Flashback Friday; Red, White & Blue Trifle

Last summer, my mother-in-law and I recreated this trifle for the family. We had such a fun time making it for everyone and had no problem eating it because it was our healthy alternative to the bad we’ve already had prior to dessert. This dessert is a light and simple addition to any Fourth of July gathering you’re having. It’s also a great recipe to get the kids involved in the kitchen!

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 prepared  angel food cake
• 1 oz box Jell-O Cheesecake Pudding
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk ( any milk will work just fine)
• 1 – 8 oz container Cool Whip Whipped Topping
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, halved

DIRECTIONS

1. Cube prepared angel food cake into 1 inch cube pieces.
2. In a large bowl, whisk Cheesecake pudding with almond milk. Mix for 2 minutes until pudding starts to thicken.
3. Fold in Cool Whip topping into pudding mix and combine well .
4. Store in fridge until ready to assemble.
5. Slice strawberries in half. Set aside.
6. Using a deep bowl / trifle dish start layering all ingredients in the following fashion;  I start with your cake on the bottom layer,  alternate angel food cake cubes, topped with berry mix and pudding mixture. Repeat the latter until you’ve completed the trifle.
7. Decorate the top of your trifle to your heart’s content. I decorated mine with a “4” for the Fourth of July!   

We Left Our Hearts in San Fransicko

We didn’t plan much for our anniversary weekend other than going down to San Francisco to watch a Giants game. We’re all in agreement that this trip was the best one yet. We didn’t know what we were doing, we were lost most of the time, but we loved every minute of it. We house sat for my cousin this past weekend which turned out in our favor. We loved watching their kitten Fabiola or “Kenow” has Haidyn nicknamed her for the weekend.  

We spent a lot of time exploring  ( and by exploring  I mean getting completely lost) the city by the wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge, aquarium, Cal Academy of Science and so much more. Haidyn was eager to play everywhere we went so we spent a lot of time scolding her not to because the city was so busy this past weekend.  Haidyn was on overload with everything that was going on. She was madly in love with all of the fishes she got to see and touch ( I mean throw) in the water. 

Of course, the weekend we chose to go is Pride Weekend which was so busy! But Haidyn also got to witness so much love in the city. If anything came out of this weekend I hope that she gets to acknowledge that love is love no matter what anyone else might think. Love is beautiful and it shouldn’t be confined to what society might believe love is. This was by far the best anniversary we’ve had yet sore feet and all. 

Bacon Potato Salad

Summer is here and I’m in love with easy salad side dishes. My husband is not a fan of any type of summer salad, but this said he devoured (that’s not an exaggeration) this entire salad almost in one sitting. This recipe comes from an old family friend. I have such found memories of her making big batches and bringing it to our house. The salad was gone within the day between my brother and I, but we loved fighting for this salad every single time. You really can’t go wrong with bacon and lots of cheese add-ins! This recipe is a small batch for the family to eat with some leftovers or a little get together for a summer party.

INGREDIENTS

•  2-4 large red potatoes
•  2-3 hard boiled eggs
•   3-4 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled ( the more bacon the better)
• 1 cup mayonnaise ( you may use more)
•  ¼   teaspoon paprika 
•   ¼  teaspoon pepper
•  ¼  teaspoon salt
•   ¼  teaspoon dill 
•   ¼ teaspoon onion powder
•   ¼  teaspoon chili powder
•  1 teaspoon parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut potatoes into cubes. ( The size of the cubes is up to you, just make sure that all are the same size)
2.  In a large pot, place potatoes in cold water and bring to a boil. (Doing this ensures that all will cook evenly and at the same time).  Cook potatoes until they are tender.
   
3.  Once potatoes are cooked, drain water and place on towel lined tray to cool and dry.
   
4.  While potatoes cool, gather all of your spices and set aside.
   
5.  Taking your eggs, roughly chop them into quarters.
   
6. In a large container, add in your mayonnaise and eggs and mix together with an electric mixer. (You could do this by hand, but doing it this way ensures that everything combines faster and evenly.)
   
   
   
   
7.  Sprinkle in all of the seasonings and combine.
   
8. Add potatoes and bacon to mayonnaise mixture and combine well. (Fold potatoes in so that you don’t break them.)
   
9.  Store in an air tight container and keep in the fridge until ready to ship.  * For any other add in’s you can add shredded cheese or Parmesan cheese!