Ginger Pumpkin Trifle

This recipe came about in an attempt to combine as many of my husbands favorites as possible into one dessert. Pudding, whipped cream, pumpkin, cake...how can you go wrong? 

Well, you could realize half way through that you don't have any vanilla. Or you could totally underestimate the length of time the project will take. But never fear, I persevered, and my man was thrilled with the result. Mission accomplished!

On a side note, Steve, being the wise man he is, does what he can to encourage me to keep cooking. For this recipe I got to use my new immersion blender on the whipped cream. I love that tool! 

Leni's Notes:
~I took a short cut when I realized how much I had to do. I used a box mix for gingerbread instead of making my own. Any gingerbread will do, but you want enough to fill a 13x9 pan.
~The pudding is made purposely runny so that it will soak into the cake. If you want it firmer, use less pumpkin or more thickener.
~Feel free to cut the pudding recipe in half. I made extra because I knew that my family would make good use of the the extras. ;o)
~Regular whipped cream would work in this, but we ended up loving the version I made. It lended a nice flavor to the over all dish.

Layers:

Ingredients: Gingerbread
This is where I cheat. I recommend Krusteaz if you're not going to make it from scratch.

Instructions: Gingerbread
~Bake the cake, then cut into small squares, and spread out on a bigger pan to cool.
~Do not cover, you want it to kind of dry out.

Ingredients: Pumpkin Pudding
1 C raw sugar
2/3 C flour
6 Cup whole milk
4 eggs, beaten
1 (29 oz) can solid pack pumpkin (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions: Pumpkin Pudding
~Mix sugar and flour in large pot with a whisk.
~Pour in milk slowly, whisking until combined.
~Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly.
If it starts to scorch or stick, reduce heat. Don't walk away, you'll ruin the whole batch!
~When mixture starts to thicken and get bubbly, remove from heat.

~In a medium bowl, place beaten eggs. Slowly add in 2 cups of hot milk mixture, stirring continuously.
~Add pumpkin, and mix until thoroughly combined.
~Add egg mixture back into the pot with milk mixture and put back over medium heat.
~Continue to stir until mixture is just starting to boil.
~Remove from heat, add in vanilla and cinnamon.
~Put in bowl, and place saran wrap directly on surface.
~Place in fridge and let cool completely.

Ingredients: Whipped Cream
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 C powdered sugar
3 tsp pure maple extract

Instructions: Whipped Cream
If you have an immersion blender, now is your chance to use it! 
~Combine ingredients in a cold dish.
~Blend with hand mixer until cream holds a stiff peak.

Instructions: Layering
~Once the cake and pudding are completely cool, start the layering process.
~Cake, Pudding, Whipped Cream.
~Repeat.
~Top with cake crumbs.
~Cover and refrigerate.

Depending on the size of the bowl you use, you should have a little cake leftover and about half of the pudding. Enjoy as you see fit! ;o)

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,
Leni

Where's the Beef?!

I am sure that is the cry of my husband and children in recent days. They are coming home to a lot of what we call "at home fast food." Basically, I bought it in a grocery store, but that doesn't mean there's anything particularly healthy or inviting about it.

We've hit one of those seasons, which should be over rather quickly, but in the mean time must be endured. It's the end of the year, and for a homeschool family, that means a lot of things. For this homeschool family, we had a whole lot of time-sensitive things fall into this week.

School Stuff:
~Final Report and Evaluations needed to be written and sent in with test results.
~Letter of Intent and Lesson Plans written and turned in for next year.
(I do it all at once so I'm done for the summer.)
~Noelle's transcripts updated
~Finish planning Seth's graduation party
~Finish prep/host Seth's graduation party

Non-School Stuff
~Moriah's wedding invitations finished, weighed, stamped and mailed
~Shower invitations and registry lists made, addressed, mailed
~Extra work hours since boss is out of town
~Summer Reading program kick off
~Kids are out of school so the library has been inundated with people
(Yes, this is a good thing, but it puts me on overload!)
~Friends visiting from CA (highlight of the week!)
~Orthodontist and Chiropractic appointments
~Baby shower at church

All that to say that sometimes, no matter how badly you might want to feed your family a gourmet organic dinner, they're getting corn dogs!

More importantly, it's ok. No one is going to die from one week of less-than-stellar meals. But you might die from stress if you try to keep up a schedule like I have this week and try to put a four-course meal on the table. Sometimes you just have to let it go and move on. Make the best choices you can, and call it good.

God willing, I'll be back next week with something wholesome and yummy!

Confession Time

I had a nice visit with a group of ladies from our church last night. We were at a cooking demonstration,  and my daughter asked a question about how much the demonstrator cooked from scratch. She mentioned that she makes all of her own spaghetti sauce. I casually commented that spaghetti sauce was something I had never managed to master. My friend sitting next to me gasped and looked at me in wide-eyed disbelief. "What? You don't make your own sauce? You?!"  Who knew that I would be the cause of such disillusionment? ;o) 


Yes, it's true. While I'm sure there are many, many things I do not know about cooking, there are two things I know for certain that I am not good at. Spaghetti sauce and beef broth.  


I have never made a beef broth that was in any way palatable. I have followed every recipe, researched the modern wisdom of every Food Network Chef that's out there...I just can't pull it off. Lucky for me, Rachael Ray has done it for me, and after she's gone to all that trouble, it would just be rude to leave it sitting on the shelf!


To be fair, I have managed to make a spaghetti sauce that the family assured me was great, but I didn't think it was spectacular. And for as much work as I had to put into it, it needed to be spectacular for me to want to do it again! I see spaghetti sauce as my back up plan on any given day. When my day suddenly goes out of control and there is no time to cook, I can always open a jar of sauce, boil a pot of water for pasta and take some browned meat or meatballs out of the freezer to make a hearty meal that requires virtually no work. It's my cheater meal. 


So now that my cat's out of the bag, what's your deep dark secret? What stumps you in the kitchen? Is it something you wish you could master, or like me, are you totally fine with never learning how to make it? Leave a comment, let me know I'm not the only one!


Here's hoping that my buddy can get past the shock and still love me. Maybe I'll cook her something to restore her faith in me. 

I would like to thank Classico spaghetti sauce for helping me through my toughest mom days. ;o)

What to do When the Cook Doesn't Want to Cook?

And then there are days when you wake up in a bad mood, and the day continues to do go downhill from there. You ever have those days? I woke up in a bad mood today. There was no reason for it, but there it was. Fibro has sapped my energy for the last three days, and I just am not in a mood to be around people. Please don't touch me, or try to have conversation with me, I might bite! 

On these days, I tend to be very clumsy, and working in the kitchen is just a bad idea that might result in a trip to the ER for cuts or burns...

On days like these, I am so thankful for back up plans! 

I try to keep the makings for 'fast food at home' in the freezer and pantry. Tonight ended up being Chicken Parmesan. 

I pulled out some Tyson Chicken Breast Fillets. Popped those in the oven while I cooked up some whole wheat spaghetti (and promptly burned myself!) When the chicken was done, I topped it with some Classico Marinara and shredded mozzerella, and popped it back in the oven for a couple minutes.

I then was a gracious host to my family and yelled, "FOOD!" Everyone served themselves and I reveled in the fact that they were fed and I was guilt free. Now I am collapsing and hoping there's something good to watch on TV because I am beat.