Strawberry Cheesecake Salad

I made this for a church picnic and for a Friday night family night fruit salad. Along with our Ravioli Lasagna. It was a HUGE hit. it was so simple and fast to make. even my special needs son was able to get a thrill in helping me make this. Everyone at church was asking for this recipe. It allowed for me to keep with the fresh fruits we needed for nutrition but also a fun part at the the same time. Great and amazing compromise favorite. This will definitely be a make again favorite in my house and a recipe I will pass on to my daughter in her homemade cookbook binder we are making her for her soon graduation.

Get the recipe here >> Strawberry Cheesecake Salad @ cakescottage.com

Coffee & Baileys Layer Cake

Rich and moist dark chocolate and coffee cupcakes with a silky Baileys® Irish cream buttercream icing.

Very yummy! Added dark chocolate chips in the mixture which worked out awesome! Used chocolate Bailey's in the frosting as that's all we had, and was very good :D also served them up to my boyfriend with strawberries cut into hearts and some extra strawberries on the side with a cup of coffee :D no complaints and a proposal the next day, so can't have gone down too badly.

Recipe >> Coffee & Baileys Layer Cake @ livforcake.com

Super Decadent Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

I am not particularly fond of chocolate, but this cake could change my mind! I love the texture of this cake! It's not too sweet either. The frosting is very sweet and balances the finished product. I will say that I had difficulty getting the frosting to become "light and fluffy", but it could be that my tiny kitchen was VERY hot when I made the frosting. I had to set my mixer on high and beat it for a couple of minutes, but once I did that and put it in the fridge, it was perfect! This is a keeper!"

Tip for sifting. I use a whisk and work it in the bag or container of flour. Heat and humidity can alter the density of flour. Storage conditions are not always ideal. Flour can also be put in the Freezer.

The cake looks delic. Coffee makes all the difference.
If using a ganache icing which is so good and easy to make. .In Canada our large choc bars are 100grms = 3.5274 oz.
I always uses those for ganache. Quality bars often sell for $1 at Food Basics or 4 for $5. Various types. I tend to use Dark. I also like use Hershey Special Dark 35%


Recipe >> Super Decadent Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting @ bakerbynature.com

Cream Cheese Lemonade Pie

Refreshing, easy to make pie. Great for hot summer days. It is kind of disappointing to see that the most highly rated review says that it tastes processed. None of the ingredients are "homemade" and if you are making a pie that has all processed ingredients, it will not taste natural. I prefer the taste of homemade foods, but like this treat and knew, even before making it, that it wouldn't taste like I whipped everything together on my own. 

If you want it to taste less processed: create your own graham cracker crust with crushed graham crackers and melted butter, use the juice from fresh squeezed lemons rather than frozen lemonade, use all-natural ice cream and whip whipping cream and a small amount of sugar together for the topping.

Read the recipe here >> Cream Cheese Lemonade Pie @ greatgrubdelicioustreats.com

Sweet Potato Toast: 3 Ways

This is a fun way to sneak some veggies into your family's diet! You can't even taste the sweet potato. These are good. I did add 1/2 tsp of vanilla and increased the cinnamon to 1/4 tsp. As a side note, sweet potato puree is easy to prepare in advance and freeze. Just broil a bunch of them and then puree in a food processor and package in 1/4 cup increments in a ziptop freezer bag. To thaw just place in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes.

Recipe >> Sweet Potato Toast: 3 Ways @ littlebitsof.com

Apple Rings

YUM! YUM! YUM! I cut this easy recipe in half...except for the amount of sugar...I accidently added the amount for the full recipe, but they were yummy! I changed the recipe a little. I used Empire apples and cut them approx. 1/4 inch thick. I also added 1 cap full of vanilla extract. I used white powdered sugar to sprinkle on top. 

Just for the record...I didn't have a problem keeping the dough on the apples, as I have read from other people. As I dipped I fried...I tried dipping and then letting them sit...that didn't work. My wife LOVED them, and she is not one for cakes and donuts. She was eating them before I could sprinkle the sugar on them. I plan on making these often!

Get the recipe here >> Apple Rings @ howto-simplify.com

No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars

I made these bars a couple of weeks ago and they were the absolute best. Took me only 15 minutes, start to finish. Very rich - a small bar goes a long way! The second time I made these, I followed some others' advice and increased the peanut butter to 3/4 cup (liked that change!), and decreased the butter to 1/2 cup. I didn't like the change to the butter - made the top too crumbly. I think next time I'll try 3/4 cup butter.  They will replace the bars I buy from the store. I shared with friends and family and they all loved them. I did cut down the sugar by about a 1/4 cup which doesn’t affect the consistency at all. I cut them and wrapped individually in foil and labelled. Put them in an airtight container and stored in the fridge. The last one was just as fresh as the first one. It also stopped me from eating them all at once :)

Recipe >> No-Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars @ simplygloria.com