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!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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?

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Creamy Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins ----- gluten free!

James has now been gluten free for 3 months ...
& I'm so happy that he's not suffering from the joint pain that he's been dealing with for at least 7 years!

I've been experimenting with new recipes & using new products, & so far, with good results!
James has been a happy camper.

I processed several pumpkins in the fall & have a freezer full to use, so I wanted to make something
sweet using the pumpkin ... & gluten free so James could enjoy it.
After looking at lots of recipes, I adapted a couple of them & came up with this one.

A bowl full of muffin batter ... nothing wrong with that!
Well, except the chocolate chips are missing.
[I stirred those in after I snapped the pic.]

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/2 cup peanut butter [or almond butter]
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened [or you can use either olive oil or butter]
1/4 cup honey [or you can use maple syrup or agave]
1/2 - 3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. coconut crystals
3/4 cup rice flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. vanilla

Prep

Blend all wet ingredients until mixed.
Add dry ingredients and blend until smooth, not over-mixing.
Stir in chocolate chips at the end ... I used the minis.
Spoon into the muffin tin, either lined with paper liners or sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for 20ish minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

**I made some in my mini-cupcake pan & some in my regular muffin pan.
The minis only take about 10 minutes to bake.

We really enjoyed these!
Even our 3 sons loved them.
They tasted healthy, but yummy.
They weren't overly sweet, with the chocolate chips being the perfect addition.
Course, we are big fans of pumpkin, so I'm always glad to have another recipe using that ingredient.

Let me know if you try these ... & like 'em!

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

Do you see Christ in me?

Yesterday's sermon topic:  What image am I reflecting?
Do I reflect Christ?

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed 
into the same image from one degree of glory to another. 
For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."
2 Corinthians 3:18

If Christ is our focus, then we will be transformed into His image!

Our desires will change.
Our actions & attitudes will change as He makes us over to be more like Him.

I love the words to this song:

When anyone looks at me, let them see Jesus.
Let me be a reflection of His love & mercy today.
When they start to read my life's story,
I want it to bring my Savior glory.
When anyone looks at me, let them see Him.

I challenge you today to fully place yourself into the hands of the potter.
Yield to Him those things in your life that you think are unchangeable.
Look at yourself in light of the scripture & truly examine your image.

Ask yourself every morning as you look in the mirror ... Am I reflecting Christ?

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 

Secret Pinterest Boards

Buon Appetito

James & I love to support our local businesses.
Ya know, the mom & pop stores, shops, & restaurants ... the non-chain places.
We seek those out & give them our business if at all possible.

We were super happy to see an Italian market go in a while back & I have to say,
stopping in is one of our favorite treats!
It's chock full of freshly made food, pasta dishes, breads, & desserts, along with a great selection
of imported meats, cheeses, olives, oils, pastas, etc.
We like to try different things each time we visit.

Here are some of the yummy treats I bought on Wednesday.

This salad is very tasty ... & pretty!
Aren't the colors so vibrant & pretty?!
We like to eat it by itself or I sometimes will add a tablespoon of it to the top of my tossed salad.

Now, if you know my hubs at all, you know he loves him some meat & cheese!
I was in by myself this time around, so I enjoyed picking out some meats I knew he'd like.
I bought the hot sopressa & the hot capicola.

This is the capicola.
Both of the meats were sliced paper thin & layered between paper.
I love it when things are done right.

Did I save the best for last?
Quite possibly so.
You be the judge.

These had little chocolate chips throughout & they were amazing!

There were 2 kinds of lemon cake on Wednesday, so I bought one slice of each.
This one is the Italian Lemon Cream Cake.
It was light &  had a strong lemon flavor, which was right up my alley!
The shavings of white chocolate on top were the perfect finishing touch.

Here's the other one ... an Italian Lemon Cake.
We love lemon, so I wanted to try them both.
This one was a heavier cake with not as much lemon flavor, but delicious nonetheless.
The cream in the center was very thick & perfect.

I divided the 2 slices of cake & the 4 cannolis between the 6 of us {Carissa was here}
& we all got to sample a few bites of each.
The best of both worlds ... trying yummy fattening sweets, but just a bite or two instead of the whole thing!
You don't feel so guilty that way ;)

So, if you are ever in our neck of the woods, stop in at R Italian Market.
You won't be disappointed.

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 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 Dedicated House   The Thrifty Home     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    French Country Cottage
Sunday    Nifty Thrifty Things    Suburbsmama    Sew Many Ways