Banana Pudding

Nothing says dessert like a classic banana pudding. Over the years I have tried every combination of banana pudding imaginable from scratch and box and I have finally mastered the perfect banana pudding. The best part? IT'S FROM A BOX! It is easy, delicious, and no one will know how little time you really spend on preparing the dessert! I love banana pudding for many reasons. The flavor is divine and you can have it any time of the year. Its perfect for a summer cook out or thanksgiving! There is no wrong time for banana pudding!

Ingredients:
Vanilla Cake (I used a Vanilla Pudding Bundt cake made from Food Lion)
2 cups of vanilla wafers
3 bananas
2 boxes of instant banana cream pudding (with milk to prepare)
2 small tubs cool whip
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Crumble about 2 cups of cake into the bottom of your dish. You can use store bought cake or make your own. If you use fresh cake from scratch, make sure the cake is completely cooled before assembling. Slice up 1 1/2 bananas and layer over your crumbled cake. In a separate bowl, prepare your banana pudding according to the package, set aside. In a medium bowl beat your cream cheese until soft. Slowly add powdered sugar until well incorporated. Fold in 1 tub of cool whip. Layer this cream cheese mix over your banana layer. Layer a row of vanilla wafers over the cream cheese. I like to line the wall of my dish with the remaining banana slices. I lean them against the dish and slightly press into the cream cheese layer too keep them standing up. This makes for a visually appealing dessert. Once you have your bananas lined up, add  in the banana cream pudding. Smooth out to fill in around the bananas. Take 2-3 vanilla wafers and set them aside. Take the remaining wafers and line the wall of the dish. Top with your second tub of cool whip. Crumble your reserved wafers and sprinkle on top. Refrigerate until ready!  You can put your own twist on this dessert too!

Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes - Whole 30

This is great for dinner or prepare it the day before for lunch. The sweetness of the potato pairs well with the spices from the turkey. Top it with avocado making it the perfect Mexican dish! The recipe found at accidentalfarmwife.com

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey
4 medium sweet potatoes
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 c water
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 12.2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 large avocados
1 tbsp lemon
2 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp fresh cilantro

Directions:
Bake your sweet potatoes until tender.
Brown the onions in coconut oil until tender. Add the ground turkey, cooking on medium heat until browned. Add water, chili powder, onion powder, oregano, crushed red pepper. cumin, paprika, salt and pepper bringing to a boil. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
In a food processor blend your avocados, lime and lemon juice to form your cream sauce.
Slice your potato length wise, stuff with meat. Top your potato with avocado cream sauce and cilantro. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Whole 30 Banana Breakfast Bake

Day 1 of the Whole30 cleanse was a success! Everything we ate was delicious and we felt great eating it! We started the day off with this filling breakfast. It was easy to make and very satisfying.

 

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

2 eggs

1/2 of a green apple

1-2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp. all natural almond butter

1 tbsp coconut oil

 

Directions:

In a small bowl beat up the 2 eggs and mashed banana.

Heat up your coconut oil in your skillet. Add the banana/egg mixture. Fry the batter until the eggs are cooked. Place in the bottom of your bowl. Top with sliced apples, cinnamon, and almond butter. Pairs great with coffee!

 



Cranberry Bread Cream Cake

Ingredients:

1 loaf cranberry bread

1 can whole cranberry sauce 

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 large cool whip container

2 small boxes instant cheesecake pudding (with milk to prepare)

Directions:

Prepare cheesecake pudding according to the package, set aside.

Crumble 1/2 of your cranberry bread into the bottom of your dish. (Cranberry bread from scratch recipe found here.) In a large bowl mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended. Fold in 1/2 of your cool whip. Spread the cream cheese mix over your bread. Cover the cream cheese with your prepared cheesecake pudding. Open your can of cranberry, spreading half of the can ontop of the pudding. Top with remaining cool whip and garnish with extra crumbles of cranberry bread. Place dessert in fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Mint chocolate fudge cream cake

Ingredients:

1 pack mint Oreos

1 small pack fudge covered mint cookies

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 large cool whip container

1 large box instant chocolate pudding (with milk to prepare)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Chocolate syrup

Directions:

Prepare chocolate pudding according to the package, set aside.

Drizzle chocolate syrup on the inside of the dish.

Crumble 1/2 of the Oreos in the package , placing in the bottom of your dish. Drizzle the melted butter over the Oreos and mix in evenly. Slightly press down to for your crust. In a large bowl mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended. Fold in 1/2 of your cool whip. Spread the cream cheese mix over your Oreos. Cover the cream cheese with your prepared chocolate pudding. Ontop of your pudding layer, line your fudge covered cookies around the dish. Top with remaining cool whip and garnish with crumbles Oreos and chocolate syrup. Place dessert in fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Cream cheese filled Egg Nog bread

I have been trying to prepare desserts and sides to bring with us for our many Christmas parties are we going to this holiday. With 6 places, Christmas treats can get a little expensive. I started by making cranberry bread which has recently become a crowd favorite. I only had enough cranberries for 1 loaf, so I started hunting around in the kitchen for other things I could throw into a loaf of bread. I noticed a bottle of egg nog in the refrigerator and decided to try something new! I am so glad that I did! This may be my new favorite holiday recipe yet! The spices in the bread are full of flavor mixing with the creamy texture of egg nog and cream cheese. It is certainly going to be the new holiday "must have".

Ingredients:

Egg Nog Bread:

1 cup egg nog +1 tbsp

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

Cream cheese filling:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1/8 cup powdered sugar

1/8 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons flour 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp egg nog

Egg nog glaze:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp egg nog

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease a metal loaf pan, set aside.

In a large bowl mix the egg nog, sugar, vanilla, butter, and eggs until well blended. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Once batter is fully mixed, set aside to prepare cream cheese later.

In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese and sugars until blended. Beat in remaining ingredients.

To layer the bread, pour 2/3 of your egg nog bread batter into your prepared pan. Spread your cream cheese layer over your bread and top it off with the remaining bread batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes. If the top starts to brown before the loaf is done, cover it with tin foil. I baked mine uncovered for 45 minutes and covered with tin foil for another 7 minutes.

Once the bread is baked, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. After the bread is completely cooled, prepare your glaze. 

Mix the powdered sugar and egg nog, beating out all the lumps with a whisker. Pour glaze over bread. Enjoy!

Christmas Crunch

Only a few more days until Christmas! I love everything about Christmas. The decorations, the food, giving gifts to others, seeing all my family and friends, and of course celebrating the true meaning of Christmas ! With our final days approaching it seems our shopping list gets larger and our wallets get smaller! I started making homemade gifts last year to save cost but still give great gifts. I made this Christmas crunch for the first time to add to Christmas baskets and to snack on for the holidays. It's cheap, easy, and delicious!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 bags of popcorn, homestyle

2 cups pretzels, chopped

1 - 10 oz bag of Christmas M&Ms

1 1/2 cups Christmas cookies, chopped

1 lb of vanilla candy melt

Christmas sprinkles

Directions:

Start by popping all your popcorn according to the bag. Place the cooked popcorn in a large bowl, removing all uncooked kernels. Add the chopped pieces of Christmas cookies, pretzels, and M&Ms to your popcorn. Melt you chocolate according to the package instructions. Mix the chocolate into the popcorn evenly. Be careful not to crush the popcorn. Add a few shakes of sprinkles and let the chocolate on the pop corn dry. Once the chocolate has cooled, separate into your gifts! 1 batch makes around 6-8 goodie bags worth. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!