English Trifle

I made this last night for all of my local nieces and nephews - and it was super yummy. Just in time for spring and summer fruit! (sorry, no picture. I should have because it was beautiful!)

English Trifle

2-8 or 9 inch white cake layers, cooked and cooled (I used angel food cake)
2 pints fresh strawberries
1/4 c. sugar
2 bananas
1/4 c. orange juice
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 (3.5 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding (I used french vanilla)
2 c. milk
1 c. heavy whipping cream
slivered almonds (didn't have any)

Slice the strawberries and put sugar on them (you can omit this). Cut up bananas and put orange juice on them (I also didn't do this). Whip cream until it has stiff peaks, add alittle sugar to it. Whip pudding with milk and then mix with whipped cream.


Then tear up cake into 3/4 inch pieces. Layer in trifle bowl:
cake, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, pudding mixture - then repeat.

It was super good, but you can also do your own sort of thing. The original recipe didn't say for you to mix the cream with the pudding, but that's what I did. You could leave that out, and just put some whipped cream on the top at the end.


do you have any good trifle recipes? I must admit - I want to buy a bowl!

chicken alfredo pasta

I had this at a friend's house last Sunday and it was so delicious! I didn't take a picture of it...sorry!

3-4 chicken breasts (sliced)
2 jars favorite Alfredo Sauce (Bertolli's is good but I still prefer homemade)
1 jar (oil packed) sun dried tomatoes (DRAIN ON PAPER TOWEL BEFORE ADDING)
3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
3 shallots (diced)
1 package sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 package Fettuccini noodles (or you can use Penne if you prefer)
1 bag shredded parmesan
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh italian parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

heat a large deep skillet with olive oil (about 4 tbsps) and saute the chicken on medium heat. Add shallots and garlic when chicken is cooked through. Add mushrooms and cook for about 8 minutes. Boil water for pasta and cook pasta according to directions on box then drain pasta and let it sit. Add Alfredo sauce, tomatoes, basil and parsley to chicken. Then add 3/4 package of parmesan and stir together. Take 9X13 pan and pour noodles first and then top with the chicken sauce and the rest of the cheese. Bake until bubbly.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
4 tsp. olive oil
3-4 Chicken breast
4 cups chopped vegetables( 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup sweet potato, 1 cup red or yellow bell pepper, 1 cup squash)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Mix together 2 of the minced garlic cloves with the cheese and 1 tsp of the olive oil. Pat the garlic-cheese mixture onto chicken and place in baking dish. Toss cut up veggies with 3 tsp. of olive oil and the other 2 garlic gloves and salt and pepper. Put the veggies around the chicken in the baking dish. Cook for 20 -30 minutes until your chicken and veggies are done.

Lemon-Butter Salmon & Broccoli Penne

2-3 Salmon Fillets (salt and peppered)

3 cups of dry whole-wheat pasta or multi-grain

2-3 cups of cup up Broccoli

1 tbsp of butter

1/2 cup low-sodium Vegie broth

1 lemon juiced and zested

2 tbsp of corn starch mixed with 1/4 cup of the Vegie Broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

Broil or Grill Salmon for about 8 minutes or until done.Cook Pasta according to package directions. When pasta is almost done add broccoli and cook another 2-3 minutes.Whisk together melted butter, broth, lemon zest and juice, and garlic in a saucepan. When slightly boiling add the cornstarch mixture. Cook until thick. Toss the sauce with the drained pasta and broccoli. Serve pasta and add Salmon to the side or on top. I also like to add some Parmesan Cheese on top of all.

Greek spaghetti with chicken

We just tried this one tonight and it was really yummy! I adapted it from a similar recipe that I found online. The original had some harder to find ingredients and didn't list amounts for everything...here is my version:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 diced onion
2 garlic cloves diced
2 cans of diced tomatoes with liquid
1 1/2 cups cubed, skinless, boneless chicken (not cooked-I just used 8 tenders because that's what I had in the freezer)
1/2 can Black and/or green olives, pitted and halved (I tried it with black for the kids' sake)
artichoke hearts (optional-I used about a 1/2 cup and chopped them to bite-size pieces)
1 tbs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
salt and pepper
5 oz of feta cheese (other options would be cream cheese or goat cheese. I happened to have cream cheese in the fridge so I used that. It was yummy, but I think the feta would be even better!)
1 lb pasta (it was great with spaghetti noodles)

*Brown chicken in olive oil with onion and garlic. Add other ingredients except cheese and pasta and simmer until liquid is reduced by about half and tomatoes are falling apart. You will want start the water for your pasta now (make sure to salt the water well). When sauce is reduced and tomatoes are falling apart, add cheese and cook until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Remove from heat. Once your noodles are done and drained combine them with the sauce and enjoy!
*Sprinkle the top with toasted pine nuts and you can use it for company with a nice simple arugula salad!

Sweet Georgia Brown

Here is another Peach recipe. I think it is probably a lot like peaches and cream. It's delicious!

6 ripe peaches
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. brown sugar

Cut each peach into slices. In a saute pan heat butter until bubbling, but do not burn. Lower heat. Stir in brown sugar. Add peaches and saute until peaches become soft. Serve over Kashmir cream, ice cream, or cake.

Kashmir Cream

2 C. whipping cream
pinch of salt
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. warm water
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 C. sour cream
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Heat cream, but do not boil. Add sugar and a pinch of salt. Soften gelatin in water and stir to mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and fold in sour cream and vanilla. Pour into bowl and refrigerate to chill. Serve with fresh fruit.

Peach Cake

This post is for Laura...I know it's not really peaches and cream (didn't know there was actual recipe for peaches and cream.....) anyway, this cake is so good.

Small package vanilla instant pudding
1 cup cold water
Can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp of vanilla or almond extract (my mom always uses just the vanilla extract)
Mix above ingredients and refrigerate for 5 min
Whip 1 pint of cream, fold into pudding mixture
Slice and peel 4-5 medium peaches
Slice a loaf of angel food cake (I know these are available at Albertson’s).
Layer in 9X13 pan angel food cake, half of pudding mix, half of sliced peaches, repeat layers. Refrigerate

Recipe wanted

Has anyone ever made Peaches and Cream?? My brother has a special request for it (for his birthday on Friday) and I have never made it. If anyone has a great recipe OR a great place to find a recipe...PLEASE let me know!

Dangerous Chocolate Cake

1 coffee mug
4 Tbsp. cake flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. oil
Small splash of vanilla
3 Tbsp. chocolate chips, optional

Add dry ingredients to mug, mix well with a fork.
Add egg, mix thoroughly.
Pour in milk and oil and vanilla, mix well.
Add chips, if using.
Put mug in microwave, and cook for three minutes on 1000 watts.
Cake will rise over top of mug--do not be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little; tip onto a plate if desired.
Eat!

This can serve two if you want to feel slightly more virtuous. I'm not usually that saintly and go further to top it off with fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream or both. It's just a basic chocolate cake, but its small and fast which makes it so delightfully or dangerously accessible when you just might be in need of a moment. I've used it as a not-quite-so-sensible snack for the kids or quick FHE treat sometimes and is fun for them to help make. But it also works quite well as a nighttime de-stressor after all the monkeys are in bed. :)