Twinkie Cake

Twinkie, Twinkie, Twinkie ~ is that a fun word or what!

I haven't had a Twinkie in about ten years, but when I found this recipe a week or so ago on Southern Plate, I thought now that looks yummy!  I was looking for a new dessert to make for my daughter's annual swim team picnic and thought this would be perfect.  Last year I made Pool Party Cupcakes (see post here) and they are definitely cute, but I wanted to make something different.  Don't you just love my Le Creuset Caribbean Blue Bake Dish!  I think the color is so pretty and makes my dessert look even better.  I got it from CSN Stores.  They have everything you can image from housewares to twin beds ~ check them out.

Anyway, back to my Twinkie Cake. It is a cool and refreshing dessert and tastes great too!  Enjoy :)

Twinkie Cake

recipe from Southern Plate

1 box (10) of Hostess Twinkies

 (you will only use 9)

4 large bananas, sliced

1 large (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained

1 large box Vanilla Instant Pudding (mixed with milk according to pkg. directions)

1 - 8 oz. Cool Whip

Maraschino Cherries and nuts for garnish

Remove Twinkie cakes from wrappers.  Cut each in half lengthwise from top to bottom. Place Twinkie halves in 9 x 13 baking dish with cream side facing up.  Layer sliced bananas, pineapple, pudding, and Cool Whip over Twinkies in that order.  Sprinkle with cherries (drained well on paper towels) and chopped nuts.  Keep refrigerated.

Linking to:
Weekend Wrap Up Party
I'm Lovin' It Fridays at Tidy Mom

Blackberry Cobbler

My mom had all of us over for lunch on Sunday after church.  We love going to Mom & Dad's to eat, especially in the summer time when their garden is full of fresh veggies!  She served us a delicious spiral baked ham, little red potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Everything came from their garden, except the ham of course.  The meal was delish!!

Since Mom was doing all of the cooking, I told her I would bring dessert. 

I thought a fruit cobbler would be perfect with her summer garden meal and it was.

You can use this recipe for any type of berry you prefer.  Enjoy!

Blackberry Cobbler

2 C Berries, frozen or fresh

1/2 C sugar

1 C milk

1 C Self-Rising Flour

1 C sugar

1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place 1 T of butter on top of berries in a small bowl.  Pour 1/2 cup sugar over berries and stir.  Heat in microwave for about 1 minute so that sugar and butter begin to melt.

Cut your stick of butter into several squares and place them all in a glass bake dish.  I use an 8 x 11.5 x 2 inch clear glass bake dish.  Place the bake dish in the oven to melt the butter.

Mix together 1 cup self-rising flour and 1 cup sugar until blended.  Pour in 1 cup milk and miz until blended.

After butter is melted, take bake dish out of the oven and pour the batter on top of the melted butter.

Pour berries on top of batter.  Do not stir!!  Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the cobbler.

Bake for about 55 mintues or until golden.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream - yum!

Linking  To:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesdays At the Table
Weekend Wrap Up Party at TaterTots and Jello

Family Vacation at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

We spent 4th of July week at our favorite place ~ Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort in South Carolina.  We absolutely love Hilton Head Island, and of course anything Disney related is always fun.  My in-laws flew in from Texas, so we really enjoyed spending the week and catching up with them.  Most of the time we go out for dinner since vacation is all about relaxing and new experiences, but I decided I was going to make my Low Country Boil (click here for the recipe) for the 4th so we could avoid the crowds. We biked around and found this wonderful little seafood stand called Barnacle Bill's for our shrimp.  Barnacle Bill was so nice and he even let me take his picture. Wish we could have had those lobster tails for dinner, but the shrimp was definitely more afforable!

Barnacle Bill also had some nice tomatoes, so we grabbed a few of them for our salad.  They were so sweet and tasty! So our 4th of July dinner consisted of a Low Country Boil, Tossed Salad, rolls and my Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie for dessert.  See this post for the recipe - it's the bomb!  My daughter and father-in-law fought over the last piece - next year I will definitely have to make two.

For those of you that know about my Diet Coke addiction, this is my absolute favorite thing about vacationing at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort.  I know it's sad, but it's true!!!  As soon as we get to the resort I buy us these refillable Disney mugs.  They cost about $15 each with tax, but I can fill it up from morning to night with as much Diet Coke as I can drink for our entire stay!  I am in Diet Coke heaven!! I love you Mickey!

One of our favorite places to dine outside in Hilton Head is Scott's Fish Market in Shelter Cove.  The view is so pretty and the food is wonderful.  My mother-in-law ordered this Mojito for me.  She actually said I had to drink one with her!  Is she the best mother-in-law or what!  Scott makes a mean mojito!

I ordered this Grilled Shrimp Salad for dinner and ate every last bite!

Another one of our favorite spots is this little dive called the Sea Shack.  This restaurant is really small inside, but definely big on taste!  Each day they offer different sides to go with your seafood choice and let me tell ya....you want to go on the day they have Sweet Potato Cornbread!  This stuff is amazing!!!  I was lucky enough to get the recipe and will be trying it at home soon, so stay tuned.

Madison's favorite breakfast was her Mickey Mouse waffle.  Yes, even teenagers love Mickey!

Well I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of our family vacation and if you ever get the chance to stay at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, you should definitely go. 

Thank you Chere and Ron for a wonderful vacation!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Here is one of the recipes from my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary party I promised.

I found these wonderful treats on Tasty Kitchen and boy are they yummy! 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

recipe from Tasty Kitchen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup butter or margarine, room temperature

3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cups milk or soy milk

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

14 ounces Chocolate Candy Coating (I used Wilton Candy Melts)

Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add milk and vanilla.  Stir in flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.

When dough is firm enough to handle, form dough into 1 inch balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  Place sheets in the freezer and let chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate candy coating in microwave according to package directions.  Using a fork or dipping tool, dip cookie balls into the candy coating to cover.  Tap fork on the side of the pan to remove any excess coating and return to the waxed paper-lined baking sheets.  Chill until set.  Store, chilled in an airtight container for up to 1 week.