Easy Patriotic Pie for the Fourth of July and more

It’s time for another super easy Fourth of July Dessert. I don’t know about your family, but we all love Jello-O and especially when you add Cool Whip, it’s always a hit around this house! This Easy Patriotic Pie goes together in minutes and can be made ahead of time!

While browsing around Kraft, where I found the inspiration for the Firecracker Cupcakes, I spotted this Patriotic Pie. It’s super easy but looks impressive, just the way I like it. And even better…it can be made a couple days ahead and stays great in the fridge.

How festive and it couldn’t be easier!

Celebrate 4th of July on Hoosier Homemade! 

     

I’m honored to be a part of the 2013 Kraft Tastemaker Community, I am teaming up with Kraft Foods to share with you recipes using everyday ingredients that are sure to please your family!

Happy Monday! Let’s kick off this week right! Join us as we begin our 4th of July Celebration with Red, White & Blue Week! Stay tuned all this week as I share yummy recipes, crafts and decorating ideas, all with a Red, White & Blue Theme!

4th of July is one of my favorite holidays! Our town hosts a huge parade and fireworks, with several events leading up to the big day. Potlucks and picnics also play a big part in the holiday fun, and of course the delicious Picnic Food is always top on everyone’s list. Another favorite is JELL-O, serving these JELL-O Parfaits for a 4th of July Treat is simple and delicious!

One of the reasons I love this holiday so much are all the 4th of July recipes; from Hot Dogs, to Pasta Salad, to Kabobs and everything in between. And let’s not forget the dessert. Just by taking an ordinary recipe for finger JELL-O, making it with Cherry and Berry Blue JELL-O, adding COOL WHIP whipped topping and layering it in small pint jars, adds a special festive touch to this dessert.

There isn’t a man, women or child that I know that doesn’t love JELL-O, especially when it’s served in a fun way. The recipe for finger JELL-O is one that I have served for many, many years to my children. Their classmates would love when I brought in some for the class parties. There are lots of different flavors of JELL-O for you to enjoy for any holiday.

You can serve them straight from the jar, or add the lid and pack them in the cooler for your Potluck or Picnic. Either way, these 4th of July JELL-O Parfaits are sure to be a hit with your family and friends.

Celebrate 4th of July on Hoosier Homemade!

For more recipes visit KraftRecipes.com

     

Summer is upon us and you know what that means…hot days, fun at the beach, cook outs and lots of fresh produce. Serving fruit to your family is simple. Whether eaten alone or mixed together to make a fruit salad, baked into a pie, added to a salad or making Homemade Fresh Fruit Popsicles. Fresh fruit is healthy and delicious.

Growing up in the Midwest there were times when getting fresh fruit was definitely a challenge. There wasn’t a good way to get fresh fruit except when it was in season at the local orchards and fruit farms. The vivid memories of sunny days spent with my sons picking blueberries as a family is something I cherish. Hopefully we have given them the same vivid memories of our trips to the local blueberry farms. As they have gotten older it seems harder to find the time when we all can take the time to go picking.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the treats we make from fresh blueberries year round. You just have to know where to get the best quality fruit year round and knowing what to look for is just as important.

Did you know that you want to choose blueberries that are a deep indigo blue color with a silvery white frost. Many people confuse the frosting on blueberries to be a mold of some type when actually it’s a waxy coating that protects the berry.

And always choose berries that are firm and check the bottom of the package, there should not be any juice stains or crushed berries.

What kid or for that part what adult doesn’t like frozen treats. And when they’re homemade you know that they are fresh and exactly what ingredients are in them. We made these fresh fruit popsicles using fresh blueberries and cantalope along with a little added sugar and just plain yogurt.

Blending the ingredients together in our new Soup Express machine made the process quick and easy, but more on that later. Just get to the store and grab some fruit, don’t limit your choice to just blueberries, we made some with bing cherries as well. We still have a little fine tuning to do on that popsicle though. I think I need to cut back on the sugar a little since the cherries have plenty of sugar in them.

Walmart has made a commitment to bring to it’s customers the best quality fresh fruit possible. Serving fresh fruit to your family is healthy and the experience of watching your toddler popping a handful of juicy berries in their mouth and watching the smile spread across their face is priceless.

     

Coffee Cake is one of those dishes that is perfect for any occasion. It can be enjoyed in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea, as a snack, taken to a potluck, or even served as a dessert. This Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake is sure to make your day special! It’s super easy and actually has coffee right in the cake.

I’ve made Coffee Cake lots of times in the past, but I have never actually put coffee in the cake. You see, I’m more of a tea drinker myself, so it never really occurred to me to add coffee. And even though there is coffee in this Coffee Cake, it really doesn’t taste like coffee. Doug on the other hand is a coffee lover, and he was anxious to give this Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake a try.

The verdict…two thumbs up from him and the boys!

The cake is moist and has a rich flavor. And the addition of cinnamon and pecans is perfect.

This Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake starts with a cake mix, making it super easy and quick to toss together. Just like a regular cake mix, you will need eggs and oil, instead of the liquid in the cake mix, you simply add coffee. Top it off with a combination of brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans.

Landmark Coffee is a family-run gourmet coffee company with over 50 years experience. Their mission is to sell the highest quality coffees at the lowest possible prices. The coffees they select are from the world’s finest Arabica beans, and each order is small batch roasted to ensure freshness. Landmark Coffee French Roast is available at Walmart at $14.78 for 2 pounds of beans.

For more coffee recipes, visit these Walmart Moms…

• Coffee Mousse
• Mint Cafe au Lait
• Homemade Iced Coffee
• Indulgent Iced Coffee

     

What do you get when you combine a German Chocolate Cake, Caramels, Chocolate Chips and Nuts? Pure deliciousness, that will have the family begging for you to bake them again and again!

Sandwiched between soft layers of chocolate cake is more chocolate, nuts and ooey gooey caramel in these Chocolate Caramel Nut Bars. After a little coaxing, the boys all gave them two thumbs up! And then quickly returned for another try.

Seems like this is a week for amazing giveaways, and I have one more for you today, but first let’s get baking!

Aside from a quick no bake dessert, bar cookies are my favorite treats to serve. They go together in a snap, and you have usually 25 or 30 servings per recipe. Add these to the other Desserts for Picnics, Potlucks and Memorial Day celebration, that I shared and you have quite the long list of treats to choose from.

Did you know that baking is just one of the very many ways to use nuts? Food Network Chef Alex Guarnaschelli shares tips on cooking with nuts. One of the tips that I had never thought of was to upgrade your spice rub; next time you’re cooking meat, add some ground nuts to your spice rub. The nuts can mellow some of the heat from the spice and add needed richness to the mix.

Before we get to the recipe, let’s chat about the giveaway.

One (1) lucky reader will win a Fisher Nuts Prize Pack including…

• Trudeau Melamine Mixing Bowls (Set of 3)
• Trudeau 5-Piece Measuring Spoon Set
• Casabella Jumbo Muffin Cups
• Fisher Chef’s Naturals Sliced Almonds
• Fisher Chef’s Naturals Walnut Halves & Pieces
• Fisher Pecan Halves

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES: PLEASE read the Official Guidelines 

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For more recipes from Chef Alex, visit Fisher Nuts.com

Disclosure: I am working with Fisher to share Chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s recipes and create my own original recipe using Fisher Nuts and tools they provided. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.