3 Minute Prep Time Berry Medley Cobbler (recipe, pics)

It's been a few days since I posted anything new.  I've tried a few things, but they didn't quite work out.  Today's recipe was outstanding, though.  This will be a great treat for a holiday dinner dessert with family and friends, especially if served warm on a cold winter day.

I saw this recipe on Pinterest.  You can find me on Pinterest here and it was on my "Recipes That Sound Really Good" board.  This is as easy as the diet soda cake.  It basically is, but with a few minor tweaks.  Here's what you need:

Any clear diet soda will be good, like 7 up, Sprite or Sierra Mist.  Also, don't use this brand of cake.  It has a ton more calories and carbs than a Betty Crocker or Pillsbury white cake.

24 oz mixed frozen berries.  Try to get berries that are "no sugar added".
12 oz clear diet soda
1 white cake mix

Spread the berries in the bottom of a 9x13 cake pan.

Spread the cake mix over the top of the berries.  Try to break up the big lumps.  Then, pour the diet soda evenly over the cake mix, trying to cover all of the mix.

If there are big dry spots, you might want to gently stir the top around just a smidge to moisten it up a little.  I noticed when mine was cooking that there were some larger patches of plain cake mix that was still powdery.  When mine was almost done cooking I stirred (gently) the dry spots in with the berries a little better and then let it cook a little longer.

Cook at 350F for about 45 minutes.  The berries will be bubbly and the cake should be golden.  Here's what mine looked like, served up warm.

I figured the calories and everything for 1/12 of the cake as a serving.  The calories are depending on the brand of cake mix...I did not use the number for the brand shown.  I used the numbers from a Betty Crocker mix.  There are 163.3 calories, 1.25g fat, .8g saturated fat, 258.3mg sodium, 16.7mg potassium, 37.9g carbs, 3.4g fiber, .8g protein. (4 Points Plus)

This definitely passed the family taste test.  They all loved it warm.  Go ahead and try this one.  It's super easy, but if you don't tell your guests they'll think you spent a long time on it.  It's ok with me if people think I'm Captain Wonder-chef! lol

Eat Well,
Lisa
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Strawberries N Cream Bars (Recipe, Pics)

Sheer decadence.  That's all I can say.  I saw this recipe on Pinterest and changed it up to make it a little healthier.  I substituted Egg Beaters for real eggs, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for real margarine, substituted some of the sugar with Stevia and used reduced fat cream cheese.  You still need to limit yourself to one, but if you are having a special get-together, potluck or something else where you want to serve something special (and that's soooo easy but no one has to know!), then this is a great treat for you to make.  It's an incredible, tasty little morsel for the end of a delicious dinner.

Here's what you need:

1 regular sized box vanilla or yellow cake mix
1/3 C I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
1/2 C plain Egg Beaters or other egg substitute, divided (1/4C in the dough and 1/4C in the cream cheese mixture) or 2 eggs
1 lb sliced strawberries
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 Tbsp sugar
3 1/2 Tbsp Stevia
1 tsp vanilla

Here's how to make it:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F
2.  Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray (I used a 10x10 pan)
3.  In a medium bowl combine ICBINB, 1/4C egg substitute, and cake mix.  Mash with a fork until partially combined.  It's very sticky, so we sprayed our hands with cooking spray and then used our fingers to combine it completely into a dough.

4.  Reserve 3/4C of the dough for the topping and set aside.
5.  Press the dough into the bottom of the pan, all the way to the edges.

6.  Bake for 10 minutes.
7.  While the crust is baking, slice the strawberries in approximately 1/4" slices.
8.  In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, stevia, vanilla and 1/4C egg substitute until creamy and well combined.
9.  Spread cream cheese mixture on top of the partially baked crust.
10.  Evenly arrange the sliced strawberries over the cream cheese mixture and then crumble the reserved dough on top of the strawberries.

11.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until crumbs on top turn golden brown.  The original directions said the center should be set, but mine wasn't really completely set; however, once it chilled it was fine to all of us.

12.  Cool completely and then chill for at least 30 minutes before servings.
13.  Cut into 20 pieces.  Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Heaven on a plate.  This is simply divine.  You need to be careful not to over-indulge here.  The calories and carbs could get away from you very quickly.  I can't imagine what the stats on this dessert would have been had I not made the substitutions I did.  They have 136.4 calories, 5.8g fat, 3g saturated fat, .7g polyunsaturated fat, .3g monounsaturated fat, 8mg cholesterol, 264mg sodium, 44.7mg potassium, 20.6g carbs, .5g fiber, 2g protein. (4 Points Plus)

UPDATE:  It's the next day after making this dessert, and I had put the leftovers in an airtight container like the directions said.  I don't recommend making this a day ahead of an event because even though it still tastes amazing the next day, it doesn't look as pretty.  The strawberries get a little bit of a dull color and they get a little soggy.  Taste-wise, still awesome, but to impress with presentation I recommend making it the same day. Texturally it's a little softer, too.  But believe me, there was no problem with making the leftovers disappear when the kids got home from school today!

Blissful Tasting!
Lisa
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happyfairylove@live.com

Strawberry Dream Mousse (Recipe and Review)

Wow, what a sweet treat this was!  I found a recipe on dLife called "Raspberry Dream Mousse", and I changed it just a little.  Primarily, I substituted strawberries for the raspberries.  Also, it called for the use of fresh fruit and ice cubes.  I saved a step and used frozen fruit.  Here are the ingredients I used (I doubled the recipe listed on dLife):

1 - .6 oz sugar free strawberry gelatin (dry mix, large box)
1 C cold water
1 - 1 lb package frozen strawberries
1 - 3.2 oz package powdered milk

It is super easy to make!

1.  In a sauce pan combine gelatin and water.  Stir well.  Let stand for 1 minute.
2.  Place pan over low heat.  Cook for just 1 minute or until gelatin is dissolved, stirring constantly.
3.  In a blender combine gelatin mixture, frozen fruit and powdered milk. (I added the strawberries maybe 3 or 4 at a time.) Cover and blend until smooth.
4.  Spoon mousse into parfait glasses and serve.

Easy!  I don't have parfait glasses, so all I had to use was little coffee cups.  lol.  I'm so unfancy at my house.

I used a 1/2 C measuring cup and put one 1/2 C scoop in each glass.  I got 6 servings with just a smidge to spare.  Perfect for your "little taste" before the company comes. ;) It would look really wonderful scooped out nicely into martini glasses (or something similar) with a few slices of fresh strawberries on top for garnish.  But, like I said, I'm not fancy and don't have such things, and this was just for my kids...they don't need fancy. lol

The texture is very thick, smooth and creamy.  It is fantastically sweet, and a little will go a long way.  My kids ate half and put the rest in the fridge for later.  I, on the other hand, ate it all.  :)  But that's ok, because the nutritional values are exceptional.  Here's the info (for the amounts and brands shown divided into 6 servings):

91.7 calories, 156.7mg sodium, 260mg potassium, 14.5g carbs, 1g fiber, 7.2g protein.  (2 Points Plus.)  This is a perfect fruit-i-liciously refreshing treat.  I highly recommend trying it.  Sooo easy to make, and simply scrumptious to eat.  My kids definitely want this again, and, if I'm ever social enough to have dinner guests, I think I might make this for dessert.  (Maybe I'll get some nicer glasses.)  I'm not sure how well it keeps in the fridge.  Since the kids put theirs in there I'll check on it every so often to see how it's holding up. (Update:  It's now the next morning, and I checked again on the cups the kids left in the fridge.  The mousse is still holding up just fine.  And if they don't wake up and eat it soon, it just may accidentally disappear! :)

Let me know if you try it.  Going to substitute different fruits?  Let me know here what you use and how it turns out.  As always, you can drop me a line at happyfairylove@live.com.

Merry Desserts!
Lisa
P.S.  I don't know how to get others to see my new blog except to ask you lovely few people who do read it to share it, either on Facebook, Twitter or your own blog.  Do you know anyone who may be interested in a healthier eating plan?  Please let them know about Losing Weight Along the Way.  Thanks so much!