In the Kitchen with Gram...4 Layer Dessert!!

Friends, Danish Junket makes the world go 'round.

And it sure makes this dessert incredibly delicious!

This one is actually my great-aunt Jean's recipe, but Gram made a big (read: incredible!!) change to it...the original recipe called for a chocolate pudding layer, which Gram substituted with Danish Junket and raspberries. 

Yum diggity.

What is "Danish Junket" you ask? Well, to my non-culinary trained eye, it appears as though it is some sort of raspberry flavored gelatin. I'm not sure what makes it Danish. Or junket (isn't that a bird?), but whatever it is, I'll take it...'cuz it is so yummy!

Okay, let's start with the crust.

Butter, flour and chopped pecans:

Spread into a greased 9x13 pan and bake (it's not easy to spread, Gram says using your hands works best!):

As the crust bakes, cook your 3rd layer, which is the Danish Junket, cooked according to the package directions:

While the crust is cooling, mix up the 2nd layer, which is cream cheese, powdered sugar and Cool Whip:

When the crust and the junket are cool, assemble. The cream cheese mixture goes on top of the crust...be careful, the crust is not a solid, stable crust. It works best to plop the mixture into small mounds, then carefully spread it out from there!

Carefully being the key word.

Next up, raspberries:

Then, the junket over the top.

Now, you could do one of two things, cool the junket so it sets up completely before spreading with Cool Whip (the 4th layer) OR, do like we did and just dive in with the final layer of Cool Whip.

Which lead to some pink swirls on the Cool Whip...but hey! Pink swirls are all the rage now, so go for it! Wait. What? When did pink swirls become all the rage?

Now I'm confused. ;)

Chill for several hours, or overnight, cut into squares and enjoy!

Gram's 4 Layer Dessert 
Printable Recipe




Crust:
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375*F. Combine all, spread into greased 9x13 pan and bake for 15 min. Allow to cool completely.

2nd layer:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. Cool Whip (save remainder of container for 4th layer)

Combine all, spread on cooled crust. Works best to "plop" little mounds of this layer onto crust and CAREFULLY spread out.

3rd layer:
2 packages Danish Junket cooked according to package. Cool.
2 c. fresh raspberries

Sprinkle raspberries on top of cream cheese layer, then poor cooled Danish Junket over raspberries.

4th layer:
Remaining Cool Whip

Spread Cool Whip over the top of the junket. For a "cleaner" (i.e. non-pink swirly) topping, allow junket to set up before spreading final Cool Whip layer on. If pink swirls are your kinda thing, then just immediately follow junket layer with Cool Whip layer.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight before spreading!

Enjoy!

Caught...

The other night, my baby girl was supposed to be laying down in bed...and then I walked in, and found this:

I'm not sure what it is, but I'm in love with these photos! Concentrating so hard on the game she was playing...her face light by the light of the computer screen...I just love it!

Mostly, I just love her.

Five Question Friday! 5/17/13

Yikes. Ran out of time to get the 5QF Sneak Peek up, had to get to watch a school play, fold clothes, make lunch, wash laundry, fold laundry, get to work...sheesh, what a day!!

Anyway, I'll post this as soon as I finish, so any of you late nighters/early risers have a chance to get your posts up!



Today is my baby bro's birthday...in a couple of months, he will be moving out of state to attend dental school for three years. THREE YEARS!!!! Crazy.

He's growing up.

Okay, right to the questions!

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are just dang busy. 

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP! 

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 17th: (Special thanks to Brooke (@HallBro) from Brooke and Michael, Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie and yours truly for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday shout out plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. Do you have a doppelgänger?

2. Do you keep your car cleaned up?

3. What is a current fashion that drives you crazy.

4. How often do you go grocery shopping?

5. What has been the best surprise of your life?

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1. Do you have a doppelgänger?

My dad just informed me that yes, I do, and she lives in the next big town over.

He said he was at the (dentist? mechanic? salon? I can't remember) and there was someone there that looked just like me and had my same mannerisms, right down to the eye rub that I never knew I did!

Crazy. I always wonder if people "recognize" their own doppelganger? You know, say I saw that some woman as my dad did, would I think "OMG! She looks like me?!" or do you not recognize your own features in someone else?

My baby girl has been doppelganged (can I verb that?) as a mini Reese Witherspoon. I've had so many people tell me that and then a barista at Caribou stopped in her tracks the other day and was all, "Oh my gosh. You are a tiny Reese Witherspoon!"...cracked me up! I've never had random strangers tell me that!

2. Do you keep your car cleaned up?

Um. Ahem. Ah. No.

Not at all.

I feel like I'm always responsible for bringing so much stuff in (purse, keys, mail, coffee cup, kids) that I don't have enough arm space to clean up the crap.

And my kids aren't good about it either. I don't really so much care, unless I'm driving someone around, then I try to get it cleaned up...and go get my oil changed at WalMart, cuz they give you a complimetary vacuum! Boom.

3. What is a current fashion that drives you crazy.

Ugh. So many. Skinny jeans, flowy shirts, hats...and only because I can't pull them off.

I love them on other people, but they just don't work on me!

Also, skinny jeans on men. Gross.

4. How often do you go grocery shopping?

I used to try to do one big grocery trip a month, then I had a whole slew of kids and grocery shopping with them became so much of a chore that I just avoided it and began just running in for "one or two things for supper" here and there when my oldest kids got old enough to hang out in the vehicle with the younger ones.

I know, Mother of the Year. But the oldest was old enough to baby sit, so I figure, really, he was just babysitting, in the car.

Or, at least, that's how I saw/see it! ;)

5. What has been the best surprise of your life?

I am going to say my oldest and youngest child. They were the biggest surprises of my life...my youngest seeming almost more so, sometimes...and I am so overwhelmed with joy that it sometimes makes me a little teary.

As many of you probably know, I really struggled when I found out I was pregnant with my baby girl. I was overwhelmed and tired and stressed and I just didn't think I could do it again.

And then? Well, then she turned out to be the perfect finale for our family. The icing on the cake. The most amazingly wonderful, spunky, stubborn, grumpy little love bug that I never knew I needed.

I thank God that he knew better than I did about what I REALLY needed.

Excuse me now, I need to go snuggle my baby.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

In the Kitchen With Gram...Creamy Cucumbers!

Gram and I needed to postpone this week's cooking due to scheduling conflicts, so I'm reaching into our "bag of extras" (some recipes she and I cooked alongside some of the others, so that we'd have some back ups!) to bring you one of my very favorite things of all time.

Ladies and gentlemen...Behold the Creamy Cucumber:

My two Gram's make them very different from one another, I'll have to see if I can replicate my other Gram's creamy cukes, because they are something special, too!

These though? Delicious and super speedy to whip up! Perfect for a hot summer day.

First up, peel and slice your cukes. The less seedy they are the better (look for long, skinny cucumbers). A mandoline works great to get thin slices.

Now, for every cucumber you slice, put it in a bowl and generously salt over the top of them (so you're creating "cucumber, salt, cucumber, salt" layers).

What we're doing with the salt, is drawing out the water...it works great to put the sliced cukes into a colander, it allows the water to drain right out that way.

Next up, it's time to squeeze the heck out of those cucumbers! Gram uses a ricer...I don't have a ricer, so I use my hands, but just try to get out as much moisture from the cucumbers as possible!

They'll look like this when you're done. (So, don't mutilate them when you squeeze, just hard enough to get that water out!)

Now, season. (You'll see I don't give exact measurements, because it all depends on the number of cucumbers you use!) 

Pepper:

Sugar:

And good ol' Miracle Whip, baby.

The cucumbers will still lose some moisture as they sit and your "sauce" will thin some, so make sure not to over do it with the Miracle Whip.

Wanna know a good ol' German secret? Mash some potatoes and serve creamy cucumbers over the top of them!!! Yum.

Gram's Creamy Cucumbers
Printable Recipe


Cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Miracle Whip

Generously salt cucumbers and allow them to sit (a good hour or more is best). Shortly before serving time, squeeze excess water out of cucumbers, discarding water. Add pepper and sugar to taste, then add Miracle Whip until cucumbers are just barely coated (the Miracle Whip will thin some as the cucumbers sit.) Serve with your favorite summer meal (or over mashed potatoes!) and enjoy!

Invitation Etiquette

Help me out with this one, friends.

I need to know if I'm being unreasonable, or if (which just HAS to be the case) I'm right on the money.

Let me preface this with something...I am not Heloise or Ms. Manners or Dear Abby by any means. I'm not all on the up and up on the do's and don't's of all etiquette, but this one? This is one where I think (please correct me if I'm wrong) I'm right.

Ever since I was living on my own, or AT LEAST since I was married with children and a mortgage payment, it has irritated me to NO END when people attach a "note" to invite that is sent to my or the Mr's parents saying, "M and family are invited, too!".

I can't really tell if these people just think they're being nice, by inviting us, if they're just too damn lazy to do the foot work (which, these days is all of sending out a Facebook message) to find our address, or if they just want an extra gift but don't really want us there.

Whatever it is, it bugs the living daylights out of me.

I want to say, "Dude. I am married with my own family. I have NOT been living with my parents for nearly 15 years. I have a life of my own, I'm all grown up, and if you REALLY want me to come, SEND A DAMN INVITE." I honestly and truly do NOT consider myself invited unless I get an invitation. And nothing is really a valid excuse to me.

So...lemme hear it. Am I out of line? Am I justified in being irritated? Whaddya have to say?

Five Question Friday! 5/10/13

Happy Friday!! Once again, gonna be a busy one for us! Does life ever slow down? Seems not.

I'm missing my big girl like crazy...this afternoon can't come soon enough, when I can hug her like crazy and hear all about her field trip!

Okay, no more small talk, let's just get to the questions!

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are distracted by the beautiful weather. 

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP! 

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 3rd: (Special thanks to Gassy (@gasfamily) from The Gas Family, Brooke (@HallBro) from Brooke and Michael, Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie, Kate (@KatieB38) from Kate's Life, and lovable, furry ol' me for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday shout out plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. What's the one personal hygiene thing you will not do in front of your spouse?

2. What's your favorite thing about a newborn?

3. When is "too young" to have a Facebook account?

4. What are your hoping for for Mother's Day?

5. What was the best field trip you ever took in school?

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1. What's the one personal hygiene thing you will not do in front of your spouse?
Um. Hmmmm. Well, lemme think about that.

Gosh. I'm not really sure? I try not to poop in front of him. I mean, I would try not to poop in front of him, you know, if I pooped.

But sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do and unfortunately for him, he occasionally walks into the bathroom at inopportune times.

Too bad for him! ;)

2. What's your favorite thing about a newborn?

Oh gosh. Can I just say "everything"? Because I do love absolutely EVERYTHING about newborns.

But my favorite has to be that newborn "smell". They ALL have it. Trust me, I've sniffed enough newborn heads to know that regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status or IQ, ALL newborns have "that scent".

Sometimes, you need to pay closer attention because the first "whiff" you get isn't always "that scent"...it's layered...sometimes a little concealed but it's there.

Also, I love those little grunts and squeaks.

And the silly, sleepy faces...I always wonder if a baby is dreaming of Heaven when they are smiling in their sleep. I DO NOT believe the "it's just gas" theory of newborn smiles. Some of those smiles are too blissful to be related to farts.

Man, I love babies.

3. When is "too young" to have a Facebook account?

Certainly anything less than middle school and in my opinion, anything less than high school. By high school I think kids have had enough "Internet Safety" education to be a little wiser about what they post on FB.

More importantly, no matter how "opposed" you are to social media, I strongly feel that if you have a kid on Facebook, you should also be on Facebook with the requirement that your child must be "your friend".

I've discovered so much by cruising Facebook that I think it's un-wise to let your child have free-range without any parental guidance.

Just my two cents, though.

4. What are your hoping for for Mother's Day?

We'll see if this actually happens...

A couple of months ago, I was in the mall and spied a lovely, distressed sign that had this quote:

"While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about."

And I fell in love with it! I'm not sure if you've seen the photos on wood that Photo Barn does, but I have one of each of my children...my favorite photo that I've taken of them over the years...and I want that sign in the middle with the photos of my kids hung around it, placed right on my fireplace.

I saw it, took a photo of it, texted it to my hubby with "Mother's Day, perhaps? At Wooden Hearts in the mall, similar one in upstairs of sporting goods store."

I mean, the only thing I DIDN'T do was buy the dang thing for him...my hopes aren't high, however. We have entered "busy season" in his job and he currently eat, sleeps, and breathes his job.

Doesn't leave much time for mother's day shopping.

But so help me, if I get another beef jerky and Pepsi (or worse, chocolate covered strawberries) gift, I might cry just a little. I'd rather just have a card that a "had to get something quick" gift. You know?

Or is that just my princessishness coming out?

5. What was the best field trip you ever took in school?

Okay, this is gonna take some thought...I remember taking some pretty awesome field trips...all day trips to "the big city" to the zoo or children's museum or other super fun place.

These days, field trips seem to be boring. Local parks. Walks to the DQ. Ho hum.

Our 5th graders have a long standing tradition of attending a three day field trip at Long Lake Conservation Center and they ALL love it! I remember when Pal went, and he loved it, talked with one of our religion kids and she said, "Oh, THAT was so fun!!!" and have heard through the grape vine that my Belle is enjoying herself immensely!

But, you know what I remember most about MY field trips?

The lunches.

My mom would take us shopping the night before, to get lunch stuff for the trip and always, ALWAYS I had to get a banana flip. Remember those? Twinkie-esque taco like thing flavored like banana with banana flavored filling? I lived for Banana Flips, you guys.


Do they even make those anymore?

Anyway, banana flips and my very own choice of pop, wrapped in aluminum foil. I don't remember the rest of the lunch because, BANANA FLIP.

All that mattered.

And now I want a banana flip like you wouldn't believe.

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And that's a wrap! Gonna try my hardest to bop around and check out your answers! Have a great weekend!

Thursday Night 5QF Sneak Peek!

I think I can safely say that spring has really, truly, positively arrived in Minnesota (and now, we'll have a snow storm next week, just 'cuz I said that)...the weather has been pleasant. Even the rain I'll take (over snow, anyway). This weekend is looking beautiful as well and we get to celebrate my cousin's wedding!



Fun stuff.

Anyway, I can hear my three youngest kiddos outside having a blast and getting dirty...my oldest is at a softball game and my big girl is at a 3 day (THREE DAYS!!!) field trip. I miss her.

Okay, let's get to the questions.

Welcome to Five Question Friday!! You've come to the right place if you discovered your muses are distracted by the beautiful weather. 

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP! 

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, May 10th: (Special thanks to Gassy (@gasfamily) from The Gas Family, Brooke (@HallBro) from Brooke and Michael, Pam (@trooppetrie) from Troop Petrie, Kate (@KatieB38) from Kate's Life, and lovable, furry ol' me for these 5QF question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so follow me on Twitter (@5crookedhalos) and/or like my Facebook page and watch for my Thursday shout out plea for questions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. What's the one personal hygiene thing you will not do in front of your spouse?

2. What's your favorite thing about a newborn?

3. When is "too young" to have a Facebook account?

4. What are your hoping for for Mother's Day?

5. What was the best field trip you ever took in school?

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See you right back here in the morning!