Chocolate Kiss Pie

Looking for a dessert to take to your next dinner party or just a quick "hello" for neighbors?  Here is a recipe that is very quick and easy.  The only real requirement is that you need to give it enough time to set in the refrigerator.  This yummy dessert only requires a few ingredients

1 1/2 cup Whole milk

1 small box 3.6 oz EACH of Devil's Food and White Chocolate Pudding

(I found Godiva brand!!)

1 8oz tub Cool Whip

1 6oz graham cracker crust

1 bag of Hershey Kisses

Pour 3/4 cup of milk into bowl and add chocolate pudding mix.  Whisk for 1 minute.  Stir in 1/2 of Cool Whip and spoon into crust.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  Repeat the process with the white chocolate pudding mix and stir in the remainder of the Cool Whip.  Layer on top of set chocolate layer.  Refrigerate for addition hour (preferably more).  After fully set and shortly before serving, place unwrapped kisses over the top of the pie.  Serve cold.

Enjoy!

cindy

Who Stole My Twinkie?

By now you have heard the news - the Twinkie, Ding Dong, HoHo, Suzy Q, Chocolate Cupcake - GONE!  Yeah, we've been hearing rumors for a while now that Hostess was closing forever and taking the Twinkies with it.  But I never thought I'd see the day when these important parts of my childhood weren't there for my children. {sigh}

Tonight, I went on a noble quest to find the last Twinkie.  It was an odyssey that took me through six grocery stores, a big box store, a drug store and a convenience store.  Epic.

First stop - Target.  They're big, gotta have it, right?  Nope.

That's it.  Strawberry Cupcakes?  Chocolate Cream Twinkies?  WTH?  Little did I know I was looking at the best selection I would see tonight.  I scooped up the box of Suzy Qs and moved on.

Next stop - Frys (Kroger for those of you in different parts of the U.S.).  Gotta be more, right?

More chocolate cream Twinkies!?!  They don't even look good on the box!  These were the last Twinkies I would see.  Meanwhile, Little Debbie was right there to mock me.  Check out these Cupcake, HoHo and Ding Dong wannabes:

Fresh & Easy - ummm, no.  I don't think Twinkies ever showed up there.

Safeway (Vons for the California crowd).  I had high expectations.  Too bad for me - crickets.

AND more mocking:

At this point I was running out of big supermarkets.  I gave Albertson's a chance.

I knew it was over.  No Twinkie stockpile.  No Ding Dong stash.  Only fake Cupcakes and HoHos in the future.  There had to be a place where there would be something!  Time to go to the K

I picked up a cherry pie and trudged to the door.  At least I got to taste that salty cherry filling in the sugar glazed crust.

I heard that Hostess is going to sell the Twinkie name and recipe, so I'm sure we will see our old friends again.  Let's just hope they don't look like bad cosmetic surgery.

cindy

Recipe - Shepard's Pie

Now that I only eat 500 calories a day, I'm oddly fascinated with cooking for my family using what we have hanging around.  Keeping this in mind, I decided to do something with the Grand's Biscuits we had in the refrigerator.  I came up with this concoction and I think it turned out pretty good (even though I couldn't taste it).

First, I split the biscuit dough into two piles (4 biscuits in each).  Then I rolled out the first pile until it could fit in the bottom of a pie pan (it wasn't that difficult).  Next comes the fun, creative part.  I browned a pound of ground beef and added whatever I could find (and my family would eat).  In our case, that was a can of corn and a can of ranch beans (light pinto beans in a sauce).  I'm sure others would get more creative, with potatoes, onions, peppers, peas or other things I didn't have in my cabinets.

After combining the ground beef with the warmed beans and corn, I put the mixture into the pie pan on top of the rolled crust.  The amount of the beef mixture was higher than the sides of the pie pan, but that was OK.  Next, I rolled out the other pile of biscuit dough and put a "lid" over the top of the pie.  I put small slits around the top so it could vent (and it ended up looking very pretty too).  Here's what it looked like before I put it in the oven:

I used the directions on the biscuits as a guide and baked it for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  It was almost too gorgeous to eat!

I was surprised at how easy this was, but the bigger (and better) surprise was how much my family (especially my kids) liked it.  Even my picky son enjoyed it and ate a good helping of it.  It's not as pretty after it's been cut, but this gives you an idea of the inside ingredients:

 
The best part about this recipe (other than how easy it is) is how you can make it different each time.  You could make a pot pie with chicken with vegetables and a sauce, or a use other vegetables with ground beef.  I guess mine looks a little Southwest, although we're pretty wimpy about spicy.  All together it makes a great hardy family meal and takes less than an hour to prepare.  Enjoy!

cindy

Recipe - Easy Key Lime Pie

I saw a blog featuring a recipe for key lime pie recently, but I couldn't find it again when I wanted to make it.  So hey, I improvised!  I can't say this is completely original, but I will say I combined several recipes to make this one.  After I finished I realized I made enough filling for two pies, so this recipe is for TWO pies.

You need:  Zest from one lime, green food coloring, Lime Jello (10 oz)

1/2 cup of lime juice

One can of sweetened condensed milk

One container of Cool Whip

Two Ready Graham Cracker Crusts

Prepare the Jello as instructed on the packet (dissolve packet in cold water and then add boiling water).  Put in the refrigerator.  When the Jello begins to congeal, remove from refrigerator.  In a separate boil mixed condensed milk, lime juice, zest, Cool Whip and a few drops of green food coloring (optional).  Mix well.  Slowly add Jello and mix together.  (If you let the Jello get too firm, you will end up with Jello chunks in your pie - but it still tastes great).  Pour the mixture into the two pie shells and put in refrigerator.  Allow to form for several hours.  Garnish with fresh lime slices.  Yummy!!

cindy