Eclair Cake

It's Sunday! I love Sundays. I love sunny Sundays. I love naps on sunny Sundays, preferably outside, preferably in a hammock. I love grocery stores on Sundays with all the people in their church clothes buying fried chicken. I love church on Sundays and the people at church on Sundays and the sense of hope at church on Sundays. I love spring sunny Sundays because there is no Sunday football. I love the intentional efforts of most people to rest on the last few moments of the weekend before work week on Sundays. Sundays are simple and cozy. I like them a lot.

In my later years of life, I've felt drawn to [theologically sound] church plant type churches, newer churches that are a bit more contemporary. I love contemporary worship music, small groups, the sense of Biblical community, and many of the things that contemporary churches do well. However in my earlier years, I grew up in a traditional small country church. Know what I miss about churches like that? Dinner on the Ground! If you didn't grow up in small country church world, Dinner on the Ground isn't actually on the ground at all. In my church, and most, it took place the fifth Sunday of every month, four in a year, one every quarter, and was usually followed by "5th Sundee Singin."

Dinner on the Ground is a church wide potluck on the church grounds, usually the fellowship hall. Everyone brings a dish and everyone eats. When I was growing up, there was always grocery store fried chicken, at least three different plates and versions of deviled eggs, gallons and gallons of sweet tea, too many casseroles to name, several pound cakes, and way too many other options to fill your styrofoam plate. This recipe reminds me of Dinner on the Ground. I never had it at Dinner on the Ground, but many offerings found on the dessert table are made in 9x13 casserole dishes. I can think of at least three my grandmother makes often to take to these church gatherings (Banana Split Cake, Chocolate Sin, Pineapple Delight). This recipe is simple, yummy, not a calorie killer, and totally Dinner on the Ground/potluck worthy! It's also made the night before, stress-free! 

For further funny explanation about the Southern tradition of Dinner on the Ground check out this post on the Stuff Southern People Like Blog. It's hilarious (and true)! 

Recipe slightly adapted from Chef in Training.

Ingredients:

• 2 small packages of sugar free french vanilla pudding
• 1 small package of sugar free cheese cake pudding
• 3 1/2 cups skim milk
• 12 oz (1 and 1/2 of 8 ounce packages) of fat free cool whip
• 2 packages of graham crackers

Frosting: 

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions: 

Blend milk and dry pudding mix for about 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. In a 9x13 glass pan, layer graham crackers to cover the bottom of the dish. You can break them to fit into odd spaces. Pour half of the pudding/whipped topping mixture on top and smooth out. Put another complete layer of graham crackers on top. Spread the remaining pudding over the crackers. Put the final layer of graham crackers on top with the bumpy side down (to ensure the frosting goes on smoothly). 

For the frosting, microwave the butter and milk just enough so that the butter is melted into the milk, it doesn't need to boil. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar, stir together until smooth. This frosting will be somewhere between a frosting and a glaze, not thick but not completely liquid. Pour the frosting over the top of the graham crackers and smooth out with a rubber spatula or frosting spreader. Refrigerate overnight and serve! 

The graham crackers end up having the texture of thin layers of cake! It's totally no-bake, easy, and delish! Kid and adult friendly.

Skillet Peach Blueberry Crumble (Sugar Free)

I know, I know. On January 2nd I gave you my list of New Year's Resolutions, which included a commitment to blog more. Yes, I am aware it's now January 19th, over 2 weeks later. BUT... I hadn't forgotten! I was steadily cooking and snapping pictures and fully committed to blog more. I was just also incorporating some of my other resolutions and getting used to adding those into daily life too. I'm 6 for 6 this week with taking intentional time out of my day to not be in my apartment having idle time and to be somewhere else without distractions where I won't find TV shows to watch, things to clean, or things to eat (aka Starbucks, and another coffee shop once). I'm starting to like being at Starbucks more than being at my apartment... I get a little upset when I walk in and someone is at MY table. I mean don't they know?! Since Starbucks breeds productivity for me apparently, I decided to try it out for blog stuff too. So productive! In addition to reading, journaling, praying, and listening to my Bible app, I also edited pictures for 3 blog posts, prepped all 3 to go out this week, AND organized all my other pictures into folders labeled with the recipe (or DIY project) and put them all into a BLOG ME folder! Aren't you proud?! 

First up... Sugar Free Skillet Peach Blueberry Crumble! 

A healthy one to kick off my commitment to blogging! You know I love sugar and am by no means committed to a sugar free lifestyle. I mean I do want to open a bakery the summer of 2014 and buy stock in sugar. However, this is one of the best sugar free things I've ever made and/or eaten! One of my RAs made a New Years resolution to not eat sugar. I like a challenge, so I decided to try and make something yummy and sugar free that she could eat and that the rest of us would like. AND I got to use one of my new cast iron skillets to do it!

Don't be fooled though. I start boot camp next week, so I've been taking every last moment to eat unhealthy things while I can. Confession - my first thing to make in a cast iron skillet was donuts. Fried biscuit dough donuts covered in glaze. And I made them twice in two weeks. I also ate Zaxby's for lunch today. Monday. Monday things are getting serious! I mean it is a competition and one of the winning prizes is a gift certificate to take a class at a cooking school. I'm gonna win, duh! And thus the cast irons will only be used for healthy things until April. They probably would have been mad at me if I didn't use them to make donuts at least once though right??

Skillet Sugar Free Beach Berry Crumble

Recipe adapted from myrecipes.com.

Ingredients: 

• 1 bag of frozen blueberries (12 oz)
• 1 bag of frozen peaches (16 oz)
• 2/3 cup Splenda (can replace with equal amount of sugar)
• 1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar (can replace with brown sugar, increase to 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup light butter (I used Brummel and Brown), melted
• Optional - vanilla ice cream for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 10-inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray. Combine frozen blueberries, frozen peaches, Splenda, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Whisk together the cornstarch and remaining 2/3 cup water in a small bowl until smooth. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the peach berry mixture. Gently stir in the lemon zest and reduce heat to low. Continue simmering the fruit, gently stirring, until the juices have thickened and the mixture is more on the clear side than the creamy side. Remove the saucepan from the heat and scoop the mixture into the prepared skillet.

Stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Add the melted light butter, stirring until butter is mixed evenly. Using your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing until crumbly. Sprinkle the topping over the peach berry filling.

Bake until the topping is nicely browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or eat just like it is!

My personal preference, is to top it with a small scoop of ice cream and let it completely melt until it looks messy and not quite as pretty and picture perfect. I love melted ice cream with berry desserts.

How are your New Year's Resolutions going? 

Single Serving Blueberry Cobbler

It's officially the weekend. I have a love hate relationship with weekends. I tend to splurge and make unhealthier choices on weekends. You know... watch an entire season of Pretty Little Liars in one day while I don't shower and stay in my pjs. Just me? This weekend I'm determined to make healthy and wise choices that mostly have nothing to do with eating. But, just in case you feel like splurging this weekend but don't want to eat an entire pan of brownies while watching an entire season of , I wanted to share this recipe with you! 

A. It's healthy. B. It's a single serving! You can eat the entire thing and not feel even a little bit bad. You can also make it your own with any kind of fruit you have on hand. It would be deliciously yummy with frozen or even canned peaches, strawberries, or blackberries. You know.. it would even be food with a 1/2 cup of pumpkin and some pecans. Done! I will be making a pumpkin version of this cobbler this weekend. Oh and sauteed apples! Okay. I'm glad I decided to share this recipe with you because I'm totally experimenting with new flavors this weekend.

Single Serving Blueberry Cobbler

Used the exact recipe from sparkrecipes.com just used blueberries - Cup O' Cobbler Recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon Brummel and Brown yogurt butter
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Splenda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons skim milk
• Dash of nutmeg
• Dash of cinnamon

Directions: 

Mix blueberries and sugar in a small bowl and set aside so the sugar can do it's juicy job. You can smash your berries a little to help this process along. Prehat oven to 350. Spray a small ramekin with butter flavored cooking spray and then add the butter. Heat the ramekin in the oven until the butter is bubbly. 

Note: Heating the dish with the butter in it makes the recipe great. It makes the cobbler more well... cobbler like! It adds the crispy and chewy components to the crust. 

Mix flour, Splenda, baking powder, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a separate small bowl. Spread the mixture into the hot ramekin. Add the sugared fruit in the center of the batter, leaving a rim of batter around the edges. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the batter is golden brown around the edges and the center looks set. 

Remember those Frozen Yogurt Bites I made? Three of the vanilla ones on this was AMAZING! 

If you count the blueberries in the recipe, it's 5 points for the whole thing. If you don't (and sometimes I don't because fruit is free if you eat it plain!), then it's 4 points! Plus whatever topping you may or may not add. If you add just a dollop of fat free cool whip or a frozen yogurt bite or two, nothing extra! It's also perfectly fine with nothing extra at all.