Friday Favorites

Despite my complete and total lack of ability to create pretty food, the Fourth of July dishes were a success . . . because, you see, this dishes weren't glamorous, but, oh, were they tasty.  Diamond in the rough, I tell you.

Peanut Butter Pie: rich, creamy, sweet, peanut-buttery goodness. It just can’t go wrong.

Mmmmm Peanut Butter Pie filling . . . I could eat this stuff straight out of the mixing bowl . . .

Fruit Dip: as always, potluck highlight . . . and that’s not me bragging, I promise (I hate to brag). Every party I bring this to, people go nuts.
The Dip's first appearance was at a friend's birthday party. I had found a recipe online and gave it a whirl, adding my own little personal touches.  It was a HUGE success. The guests put that dip on bloody everything.
A year later, I go to see the same people for our friend's subsequent birthday (I mean, come on, you keep having them until you’re dead, and he’s not dead yet . . .). The moment I walked in the door, I was met with, “Oh thank GOD!!! You brought the DIP!!!”
They remembered.
And, apparently, had been waiting for a year for the dip’s return.
It’s that good, people.


Oreo Pie: Light, sweet, with creamy coupling the chocolate crunch of the crust. It’s a three-layered pie: the bottom, thickest layer is your creamed cheese/whipped mixture, followed by a layer of white-chocolate pudding, topped off with whipped cream and Oreo crumbles. It's really the perfect summer pie because it's so sweet and light.
Unfortunately, despite my following the directions EXACTLY (which is kind of a big deal for me), the freakin’ pie wouldn’t fit.
I literally could not get the pie dish lid on or off. First, the pie was too tall, so I had to squeeze, and it oozed everywhere. Ok, I can fix that . . . I go to remove the lid . . . and it’s suction-cupped on there. After PEELING off the lid and attempting to wipe up the mess, I ended up removing two thirds of the whipped topping and that sucker was STILL bursting.

Behold! Mine pie overfloweth . . .

But it was GOOD.
And, actually, the individual pieces looked quite pretty sliced and served. 
Next time, I may try serving it in a larger dish . . .or just with less whipped topping . . . or maybe as bars in the square dish . . . really, the possibilities are endless, folks.

All of the recipes are pretty stinkin’ simple and sure to be a hit. I recommend giving them a whirl :}

Oh, and, um, Cali trip is in three days. WOW!!!
This will be so interesting . . . five days with the in-laws . . . just the four of us . . . At least they know the area fairly well. I find myself starting to get stressed and panicked about the move, with the HUGE leap in living expenses . . . people keep telling us we won't be able to afford anything out there . . . but we'll make due, right?

Anyways, happy weekend, folks!