This no bake dessert is one that I made recently and it is now a new favorite in our house. It is light and creamy and very good. We all loved it.

It only contains three ingredients and it goes together in no time. You really cannot get much simpler than this dessert.

Not only is this easy, this can be used in several different ways. You can freeze it and it is a wonderfully creamy frozen type dessert.  This is my husband’s favorite way to eat it.

You can also just refrigerate this and it is a lighter and creamier dessert, and if you place this in a graham cracker crust you will have a refreshing summertime pie.

Anyway you eat this I think you will enjoy it!

Orange Mousse

• 1 jar (7 ounce) marshmallow creme
• 1 cup orange juice ( if you are not freezing this use ¾ cup)
• 8 ounces cool whip

Beat marshmallow creme and orange juice together. Fold in cool whip. Place in a freezer safe bowl or container and freeze for 3-4 hours. Or place in the refrigerator for several hours or into a graham cracker pie crust.

This post linked to Foodie Friday.

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Did you know that the Dairy Queen Blizzard is 25 years old?! Now, that makes me feel a little old. I remember when they first came out and the commercials and ads were everywhere.

I love Blizzards and they were quite a treat when I was growing up. I grew up in a small logging town of less than 2,000 people in northwest Oregon. There is often not a lot of things to do in a small town so, driving the fifteen miles to the Dairy Queen out on the highway was an exciting outing as a kid.

We often got treats like the dilly bar or just a plain cone because they were the cheapest things to buy. However, we loved it when they had the blizzards on sale for 99 cents because then my dad would let us get one of those.

I now live where I do not have a Dairy Queen close to me, so I have had to be creative and find a way to enjoy a blizzard at home. I love to come up with make at home versions of our favorite things because they are usually easy and less expensive to make. In fact, Blizzards are one of the easiest at home things that I make.

What I love about these is that you can make them just the way you like them. You can use vanilla or chocolate ice cream. You can use what ever candy you like. M&M’s work, so do butterfingers, and Oreo cookies, Reese’s pieces, Heath Bars, there are so many versions that you can make.

The one in the pictures is a chocolate chip mint version.

These measurements are not really exact. You can vary the amounts according to how thick you like yours. The candy amounts vary depending on the candy. I usually use half a candy bar or half a package of M&M’s, but you can add more if you like more candy.

Homemade Blizzard

• 2 cups ice cream
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup milk
• about 1/2 of a candy bar (if using something like a heath or butterfinger chop it into several pieces)

Blend ice cream and 1/3 cup milk in a blender until smooth. Add more liquid if needed. Add candy bar and blend just until candy is chopped.

I know that many places sell their own version of these. In my area both Sonic and Braums have a version. They are all very similar though.

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I love strawberries, but I have not always loved them.

Growing up I spent part of each summer working in the strawberry fields in Oregon. I got paid a whole $2 per flat of strawberries that I picked. By the end of strawberry season each year I did not care if I ever saw another strawberry again.

Now that I live in Oklahoma, which is not strawberry growing country, I miss fresh from the field strawberries. A berry that has been shipped half way across the country is just not as good.

Yes, I know you can grow berries in Oklahoma, but they are not as good, juicy, or large as the berries grown other places.

However, I will admit that I buy the California or Florida strawberries that are sold in my grocery store this time of year, because there is something about spring and early summer that just makes me want strawberries. So, in the end a strawberry is better than no strawberry.

This is a dessert that I just came up with last week when I had some extra strawberries that I needed to use up.

I wanted a dessert that I could use the strawberries in that was quick and easy. This is just that, quick, easy, and very good.

Strawberry Mousse Pudding

• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 3-4 cups sliced strawberries (you can also chop the strawberries if you want it a smoother texture)

In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in whipped topping until no streaks remain. Carefully fold in the strawberries. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

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Rice pudding is an old fashioned classic dessert. People have been making it for a long time, and there are a lot of different versions.

I have tried many versions of rice pudding, but this one is my current favorite. I love it.

I made this rice pudding a little bit more special by using sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips. What isn’t good with those two ingredients in it?

Chocolate Tres Leches Rice Pudding

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Combine rice, milk, and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Turn to low and cover and cook until the rice is tender which takes 18-20 minutes.

Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and heavy cream. Cook on low for 3-4  minutes or until the pudding thickens slightly and chocolate is melted. Stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Spoon pudding into individual bowls. Serve warm or cold. I liked this warm, but my husband prefers it cold.

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I am fairly new to gluten free cooking. I have only been gluten free for about five months.  I have had a lot of disasters when it comes to baking. Everything is so different when you are dealing with gluten free flours.

This has been hard on my family. I used to bake all the time. I would make cookies, muffins, cakes, etc. Since going gluten free, I have really reduced the amount that I bake. It is just not the same gluten free. Not only is it frustrating to have disasters, it is much more expensive to bake using gluten free flours.

However, I have had great success using Betty Crocker’s gluten free cake mixes. I will be honest, I am not normally a big fan of cake mixes. I rarely used them before going gluten free. However, since going gluten free, I have been using them quite often. Yes, they are a bit expensive, but I have found the to be a no fail way to get good gluten free desserts.

I will admit though that I have not used them to make a regular cake yet. So, I don’t know how they work or taste for that. What I have been doing is taking the cake mix, doctoring it up, and using it in different ways.

I did this with one of my favorite peach desserts. I easily adapted a recipe that my mom has been making for years and made it gluten free.

Today’s recipe is another one that I adapted to be gluten free, by just using a gluten free cake mix. My family loved a sandwich cookie recipe that came from a friend of mine. I was sure I could easily adapt this to be gluten free.

I just replaced the regular cake mixes with gluten free cake mixes and it worked perfectly. My family loved these. My husband did not even know they were gluten free until I told him.

I am so glad I have found a few easy and no fail gluten free recipes like this.

Do any of you that cook gluten free use the gluten free cake mixes? What do you think of them? Do you use them often?

Gluten Free Sandwich Cookies

• 2 chocolate gluten free cakes mixes
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Frosting

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, beat cake mixes, eggs and oil (batter will be very stiff). Roll into 1-in. balls. (I used a small cookie scoop/melon baller so they were all uniform) Place on ungreased baking sheets and flatten slightly. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Do not over cook. You want these to be chewy not hard. Cool.

In another bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth. Spread on bottom of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

This post linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Gluten Free Wednesday.

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I love cooking magazines. I love to look through them for tips and ideas like I do cookbooks. I often go to a used book sale in my area that is several times a year. Last year I came across quite a find at the sale. They had a whole stack of past issues of Paula Deen’s Magazine, for only 10 cents each.

Well, I bought the whole stack and it was well worth the couple of dollars that I spent. I am still finding and using recipes from the magazines that I bought.

I was recently looking through the magazines again and found a recipe for lemon coconut macaroons. Well, I love cookies and I love lemon, so I knew this was a recipe that I wanted to try.

This recipe is really easy and we loved them. Ok, well two of my kids do not like coconut, so they did not like these, but they don’t like anything with coconut in it. But if you like coconut give these a try.

Lemon Coconut Macaroons

• 1 egg white
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1   14 ounce bag of shredded coconut

In a bowl mix whisk together egg white and salt until frothy. This takes about 2 minutes. Stir in sweetened condensed milk and extracts. Then fold in coconut until well combined. Shape mixture into 1  1/2 inch mounds. I use a cookie scoop for this. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheets at bake at 300 for about 20 minutes or until very lightly browned. Serve and enjoy!

This post linked to Frugal Fridays.

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I love mousse. It is such a rich and creamy dessert that you can use so many different ways.  You can serve it on it’s own, but you can also serve it as a topping to brownie. It works great as a layer in a trifle, in a pie, or even as a frosting on a cake.

Some mousse recipes are hard and complicated. This recipe is neither of those things. This is easy and always turns out. The marshmallows in it give it it’s unique, but perfect texture.

Chocolate Marshmallow Mousse

• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 cups mini-marshmallows
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine milk, marshmallows, and chocolate in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until marshmallows and chocolate are melted then add vanilla.

2.Pour into medium bowl and set bowl over larger bowl of ice water. Let stand, whisking often, until mixture is cool and thickened, 10-15 minutes. This is an important step, don’t try to leave it out. It is easy to do and helps give this the texture that it has.

3. In a separate bowl, beat cream until cream just holds stiff peaks.

4. Fold chocolate mixture into whipped cream. Spoon into dessert cups and refrigerate for about 2 hours or up to 2 days.

This post linked to Tasty Tuesday.

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I have been trying a lot of gluten free recipes, but I have realized that if I use a few simple techniques that incorporate the science behind gluten free cooking, I can easily adapt my favorite recipes to be gluten free. And honestly I find that the recipes that I adapt, usually turn out better than the recipes specifically for gluten free cooking.

Today’s recipe is an example of just that. Yesterday, I posted one of my favorite applesauce cake recipes. Today’s recipe for gluten free applesauce cake is adapted from that recipe. With a few tweaks and the use of gluten free flours, I came up with a gluten free version that is as good as the original one, and I truly mean that. My husband says he really thought they tasted the same.

Gluten Free Applesauce cake

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup white rice flour
• ½ cup potato starch
• ½ cup cornstarch
• ¼ cup corn flour
• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9x2″ baking pan.
2. Cream together the granulated sugar and shortening until fluffy using an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well.
3. In another bowl, mix together the flours, potato starch, cornstarch, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the raisins and nuts into the flour mixture.
4. Mix together the applesauce and vinegar and add alternately to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until the center of the cake is firm to the touch.
5. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

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I love to make cookies. They are one of my favorite things to bake. I used to make cookies all the time, however since going gluten free I have only made them twice. Gluten free cookies are just not the same. I am trying to come up with some good gluten free cookies by adapting some of my old favorites, but the results have been mixed.

However I have been craving cookies, so when I saw a recipe from Emeril for flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, I knew I wanted to try it. Not only do we love cookies in our house, we love peanut butter. So, I gave these a try.

We loved these cookies. It was so nice to have a cookie again that was really good. We loved these so much that they did not even last 24 hours. We ate way too many of these. I told my sister about these cookies and she decided to try them. Her family also loved these cookies.

One of the reasons I like this recipe is because it is a normal, but gluten free recipe. There is nothing strange or weird in these cookies. Anyone would have the ingredients on hand to make these. These are a cookie everyone would enjoy.

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips ( I used about 3/4 of a cup)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Take about 1 heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between your hands to form a smooth ball. Place the balls of dough on ungreased cookie sheets( I used my stoneware pan), spacing them 1 inch apart. You should get about 12 cookies per sheet. Flatten slightly.

Bake the cookies at 350 until the cookies are puffed and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 4-5 minutes. Then remove them onto wire racks to cool.

This post linked to DIY Day.

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I recently layered my peanut butter pudding with my chocolate pudding in a trifle bowl and took it to a church dinner, and everyone loved it. In fact several people asked me for the recipe.

I made this because I needed a quick, easy, and frugal dessert that would feed a lot of people. This was all of those things and worked great. Not only that what better combination is there than peanut butter and chocolate.

For more frugal desserts see Frugal Fridays.

This post also linked to Foodie Fridays.

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