Sand Pudding

Name: Sand Pudding
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 11 ounce box Nilla Wafers; 2 Oreos; 1 8 ounce block cream cheese; 1/4 cup butter; 3/4 cup powdered sugar; 2 3.4 ounce boxes vanilla pudding mix; 2 3/4 cups milk; 12 ounces Cool Whip

Jul 14, 2014

Sand Pudding is the cutest no bake dessert! Layers of pudding and cookie crumble sand and topped with gummy worms. Perfect for a summer party!

We also have Dirt and Worms Pudding Cups and Beach Bear Pudding Cups!

Sand Pudding - the cutest no bake dessert! Layers of pudding and cookie crumble sand and topped with gummy worms. Perfect for a birthday party!

This Sand Pudding is one of my favorite cutesy desserts. You know, something that’s always a hit with the kids. It’s perfect for birthday parties or school parties or just an afterschool snack if you have a bunch of kiddos you need to impress.

It’s a delicious no bake dessert that everyone loves because who doesn’t love pudding, cookies, and gummy worms?!

It starts with a “sand” made from Nilla Wafer cookies and Oreos. And the pudding is a light and fluffy vanilla pudding made with cream cheese, pudding mix, and Cool Whip.

It all gets layered together with the “sand” on top. Then you can add cute little gummy worms.

Ingredients

Nilla Wafers – this is going to create the sand part of the sand pudding.
Oreos – you just need a few of these just to add some dark specks to your “sand.”
Cream cheese – this is going into the pudding mixture and gives it almost a cheesecake taste.
Butter – this will add a great buttery flavor to the pudding mixture.
Powdered sugar – make sure it’s powdered and not granulated. The powdered really melts into liquids a lot better.
Vanilla pudding mix – you could always use a different light colored pudding, like cheesecake or even lemon.
Milk – use dairy or nondairy, whatever your preference is.
Cool Whip – make sure to thaw in the fridge overnight before beginning your recipe.

How To Make Sand Pudding

Make sand mixture. Combine Nilla Wafers and Oreo in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles sand.
Make cream cheese mixture. Beat together cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar.
Make pudding. Mix together vanilla pudding mix and milk.
Combine. Add pudding to the cream cheese mixture.
Add Cool Whip. Gently fold in Cool Whip.
Assemble. Layer “sand” and pudding mixture into serving dishes.
Top. Top with gummy creatures.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 12 servings

Sand Pudding

Sand Pudding is the cutest no bake dessert! Layers of pudding and cookie crumble sand and topped with gummy worms. Perfect for a summer party!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 11 ounce box Nilla Wafers
2 Oreos
1 8 ounce block cream cheese
¼ cup butter
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 3.4 ounce boxes vanilla pudding mix
2 ¾ cups milk
12 ounces Cool Whip

Instructions

Put Nilla Wafers and Oreos together in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles sand. Set aside.
Beat together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together vanilla pudding mix and milk. Slowly add this mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined. Gently fold in Cool Whip.
Layer into serving dish of choice (it's really cute in buckets!) starting and ending with the "sand" mixture.

Pineapple Lemonade Sangria

Jun 27, 2014

Pineapple Lemonade Sangria – the ultimate summer drink recipe! White wine, lemonade, and rum with tons of fresh fruit mixed in. It can be made ahead so it is perfect if you are prepping for a party!

Quick reminder: The blog will be down from Sunday night to Tuesday morning. If you need any recipes during that time, get them now!

And now we talk wine. Because it’s Friday! And I’m currently roadtripping with all 3 kids and a cockapoo. I’m almost positive that by the time this post goes live, I’ll be wishing that I was at the pool with a glass of wine in my hand.

(The husky was boarded. Because she sings in the car. And I couldn’t handle that for 19 hours.)

…

Red, White, and Blue Jello Stars

Jun 24, 2014

Red, White, and Blue Jello Stars are the cutest treat for the 4th of July or Memorial Day! Only 4 ingredients and so easy!

Red, White, and Blue Jello Stars - the cutest treat for the 4th of July or Memorial Day! Only 4 ingredients and so easy!

How excited are you for 4th of July fireworks?!

The kids and I are headed down to Alabama for the 4th and I am so stoked!

In Colorado, we’re always under a fire ban – we’re not even allowed to do sparklers! And then Fort Carson always schedules a big 4th of July fireworks show but it always gets postponed until September when fires are less of an issue. Colorado is a really weird place to live.

So every 4th of July, I buy the kids glow sticks and they run around the backyard like maniacs as soon as it gets dark.

But not this year! This year they’ll finally see fireworks!

Ingredients

Red jello mix – use whatever flavor as long as it is red jello.
Blue jello mix – use whatever blue jello flavor that you want.
Unflavored gelatin – you can find this with the flavored jello in the grocery store. This is going to be for the white parts of the stars since they don’t make white jello.
Sweetened condensed milk – this is also ging to make up the white part of the stars. It’s also really delicious!

How to Make Red, White, and Blue Jello Stars

These Red, White, and Blue Jello Stars seriously cannot be easier but it is kind of time consuming. Be prepared to make them a day ahead. I suggest starting the process early the day before you plan to serve them because there are 2 chill times for the jello.

Bring water to a boil
Combine 1 cup boiling water with 1 package of jello; transfer to a small squash nonstick container
Repeat with remaining packs of jello
Refrigerator for at least 4 hours
When the jello has set, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over cold water and let stand for 4 minutes
Bring more water to a boil; pour over the dissolved gelatin
Add sweetened condensed milk to the gelatin mixture and mix well
Cool to room temperature
When ready to assemble, cut colorful jello into cubs and gently place in a 9×13-inch pan
Pour the cooled condensed milk mixture over the cubes
Place the pan in the refrigerator and chill overnight
Once set, use a star shaped cookie cutter to cut stars out of the jello

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📖 Recipe

Yield: about 30 stars

Red, White, and Blue Jello Stars

Red, White, and Blue Jello Stars - the cutest treat for the 4th of July or Memorial Day! Only 4 ingredients and so easy!

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

2 3- ounce packages red jello
2 3- ounce packages blue jello
2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 14- ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Spray 4 small square containers nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Bring 5+ cups of water to a boil. Combine 1 c. boiling water with 1 package of Jello, stirring until dissolved. Place the dissolved Jello in one of the prepared containers. Repeat with the remaining packages of Jello. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferable overnight.
When the Jello has set, bring another 1 ½ cup of water to a boil. While the water is heating, sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over ½ c. of cold water. Allow to stand for about 4 minutes. When the water has come to a boil, pour 1 ½ cup boiling water over the dissolved gelatin and stir to combine. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Carefully cut the colored Jello into cubes and gently toss to combine in the 9×13-inch pan. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the colored Jello. Press down any jello cubes that are sticking too far out of the white mixture.
Place the pan in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to carefully cut stars out of the jello. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Easy Cheese-Stuffed Breadsticks

Jun 19, 2014

We have less than a week until Big Brother.

Who else is excited?!

I wait all year for Big Brother. All year. I bought the live feeds weeks ago and plan on staying up 24 hours a day, reading all the forums, and basically being a psycho. So if you don’t hear from me for the rest of the summer, you know why.

Also, if you want me to respond to an email/tweet/text/whatever, you may want to mention the show. I’m telling you, for the next 3 months, my life is Big Brother.

It’s such a weird thing to be obsessed with, right? Like, a bunch of strangers move into a house with cameras on them 24/7. And they’re always boring 23 hours of the day. But that one hour of fighting or crazy drunken antics…

I can’t explain my own obsession.

But today I bring you bread! Really, really easy bread made from Bisquick (or whatever baking mix you use) and cheese sticks. They aren’t the prettiest breadsticks but my kids ate the entire batch the night I made them and them begged me to make them the next day.

…

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Jun 18, 2014

The most delicious dessert cheese ball! Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball is a sweet vanilla cheese ball filled with mini chocolate chip and pecans.

I never really understood the sweet cheese balls in the world. I thought the whole idea was weird and I definitely prefer my cheese balls to have lots of bacon in them.

But years ago my best friend Megan brought me a lemon cheese ball mix from one of those companies that’s like Avon… but for food. I’m drawing a blank but it was one of those companies that you go to the party and them you can buy soup mixes or, you know, cheese ball mixes. Things like that.

That cheese ball mix changed my life. I made it one night after my husband was asleep and ate the entire thing. At like 2 am.

I’ve loved sweet cheese balls ever since and any time I’m at a party and there’s a sweet cheese ball around, I pretty much pull up a chair and claim it as my own.

I made this Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball for my kids and you know how it goes, I ended up scarfing down the majority of it. Why is cream cheese so good?!

We had it with cinnamon graham crackers and it was awesome!

Ingredients

Cream cheese – make sure to soften it to room temperature to make sure you can get it super creamy
Butter – softened to room temperature
Powdered sugar
Brown sugar
Vanilla
Mini chocolate chips – I like the texture of the tiny chocolate chips in this but you can use regular if that’s what you have. Or you can chop a chocolate bar.
Pecans – you can use another nut if you prefer

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
Slowly beat in powdered sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla.
Use a rubber spatula to stir in mini chocolate chips.
Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
Shape chilled mixture into a ball. Wrap with plastic and chill another hour.
When ready to serve, roll cheese ball in pecans.
Serve with graham crackers.

How Long Is It Good For?

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball will be good for about a week in the fridge. I recommend wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and then putting it in an airtight container to keep it as fresh as possible.

Can You Freeze It?

Yes, you can freeze this dessert cheese ball for up to a month. Make sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then put it in a freezer ziploc bag.

When you are ready to serve it, let it defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: about 16 servings

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

The most delicious dessert cheese ball! Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball is a sweet vanilla cheese ball filled with mini chocolate chip and pecans.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
½ cup 1 stick butter, softened
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup mini chocolate chips
¾ cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Use a rubber spatula to stir in mini chocolate chips.
Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
Shape chilled mixture into a ball. Wrap with plastic and chill another hour.
When ready to serve, roll cheese ball in pecans. Serve with graham crackers.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Jun 17, 2014

Sour Cream Noodle Bake is a cheesy baked pasta with ground beef and a creamy sauce! The whole family will love this recipe!

Sour Cream Noodle Bake - cheesy baked pasta with ground beef and a creamy sauce! The whole family will love this recipe!

This Sour Cream Noodle Bake is the current favorite dinner in my house. Even my picky eaters went crazy over it.

It starts by browning ground beef (you can use ground turkey or chicken) and mixing that with canned tomato sauce. That gets layered with cooked egg noodles and a mixture of sour cream, cottage cheese, and green onions. And then it all gets topped with cheddar cheese and baked until bubbly and delicious.

If you’re scared of the cottage cheese, don’t be! I tend to avoid recipes with cottage cheese because my kids won’t eat it on it’s own but it just becomes part of the creamy sauce in this dish.

Everyone loves it and we will definitely be making it over and over again.

…

Angel Food Cake

Jun 16, 2014

One day last week I was all wound up about strawberry shortcake. Like, I’d thought about it all night the night before and then I got even more pumped because I had sour cream to make my favorite sour cream pound cake.

Excited doesn’t even begin to cover how I was feeling.

And yes, I realize my feelings toward food tend to be pretty extreme.

But anyway, I put the pound cake in the oven and wanted to get started slicing the strawberries. Guess what.

We had no strawberries.

And I’m having a lazy summer. I’m only motivated to do fun things like stovetop s’mores-ing and swimming and splash padding. Going to the grocery store is not on that list.

The pound cake just sat there for days and finally I came to terms with the fact that no one was going to show up at my door with strawberries and made my kids French toast with it.

Well I finally went to the store over the weekend and got some dang strawberries. I made this Angel Food Cake to go with them and I think I’ve decided that Angel Food is my favorite for shortcake. It reminds me of those little round sponge cakes that you can buy and I love those so much!

📖 Recipe

Yield: about 12 servings

Angel Food Cake

from Taste of Home

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups egg whites, about 9
1 ½ cups sugar, divided
1 cup cake flour
1 ¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place oven rack in the lowest position. Preheat oven to 350F.
Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
Sift ½ cup sugar and flour together twice; set aside.
Add cream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about ½ cup at a time.
Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.
Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate.

Orange Cream Cupcakes

Jun 12, 2014

Big disaster in my life.

We can’t find Cuties anymore.

I don’t even know what to do. The baby (he’s almost 3 – not a baby) eats at least 3 a day and now they are gone from the grocery store shelves. Yesterday I found a bag of pluots labeled dinosaur fruit and thought “Hey, it’s got a dinosaur on it. Maybe he’ll eat them!”

Nope.

I’m kind of regretting using our last bag of Cuties on these cupcakes. Kind of. But not really.

Because Orange Cream Cupcakes! I’ve been really digging citrus cakes for awhile now so an orange cupcake with orange cream cheese frosting? All about it!

Don’t worry if you’re in the same predicament as me with the Cuties though – you can use any kind of orange!

…

Peach-Berry Crumble

Jun 09, 2014

The most delicious summer dessert! Fresh peaches, blueberries, and strawberries topped with a buttery oat crumble. Serve this Peach-Berry Crumble warm with ice cream on top!

I was walking through the grocery store a couple weeks ago and was overwhelmed by the smell of super ripe peaches.

It was the strangest experience. It’s such a familiar smell but it took me forever to figure out what it was. I guess I just wasn’t expecting to find peaches this early in the summer! But I was in a hurry and didn’t stop to buy any and regretted it almost immediately. I mean, is there anything better than a ripe peach?

I’ve been itching to make something with peaches since then and you guys know I love a good crumble! It’s just the easiest, most perfect summer dessert. For this one, you just toss fresh peaches, blueberries, and strawberries together in a baking dish and cover them with an oat crumble. So simple!

I may have fed this to my kids for dinner one night and they may have told on me the next time they skyped with my mom.

But you know, it’s fruit and oats. So basically oatmeal. And that’s a healthy meal.

Right?

Ingredients

Peaches
Blueberries
Strawberries
Egg
Egg yolk
Sugar
All-purpose Flour
Old-fashioned oats
Butter

Instructions

Place peaches and berries in a 2-quart baking dish
In a mixing bowl, stir together egg, egg yolk, sugar, flour, oats, and salt until it forms a coarse meal
Sprinkle flour mixture over fruit
Drizzle the melted butter over topping
Bake at 350 F for 40 – 45 minutes or until light brown and bubbly
Let stand 10 minutes before serving
Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream

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📖 Recipe

Yield: about 8 servings

Peach-Berry Crumble

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups fresh peach slices, about 3 medium
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh strawberry slices
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup old-fashioned oats
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, melted
ice cream or whipped cream, for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.
Place peaches and berries in a 2-quart baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, stir together egg, egg yolk, sugar, flour, oats, and salt until it forms a coarse meal. Sprinkle over fruit.
Drizzle the melted butter over topping.
Bake 40 - 45 minutes or until light brown and bubbly.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Zesty Turkey Roll-Ups

Jun 04, 2014

Zesty Turkey Roll-Ups have deli turkey, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and taco seasoned mayo rolled up in a spinach wrap! Perfect for lunchboxes!

Zesty Turkey Roll-Ups - deli turkey, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and taco seasoned mayo rolled up in a spinach wrap! Perfect for lunchboxes!

Summer lunches have been interesting so far.

One day last week my 4 year old requested a vienna sausage sandwich.

Yeah.

Vienna sausages on bread.

With mayo.

Even my husband – who could live on fried bologna sandwiches – gave that one a “WTF” when I told him about it.

I just have no interest in cooking actual meals at lunch time. So it’s microwavable mac & cheese cups and hot dogs most days.

With an occasional vienna sausage sandwich thrown in.

What do you do?

Zesty Turkey Roll-Ups!

I wanted to change things up for the kiddos but still keep it simple.

These Zesty Turkey Roll-Ups were perfect for a outside lunch one day when they were splashing around in mud puddles (that they created by dumping out their little pool as soon as I filled it up).

They roll-ups are super colorful and fun and amazingly, my kids did not complain about the lettuce or the tomato. Or the strange green tortilla!

They would be perfect for a lunchbox or even a quick dinner idea!

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 48 rolls

Zesty Turkey Roll-Ups

Zesty Turkey Roll-Ups have deli turkey, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and taco seasoned mayo rolled up in a spinach wrap! Perfect for lunchboxes!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup mayo
1 1.25 ounce packet taco seasoning
6 large spinach flour tortillas
1 pound deli-sliced turkey
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 roma tomatoes, diced
green leaf lettuce

Instructions

Stir together mayo and taco seasoning. Start with about half of the packet and add more to taste.
To assemble, spread desired amount of mayo on each tortilla. Place turkey slices on one side of the tortilla. Layer lettuce, tomatoes, and lettuce in the center of the tortilla.
Starting on the side with the turkey, roll the tortilla up tightly. Use a bit more mayo if you need to, to help keep the tortilla closed.
Sliced each rolled tortilla into 8 slices. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars

Jun 03, 2014

The most delicious lemon bars! Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars have a buttery crust, creamy lemon filling, and a crumbly oat topping.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars - rich and creamy lemon bars with a oat crumb topping.

My all-time favorite fruity dessert is a lemon bar. That’s probably pretty evident by the fact that I have 4 or 5 different lemon bar recipes on the blog. I’m obsessed.

Last year I was so pumped to make this raspberry lemon bar that had been circulating the blog world that I actually cried when it turned out to be a huge fail.

I cried.

Over a lemon bar.

This is my life.

This one, fortunately, didn’t fail and it may be my new favorite. A lemon bar is typically lemon curd on a shortbread crust but these bars start with an oatmeal crust and then have a filling of just lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk. And then – the best part – it’s topped with crumbles of the oat crust.

You guys know I love anything with a crumb topping!

I was totally skeptical because, like I said, the filling is literally just lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk. I didn’t think it would set up and be slice-able. But it really did turn super thick and creamy.

I had more bars than I’d like to admit to.

Ingredients

All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Butter
Brown sugar
Old-fashioned oats
Sweetened condensed mik
Lemon – you will be using both the zest and juice from the lemon.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat together butter and brown sugar.
Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in oats.
Add dry mixture to butter mixture.
Press half of the mixture into the bottom of an 8×8-inch pan.
In a separate bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Spread lemon mixture onto crust.
Take remaining crumb mixture and knead it in your hands until chunky. Sprinkle over lemon mixture.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Refrigerate for several hours for cutting and serving.

How Long Are Lemon Bars Good For?

These creamy lemon crumb bars will be fine in the fridge for about a week. Make sure to store them in an airtight container – like this 8×8-inch pan that you can bake them in and then pop the top on once they’re cool! Less dishes is always a good thing!

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📖 Recipe

Yield: about 16 servings

Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars

The most delicious lemon bars! Creamy Lemon Crumb Bars have a buttery crust, creamy lemon filling, and a crumbly oat topping.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick, ½ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 can, 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
½ cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
Press half of oat crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8x8-inch pan.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture.
Take the remaining crumb mixture and knead it with your hands to make it crumbly and chunky. Sprinkle this over the lemon mixture.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool for several hours before cutting and serving.

Marshmallow Fruit Salad

May 28, 2014

The BEST fruit salad recipe! Old-fashioned Marshmallow Fruit Salad has pineapple, mandarin oranges, strawberries, and marshmallows all tossed in a creamy sour cream dressing. Only 5 ingredients!

I also have a Tropical Marshmallow Fruit Salad and a Pistachio Marshmallow Salad!

Overhead shot of marshmallow fruit salad with pineapple, strawberries, and mandarin oranges.

I know it looks like I showed up with a bowl of marshmallows today, but I swear there’s fruit in there too.

My oldest started talking about fruit salad as soon as our weather warmed up.

My kids eat fruit all day long but for some reason, he wants it cut up and tossed together. In an effort to become the favorite parent while my husband is deployed, I threw in some marshmallows.

This is the easiest fruit salad you will ever make! It usually mostly canned fruit so there’s not a whole lot of prep work involved.

Ambrosia salad with pineapple, strawberries, mandarin oranges, and marshmallows

Marshmallow Fruit Salad Ingredients

Pineapple tidbits – these are a little bit smaller than the pineapple chunks so if you can’t find them, just grab a can of chunks and give them a rough chop.
Mandarin oranges – the canned kind, not the fresh ones.
Fresh strawberries – these will be sliced before going into the fruit salad.
Mini marshmallows – you could make this a really colorful fruit salad by using the colorful marshmallows.
Sour cream – this is it for the sauce! The fruit, as it sits, starts to put out juice and it all mixes together to create a sweet, fruity sauce.

Keep scrolling for ingredient amounts!

Instructions

Combine ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, sliced strawberries, mini marshmallows, and sour cream together until all the fruit is covered.
Chill. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

How Long Is It Good For?

Marshmallow Fruit Salad will be fine in the fridge for about 3 days. After that it will become very liquidy and not so tasty.

Make sure to store it in an airtight container (these glass containers are my favorite for all leftovers!) to keep it fresh for as long as possible.

Marshmallow fruit salad with strawberries, pineapple, and mandarin oranges in a white bowl

Can You Make Marshmallow Fruit Salad Ahead?

Yes! You need to make it at least an hour before you serve it.

It should be fine to make the night before and just let it chill until you are ready to serve. But keep it mind that the fruit will release more liquid the longer it sits so I still think it’s best served the day it’s made.

Can You Freeze Fruit Salad?

I don’t recommend freezing this fruit salad. Sour cream doesn’t freeze well and I think all the fruit would become a mushy mess once defrosted.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 8

Marshmallow Fruit Salad

The BEST fruit salad recipe! Old-fashioned Marshmallow Fruit Salad has pineapple, mandarin oranges, strawberries, and marshmallows all tossed in a creamy sour cream dressing. Only 5 ingredients!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained
2 11 ounce cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 10.5 ounce bag mini marshmallows
1 8 ounce container sour cream

Instructions

Gentle fold all ingredients together until all the fruit and marshmallows are covered with sour cream. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Chocolate M&Ms Cake Mix Cookies

May 26, 2014

Easy cookies that start with a cake mix! Chocolate M&Ms Cake Mix Cookies take just minutes to put together and they are so chocolatey and delicious.

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Fun plans? Please tell me all about the delicious grilled food you will be eating today! I am still terrified of our grill and since all our friends are either in Afghanistan or have moved, we’re probably just going to stay home and eat ice cream sandwiches.

But today we’re here to talk about cookies!

I’ve been kind of obsessed with cake mix cookies for months now. They’re really great for people like me who decide that they want to have cookies ready for their kid when they get home from their last day of school. With only 20 minutes to spare.

And they’re delicious. Because duh, cake mix.

Ingredients

Chocolate cake mix – you could use any flavor of cake mix if you want to switch things up.
Eggs
Canola oil – vegetable oil will also work.
Flour
M&Ms – you could buy the seasonal M&M color and flavors to make these cookies more festive.

How To Make Chocolate M&Ms Cake Mix Cookies

Make batter. Beat together cake mix, eggs, canola oil, and flour until everything is incorporated. Stir in ¾ of the M&Ms with a rubber spatula.
Transfer. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Top. Press remaining M&Ms onto the tops of the dough.
Bake. Bake at 350F for 10 – 12 minutes or until set.
Cool. Cool on a wire rack.

How Long Are They Good For?

Cake mix cookies are good for about 5 days after being baked. Make sure to store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

Can You Freeze Them?

You can freeze cake mix cookies for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely and then freeze them in an airtight container, such as a freezer ziploc bag.

When you are ready to serve them, let them defrost at room temperature for several hours.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 24 cookies

Chocolate M&Ms Cake Mix Cookies

Easy cookies that start with a cake mix! Chocolate M&Ms Cake Mix Cookies take just minutes to put together and they are so chocolatey and delicious.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 32 minutes

Ingredients

18.25 ounce chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup flour
1 cup M&Ms

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together cake mix, eggs, canola oil, and flour until everything is incorporated. Stir in ¾ of the M&Ms with a rubber spatula.
Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Press remaining M&Ms onto the tops of the dough.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

Chicken Parmesan Baked Pasta

May 22, 2014

Chicken Parmesan Baked Pasta is an easy baked pasta with chicken, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan. The whole family will love this recipe!

I had the most disappointing Pinterest fail this week.

It was a breadstick recipe to go with this pasta and I swear, it was one of the first things I ever pinned. So for years, whenever I’ve gone digging through my Pinterest bread board for inspiration, I saw those breadsticks and thought “THOSE LOOK SO GOOD! But they aren’t right for this week.”

So when I finally decided that it was time for those breadsticks, I was more than a little excited about them.

And they were awful.

Years! Years of looking at these stupid breadsticks and then they just fail me like that.

Ingredients

Whole peeled tomatoes – you could used diced tomatoes if that’s what you have on hand.
Olive oil
Garlic
Dried oregano
Crushed red pepper flakes – adjust the amount based on how spicy you like things.
Chicken broth – I suggest low sodium chicken broth so that you can control how salty the final dish is.
Pasta – use any small pasta shape such as penne, rotini, or bow ties.
Parmesan
Mozzarella
Chicken – this recipe is a great use of rotisserie chicken.
Fresh basil

How To Make Chicken Parmesan Baked Pasta

Prep. Pulse tomatoes in food processor until coarsely chopped.
Make tomato sauce. Cook oil, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt until fragrant. Add tomatoes, water, chicken broth, and pasta. Bring to a simmer and cook until pasta is tender.
Add cheese. Stir in ¾ of the Parmesan cheese and chicken.
Top. Sprinkle mozzarella and remaining Parmesan on top.
Bake. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Serve. Garnish with fresh basil

Can You Freeze It?

Yes! You can freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I would defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat in the oven. The baking time will probably increase since it will be cold and/or bits may still be frozen.

Can You Make It Ahead?

Yes! If you want to do the bulk of the work the night before, stop right before baking and let it cool to room temperature. Put it in the fridge overnight and then you can pop it in the oven after work the next day.

The bake time will probably be longer since everything will be cold – probably around 20 minutes bake time.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Chicken Parmesan Baked Pasta

Chicken Parmesan Baked Pasta is an easy baked pasta with chicken, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan. The whole family will love it!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups water
1 – 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
12 ounces pasta
1 cup grated Parmesan, divided
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400F.
Add the tomatoes to the bowl of your food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 10 pulses.
Set an oven-safe 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, the water, 1 cup of the chicken broth, and the pasta to the pan, stirring to combine. Bring the mixture to a vigorous simmer, then cover the pan and continue simmering (you may need to reduce the heat slightly) until the pasta is tender, about 16-18 minutes. Stir the pasta frequently as it cooks.
Once tender, remove the cover and stir in ¾ cup of the Parmesan cheese, the pepper, and the chicken. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if necessary. If the mixture seems dry, mix in as much of the remaining ½ cup of chicken broth as needed to loosen it up. Sprinkle the top evenly with the mozzarella cheese and the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and bubbles around the edges. Garnish with the basil before serving.

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

May 21, 2014

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream is an easy homemade ice cream recipe made with key lime juice, zest, and chopped graham crackers. Everything you love about key lime pie in an ice cream!

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream - easy homemade ice cream recipe made with key lime juice, zest, and chopped graham crackers. Everything you love about key lime pie in an ice cream!

Let’s talk about pie.

Because I cannot stop thinking about pie. Blueberry, strawberry, peach, cherry, I want ALL THE PIES.

It’s weird because I’m usually pretty meh about pie but right now, it’s seriously all I can think about. And the only reason I haven’t made one is because I’m pretty sure that I’d eat the entire thing in one go.

So I made pie ice cream! Key Lime Pie Ice Cream!

This is a really easy ice cream because it doesn’t require making a custard. You just combine everything and put it in the ice cream maker.

Ingredients

Whole milk – you want to use whole milk so you get the creamiest, richest ice cream.
Heavy cream
Sweetened condensed milk
Key lime juice – you can find bottles of this in the juice section of any large grocery store.
Limes
Salt – just a tiny bit to bring out the rest of the flavors. It doesn’t make the ice cream salty.
Graham crackers – these get stirred in at the very end, after freezing.

How to Make Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Combine. Whisk together milk, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, zest, juice of limes, and salt.
Freeze. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Add-ins. Once frozen, stir in chopped graham crakers
Storage. Transfer to freezer safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

How Long Is Homemade Ice Cream Good For

Homemade ice cream is good about a month in the freezer when stored properly.

I like to keep my homemade ice cream in reusable ice cream containers.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 10 servings

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream - easy homemade ice cream recipe made with key lime juice, zest, and chopped graham crackers. Everything you love about key lime pie in an ice cream!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
¾ cup key lime juice, you can use the bottled stuff
zest and juice of 2 limes
⅛ teaspoon salt
8 graham cracker squares, roughly chopped

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, zest and juice of limes, and salt.
Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.
Once it has frozen, stir in graham crackers. Transfer to your freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

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