March was the month of desserts for us! I made four different desserts over the course of 5 days, and three of them were new and enjoyed very much. We also tried a few other new recipes. Here's the rundown:
The month started off cool, which calls for soup! We tried Italian Soup from Midwest Living, and it was great. I will definitely put this in our rotation for winter soups. The only adjustment we made to this recipe is that we excluded the celery because I didn't have any. It was fine without it :)
About mid-month, I found a pork loin on sale and picked that up to make Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Loin. This one is a Martha Stewart recipe and I am always leary of them because of the long list of ingredients and instructions, but this one wound up being quite easy. I made the marinade on a Saturday morning and it sat in the fridge through the day, then cooked up late afternoon. It was delicious! There is also a prune and apple chutney that goes with this recipe, but we just used the liquid from the pan and some horseradish and that was the perfect compliment.
.jpg)
The third recipe we made this month was from our Taste of Home Easy Cooking book, and it is called Peppy Parmesan Pasta. It was great - a nice alternative to the pasta with canned sauce that we normally eat mid-week. We did omit the olives since no one in our house is a fan.
.jpg)
Next up are the desserts. The first one is a long-overdue birthday cake for my mom called a Snowball Cake (I did have to log on to Family Circle's site to get to this recipe, but found I already have a logon since I am part of APQ's site too, so you might already have a logon too!). I thought it was perfect for her because she loves winter, chocolate, and coconut! It starts with a cake mix, but then has some add-ins and homemade icing. In the end, it was delicious!
.jpg)
The next night, I had my bunco group here, so made the Easy Berry Fruit Tart for dessert. The only finicky thing about this recipe is finding creme fraiche, which I can get locally at Trader Joe's. This one was lick-your-lips good and we didn't have a spare piece left over. This may become my go-to recipe each year when the berries are in season!
.jpg)
A few days after that, I made the American Berry No Bake Cheesecake (I can't remember why now!). It was also very good, and Jack did the placement of the fruits across the top. The recipe calls for a flag pattern, but he went another direction. The kids didn't care for the cheesecake that much, so I probably won't make this one as a family dessert that much.
.jpg)
Last recipe for the month was Banana Bars, a recipe written out by our daycare teacher many years ago. Jack loved bananas as a toddler and he loved these bars when they made them at school, so she sent home the recipe and we'd never made it. It was a really easy one to make with older bananas, and I actually prefer it to banana bread, which is my usual go-to recipe with old bananas. (If you want the recipe for this one, just leave me a comment and I will mail it to you.)
This didn't even begin to put a dent in all the dessert recipes we have, but it was a great chance to try a few of them! Hope you find something you'd like to try this month!
The month started off cool, which calls for soup! We tried Italian Soup from Midwest Living, and it was great. I will definitely put this in our rotation for winter soups. The only adjustment we made to this recipe is that we excluded the celery because I didn't have any. It was fine without it :)
About mid-month, I found a pork loin on sale and picked that up to make Brown Sugar Glazed Pork Loin. This one is a Martha Stewart recipe and I am always leary of them because of the long list of ingredients and instructions, but this one wound up being quite easy. I made the marinade on a Saturday morning and it sat in the fridge through the day, then cooked up late afternoon. It was delicious! There is also a prune and apple chutney that goes with this recipe, but we just used the liquid from the pan and some horseradish and that was the perfect compliment.
The third recipe we made this month was from our Taste of Home Easy Cooking book, and it is called Peppy Parmesan Pasta. It was great - a nice alternative to the pasta with canned sauce that we normally eat mid-week. We did omit the olives since no one in our house is a fan.
Next up are the desserts. The first one is a long-overdue birthday cake for my mom called a Snowball Cake (I did have to log on to Family Circle's site to get to this recipe, but found I already have a logon since I am part of APQ's site too, so you might already have a logon too!). I thought it was perfect for her because she loves winter, chocolate, and coconut! It starts with a cake mix, but then has some add-ins and homemade icing. In the end, it was delicious!
The next night, I had my bunco group here, so made the Easy Berry Fruit Tart for dessert. The only finicky thing about this recipe is finding creme fraiche, which I can get locally at Trader Joe's. This one was lick-your-lips good and we didn't have a spare piece left over. This may become my go-to recipe each year when the berries are in season!
A few days after that, I made the American Berry No Bake Cheesecake (I can't remember why now!). It was also very good, and Jack did the placement of the fruits across the top. The recipe calls for a flag pattern, but he went another direction. The kids didn't care for the cheesecake that much, so I probably won't make this one as a family dessert that much.
Last recipe for the month was Banana Bars, a recipe written out by our daycare teacher many years ago. Jack loved bananas as a toddler and he loved these bars when they made them at school, so she sent home the recipe and we'd never made it. It was a really easy one to make with older bananas, and I actually prefer it to banana bread, which is my usual go-to recipe with old bananas. (If you want the recipe for this one, just leave me a comment and I will mail it to you.)
 |
| We devoured most of the pan before I could get a picture! |
Comments