Blast From the Past - Banana Split Dessert For a Girls Get Together

Once a month I get together with seven other women for what is suppose to be a scrapbook crop. To be honest we do scrapbook a little, eat a lot and talk even more...It's a glorious day of girl time!

So that no one person is burdened with the responsibility for all the food we rotate turns. This month it's my turn to bring dessert. I knew I wanted something cool since we're already experiencing summer time temperatures. So I Googled 'summer desserts' and I was pleasantly surprised when Banana Split Dessert was among the many choices. This dessert was very popular when I was a newly wed and it seems everyone had their own variation. It's been years since I've had it but I remembered it was yummy! It is cool and refreshing. I knew I this would be the perfect dessert to share with the girls.

Everyone seems to have their own variation of this dish but it's so simple you might not even need a recipe. Take a graham cracker crust, add a creamy filling, top with pineapple, banana and strawberries and finished it off with whipped cream, a few drizzles of chocolate and chopped nuts. 

Simple and so good!

Recipe

Recipe will make a 13 x 9 inch pan

Crust

2 cups crushed grahams crackers

1/4 cup melted butter

2 Tablespoons sugar

Mix all the ingredients and press in to the bottom of pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Filling

(The Triple Sec adds a little something extra to the filling but you can easily omit it if you're serving children or you just don't want to use alcohol.)

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar 

2 - 3 Tablespoons Triple Sec (Orange Liqueur) optional

2 teaspoons vanilla

8 ounce container whipped topping (Cool Whip)

With a mixer cream together the cream cheese, sugar, Triple Sec (if using) and vanilla until fluffy. Gently fold in the whipped topping. 

Spoon the filling over the graham cracker crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Topping

5 - 6 bananas, sliced

20 ounce can crushed pineapple (in juice) drained

2 cups sliced strawberries

8 ounce container whipped topping (Cool Whip)
1 cup chopped pecans (or whatever is your favorite nut)
Chocolate syrup or Hershey's Shell Topping

Drain the pineapple. Slice the bananas into the pineapple juice. This will help them to not turn brown.

With a slotted spoon remove the bananas from the juice and place them in an even layer of the cream cheese filling.
 Cover the bananas with the pineapple and a layer of strawberries. Cover the fruit with the whipped topping, cover with chopped nuts and drizzle on the chocolate.

To serve add a little whipped topping and a cherry on top. Enjoy!



Something I always do when I make a dessert to take somewhere is to make a little extra for my family. So I increased the recipe a little bit and made a loaf pan to leave at home. They must have enjoyed it because this is what I found when I got back after my girls day out.

If you're looking for a no bake summery dessert you might want to give this a try.

Best of the Weekend

Grace at Home No. 105

Saturday Night Fever

Warm Apple Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce

I made this cake a couple weeks ago but didn't get any pictures before it was devoured. So over the weekend when my husband said they were having an office Thanksgiving party on Tuesday I volunteered to make another apple cake for him to take in to share. 

I didn't just make one cake, I made two. 

One to keep, one to give:-)

My favorite book of all times is "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George.
In the chapter titled Motherly Affection she talks about giving your family preferential treatment
She says:
"Don’t give away to others what you have not first given away at home."

This applies to far more than just food but in this instance I’m not going to make a yummy cake to send off and not keep a little for my family!

This cake is warm and dense but not too sweet. Full of apples, nuts and dates it's perfect for the fall season.  It's even good as a breakfast treat...

Apple Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce

(This recipe as written will make one 13 x 9 inch cake. If you want a smaller cake you can divide all the ingredients in half and bake it in a 9" round cake pan reduce the baking time to 30 - 35 minutes)

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

4 eggs

4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon all spice

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups peeled and chopped apples (chunks not minced)

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped dates (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream the sugar and butter together for 5 minutes

Beat in the eggs one at a time and the vanilla until just blended. Set aside

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt and spices and stir well.

Gradually add the flour to the sugar/egg mixture beating until well blended.

By hand stir in the apples, dates and walnuts

Pour into a greased 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. 

Serve warm with Vanilla Butter sauce.

Vanilla Butter Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the whipping cream and the sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Be careful because the sauce will bubble up when you add the vanilla. 

Serving suggestions: 

If you're serving the cake at home you can keep the sauce warm in a small chafing dish and let your guest help themselves to as much as they like. 

For a potluck- I cool the cake completely and slightly cool the butter sauce. Pour the sauce over the top of the cake and refrigerate. The cake is good eaten cold, at room temp, or reheated in the microwave.  

Tip:
Anytime I make something with nuts I always sprinkle some on top so if anyone has a nut allergy they will know right away not to eat any. 

Setting an extra plate at my table and making a place in my heart!

Kelly's Korner Show us Your Life

Weekend Potluck

Saturday Night Fever

Home and Garden Thursday


29

White Chocolate Popcorn in the Mail for Valentine's Day

Every holiday that rolls around and sometimes just for fun I send off a box of goodies to my college boy and also one to my middle son and his family. My middle boy's family happens to include my first born grandbaby.

So of course I have to send a little something special to her:-)

 When my children were growing up we'd buy a book for every holiday each year. (I still have all those books) I'm continuing the tradition with my grandchildren. 

For Valentine's Day I choose the cardboard book "Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse!" by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond. 

I also included a bottle of candy and a few bags of white chocolate popcorn. 

I'm sure you've seen these plastic bottles used as gift containers - simply remove the label, wash out the bottle and dry well. Cut a small slit in the bottle and insert candy or other little goodies or toys. Cover the slit with the original label or make a new label to cover it. 

Two boxes ready to go. 

My college boy gets extra goodies to share with his roommate. (Also if I keep it in the house I will consume every piece:-)  

My son and his wife get the goodies along with a gift card for a nice dinner out and a little extra cash for a for a baby sitter.  Oh, how I wish I was close enough to babysit for the evening!

And this is one of those stuffed toys with the velcro hands. I wrote a note that says 

"A hug from Grammie and Papa"

I wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day! 

and I leave you with a yummy recipe for

White Chocolate Popcorn

This is so good and so easy. I keep bags of popcorn and white morsels in my pantry. It only takes a few minutes to make up a batch. Great for unexpected company.

Ingredients

1 bag of 94% Fat Free Popcorn
12 ounce bag of white morsels

Pop the corn and let cool slightly. Remove any kernels that didn't pop.

Melt the white morsels in the microwave. Stir every 30 seconds until the morsels are all melted.

Place the popcorn in a large bowl, pour the melted white morsels over the popcorn and stir with a large spoon until the popcorn is well coated.

Place the coated popcorn on a baking sheet. I just dump it on and smooth it out. Place the cookie sheet in the fridge for about 15 minutes or until the coating is hard.

Once the coating is hard break the popcorn up into pieces.

Enjoy!


I'm linking up with

Mercy Inc Heart + Home

Hospitality Doesn't Have to Be Complicated

I don't know about you but when I'm under the weather I like a nice cup of hot chicken noodle soup. Of course a pot of homemade soup is best but just in case I always keep cans of Campbell Chicken Noodle soup in my pantry. When I was little my mom would give us this very soup, ginger ale and saltine crackers. It seemed to cure just about anything.

So when my neighbor called to let me know she wouldn't be able to go shopping with me today because she was sick I knew what I had to do.

A couple cans of soup and ginger ale and a sleeve of saltines dropped off at her door...

Simple and easy. I have to admit I didn't even fancy it up in a basket. Just a plain paper bag:-)

I would rather have taken her a nice pot of good homemade soup with some fresh rolls all packaged up in a basket. But I think it's better to just do something than to not do it because I don't have time to make it perfect. Perfection can kill hospitality!

 And she was happy with my offering.

 Isn't it the thought that counts?

What do you keep on hand for when sickness comes your way?

Patti


I'm sharing this post at

Pam's Party & Practical Tips - Dare To Share

Take A Meal to a Shut In

Hospitality doesn't have to be confined to the walls of our home. There are many times when a meal would be appreciated. Tonight I took a meal to a lovely lady in our neighborhood who is confined to her home. 

It was a very simple meal. 

Ham

Lima beans

Rice

Cornbread

Peanut butter fudge  

I made the same meal for my family so I just cooked a little extra to share. 

Everything is hot but can be heated in the microwave if needed.

Everything ready to go. I always try to use containers that I don't need to get back.

When I take a meal to someone I usually just drop it off but tonight I stayed and visited for a little while. 

I can't imagine what it would be like to be confined to my home. It must get very lonely so I'm glad to be able to do a little something to help. I know I probably get as much enjoyment from our visits as she does.

Have you ever taken a meal to someone in need? 

Be a blessing to someone today. 

Patti