Restaurant-Style White Cheese

Que paso, amigos!
I'm fixing to tell you something, folks, that's ganna blow your mind.
{Take a second or two to prepare for getting your mind blown.}
Not joking.
I've been telling my friends about this for a few years now & they love me for life.
Not sure why I'm just now getting around to sharing this with you,
but I beg your pardon, I do.

Ya know there's about a 1001 blogs & pins for queso, white cheese, whatever you wanna call it, right?
They all claim to be the best ever ... the easiest ever ... the most authentic ... so on & so forth.
You get the gist.

Well, that's all fine & good ... but this awesome cheese from good old Kroger
checks all those boxes and then some.

It blows the Velvetta brand right out of the water, in my opinion.
You must give this a try.

Here's how I use it:
I put the whole block in a microwavable bowl & add about 1 cup of water.
Yes, water.
You could add milk {& I did until I decided water was best} but that only adds calories.
This cheese is rich & flavorful enough on it's own.
The purpose in adding the water is to thin it down, otherwise it's so thick you can get if off the spoon.
I zap it for 3-4 minutes, then I stir it well.
I usually do this twice to get it to melt down completely.

Using about 1 cup of water is the consistency we prefer,
but you can play with it to get it just how you like it.
Course, as it cools, it gets really thick.
Zap it in the microwave & it'll be all perfect again.

Our favorite way to serve this is on Loaded Nachos.
Spoon this over chips & then we add on our favorite toppings:
guacamole, salsa, onion, sour cream, lettuce, jalapenos, refried beans & seasoned ground beef.
It's a quick & easy meal ... & tastes just as good as our favorite Mexican restaurant.
That's a win-win, for sure!

I often serve it alongside other Mexican dishes, like enchiladas & tacos.
It's nice to drizzle it across, well, just about anything ;)

So, there ya go!
Trust me ... make this & you'll thank me.
We'll be BFFLs all because of this cheese ... promise.

Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday          C.R.A.F.T      The Dedicated House  I Should Be Mopping the Floor
                  Between Naps on the Porch  The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                    The Thrifty Home  The Dedicated House    A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop  Best of the Nest
               French Country Cottage  The Girl Creative
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

Strawberry Refrigerator Cake

This ranks up there with one of my favorite cakes.
Is it a new recipe?
Heaven's NO ... it's good ol' Duncan Hines.
{Thank you, Duncan.}
In fact, probably everyone in the whole free world has made this cake at least once.
But just in case there is one lone person who has not, it's my civic duty to share this recipe.
If you aren't that one lone person, then feel free to just scroll through
& drool over how yummy this cake looks and sounds.
And if technology would hurry up and advance already, you could be smelling it too!
Ok, woah Nellie ... hold yer horses.

Here's my spin on this classic favorite.
You know how I roll ... I tend to tinker with recipes from time to time.

This starts out with a box mix.
I know ... I know.
That's akin to saying a curse word here in blogland,
but hey, I confess ... I use a box mix every now & again.
We can still be friends though, right?

I haven't made this cake, even though it's one of my faves, in probably 3 or 4 years.
However, you remember I shared a recipe yesterday for strawberry syrup?

I knew it would be the perfect pairing with this cake.
{This is where I tweaked the recipe a little.}

You bake the cake according to the box directions & while it's still warm,
you poke holes all over it & pour in this yummy homemade strawberry syrup!
Frost it after it cools & you'll have one tasty cake that just screams summertime.

Here's how I adjusted the recipe, using my syrup + using applesauce instead of oil
for a healthier, less calorie version.

Cake:
1 box cake mix {I used white, but strawberry is divine too}
1 whole egg + 2 egg whites
1 cup of water
1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce
Bake in a 9x13 according to the directions.

Pull it from the oven & poke holes all over while it's still hot.
Pour 10 ounces of the homemade strawberry syrup over the cake, letting it soak into the holes.
Let the cake completely cool before frosting it.
Drizzle the syrup over top & refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Frosting:
8 ounces of Neufchâtel cheese, softened {this is the lo-fat version of cream cheese}
1 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces Cool Whip {I used the French vanilla flavored}

Mix the cream cheese & powdered sugar, then fold in the Cool Whip.

Now, if you'd like the Duncan Hines original recipe, here it is:

1 box strawberry cake mix
10 ounces of sweetened, frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
Frosting:
1 (3.4 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
1 cup milk
3 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping
fresh strawberries
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour 13"x 9" pan. 

For cake, prepare, bake and cool according to package directions.
Poke holes 1" apart in top of cake.
Puree thawed strawberries with juice in blender. 
Spoon evenly over top of cake allowing mixture to soak into holes.
For topping, prepare pudding mix according to package directions using 1 cup milk. 
Fold whipped topping into pudding mixture. 
Spread over cake. 
Garnish with fresh strawberries. 
Refrigerate at least 4 hours. 

Any way you slice this one up, it's delicious!

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Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday     The Girl Creative     C.R.A.F.T      The Dedicated House      The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                    The Thrifty Home  The Dedicated House    A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop  Best of the Nest
               French Country Cottage
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways

Homemade Strawberry Syrup

Hello y'all!!
It's me ... Angie ... from Call Her Blessed!

Thought I should introduce myself cause it's been soooo long.
For heaven's sake.

I did not intend to be MIA for an extended period, but life happened ... just like it always does ...
just like it always should.

So, no apologies from me.
I've been having way to much fun to apologize.
I will try to do a 'here's what we've been doing blog' coming up, but for today,
I just want to share this amazing recipe I just found & tried this week!
It's starring one of my very favorite summer treats:  STRAWBERRIES!
Aanndd, it only has 4 ingredients.
Without further ado, here's a great recipe for Homemade Strawberry Syrup!

So I took advantage of a great deal on strawberries {.77 a pound} at a brand new store
that just opened in our area {Fresh Thyme ... I'm ganna like this store!}.
We ate more than our share of these beautiful berries just plain,
& I also made fruit salad & fruit skewers ... but I still had several packages left.
Lucky for me, I remembered pinning a recipe for strawberry syrup just a few days before.
Perfect timing.

After rinsing & cutting off the tops, I quartered them up, getting about 7 cups in total.
I put the strawberries in a large kettle & added 2 cups of stevia  & lemon juice ...
{the original recipe calls for sugar, but I opted for stevia to cut calories & to make them sugar-free}.

You bring the strawberries to a boil & then reduce heat, simmering for about 15-20 minutes.

I smooshed my strawberries a bit as they were boiling, just to break them down into smaller pieces.
{Next time, I may chop them a bit smaller in the beginning.}

After removing from heat, add in the vanilla & stir.

Let it cool down & then pour it into a jar ... or whatever you have on hand.

You can also put this syrup into containers & freeze it.

Now, I'd say there are probably 150+ ways to use this delicious syrup!
You could serve it over ice cream for a strawberry sundae,
spoon it on toast ... or on french toast or pancakes.
It would be delicious on a bagel drizzled over top of cream cheese.
You could also serve it on angel food cake or even cheesecake!
I made one of our favorite desserts, Strawberry Refrigerator Cake,
& this sauce was perfect in that recipe.
I'll share it tomorrow.

Isn't this recipe just fantastic?!
4 ingredients & done in less than a half hour, tops ... you just can't beat that with a stick ;)

Here's exactly what you need:
{I doubled the recipe}

• 3 cups strawberries, diced
• 1 cup granulated sugar  **{I used stevia}
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Combine strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 15 - 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until strawberries
are soft and the syrup is thickened and reduced down by about half.

You know what?
I just thought of another use for this versatile strawberry syrup!
I'm ganna go stir a heaping spoon or two or three into a glass of lemonade.
Wow.
I just impressed myself ;)

Happy Summer y'all.
I'll try not to stay gone so long, ok?

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Who doesn't love a good party?!
You can find me here linking up with these great blogs.
Monday     The Girl Creative     C.R.A.F.T      The Dedicated House      The Modest Mom
Tuesday     A Delightsome Life   A Bowl Full of Lemons    Titus Tuesday      A Stroll Through Life
Wednesday   Raising Homemakers        Savvy Southern Style         Adorned From Above
                    The Thrifty Home  The Dedicated House    A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Thursday    Between Naps on the Porch   Serving Joyfully     Lamberts Lately
Friday      Rooted in Thyme  The Thrifty Groove   Farm Blog Hop  Best of the Nest
               French Country Cottage
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways