Easter Trifle

Okay y'all, I know I'm all about posting on Easter this week, which has already come and gone, but this recipe is an amazing sweet treat that can be made any time of the year ~ I just happen to make it for our Easter feast. Honestly, I have been making it for YEARS and trying to prefect the it for years. Finally, this year I have narrowed down the recipe to be exactly what I had in mind on taste, texture, and ingredients.

As y'all well know recipes are a dime a dozen and there's probably 100's of recipes for any given dish you desire to create. But, everyone has their own taste preferences and that is where recipes differ. For me, it's first and foremost about ease of making, next comes affordability, and then of course how it tastes. Well, this little trifle meets all those standards and then some.

I like to schedule a set menu for each holiday. Why? Mostly because it just makes life easier. It's super easy to plan in advance, I don't have to stress about what I'm going to make each holiday, and everyone in the family knows what to expect. Which in my experience minimizes meltdowns. And Lordy be who doesn't want to minimize meltdowns. When life works in order it just makes life more enjoyable for everyone.

Back to this amazing Easter Trifle recipe. I saw an Easter Trifle many moons ago, and I just knew it would be the perfect dessert recipe for our Easter menu. Hence my desire to fine tune the recipe into what would best fit our family's dessert preferences.

Easter Trifle

Ingredients

One chocolate cake cooked according to directions and cut into 1 inch cubes
Two 3.4oz boxes of vanilla pudding
1 package of Oreo cookies crushed
one 8 oz tub of cool whip
2 cups of milk
pink and green food coloring, opt.
Large Robin Egg candies
Peep chick candies
Easter sprinkles

Directions

Layer half of the cubed cake pieces into bottom of trifle bowl. In a small mixing bowl pour in both pudding mixes add milk and mix for two minutes with a hand held mixer (can use stand mixer). Fold cool whip into pudding mixture. Divide pudding into two parts if coloring. Color half the pudding pink and the other half green. Pour one of the pudding mixture over the first layer of cake in the trifle bowl. Sprinkle with half of the crushed cookies. Now repeat layers. On top layer place egg candies and peep candies as well as the sprinkles. Chill in fridge.

I love this Easter trifle recipe for many reasons. One: it's easy to make, two: it tastes great, three: it's budget friendly, and four: it can feed an army. When one dessert that is quick and easy to make can feed a whole bunch of people I am one happy woman. I'm a firm believer in making life as easy as possible. It is very feasible to create affordable, easy to make, special holiday meals, it just takes a little time and effort to plan them out. By planning simple menus in advance for holidays, it allows me to be more focused on celebrating and enjoying time with my family than hiding in the kitchen, and that my friends is a win in my book.

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

Biscuit Muffins

Okay y'all this has become one of my most favorite quick-bread recipes I have ever come up with! I have seriously been trying to tweak this recipe for several years now, and I think I've finally got it right. Yeah!!

Now, y'all know those days when you're making a meal, whether it's breakfast or dinner, and you want to make biscuits but you're short on time ~ this is the recipe for YOU! These biscuit muffins are super quick and easy to make, yet they have the same taste and texture of traditional biscuits. Seriously, you can slice them and slather them with butter or jelly and they are absolutely delicious. As much as I love traditional biscuits, in this busy season of life, these are now my go-to recipe for biscuits.

Biscuit Muffins

Ingredients
1 egg
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients. Scoop into greased muffin pan. Bale 15-20 minutes at 400*. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure you could make these even healthier using whole wheat flour and olive oil. Baking regular biscuits can make quite the mess, but these create little to no mess. They are so easy to whip up, even the children can make them.

With a large family and a super busy schedule, easy and affordable recipes are my go-to. I don't have time to spend hours making meals or cleaning up after them. Yes, I try to feed my family decent meals, but I'm intentional to make them as quick, affordable, and as easy as possible. Recipes like these help make that possible. I hope y'all enjoy this biscuit muffin recipe as much as we do.

With Love & Hope
Jennifer

Honey Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

Well, now that everyone's gardens are bumping, there's the question: what to do with all that zucchini. There's really only so much you can do with it, but there are a few ways we make use of the tasty veggie.

My absolute favorite way to eat zucchini is sliced and sautéed in olive oil in a skillet on the stove. I seriously can eat it that way every.single.day, all year ~ too bad we haven't figured out how to grow zucchini year round.  😊 We also grill it, roast it, add it diced to soups and casseroles, and add it shredded to all sorts of baked goods. Today I'm sharing our favorite healthy twist to zucchini bread.

We've been grinding our own wheat for a long time, so it was just natural for me to create a zucchini bread recipe that took advantage of our healthy fresh ground wheat. I think it comes out of the oven just as moist as any refined flour version, maybe even better because there's an added nuttiness that comes from fresh ground wheat. I have made this recipe with regular store-bought whole wheat and it's just as good.

While we aren't a family who has completed omitted refined sugar from our diet, we do try to limit our intake. Which is why this zucchini bread recipe is made with honey. We are blessed with a local source for honey. We typically buy the 'seconds' which has some condensation in the honey. We've never had a problem with the honey so it just makes sense for us to purchase the discounted 5 gallon bucket. A 5 gallon bucket of local raw honey usually lasts us one year and we pay around $125 for the bucket.

Honey Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups shredded zucchini

2 eggs

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Mix wet ingredients with zucchini, then add dry ingredients; stirring just until evenly incorporated. Divide into greased loaf pans ( I use regular bread size and mini loaf pans ~ which is perfect for portion control and gift giving). *Side note: I coat my bread pans with coconut oil and then dust them with whole wheat flour. Bake 50-60 minutes @ 300 degrees. I bake my mini loaves for 40 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let cool on cooling racks.

My recipe for Honey Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread is super easy to make, taste great and freezes well. It's an awesome way to fill the freezer with a healthy snack for a later time. If y'all haven't caught on yet, I'm all about making life easier and more convenient if at all possible. Cooking once for multiple meals or snacks definitely makes my life easier. And knowing my family is eating healthy treats makes it all the better. I hope y'all enjoy this recipe and can use up some of your wonderful bounty of zucchini!

With Love & Hope,
Jennifer