7 Layer Dip

My mother-in-law shared this yummy dip with me. It is so delicious. It goes great with any Mexican meal. Give it a try, you'll see what I mean!

7-Layer Dip

Layer in a 13x9 dish in the following order:
1. Bean dip (I use 1 can of refried beans)
2. Cheese dip (I use salsa con queso)
3. Guacomole (I buy it in a 3 pack at Costco and use 1 package)
4. 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonaise, and 1 pkg. taco seasoning (mix these 3 ingredients together to make 4th layer)
5. Chopped green onions
6. Diced Tomatoes
7. Olives

Top with a layer of cheese and serve with tortilla chips

Strawberry Cream Puff Cake

I have been meaning to post this delicious recipe ever since I made it before my little boy was born. Unfortunately it got caught in the drafts and forgotten. So here it is finally! This is my absolute favorite dessert now, but I only make it when strawberries are a good price. Except, now that I am posting this I have a strong desire to make it right now. I may have to find some strawberries at the grocery store this week!

This is another delicious recipe from Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe. I am always drawn to her recipes. And for good reason too!

Cream Puff Base:

5 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
2/3 cup flour
3 eggs

Cream Cheese Mixture:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar

For the cream puff layer, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring the butter, water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the flour all at once and stir quickly until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the mixture until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is shiny with a satiny sheen. Don’t overbeat. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan (or in a pinch, you could use a 9-inch circle cake pan). Using an offset spatula, spread the mixture on the bottom and one inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and prick pastry with a toothpick 10-12 times. Return to the oven and bake 5-10 minutes more until golden brown but not overbaked (you can insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out with sticky dough, it still needs longer in the oven). Cool completely.

For the cream cheese mixture, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar (if you want to ensure there are no lumps, sift the powdered sugar into the cream cheese) and beat with the cream cheese until mixture is smooth and light. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread onto the cooled cream puff shell.

Top with fresh sliced strawberries (I mixed 2 cups of strawberries with 1 teaspoon sugar and let them hang out in the fridge while I was prepping the cake) or you can use a 16-ounce bag of frozen strawberries that have been thawed. Mix the thawed strawberries and juice with 1-2 teaspoons sugar and bring to a simmer in a saucepan. Cook until slightly thickened. Cool completely and use as topping for the cake.

Banana Bread

I have been making this banana bread ever since my sweet husband found the recipe on allrecipes.com! We had very ripe bananas and we decided to whip up some banana bread. Fortunately for us he picked a great recipe and it quickly became a family favorite. I like to make it in the mini loaf pans so that I can share it with friends! If you use mini loaf pans then it takes 3 for 1 batch.

Banana Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups of flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a wooden spoon, mix butter and mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last and mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.