Monthly Archives: April 2014

Springtime Creamy Yogurt Pie

Posted in sweets, things we like to eat by

springtime yogurt pie 1

Are you still putting together your Easter menu? This pie would be a great addition. It’s very light and probably pretty low calorie. After a big meal, this would be a nice light dessert option. I loved the springy colors too. I made this last weekend and got requests to make it again for Easter.

springtime yogurt pie 2

This original recipe came from A Taste of Home and I got it from my friend Jeannette. When she made it, she did the lime variety and also a lemon. I made the lime and then decided to try orange. You can do any flavor that sounds good to you, you just need to modify the recipe. I thought strawberry with some fresh strawberries would be good too. The directions from the original recipe said to refrigerate the pie but when I had it, Jeanette froze the pie and then let it defrost a bit before serving. I liked that, so that is what I did. You can play around with the recipe a bit and see how you like it best. You can whip this pie up in less than 5 minutes, but just allow enough time for it to set, either in the refrigerator or the freezer, allow for several hours. If you freeze it, just allow it to soften a bit before serving.

The recipe below is for one lime pie. You can modify the flavors any way that sounds good to you. You could choose nonfat or light varieties of the Yoplait yogurt and the Cool Whip, if you’d like.

Happy Easter!

Creamy Yogurt Pie
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 3 ounce box Jello Gelatin, lime flavor
12 ounces of yogurt (2- 6 oz. containers) I used Yoplait Key Lime
1 8 ounce container Cool Whip

Pour the yogurt into a medium sized bowl and add the Jello. Mix well. Fold in the entire container of Cool Whip and mix completely. Spread into graham cracker crust. That’s it! Freeze or refrigerate for several hours. Enjoy!

Easter Breakfast Casserole

Posted in breakfast, extras, sweets, things we like to eat by

easter breakfast casserole 1

Easter is such a great holiday and such a wonderful time of year! We often go to a sunrise church service and by the time we get home, we are all ready for a delicious breakfast. This breakfast casserole is so simple and delicious and we all love it! At Christmas time, this recipe was our most popular post ever and I can understand why.

You mix the casserole up and leave it in the refrigerator overnight and then pop it in the oven the next morning. We serve ours with fruit and either muffins or cinnamon rolls. Listed below are a few of our favorite breakfast sweets. Enjoy your Easter!

easter breakfast casserole 2 edited

 

1./ Blueberry Muffins 2./ Fresh Blackberry & Lemon Cake  3./ Apple Crisp Muffins

easter breakfast line-up

 

Easter Breakfast Casserole

4 cups of shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
10 eggs
8 pieces of cooked bacon,chopped
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/3 milk
4or 5 green onions, chopped
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of additional shredded cheese for top of casserole

Mix all the ingredients together except the 1/2 cup of cheese. Pour into a greased 9×13″ pan. Top with the shredded cheese. Cover and put into refrigerator overnight. Let sit on counter for 5 to 10 minutes and then bake uncovered at 325* for about 45 minutes or until the eggs are cooked.

Cindy

 

Fashion Friday- Just a Few Items for Your Viewing Pleasure

Posted in Fashion Friday, obsessions by

Lately I feel like I’ve been running out of Fashion Friday themes. I’m kind of tired of telling you about the weather (especially since so many of you live in SoCal), and there are only so many color/material/style themes that I can think of.

So if you have any themes or brands or particular clothing styles that you would like to see featured, I would love it if you’d leave a comment on this post (or on Facebook) telling me what you want to see more of. I would love, love, love your feedback!

Today’s post is just a few things that I found and thought were cute. I hope you like them too!

Cuffed Tee

cuffed tee

 

This tee is on sale at Anthropologie and comes in a few other cute colors. Be warned though- don’t fall in love with a color before checking to see if your size is available-  a couple of the colors and sizes are completely sold out.

Zarine Cuff

zarine cuff

 

My mom was sitting next to me on the couch while I was finding items for today’s post and she pointed this bracelet out to me. That’s one of the reasons why I love having another person giving their input- I end up loving pieces that my mom picks out, but they aren’t the things that I’m automatically drawn to. This bracelet seems like such a classic piece- understated and pretty.

Desta Womens Shoes

223913412b

 

Looking at these a second time, I realized how much they look like my black jazz shoes from when I was in theater.

Wow. That was like a serious flashback right there. In case you’re curious, I was Angel #3 in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (I had one line- I threw my arms wide and said “I’m an angel!”), Sea Creature #23 in The Little Mermaid and the Raccoon in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. So clearly, I played completely indispensable roles in all of those lofty productions.

Light Up the Night Dress

fireworks sundress

 

This is absolutely adorable- I love the cut-outs on the sides.

Time Floats by Watch

leather watch

 

This is a little pricey, but it’s so simple and gorgeous. I love the wide face and simple band.

Crochet Hem Skirt

black crochet skater skirt

Tarren Tank Top

tarren tank top

 

Another item my mom pointed out. And the model is wearing the bracelet (see above)! That made my mom say that it was “meant to be” 🙂

After the Final Bow Dress 

botanical print sundress

 

Super cute and I love the back (that you can’t see in this picture haha. Click on the link to see what I mean).

Odessa Peasant Blouse

odessa peasant blouse

 

The print on this top is amazing- when you zoom in, it is so pretty and unusual.

Aqua Teardrop Earrings

456557 499 ER AQUA TEARDROP Department 30 Drop JAIPUR SILVER

 

My mom got these from World Market a few months ago and has worn them a ton. They seem to go with everything and they are a gorgeous color. And you just can’t beat the price.

Jordan

Rainbow Peanut Noodles

Posted in extras, main dishes, salads, side dishes, things we like to eat by

Rainbow Peanut Noodles 1 - My Daughter and I

I made this dish on Monday night and it was a hit!  It has been HOT here – summer-like weather, so we are definitely onto our summer recipes!  There definitely aren’t any soups, stews or roasts happening around this house!

When I saw this recipe on Gimme Some Oven I knew I would love it!  I love peanut sauce – I think I could actually eat it with a spoon.  I also love pasta – and really I love veggies — so this dish was made for me.  This will be a great staple meal for us- especially when we have a bunch of veggies coming out of the garden.  I made a few minor changes, just to suit our tastes, or what we had on hand.  We had some asparagus so I used that instead of the edamame.  The colors were beautiful!  It was great for dinner and then I ate it the next day, cold, for lunch and it was delicious.

Ours turned out a bit dry- next time I would follow the recipe a bit better and add the pasta water.  I also doubled the recipe, so it was a bit difficult to get everything stirred around.   The peanut sauce called for fresh ginger, which I had never used before.  I loved it.  The smell was incredible and fresh smelling, but when you tasted it – it was refreshing and a bit spicy.  It was a wonderful addition to the recipe and I would use the fresh ginger again.  I was thinking about trying it in my morning smoothie!  Weird?  Maybe!

Rainbow Peanut Noodles 2 - My Daughter and I

Rainbow Peanut Noodles

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: About 4-6 servings

Ingredients

    • 12 ounces whole-wheat pasta – since I doubled the recipe, I did half whole wheat, half regular pasta
    • 1 Tbsp. peanut oil (or olive oil)
    • 1 red bell pepper, cored and julienned (thinly sliced)
    • 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and julienned
    • 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
    • 1 cup shredded red cabbage
    • 1 cup shelled edamame or asparagus or green beans — whatever you have!
    • topping: thinly-sliced scallions (green onions), toasted sesame seeds and chopped peanuts
Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp. water
  • 2 Tbsp. honey
  • 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • (optional) 1 tsp. sriracha hot chili sauce, or more to taste

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, carrots, cabbage, and edamame, and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, but reserve 1/4 cup pasta water on the side. Add the pasta and peanut sauce to the saute pan of veggies and toss to combine. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of the pasta water until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

Serve immediately, topped with scallions, sesame seeds and peanuts if desired.

How To Make The Peanut Sauce:

Pulse all  ingredients together in blender or food processor.  I tried to mix by hand in a bowl and I couldn’t get it to mix together.  I finally poured it into a saucepan and heated it a bit and that worked.

Cindy

 

 

Fresh Blackberry & Lemon Cake

Posted in breakfast, sweets, things we like to eat by

Fresh Blackberry & Lemon Cake 1 - My Daughter and I

I found some beautiful fresh blackberries on sale at the store the other day. They were so plump and juicy- I needed to make something wonderful out of them. I decided to pair those delectable blackberries with one of my favorite flavors – lemon! I took the fresh apple cake that we posted several months ago, and just modified it a bit. The results were delicious – a keeper recipe for sure!

Fresh Blackberry & Lemon Cake 2 - My Daughter and I

Fresh Blackberry and Lemon Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup sour cream, I used light

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 T fresh lemon juice

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Zest from 1 lemon

3 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed and drained well

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350*. Generously spray a Bundt pan with nonstick spray, set aside.

In an electric mixer, beat butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add sour cream, then beat to combine. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined before adding the next egg. Add vanilla then beat to combine. Finally add the lemon juice and beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Remove 2 Tablespoons of flour mixture then toss with the fresh berries in a separate bowl.

Add remaining dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three batches, mixing until just combined before adding the next batch. Gently fold in the fresh blackberries.

Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Check cake at 20 minutes- if top is turning too brown, place a sheet of non-stick sprayed foil on top. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then run a knife along the inner rim and invert cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For an extra bit of sweetness you could drizzle the cooled cake with a glaze made from powdered sugar, milk and lemon juice. Or you could dust the cake with powdered sugar. We just sliced it and gobbled it up!

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T lemon juice
2 – 4 T of milk
Mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice and 2 T milk in a small bowl, mix well. Add additional milk by tablespoons until glaze reaches desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Cindy