Newlywed Recipe Corner: "Angela’s Easy Peanut Butter Cup Pie"

This week I have a no-bake treat to share with you and there is a special reason I am sharing it with you this week. Besides this column, I enjoy having a food blog on the internet. My blog is called "The Southern Fried Bride". Recently a fellow food blogger's husband suddenly passed away. In the days following, she shared on her food blog her husband's favorite treat she made: peanut butter pie. She asked that those of us in the food blogging community, if we would possibly do it, make a peanut butter pie the next Friday to remember his life. On that Friday, I gladly made my recipe for peanut butter pie and shared it with my family here. Here is my recipe. I have always loved the tasty goodness in a peanut butter cup and I’m a firm believer in the time you can save with using a ready-made pie crust. Even better, this pie is made with ingredients for a lighter version. For variety, try changing up the flavor of a ready-made crust from the usual ready-made graham cracker crust to one of the different flavors available at the grocery store now, such as chocolate or vanilla wafer, according to your flavor of pie. I paired this week’s pie with a ready-made chocolate crust and it makes a peanut butter pie filling instantly into the classic candy treat.

"Angela’s Easy Peanut Butter Cup Pie"

1 quart vanilla reduced fat ice cream or frozen yogurt, softened

1 cup light frozen whipped topping, thawed

2/3 cup peanut butter, crunchy or creamy

1 (8 oz.) ready-made chocolate pie crust

Garnish: ¼ cup chocolate syrup

¼ cup peanuts, chopped

In large bowl, combine first three ingredients. Beat with mixer at medium speed until well blended. Spoon into crust. Cover pie and freeze at least 4 hours or until firm. When ready to serve, remove from freezer and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Garnish, if desired, by drizzling chocolate syrup over pie and sprinkling with chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

Newlywed Recipe Corner: “Angela’s Crowd-Pleasin’ Lasagna”

During these hot summer months, there are only a few dishes I find worth turning on the oven for. This dish is one of them. I have long been a fan of lasagna and my recipe uses lean ground beef and reduced fat Mozzarella cheese, which makes a healthier version of lasagna with the same great flavor and is topped for a fun twist and taste, with American cheese.

“Angela’s Crowd-Pleasin’ Lasagna”

8 ounces lasagna noodles

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 jar (16 ounce) spaghetti sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese

1 package (8 ounce) shredded Mozzarella cheese (reduced fat Mozzarella works great)

1/2 cup shredded American cheese

Optional: 1 (8 ounce) can mushrooms, drained

Spray 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onion. Drain well. Return beef mixture to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add mushrooms, if desired. Stir in garlic powder, salt and Italian seasoning. In baking pan, layer 1/3 of lasagna noodles, 1/3 of meat sauce and 1/3 of ricotta cheese and 1/3 package of Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat layers twice. Bake lasagna for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with ½ cup American cheese. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 8-10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

"Angela's Easy Southern Breeze Banana Pudding"

It is a great thrill to be a newlywed homemaker. I take heart in the many treasured cookbooks my Grandma Cleva collected through the years that she gave to me for my own kitchen. Some recipes can quickly become overwhelming with so many steps. I have found one such recipe to be banana pudding. certain recipes can quickly become an overwhelming thoughtThe traditional recipes I have seen almost require jumping through hoops with all kinds of contraptions to come out with a bowl of pudding. My recipe I have found to be a much easier way to prepare this pudding and at the same time, made a few healthier ingredient substitutions and of course, this young lady has put a Southern spin on my recipe.

Angela’s Healthy Cooking Tip: By substituting traditional banana pudding recipe ingredients of whole milk, 4 egg yolks and twice as much heavy cream with the ingredients in this recipe, you can save in each serving, nearly 250 calories, 20 grams of fat and 100 milligrams of cholesterol. Here’s to healthy choices!

“Angela’s Easy Southern Breeze Banana Pudding”

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 pinch salt

3 cups low-fat milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon banana extract

40 reduced-fat vanilla wafers (half of one 11oz. box)

2 medium ripe bananas, chopped

Topping: 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

Garnish: ¼ cup chopped walnuts

1 banana, chopped

In 4-quart saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar with cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk; heat to boiling on medium, stirring frequently. Gradually add eggs, beating vigorously. Cook 1 minute, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in banana extract. In 2-quart casserole or serving dish, place 20 vanilla wafers. Pour 1 1/4 cups pudding over wafers, covering wafers completely. Top with one chopped bananas. Repeat layering once. Top with remaining pudding, making sure to completely cover chopped banana layer. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Before serving, prepare whipped cream topping in medium bowl by adding cream and 1 tablespoon sugar. Beat with mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pudding. Garnish, if desired, with chopped walnuts and chopped banana. Enjoy!

Congratulations to the 4 winners of my wedding countdown follower giveaway: Kestrel, Heather, Nancy and Kara!

Newlywed Recipe Corner: "Craig's Blueberry Heaven"

I have been hearing from many of you with compliments about my recent no-heating-up-the-oven-needed recipes I have been sharing with you during this scorching hot summer. Here is another recipe perfect for preparing in this heatwave. I love blueberry season and blueberry patches abound here in New York just as they do in Oklahoma. My husband Craig has been picking blueberries for me on Saturdays! I have been having the best time creating new recipes and preparing blueberry dessert dishes this summer. The one I am sharing with you this week is one I made recently, so new when I served it that I hadn't even named it yet. It was a huge hit with my husband and I decided to let him name it. This recipe can easily be halved for a smaller portion. I hope you find this dish "berry" good!

"Craig's Blueberry Heaven"

1 16 oz. tub whipped topping, thawed

1 8 oz. package berry blue gelatin

3/4 cup blueberries

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup crushed pineapple

Spoon thawed whipped topping into large bowl. Mix in entire envelope of gelatin. Fold in blueberries, marshmallows and pineapple. Transfer mixture into serving bowl. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. Serves 8-10. Enjoy!