Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle

This Fourth of the July the dessert we made was this Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle. This dessert is super easy and looks very festive. The best parts about this recipe is that it requires no baking and can be prepared a day in advance. Check out this super easy recipe below!

Red, White, and Blueberry Trifle:

Ingredients:

1 Angel Food Cake

2 tubs of Whipped Topping

1 box Vanilla Instant Pudding plus milk

1 container of Strawberries

1 container of Blueberries

Directions:

1. Break or cut Angel Food Cake into pieces.

2. Place on bottom layer.

3. Mix pudding as directed on box, place in fridge to set.

4. Then fold in 1 tub of Whipped Topping.

5. Spoon over cake layer.

6. Then slice and add strawberries and blueberries on top of pudding.

7. Add a layer of Whipped Topping, about ½ the container. 

8. Then repeat layers.

9. Top with blueberries and strawberries.

10. Chill, eat, and enjoy!

Lots of Love, Natalie

Berry Good Fruit Pizza

I don't know how many people have heard of Fruit Pizza unless you are on Pinterest then you have. Well I actually made fruit pizza long before Pinterest existed and it is one of my all time favorite easy dessert recipes. Plus everyone seems to like it! I mean how can you not love a sugar cookie topped with a sweet cream cheese icing and any fruit you desire. I recently made this Berry Good Fruit Pizza for a Fourth of July cook out with friends while visiting them in New Orleans for the holiday weekend. None of them including Jay had heard of one or had one so when I told them I was making a Fruit Pizza they were a little confused at first. Everyone loved it and ended up eating the whole thing. I promise this recipe is very easy and its a crowd pleaser so check it out below if you are interested! Have a great weekend and see you Monday with my weekend favorites!

 

Berry Good Fruit Pizza:

Ingredients: 

8oz. cream cheese (softened)

1/3cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups assorted fruit

16oz. package of sugar cookie dough

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the cookie dough (you can even make individual ones if you please).

Bake cookie dough for about 12-15 minutes or until golden.

While that's baking combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.

Mix until it is nice and smooth.

Remove cookie from oven and allow to cool before adding the cream cheese topping and fruit.

Now cover with cream cheese and top with assorted fruit.

Enjoy!

 

 

Lots of Love, Natalie

 

Glimpse of the Holidays

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie

 

Chocolate Dipped Coal

If you are looking for a holiday treat that will please the children, then this is the recipe for you! As we all know nice children get toys but if they have been naughty then they get coal. Well, this recipe will allow you to make some coal to give to those children who may have been a little naughty but even those nice children will want some. Along with being holiday themed it is also very quick and easy to make. What more is there to love about this recipe?

Chocolate Dipped Coal:

 

Ingredients:

36 (1 package) Oreo Cookies

1  8oz. brick of Cream Cheese (softened)

16 oz. chocolate candy melts (I used Semi-Sweet Chocolate instead)

 

Directions:

Place Oreo Cookies in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until completely crumbled (see blooper below).

Add cream cheese to bowl and pulse until the cream cheese and cookie crumbs are completely blended together.

Shape into 1-inch balls

Freeze for 10 minutes and if necessary reshape the balls into a round shape, remember they don't have to be perfect since they are supposed to look like coal.

Melt Chocolate in a double boiler then, dip balls in melted chocolate.

Place in single layer in a shallow waxed or parchment paper-lines pan.

Allow the chocolate to set.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

Bloopers:
Sometimes when baking you just have to improvise. Well, I bought all my ingredients and had everything I needed to make this recipe but then a wrench was thrown into my plan.

See what happened was when I went to turn on my food processor to turn the cookies into crumbs it wouldn't turn on. This lead me to crushing the cookies into crumbles using two plastic Ziploc bags, a dish towel, and a hammer. Needless to say this Chocolate Dipped Coal was made with love and a little elbow grease!

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie

 

Tacky Christmas Party

Sunday night was the Midtown Pilates work Christmas Party. We decided that we would make it tacky themed. I decided that I would go very tacky and of course our dates had to be tacky too so I supplied jay with plenty of things to complete his tacky outfit. I love themed parties because it is always fun to see what everyone ends up wearing. Along with having to dress tacky we were all assigned something different to bring and no surprise here but I was assigned the dessert. Since, the owner and my boss does not like peppermint I was supposed to make anything as long as it does not include peppermint. Well for this time of year Peppermint flavored desserts are everywhere. I decided that I would try something new but still festive for the holiday. The dessert that I ended up making was a Red Velvet Bundt Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting Glaze. I hope you enjoy all the pictures below and don't worry the recipe for the cake is below also! Happy Tacky Tuesday!

 

 

Red Velvet Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Glaze:

Ingredients:

Duncan Hines Red Velvet Boxed Cake Mix (I was pressed for time so had to use the cake mix)

8 oz. Cream Cheese

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter

4 cups Confectioners' (powdered) Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

 

Directions:

1. Grease and flour your Bundt pan thoroughly. But when flouring use the dry cake mix so that the cake does not have white flour residue when it comes out of the pan.

2. Follow directions on the box to prepare the Bundt cake.

3. Set Cream Cheese and unsalted Butter in your mixing bowl to soften.

4. Once softened add the Confectioners' Sugar and Vanilla Extract. Mix until smooth like a frosting.

5. Once cake cools, warm up your frosting in the microwave so that it is able to be poured over your cake to create the Cream Cheese Frosting Glaze.

 

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie

 

 

 

Ghoul's Night Out

Last night was my Halloween themed Girl's Night Out called Ghoul's Night Out! We had planned on it being a pumpkin craving party but a few girls forgot their pumpkins so we ended up just enjoying the food, talking, and watching American Horror Story Coven. All in all the night turned out great and we cannot wait until the Christmas Party! We already made plans for it last night. Anyway, more on that closer to time so here is your glimpse into our Ghoul's Night Out!

 

 

 

 

I apologize that the picture quality isn't to great but these were all taken in a rush. Remember be sure to check in tomorrow to see my costumes for this year and I would love to see yours (post a link to it in your comment). Happy Halloween!!

 

 

Lots of Love,  Natalie