Sour Cream Raisin Pie

So…It’s been a while… Life here has been busy as usual with homeschooling, daily activities, a couple of minor surgeries and birthdays. My baby girl turned a year old in December! She is such a sweet little girl! I can’t believe she is getting so big already! My other kids are all chomping at the bit waiting for spring. They are ready to spend their days outdoors, riding their bikes and playing. And while I enjoyed  winter, I am ready for spring too!

Lately, I have been making a lot of the foods that I grew up eating. Today I made a Sour Cream Raisin Pie.  I love this pie because not only is it delicious but it is very simple to make!

You will need:

1 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups raisins

1 unbaked pie shell

Combine all ingredients

Pour into uncooked pie shell.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes.

Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. A little whipped cream on top makes it extra yummy! 🙂

Jello Cream Squares

I hope that everyone is enjoying their Labor day weekend! 🙂 We are spending our weekend  laboring, hehe. My husband and dad are in the process of turning one of the basement rooms into an office! Perhaps I will share more on that later. 🙂

Today I wanted to share an easy treat: Jello Cream Squares. These things are very addictive!

You will need:

3 (3 oz.) boxes of Jell-O (any colors you like) I used 2 orange and 1 strawberry

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

Prepare the Jell-O using 1 cup of hot water per flavor in three separate containers. Chill for 4 hours until the Jell-O has set up. Cut the Jell-O into pieces (they do not have to be uniform).

Place Jello pieces in a 13×9  pan. (Keep them  in the refrigerator until ready to add the white layer). In a separate bowl mix the 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup cold water. Add 1 1/2 cups of boiling water and stir until dissolved.

Mix in the sweetened condensed milk.

Allow the milk mixture to cool and then pour over the Jell-O cubes.

Chill for 4 hours or overnight.

After the mixture sets up cut into squares and serve.

I chose red and orange for fall colors, but the color combinations are as many as there are flavors and colors of jello. I think I will make red and green for Christmas! 🙂

 

Joining these great parties:


 

Owl Cupcakes

The summer has really flown by! As much as I love summer, I’m ready for my favorite season: fall! If only it wasn’t followed by winter! 😀

These little owl cupcakes look perfect for a fall party! They are really easy to assemble, too! 🙂

You will need:

Cupcakes – any flavor you prefer (I choose orange butter cake)

Oreos (or Oreo style cream filled cookies)

Frosting (I used a standard chocolate)

Reese’s pieces

Frost your cupcakes with a thick layer

Separate the cookies. Try to keep the cream in the center intact.

Place the cookies on the cupcake center, cream side up

Cut the cookie pieces with no cream in half. I found it easiest to gently saw it with a small serrated knife. This keeps the cookie from shattering.

Place the cut cookie pieces at an angle above the cream filled cookie, rounded side out.

Stick the brown Reese’s pieces in the center of the cream for eyes (I used a bit of frosting on the bottom so they would stick). Place  the orange and yellow Reese’s vertically  for the nose.

Now go surprise your kids with some cute little owls!

I’ll be joining these fun parties:

Gold Rush Brownies

I can’t believe how much of July has passed already! Summer seems to be flying by so fast! We are getting a lot of use out of the porch this year…spending a lot of time out there.  Dinner is served casual style on the porch, followed by kids playing until it’s dark out. I haven’t been spending very much time in the kitchen though. It’s simply been too hot to stand over the stove for too long! I’ve been making a lot of quick, easy meals.

Tonight I wanted something easy, and that didn’t use a lot of ingredients (since I have not made it to the grocery store yet, hehe). I decided on this vintage recipe that only uses four ingredients: Gold Rush Brownies.

You will need:

2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

1 15 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Dump all the ingredients into a bowl.

Mix together. It should be a fairly thick mixture.

Spread into a greased 8 inch square pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 – 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for at least 10 minutes before you cut and serve. Very easy and quick to throw together…plus, it tastes super yummy! 🙂

Linking to:

Peach Cobbler

Summer is here and it looks like it’s going to be a busy one for us! Along with various summer events and activities, we are going to spend the summer swimming, creating and  reading. My kids will be participating in the summer reading program at our local library which looks like it will be a lot of fun!

Today, after being out and about with the kids, I decided to make a dessert that doesn’t require a lot of effort: Peach Cobbler.

This recipe is neat because you spread the batter in the pan then pour the peach mixture on top…the batter rises to cover the peaches and gets a sugary crust on the top.

You will need:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

2 cans peaches in syrup

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

sugar to sprinkle on top

Cream butter and sugar

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in separate bowl

Add flour mixture and milk to creamed butter and sugar, alternating them

Spread batter in greased pan

Mix peaches with syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon together

Pour on top of batter

Sprinkle lightly with sugar. <Edited> Sorry everyone…I forgot a very important part: Baking time! I used a 9 x 11 casserole dish and baked at 375 degrees. Mine took about an hour to bake, but you may want to check it after 45 minutes. When the center is no longer doughy and it doesn’t ‘give’ a whole lot when you touch the top, it should be done.

It is especially yummy with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! 🙂

Linking to:

Adorned From Above

Pineapple Cream Cheese Bars

I hope that everyone had a good weekend! Our weekend went by too quickly…even if all we did was some much needed work around the house.

I’ve been feeling a little bit under the weather lately, so I decided to make something very simple for dessert tonight. These Pineapple Cream Cheese Bars are an easy treat to make when you don’t feel like putting in a whole lot of effort.They are based on an old Hawaiian recipe.

You will need:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

2  1/2  cups boiling water

1 cup sugar

3 envelopes gelatin

1 1/2 cup crushed pineapple

2 8-oz packages cream cheese

Whipped cream

Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together and press into pan.

Dissolve gelatin and sugar in boiling water

Add pineapple. Let the mixture cool some some.

Cream the cream cheese with mixer

Add pineapple and gelatin mixture. It will look a little watery and lumpy. Place bowl in the fridge for a short while until it is just starting to set (don’t wait until it sets completely), then remove and beat with mixer.

Pour mixture over crust and place back into refrigerator for several hours or until set.

After it sets, top it with whipped cream, slice and serve. Super simple! 🙂

Linking to:

Hawaiian Wedding Cake with Whipped Cream-Cream Cheese Frosting

So far this week has been uneventful. We are trying to transition school assignments from one grade to the next. Not a lot of excitement, just a  relaxing pace here! 😉

A few years ago I made this Hawaiian wedding cake for my husband and he really enjoyed it. I kind of forgot about it until the other day when I found it in my recipes. I tweaked the recipe a little to bring out the natural flavors and added a cream cheese frosting made with whipping cream.

For the cake you will need:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup finely chopped (or crushed) walnuts
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Then mix in the eggs, vanilla and crushed pineapple with all of the juice.

Pour into a well greased pan 9″ round or 9″X13″ rectangle

Bake for about 35 – 40 minutes at 350 degrees (or until toothpick in the center comes out clean). You can serve it this way if you want…or you can kick it up a notch with a simple creamy whipped cream-cream cheese frosting!

For Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting you will need

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (let it come to room temperature for easier blending)
1 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Gently fold the cream cheese mixture and whipped cream together.

I topped mine with a little toasted coconut. 🙂

Linking to:

 

Chocolate Chess Pie

I managed to get my technical problems sorted out….basically resulted in buying a new part. Apparently one of my kids took something off the laptop and hauled it off. Whenever something like this happens we usually check with my three-year-old or my twenty-year-old. If the three-year-old has it then it is stashed away somewhere for him to play with later. If the twenty-year-old has it…we make yet another trip to his GI doctor to have more x-rays. So far they have found a lot of interesting things…hehe…but that’s another story! 😉

While my husband was gone we spent some time with my parents and some of my siblings. There were lots of kids around so we decided to have an impromptu cookout. I whipped up about four chocolate chess pies. These pies are  really easy to throw together and have a rich chocolaty flavor!

You will need (this will make two pies):

2 unbaked pie shells

3 cups sugar

6 TBSP cocoa powder

4 eggs

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1/2 cup melted butter

2 tsps vanilla extract

Mix your cocoa and sugar together.

Lightly whisk your eggs then add to cocoa mixture.

Beat in milk, butter and vanilla.

Pour into your pie crusts and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 min or until a knife comes out clean.

See?? Super easy! So flavorful that everyone will think you knocked yourself out to make them! 🙂

Linking to:

Quick, Easy and Oh-So-Tasty Caramel Sauce

Today has been one of those lazy days when I don’t really feel like doing much. I know I should wash some laundry before it becomes an insurmountable task. Or perhaps mop the floors which are sorely neglected at the moment. Or at least organize my upstairs sitting area (not really sure what to call that spot…it’s a bit big to be a hall, but not really big enough to be a real room). Instead I opted for sitting around in comfy clothes with my husband and kids. 🙂

I guess it’s just a little hard to get motivated knowing my husband will be leaving for an overseas business trip soon.At least my neighbors are family members, so we won’t be too lonely. And  it’s only for a week…it could be worse. He could still be in the Marine Corps and be deployed for long periods of time. I’m really going to miss him!  I can say that I definitely admire all the men and women who serve our country…both in the military and those who hold things together while their spouses are deployed.

Anyway, I’m rambling… 😉

Since it’s fairly hot over here we decided on ice cream for dessert tonight which is easy for me! This caramel sauce recipe I’m going to share with you is super easy, too!

You will need:

1/2 cup butter (no substitutions)

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup heavy cream, unwhipped

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

In a small saucepan melt butter. Add the brown sugar; whisk until combined and thickened (about 2 minutes).

Whisk in the whipping cream, until thoroughly blended (2 more minutes).Mix in vanilla (if using) until combined.

This sauce will thicken up more when refrigerated. It has a very creamy taste and texture…not overly sticky or gummy.

Store it in the fridge in a jar and use this on just about anything that requires caramel sauce.

As for me, I’m going back to enjoying my lazy day! 🙂

Linking to:



 

German Chocolate Brownies

This week has been one of those weeks when everything has been slightly hectic and a little stressful. My dryer died right when I finally decided to tackle the mountain of laundry that I’d let pile up all week. I thought maybe that meant I wasn’t supposed to wash laundry anymore. 😉 Thanks to my dad and husband it is up and running! 🙂 I guess I don’t have an excuse to put it off any longer. 😉

In short, this is a week for chocolate and LOTS of it! To feed my chocolate craving I whipped up some super chocolaty German chocolate brownies.

For the brownies you will need:

4 squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwave bowl at high 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Stir sugar into chocolate. Mix in eggs and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour.

Spread in greased 13 x 9 inch pan.

Bake  at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs.

For the topping you will need:

2 TBSP butter, melted

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 TBSP corn syrup

2 TBSP heavy cream

Combine butter and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the coconut, pecans, corn syrup and milk; mix well.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto warm brownies; spread evenly. Broil 6 in. from the heat for 2-4 minutes or until top is browned and bubbly.

Boy did they ever hit the spot! I just hope I have enough self control not to eat them all! 😉

Linking to: