Easter Gathering And A Trifle

Happy Easter!

These are my favorite lyrics from Chris Tomlin.

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend with their family and or friends.

We came up to Virginia to see my family. We got in just in time for dinner last night and went to La Carretta for dinner before I came home and got started on my Easter trifle.

This came out really tasty...but it didn't look as pleasing as I had hoped. haha

As I have said before...my food may not always look great, but it darn well tastes great. and really, isn't that what counts? I tell this to myself as I pour over pinterest at these picture perfect desserts. I hate those people.

This recipe can be made a plethora of ways, all about what different flavors your imagination can conjure up. If I was at my house and had my Kitchenaid handy, I would use whipping cream versus cool whip...but you make do how you can;)

Ingredients

1 box vanilla cake and all ingredients it calls for

2 tubs cool whip

1 pkg vanilla pudding

1 pkg cheesecake pudding

2 cups flavored coffee creamer(you choose the flavor)

food coloring

make cake mix according to directions, split into two bowls and add food coloring to each bowl. Bake and let cool. Make the pudding using the coffee creamer(I happened to use Bailey's toffee almond. if you want it to be flavored but not as intense, use one cup creamer and one cup milk) Let set up in fridge. After it is ready, split into two bowls and add cool whip and food coloring to each bowl and whisk together.

Assemble trifle by layering one layer cake and alternating pudding mixture and cake.

I had some M & M eggs on hand and added them to some "grass"

Put in fridge for at least an hour.

You could most certainly make this at anytime and not use the food coloring.

Makin' Whoopie...Pies

Salted Caramel to be exact...Yes, as good as it sounds. Actually, let's just for the sake of doing so, say it's even better. Whoopie Pies are something I was introduced to in my twenties..."officially" anyways, of course I'd had moon pies, fudge rounds and oatmeal cream. But then I had the tasty original...2 chocolate cake like cookies with a decadent cream in the middle. I made failed miserably at a batch, as Southern as I am, Crisco isn't in my blood. I cannot make it work for me & sadly - our friendship was never meant to be. Where's my grandma when I need her?! I did ok with out them for a while, they're actually not all the rage down here, we like our pound cakes and crumbles and oh yeah, chocolate chess pies. Then I upped and married myself "one of dem der Yankees" ;) haha and well, whoopie pies are popular there. I needed to fit in.

This led to me trying a variety of different versions before discovering the whole "cake mix cookie" craze. I've stumbled upon quite a few "base" recipes if you will and then have "whimsy'd" them up to exactly how I like them. One of my favorites is from Mix and Match Mama, I have used hers quite frequently, while always changing it up just a bit, as I've always done with recipes, unless it's a Maddie original and I only hope that people will like mine enough to give it their own twist. 

Enough of the small talk, I bring to you now a bit of goodness known as Salted Caramel Whoopie Pie

Ingredients:
cookies
1 box choc cake mix( I made w.yellow once and added a packet of the hot choc mix, was also quite yums)
1/2 cup canola oil(or any you prefer)
2 eggs
1/4 cup caramel creamer
filling
1 packet Starbucks salted caramel hot choc packet
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup caramel creamer
3/4 cup whipping cream
(alternate version)
cool whip

Preheat oven to 350'
Mix together dry cake mix, oil, eggs and creamer
I normally use a round TBSP to place on cookie sheet, but you can also use a round TSP to make them  bite size and get more out of it. Bake 8-9 minutes

For the filling
Cream softened cream cheese on low for 1 minute to get fluffy, add the hot choc packet and creamer, beat until fully incorporated and slowly add the whipping cream and beat until peaks begin to form. or for alternate version just mix a tub of thawed cool whip w/hot choc packet and creamer. Place in fridge for hour to let either version set up.

Take half of the cooled cookies and spoon yourself a heaping bit of filling and top with other cookie. There may be some left and it makes a great dip! I've discovered these are yummier after a night sleep in the fridge.

Enjoy! 

bourbon caramel french toast casserole

Yes. Bourbon. Caramel. and french toast, all in one. You're welcome.

 Down South we're known for our casseroles. Especially around the holidays. This is one of my favorites, it's quite simple to prepare and oh. so. delicious. and I think I have made roughly 25 different versions.  I originally had this the first time 4 years ago when a group of my favorite ladies and I were making breakfast for the Ronald McDonald House. It called for regular milk, eggs, cinnamon and french bread.  

Then I made it better. Being humble is my specialty.

this will yield one large casserole or two small(roughly 9x 13 or two 9 x 9, I also sometime use loaf pans)

Ingredients

1 cup caramel coffee creamer

2 tbsp bourbon(I used Makers Mark)

3 eggs

2 tbsp cinnamon sugar

4 tbsp butter

1 large french bread loaf(or 2 small)

whip cream topping

1 cup cold whipping cream

2 tbsp caramel ice cream topping(or syrup)

1 tbsp bourbon

(whip all ingredients together until stiff peaks form)

 rip medium sized pieces of the bread (you could also cut the bread into "uniform" cubes. but why?) lay the pieces in the pan. Whisk the creamer, bourbon and eggs till smooth, add a smidgen of the cinnamon sugar and pour over the bread pieces, making sure to coat as many pieces as possible. I usually use my hands to press the pieces down and completely coat them. Cover in foil and place in the fridge overnight or at least 8 hours.

 Preheat oven to 350' and bake, covered in foil for 20 minutes and then uncovered for 15-20 more minutes. Top w.butter and sprinkle on cinnamon sugar, & if you have it, top w/some of the caramel ice cream topping. This takes roughly 20 min to prepare, it's super simple...I promise.

We have this Christmas and Thanksgiving for breakfast...the rest of the time, I make these as dessert. I top it with the homemade whip cream and that's all she wrote. I made this version for Wiki's bday and a friend of ours, Busa, ate a bite, took a deep breath and said "That may be the best thing I've ever eaten"

I'm not positive, but I think that means he liked it;)

*notes. If you don't want to use coffee creamer, milk is fine, that's what the original calls for anyways, just don't use skim milk. 2% is probably the lightest you could go and still get the same texture. Just find a way to add caramel to the milk, ie, pudding pack or the ice cream topping. & for the whipped topping, you can also just use cool whip and add the caramel and bourbon. Tasty in it's own right.