Grape Salad

Earlier this week at a stamping workshop, I made this Grape Salad recipe for our snack. At an earlier workshop, Kristie was telling me about this great dessert she had made with grapes. Then at another workshop we got to talking about the recipe again, and Sally mentioned that she had a recipe for it, and she makes it all the time. So I asked Sally for her recipe, and I made it for all the gals to try. Sally said it's not her recipe, she got it from someone else, so apparently it's a recipe that has made the rounds. It's a great fruity dessert! You should give it a try!

Grape Salad

8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
6 c. seedless grapes (You may use any mixture of green, red or purple grapes, just one variety, or two, or all three.)

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in grapes. Refrigerate.

Topping

1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped pecans

Mix together and sprinkle on top of the salad. (It's best to add the topping not too long before serving.) Refrigerate.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cherry-Chicken Salad Croissants

My friend, Sally, was telling me about a really good chicken salad recipe that a mutual friend of ours had made for her when she was visiting her in June. It has dried cherries in it. When I was looking for fruity recipes to make for my stamping workshop last weekend, I thought it would be perfect to make for the ladies' lunch. I emailed Gretchen and asked her for the recipe. She sent the Cherry-Chicken Salad Croissants recipe to me and told me that it was a Taste of Home recipe that she had found. So now I'm sharing it with you! Thanks for stopping by!

Poppy Seed Lemon Bread

Last week I was looking for some new muffin recipes to make for the boys to eat for breakfast. I came across this Poppy Seed Lemon Bread recipe in our church cookbook. Instead of baking it in a loaf pan, I made muffins.

Poppy Seed Lemon Bread

1 pkg. lemon cake mix
1 small box instant lemon pudding
1 c. water
4 eggs
1/2 c. oil
3 T. poppy seeds

Combine all ingredients; beat 5 minutes. Pour into greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Makes two loaves.

(Again, I used lined muffin pans and baked them for 20-25 minutes.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sour Cream Banana Bread/Muffins

Back when I got married, my sister was my maid of honor. She was only in high school at the time, so she and my mom did most of the planning for it. One of the things my mom did was give out large index cards to everyone that were pre-addressed to me. They were to be sent as a post card with one of their favorite recipes in the weeks following the shower. She even put postage on them for everyone.

One of the recipes I received from one of my dad's cousins was a Banana Bread recipe. The boys like to eat muffins for breakfast, so instead of baking it in a loaf pan, I made it into muffins.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed banana (2-3 medium bananas)
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1/2 c. sour cream

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Add the banana, nuts and sour cream. Mix well until blended. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 for 1 hour. (I baked this in muffin cups for about 25 min. It made 18 muffins.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Cherry Supreme

Hi! Sorry I've been delinquent for so long. It's summertime, and the meals have been quick and easy standby's, no new recipes to tell about.

This weekend, I had a stamping workshop at the house. We were making fruit-themed cards, so I made fruity snacks. For dessert, we had Cherry Supreme. It's a recipe of my mom's that she's had for years. I hadn't made it in a long, long time, so I dug out the recipe for us yesterday. I made a few changes to it, so here's my version of it.

Cherry Supreme

Crust:

2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. melted butter

Mix together and pat lightly into a 9x13 baking dish.

Filling:

1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (I used the reduced fat.)
1 c. confectioners sugar
1 T. vanilla
1-8 oz. tub Cool whip (I used the fat free.)

Whip together the cream cheese, confectioners sugar and vanilla. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread gently on top of crust. Chill for a few hours. Top with a can of cherry pie filling. (I used the can made with Splenda.) Chill until time to serve. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Independence Day

Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July holiday!

God Bless the USA!

Marinade for Beef

I got this beef marinade recipe in my high school freshman Home Ec. class. Can you believe I still have it?!? It's one of my favorite marinades, and I use it pretty often.

Marinade for Beef

2 lbs. beef
3/4 c. oil
1/2 c. vinegar
3 T. worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme

Mix marinade ingredients together in a zipper bag. Add beef and marinate overnight. Prepare beef as desired.

Thanks for stopping by!

Father's Day Cake

One of the special things the boys and I did for Jim for Father's Day was to bake him a cake. I've seen those 9x13 cakes made up to look like a dress shirt and tie, so we did something similar. We made him one to look like a football official's shirt--or at least something close to it! I am by no means a great cake decorator, but I took some lessons as a kid in 4H. It's enough to get me by on some cakes for our family's special days.


A few weeks ago, we bought a cake to take to some friends' place while we were on vacation. It was a sheet cake, but they had split it in half and put a layer of icing in between. I've never seen that done to a 9x13 cake before. I decided to try it. We made a chocolate cake and put an Oreo cookie cream filling inside--to keep with the black and white theme, of course!

The cake tasted fantastic, and the decorating was ok. It's hard to get nice straight stripes! I had black decorator's dye here, so I was able to get a pretty dark gray icing for the shirt. I had it all finished and in the basement fridge. In the afternoon, the boys were playing in the basement. My 2-year old decided to "play" in the cake instead. There were little tiny finger holes poked all through the bottom of the shirt! I guess that was his way of adding his signature to the gift. Thanks for stopping by!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

A few weeks ago, I made a dinner for a friend who had undergone some surgery and was home recovering. For dessert, I made this Strawberry Pretzel Salad recipe from my aunt, Bev. It's one of my sister and my favorites when we're home for family picnics in the summer! It makes a 9x13 quantity, but I made it in two 8x8 pans. One for my friend's dessert and the other for a stamping workshop here at the house.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

1st Layer:
2 c. crushed pretzels (pulse in a food processor)
1/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. melted butter

Bake at 400F for 6 min. Cool completely.

2nd Layer:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. granulated sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip

Cream together cream cheese and sugar. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread over cooled pretzel crust.

3rd Layer:
6 oz. strawberry Jell-O
2-10 oz. pkg. frozen strawberries without sugar

Dissolve Jell-O in 2 c. boiling water. Add strawberries and stir till mixed. Chill until almost thickened. Spread over cream cheese layer. Chill until serving time.

Sorry! I forgot to take a picture! Thanks for stopping by!

Veggie Pizza & Orange Cream Fruit Salad

Saturday, I hosted a stamp camp here at the house. I always make a light lunch or snacks for the ladies. This time, I made some Veggie Pizza. I've also heard it called Finger Salad. I had a recipe for this from Pampered Chef, but it used garlic and dill, and I didn't care for the flavor of the spread. My mother-in-law makes it every summer for the family reunion, so I called and got her recipe instead.

Veggie Pizza

2-8 oz. pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls
1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 c. mayonnaise
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
Assorted fresh vegetables, chopped
Shredded cheese

Note: If you purchase dried ranch dressing in bulk to make yourself, use approximately 3 T.

Note: I use broccoli; cauliflower; red or yellow bell pepper; and shredded carrots.

Roll out the crescents on a large baking sheet. Bake 12-15 min. in a 350 oven until light brown. Cool completely.

Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and ranch dressing mix with a mixer till well combined and smooth. Spread evenly over completely cooled crescents.

Sprinkle chopped vegetables evenly over pizza.

Finish by sprinkling shredded cheese evenly over pizza, as heavily as you like it.

Refrigerate at least 30 min. before serving.

In addition to the Veggie Pizza I served some Orange Cream Fruit Salad for dessert. I was in the mood for light and healthy snacks! I've made this dish before and posted about it previously here. Thanks for stopping by!

Penguins Win the Stanley Cup!

Pittsburgh Rocks!!!

Did I tell ya' I'm a Pennsylvania girl? Woo hoo!! The Pittsburgh Penguins played a fantastic Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals--in Detroit, nonetheless--and won the Stanley Cup!!! Pittsburgh Rocks!! Home of the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers and now the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins!! Go Black and Gold!!! Thanks for stopping by!

BBQ Cheddar Chicken Roll-Ups

I needed something quick and easy for dinner last night, so I made these BBQ Cheddar Chicken Roll-Ups. My boys are very picky eaters, and they weren't terribly fond of them, but Jim and I liked them. Have them with a side salad, and it's a great meal filled with healthy vegetables! Thanks for stopping by!