Pecans, Pudding, and Cream Cheese, Oh My!

Photo: France C - allrecipes

Called Texas Delight by some, it’s the first dessert I ever made as a child. During the summers, I made it often! My family clipped the recipe from our newspaper under a different name. Pecans, Pudding, and Cream Cheese Delight is a delicious layered dessert well worth the effort and calories:

First Layer: Make an easy pecan crust:

Ingredients:

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 stick of soften butter

1 teaspoon cider vinegar (Vinegar is a gluten inhibitor that makes a flaky crust. Bakers call it their secret ingredient.)

1 cup of pecans - We left them whole, but feel free to break them up.

Directions for the crust, your 1st layer:

1) Mix the flour, butter and vinegar together and press the dough into a cake or square baking pan. I use a 9” by 9” pan. Press the pecans evenly into the dough.

2) Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 15 minutes. The dough will start to turn brown slightly. Remove and cool completely.

Second Layer:

Ingredients:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

3/4 cup of powered sugar

1 cup of very cold whipped cream - We no longer eat Cool Whip, the original whipped topping in the recipe. If you can find a readymade healthy whipped cream topping made from real cream or milk at your supermarket you can use it for convenience. I have a recipe below for making 3 cups of real whipped cream* you can make first and keep in the freezer while making the dessert.

Dirctions for the 2nd layer:

3. Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 cup of whipped cream together and spread it on the cold pecan crust. Place it in the refrigerator, the colder, the better.

Third Layer:

Ingredients

2 packages of instant vanilla pudding

2 cups of cold milk

Directions for the 3rd layer:

4) Whip the dry pudding powder into the milk (a 2:2 ratio), mixing for 2 minutes. Spead the pudding over the cream cheese mixture.

Forth Layer

Ingredients:

2 cups of very cold whipped cream

1/2 cup of chopped pecans.

Directions for the 4th layer:

5) Spread the remaining 2 cups of whipped cream as a final 4th layer over the others and garnish with a half cup of chopped pecans.

6) Chill in the refrigerator until set. We always tried to wait at least 3 hours, the colder the better the taste!

Our recipe calls for instant vanilla pudding, but I see in allrecipes, the uploader uses instant coconut cream pudding mix, which I haven’t tried. I know the vanilla pudding is delicious. Nowadays I lighten the recipe with reduced fat cream cheese and milk in the pudding. But! Don’t be fooled, there’s still plenty of calories, and yet not as many as when I made it as a child.😝🌞

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*How to make 3 cups of Real Whipped Cream:

Ingredients: 

Photo: Getty

1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons sugar (granuated or powered)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions to make whipped cream:

1) Chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer.

2) Add your heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Begin mixing on a low speed and increase to medium. Mix until stiff peaks form.

Keep in the freezer while you make the dessert.

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Inside Drawer Organizers Are the Bomb

Mr. Penn Interlocking Drawer Organizer

Many people have a junk drawer, where necessary things like scissors, tape, staples, paper clips, or rubber bands reside for when we need them. Sometimes other articles like electrician tape, a ruler, nails, screws, or appliance instructions end up in there too because we don’t know where else to put them. 

Are you tired of shifting through your junk drawer (or night stand) to find stuff you were savvy enought to keep? You can turn to Walmart or Target for inexpensive drawer organizers to separate and give all these practical things their own home. I’ve pulled up 2 brands under $7 from Walmart Online as I think they are ideal.

Madesmart 8 Piece Desk Drawer Organizer

Made of durable and washable plastic; the compartments are sized for reasonably big, long, and small articles, and an interlocking feature gives customers options on arranging and keeping each section from sliding as you open and close the drawers. There’s no real need to spend more on expensive drawer organizers to hold inexpensive stuff. Still I recommend paying the extra dollar or two to get the interlocking benefit! Some of the $5 organizers lack this component.

If everything is visable, items won’t get lost, and you won’t forget you have them. What’s more, you may even become motivated to declutter if you see that you haven’t reached for something since it went into the drawer.

Giving everything you own a home is impowering. This is one time when spending under $7 ... to save time ... will improve your life!

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Which is Cheaper Toilet Paper or Tissue?

Like many of you, I buy both toilet paper and tissue, but short of having a cold, and the need to repeatedly blow my nose, I’ll just grab a few sheets of toilet paper because using a tissue seems wasteful to clear my sinuses after a shower or an allergy or dust causing sneeze. I don’t really need a whole tissue to drain my sinuses. This got me wondering which is cheaper, toilet paper or tissue? The answer turns out to be toilet paper.

Buying rolls of toilet paper (especially in bulk) to act as a tissue is more cost-efficient than buying boxes of tissues. Usually you get more sheets of toilet paper per roll for less money than the cost of a standard box of tissues. In other words, the toilet paper tends to cost less per roll and each roll has 2 to 3 more sheets compared to the more expensive box of tissues that contains fewer tissues per box.

Toilet paper is designed to break up quickly in water and is the only paper to safely flush down a toilet.

When you’re sick and blowing your nose frequently, a box of tissues are a better option as they’re bigger sheets so you don’t end up with snot on your hands.👃⛑

Also I’d never offer house guests a wad of toilet paper to blow their nose. It seems cheap.

Some sources say tissues are softer than toilet paper, but my 2-ply toilet paper is as soft as the tissues I buy (and I have also encountered some rough tissues I would not buy); therefore in my home, it’s more the size that differs.

So using toilet paper to blow your nose will save you a few bucks over time, but when you’re sick and blowing your nose often,  you’ll need a box of tissues. Like me, you’ll have to buy both, but when you don’t really need a bigger tissue to blow your nose, grabbing a few squares of toilet paper will simplify your life since your boxes of tissues will last longer.

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Old Navy For Jeans, Cotton & Linen Part II

In part I, I talked about how Old Navy has truly stepped up its game since the retailer first opened its doors in 1994. The range of causal smart and date night aparel is wide and fashionable. Decent quality at unbeatable prices! Not exactly top quality, yet Old Navy dresses, t-shirts, and layering pieces tend to hold up for many machine washings.

In this part II the focus is on denim pieces that give customers plenty of bang for the buck! You’ll own them for years to come because they’re durable, versatile and always in style.

1) First up is the Long Denim Barn Coat in a dark blue wash, perhaps my favorite piece of the offerings. The coat has a spread collar, long raglan sleeves, button front, front welt pockets and a vented back hem. A dark rinse is always dressier than lighter rinses. It’s selling out fast!

2) Fit and flare Sleeveless Denim Midi Dress - Available in 2 dark rinses (black or blue) with a square neck, wide straps and a seamed skirt.

3) Baggy Wide-Leg Jean Overalls - Oversized jeans with a bib pocket, utility and back packets and adjustable buckled straps. 

 4) Long-Sleeve Denim Jumpsuit - It has a spread collar, tie-belt waist, covered zipper; with chest, front and back pockets.

5)  Oversized Jean Trucker Jacket - The jacket has lots of buttons and pockets in all the right places: Long sleeves with buttoned cuffs, a full-button front, button-flap and chest pocket, vertical welt pockets, a button table at the waist and a seamed front. Plus the pants in the matching wash is available.

Old Navy seems to have replaced its pricey sister company, The Gap, offering customers good quality at more reasonable prices. It's what the Gap used to do. Decades ago I bought my lined denim jacket at the Gap and still wear it. Today consumers can turn to Old Navy for similar quality and selections as the old Gap. I love Old Navy’s high-toned additions at affordable price points!

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Cozy Earth Brushed Bamboo Midi Dress

The brushed bamboo midi dress by Cozy Earth is very wearable. Made of 70% bamboo viscose, 26% acrylic and 4% spandex, many of us would likely get our $105 - $128 worth of wear out of it due to its comfort, style and versatility. So yes, we could think of it as an investment piece, but if you don’t wish to spend as much, there are a number of visual matches on the internet for less.

The fit and quality of the Cozy Earth dress is a surer bet over its lookalikes, and at times I've paid the piper for the certainty of a worthwhile classic piece of clothing. Sometimes we take a risk to spend less and at other we don't! 

Another consideration is when you get it right, you just need the one dress. What I like about the Cozy Earth brand of this dress is the cut is spot on -- not too boxy, showy or sexy! The side splits for flexibility are not too high. The dress is feminine and not at all baggy.

The deliberation is: Do you spend $105 - $128 (depending on color) for a dress if it's "just right?” There is a spin the wheel discount on Cozy Earth’s website requring you to sign up for emails to make pulling the trigger less painful.

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