Want to try a new recipe?

With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, I am sure many of you are starting to make your menu and shopping list. If you are like me, you may even be thinking of making something different or in addition to your normal choices for desserts. I thought I would share two of my favorites in case you would like to try something new. First is the Reese Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle. You don't have to use a trifle bowl, you can also layer it in a deep baking dish.

Box of Duncan Hines Chewy Brownie Mix for 9x13 pan

16 Individual Reese Cups

2 boxes vanilla pudding (3.4 oz size)

12 ounces Cool Whip

3 cups milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tsp. vanilla

Make brownies per box directions for chewy brownie (2 egg recipe) and bake in a 9 x 13 pan and let cool. Cut into squares about 1" in size. (If you turn them out of the pan onto a cutting board, when they come out of the oven you can cut them easier with a pizza cutter once they cool.) 

In a mixing bowl, mix 2 boxes of vanilla pudding with 3 cups of milk (Ignore pudding recipe on box). Whisk until well blended. Whisk in peanut butter and vanilla. Once it is blended good, fold in 1/2 cup of Cool Whip. Cut up 16 individual Reese Cups into quarters. Set to side. 

In a trifle bowl, layer one layer of brownies. Spoon 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the brownies. Spread on 1/2 of the remaining Cool Whip and top with 1/2 of the chopped Reece Cups. 

Repeat process, starting with the remaining brownies, then the remaining pudding and remaining Cool Whip. Top with remainder of the brownies. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat. I usually do my brownies and cut up my Reese's the day before and then throw the rest together the day we are going to have it. If you refrigerator your Reese cups until ready to use them, they cut up easier and spread in the layers easier. This is my most requested dessert.

The next on my list of recommended desserts is a lemon pound cake with home made glaze. 

I start with the Duncan Hines Deluxe Lemon Supreme Cake Mix. You can use a greased and floured tube pan, a couple of loaf pans or simply use a 9 x 13 cake pan. Instead of the directions on the box, make the cake as follows: 

1 Pkg Duncan Hines Deluxe Lemon Supreme Cake Mix 

1 Package lemon instant pudding Mix (4 serving size)

1/2 C. Crisco Oil

1/2 cup Sprite and 1/2 cup of lemon juice.

Zest from one lemon

4 Eggs

Use the baking temp and time per the box but watch it till it tests done, it may take shorter or longer depending on your oven.

I make mine in a Bundt pan and it is to die for. For the glaze, I use confectioner sugar and just a little milk then add the zest of another lemon, a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice and a splash of sprite to get it the right texture. I like it thick enough to cling to the cake but thin enough to run down over the sides when I pour it on. I take a skewer and poke a few holes in the top so it drains inside as well to keep it moist. Here is the first time I ever made it which was also the first Bundt cake I ever made so I just thought the picture looks delicious.

And thinking about Thanksgiving, if you are like me your week leading up to it is slammed with things to do to get ready. So I like to have something I make ahead of time and freeze for the days I'm too busy to cook a meal. My go to item for the week before is a big pot of School Cafeteria Style Veggie Soup. I make it one day and freeze it in portions so if I need something quick and easy to eat, I get out a bowl of this and heat it up and fix a grilled cheese to go with it and I'm not in the kitchen forever nor do I have a big mess to clean up. 

School Soup

1 48 oz. can tomato juice

1 lb. fresh lean ground beef

1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

1 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed and with juice

2 potatoes, diced

2 med. onions, diced

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

(Note it calls for lima beans but I leave them out)

Bring tomato juice to a boil. Slowly add crumbled ground beef. Cook until beef is separated. Add onions, mixed vegetables, potatoes, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add more salt if desired.

Well, there you have it. Some new ideas for recipes for the holiday. These are not stock photos. These are actual recipes that I have made exactly like I am posting them so I know they are good. And they turned out so good that I took pictures as I made them so I could have them. If you try any, let me know. I would love to hear your results.