Happy Pi(e) Day! Easy Banana Cream Pie

3.14.... Pi(e) day! 

How fun to have a specific day to make and eat pie. Or just eat pie, whichever you prefer.  Pi(e) day falls on one of my favorite days of the year... my mom's birthday! Not only do I get to celebrate the day with pie, I also get to celebrate my mom! 

My husband doesn't like cake. But, he does like pie. I told him I was making this pie for Pi(e) day, and his response was: "Couldn't you choose a better pie to make?" Needless to say, his favorite pie is not Banana Cream. 

*Update: I asked him what kind of pie he would like, and he said, "Shepherds Pie." Definitely not on the same page.

I chose Banana Cream for two reasons:
1. It's SO SIMPLE. This Mama of a 1 year old needs every extra minute to make sure she isn't tearing the house apart. Although old-fashioned Banana Cream Pie is very delicious, I have no time to make my own pudding or pie shell. Nope. 

2. Spring!! Is it just me, or does Banana Cream remind anyone else of spring? Finally the weather is starting to get nicer and the refreshing taste of banana is a nice break from the ginger, cranberry, and apple flavors that fall and winter have (although all those flavors are wonderful!).

I tried to make this as easy as possible. I only had about 15 minutes left in my little girl's nap. I took a pre-made graham cracker shell from the store. I chose the smaller size since I knew I would be the only one eating it :)
This is the part where my Mom would roll her eyes. She's a "make it yourself" pie crust maker, and they always taste so good... but I had no time... Sorry Mom!

What You'll Need:
- One Pre-made pie shell from the store. Or, you can make your own.
- Two bananas
- One package vanilla pudding mix
- One container of whipped topping, or 1 cup whipping cream to whip yourself (will whip into more than 1 cup)
-Vanilla Wafer cookies

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Cut up the two bananas into slices. Lay slices on the bottom of pie shell. If you get the smaller shell, you'll only need about one banana sliced. 

Crush up some Vanilla Wafer cookies (I used 5). Sprinkle on top of the banana slices. Add more or less, depending on your preference!

Make pudding according to package instructions. I used vanilla pudding rather than Banana flavor. As much as I like Banana Cream... I don't want it to have an overly banana flavor. Plus, the banana slices at the bottom add just enough banana flavor that it doesn't over power. Once your pudding has set, fold in a cup of the whipped topping. 
*If you make your own whipped topping, be sure you DON'T over whip it. That will turn it into a butter-like stiffness. Not good in a Banana Cream Pie ;)

Once the pudding and the whipped topping is combined, fill in over the bananas and wafer cookies. Let this set for about 2 hours in the refrigerator. 

 Once the pie has set, remove from the refrigerator and add remaining whipped topping. Decorate with Vanilla Wafer Cookies and bananas! I crumbled a few cookies too to add some texture. You can get creative and add in toasted coconut on top, or caramel drizzle...  yum! Wait to decorate if you aren't serving right away. You don't want soggy cookies!

 You can see the slices of banana on the bottom when you cut into it. It's sooooo good y'all!

 Took less than 15 minutes to put together! Drool-worthy!

ALLLLL mine!!!

S'mores Bark

It's finally summer here in the midwest (okay - kinda. It was only mid-50's the other morning... ugh)
The days do get warmer, thank goodness! I love love love summer. I love the constant sunshine, the heat, the leafy trees, flowers, blue sky, the heat, grilling, going for walks, the heat. 
The thing I don't like about summer: it ends way too soon here! :(


When I was pregnant with my daughter, the only thing I really craved was S'mores. I can't tell you how many times I made S'mores over my 9 month pregnancy. There's a small market here that sold S'more candy bars, a brick of chocolate covered marshmallow between two graham crackers. I had to have eaten at least 4 a week. They definitely made money off of this pregnant lady! I stuck them in the fridge and they were chilled and crispy and gooey and oh so good. 

If I only would have known then, how EASY it was to make S'mores bark I would have never spent another dollar on those bars! 

So since summer is in full swing, and nothing says summer like S'mores, here is my S'more bark recipe!

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What You'll Need:

- 2 bags of your favorite chocolate chips, divided; 1 cup for the bottom layer & 2 cups for the top layer (one 10 oz bag of chocolate chips yields 2 cups)

- Half of a bag of marshmallows, or 1 cup marshmallow fluff

- 4 sheets of graham crackers, divided; 3 sheets large crumbled & 1 sheet finely crumbled

- 1 Tablespoon corn syrup or butter (omit if you use Marshmallow fluff)

For my chocolate chips I love these from Ghirardelli. The 60% cacao (bittersweet) makes these a little less sweet than milk chocolate chips. Bittersweet is definitely the way to go! But, you can choose what kind of chocolate you want to use. Milk chocolate is more of the "traditional" taste of a S'more, but I think the bittersweet tastes better with the marshmallow and graham crackers! 

Start by prepping your graham crackers. In one bowl, crumble up 3 sheets in larger crumbs. In a smaller bowl, crumble up 1 sheet into fine crumbs. These will be used later when the marshmallows are melted, and you have to use them quickly! 

Melt 1 cup of the chocolate in a double boiler (You can make one using a glass bowl over a saucepan. The saucepan will have a little bit on water on the bottom. Once the water boils the steam will melt the chocolate. Make sure the bowl is NOT touching the water in the saucepan. Also make sure none of the water or steam get into the chocolate, or it will seize and you'll have to start over. Boo.)

Once it is melted, evenly spread onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Once spread evenly, but not too thin, set in freezer for about 10 minutes. 

Before you get the first layer of chocolate out of the freezer, start making your marshmallow layer. If you are using marshmallow fluff, heat it up in the microwave until it's easily spreadable. If you are using marshmallows, heat them either in a double boiler, or in it's own saucepan. I've tried both, and I prefer to melt them in a saucepan. It makes it easier to mix and melt. The thing with marshmallows is because it is mostly sugar, it will scorch easily so you have to be constantly stirring them. Once they start to melt, add in your corn syrup or butter (butter may give it a slight yellow color). Once the marshmallows are almost melted, get your chocolate layer from the freezer. 

When the marshmallows are fully melted, pour over frozen chocolate and spread. While the marshmallows are still warm, spread the 3 sheets of large crumbled graham crackers over and press in lightly. Put in freezer for about 10 minutes or until firm.

Melt your 2 cups of chocolate chips in the same bowl you melted the chocolate chips before (yay for one less bowl to clean!) 

When the marshmallow layer has firmed up, take it out of the freezer and spread the second chocolate layer on top.

When the second layer of chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the fine crumbs of graham crackers over top. Put the bark back in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

After 2 hours, your bark will look like this! Slide the bark off of the baking sheet and onto a cutting board. Cut into pieces as small or big as you want.

There it is! S'mores bark! You can keep in the fridge for a more chilled bark, or on the counter for a warm, slightly messy bark. Both ways are the best ways. 

Hot German Potato Salad

I. Love. German. Food.

There is nothing better than a big pot full of hot potato salad with a side of german red cabbage & spätzle with buttered bread crumbs. SWOON.

When I was little, my Grandma would make this for me whenever we visited. It's perfectly sweet with a tang. Bunches of starchy potatoes and a kiss of the bacon. I make this whenever I have potatoes on hand. It's so simple!

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What You'll Need:

- 5 cups diced potatoes (I used about 6-7 red potatoes,   
  depending on size. If you have smaller red potatoes, use 
  about 10)

- 4 slices of bacon, diced (or more if you want. because bacon.)

- 1 half onion, diced

- 1/2 cup vinegar (white or apple cider)

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 cup water

So simple!! 

Dice the potatoes and put them in a pot with salted water to soften. You don't want them TOO soft, or they will make the potato salad more like mashed potatoes. But you also don't want them too hard or your salad won't get creamy. Cook them until a fork can easily slide through, but not break them apart. I would say about 10-15 minutes. My Grandma would cook the potatoes whole and dice up after, which you could do. I find that it takes longer to cook them whole than when you dice before. Also, she peeled her potatoes and I like the taste of the red potato skin so I keep mine on. You can peel if you want! (If I use russet, I will peel)

In a large pot, brown your bacon.

Once your bacon has browned, caramelize your onion in the bacon fat. Once caramelized to your likeness, remove excess fat from pot (or keep it in, no judgements here!)

When the excess fat has been removed, add the bacon back in. Add in the water, sugar, and vinegar and mix together. Bring to a boil.

Once your liquid has come to a boil, add in your cooked potatoes. 

Lower the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. (In my Grandma's recipe she said "let simmer awhile" I love that back in the day they just knew when something was done. They weren't confined to strict cook times!)

Stir occasionally, and eventually the starches from the potatoes will help thicken the liquid and it will get creamy. Once it starts to thicken and get creamy, it is done.

Y'ALL. This is the good stuff. I could eat this whole bowl. PLUS, this tastes just as good the next day. You'll love it!

Butternut Squash "Pizza" Sauce

It's been about 5 years since I've had a slice of authentic, red sauce pizza. 

Turns out, My body can't handle the red sauce. I found out the hard way :-|

I don't miss it too much, because I know I definitely don't want to feel how I felt ever again. It was terrible! So, I swore off ALL PIZZA. People, I didn't eat one single slice of pizza for a LONG TIME.

However, after about 4 years of being off the sauce, I missed being able to put a cold piece of pizza in my mouth for breakfast (anyone else like cold pizza more than warm pizza??). The PNO's will do that to you with their Pizza Friday traditions.

I had a brilliant idea. What if I used a different kind of sauce? (duh.) The olive oil pizzas were too oily for me, and I'm not a fan of pesto (wow - I swear I'm really not that picky!) 

One day I came across a recipe for butternut squash sauce. I was intrigued. Squash for pizza sauce?? Now, I have an interesting palate (peanut butter and pickle sandwiches

 anyone??) So I was willing to give it a try - and I am so glad I did! 

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What You'll Need:

- 1 medium butternut squash (a 2 pounder will yield about 3 cups)

- 2 garlic cloves (or one if it's large)

- olive oil

- salt and pepper 

- about 1/2 cup chicken broth or water (for blending)

This was a large clove of garlic so I only used one

Peel Butternut squash with potato peeler (or knife if you are feeling adventurous) 

Cut the squash in half lengthwise & scoop out the seeds

Chop up butternut squash and put in a bowl. Sprinkle about a Tablespoon of olive oil over them. Then add salt and pepper to taste. Once the chunks are coated, lay on a single layer on your baking sheet. Peel garlic and place on baking sheet too. 

Cook in a 400* oven for about 20 minutes or until they are browned and a fork can easily go through them. 

Once they are cooled slightly, add them to your blender. Pulse. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth slowly and keep pulsing until desired consistency (you may need to add more, depending on your blender and the texture you are wanting)

The blender makes it look chunkier than it is. This has no chunks, but is a thicker consistency. YUM!

Out of the blender, I mixed it a little more to smooth out the consistency from the blades. This goes great on pizza! I'll have a pizza post soon. I've also used this for baked pasta which is also tasty! 

To store leftovers, I use this great baby food storage container. They portion, AND they pop out so easy so you can just pop as many as you want in a small kettle to warm up! It's perfect! I also freeze this to last longer, especially if I know I won't use this sauce for a bit! Definitely recommend this! 

Chocolate Chip Rhubarb Cookies

You read that right, Chocolate Chip Rhubarb Cookies! Doesn't that sound weird? I have never heard of chocolate and rhubarb together before, and was a little apprehensive how it would taste. 
My thought was... you put strawberry and rhubarb together, and chocolate and strawberry, so why not chocolate and rhubarb? Is that a normal thought process for anyone else? :)

I love, love, love rhubarb. Like most people, it took some time for me to actually love it. A celery-looking stalk that you put in desserts? No thank you. BUT THEN, I actually tried a rhubarb dessert and I was in love with that prettier looking celery stalk. It was tart and juicy... Why did it take me so long to try it?? 

Here's the thing. For me, rhubarb needs to be in something other than a custard-like dessert. Rhubarb bread? YES. Rhubarb tart? YES. Rhubarb custard pie? Meh. 

I wanted to make something different & tasty, that didn't have a custard filling. 

And then it came to me: Chocolate Chip Rhubarb Cookies!!

I'm a sucker for chocolate chip cookies. The soft, chewy, goodness with bits of chocolate... oh my. There are 7,923 ways to make chocolate chip cookies, and it took me a few years to figure out my recipe. Ever since I figured out my perfect chocolate chip cookie, I have never made any other recipe. It's love, people.

The secret ingredient that makes it so good..... pudding mix! 

(This plate was gone by 9pm)

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What You'll Need:

- 1 cup butter, softened

- 3/4 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup white sugar

- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix 

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 2 eggs

- 2 1/4 cup flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 cup chocolate chips

- 3/4 - 1 cup rhubarb, chopped small 

If you like more chocolate chips in your cookies, add more!

You want to chop your rhubarb small, but not too thin. If it's too thin, it will be hard to get the rhubarb taste. This is the perfect size.

Add the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla in bowl

Mix until well blended and creamy

Beat in eggs until well mixed

Gradually add in your flour and baking soda until well mixed and dough forms

Mix in your chocolate chips and rhubarb

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out each cookie. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown

Y'ALL. If you have any rhubarb and love chocolate chip cookies, you have to give this a try. It's so good! The tart rhubarb combined with the sweet chocolate make this such a delectable cookie! Don't let the rhubarb scare you... before you know it, you'll eat the whole plate of cookies too!