Strawberry Pretzel Layered Dessert

Today we are visiting cousin Katie her husband Cory and her little baby boy Everette.  They just moved into a new house and are having a pot luck!  Yay!  Another excuse for me to make something.  I learned this recipe in a Toast masters meeting.  The exercise that day was giving instructions.  One of the girls did a presentation on how to make pretzel salad dessert and she even brought samples.  This recipe is so good.  There is a crunchy pretzel layer and a creamy cream cheese layer. It has sweet and salty flavors as well.  It is just so good!  Be prepared to share the recipe because more times that not someone will ask you for it. 

Ingredients:
3 cups crushed pretzels
1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter
3 TBSP granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1 package cream cheese softened
1 tub whipped topping, thawed
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 large package strawberry jello
4 cups water
12 oz frozen strawberries or mixed berries

Make the crust:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put the pretzels into a zipper bag or use a food processor and crush them.  You want smallish sized pieces not pretzel dust.  Melt the butter and pour into a 8x11 baking dish.  Mix in the pretzels and the granulated sugar.  Spread this mixture evenly onto the bottom of your pan.  Bake for 7-8 minutes.  You will see the mixture bubbling.  Don't bake it for more than 8 minutes or you will have concrete instead of a nice crust.  Sprinkle top with kosher salt.  Set aside and let it cool completely.

Make the Jello topping:  Dissolve the jello in 2 cups boiling water.  Add 2 cups very cold water and frozen berries and let set just a little in the fridge about 20-30 minutes.  Its ok if it looks a little  bit lumpy. Don't forget about it or you wont be able to top your dessert! 

Make the cream cheese filling:  With a hand mixer or stand mixer mix the softened cream cheese and the powdered sugar together.  Fold in the whipped topping.  It will look like marshmallow cream when it is blended.  Let this set in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

Cameron snuck this out of the sink!

Build your dessert:  Very gently spread the cream cheese filling over the completely cooled crust.  Be sure the spread all the way to the edges of the pan so your jello won't leak through to the crust.  Pour the jello on top of the cream cheese layer.  Cover and put it back into the fridge to let it set up completely. Its best if  it sets overnight. Be ready to share the recipe!  Everyone loves this dessert!

Remember, spread all the way to the edges.

Spinach Strawberry salad with strawberry balsamic vinagarette

This is my favorite "go to" salad for any occasion.  We have been making this for about 12 years now.  It is just so good!  The trick is to layer the salad in a glass bowl for a great presentation.

For the salad:
6 cups baby spinach, washed and dried
3 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup toasted almond slices
fresh feta cheese ( i really like boars head brand)

For the dressing:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 TBSP sugar
2 strawberries or strawberry jelly

Slice the strawberries, toast the almonds and set aside.

toast nuts in a dry pan until they start to brown

Start by layering the spinach first then add the strawberries around the outside of the bowl.  Add the feta around the outside of the bowl  and sprinkle on the toasted almonds.

Keep layering until your bowl is full.  Top the salad with a little more strawberries, feta and almonds.

Make the dressing.  It is easiest if you have a mini chopper or immersion blender to get all of the ingredients incorporated.  Place all ingredients into the mini chopper and blend.   If you don't have a mini chopper or immersion blender omit the strawberries and sugar.  Whisk all ingredients in a medium size bowl then add 2 tablespoons of strawberry jelly. 

Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe is from Bon Apetit magazine.  Why I don't have a subscription to Bon Apetit magazine is beyond me.  I need to get one right away!  The first time I made this cake was for Wills birthday.  Oh my gosh was it ever good.  It is a pretty big cake so I ended up giving a huge slice to Bailey's preschool teacher Ms. Mary.  The next day she asked if I could make one for her for Mother's Day.  What a compliment!  Knowing how good this cake is, it was really hard to make it and not eat any of it.  I might have to make it again for Father's Day. This cake is making it hard for me to be high school skinny again!!  Give yourself plenty of time to make this cake.  You want to make sure that the cake is completely cooled and the frosting is cold before you start adding the frosting and layering the cake. 

For the frosting:
2  8-ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature (don't use low fat, no fat)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

For the cake:
3 cups cake flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
7 large eggs
2 TBSP vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
6 TBSP plus 1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam
2 1/4 lbs strawberries, hulled, sliced (about 6 cups), divided

To make the frosting put a small/medium bowl in the freezer to chill. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in sugar, then jam. Remove that chilled bowl from the freezer and beat cream in that chilled bowl until peaks form.

 Fold whipped cream into frosting. Cover; chill for a couple of hours until it’s firm enough to spread. (If you are in a hurry, you could put the frosting in the freezer to chill quickly.) 

 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch high sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and set aside.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add sour cream, and beat for 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in three additions, beating to blend after each addition. Divide batter into prepared pans.  Spread the batter so that it is even in the baking pans.  

Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, check the cake at 50 minutes and if not done check again at 60 minutes. Remove cakes from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the pans, then turn cakes out onto a rack to cool completely.  You can place the cakes into the freezer for 30 minutes if you are in a hurry. Slice the strawberries while the cake is cooling.

Using a serrated knife, carefully divide each layer in half horizontally. Place one half, cake side down, on a cake plate.

Spread 3 TBSP of strawberry jam over the cake, then spread 3/4 cup of the frosting over the jam. Arrange 3/4 cup of the sliced strawberries on top of the frosting in a single layer. Repeat two more times with cake layer, jam, frosting, and strawberries.

Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down. Spread two cups of frosting over the top and sides of the cake in a thin layer, then frost with remaining frosting.  This recipe makes a very big and beautiful 4-layer cake.