Crescent Napoleons with Strawberries

I somehow found this recipe and showed Zak yesterday morning. His response, over & over again, "Make that tonight, make that tonight," until I finally agreed. I'm not trying to be snobby, but I don't normally go for recipes where you use pre-made mixes or whatever; it's just that I grew up having really delicious, from-scratch cakes and desserts. But this looked easy and delicious enough, so I figured why not?

I did have few little hiccups with it, however. Well, for starters, I was too busy paying attention to the prices of vanilla pudding instead of reading if it was actually instant or cooked pudding on the box. So I ended up with 2 boxes of cooked vanilla pudding instead of 1 box instant. And I figured that out, after whisking and whisking and then finding the box and realizing my mistake. But I just threw it in a saucepan and cooked it over medium heat until it bubbled and thickened up. I had to let it cool for awhile, which was disappointing, because we were so excited to try them. The other hiccup was that we didn't beat the whipped cream stiff enough, so when I added the whipped cream to the pudding, it didn't mix in well, and was very runny. I decided to put it in the fridge to thicken up. Another agonizing twenty minutes went by, but it had done just what I wanted.

Assembling these wasn't too difficult; I had a fair amount of leftover pudding, but it was difficult not to put a lot on the wafer, because it'd squish out everywhere. But I got it done, they looked pretty decent and were divine! Zak called them, 'everything a strawberry shortcake should be', and I envisioned myself making these many times in our future, because they are simple and delicious. Maybe I'll make some kind of fancy cake with them. Zak didn't even want to think about sharing these with our friends (I normally give away about 75% of the cookies and treats I make, just so we aren't too tempted). They are that yummy!

1 can (8 oz.) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 c. milk

1 box (small, 4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding/pie filling mix

1 c. whipped topping or whipped cream

1 1/2 c. sliced strawberries

sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Unroll roll dough, separate into 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal.

3. Cut each rectangle into quarters, place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press each rectangle to form 3x2" rectangles. Sprinkle each with sugar.

4. Bake 8 - 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on cooling rack until completely cool, about 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat milk and pudding mix with wire whisk until mixture begins to thicken. Fold in the whipped topping/whipped cream.

6. Just before serving, place 8 baked dough rectangles on serving platter or tray. Reserve 1/2 c. pudding mixture. Divide remaining mixture onto rectangles and spread to edges.

7. Reserve at least 8 pretty strawberry slices for garnish. Divide remaining strawberries onto rectangles.

8. I had enough remaining pudding mixture that I put some on the bottom of the remaining dough rectangles to 'cement' the two crescent wafers together.

9. Garnish tops with about 1 Tbl. reserved pudding mixture and 1 strawberry slice. Store in refrigerator and/or enjoy!

Banana Custard Pudding

So we had some bananas that were getting on the old side. I didn't feel up to making banana bread, especially since we had about a dozen blueberry muffins lying around the house. Then I somehow got the idea for banana pudding, because who doesn't like pudding? And I've made pudding before, so I figured it wouldn't be too difficult. This recipe was only challenging because I wasn't paying enough faithful attention to it, while on the stove. So the texture wasn't what I wanted, but overall, it was pretty tasty. I would definitely cut the sugar amount by at least a quarter or more, because it was super sweet. The original recipe called for basically making a vanilla custard, then adding in sliced banana pieces before serving. We decided to mush and whisk up the bananas with some milk and add it in with the vanilla. Next time, we will blend them up. But, still, yummy!

1/2 c. sugar (like I said, I bet it'd be fine with anywhere from 1/3 c. - 1/4 c.)

1 Tbl. cornstarch

dash of salt

1 1/2 c. milk

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 bananas, mushed/blended with a little bit of milk

1. Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan.

2. Over medium heat, slowly add milk, stirring until mixture comes to a boil, keeping a close eye on it!

3. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Temper egg yolks by adding a small amount of hot liquid to them, then return all to the saucepan.

5. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.

6. Stir in vanilla and bananas, then chill for 1 hour..

Sorry there are no pictures, it wasn't as pretty as I wanted! Maybe next time I make it!

PMS Cake--Absolutely Delicious!!

Today my friend Kristie and I made this cake. It is absolute heaven! Plus, it has like 5 ingredients and is super easy to make. MMMMMMM!

1 box dark chocolate cake mix (I used devil's food and it was great)
4 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1/2 c. warm water
1 - 2 cups chocolate chips (I used milk, mmm)

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together (save chips for last)
3. Pour into greased bundt pan.
4. Cook for 40 minutes.
5. Turn out of pan onto cake dish (I used a baking sheet, since I am cake dish-less) immediately and wrap with plastic wrap to preserve moisture.

**It has come to my attention that if you have remaining cake the next day and you heat it up, it is even more delicious!

Fresh from the oven

Turned over-only a little mishap

mmmmmmmmmmmmm!