Raspberry Tiramisu Trifle

My amazing husband has quite the sweet tooth. I love making him happy so I set out to make a dessert with three things he really likes: raspberries, coffee and Milano cookies.  I wish that I could say I came up with this idea all by myself but alas, I cannot.  It came from a "new" cookbook found yesterday while on my thrift store marathon! It is called "Campbell's Potluck For All Occasions" by Publications International Ltd. 2007.  The recipe can also be found online right here: Campbell's Raspberry Tiramisu Trifle

It is an interesting cookbook and I was impressed with the recipes.  I got very excited when I found the trifle recipe.  I knew I had to make it for my sweet husband.  The only problem with the recipe was that I do not have a trifle bowl! How trifling! (Sorry! I could not resist!)

I started with three bricks of cream cheese, softened.

I put a second bowl and beaters in the freezer to get cold while I beat three cups of powdered sugar into the cream cheese.  I needed the other bowl and beaters cold because I was going to whip some heavy whipping cream and having a cold bowl and beaters helps the whipping go quicker and easier!

 Combining the powdered sugar and cinnamon was no easy feat for my little handheld mixer! I should have used my Kitchen Aid but I had it busy behind me whipping the heavy cream into a frenzy of fluffiness!

I added the cinnamon to my cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture and combined until it was light tan and smooth.

The heavy whipping cream that whipped all light and fluffy was folded it into the cream cheese mixture.

I began the layering.  First a layer of the cream cheese on the bottom. Next dip the Milano cookies into a cup of strong brewed coffee and place them on top.

 A sprinkle of raspberries and the the layering begins again.

I just kept dipping and layering until I reached the top! A few extra raspberries for good measure and the trifle was done! How does it taste? I have NO idea! It is in the refrigerator right now, setting up. I will let you know!!

Sausage Gravy over biscuits

Yep....you read it right. I flew right off the handle and straight into the loving land of Comfort Food. I guess I am stressing about a few things and just needed the comfort of my mother's cooking. Sausage gravy was something my mother made frequently. Sometimes she even made it with plain old hamburger. It depended only on what was on sale or how much money she had for groceries that week.

Sausage gravy:

(2) rolls of mild sausage gravy (the kind you slice into patties)
Fresh ground black pepper
Almost room temperature whole milk (if you are going to cheat, do it right!)
Flour


Instead of cutting the sausage into patties, I just squeezed the tubes out into a large, deep pan and crumbled and fried it until nice and done and lightly brown. Liberally pepper the sausage as you fry it. When it is done move it out of the pan to a plate.  The remaining drippings left in the pan - you decide how much you want to use.  I did not drain any of it as I wanted all the flavor. I added approximately 1/2 cup of flour into the drippings and stirred well to make a light brown roux.  Slowly stir in the milk.  I used almost 2/3rd's of the gallon of whole milk. I keep it over medium heat and keep stirring until it starts to thicken up. At this point I add my cooked sausage back into the pan.

As I am standing in my kitchen and stirring I start to get rather melancholy.  I realize as I stand here by myself that my children won't really know how to make these recipes that are so dear to my heart.  They won't know what it is like to stand in the kitchen with my mother and learn the old ways. Sometimes I think this blog will end up being the only way they will ever know how to make the comfort food that I used to make for them after I am gone.  But then in walks a hungry teenager asking if dinner is almost ready and I snap out of my sorrowful state and get back to the business at hand!

The gravy thickens up nicely and I call everyone to the table.  Nothing like breakfast for dinner! We pour our sweet, milky comforting sausage gravy over flaky biscuits and enjoy.

 I love sit-down dinners with my husband and my kids.  I hope some day they do the same thing with their families, whether they have children or not.  Dinner should be eaten together, at the table, thanks given to God and laughs and stories of the day shared.  Reminds me of the words that I try very hard to live by:  In ALL things give thanks.  Thank you Jesus for my family and my life.

Cleaning recipe as seen on Facebook

I would very much like to say FIRST that I can take no credit for the formula I am about to share with you.  It was seen as originally posted on Facebook by Melissa Hartzog. One of my friends follows her and reposted this amazing potion! Here is the link to her page:

Melissa Hartzog

She posted a "miracle kitchen cleaner" and I decided I must give it a try as I could not get my favorite cookie sheet all the way clean no matter what I did.  The recipe is simple:

1/4 cup of baking soda
Hydrogen peroxide

Put the baking soda in a glass bowl and add just enough of the peroxide to form a smooth paste. Rub it on the stain and either use your fingers or a sponge to scrub away the stain.

To be perfectly honest, I really did not think it would work.  Boy was I ever wrong!  Take a look:

This is my favorite cookie sheet with the edges seemingly forever stained by getting sprayed with cooking spray and baking on it over and over again.  I really do love this cookie sheet.  That is why I decided to give it a try.  Take a look at my after photo from trying Melissa's secret formula:

Pretty impressive, huh? It really did work.  I am so happy! My cookie sheet almost looks brand new!
Thanks Melissa! You are awesome!

My mother's chicken and stuffing casserole

I was in need of a good casserole to take to some friend's home.  As a member of a close church family, it is a real privilege to help out another family. I was trying to decide what to make. That is when I remembered my mother's favorite casserole.  It was fast, easy and really good.  I forgot to take pictures this time but trust me, its yummy!  Here is what you need:

(1) box of Cornbread stuffing
(1) box of Herb stuffing
(1) can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup
(1) can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (you can substitute the cream of chicken soup if you don't like mushrooms)
Chicken stock
Cooked chicken, shredded

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Into a large bowl combine both cans of soup with 1 3/4" soup cans of chicken broth.  Stir well until combined.  Add both boxes of dry stuffing mix and stir until mixed well.  Stir in the chicken.  Spread into a 13" x 9" pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes covered with foil and then for about 10 minutes without foil until the top is lightly brown.

Be careful about adding any salt to this recipe as it is quite salty enough from the dry stuffing mix.  I think my mom added a melted stick of butter too but I am not sure. I opted to not add it. (I know you are shocked!)

This is a great recipe for church suppers and company. I hope you try it. My mom used to make it all the time.

Would Elvis Presley have liked this???

My very good (and very awesome) friend Tabitha Portal has created a *naughty* group on Facebook called "Tasty Food Pics & Recipes".  I love it! I like looking at all the recipes and getting ideas and sometimes I even try them. Today was one of those days. One of the ladies in there posted a recipe that I could not resist trying. It involves bananas (which I am always trying to get my husband to eat more of), peanut butter and chocolate (which is his obsession).

 So I started with my most favorite peanut butter ever, Jif. No, I did not get paid for that. It just happens to be my family's favorite. We have tried almost every one out there but this one makes us happy.

Slice the banana into 1/4" slices.

Next smear the top of one slice with peanut butter. I found that a knife would not work very well and it was easier to use my fingers. God gave us those tools and they are sometimes the very best to use.

I put them on some parchment paper so they would not stick to anything.  Freeze for (1) hour.

After one hour, remove from freezer and dip them into melted semi-sweet chocolate.

 Back onto the parchment paper to freeze for about two hours more! Eat and enjoy.

 The bananas get all creamy and yummy, the chocolate is crunchy and the peanut butter is just the right addition to keep it all from being too sweet.  Definitely going  into the "make often" category!!