Summer Berry Trifle

When you're in between having a baby and your sister's wedding, there's not a lot of room for dessert, sadly.  Enter - this trifle.  It's not from scratch or made with whole grains, and doesn't use coconut oil, but you can throw it together in about 15 minutes and not feel too guilty about splurging on it for breakfast the next morning (oops). 

I started making this and had to go look for my trifle dish.  I knew I had one somewhere.... apparently on the mantel and filled with pinecones?!  Not sure when/how that happened - can I blame pregnancy brain?  Let's just say trifles will be happening more often around here.  Especially when they're as refreshing and delicious as this one.

Summer Berry Trifle
Ingredients:
2/3 store bought angel food cake
2 pints strawberries, sliced
2 pints blueberries
6 tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 package sugar-free cheesecake instant pudding mix
8 oz fat-free frozen whipped topping

Directions:
Thaw the fat-free frozen whipped topping in the refrigerator for 4 hours. 

Whisk the condensed milk and water in a bowl. Whisk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in the whipped topping.

Arrange half of the cake in the bottom of a 14-cup trifle dish. Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the blueberries. Spread half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread. Top with 1/3 of the strawberries. Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries, then add half of the remaining blueberries and top with the remaining cream mixture. Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a pretty pattern - or just dump them on, depending on your timeframe. ;) Cover and refrigerate at least one 1 hour. 

Source: skinnytaste

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green smoothie

I know what you're thinking: I went from s'mores cupcakes to a green smoothie.  Yep, I did, because this baby weight isn't going to lose itself.  I promise, though, this is a healthy option that still tastes like a frozen treat (especially if you haven't had the real thing in a while).

Since we spent our fourth anniversary in the hospital with Ruby, we were a little delayed on the whole gift/celebrating thing. (We did order Thai food in the hospital instead of eating the cafeteria food, woohoo!)  We decided to get ourselves a Vitamix blender since it is the "fruit and flowers" anniversary, and this sounded like a fun option.

This blender is no joke - it doesn't fit on our countertop and sounds like a lawnmower while it's running.  But it does produce some restaurant quality frozen drinks!  The high-powered equipment isn't a requirement for this smoothie though... I drank these pretty regularly from our normal $20 blender that came with Lane into our marriage.

To make life easy (and to give myself the ability to make a smoothie with one hand while holding a baby with the other), I packaged up the ingredients for one smoothie in ziplocs and put them in the freezer.  Now my fruit/spinach won't go bad before I get a chance to use it!

Green Smoothies 

Ingredients:

½ banana (frozen or not), cut into chunks

½ cup chopped frozen pineapple
½ pear (or apple), coarsely chopped
1 cup orange juice
1 cup baby spinach leaves, rinsed and dried

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until completely smooth.  Serve immediately.

Source: Annie's Eats

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i'm baaaack: s'mores cupcakes

Well, it's almost been a year since my last post, which is a little embarrassing.  I got pregnant shortly after my last post, and wasn't really interested in eating, so not much cooking happened.  Then we moved, I got a job, and in the whirlwind of getting ready for baby and seeing more family since we're back in Texas, this poor bloggity got neglected.  But I'm back and ready to document more delicious adventures in the kitchen!

To celebrate being back in the ole' blogisphere, I bring you:

S'mores Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the graham cracker crust:

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the cake:

• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp. baking soda
• ¾ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• ¾ cup sour cream

For the frosting:

• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

 Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork. Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and hot water and whisk until smooth.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to blend.  Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition just until incorporated.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about ¾-full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Let cool in the pan about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a bowl set over a pan of a few inches of simmering water. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Mix in the vanilla until combined.  Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip. Brown with a kitchen torch (or I used the oven broiler on low and watched carefully so they didn't burn!)

Source: Annie's Eats

And... since you're still reading after my 10 month hiatus, I give you:
Baby Ruby :)

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