Skinny Pistachio Cake -- So Good!

I can't wait to share this little recipe gem with you guys. The whole time I'm making it, my husband stands behind me drooling over my shoulder. The time it takes for the cake to cool off is torture to him.

 A couple weeks ago I was scrolling through my pins on Pinterest and John spotted this recipe. I have now made this cake twice in the last 2 weeks, and its a SKINNY version. No oil, no egg yolks!

Let's get started!


What You'll Need:

Cake:

16.25 oz box white cake mix

1 oz box Jell-O® Pistachio Sugar-Free/Fat-Free Pudding Dessert

6 oz  plain, non-fat Greek yogurt

4 egg whites

1½ cups water

Frosting:

8 oz container Cool Whip® Free, thawed

1 cup skim milk

1 oz box Jell-O® Pistachio Sugar-Free/Fat-Free Pudding Dessert

Optional Topping

¼ cup shelled pistachios

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a 9x11 cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.

 

Mix together white cake mix, 1 box of Jell-O® Pistachio Sugar-Free/Fat-Free Pudding Mix , Greek yogurt, egg whites, and water using a stand-up mixer or hand mixer.

 

 

Once all ingredients are mixed, pour cake mix into cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.  I baked mine for 37 minutes.

 

While cake is baking, mix skim milk and  Jell-O® Pistachio pudding mix together. Beat with a hand mixer until well mixed. I mixed until it was starting to get think and have a pudding like texture. Let mixture stand for 2 minutes.

 

Fold in thawed Cool Whip®  into pudding mixture.

 

 

Once mixed together, place in refrigerator until cake is ready to be frosted.

 

 

Remove cake from oven. Once cooled, top generously with pudding frosting. I used all of the frosting :) (Can't let any go to waste)

Sprinkle (optional) chopped pistachios on cake (I haven't used pistachios yet).

 

Place in  refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.

 

The texture this cake gets once cooled in the refrigerator is so soft and creamy. I honestly have no words for how delicious this cake is.

 

 

Pairs perfect with a cold glass of milk!

 

Make sure you store the left over cake in the refrigerator. Good for 5 to 6 days. We like to eat it after dinner through out the week.

 

And most importantly, Enjoy! :)

Husband Rating: A+



Recipe credit from Skinny Mom.
https://www.skinnymom.com/skinny-pistachio-cake/#_pg_pin=514100


I have 4 more recipes ready to be shared with all of you, so stick around and don't forget to follow! :)

 

Country Breakfast Bowls - Yummy Meal Prep!

One of the many things I love is breakfast food. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. On the other hand, one of the many things I am not good at is waking up early enough before work to make a decent breakfast.

I stumbled across a recipe that had some of my favorite foods: potatoes, eggs, cheese, and mushrooms. Of course, I put in a few other yummy ingredients.

What You'll Need:

• 3 lbs. russet potatoes or 2 bags of potatoes
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp salt
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 12 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1½ cups salsa
• 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

 

If you are using russet potatoes, wash and cut the potatoes into one-inch cubes. If you are using bagged potatoes like I did, go ahead and put the potato cubes in a large bowl and add the olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.

 

 

Toss the potatoes until they are well coated in oil and seasoning.

 

 

Line a baking sheet with foil and put a thin layer of non-stick spray.

 

 

Spread the potatoes out over the baking sheet.

 

Roast the potatoes in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until they are tender and golden brown. Stir the potatoes once, about half way through.

 

When potatoes are done, divide between microwave safe containers.

 

Add ¼ cup of salsa to each container.

 

 

 

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and gently whisk them. I also added some skim milk to the eggs. I found that this made them more fluffy when I re-heated them a few days later. Melt the butter in a large skillet. When the butter is melted, pour in the eggs.  Be careful not to over cook the eggs at this point because they will cook further upon reheating the breakfast bowls.

 

 

Divide the scrambled eggs among the containers and then top with about ¼ cup of shredded cheese.

 

I decided to step it up a notch and add some sautéed mushrooms  

 

 

And bacon!

 

Leave them in the refrigerator if you plan to eat them within 5-6 days. If not, transfer to the freezer.

 

Now you have a week full of grab and go breakfast!

As many of you know, I usually do a husband rating on each recipe. However, my husband is not a huge fan of stuff like this, so I am going to give this recipe a rating.

Sara Rating: B+

Recipe credit to Budget Bytes:
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/06/country-breakfast-bowls-freezable/
 

Cool Whip Cookies - Easiest Cookies Ever!

Hi All!

Welcome back to my blog. I just realized it has been almost 2 weeks since I have posted a recipe.

It has been a very busy week in our household. We had not 1 but 2 babies born into the family within a week. What a blessing it has been.

I want to share a recipe with you guys that I ran across about a year ago. Some of you might have already heard of these cookies or have even made them. They are delicious Cool Whip Cookies. They are simple and so good that coworkers of my husbands request me to make them.

All you need are 4 ingredients:

1 box cake mix

1 tub of Cool Whip (8 ounce)

1 egg

1/2 – 1 cup powdered sugar

That's it! Super easy! I almost always use lemon cake mix. I have also used strawberry cake mix and I know people who have used red velvet cake mix.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

 

 

Mix together cake mix, cool whip and egg. The mix will be VERY fluffy and thick.

 

I recommend coating one of your hands in powered sugar. This will allow you and handle the dough.

 

Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop up a small amount of dough.  

 

Drop cookie dough into powdered sugar.

 

 

Roll dough until completely covered.

 

 

 

Set cookies on cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.



 

 

The recipe says to bake for 8 minutes or until very lightly golden around the edges. I find myself baking them for around 10 minutes. 

 

 

Let cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

 

 

The cookies turn out so soft and good.

 

Just a little warning- THEY ARE SO ADDICTING!

 

Store in an air tight container for 2 to 3 days.

 

 

 

Husband Rating- A+

 

 

Original recipe credit to:

http://www.eatingonadime.com/lemon-cool-whip-cookies/

 

 

Stay tuned: Coming up is a yummy Country Breakfast Bowl recipe!

 

 

Lasagna Poppers

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there! Whether you have beautiful children of your own, you have been blessed with step children, or even are a Mom to cute fur babies, this day is all about you. Because of Mother's, children and pets lives are forever changed. What you do matters, and remember you are loved by many.

This morning I attending church with my cousin Angie, who is one of the strongest, loving Moms I know. The service was about having courage and being kind. I hope that you will all take that with you today, because per Pastor Mike, having courage and being kind can get you from Once Upon A Time to Happily Ever After a lot faster then not having courage and not being kind. I hope everyone had a reason to celebrate someone today.

This recipe for Lasagna Poppers is one of my most requested recipes so far. It does take a little time from start to finish, so make sure if you are making it for a week night dinner you get an early start on it.

 

 

       What You'll Need

• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 1/2 cup marinara sauces
• 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 8 to 10 lasagna noodles depending on amount of filling in each
• 3 to 4 cups of canola oil for frying — depending on size of pot used

Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Add garlic and onion. **I did not use onion** Stir constantly until brown.

 

Add ground beef. Once browned, drain and return to pan.

 

 

 

Add marinara and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

 

 

Remove from heat and stir in cheese.

 

 

While mixture cools, add water to a pot. Once boiling, add in your lasagna noodles.

Every time I boil noodles, especially lasagna noodles, I add a Tbsp of olive oil to the water before I add the noodles.

 

 

Once noodles are cooked, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

 

Once cooled, lay noodle out and place desired amount of mixture on one end.

 

 

Slowly roll up the noodle, making sure to keep pushing in the mixture on the sides.

 

 

Once all noodles are rolled, place in freezer for 12-15 minutes.

 

 

Roll noodle in flour.

 

Then in eggs.

 

Then in panko breadcrumbs. I chose to use Italian seasoned panko.

Also, the original recipe calls to put noodle back into eggs and breadcrumbs a second time. I chose not to do this.

 

 

Once all the noodles are coated, freeze for an additional 12 minutes.

 

Heat 3-4 inches of canola oil in a medium sauce pan. Test by splashing a few drops of water into the oil. It should sizzle if hot enough.

 

Place poppers into the oil. I fried 2 at a time. Keep an eye on them. I flipped each one after a few minutes.

Once brown, remove from oil and let dry on paper towels. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Warm up some extra marinara for dipping sauce and enjoy!

 

Husband Rating: B

 

So my husband John wanted me to explain to everyone why he rated this recipe kind of low. We agreed when eating them that we would prefer them much more baked. We thought the outside was a little to crunchy for our liking. They will defiantly get a A rating next time when I bake them. You guys might like the outside fried more then us.

 

 

Recipe credit to BuzzFeed. For original recipe see link below.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/merleoneal/get-your-next-dinner-party-poppin-with-these-lasagna-poppers?utm_term=.ta0y3lZ84d#.sqM2JXDkmA

 

 

 

I hope everyone enjoyed this post. I gotta go..I have my new recipe in the oven...Lemon Cool Whip Cookies!