Triple-Layer Banana Cream Pie Bars

We have a favorite ice cream place that makes the best Banana Cream Pie Shakes. We love a good shake, and I love the Banana Cream Pie shake because it is light and honestly...I can eat it all and not feel so bad as opposed to the Hot Fudge shake, with extra hot fudge. Anyhow this post is not a Banana Cream Pie shake, but Banana Cream Pie Bars that taste so close to the yummy shake that I love. It is so tasty, light, and delicious for a summer dessert! It is definitely a favorite at our house. I found this recipe in another Kraft Food & Family Magazine.

***Sorry for the lack of posting. I am 3 weeks away from having a baby, and have this huge desire to clean, organize, remodel, and do the things that would have been a lot easier 1 year ago when I didn't have a basketball in my tummy and could move a lot quicker without so much pain. My sister on the other hand is now pregnant, and sicker than ever. She doesn't even want to think about food, let alone look at our blog. We will do our best to keep up on the posts... in the meantime hang in there with us...please!!!

Triple-Layer Banana Cream Pie Bars
Kraft Food & Family - Jeff DeLong

1 1/2 cups crushed Nilla Wafers (about 60 wafers)
1/2 cup Planters Chopped Pecans
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 bananas, sliced
3 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
2 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix wafer crumbs, pecans and butter in 13X9-inch baking dish; press firmly onto bottom of dish. Bake 8 min. Cool 10 min.

Top crust with banana slices. Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Spoon 2 cups of the pudding over banana layer.

Gently stir 1 cup of the whipped topping into remaining pudding; spoon over pie. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups whipped topping. Refrigerate 3 hours. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Chipotle-Honey Pork & Strawberry Delight

Alright, I haven't posted in a LONG time. Thanks to my great sister for keeping up on this blog. She's truly a lifesaver. This recipe came from another one of those books I found while standing in line at the grocery store. It was absolutely amazing! I'm making it again this weekend. I cooked it for the exact time called for and it turned out perfect. The sauce added just the right spice to it.

Chipotle-Honey Pork
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (from 7 oz can), drained, finely chopped
1 tsp adobo sauce (from can of chiles, these are the cheapest at Walmart)
2 pork tenderloins (3/4 lb each, I got mine at Costco)
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Cooking spray

Heat grill. In saucepan, mix honey, lime juice, chiles & adobo sauce. Sprinkle pork tenderloins with salt & pepper; lightly spray with cooking spray. Place pork on grill over medium heat; cover grill. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally & brushing with honey mixture during last 10 minutes of cooking time, until pork has slight blush of pink in center. Heat any remaining honey mixture to rolling boil; boil 1 minute. Cup pork into slices; serve with honey mixture.

I don't know what else to call this except for Strawberry Delight. Years ago we were at my grandparents house and this is what they served us for dessert. I couldn't imagine dipping strawberries in sour cream. It was so good and I can remember that we just couldn't stop eating them. I had forgotten about this until my sister brought it to Arches last month. Again, we couldn't stop eating it. It's so yummy and I hope that you'll all give it a try.

Strawberry Delight

Strawberries

Sour Cream

Brown Sugar

Dip strawberries in sour cream and then in brown sugar. Enjoy!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

For my first time making homemade ice cream, I picked a great recipe to try out! This is absolutely delish! I have memories of homemade ice cream in the month of july and decided to finally try it myself. My sister-in-law gave us an ice cream maker for Christmas one year, and I have waited til now to break it out. I think I was a little nervous. What was I thinking...it was so easy! My family has a tradition of watching Fireworks and eating homemade ice cream and cookies to celebrate Pioneer Day. We all love this tradition and I am looking forward to it. I am especially excited for my boys to see the fireworks. There is something about being a parent and watching your child experience things for the first time that I just love. No more rambling...onto this yummy ice cream!
I think that some of the best recipes are found in your instruction book. At least this one was a winner! The only thing that I will do different next time is leave my graham crackers more chunky and not complete crumbs. I also used fresh strawberries. I used my handy dandy egg slicer to get them cut into small pieces running the strawberry through one way, then turning it a quarter turn and running through the other way to make small squares. It worked for me! I cut them up the day before and put them in the fridge until I was ready to use them. Look out...here come the calories! Now you will know why it tasted soooo good!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

1 8-ounce pkg cream cheese (softened)

2 cups frozen strawberries (slightly thawed)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions:

Allow cream cheese to soften and the strawberries to become slightly thawed. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add condensed milk until smooth, (I used my hand mixer...you could use a blender). Mix in heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Chop strawberries into small peices and stir into mixture. Stir in graham cracker crumbs. Mix well. Pour into canister. Plug in your machine, add your ice and salt, and let it churn, churn, churn!

When I was young we always wanted to be around when the ice cream was done, because Grandma & Grandpa would let us have the best taste... right off the dasher spatula. If we were lucky they would leave a lot of ice cream on it. I enjoyed licking it all by myself this time! Enjoy!

My favorite way to eat this yummy treat is in a nice sugar cone. It is a cool treat for a hot summer day! Happy Pioneer Day! I will be spending the rest of the week with family, in fact I get to go to my sister's kitchen and see what she has been up to. I'm excited to try out her yummy donuts on Pioneer Day!

Summer Strawberry Dessert

This is such a yummy, refreshing dessert. I got this recipe from a friend that used to live near me. She brought it to a potluck and I loved it. I have since made it for birthdays, book group & just for fun. Last night, I added the blueberries to make it a little patriotic and I loved it. It's perfect since this week is the 4th of July. ENJOY!

Strawberry Frost
Crust:
2 packages graham crackers crushed
2 Tbsp butter, melted (I use at least double that to hold it together better)
1 tsp sugar
Mix and press into 9x13 baking dish.

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream - whip and set aside.

Mix until fluffy (5 minutes)
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 cups frozen strawberries
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Gently fold in whip cream and spread mixture evenly over crust. Top with additional graham cracker crumbs. Freeze for 4 hours. Top with fresh strawberries or blueberries.

To simplify this already simple recipe, you could buy the ready made graham cracker pie crusts. I think this recipe would make at least 3, probably 4 pies. I love to use my Kitchen-aid when I make this. It works great breaking up the frozen strawberries. I'm not sure how well it would work with a hand mixer. If any of you try it, let me know. I think I'll try this with raspberries next.