Strawberry-Banana Jello Salad Recipe

This simple, but yummy jello salad is filled with light flavors and fruit. It makes a great addition to your dinner table or your dessert table.

I'm always amazed to hear from people who don't like to be with their extended family.  It completely catches me by surprise, since I love to be with my brothers and sisters and we get together every chance we can.  With 9 of us, plus spouses, plus children, it's quite a crazy gathering.  There are certain things we like to do every time we are all together, and a big gathering around the table is one of our favorites.

Depending upon the reason we are together, we could be having turkey, or ham, or even just "Dad's Enchiladas"  (I've never figured out how he makes them so much better than I do.)  Yet there is always one recipe that makes it to all of our get-togethers no matter what we are eating; it's almost as much of a tradition as us all being together every year.  For we all LOVE our Strawberry-Banana Jello Salad.

It's a quick, easy salad recipe that brings an almost dessert taste to the dinner table.  Today I'm sharing the secret with you.  Maybe it will become a favorite for your family too.

Start with 2 cans of Very Cherry Mixed Fruit Cocktail, 1 large container of Cottage Cheese, 1 large container of whipped topping, and a small box of Strawberry Banana gelatin.

Drain your fruit cocktail and set it aside.  Be sure Whipped Topping is not frozen since it will make it hard to mix the salad together.  Add the remaining ingredients to a large bowl and mix. (Mini Me loves to do this since its a "good workout" to mix the cool whip together.)

Add the fruit cocktail to the mixture.  We also like to add cut banana or strawberry slices to the mix if we're feeling very "fancy."  I don't recommend adding the bananas if you are going to have left overs because the bananas don't last too well in left overs, but it is SUPER delicious the first time around!

Once your salad is completely mixed well, set it in the refrigerator to set for an hour or two.  Refrigerate until ready to serve and any leftovers.

Go here for the Strawberry Banana Jello Salad Printable Recipe version.

5 Thanksgiving Ideas and Dare to Share

Find some great Thanksgiving crafts and recipes from last weeks Dare to Share linky party, where your favorite bloggers share their favorite ideas.  Find a great Thansgiving turkey card, a pinecone turkey, Gratitude Challenge, party favors, and an easy turkey recipe.

I'm deep in the depths of a snowstorm tonight while enjoying a fun Minion family party with the kids.  We had a yummy Mexican dinner party with my kids' favorite Enchiladas and some great banana themed treats for dessert.

I love doing family dinners with a theme.  I think it makes it so much more fun and memorable.  As they are quickly leaving the nest, I hope they'll leave with some fun memories.

And thanksgiving is another way we have made a lot of memories in the past.  There are so many great ways to do fun crafts, play family games, and enjoy the day together with no stress.  I love it.

So here are some great Thanksgiving ideas that were shared at last week's Dare to Share linky party.

1. Thanksgiving Turkey Card

2. Pinecone Turkey by Annies Home

3. Gratitude Challenge

4. Easiest Turkey Recipe Ever

5. Thanskgiving Candy Box Favors

If you missed some of the fun projects I shared this week for our family Minion party, you can check them out here:

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins

Minion Kiss Stickers

Copycat Enchilada Sauce Mix

Printable Hexagon Gift Boxes

Did you see the yummy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes recipe that Pam shared this week?  My daughter loves mashed potatoes so we always make extra so she can have leftovers.  I am so glad to have found this idea, since it will be an easy way to make them from now on. 

I can't wait to see what you've been up to this week, so I hope you're ready to Dare to Share!

An InLinkz Link-up

Copycat Mix for Enchilada Sauce Recipe

Save money and eat healthier with this copycat version of McCormick's Enchilada Sauce Mix.  Using items you probably already have in your kitchen, you can make a delicious enchilada sauce mix that saves a trip to the store.

Tonight is our Minion party for our family dinner.  I've been working hard for the past two weeks to make a fun night for the family.  Since it looks like more snow is in our future, it will be perfect timing to have to stay indoors.

I pondered on what to make for dinner to go along with the Minion theme.  I didn't think a meal of all bananas would quite work, although our chocolate chip banana bread muffins and some yummy banana splits will make an appearance tonight.

I finally decided to have a Mexican themed dinner with items that could have been served in El Macho's restaurant from Despicable Me 2.  After all, homemade enchiladas are my kids most favorite meal of all time.  I think they ask me for it at least once a week.

But usually, I'm a little hesitant to make them.  I just hate to buy the McCormick Enchilada Sauce packets.  They are SOOO expensive.  I mean seriously?  Why does it cost $1.50 a packet to throw together some basic spices?

Recently, I've really gotten into making my own homemade spices and packets.  I love how much cheaper they are to make.

Instead of paying over $3.00 for a pumpkin pie spice tiny jar, I can just make my own.  Instead of buying the dried Onion Soup packets, I have learned to make my own.  And now, I can save $3.00 every time I make enchiladas (which ends up being at least twice or three times a month) because I am making my own Enchilada sauce mix.

Hooray!

In case you are looking to save money too, here is the easy recipe using items you most likely already have in your kitchen pantry.

Enchilada Sauce Mix Recipe

2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano

To make the enchilada sauce mix, add all ingredients to an airtight container.  Shake or mix well.

To make your own enchilada sauce, combine ingredients with one cup water and 8 ounces tomato sauce in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until cornstarch dissolves and sauce starts to bubble.

(Recipe equals one 1.5 ounce packet.)

Printable Hexagon Gift Boxes

Make your own birthday or Christmas gift boxes with this free printable hexagon template that can be made into a 2 1/2 inch gift box.  It's so easy and great for giving little treats, sweets, or gifts everyday.

Ugh.  I have been trying to get last minute things done for our Despicable Me Minion party for our family dinner tomorrow night.  I had this great idea to make the place settings look like the little minion eyes.  So I figured all I needed to do was design up a little gift box to complete the look.

Six hours later, I've finally got it complete.

It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but I decided to try and make it into an instructional video instead of a regular blog post.  I'm kicking myself over that decision now.

The video itself was super easy.  Except for my daughter raging over Vampire Diaries in the background.  My son wanting this or that while he was outside playing in the snow.  And my other son deciding he was hungry and needed to be fed. Right. Then.

All the while I was trying to record and edit this gift box video.  Then my computer decided to chime in and freeze up ten times in the middle of trying to save the video.

Talk about super frustrating.  But I finally have it done.  I think in the end, the video worked out and I learned a super lot while working on it.  So someday, I'll have amazing videos that you guys will absolutely LOVE to watch and learn from.

Source

Well, at least I have a dream.

In the meantime, I hope you'll watch and enjoy learning how to make these Hexagon Gift boxes which are perfect for Christmas gifts or for hiding a little Minion Oreo inside to surprise your kids.

So what do you think?  Do you like the videos or the blog posts better?  

 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffin Recipe

Enjoy these moist chocolate chip banana bread muffins at your dinner tonight.  They are quick and easy to whip up with items you probably already have around your kitchen now.  This is a yummy recipe that will make you the hero when your family tastes these chocolate chips inside the banana bread muffins.

I was sitting here enjoy a rare spare moment of free time, when the wind pulled a Mary Poppins moment.  You know that part in the movie where the wind reverses direction and everything changes?

The wind picked up crazily and the temperature dropped about twenty degrees.

It was almost 70 degrees and sunny and tomorrow it's supposed to be snowy and 20 degrees.  Yuck.

So it's a good thing I made a few warm chocolate chip banana read muffins this afternoon.  These are just the thing to comfort and warm you up on a cold, cold, cold fall (is that still accurate?) day.

To make these banana bread muffins, you'll need:

1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed bananas
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Start by creaming the milk and margarine together.  Add the eggs and beat well.  Add the bananas, milk, and lemon juice to the mix.  Cream the ingredients together well.

Sift the dry ingredients together.  Add to the mix.  Mix in the chocolate chips.

Line 18 muffin tins with muffin liners.  Fill each liner 2/3 of the way full.

Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffin Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed bananas
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

• Cream margarine and sugar.
• Add eggs and beat.
• Add bananas, milk, and lemon juice.
• Sift dry ingredients and add.
• Add chocolate chips.
• Bake in muffin tins at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Makes 18 muffins.

Despicable Me Minion Notebook Cover Plastic Canvas Pattern

Make your own notebook cover using this fun, free plastic canvas pattern.  You can use your own Despicable Me Minion to cover your favorite recipe book, notebook, blog planner, or journal with this quick and easy pattern.

5 Yummy Cookie Recipes and Dare to Share Saturday

Find a few yummy cookie recipes to help you make it through a Wacky week.  You can enjoy Monster Brownie Cookie Sandwiches, Haunted Graveyard Bites, Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies, No Bake Cookies, and an honorary cookie Chocolate Pecan Pie.

I feel like it's been a LOOOOONNNNGGG week. 

Monday morning little things started going wrong.  I kind of felt like I was in the Dr. Seuss book "Wacky Wednesday.* "  You know how he wakes up and the shoe is on the wall and things just get weird and crazy after that?  That was my whole week.

It ended with my Dear Hubby getting half of his wisdom teeth pulled this morning.  So I've spent all day "babysitting" him and trying to keep him from pushing himself too much while he heals.  

So let me say, it's been a long week.

I guess that is why when looking at all the great projects you guys shared last week on Dare to Share Saturday, I was drawn to the cookies.  What more perfect food is there to comfort you after a crazy week? 

Chocolate? Check!  

Bite Sized so you don't feel like a pig? Check!

Quick and easy to make? Check!

Easily shared without giving the whole batch away? Check!

See?  The perfect food.  And here are five yummy cookie recipes from last week's Dare to Share Saturday link party.

1. Monster Brownie Sandwich Cookies

Brownie cookies? with eyes?  Whoa, hold the beaters! With Daredevil's dream of opening a Brownie store still in the works, we were attracted to these brownie cookies.  But I admit, I pushed the idea under his nose when I discovered it was another reason to make buttercream frosting.  (The most amazing frosting in the whole wide world.)  So don't doubt our beaters will be super busy this weekend trying these cookies.

2. Haunted Graveyard Bites

I know it's not Halloween anymore, but how could I not feature these?  They are so fun looking and after trying Milano Cookies on my one and only long distance flight, I am in love.  (But not enough to pay that crazy price for only a few cookies.)  But these great graveyard bites might make me rethink my purchasing decision even in the midst of Thanksgiving.

3. Mint Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

I'm not sure if it was the Mint Chocolate chip ingredient that attracted me to these cookies, or if it was the idea that maybe there's a chance (however small) that my teenagers wouldn't eat them all in one sitting before I'd even finished slaving away at the oven to make them.  Either way, I knew I had to add these cookies to my "yummy" list.

4. No Bake Cookies

Okay, these are my most "favoritest" cookies of all time, space, and eternity.  They are my go-to cookie if I'm sad, mad, happy, excited, or celebrating. No cookie round up would be complete without sharing these with you again, after all, I'm afraid you won't get any from me in any other way.

5. Chocolate Pecan Pie

Okay, I know this isn't technically a cookie, but if you cross your eyes and eat enough of it, you can convince yourself it's just one really big, filled cookie.  I had to add this one to our cookie recipe round up since Pecan Pie is my Dear Hubby's favorite and I am not a fan, but add the chocolate addition and I'm totally in and may even surprise him with this huge chocolate pecan pie "cookie" for Thanksgiving.

Despite being a crazy Wacky Wednesday* week, I did manage to make a few fun things (minions) this week.  In case you missed any of them, here are some great ideas to check out (and another yummy cookie recipe!)

Minion Seeds Candy Bag Topper

Evil Minion Can Game

Pin the Eye on the  Minion Game

Minion Chocolate Covered Oreos

And did you see the fun Witch Themed Halloween Porch that my co-host Pam recapped this week?  I did a witch theme last year for Halloween and loved it, but it would have even better if I had Pam's tole painting skills and cute Halloween decorations!

I can't wait to see what you've been up to this week, so I hope you're ready to Dare to Share!

An InLinkz Link-up