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Astonish your family with this recipe! Have them try to guess the secret ingredient – I promise it will take them quite a while, if they ever get it at all. Just looking at the picture, can YOU guess what it is? Continue Reading…
If you haven’t discovered Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Wafers, you’re missing out on a wonderful frugal shortcut that will turn you into an instant Dessert Diva. Look no farther for a last-minute cinchy dessert that will make your Valentine think you slaved for hours!!!
The wafers are thin, crispy dark chocolate discs that are not overly sweet and can be used so many ways. I often crush them and mix them with melted butter and a little sugar and then press the mixture into a crust, and there are lots more ways to use them – see above photo! Keep these wafers in your fab frugal pantry to whip up an amazing effortless dessert anytime!
This is a treat from our collaborative cookbook, “101 Things To Do With Tofu”. Note: FOUR INGREDIENTS total, including the “secret”. Couldn’t be easier! It would be a perfect Valentine’s dessert if, like me, you’re still needing to keep things on the light side. And I’ll bet your sweetheart will be none the wiser. (It’s always fun to see if people can guess the secret ingredient!) Continue Reading…
Individual Shortcut Tart Tatins
Julia Child was not the only master of French Desserts – before Julia were the Tatin sisters. They created the now famous apple dessert recipe “Tart Tatin” that has stumped many accomplished home cooks and even chefs for several generations now – including me!
I love this dessert so much, I decided to come up with a fool-proof version – perfect for your superbowl buffet or a special sweetheart dessert – this is your stress-free Valentine’s Day recipe!
I used three basic steps (I remember it by “CAP”): C) caramel in the bottom, A) apple slices next, then P) pastry on top. I used purchased frozen puff pastry here for convenience, or you can make this dish even more frugally by making up a batch of my Five Minute Puff Pastry!
If you are not an actual French pastry chef yourself, these little yummies will fool you – the taste is that close to the Real Deal! And, instead of hours of frustration, usually involving tears and cursing, you will be singing and smiling because they are a snap to throw together! The apples have that same slow-braised taste and the crust stays crispy and delicious!
Joy to the World Christmas Candies
This Christmas candy recipe has been a favorite in my family for four generations. My mom got it from her family and now it has become a Christmas classic for my kids. They whine like crazy if I even THINK of skipping these during the holidays! Last year, I added my own twist and changed the diced pecans to diced toasted almonds. We loved the change, and my son Jake renamed the candies “Joy to the World” balls, since they now have a little of the flavor of Almond Joy candy bars!
It's not so scary.
“It just doesn’t add up! Fruit = good. Cake = great. Fruitcake = nasty crap.” — Jim Gaffigan
Okay, I have to be honest, I really have never liked it before, but after reading this from Adventures in Crunchy Parenthood:
Now before you go telling me how nasty fruitcake is, let me tell you a little secret: there are two kinds of fruitcake. The one you are thinking of is the one with all the little candied fruit bits that have a weird flavor. Granted, it does have a weird flavor, but honestly, I love that kind too (don’t ask me why). But what you are really missing out on is REAL fruitcake. The fruitcake most people know today is full of little processed, candied fruits which have a flavoring called citron added to them. That’s the weird/gross/funny taste most people complain about. REAL fruitcake is made with just plain dried fruits and nuts, and can be customized to suit your particular tastes.
. . . as well as this from the esteemed Noble Pig, I decided to try making one that I might actually like, focusing on dried fruits I actually like, like dates and pineapples and such. Lo and behold, it really is a whole different experience! Continue Reading…
Donna and Anne at CIA Boot Camp
