Karen’s Opinion

I love the holidays because they are a time when we get to eat delicious desserts. Here is one of my favorites.

TWINKIE CAKE

1 box Twinkies
2 sm. boxes vanilla instant pudding
1 lg. container frozen sliced strawberries
4 bananas, sliced
1 med. container, Cool Whip
9 x 12 inch cake pan

Lay Twinkies in pan. Mix pudding as directed on package; pour over Twinkies. Pour strawberries over pudding, layer bananas over this, spread Cool Whip over bananas. (Nuts can be added before Cool Whip if you desire). Refrigerate overnight.

It is that time of year again. Time to think about what kind of pie to make for thanksgiving dinner. In my case, the pie will be for dessert later in the evening since we are going out to eat at a restaurant this year.

I don’t have any great pumpkin pie recipes so I am going to share my chicken pot pie recipe. It might not measure up to the pot pie my mom had in Houston but it is still yummy.

Ingredients

* 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cubed
* 1 cup sliced carrots
* 1 cup frozen green peas
* 1/2 cup sliced celery
* 1/3 cup butter
* 1/3 cup chopped onion
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
* 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
* 2/3 cup milk
*
* 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

My sister made the most delicious apple dumplings when she was visiting a few weeks ago. My daughter bought all the ingredients and I hope she makes them tonight! When my sister said that these were “so good”, I said I would let her know if I agreed. After tasting them, I have to agree. They are yummy and better yet, so easy to make.

Apple Dumplings
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients:
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and
cored
2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent
roll dough
1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Mountain
Dew ™
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew™ over the dumplings.
4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

These are not the huge dumplings that make you feel guilty when you eat the whole thing. They are just the right size. A pan of these would be great to take to a potluck dinner.

New recipe alert!

Take 9 Klondike bars and lay them in the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan.

Spread cool whip over the top.

Sprinkle Heath Bar candy bars, that have been broken to bits, over the top.

Freeze.

Eat.

Yummm!

You can make 2 layers by alternating the ingredients.

I just had the most yummy lemon bar and I wondered what the ingredients were. )Mom made the one I had). I know that this is not the recipe mom used because hers had blueberries in them but this one sounds good too.

Lemon Bars
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
Pinch salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing

Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan.

Make the crust by combining the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter to make a crumbly mixture. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. You may need to dip your fingers into a little flour or confectioners’ sugar to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon juice. Pour this over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, if desired, when the bars are done.