Family Favorite Recipe: Cherry Delight

This week has been full of recipes!  Not planned, but it certainly has worked out well.

A little back ground on this one.... This is a recipe my husband's grandmother would make for her family.  I was introduced to this recipe when my husband and I started dating some 16 years ago.  Since then, it's been one of the top requested desserts around here.

Original Recipe (9x9 or pie)

Crust

25-30 graham crackers

3/4 - 1 stick margarine

Filling

1/2 C powdered sugar

4 oz cream cheese (softened)

1 package Dream Whip (prepared)

Topping

1 21 oz can cherry pie filling

Directions

Crumble graham crackers and mix with melted margarine.  (Quick and Easy Method)  Spread and press into the bottom of a pie pan or 9x9 dish.  Bake at 325* for 10 minutes.  Place to the side and let cool.

Prepare package of Dream Whip according to directions on box.  Set to side.

Cream together powdered sugar and softened cream cheese.

Mix Dream Whip and sugar mixture together.  Spread on cooled graham cracker crust.  Top with cherry pie filling.

{The above is where it all started.  We generally make a 9x13 size since nothing in a 9x9 dish lasts very long in a family of 7.  We also like more cream cheese flavor.  Adding more cream cheese will also give you a denser filling - just so you know.}

Altered Version (for 9x13)

Crust

1 1/2 packages graham crackers 

1 stick butter (melted)

Filling

1 C powdered sugar

16 oz cream cheese (softened)

2 package Dream Whip (prepared)

Topping

2  21 oz can cherry pie filling

Crumble graham crackers and mix with melted butter.  (Quick and Easy Method)  Spread and press into the bottom of a 9x13 dish.  Bake at 325* for 10 minutes.  Place to the side and let cool.

Prepare packages of Dream Whip according to directions on box.  Set to side.

Cream together powdered sugar and softened cream cheese.

Mix Dream Whip and sugar mixture together.  Spread on cooled graham cracker crust.  Top with cherry pie filling.

Save a few of the graham cracker crumbs to sprinkle on top of the finished dish to make it even more appealing.  

Enjoy!

Keep loving Life!

Family Favorite Recipes: Two Bean Chicken Chili

This is a recipe my SIL introduced us to soon after she and my brother were married. It's amazingly easy to make for a family meal or to double when having company.  And, {IF you have any leftovers} it reheats well in the microwave or on the stove top.

Would you like to have a freezer meal or slow cooker meal with little to no prep work needing to be done?  THIS IS THAT RECIPE!!


2 Bean Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 can Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

1 can Pinto Beans (rinsed and drained)

2 cans chicken broth

8 oz. corn

1 T chili powder

1 clove of garlic

1 jar chunky mild salsa

3 cups cooked chicken

8 oz tomato sauce (Mexican hot if available)

1 chopped zucchini (optional)


Directions:

Place all ingredients in a large soup pot on stove top.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 30 minutes.

That's it.  Seriously.

Want to add a little extra to it?  Our family likes to put a dollop of sour cream on top, a good sprinkle of shredded cheese and then scoop it all up with Fritos or Tostitos.  {Has anyone else noticed that my recipes never end up in the low fat category?!}

Graham Cracker Crust Made Easy

We had company this weekend.  Great company.

The menu for the night?  Potato Soup, 2 Bean Chicken Chili, all the fixin's, Fresh Fruit, Blackberry Cobbler and Cherry Delight.

All easy enough and super yummy.

It was the first time I used my food processor to make a homemade pie crust.  My kids that were standing around watching were quick to let me know that Nonnie (my mother) does this better.  Even though they were right, I still felt very accomplished once finished.

Next on my to-do list was making the Cherry Delight which has a graham cracker crust.  This is my least favorite crust to make because it's time consuming and messy.  You know - putting the crackers in a gallon size bag and pounding away with either my fists or rolling pin.  But, since it's one of our family's favorite recipes - guess that make's it a labor of love.

So, after making one dessert, I was dreading moving on to the next dessert.  Until I had an 'AHA!' moment while cleaning up my food processor.  If I could make pie crust dough in it, why couldn't I make my graham cracker crust with the help of the food processor?

And it worked!!!  Yay!

Just add your graham crackers to your food processor.

Pulse for a couple of seconds.

Add your melted butter.

Pulse for a couple more seconds until well blended.

Now all you have to do is spread the mixture in a pie pan of your choice.

EASY!!

So, is this something everyone else has been doing for years and I'm just late to the party?  Or do you have another way to make crushing the graham crackers super easy?

Family Favorite Recipes: Taco Night

I'm on a mission this year to find some great, flavorful, paleo recipes.  With so many people in our family, it can be hard to find things that everyone likes.

We have some texture issues.

We have sensitivity issues.

We have those typical kids that turn their nose up at the food because of how it looks.

To top it all off, I've been blessed with not one, but TWO kids that don't like pizza sauce!

The one meal we all seem to be able to eat and enjoy together is when we have tacos.  And, let's face it, that's because each person gets to customize his or her plate.  Some want cheese, some want sour cream, some want lettuce, some want none of those things and others want it all.

For me it's the one night I don't have to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on standby.

We've hit on a couple of really good, full of flavor taco seasoning recipes in our search that I wanted to share with all of you.

First is this taco seasoning recipe from Caveman Food.  The kids absolutely loved it!  {Kevin and I, too}  And all the ingredients were just sitting in my cabinet waiting to be put to use.  The only thing I did differently was to add more than the 1/4 cup of water.  Play around with it just a bit to get it to the consistency you like.  Make sure you have a place to store the extra mix, too.  I'm able to get two Taco Nights out of this recipe.

This next one steps things up a notch.  Paleo Newbie is a fantastic site with all kinds of good recipes. The steak fajita recipe is one we add to our taco night every so often to give Kevin and I a real treat.

Some of the things I did with the recipe:

• Used olive oil
• Added a little more than the 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper the recipe calls for
• Threw all the marinade ingredients on the meat.  Yep, didn't read the recipe through first, so I didn't know that half was supposed to go on the veggies.  Turned out great regardless.

We've used the fajita recipe twice now.  Once we had sirloin.  Once we had flank.  I preferred the sirloin.  Kevin preferred the flank.  Regardless, both were excellent!  

I have these recipes and others on my Pinterest, so feel free to go over and check that out.  I'd also love to hear what recipes you've come across that have turned out great.  I'll continue to keep you updated on the recipes that have scored high with our family.

Family Scrabble Picture

I really like crafting.  Did you know that?  I mean, I really like crafting.

But unfortunately, I didn't do many handmade gifts this Christmas.  Maybe next year (or this year?), but November and December were just way too busy to try and get much done in the crafting department.

I did get one handmade gift in.  I loved doing this!  It turned out just like I had hoped, and I think the recipients liked it, too.

I was able to get 12 grandkids' names and a few extra words fit.  Limited places if there are any more kids born.  {Keep that in mind Melissa.}

The project took two games to complete because of the letters needed.  The frame is a simple shadow box purchased from Joann's Fabrics and Crafts.  Letters are hot glued onto the board and then the board is hot glued onto the back ground of the frame.  Very simple construction.

TIP 1:  When purchasing a second set of letters or a whole game, make sure the tiles are the same.  Mixing tiles from an older game and newer game will be glaringly evident.  Not a pretty finished product.

TIP 2:  When using hot glue, place the glue no the back of the letter tiles and not on the board.  This will help eliminate the strings of glue on your finished project.  You could also use wood glue, rubber cement, or something similar.

TIP 3:  Shop around for games and tiles.  I found my second game at a local thrift store.  If you prefer, extra tiles by themselves can be purchased through Amazon.com.  (See Tip 1 when making purchase.)

TIP 4:  Be prepared to play around a little with the word placement when doing this project.  It helps to get all your words planned, make sure you have enough tiles for all the words you want, and then start placing them on the board.

TIP 5- Walk away.  Seriously.  There are going to be times when it gets really frustrating.  You will have several words or just that ONE LAST WORD that won't fit anywhere.  This is the perfect time to take a 10 minute break.  It's amazing what new ideas will come about after a coffee or snack break.

The projects using this game fascinate me for some reason.  I have several projects pinned with the Scrabble game theme just waiting for me to find the time to do them.  One day.....

Owl Themed Birthday Party

We recently had a little girl turn 8 in our family.  {Wow!}  And, it's the policy in our home to have a birthday party when an eighth birthday rolls around.

Now, you would think at this age a little girl would go for Frozen, Princess or any other number of girly themes.  Not this one.  She has been obsessed with OWLS since she got this hat over two years ago,

 and her mind was set.

So, here's how we do Owl....

Decor:

We also had several stuffed owls on table tops to help decorate.

Food:
Owl Fruit Tray-

Owl S'mores

Owl Cupcakes

Craft:

Corner Bookmark

We really had a lot of fun with it all.  These were all super simple things to do.  Because of that, I was able to have a lot of help from the kids.

My 10 year old Caroline was in charge of finishing the smores after I split the marshmallows.

Madi took care of separating the Oreo cookies for the cupcakes.

Once I got the kids all started on the craft, they were able to be turned loose to create.

Even our almost 5 year old was able to make his own bookmark.  Googly eyes are a must.

Head on over to Pinterest and see all the sources and places of inspiration for the things we did for the party on Madi's Owl Bday Board.  You'll see several ideas we didn't do and all my pictures pinned there, too.

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Easy Microwave Sweet Potato

Growing up we had potatoes just about every evening for supper.  Baked, fried, roasted.....we never got tired of them.   I LOVED it!

We may have made the switch from Russet to Yukon Gold over the last 13 years of marriage, but I still love a good baked, or roasted potato with a meal.

In the past couple of years my family has been eating a little differently and those baked potatoes haven't made it on our plates nearly as much.  The new kid on the block has been the sweet potato.
It's only been recently that I've started to enjoy eating them, though.

The cooking method is what gets me.  I could put them in the crockpot, but that takes 6 or 7 hours.  I could bake them, but that takes at least 1 hour.  Unfortunately, I'm not a planner and we would never have sweet potatoes with our meals if I had to rely on these methods.

Since I needed a better method for me, Kevin and I have worked together to figure out an easy way to cook them and get them to the supper table quickly.  LOVE my microwave!!

Here's what you do:

• Wash and dry your sweet potato.  Then place it in the microwave.  Don't worry about poking holes.  We place it straight in the microwave, but it can always be put on a plate or dish to cook.
• Cook on high for 5 minutes.
• Flip the sweet potato over and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes.
• At this point, the sweet potato should be really soft.
• Let set until you can handle it without burning your fingers.
• Start peeling the skin off your sweet potato.  (Use a knife to get things started, if you like)

The skin should just peel right off and leave you with all the wonderful meat for your meal.

What to put on it?  A little coconut oil is good.  Or you could add some cinnamon, too.  I like just putting a little salt and pepper on it.  Very simple, but satisfying!

Enjoy a sweet potato with your next meal and let me know how you like it!

** Nutritional values of sweet potato vs potato.  Incase you wanted to compare.  There's not a huge difference overall, but the Vitamin A content difference is amazing!