Chocolate Toffee Trifle

This is a super easy dessert that will have everyone impressed!!  It is a chocolate lovers dream.

INGREDIENTS

1 box of instant chocolate pudding

Whipped Cream

1 box fudge brownie mix (prepare and cool ahead of time)

caramel sauce

toffee bits

 Prepare the pudding as directed on the box.  Mix in2 cups of whipped cream.

*Crumble up the brownies and put a layer on the bottom of your trifle dish

 Drizzle caramel sauce all over the brownies

 Layer on some whipped cream

Sprinkle toffee bits over whipped cream

Layer on pudding mixture

Repeat layers until you reach the top and then finish with whipped cream and toffee bits

Refrigerate

Eat

Cool Lime Napoleons

Some of you may know that I love Pampered Chef and secretly sale it on the side to support my addiction.  This is a recipe that I love to turn to when we are entertaining or when I am looking for something easy and refreshing.  I hope you like them as much as I do!

1 package (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls 

3 kiwi, peeled and sliced 

1 can (11 ounces) mandarin orange segments, drained and patted dry 

2 large limes 

1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1/2 cup powdered sugar 

1/4 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped 

Powdered sugar 

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly sprinkle sheet pan with flour. Unroll crescent dough across length of pan; pinch seams to seal. Lightly sprinkle dough with flour.  Roll dough evenly.  The dough will not cover the entire pan.   Prick dough with a fork or pastry tool. Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes on cooling rack.. Carefully remove pastry from pan to cooling rack; cool completely.

2. Transfer pastry to cutting board. Using Pizza Cutter, cut pastry crosswise into six rows and lengthwise into four rows to make twenty-four 2 1/2-inch squares. Slice kiwi. Place one kiwi slice and one orange segment onto each pastry square.

3. Zest one lime to measure 1 teaspoon zest. Finely snip zest using Kitchen Shears. Juice limes to measure 2 tablespoons juice. In a bowl, combine whipped topping, powdered sugar, lime zest and juice; mix until smooth and slightly thickened. In a piping bag with a star tip completely fill with lime mixture. Pipe a 1 1/2-inch rosette onto center of each pastry square, refilling decorator as needed.

4. Finely chop almonds and sprinkle over rosettes. Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar. Place one pastry square on top of another, pressing down lightly. Repeat with remaining pastry squares. Serve immediately.

Yield: 12 servings 

Nutrients per serving (1 Napoleon): Calories 190, Total Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 4 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Carbohydrate 22 g, Protein 2 g, Sodium 150 mg, Fiber less than 1 g 

Cook’s Tips: The pastry squares can be served as 24 single dessert canapés, if desired.

Source: Pampered Chef

Turtle Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves or pieces (6 to 7 ounces), toasted, divided
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 whole graham crackers, finely crushed in resealable plastic bag)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Sauce and Filling

• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 pints (4 cups) premium vanilla ice cream, divided

Ganache Topping

• 5 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Preparation:

Crust

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Using on/off turns, finely chop 1 cup pecans in processor; transfer to medium bowl. Mix in graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Drizzle butter over; blend until evenly moistened. Press mixture firmly over bottom and up sides of 9-inch glass pie dish (not on rim).
• Bake crust until golden brown, about 12 minutes (if crust puffs, press firmly back into place). Cool crust completely. Wrap in foil and freeze at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.

Sauce and Filling

• Bring first 3 ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves. Boil caramel 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Turn off heat; whisk in butter, vanilla, and salt. Cool completely.
• Slightly soften 1 cup vanilla ice cream in microwave on low in 10-second intervals. Spread ice cream evenly in frozen pie crust; spread 1/4 cup caramel over. Freeze pie until ice cream and caramel are firm, about 1 hour. Repeat with remaining vanilla ice cream in three 1-cup portions and caramel in two 1/4-cup portions. Freeze pie overnight. Cover and reserve remaining caramel at room temperature.

Ganache Topping

• Combine chocolate, cream, and corn syrup in medium metal bowl. Place over saucepan of simmering water and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Cool ganache at room temperature until thick but still pourable, about 30 minutes.
• Pour ganache evenly over frozen pie. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans. Freeze until ganache is firm, at least 45 minutes. Drizzle decoratively with 1/4 cup reserved caramel. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen. Cover and chill remaining caramel.
• Let pie stand 10 minutes at room temperature. Rewarm remaining caramel, stirring over low heat. Cut pie into wedges and serve with caramel.

Fresh Fruit Crepes

I am not a huge breakfast eater but this is my personal favorite breakfast treat!! These crepes are light and fresh and hit the spot on a beautiful summer morning.

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 TBS melted butter

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and eggs until smooth. 

Slowly beat in the milk and melted butter.   Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Brush melted butter on pan with a brush. Pour a small amount of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove.  I like to put them on wax paper.  Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone.

 

Fill the crepes with your favorite fruit.  My favorite is strawberries, banannas, blueblerries, blackberries and raspberries.  

Top with freshly whipped cream. YUM!!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS

Place the whipping cream into a bowl and either hand whisk or on medium speed beat just until the cream reaches soft peaks.  Then add the sugar and vanilla and beat until it forms stiff peaks. Store any unused portion in an airtight container for up to 10 hours. 

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

Those of you who know my husband can agree with me that Dan does not cook much!  I am hard pressed for him to make his own toast in the morning, but he does occasionally through down some awesome dutch oven recipes. This is Dan's famous peach cobbler.  I have decided that there is no way to eat peach cobbler better than this!  I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

2 large cans of peaches, (I use bottled peaches that I can in the summer)

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 cube of butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 TBS of cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS:

MAKE SURE YOUR CAMPFIRE HAS PLENTY OF HOT COALS. THESE ARE IMPORTANT FOR PROPER BAKING.

 

Coat the inside of your dutch oven with cooking oil. This helps prevent the cobbler from sticking and will greatly help you when serving.

Pour the entire contents of the can (peaches and juice) into the dutch oven.

Dump the cake mix on top of the peaches.

Slice the butter into sections and put them on top of the cake mix.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Put the lid on and place over hot coals.  Place hot coals on top of the lid as well.

LET THE COBBLER BAKE FOR 35 TO 45 MINUTES. CHECK TO SEE IF IT IS DONE BY INSERTING A CLEAN KNIFE INTO ITS CENTER. IF THE KNIFE COMES OUT CLEAN, THE COBBLER IS FINISHED. IF IT DOES NOT COME OUT CLEAN, ADD MORE COALS AND WAIT 5 TO 10 MORE MINUTES. REPEAT UNTIL THE COBBLER IS DONE. 

Mango Sticky Rice Dessert

I tried this for the first time a few months ago at a Thai restaurant and absolutely fell in love with it.  I was instantly hooked and wanted to find out how to make it.  There is something about the warm sweet rice and the taste of the mango that is the perfect combination! This is what I came up with and I would say it is almost identical in taste.  Enjoy!

3 cups prepared sticky rice

1/2 cup sugar

1 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk

2 ripe mango's

Prepare your sticky rice.  If you do not know how to do this, find instructions in my how to section.  You can make this ahead of time but must use it within 24 hours.

Empty the can of coconut milk into a saucepan.  Over medium heat, bring just to a boil.  Add in the sugar and stir continually until the sugar has dissolved.  Be careful not to scald or curdle your milk.  Once this is done add in the sticky rice and stir until well incorporated.  

Peel the mango's and slice

Once you have done this, plate your sticky rice and mango's. Pictured below is the way that I like to do it.

So good! 

Yogurt Parfait

There has finally been some great fruit showing up in the stores here.  These are one of my new favorites for breakfast or a bedtime snack. YUM.  

INGREDIENTS

1 CUP VANILLA YOGURT

1/2 CUP FRESH STRAWBERRIES 

1/2 PINT FRESH BLACKBERRIES, RASPBERRIES OR BLUEBERRIES

3/4 CUP GOOD QUALITY GRANOLA

DIRECTIONS

Layer 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt into the bottom pf a tall glass.  Combine strawberries berries.  Alternate layers of fruit and granola with yogurt until glass is filled to the top.  Serve parfait immediately to keep granola crunchy.

Caramel Popcorn

For the last three days we have been getting snow!!  Although spring is right around the corner, I have been busy making comfort foods and caramel popcorn is one of those things for me.  There is something about warm caramel and popcorn that always hits the right spot!  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.  I am afraid my pants may not fit tomorrow!

In a large bowl, pop two batches of air popped popcorn and set aside. 

In a large sauce pot combine 1 cube of butter, 2 cups of brown sugar (packed) and 1 cup of corn syrup.  Over medium heat, bring to a boil and then add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk.  Stirring constantly, cook until it is at a softball stage (about 240 degrees).  Pour over the popcorn and enjoy!!

Apple Spice Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce

This recipe is an absolute favorite around my house!  My husband will ask for this for his birthday cake almost every year.

Apples Spice Cake

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp. soda

2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

4 cups peeled and grated apples (approximately 8 medium apples)

In a mixer combine oil, sugar and eggs.  In a separate bowl sift the flour, soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt together.  Then add to the oil and sugar mixture.  This will make a thick batter.  Then add the apples.  Bake in a 9x13 greased pan at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.

Vanilla Butter Sauce

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Combine all of the above ingredients together in a sauce pan and heat over medium heat until boiling, stirring continually.  

Pour sauce onto individual pieces of cake and serve.

The Perfect Dipped Strawberries

It is not a secret that we love chocolate around my house and I thought I would share some awesome spins on chocolate dipped strawberries.  Summer is just around the corner and strawberries are finely back in season!  These are divine and add a little pop to your regular dipped strawberries.  I guarantee your sweetie pie or guests will love them.  

Before you dip your strawberries clean them well.  Make sure that the strawberries are completely dry or it will ruin the chocolate.  I used dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate.  For toppings I used coconut, mini chocolate chips, crushed graham crackers and chopped nuts.  

Go to a chocolate shop and find some great chocolate.  It makes a difference.  Melt slowly over a double boiler until just melted.  Remove from heat and stir until it starts to slightly cool.  Dip the strawberries and top with whatever your heart desires.  Have fun and be creative!