Cooking Thursday - No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Trifles

With a stocked fridge and pantry, there is nothing that I like more than to get into the kitchen and cook.  I'm not too much of a baker and I think that's why m food blog doesn't have many dessert and sweet recipes.

But once in a while, I like making something sweet, so one of the first things I made yesterday were these delicious desserts that are just perfect for the summer.

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No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Trifles

Source: Lucky Leaf

1 frozen pound cake (10.75 ounce), thawed slightly and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
18 ounces fresh blueberries
1 recipe graham cracker streusel (see below)
1 recipe no-bake lemon cheesecake (see below)

Graham cracker streusel:

9 cinnamon graham crackers, crushed to crumbs in a food processor
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
Generous pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

No-bake lemon cheesecake filling:

24 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 1/2 cup Lucky Leaf Premium Lemon Pie Filling

To make the graham cracker streusel, toss all ingredients in a medium bowl until the butter is evenly distributed.

To make the cheesecake mixture, beat together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the frozen whipped topping and pie filling until evenly combined.

Layer the graham cracker streusel, blueberries, lemon cheesecake mixture, and pound cake cubes in a medium mason jar until filled. Repeat with remaining jars.

Homemaking in progress....

I don't know about you all but I can't sit still and be happy until my house is fully unpacked and everything is set up.

And I can say that it's finally there.  OH joy, the sigh of relief I breathed last night was humungous.

I can now sit down on my couch with my crochet and work on dishcloths to sell, and just so you know I've decided against an Etsy store, I am old fashioned kinda gal and I like things simple, so I'll be selling my goodies through my blog here and on Facebook.

I've been slowly working my way through some dishcloths, I kind of did it in between boxes of unpacking and if I was resting for a few minutes.

Now I'm looking forward to being able to work on them whenever I feel like it.  I figure with my family arriving next week, I have a few days to really make a dent on these.

I think one of my favorite steps of the dishcloth making, is in picking the yarn colors :)

So anyway, that's what I have been working on. We had glorious thunder and rain yesterday and it makes me so happy because living in Arizona for the past 7 years we hardly got any, it was so frustrating at times. I think we've seen more rain here in the past two weeks than in a whole year back in AZ. Crazy!

This was taken right after the rain, so pretty.

Today I've been super busy.

Had to go to base to get groceries at the commissary and then came home, put all of those away and had to run back out to Walmart to pick up a few things that I still needed, came back home and got all that taken care of.

I am now sitting down for about an hour to watch my Portuguese soap and then it's dinner time. I've been looking forward to that for a long time.

My fridge and deep freezer are stocked and I can't wait to get in the kitchen to cook, oh I've missed it :)

I'll have to come back and share the recipe, making some yummy chicken breasts with a bacon breadcrumb topping, potatoes au gratin and for dessert I have a delicious Lucky Leaf recipe for a review going up on the food blog. Just wait until you see it, think blueberries, lemon pie, whipped cream....yum.

Ooohhh my show is starting, time to head out. Oh and I didn't forget about the Happy Homemaker Monday, I'll come say hi later tonight :)

Happy Homemaker Monday - 07/15/2013

Missed Happy Homemaker Monday last week as we didn't have internet up yet, but boy am I glad to be back this morning :)

I am hoping you all had a fabulous weekend and an even better work and school week ahead.

On to today's list.......

The weather.....Seems the triple digits are back this week and I'm not exactly thrilled, I mean, I did come to Idaho to get away from those temps right? LOL

This is what it looks like, not TOO horribly bad I guess, compared to 119.

Right now I am....Enjoying my morning cup of coffee, sitting on the couch typing this up and listening to hubby sitting next to me as he checks his facebook and tells me the funnies listed on.

Thinking....About next week when my brother and his family arrive in the States, I am so happy and excited though I know that this is a bittersweet and terribly hard moment for them having to leave family and friends and everything behind.  

On my reading pile....Two books on raising chickens, Traditional Kitchen Wisdom and a few Amish fiction.

On my TV.....My Portuguese soaps and a few shows online to catch up on.  

What I found while surfing the net....British Corner Shop, online store where I can find a myriad of products from England.  *sigh*

On the menu for this week....So happy to say that I did make a menu plan and can now get back to normal cooking and shopping.  Nothing like being forced away from it for almost two months to really appreciate it.  For today I am going to throw in a chili into the crockpot as I still have to go grocery shopping.

Monday - Crockpot Chili
Tuesday -  Turkey Breasts with Bacon, Potatoes au Gratin
Wednesday - Beach Street Lemon Chicken with homemade fettucine
Thursday - Meatloaf, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Veggies
Friday - Crispy Cheddar Chicken w/ Basmati Rice
Saturday - Runza Casserole w/ Salad
Sunday - Fish Fillets with Cilantro Sauce, Butter Rice and peas

On my to do list....
Laundry, it's all been washed and folded just have to put it away
Finish the girl's bedroom
Need to buy two more dressers and a video storage cabinet of some sort
Grocery Shopping
Post Office Run

In the craft basket....Dishcloths for the Etsy store.  Been making a few as I have time and it's felt so good to get back to my crochet and knitting.

Looking forward to this week....Getting my house completely finished, and getting ready for my family to arrive next week.

Looking around the house....It's mostly done, like I said just have a few things still laying around that I need to put away, but it's no longer packed with boxes of all kind.  My husband is playing one of his space games on Facebook, the pugs are snoring next to us, Miss Lola with me and Miss Bella with hubby.  Kids are still asleep and the sun is shining through the kitchen deck door....so peaceful :)

From the camera....

On my prayer list.....
My brother and sister in law as they get ready to leave their whole lives behind and embark on a new journey in the States.
My stepmother and father, after almost 34 years of marriage they are getting separated and it's heartbreaking for me :(

Bible verse, Devotional....
“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,
the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,
3 as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not say anything wicked,
and my tongue will not utter lies.
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.
6 I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it;
my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live. - Job 27 1:6

That moment when you find a church.....

and you just know.

It's been 7 years since we've been to church, we just could not find a church we felt comfortable with back in Arizona, so we didn't go and it killed me every Sunday to see it come and go without stepping foot in church.

I could have just gone to any church, I know, but when you don't find one you feel right in, it just doesn't work.....at least for us.

This morning we walked into this church and we were welcomed with open arms, everyone was amazing, kind, friendly, genuinely interested in who we were, where we came from and when learning we had just moved back to the area they quickly offered housewares, furniture etc if we didn't have our stuff yet.

I just knew at that moment that we belonged.

It's a certain kind of feeling that comes over you when you are finally home, indescribable.

As the strings of "Shout to the Lord" began playing, I tried desperately to hold on to the tears welling in my eyes, but the more I tried to hold it in, the more they pushed through and the bigger the lump in my throat.  I couldn't help it, I cried, I just cried and my husband leaned over and hugged me and asked if I was ok and all I could say was "I'm just so happy to be back in church".

And that is when I knew, that was it, we had finally come home.

Kinda felt like the prodigal son returning after so many years, and still being welcomed back with the same love and compassion that I felt when I first left.  I wish I could put it into words, but I find it hard to describe exactly what I was feeling.

These past two months have been such a huge lesson for me, in many ways, and I feel like they finally culminated this morning, in that church pew.  Anything after this is just icing on the cake.

So I wanted to come in and share this with you all, to tell you that I have finally found my church "home" and I'm so happy.  But I also wanted to thank each and every one of you who have followed my blog from the very first post, and throughout the years, through my ups and downs and spiritual journey and cross country moves.

Whether you know it or not, you've all contributed to this moment. :)

And now that I've shared this news, I am off to work on my menu plan and grocery list.

Have a blessed evening everyone :)

PS...the church pictures above are NOT the church I'm referring to, those are from the Pioneer Living History Museum!  Just wanted to clear that up.  

Morning at the lake

The best decision we have ever made, has been to leave Arizona in the dust, and come back home to Idaho.  Is there anything like the Northwest???

The levels of stress that we felt for the past 7 years seem to have melted away, and you know that feeling you get when you are where you belong?  That content happy joy deep down in your soul, feeling?  It's been replaced by that.

I feel lighter, I feel younger, I feel happier.

Surrounded by nothing but city and brown and dust for so many years, being back where everything is green and there are cows and horses and water no matter where you look, is so very good for the soul.  I was definitely born to live in the country.  City life is NOT for this gal.

This morning we headed to one of our favorite spots, a place we used to go quite often when I was pregnant with both kids, and even took my mother in law and brother in law when they were visiting.

It felt good to once again drive down these roads, to see that everything remained the same even though years had passed and lessons had been learned.

Our old beloved pet Misty is buried somewhere along this road, we can't remember exactly where, but driving out this way brought tears to our eyes. We do miss our old girl, she was such a huge part of our lives.

Everything we do in life, everywhere we go and have been, leaves an imprint.  Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad but together they make the fabric of who we are and I honestly wouldn't change anything in my life, not the good and not the bad, they all have their place in my heart.

The kids so loved the ride, they are not used to greenery and even though they've been out here before, they were so little that they don't remember any of it, so it's fun to bring them back and reintroduce them to everything again.

Gorgeous day, 80 degrees, a beautiful breeze and fresh air, nothing but fresh unpolluted air.  *sigh*

We brought along a very simple picnic, some sandwiches, some fruit, water, tea and some chips.  Sat under beautiful big trees, enjoyed the shade, ate while we chatted, butterflies and dragonflies flew by and watched the other lake goers having fun.

The kids were so happy.  They remind me a lot of myself at this age, I would also collect rocks and shells, so they spent a bit of time just hanging out by the waters edge.

So far, military retired life is the best feeling in the world. The stress these guys are under seems to melt the minute they sign that paper releasing them from Active Duty. We are all smiles, all about joy and all about relaxing.

She's at that age where hugging mom in public is embarrassing LOL So I don't get many of these, they're becoming a rare commodity that I treasure anytime it rears it's head.

And of course mama's boy.  This boy loves being with me and I love being with him :)

Of course the girls went along for the day and boy did they enjoy it. Miss Lola LOVES water as you all know, so while hubby walked along the lake edge she just went right in LOL

What is it with the little ones always wanting to go in the water?

On the way back home we encountered SO many horses.  I have loved horses my whole life and have always dreamed of living in an area where I am surrounded by horse pastures, now I can say I'm living that dream.

I could sit and watch them for hours....

We pulled up near the fence and they were all looking away from us, all I said was "Hey loves" and they ALL turned towards the car.  The kids thought it was hilarious.

Do love the baby calf don't you?

We headed home filled with fresh air and contentment. 

Finished off the day with a grilled steak and baked potato dinner out on the deck.  Perfection.

Now I'm going to continue on with more dishcloths. 

Some of you have asked about the Etsy store, it is not yet open as I don't have any items available for sale yet, but I'm hoping by next week I can give you the link to my little store.

Hope you've all had a lovely Saturday and enjoy the rest of your weekend.