Guiltless Banana Split in a Jar

Keeping the portions realistic, and using nonfat frozen yogurt in place of ice cream allows you to indulge without the guilt. Topped with whipped dairy topping and a cherry, who can resist this simple treat.

And yes, I went with a whipped topping made with real cream (Reddi Wip) because I feel the fat-free creams are just a whole lot of chemicals. Because it's mostly air, it's still relatively low in fat and calories. I'm really hoping someone out there can figure out how to make a healthier yet light whipped cream, the closest I found is truwhip. Hope you all have a great weekend and Happy Banana Split Day!

Guiltless Banana Split in a Jar

Servings: 2 • 
Calories: 169 • Fat: 1.3 g • Carb: 36 g • Fiber: 1.8 g • Protein: 3.5 g • Sugar: 27.5 g
Sodium: 62 mg

Ingredients: 

• 1 medium Dole banana, sliced
• 2/3 cup nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt (Stonyfields)
• 2 tbsp Hershey's Lite chocolate syrup
• 4 tbsp whipped topping
• 2 cherries for garnish

Directions:

Place half of the banana slices in the bottom of each jar. Top each with 1/3 cup of frozen yogurt, then 1 tablespoon each of chocolate syrup. Finish with with the whipped cream and top with a cherry and get your spoons ready to dig in!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars

Yield: makes one 8 X 8-inch dish

Ingredients

• 1 16 ounce package peanut butter sandwich cookies, divided
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 8-ounce container Cool Whip, divided
• 1 3.9 ounce package instant chocolate Jello-O Pudding Mix
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate & peanut butter chips OR 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips + 1/4 peanut butter chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a blender or food processor, finely crush 24 of the cookies.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter and finely crushed cookies until well moistened.
4. Press into an ungreased 8 X 8-inch baking dish.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Allow crust to cool completely before proceeding.
7. In the meantime, mix the package of pudding with the 1 1/2 cups of milk in a small bowl.
8. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and peanut butter together.
9. Fold in 1 cup of the Cool Whip and mix until well blended.
10. Spread the chocolate pudding over the cooled crust.
11. Place dollops of cream cheese mixture over the pudding layer and with an offset spatula, gently spread to completely cover.
12. Spread remaining Cool Whip over the cream cheese.
13. Refrigerate two hours.
14. In a plastic bag, break up the 8 remaining cookies.
15. Sprinkle the cookies and chocolate / peanut butter chips over the top just before serving.

Old Fashion Tomato Soup Cake with Caramel Frosting...

This brings back so many good memories of when my Aunt Carrie and Aunt Rae would make this cake for our family…later down the line my Mom would make it for us because we enjoyed it so much…when I got married …I too would make it, but haven't made this for years until today….

                 Old Fashion Tomato Soup Cake with Caramel Frosting...

for the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup  raisins (optional) 

Mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and soup, and mix well. Sift the flour, soda, salt and spices into the butter mixture. Mix until smooth and everything is evenly combined, add optional raisins if you choose... Pour into a buttered 9 x 9 square, glass baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. until a toothpick comes clean when inserted into center of cake. (About 35 minutes.) It’s important to not over-bake this cake.

for the frosting:

1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Mix well with a wire whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and allow to boil for one minute. Remove from heat and continue whisking while the frosting cools and becomes thick. (5 to 10 minutes.) Pour over cake, and working quickly, smooth over surface of cake until it drips down the sides.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Whip- YUM

Raspberry Whip~YUM
What a delightful Spring &  Summertime dessert

1 Angel food cake, broken into 1" bits
1 8 oz carton of Cool Whip
1 C sour cream
1 C powdered sugar
1 pint red raspberries, well drained, fresh or frozen

In a medium bowl, mix together the Cool Whip, sour cream, and powdered sugar. Fold in raspberries. Place all the angel food cake bits in the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish. Pour the raspberry mixture over the cake. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour. Leftovers should be refrigerated immediately.

Veggie Breakfast Pizza

Ok, some people might look askance at the presence of eggs on a pizza, but I promise you it’s delicious.  I  love eggs at any time of day, morning or evening, so this only seemed natural to me, but for people who aren’t so sure: here us out, this pizza is great! Breakfast pizza is usually categorized as such when there is some assortment of eggs and bacon (or ham) on the dough…so if you love pizza and you love eggs and bacon, it’s only logical to assume you’ll love this dish, right?

In this case, I  decided to keep this pizza breakfast and lunch (or dinner)- friendly, so I also added some fresh veggies to the mix. What’s perfect about it is you’re able to easily customize your pizza to create a well-rounded and balanced meal, catered to your tastes. Plus, if you have the dough in your freezer, it’s easy to whip up a tasty breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner in little to no time! Next time you’re in the freezer section, get some dough and start brainstorming your yummy brunch masterpiece! Or even better make your dough with  My Famous Pizza dough Mix….

Veggie Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 pound store-bought pizza dough, thawed ( Used my wonderful Pizza dough Mix)
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
• 1 cup cooked ham, cubed
• 2/3 cup tomato sauce (store-bought or homemade)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 4-5 eggs
• 1-2 tomatoes, sliced into thin wedges
• 1 red chili pepper, sliced, optional
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475º F and position oven rack in the bottom rung of oven. Lightly grease your baking tray with olive oil.
2. Roll dough out into a large circle of your desired thickness and transfer to baking sheet.
   Note: thicker pizzas will need to cook for an extra few minutes.
3. Using a wooden spoon, spread tomato sauce over the dough, leaving 1/2-inch border around the edges.
4. Add sliced tomatoes and chili peppers evenly over the sauce, then the ham.
5. Sprinkle mozzarella liberally over the top, then use your fingers to carefully create little wells in the cheese.
6. Crack your eggs into the wells and add broccoli florets around them.
7. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano, and place in oven.
8. Bake for 15-17 minutes, depending on thickness, or until eggs are just set and crust is golden brown.
9. Remove from oven, garnish with fresh basil and serve hot.

Beef Miroton

Have you ever made a delicious roast beef only to realize you’re stuck with the (only relatively appetizing) leftovers for days to come? Now you can make a roast with a game plan in mind. With this meal, all you’re doing is making a thick sauce to go over your meat and breathe new life into it, so it’s not time consuming and it complements the meat wonderfully. We hate the feeling of being stuck with a dish without a way to make it new and interesting again, but this Beef Miroton dish does just the trick and gives us an entirely new and delicious meal!

Beef Miroton

Ingredients

• 1 pound leftover roast beef (or boiled beef)
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup beef gravy (if possible, reserved from original roast, but store-bought is fine)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Parsley or rosemary, garnish

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. In a large pan over medium heat, melt two tablespoons of your butter and sauté onions until softened and translucent.
3. Stir in flour until you have a thick, paste-like sauce. Pour in beef gravy, broth and red wine vinegar. Mix until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
4. Place a little of sauce on the bottom of baking dish and layer leftover meat on top. Then pour the rest of sauce and onions over the top. Evenly spread breadcrumbs over the top and drizzle with leftover butter.
5. Place in oven and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until warmed through and the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy.
6. Remove, garnish with parsley or rosemary and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm.

Pizza Rustica

Pizza Rustica

Food plays a very important part in Italian holiday celebrations, and Easter in particular has many famous recipes associated with it. Pizza Rustica, also called Easter Pie, Pizza Ripiena, Torta Pasqualina, or Pizzachino is basically a rich quiche type of filling completely enclosed in a buttery pastry. This dish celebrates both Easter, as well the ending of lent, where many folks take part in some type of religious fasting. The ingredients in this pie are quite rich, and include a variety of different cheeses, salumi, eggs, and sometimes sausage. There are many regional varieties of this pie found across Italy, some containing cooked greens, while others may include cooked sausage meat, or diced cooked eggs. I personally like a combination of different cheeses and salami, all bound together with a ricotta cheese and egg mixture.

Pizza Rustica

Ingredients:
Dough:
2 1/2 Cup Unbleached All-purpose Flour
1 Stick, 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter Cut Into Pieces
Pinch of Salt
2 Large Eggs
4 to 5 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

Filling:
1 Pound Ricotta Cheese
8 Ounces Diced Mozzarella
1 Cup Diced Fontina Cheese
1/2 Cup Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
2 Cups Diced Cooked Ham (I use instead of ham, 2 cups of browned and drained bulk Italian Sausage)
1 1/2 Cups Diced Soppressata Sausage (Spicy or Mild)
1/2  Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley (I use Tablespoon or more of Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley)
3 Large Eggs

To Assemble:
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Water

Preparation:
Place the flour, salt and butter in a food processor, and pulse a few times to break down the butter.

Add the eggs and lemon juice, and pulse just until the mixture comes together.

Dump he mixture onto the counter and shape into a disc.

Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

While the dough is resting in the refrigerator, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix together the filling ingredients with a wooden spoon until they are blended.

Cut the dough into two pieces, one large than the other.

Oil a 9 inch springform pan.

Between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper, roll out the larger portion of the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

Carefully roll the dough over the rolling pin to transfer the dough to the pan.

The dough should be large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the springform pan.

Spoon the filling into the pan.

Roll out the second piece of dough into a circle, and place over the filling.

Trim the extra dough allowing an additional 1 inch, then pinch together the top and bottom pastry circles, enclosing them completely.

Beat the egg with the water, then brush the top of the pie with the egg mixture.

Use a knife to cut slits into the pie, then bake for about 1 hour, or until golden brown in color.

Transfer pie to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature before slicing.