Cherry Delight Dessert

My mother always made this dessert when I was growing up and it was one of my favorites.
Even though it's been a while since I've made it myself,I thought I would share the recipe so that others could experience the scrumptious flavor too!

For the bottom layer-

2 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cup of butter or margarine 

Press into a 13 X 9 cake pan and bake at 350 degrees until golden.

For the middle layer-

1 eight ounce packages of cream cheese-softened
3 Tablespoons of powered sugar
1 package of Cool Whip

Combine and mix well.
Spread over cooled crust.

Top layer-

I used fresh berries,cooked with a little water and cornstarch,but you can use canned cherry (or another fruit like blueberry or strawberry) pie filling.
You can also top with fresh fruit.

Chocolate Peanut Butter bars (not so healthy but oh so tasty!)

My husband loves chocolate.
My children love sweets.
I like Reeses Cups.

These Chocolate Peanut Butter bars may not be a healthy recipe,but they are SO melt-in-your-mouth YUMMY!

What you'll need:

For the bottom layer-
1 cup of butter melted
1 cup of peanut butter
2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
2 cups of powered sugar

Mix this together and press into the bottom of a cake pan.

For the topping-
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
4 tablespoons of peanut butter.

Heat the chocolate and peanut butter slowly until soft and smooth,stir it up and immediately spread it over the bottom layer in the cake pan.

Let it sit for a while so that it can set-and there you have it!

I did tweak this a little bit-I really can't stand using SO much butter,so I use a little less (about 2/3 cup) and then use a bit of water to add the additional moisture.

The most basic,healthy and tasty potato soup...

I'm not a gourmet cook.
I don't normally prepare foods that have a big list of ingredients-partly because it's a pain and partly because it's rare that I actually HAVE all the ingredients.
I also live by the mantra "Less is more" and it's cheaper......

I love potato soup.

I love to save money.

I love BASIC.EASY.SIMPLE.QUICK. meals.

So,this recipe is so easy I almost feel ridiculous sharing it.















(I must add that I don't generally follow recipes necessarily and I like to just "toss" things together;however I will do my best with sharing how much I used!)

Easy Potato soup
2 pounds of potatoes,peeled and diced.
3 large carrots,sliced thin.
1-2 large stalks of celery,cut into small pieces.
1 large onion,diced small.
Salt to taste.

I cook all of the vegetables in a generous amount of water (I like a lot of broth) until softened.

Sometimes I add some saltine crackers for added flavor,but I also like the soup plain.

When I make soup,I normally bake some homemade bread or biscuits.
You can find my favorite bread recipe HERE

My Favorite Bread Recipe

When I was growing up,my mother always baked fresh homemade bread;I recall eating the dough and then paying for it later with an upset stomach-which my father told me was due to the dough 'rising' in my intestines....I'm still not sure if he was just trying to keep me from eating the dough or if it really does 'rise' in my stomach.......I should Google that.

Since becoming a wife and mother,I have been searching for a recipe I could make my 'own' signature one.
I have finally discovered one!
I enjoy making my bread into a braided loaf-which we generally use as a side to soup or with butter as an addition to any meal-and this recipe works wonderfully!

It doesn't come out heavy or tough,and instead is super fluffy and light-which makes it not last very long in this house-but it's so yummy it's worth it!!

It's so great I thought I would share with my friends-YOU!

Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

prep:35 min; Rise:1.5 hr;Bake:45 min
Makes 2 loaves-total of about 32 servings

3 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup shortening -I use a non-hydrogenated one
1 tablespoon salt
2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/4 cups very warm water ( 120 degrees)
3-4 cups all purpose or bread flour
Butter melted if desired for brushing over loaves after baking

Mix WW flour,honey,salt,yeast,shortening and water until well mixed (this will be very moist-no fear-you will be adding more flour).
Then add the AP flour one cup at a time until the dough is easy to handle ( think not stick-but not dry either).

Take the dough and place on a floured surface;knead until springy (think 'dough-boy' not to heavy,but very bouncy).
Place in a greased bowl-coating dough evenly by 'turning' one placed in the bowl;place in a warm spot,covered (I use a dishtowel over my bowl).
Let rise until double (usually about 1-2 hours) and then place on a lightly floured surface.
At this point it's up to you how you shape your loaves.

You can make a classic bread loaf,or-like me- you can split the dough into two sections,and then use each of those to make a braid by dividing the dough into three sections and braiding.

 Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
You can allow the loaves to rise more while the oven pre-heats.
I don't generally need to bake for anywhere NEAR 45 minutes-it's closer to 20 minutes-so watch closely!

Soft and fluffy braided bread

I use the same recipe for ooey gooey cinnamon rolls