July 18, 2016

No Bake Cherry Cheesecake

Hello there again, glad to see that you came back. I've been pretty sketchy with posting regularly and I'm still trying guys. I don't know how people with more than two children do it, you guys are still my heroes. I have the motivation, but no time. Still hoping that's going to change soon.

I stumbled on this recipe again on Pinterest by accident and it has changed my life. I love easy, go-to recipes that I can bring to almost anything. And this has been a hit everywhere I've brought it. I could even make this for just us and eat the whole thing. The original recipe is here from Centre Cut Cook.

I have made this per the original instructions with an Oreo crust (and it was delicious) and I have also made it with a graham cracker crust. I am sharing the adapted recipe with the graham crust.


No Bake Cherry Cheesecake                                                             

Crust:
4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp butter 

Cheesecake:
2 pkg. cream cheese
1 tub Cool Whip
3/4 cup icing sugar

Topping:
2 cans cherry pie filling

1. Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. Melt butter and mix with crumbs and sugar in a large bowl. Press into pan and place in the fridge.

2. Beat cream cheese in a separate bowl until light and fluffy. Add in sugar and beat until combined. Stir in Cool Whip until combined but not over mixed. Spoon over crust in an even layer. Place in fridge for 20 minutes until the mixture has set up a little.

3. Once cream cheese mixture is set spoon on the cherry pie filling. Place in the fridge for at least two hours prior to eating.

That's it! Sorry for the lack of pictures, I made this to take to a family gathering and didn't have time to take better pictures. And really didn't want to cut into the dessert before getting there, that might be rude. Maye I will update with pictures in the future if I get a chance.

Now I preferred the cheesecake with the Oreo chocolate crust, but the graham crust was still delicious. I love an easy to make recipe, and this one fit the bill. I can't wait to make it again, and maybe try a few more changes. If you guys have any no bake cheesecake recipes, feel free to share.  

Kerby

July 11, 2016

Chocolate Toffee Trifle

Hello again and welcome back! I thought I would share something other than Kaley today, though I do love her to pieces. I'm hoping to have time for crafting again one day, but for now family gatherings have given me the opportunity for some "baking".

I have a killer trifle recipe to share with you guys. I had forgotten about trifles for a very long time and had never made one before. I had only eaten them at family gatherings, and boy was I missing out. These are probably the greatest dessert of all time! The are easy to make and clean up, delicious and sure to be a family favourite. And they are the easiest dessert to make your own, you just need to have a cake base, whipped cream and an add in like fruit or sweets. You can take any recipe and tweak it to your liking for a brand new twist.

I stumbled across this recipe from Or So She Says in my Pinterest feed and didn't look back.  


Chocolate Toffee Trifle                                                                           

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 bag skor pieces
1 container chocolate sauce
Homemade whipped cream (see below)

1. Bake cake per box instructions in two round pans. Set aside until completely cooled.

2. Make your whipped cream by placing 4 cups heavy/whipping cream, 2 cups icing sugar and 2 tsp. of vanilla in a standing mixer. Whip on high until thick and almost stiff peaks form. Set aside. (Note: I doubled the whipped cream in the original recipe because I found I did not have enough and could only do two layers)

3. Break your cake into bite sized pieces and put a layer in the bottom of your trifle dish. I followed the original instructions and fit the sliced cake whole into the dish and did not like the fit. I recommend using pieces and making this layer a little thicker to hold everything else.

4. Layer in some chocolate sauce followed by toffee bits and then whipped cream. Pay attention to the sides and try to add more there to really show the layers off. 

5. When your happy with your layers start again with cake pieces and follow step four. Repeat until you end with whipped cream at the top of your trifle dish. I put a little extra at the top so I could smooth it out a bit better. Top with zigzags of chocolate sauce and sprinkle with toffee bits.


This recipe was so good, though when following the original recipe with adding the cake in as a full layer (and not in pieces) I found that it was very whipped cream heavy. I assume the whipped cream weighed everything down and made it so I had to add more than needed. That's why above I recommended ripping the cake into pieces, that way you will end up using more cake and less whipped cream to fill the trifle dish.

Here is a much closer look at the layers. It was especially hard to get the chocolate sauce and toffee bits to show, but I just did my best. It will all taste the same in the end, but it's nice when your desserts look pretty too.


And everyone always assumes that you spend a boat load of time and effort on these trifles. They are seriously easy desserst to make and have one of the biggest wow factors, it's awesome. Sometimes when you bake you feel underappreciated when you make a time consuming, difficult dessert and don't get a big response. But these bad boys definitely steal the show.

/

I will be making this recipe again, it was a big hit and Luis loved it. He did not object at all to me adding this to my dessert book. I think he may have even encouraged it. 

So next family gathering or event that you need to bring a dessert to, keep a trifle in mind. They are show stealers and easy to make. I know I can't wait to make another one.

Kerby 

Linking to:
Ginger Snap Crafts - Wow Me Wednesday #286 
Tatertots & Jello - Link Party Palooza 12/16/16 
Naptime Creations - Create Link Inspire 12/19/16
Two Chicks and a Mom - Funtastic Friday #114 

July 4, 2016

Kaley's Monthly Pictures: Six Months

Hello everyone and welcome back! I'm still here and trying to get things moving, but with summer here it's getting harder. Warm weather does not translate well into motivation when you have littles running all over. I'm sure I'll get back into the swing of things one day!

Today I am sharing Kaley's 6 month pictures and update. I cannot believe how fast this year is flying by! My little girl is getting bigger everyday and I don't know if I can stand it. If you missed previous months, you can find them here: one month, two months, three month, four months and five months.


This little girl make me laugh every single day. Multiple times. She is such a happy baby, I didn't realize how much Braxton wasn't. She is always smiling, laughing or acting like a goof trying to get us to smile. It's infectious. Seriously, Kaley has the goofiest smile ever. How can you not laugh when she smiles like this, I ask you?


And her feet are just about the coolest thing around. They reside in her mouth the majority of her waking hours.


She is working really hard on crawling right now. She can get up onto her hands and knees, rock and move her knees around but cannot figure out how to move her hands yet. She usually just ends up rolling over when she tries, then just keeps rolling until she gets what she wants. Braxton is not enjoying her being able to get to his toys, and has started moving toys onto the couch and coffee table so she can't get to them.


We are working on getting her to sit up by herself, but the girl won't stop moving. She is either trying to stand up or sticking her feet in her mouth. Both resulting in a face plant if not caught early enough, though that game is hilarious to her as well. She just started putting her hands down into a tripod pose, but that only lasts a few seconds. Practice makes perfect! We will keep at it.


And she hasn't really started solids yet, we started at five months but had to stop because she got extremely constipated. We had to take a break for a month to see what was constipating her, and it turns out she needs a low iron formula. We are in the process of that switch over, and are skipping baby cereal per the doctors advice. She tried butternut squash for the first time and ate half the jar.


I keep saying how different she is than Braxton was, and it's so true. She is my smiley, happy baby who laughs at everything. Hopefully she stays this way straight through her teenage years. Fingers crossed?

That's it for this month, I will see you again same bat time, same bat channel for next month's update. Sorry, I had to do it. My dad would be so proud.

Kerby