Category: Food

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Red, White and Blueberry Trifle


We haven’t had trifle around here in a million years and when I saw this over at “Martha’s” I couldn’t help myself. I mean, really–all those lovely berries. Oh yeah…it was time.

Now, I’ll admit–some days the recipes from Ms. Stewart’s can be a bit more fussy than I have time, or inclination for. But this one was a surprise. It was easy enough to whip together while Baby Chomp was napping with plenty of time to spare. What I’m trying to say is–it’s well worth the trip to Costco for the ingredients.

Red, White and Blueberry Trifle

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1 Sara Lee pound cake (12 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices

1- 8 oz pkg. cream cheese

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups fresh blueberries

3 cups fresh raspberries

Directions

In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool completely, then brush over both sides of cake slices. Quarter cut each slice.

Beat cream cheese with remaining 1/3 cup sugar on high speed until fluffy. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add cream and continue beating until mixture is light and airy.

Arrange half the cake pieces in the bottom of a 2-quart serving dish. Spoon half the cream-cheese mixture over cake in dollops; spread to sides of dish. Scatter half the blueberries and raspberries on top. Repeat layering with remaining cake, cream-cheese mixture, and berries, piling berries in the center.

Cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and serve to your family and all your snooty friends. They’ll love it!

Our family vote was:

Dang fine.

:}

Red, White and Blueberry Trifle
 
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Ingredients
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 Sara Lee pound cake (12 ounces), cut into ¾-inch-thick slices
  • 1- 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 cups fresh blueberries
  • 3 cups fresh raspberries
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, bring ¼ cup sugar, lemon juice, and ¼ cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool completely, then brush over both sides of cake slices. Quarter cut each slice.
  2. Beat cream cheese with remaining ⅓ cup sugar on high speed until fluffy.
  3. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add cream and continue beating until mixture is light and airy.
  4. Arrange half the cake pieces in the bottom of a 2-quart serving dish.
  5. Spoon half the cream-cheese mixture over cake in dollops; spread to sides of dish.
  6. Scatter half the blueberries and raspberries on top.
  7. Repeat layering with remaining cake, cream-cheese mixture, and berries, piling berries in the center.
  8. Cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and serve to your family and all your snooty friends.

 

Happy Birthday Tracy!

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Sugared Shortbread

Once upon a time–when I was a mere kid of 16, my family went to Scotland one summer–to visit long, nearly lost family nestled in the hills somewhere. It was an incredible trip that included checking out the local shopping mall where my dad promptly bought about 2 billion pounds of Scottish Shortbread all dolled up in those cute little red plaid tins. Pretty sure he figured that’s what you do in Scotland–you buy shortbread.

Well, on that very same day, we silly Americans locked our keys in the rental car which was parked in a lonely underground parking garage. Dear old Dad charged off to find help and didn’t come back for like three hours. I’m not lying–ask my sister. Anyway,  it was hot and muggy and we had nowhere to sit and nothing to drink and nothing to eat. Nothing, that is, except for Scottish Shortbread. By the time dad came back with Scotland Yard with the proper break-in-to-your-car equipment, the rest of us had completely eaten one of the two billion pounds of shortbread. Yeah, at that point, for me–the room was starting to spin but everyone else seemed to be completely unscathed. What luck.

Long story–short, it took about 10 years for me to get over the Scottish Shortbread Gluttonfest Fiasco of 1975, to where I could actually be in the same room with that little plaid tin and not feel my grip on reality slipping.

Many years and a couple of therapists later, I’m totally over it. In fact, I can actually make my very own Scottish Shortbread–and wolf it down with the best of them. It’s pretty dang good too–if I do say so myself. Might be better dipped in a melted Symphony bar, but we’ll hold that thought for another day.

Sugared Shortbread

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sanding sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy–about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour and salt; mix just until blended and crumbly.

Press into an 9 x 13 pan and cut it into slices.

Prick with a fork and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until edges start to barely brown. Cool for about 15 minutes then turn out onto counter and re-cut along the lines.

Allow to cool completely–and nibble in moderation…or dip in chocolate as previously mentioned and eat in the local parking garage.

I can not help you–you’re on your own.

Good luck.

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Sugared Shortbread
 
Print
Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ⅓ cup sanding sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy–about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour and salt; mix just until blended and crumbly. Press into an 9 x 13 pan and cut it into slices. Prick with a fork and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until edges start to barely brown. Cool for about 15 minutes then turn out onto counter and re-cut along the lines. Allow to cool completely.

 

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Barbeque…Cupcakes

Sooo…tell me…

who doesn’t love a barbeque? All that yummy, smokey, flame broiled goodness. And now the dessert can be hot off the grill too! Check out the adorable mini sized candy cookout. I saw them in an old issue of FamilyFun magazine and HAD to try them myself.  Maybe you can figure out what they’re made of and don’t need my help at all..

but just in case…

Take cupcakes lightly frosted with chocolate icing to start off with.

For the candy fixins’ I used:

Fruit slice gumdrops

Licorice Pastels/Hot Tamales

Cow Tails/caramel

Black Frosting

Tooth Picks

Black Food Color Marker

Orange or gold sugar crystals.

There was no way I wanted to figure out how on earth to make black frosting–so I went to the bakery at the grocery store and bought about 1/2 cup for 40 whole cents.  I let Lyndi-the-frosting-girl put the “grill” stripes on with an icing bag and tip–because she’s good at it. A ziplock bag with a teeny corner cut out would work fine too.

Sprinkle sugar crystal “embers” between the grill lines.

Draw sear marks on the red licorice “hot dogs” and stick them on the grill.

Slice the gumdrops into steaks and chicken strips.

Add sear marks and slap those babies on as well.

Cut the Cowtails, green, yellow and red gumdrops into slices and slide them onto a toothpick for the shishkabobs. Now look what you done! You’ve conjured yourself a Cookout to be reckoned with.  Just think, all that goodness and no charcoal, no lighter fluid and no smoke in your eyes. Big plus.

Dad will owe you one…

:}

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Lawn Mower…Cupcakes

Won’t these sweet little lawn mower cupcakes be a hit for this Father’s Day?  It’s quite likely that you can tell by just looking at the picture how easily they go together…but I’ll tell you anyway.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Coconut

Hershey’s Nugget Chocolates

Black Licorice Laces

Green food coloring

Cupcakes

Instructions:

Make whatever flavor cupcakes your favorite dad loves and set them aside to cool. While you’re waiting…

Pour coconut in a bowl that has a snap-on lid. Drip about 10 drops of green food coloring around the edges of the bowl and replace lid. Shake the coconut around in the bowl until it has all turned green.

Lightly frost your cupcakes–I used chocolate, but you can do what you’d like. Next dip the cupcake tops into the coconut.

Unwrap chocolate and stick it to the “grass” with icing. Use four brown M&M’s for the wheels, a red M&M for the motor and a strip of licorice looped in half and poked into the cupcake for the handle–and you’re ready to go…or should I say ready to…mow? Hahaha!

Serve them to your man…and THAT’s how simple that is.

If you love these–stick around because I have MORE Father’s Day cuties from FamilyFun magazine coming up tomorrow. Wahooo!

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