Chocolate Cake Bites

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and you know what that means....chocolate, chocolate, CHOCOLATE, and of course love lol.  One of my favorite chocolate recipes is chocolate cake bites. Have you ever had a one? If you answer is no, I am about to change your life or at least give you a new recipe to try. 

Whoopie Pies

A few months ago I taught my first cooking class. I was so excited, I enjoy working with kids and I love cooking, so this opportunity was right up my alley.  The purpose of the class was to teach food presentation and how to assemble food that looked good.  I thought whoopie pies would be perfect from them to make. I made the cookies ahead of time and had the kids make the filling and assemble the whoopie pies. They had a blast and so did I. 

Easy Banana Nut Bread with Caramel Frosting

Ever wonder what to do with overly ripe bananas? Make banana bread!  Here is a super easy banana nut bread recipe that is delicious all by itself , but I made it even better by adding caramel frosting.

   

For the banana nut bread, all you need is 3 eggs, 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts, vanilla flavoring and a box of cake mix.  I prefer to use french vanilla cake mix.   Mix all the ingredients together.

 

 

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour on 350 degrees.



For the frosting you will need sugar, butter, brown sugar, milk, vanilla flavoring and powdered sugar.

 

Pour the icing over the loaf  and sprinkle with chopped nuts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Banana Nut Bread Recipe

 

Printer Friendly Recipe

 

4 or 5 ripe bananas

1 box of cake mix

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, using a mixer mash bananas.  Add in cake mix, eggs,vanilla and nuts.  Mix well and pour into a greased 5 x 9 loaf pan.  Bake for one hour.  Allow banana bread to cool before making frosting.

 

Caramel Frosting Recipe

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoon milk

2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

2 tablespoon powdered sugar

 

Heat sugar, butter, dark brown sugar and milk in a sauce pan until dissolved.  Bring to a rolling boil and cook for one minute.  Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla flavoring and powdered sugar.  Beat until desired consistency, it should be thick but loose enough to pour over banana bread.  Pour immediately over banana bread and sprinkle with nuts.

Low Calorie Bite Sized Sweet Potato Pies



These bite sized sweet potato pies satisfy my craving for sweet potato pie in a healthy way.  At 78 calories each I don't feel guilty when indulging my sweet tooth and neither will you.

Roll out pie crust and use a 1.5 inch biscuit cutter to cut 24 pieces of dough. Press dough into mini muffin cups.

Spoon filling into mini muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes at 375.

 



Mini Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

 

Serving: 24

Nutrition info per serving:

Calories: 78   Fat:3.6g    Carbs: 11.2    Fiber :0.4g   Protein:  0.8g



Ingredients

2 cups of cooked mashed sweet potatoes (about 1.5 pounds of raw sweet potatoes)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 egg whites

1/4 cup 2% milk

1 (9inch) Ready made pie crust

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray

Roll out pie crust and use a 1.5 inch biscuit cutter to cut 24 pieces of dough. Press dough into mini muffin cups.

Add potatoes to a mixing bowl, for best results potatoes should be warm, or room temperature, Stir in sugar, milk, eggs whites, nutmeg and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Spoon filling into mini muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes or or until tooth pick inserted into center comes out clean.

Four Layer Delight

When I think of the 4^th of July, I am reminded of the many summers I spent in Mississippi as a child. Every year my parents shipped my brother and I off to Lucedale Mississippi, a small southern town near the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. We would spend the entire summer with our grandparents.  I am grateful for those times because I had the opportunity to get to know my grandparents and extended family.  I spent the summer playing with cousins and running around my grandparent’s small farm.  We would spend the 4^th shooting fireworks, eating barbeque, fried catfish, potato salad and plenty of desserts, like Four Layer Delight. 

Four Layer Delight is one of the desserts that evokes fond memories for me. And like its name, it is delightful. It has a pecan crust, with layers of sweet cream cheese, vanilla pudding and Cool Whip…yummy!  My grandmother would often make this during the summer because it was light and cool; perfect on a hot summer day. Every time I make a four layer delight I am reminded of those summers.

Four Layer Delight

Servings: 15

Calories: 294   Fat: 13.7   Carbohydrates: 35.5g   Protein: 5 g

Weight Watchers Points+: 9

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) package fat free cream cheese, brought to room temperature
• 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups 2% milk

Directions

Crust:

In a bowl, cream together margarine, flour and pecans. Press into 9x13 pan. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes at 375 degrees or until very lightly browned. Cool completely.

2nd Layer:

In a bowl, cream together until smooth cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 heaping cup of the whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust.

3rd Layer:

Whisk 2 boxes pudding mix and milk and allow to set up slightly. Spread over cream cheese layer.

4th Layer:

Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. Keep refrigerated.

What food or dish reminds you of your childhood?

Banana Pudding Parfaits

I collect dishes, serving ware, and just kitchen stuff in general. My house is full of plates, glasses, chafing dishes, platters and serving trays. You name it I have it. Some women collect shoes, I collect dishes.  I’m not quite sure if I should be ashamed or proud to admit that I have enough dishes to host a formal sit down dinner for 30 people without having to rent anything. Did I happen to mention that, I am single and therefore usually cooking for one…LOL

There is restaurant supply store near my house and the first time I shopped there I spent 2.5 hours in the store and I would’ve stayed longer if the store hadn't closed for the day.  I got some great deals (a 4 piece place setting for 12, a 2 piece place setting for 8, appetizers plates, casserole dishes etc.).

My last dish purchase was 4.5" footed dessert bowls from Crate and Barrel.  I love that store! The dessert bowls are so cute and at $2.50 a piece, how could I pass them up, so I bought 12.
 

I recently used the dessert bowls for the first time to make banana pudding parfaits.

The recipe I adapted from Nabisco, makes 3-4 parfaits depending on the size of your parfait dish. If you don’t have dessert bowls or parfait cups you can use small glasses instead. I like this recipe because each parfait is only 250 calories or 7 Weight Watchers Points+ values. It’s a lot healthier than the recipe I normally use which uses condensed milk and cream cheese.

Banana Pudding Parfaits

Ingredients

• 1 large banana, cut into 24 slices
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 3/4 cup cool whip, plus ¼ cup for garnish
• 1 small box banana cream or vanilla flavored instant pudding
• 20 Vanilla Wafer cookies 

Directions

1. Whisk 2 cups of milk and pudding mix in medium bowl. Stir in ¾ cup of cool whip.

2. To make the parfaits, it does not really matter how you do the layering. The number of banana slices and vanilla wafer you use will depend on the dish you use and the look you want to achieve. My preference is to crumble 2 vanilla wafers into the bottom of the dish, layer with 3 banana slices, then ¼ cup of pudding. For the next layer, break 3 cookies in fourths or halves and place them on top of the pudding, layer with 3 banana slices and then add 1/3 cup of pudding and finish with a dollop of cool whip. Repeat. Chill and serve.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Pound cakes are so versatile, you can eat them plain, with a glaze or with fruit and cool whip. No two pounds cakes are alike and there are hundreds of recipes out there.  I love this pound cake recipe for several reasons: it's easy to make, the ingredients aren't complicated, it uses cream cheese so it is super moist and you can use margarine instead of butter! I always have margarine in my fridge but I can's say the same about butter so I if decide to make this cake at the last minute I don't have to go to the store.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups of margarine or butter, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour

Directions

1. Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature by removing from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to making cake or soften for 15-20 seconds in microwave.
2. Using a mixer cream margarine, cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
3. While mixing continually add eggs one at a time and then add vanilla, lemon and almond extract. Gradually add flour until texture is smooth.
4. Pour batter into a greased and floured tube or bundt baking cake pan.
5. Bake at 300°F for 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Remove from cake pan and allow to cool on cooling rack or plate before serving.

Fudge!!!!

I have a serious sweet tooth and a weakness for desserts especially cakes and cupcakes.  This past Friday there were two dozen cupcakes right outside of my office and guess what??? I was not tempted to eat one....well let me clarify that, I did think about having one for about 15 seconds, but I opted for fruit instead. I choose the fruit at 9:00am so I still had 7 more hours to walk past those cupcakes, I was strong now but would I be strong later??
I had a craving for fudge that week so the night before I made some fudge and brought a piece to work. So I had a decision to make, the fudge or the cupcake(s)?  I chose the fudge because that is what I had been craving.  Yes, I love cupcakes but I just didn't want one.  I have found that I get more enjoyment and satisfaction from eating the foods that I have been craving instead of eating just what is in front of me.  I ate my fudge and thoroughly enjoyed every single bite of it.  Here's the recipe, be warned it's really good and dangerously easy to make.  Enjoy!

3 Minute Fudge

Serving: 36 - 1 ounce servings

WW points+:  4 per servings with walnuts and 3 points without nuts
Approximately 100 calories per serving with nuts, 80 calories without nuts

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 cups milk chocolate chips

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions
1. Line a 8x8 glass baking dish with aluminum foil, have foil overlap the edges of the glass dish (you will need to lift the fudge out of the glass dish).
2. Melt butter in a large microwave safe bowl.  Stir in chocolate chips and condensed milk. Mix well and microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Fudge should be smooth and creamy.  If fudge is lumpy stir well and microwave for another minute.
3. Stir in chopped walnuts.  Tip for chopping walnuts - Place nuts in a plastic bag and pound with a handle of a large spoon or bottom of a glass.
4. Pour into glass baking dish and allow to cool before refrigerating.  Refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. Once fudge has set, remove from glass dish, cut 6 rows down and 6 rows across to make 36 pieces. Store in an air tight container. Fudge can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3weeks and can be frozen for 3 months.