YUM-YUM…My Go-to Recipe for Any Event

Every family has that one recipe that everyone looks forward to at family events. In my family, we love love love YUM-YUM!! This is my favorite, along with the rest of my family. It's an amazing lemon flavored dessert that everyone will love. You can even switch it up and turn it into a chocolate dessert if you'd like! Not to mention, it's totally easy to make.

This recipe was passed down to me from my Great Auntie Vel, and after eating it at family events my whole life, I decided that I absolutely must have this recipe so I could make this delicious dessert whenever I got the craving.

For the first layer, all you need is:

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 1/2 cubes of margarine

1/3 cup of chopped nuts

Mix everything together and press into a 13 x 9 pyrex dish, then bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Next, for the second layer, you will need:

1 large package of cream cheese (whipped works best)

1 cup of powdered sugar

1/2 tub of Cool Whip (12 ounce size)

Beat the sugar into the cream cheese, add Cool Whip and then pour this on top of the cooled crust layer.

Next, for the third layer, you will need:

3 small packages of lemon instant pudding mix

4 cups of cold milk

Beat all of these ingredients together for about one minute, pour on top of the cheese layer and cool until set.

Lastly, spread the remaining 1/2 tub of Cool Whip on top of the pudding layer and sprinkle nuts on top if desired and refrigerate.

And here you have YUM-YUM!! Also, for all you chocolate addicts out there, you can substitute 2 packages of chocolate and 1 package of vanilla pudding.

Enjoy!

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Best Starting

How to Bake the Best Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

My family and I have always really loved cheesecake, but because I seldom bake, I questioned my ability to recreate the sweet treat at home. However, a friend offered me her recipe, and after tweaking it to make it my own, here is my go-to recipe for New York-Style Vanilla Bean Cheesecake.

Ingredients for Crust:

1-1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs 

1/4 cup Walnuts (finely chopped) 

2 tablespoons melted butter

Ingredients for Filling:

3- 8 ounce packages Cream Cheese 

1-1/3 cups Sugar 

5 Large Eggs 

10 ounces Sour Cream 

3 heaping tablespoons Flour 

2 Vanilla Beans, seeded 

2 teaspoons Almond Extract 

2 teaspoons Lemon Juice

Directions for Preparing the Crust:

Place the graham cracker crumbs and walnuts in a large bowl. Pour melted butter into the bowl and stir with a large spoon. Once the ingredients are combined, grease a 9-inch springform pan, then dust lightly with flour. Place the crust mixture inside the springform pan, pressing it firmly to the bottom of the pan, then lining the side of the pan at least halfway up the sides, if possible. Then, set aside.

Directions For Filling:

These ingredients should all be at room temperature before you begin.

Start by placing the cream cheese in an oversized mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until its texture becomes very light and fluffy.

Next, pour about half the sugar into the mixing bowl, continuing to mix on low speed. Once the first portion is mixed in well, add the second half of the sugar and continue beating.

Add eggs to the mixture, one at a time, beating until the mixture appears creamy.

Next, add in the flour, almond extract, lemon juice. You can opt for all-purpose flour, but finely ground oat flour works really well, too. Beat until creamy.

Split the vanilla bean down the center, then use a butter knife to remove its seeds. Add to the mixture.

Finally, add in the sour cream, continuing to beat on low speed until the entire mixture is creamy and well-blended.

Pour this filling into the springform pan.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place cheesecake into preheated oven, in the center and on the top rack. Also, place another pan filled with water on the lower shelf (this provides moisture while the cheesecake is baking and helps prevent unsightly splitting during baking). Bake for one hour and 15 minutes.

At the end of the baking time, turn the oven off, but do not remove the cheesecake yet. Instead, prop the oven door open and let it sit inside the oven for an hour.

Afterward, remove from the oven, but allow the cheesecake to cool. (This will take hours). Once cool, place inside refrigerator for at least 24 hours before serving. This allows the ingredients to meld, greatly enhancing the flavor.

When ready to serve, simply garnish with your favorite toppings, such as strawberries, bananas, caramel, whipped topping, etc. Enjoy!

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Best Starting

The Best and Easiest Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Macaroni and cheese tastes really good when baked in the oven. Here's a recipe that blends boxed deluxe macaroni and cheese with other ingredients and then baked in the oven to create a meal that will keep you wanting more.

When it comes to boxed macaroni and cheese Kraft is one of the best well-known brands. I prefer Kraft over other brands for this recipe and I base it off of Kraft's official Super Cheesy Baked Macaroni & Cheese recipe, this makes it a semi-homemade recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 Box of Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 Cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 Cup of Frozen Peas
• Bite-Sized Cooked Pieces of Ham (As much as you desire)

Directions:

1. Make the box of deluxe macaroni and cheese as instructed on the box in large sauce pan. 
2. Add the milk, all of the mozzarella cheese, and half of the cheddar cheese. Stir until it's all well blended. 
3. Next cut up cooked ham into bit sized pieces (this can be deli lunch meat ham or ham right off the bone) and stir it in. 
4. Now take the entire mixture and pour it into a large oven-safe casserole bowl.
5. Sprinkle the rest of the cheddar cheese on top of the whole mixture and then put in the oven at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

Other Information About This Recipe:

This recipe is an all-in-one meal so you don't have to worry about making any side dishes to go with it. It's also best served warm. You can try different combinations as well such as bacon instead of ham or green beans instead of peas.

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Best Starting

Best Secret Recipe: Chocolate Kahlua Cake

Before becoming a mom to twin boys, just about everything I baked was from "scratch". Cake mix was rarely found in my pantry, and I believe the recipients of my baked goods benefitted from the taste and creativity of my baking. I could certainly tell the difference and I enjoyed trying new recipes and baking for others to enjoy as well. Even so, I have one stand-by recipe that I used then (the reason cake mix may have been found in my pantry) and especially now-when baking time is much harder to find, or rather, almost non-existent. Some nights, I am lucky to get dinner on the table. 

This recipe makes preparing something for guests to our home, the neighborhood cookout or the office party feasible. You would think it were from "scratch." I get requests for it time and time again and it has become a favorite among those who have tried it. The drawback is that I hate to give out the recipe because it is suddenly obvious what little effort it actually took to make! So now I share it with you so you too can look fabulous when you arrive at your next event with this delicious, moist cake in-hand. Enjoy!

Chocolate Kahlua Cake

1 package regular chocolate cake mix (I use Duncan Hines)

1 box vanilla instant pudding

2 cups sour cream (can use fat free, if you wish)

4 eggs (can use egg beaters)

¾ cup oil

¾ cup Kahlua liquor

1 cup chocolate chips (I love the Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips)

Mix all ingredients. Bake in a well-greased bundt pan at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Test with a toothpick or skewer.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar once cake has cooled completely. For a special touch, pick a small/short bouquet of flowers to place in the center of the bundt cake. Gorgeous & delicious!

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Best Starting

How to Make Crepes With Ingredients You've Already Got

You don't have to master the art of French cooking in order to make crepes. For all the glitter and glam that's usually added to the dish, crepes are essentially made with four ingredients: flour, egg, milk and butter. If you've got that stuff on hand, you've got what you need to make amazing crepes.

Mixing the Batter

It's easy to find simple crepe batter recipes online, and you should play around with your batter until you find one that has the right taste and consistency for you. But you need roughly 2 cups of liquid to 1 cup of dry ingredient (flour). Add enough egg and milk to get a runny batter with the consistency of heavy cream or whole milk. You can add a little water to the batter if it's too thick. Stir the batter thoroughly with a fork for at least 2 minutes. This will remove clumps and help to aerate the batter, which keeps crepes from tasting dense.

Cooking the Crepes

Melt butter in a pan over a low heat just before you want to cook your crepes. Once the pan is hot enough to melt the butter, it's hot enough to cook the crepes. If the butter begins to scorch and stick to the pan, turn down the heat.

Slowly pour crepe batter directly into the hot pan, just enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Crepes are meant to be thin. Once the batter is poured, wait about 1 minute and the crepe should be ready to flip. Starting at the edge, gently lift the crepe with a spatula. Moving in a circle, work around the perimeter of the crepe. Once the edges are loosened, gently work the spatula toward the center of the crepe so it can be flipped over. Allow it to cook for another minute on the flip side, and remove it from heat.

Make them Fancy

You can't have good crepes without a filling, but you may not have the time or will to stand in the kitchen slicing fruit. Crepes are just as delicious when filled with ordinary jelly, whatever you have in the fridge. Place a teaspoon of jelly in the center of the crepe. Either fold it in half or roll it up to serve.

To put your crepes over the top, drizzle a little syrup or powdered sugar (or both) right on the top. The beauty of crepes is their versatility. Sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar, cover them in whipped cream, serve them hot or cold. Once you know how to make the batter and you use the technique, you can experiment with your crepes all you want.