WILL explode on the floor. All over the floor.

Ask me how I know. :D

I think the homemade marshmallow fluff did, indeed, make a difference for me. It's not all hard the next day, and it didn't all melt away. As you can see, it's definitely a s'more. Although I didn't have milk chocolate chips, so I used semisweet. :)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!!

Marshmallow Fluff

It's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good morning! :D Have you got plans to try anything new this weekend? Bungee jumping? (You'll have to write your own review for that one; I can't handle even thinking about it! :D )

Anyway. :D Today's recipe is for marshmallow fluff from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice. 

I'm not too sure what I think about this recipe! If you've ever made divinity, and tried to do it on a humid day - that's how my fluff turned out. It TASTES good, but it's not really FLUFFY. It's kind of dense, actually. I've got a comment in at the website to see what she thinks I might have done wrong. Until I figure it out, I'm going to give it a MEH. Even though I can control the ingredients, I'm not sure the product I came up with is worth the time and money I put into it. I'm still thinking about that. :D

On the other hand, it worked BEAUTIFULLY for what I made it for: an ingredient for Monday's post! :D You have to store the fluff in the fridge, which makes it very unwieldy. But that made it easy to spoon into what I made. :D

Now you HAVE to come back Monday, to see what I was up to. :D

Have a WONDERFUL weekend. Enjoy your time - whether you're spending time with loved ones, or getting a chance for some down time, or doing something fun - or even if you've got to do something you didn't really want to do. :D And find a moment to try something new! BE BLESSED!

Dreamsicle Pudding

Good Wednesday Morning!
I don't know about you, but I'm loving this fall weather. :) And there's so much to do, not enough time to do it in. :D Less than three months until Christmas, and I can't wait! LOL

Anyway. Today's review is another recipe, from Jo and Sue for Creamsicle Pudding.

Let me tell you a little about this. First of all, it's more like a mousse. Second, I used sugar-free vanilla pudding, to save on more carbs. So this recipe only has the carbs from the Cool Whip and the oranges.

It's a YES, PLEASE! - even though I find it super sweet. I think, the next time I make it, I'll layer the extra Cool Whip and the mousse/pudding, to break up the sweetness a little. It's pretty, and refreshing, and the recipe is super-easy and makes seven FULL or eight big servings.

OK, I'm outta here! We're having our church picnic this evening, and I can't WAIT to hang out with my friends! :D Have a wonderful day! BE BLESSED!