Kraft Foods Delicious Desserts Pin & Win Sweepstakes #kraftrecipes

Attention all Pinterest and dessert fans:  I wanted to let you all know about the Kraft Foods Delicious Desserts Pin & Win Sweepstakes. There is a total of $2,500 in cash prizes up for grabs. Can you imagine winning a cash prize for pinning desserts? Um, I'm entering myself! The good thing is that you can get some great recipe ideas for the holiday season.

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER SWEEPSTAKES:

1. Go to pinterest.com/kraftrecipes and follow us.
2. In your Pinterest profile, create a new board called Kraft Delicious Desserts Recipes Pin and Win. The board name must include Kraft Dessert Recipes and be categorized under Food & Drink
3. Pin 10 or more of your favorite dessert recipes, from dessert.com OR kraftrecipes.com. Include #kraftrecipes in the description of each pin.
4. Email the URL link of your Kraft Delicious Dessert Recipes Pin and Win board to kraftrecipes-pinterest@kraftapps.com for a chance to win one of ten $200 VISA gift card first prizes OR the grand prize of a $500 VISA gift card.

What dessert would you bring to your holiday festivities? Get Pinning and let us know! All entries must be received between 11/1/12 and 11/21/12. NO Purchase Necessary. Open only to residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 years of age and older. Ends: 11/21/12. For complete details, see the Official Rules here.

I made up my own Pinterest board of desserts and here are a couple that I WILL be making this month:

Lemon-Blueberry Swirl Cake (I want this NOW!)

And White Chocolate Cheesecake (**drool**)

I can't wait to try out these recipes and encourage you to enter the sweepstakes yourself! Good luck! :)

Vollyeball, elections and cupcakes

I have to apologize for my lack of personal posts. My life has been consumed with obligations but most importantly, my family. The girls just finished up their volleyball season which allows me to have a little more free time. It was bittersweet for both girls. They did not win very many games but did play exceptionally well compared to the previous years. Chardie is an emotional wreck because her high school volleyball years are officially behind her. She wanted it all to be over, yet she will miss it. Brie had a hard time losing so many of their games but felt great winning the last game against their old coach. It was such a sweet victory for them. I have to say that Brie played amazingly all season long. She has so much talent and it was so cool seeing the two girls play together.

It is crazy that they girls are 16 and 18 now. Brie has outgrown all of us in height and is so mature. My baby girl has grown up and the next stop will be driving. She has not been very enthusiastic about driving like most teens would be, but she is ready now. It feels weird to say that I am mother to an adult child. The good thing is Chardie was in no rush to turn 18 and says she doesn't see what the big deal is. She will be voting in the election next month and is excited to do so. I still can't get over that! Speaking of election, I can't wait for it to be over! I know everyone has their views and opinions but social media makes you want to throw up with it in your face 24/7. I won't lie, I have had to unfollow and unfriend some people that got way too out of hand. Regardless of which way it goes there will continue to be unhappy people. I do have to say that this is the funniest thing I have seen all week!

I'm so sorry, I couldn't help myself!

Another thing that happened recently that has nothing to do with anything is I purchased some new kitchen gadgets. I have been baking and cooking since before I was a teenager and have never owned cake decoration supplies or cupcake transporters. How on earth do you have children in school for over a decade and not have anything to carry your cupcakes in? I have baked hundreds of cupcakes over the years and can't remember how I was sending them to school. I also have been wondering why I have never had icing bags with the piping tips. I am now officially obsessed with making pretty cupcakes. I do need to play around with the different tips to learn how to make more designs. I made this gorgeous cupcakes recently to sell at the girls' Dig Pink volleyball game to raise money for breast cancer.

They were white cake with homemade cream cheese frosting that I tinted to make pink. Pretty, huh? Speaking of baking, I am so excited about all the baking that will be going on in my kitchen over the course of the next few months. I have already made a wish list of some things I want to have to make my baking experiences better. Can't wait!

What's going on with you?

Silpat made my homemaker and baking dreams come true! {Review & Giveaway}

**Contest Closed** 

Winner is Sammi~ Congratulations!

For many years, I have watched the Food Network and Cooking Channels and have drooled over admired the professional chefs cooking gadgets. One particular item that always stuck out was the Silpat baking mat. When I got the offer to review one in my little old kitchen, I excitedly jumped at the chance! I really can't explain how giddy I got when I saw this little beauty for the first time.

I immediately started brainstorming ideas and recipes that I could make with my new Silpat Half size mat. After reading up and watching a video about Silpat, I was intrigued by so many things. Silpat is truly non-stick and never requires greasing. You get even baking every time and no burnt cookies on the bottom! You can use it up to 450 degrees baking temperature and it can be used up to 3000 times! That's good news for me since I bake all the time. I am amazed at all you can bake on a Silpat mat! 

I decided to bake up something savory; Cheesy Spinach & Artichoke Crescents. I took one of my favorite dip recipes and paired it with crescent roll dough. I really wanted to see how well the crescent roll dough would do since I find that they always stick to the pan and also either over-brown or brown unevenly. I just had to find out what would happen! 

For my filling I used a half pack of cream cheese, 1/2 pack of frozen spinach (thawed and water squeezed out), 1/2 of a small jar of marinated artichokes finely chopped, 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and a dash or two of red pepper flakes. You could double this recipe if you are making it with two cans of crescent roll dough (I only used one). I just spooned about a tablespoon of the cheese mixture on the crescent roll dough triangles and spread it out a bit. I rolled them up, placed them on my Silpat baking mat and brushed them with a little egg wash. I baked them at 375 for 16 minutes and this is what they turned out like. I have to mention that I normally NEVER bake anything at the temperature a recipe calls for. I always go 10 degrees under. This is the first time in forever I actually went according to the package baking instructions. 

Now here was where the true test came in. Is it possible for a crescent roll to come off of the baking surface without sticking? Not only did it come off easily, I was able to shift the pan and all of them slid to one end! I was able to pluck each one off with my fingers. No spatula needed! 

The bottoms were perfectly and evenly brown. Even the one or two splashes of egg wash came off perfectly. There was nothing stuck to the Silpat and all it took was a rinse to clean it. 

The Silpat baking mat has exceeded my expectations and have made my homemaker and baking dreams come true! I can't wait to bake all kinds of pastries, cookies and even roasted veggies and fish on it! I anticipate it will become my most used kitchen gadget of all time. Be sure to check out Silpat on the web, Facebook,  Twitter and Pinterest. I think this is a great gift to give for a  housewarming, Christmas, birthday, wedding or any occasion for that matter! 

How would you like to experience this amazing item for yourself? One very lucky Momfiles reader will win their very own Half Size Silpat Baking Mat! Enter below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on October 15, 2012. One winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email. Momfiles is not responsible for any lost or stolen prizes. Good luck!

I received a free product sample for review purposes. All opinions are completely my own, as always.

Adding to my cast iron cookware collection

If you have been a regular blog reader or you follow me on Facebook, then you would know how much I love to cook and bake. I have fallen in love with cast iron cookware in recent months. I currently own the big, two-sided griddle/grill, a small frying pan and now a large, deep pan (great for frying) and a shallow pan (great for steaks and for days when the big griddle is too much).

My hubby actually brought them home as a surprise. He bid on them and bought them at an auction. How thoughtful was that?! I am so excited that I have so many different size options and these will get plenty of use in the years to come. I am so happy they are pre-seasoned as well. Hopefully I will be able to properly maintain all of my pieces to be able to pass down to my kids. 

You will be seeing some upcoming recipe posts using my new pans in the near future :-)

Mini Sandwich Cookie Cheesecakes {Recipe}

Did you know that COOL WHIP is currently having a Fan Dessert of the Month contest on their Facebook page until the end of December? All you have to do is upload a photo of a COOL WHIP dessert you created for a chance to win $500! (one Grand prize winner per month)

I decided to create a recipe with some of the flavors my kids love the most... cookies, cheesecake and chocolate! I put together these adorable Mini Sandwich Cookie Cheesecakes.

The great part about this recipe is that it requires no baking and very few, simple ingredients. I used Snackwell's cookies but you can change up the variety of cookie or chocolate according to your family's taste. Here is the recipe:

Mini Sandwich Cookie Cheesecakes

What you will need:
1- 8 ounce tub of COOL WHIP
1 package of Cream Cheese
12 SnackWell's Creme Sandwich Cookies
6 mini milk chocolate bars
2 tbsp melted butter
1/3 powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
12 aluminum muffin liners
Additional cookies, milk chocolate and COOL WHIP for garnish (if desired)

How you make it:
Blend the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Crush 8 of the cookies until fine and mix with melted butter to make the crust. Press cookie crumb mixture into aluminum muffin liners and set aside. Chop up the remaining cookies and milk chocolate bars in small pieces and fold them, along with your COOL WHIP into cream cheese mixture. Spoon cheesecake mixture over each cookie crust and smooth it out. Refrigerate until firm and serve garnished with a dollop of COOL WHIP, a chunk of SnackWell's Creme Sandwich Cookie and a piece of milk chocolate.

My family instantly closed their eyes when they took the first bite of this yummy dessert. They loved it and have already requested I make it again. I really loved how nice the texture of the cookies were along with the smooth, creaminess of the cream cheese and COOL WHIP. If you try out this recipe, please let me know how you liked it.

Be sure to stay connected on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for great recipe ideas using COOL WHIP. Also check out Snackwell's on Facebook.

I am working in partnership with the COOL WHIP brand and I am receiving compensation for my participation in this campaign. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own

Eggland's Best "Your Best Recipe" Contest

EGGLAND’S BEST EGGS ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL RECIPE CONTEST Eggland’s Best “Your Best Recipe” Contest Provides At-home Chefs A Chance to Win $10,000

No longer relegated to only breakfast fare, eggs are taking center stage in dishes across the country, being featured in inventive ways that showcase its versatility and ability to bring new tastes and textures to everything from soups and salads, to pastas and burger toppings.

Eggland’s Best (EB), the No. 1 brand of eggs in the country known for its superior nutritional profile, freshness and quality, wants to recognize the culinary talents of at-home chefs with the announcement of the brand’s first-ever national recipe contest.

Call for entries to the Eggland’s Best “Your Best Recipe” Contest is open now through August 12, 2012 and at-home chefs can submit their best original recipe featuring at least two EB eggs online at www.egglandsbest.com/yourbestrecipe. A $1,000 prize will be awarded in each of the following four categories: Breakfast, Appetizer, Main Course, and Dessert and one at-home chef whose dish best showcases the use of Eggland’s Best eggs will be awarded a $10,000 grand prize.

 Helping to judge recipe entries are chef and cookbook author Candice Kumai, who also serves as a judge on Food Network’s Iron Chef America, as well as Elizabeth Ward, a nationally recognized registered dietitian. Both experts will be evaluating recipes based on the criteria of taste, presentation, availability of ingredients and creativity.

“The test of a true chef is in knowing how to cook eggs properly, and selecting the best ingredients to cook with,” says Chef Candice Kumai. “I personally use Eggland’s Best eggs because not only are they more nutritious than ordinary eggs, but the yolks are also plumper, creamier and brighter in color. Their freshness and quality ensure my egg dishes turn out consistently every time.”

For official contest rules and to submit your original recipe, visit Eggland's Best or Eggland's Best on Facebook.

Best Banana Muffins ever!

I had a couple overripe bananas and decided to make banana muffins. I looked up several recipes online but ended up changing things up and making my own version. I am so glad I did. They came out amazingly moist and not too sweet. Check out the recipe below. Chances are you should have most of the ingredients in your kitchen already.

Banana Muffins

What you need:

6 tablespoons of butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 brown sugar

2 very large or 3-4 small very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg (optional) 

1/2 tsp fine, Kosher or sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 all purpose flour

How to make them:

Blend together butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Add bananas and then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Fill muffin cups.  I used the foil baking cups that don't require any special pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool and enjoy! This recipe makes a dozen muffins. You could also add nuts or even ice with a cream cheese frosting or add a powdered sugar glaze. 

Let me know if you try this recipe! 

8th Continent Soymilk Review & Giveaway

**Contest Closed** Winners are kimmiesb, Krystel S, Kimberly, Maryann D and Dealsfan32. Congratulations to you all!

Hey guys! I wanted to share my review of 8th Continent Soymilk. I have always heard about the great health benefits of soy and thought I would check it out for myself. The girl in me just loves the fun prints on the cartons. Who wouldn't want to drink something that came in such a happy container? I was really amazed by the very long shelf-life, refrigerated of course. I picked up the Original variety to try out. I confess, I am not a big milk drinker so I have to drink mine out of a wine glass :) You know what? It was very delicious! I prefer the taste over traditional cow's milk. 8th Continent Soymilk comes in 8 varieties ~Original, Light and Fat-free versions including Chocolate and Vanilla. My husband wants me to buy the Light Vanilla so he can use them for his protein shakes.

I was checking out the website and I did not realize you can substitute 8th Continent Soymilk in almost all your recipes. They have some really nice recipes from all different categories. It's a great choice for those that are lactose-intolerant or live a gluten-free lifestyle. You can learn more about the health benefits of 8th Continent Soymilk here. Be sure to stay connected with 8th Continent Soymilk on Facebook and Twitter.

The great folks from 8th Continent have provided me with coupons for FREE product to give away to you guys! 5 winners will get 2 coupons each. Enter in the Rafflecopter widget below. Make sure to do the mandatory entry first in order for your extra entries to count.

How to jazz up store-bought desserts with COOL WHIP

I love to bake as often as possible since my family really enjoys home-baked goodies. There are some weeks that get a bit too hectic with carpool, activities, doctor appointments and errands. I sometimes have to rely on store-bought desserts for my family. I wanted to share some very easy ways that you can add a little something to ordinary store-bought items to make them extra special with COOL WHIP.

I started off with some chocolate brownie cookies and a sour cream angel food cake that I purchased on sale.

I took the angel food cake and sliced it up. I added some sliced strawberries that were tossed with a little bit of powdered sugar to enhance the sweetness and topped it off with a dollop of COOL WHIP. Pretty easy huh? It took me no time at all and I am reconsidering the amount of time I spend baking! This is a great idea for entertaining. Less time in the kitchen means more time with your guests.

Next up I took the chocolate brownie cookies and made a cool and minty treat. I put a small scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream on top of the cookie. I then added a dollop of COOL WHIP and sprinkled some brownie cookie crumbs on top. How cute it that?! My kids loved it and felt like they were eating a fancy dessert. The have already asked to have this dessert again but instead with vanilla ice cream, COOL WHIP and colored sprinkles.

You don't have to stress out about a dessert when you can take something so simple like a store-bought cake or pie and add a dollop of COOL WHIP along with your own special touches. I would love for you to share any ideas you have on how you can make store-bought desserts extra special. 

Be sure to stay connected on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for great recipe ideas using COOL WHIP. If you haven't already seen the behind-the-scenes footage from the COOL WHIP ad photo shoot, you can check them out here. 

I am working in partnership with the COOL WHIP brand and I am receiving compensation for my participation in this campaign. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Prize Pack Giveaway

Who loves home-baked cookies? *raises hand* I do! My family appreciates the scent of freshly baked cookies and of course eating them! Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies are ready to enjoy in 8-10 minutes and can be found at your local grocer. It is a convenient way to give your family the home-baked taste they love in the easiest way possible! Right now in time for Easter, you can find your family’s favorite Disney characters including Lightning McQueen from Cars and Minnie Mouse. We bought the Cars version and they came out so cute! The fact that 2 dozen cookies were all eaten within about 36 hours might be a good indication that they were yummy. 

I have one Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Prize pack to give away to one lucky Momfiles reader. The prize pack includes:

~A VIP coupon to purchase a package of Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies 

~Cookie Jar 

~Cookie Spatula 

~Oven Mitt  

Enter in the Rafflecopter widget:

COOL WHIP "What you add makes it" campaign update

Some of you might remember reading a post last month about my trip to New York City for a photo shoot for a campaign with COOL WHIP. This campaign is based on the notion that “what you add makes it.” As a mom, the little things you do, like adding a dollop of COOL WHIP to an otherwise simple cake or pie, turns ordinary into extra special. I am so happy that I was chosen for this campaign just for that reason! Everyone that knows me personally or through my online social networks know that this is all me. I really love the fact that COOL WHIP is doing a campaign using real moms. I'd say that is extra special!

I wanted to share the latest updates with you. If you go to the COOL WHIP Facebook page and click on the "Real Moms" tab you might see a familiar face or two.

I can't even describe what I felt like when I saw this. My family is thrilled and are looking forward to the ad launch in magazines due to hit newsstands in May for June issues. I will be featured in Every Day with Rachael Ray, Food Network, Cooking Light and Parenting Magazine School Years. To say I am excited is truly an understatement! Here is what my actual ad looks like:

You all have to check out one of the featured recipes for Strawberry Pie. It is so simple and does not require a whole lot of ingredients. This is a very impressive dessert and you will have your family and friends raving about it!

Strawberry Pie

Prep Time: 25 min. plus refrigerating | Total Time: 3 hours 25 min. (incl. refrigerating) | Makes: 8 servings.

What You Need:
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1/2 cup ice cubes
1-1/2 cups strawberries, halved
1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 cup milk
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Make It:
POUR milk into medium bowl. Add 1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Instant Pudding. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Spread onto bottom of crust. Add boiling water to gelatin mix in medium bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add ice; stir until melted. Let stand 5 min. or until slightly thickened. Meanwhile, arrange strawberries in single layer in center of pie. Cover with gelatin. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Serve topped with COOL WHIP.

If you try this recipe (or other featured recipes from the Facebook page) please let me know! I would really appreciate your feedback.

Be sure to stay connected on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for great recipe ideas using COOL WHIP.

I am working in partnership with the COOL WHIP brand and I am receiving compensation for my participation in this campaign. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Lemon Cheese Danish Recipe

I was playing around in the kitchen the other day and tried to figure out what I could do with some crescent roll dough I had in my refrigerator. I found cream cheese and fresh lemon. I tried searching for a Danish recipe and couldn't find what I was looking for so I made up my own filling using my favorite cheesecake ingredients. I came up with these cuties. I thought I would share the recipe...

For pastries:
2 tubes of Crescent Roll dough
1 package of cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For glaze:
1 tbsp melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk (more or less according to desired consistency)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to about 350 degrees. With a hand mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Add lemon juice, zest and extract. Separate crescent dough at the perforation. Place a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture on top and fold corners over. Place pastries on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for about 16 minutes or until nice and brown. While pastries are baking mix all the glaze ingredients together. It should be thin enough to drizzle over the top. When pastries are completely cook, dip a fork in glaze and drizzle desired amount over the pastries.

That's all. My family loved these so much and I think they would make a great brunch item. They are way better than the store bought Danish pastries. If you try them let me know how you liked them. Enjoy :)

Homemade is best

My 15 year old daughter Briahnna recently had a project for her Spanish class in which she had to bring in a food item from a specific country. She was assigned the country of Argentina. She browsed recipes and did her best to pick something that did not require us to have to buy too many ingredients. She chose Alfajores... basically two sugar cookies sandwiched together with dulce de leche (caramel). We almost considered purchasing store bought cookies and caramel but felt like it would have been cheating to do so. All in all, it was a long process of baking in batches and making the caramel filling. It took about 3 1/2 hours altogether. In the end it was well worth it. My daughter felt so proud of what she made and enjoyed her time in the kitchen. As for myself, I was so proud of my budding cook/foodie! She got to see and taste the difference by making something from scratch using high-quality ingredients. Her classmates and teacher enjoyed the cookies and she got an 'A' on the project.

She mixed up a batch of sugar cookie dough and I taught her a simple technique to make each cookie very uniform  in shape and size. 

The dulce de leche took about 2.3 hours to make! It came out really good though. This is one of those things that takes a lot of patience!

The finished teacher gifts

I spent the morning baking up these lovely little mini-loaves of blueberry crumb cake for the girls' teachers. By the way, the cake tastes even better the next day! I wrapped each cake (once cooled) in plastic wrap before putting them in the cello-bags. Brie chose the color and although it does not match the tags she did not seem to mind. Actually the whole family thinks it looks cute this way. The girls wrote their own personal message in the cards.



We even stuck a plastic knife in the bag just in case the teacher wanted a little snack. I sure hope they like them.


I can't believe this is the last week of school. I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend.

Blueberry crumb cake {a must-try recipe}

I was trying so hard to come up with something yummy to bake for the girls' teachers as an end of the school year "thank you" gift. Since I have a dozen+ teachers to give a gift to I figured baking was the most economical choice. I found this recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. I followed the recipe exactly as she stated except I got confused and I think there was a typo about adding cinnamon in the cake part. I only put the cinnamon in the crumb topping and it was perfect. I think if I added it in the cake it would have been over-kill.
I actually made this cake for us to test out before I go nuts baking a ton of cakes that were not very good. I will separate the batter into individual mini pans for the teachers. I think they will love it. My family really enjoyed it and I really liked the fact that the only ingredients I had to purchase was the blueberries and butter. I had everything else in my pantry/fridge. I tell you what, that Ree Drummond from The Pioneer Woman certainly knows her stuff!

Fun in the kitchen

On the Saturday before Mother's Day I got all my ingredients to bake up some loaves of pound cake for my neighbors. I used a Jacques Pepin recipe so I just knew it would be perfect. William was acting like a donkey that day. I called him into the kitchen and asked him if he wanted to help me bake a cake. He shot around the corner and back with his step stool in hand.

I had all of the ingredients measured out and ready to go. He enjoyed helping to add things and of course to mix them all up. He smiled the whole time. Sometimes during the day I will take the remote control and change the channel from Nick Jr. to the Cooking Channel or Food Network. William loves to watch Aaron McCargo Jr. and Guy Fieri (they are the only manly man chefs my husband approves of). William always yells out "He's cooking yummy food!!"


Although this photo is not all that great, it still warms my heart to know that my kid loves doing things like this with me. Guess what? The cakes came out delicious but sadly you needed a sip of water or milk after each bite. It would make you feel like you were about to choke. I will not be sharing this recipe with anyone! I was so disappointed that it was not what I was expecting. After all the butter and eggs that went into it I surely knew it would be moist. Nope, not this time. I did have fun with my boy and the girls gladly ate the cake. My ingredients and time did not go to waste :)