Cream Cheese Bars - April 15, 2012

I'm terribly sorry for not posting on Sundays like I had originally planned. Dan and I found out we were pregnant with baby number 2 and it's been a little difficult to stomach making a lot of these desserts. :) But, I'm not giving up, so you'll get a recipe every week, but I can't guarantee it will be early in the week.


These bars are super rich and yummy. You don't need a whole lot of ingredients and it's simple. I made this and my husband ate the whole thing within a couple days. He's a fan.

 Cream Cheese Bars

Ingredients:

2 cans crescent rolls

2 (8oz) pkgs. cream cheese

1 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg (separated)

Roll 1 can of rolls on bottom of greased 9x13-inch pan. (I usually bake the bottom layer for about 8 minutes before going to the next step. Otherwise I find that it's really doughy and I don't like that.) Cream together the cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and egg YOLK. Spread on top of rolls in pan. Spread remaining can of rolls on top, stretching to cover the entire area. Beat egg white and brush on top. Sprinkle sugar on top, about 1/4 cup. (I never sprinkle sugar on top... but mainly because I always forget.) Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes. 

Husband Review:

He LOVES this stuff. My mom made it for the first time for us years ago, and he just loves it. I can't describe it any other way... he just loves it. It's really delicious and very simple to make. There's that perfect amount of flakiness paired with the gooey creaminess of the center. Yum, I'm thinking about making this again soon.

Jello Poke Cupcakes - April 8, 2012

Once in awhile, back in the day, we had jello cake for dessert in our school lunch. I always loved this cake, but never really thought much about it after I left high school. I came across this recipe on pinterest (of course) and I had to try it out.

Jello Poke Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix

(eggs, oil, water per box directions)

1 box (standard size) jello mix (any flavor) I used strawberry

1 container white whipped frosting

Follow directions on the box on how to make the cupcakes. Once the cupcakes are done baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool. Then take a fork and poke a bunch of holes in the top of each cupcake. Mix the jello mixture with 1 cup boiling water. Spoon the dissolved jello juice over each cupcake letting the juice seep into each hole. (*This was extremely messy for me. I ended up putting the cupcakes in a pan and then spooned the jello over each one. A lot of the jello runs off the cupcake into the pan and creates a giant mess... you've been warned.) Chill in the fridge for about 2-3 hours to let set. (*I had hungry cupcake lovers at my house, so I only let mine set for about a 1/2 hour... but they still turned out good.) Once completely set, frost and eat!

 This is what it looked like before I frosted it.

Next time, I'll try to get more juice in the cupcake so it seeps down more.

Husband Review:

These were a huge hit for our family. We had them for Bella's (first) 2nd birthday party. They were very delicious. I'm not a fan of cake myself, and I loved these guys. (I should explain... I'm not a fan of most cakes... I do like angel food and a lot of white cakes like this one. Chocolate cake? Not so much. I think it has to do with the frosting - blech.) I will definitely be making these again. I saw a variation on this where the blogger used lemon cake with lemon jello and lemon frosting. I think my parents would like that one. You can make it to fit any color theme. Red, white, and blue anyone?

Crepes - April 1, 2012

I love making crepes in the morning. I have a recipe that I got when I was in 5th grade, and I absolutely love it! I make these once in awhile for the family, and more often for just my daughter and I. Enjoy.

Crepes

Ingredients:
1 C. flour
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. milk
2 eggs

Beat eggs, add milk and rest of the ingredients. Take 1/3 c. of the batter and pour into a greased frying pan and swirl the batter around until it coats the pan and is really thin. Cook over medium heat until it's brown, flip and brown the other side. These don't take long to cook. Fill with your favorite filling: syrup, fruit, preserves, etc.

Husband Review:

Dan likes my crepes. He eats them like a pancake with butter and syrup. I think the only thing he doesn't like about these little guys is that you can only make one at a time and you can eat them a lot faster than you can make them. I can never make them fast enough. I like mine 3 different ways: with butter and powdered sugar, with Nutella filling, and just plain. These are really good, and really easy to make.