Celebrate strawberry season by whipping up a batch of these tasty strawberries ‘n cream cupcakes. Mmm.

Cupcake ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 container (6 oz) strawberry yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/4 tsp almond extract

Cupcake Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add chopped strawberries. Set aside. Blend wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full and bake for about 12 minutes. Wait until cupcakes are cool before frosting.

Frosting ingredients:

1- 5.1 oz. box vanilla pudding mix
1-1/2 cups milk
8oz cool whip

Frosting Directions:  Beat milk with pudding mix for 2 minutes. Allow to sit in fridge until soft set. Fold in cool whip.

We’ve all been treated like dirt at some point in our lives, but that’s no reason to be discouraged! Often it’s a humbling experience that gets your mind and priorities focused on where they need to be… Celebrate your newfound realization with this delicious, dirty dessert. It’s sure to raise your spirits and bring your mindset back “down to earth.”

Ingredients:

1- 8 oz block cream cheese
1 container cool whip
2- 3.4 oz packages vanilla or chocolate pudding
3 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1 cup confectioners sugar
Gummy worms or other gummy creepy crawlers

Directions:

Mix pudding mixes and milk and set aside until soft set. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and confectioners sugar. Combine this mixture with the pudding. Fold in cool whip.

Place Oreos in blender and set to crush. Place a layer of crushed Oreos in a 9x 13 baking dish, followed by the pudding mixture. Alternate layers, ending with Oreos. Add gummy worms. Chill in refrigerator before serving.

One sliver of this apple pie will leave your tastebuds begging for more. It’s an adaptation of my two favorite pie recipes and is just about as down-home as it gets.

Ingredients for Pie Crust (Makes 2 crusts)
3 cups flour
1- 1/4 cups shortening
1 tsp salt
1 egg
5 tbs water
1 tbs white vinegar

Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix egg, water, and vinegar. Add to the dry mixture and mix until a soft dough forms.

Ingredients for Pie Filling:
6-7 Apples (Macintosh or Gala)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter (or more depending on consistency of the crumbs)

Peel, core, and slice apples. Arrange in pie crust. Coat apples with granulated sugar and cinnamon mixture. Next, in a separate bowl, add brown sugar, flour, and butter to make crumbs. Sprinkle crumbs on top of the apple slices.

Place pie in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for approximately another 20 minutes.
Remove from oven when apples are soft when broken into with a fork.

Daylight savings time got you feeling a bit lethargic? Well these delightful cupcakes are sure to brighten up your day!

Ingredients:
Cupcake mix (and everything that goes in it)
Fruit by the foot (for beach towels)
Teddy Grahams
Graham crackers
Life Savers

Directions: Ice cupcakes with light blue frosting. To represent sand, grind up graham crackers in a food processor, and spoon onto one side of the cupcake.

Cut a small piece off the fruit by the foot and place it on the cupcake to represent a beach towel. Using icing, secure a teddy graham to the towel.

Place lifesavers on cupcakes as inner tubes. Cut the legs off teddy grahams and secure the upper body to the inner tube.

Lastly, add umbrellas.

These may look like ordinary brownies, but are you ever mistaken! Inside, you’ll find a tantalizing plethora of the most sinful pleasures imaginable (sinful for your diet, that is…): Creamy peanut butter sandwiched between 2 Oreo cookies!

Ingredients:
Brownie mix (and everything that goes in it)
Oreos
Peanut butter

Directions:
Prepare brownie mix according to the package. Place 18 cupcake liners in pans. Set both aside.

Make Oreo “sandwiches” by spreading peanut butter on an Oreo and topping it off with another one. Spread a final layer of peanut butter on the surface of the top Oreo.

Place Oreo “sandwiches” in the cupcake liners. Spoon 2 tbs of brownie batter into the liners.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 19 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

So I’ve been told by many that my brownies are to die for… (I have a confession. I have always cheated and used a box mix. But shhhh…it’ll be our dirty little secret.) There are, however, a few tips I’d like to share on how to master the art of baking box brownies.

1. Bake brownies in an 8×8 pan. The thicker, the better!
2. Always spray the pan thoroughly with cooking spray.
3. Allow brownies to cool completely before attempting to cut.
4. To create perfectly square brownies, use a butter knife dipped in cold water to cut. Keep dipping and wiping knife in between cuts.

To add a little something extra, top brownies with creamy vanilla icing and crushed Oreos. Ohhh my! 😉

Ahhhh…there’s nothing like the aroma of fresh baked cookies on a chilly Fall day! What’s great about these are that they only take 3 ingredients and can be whipped up in just a couple of minutes.

Ingredients:
Box cake mix (spice, vanilla, chocolate, or caramel apple taste the best)
1- 15oz can Pumpkin (Or about 1/2 of a 29oz can)
1- 12-oz bag chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Spoon onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly brown. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

…Now put on the game, cuddle up, and enjoy your perfect little treats. Happy Fall!

Xoxo,
V.

Sometimes things in our lives can get a little “fluffed up,” but that’s no reason to lose hope.  A failed attempt at a frosting recipe led way to this unique fruit dip…Now that’s what I call sweet.

Ingredients:
1 container cool-whip (still frozen)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box vanilla pudding
1 cup milk

Blend all ingredients together and chill in fridge. Serve with fruit.

Craving something crunchy and salty, but fear the calories in a bag of potato chips? Try making these healthy, low-cal kale chips.

Ingredients:
2 cups Kale (washed and excess water shaken off)
Non-stick cooking spray (I used Smart Balance brand)
Sprinkle of Cayenne
Sprinkle of Garlic Salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange washed kale in a glass casserole dish. Spray kale with cooking spray and sprinkle with garlic salt and cayenne. Place in oven for 10 minutes or until chips are crunchy.

This frosty treat looks like it came right from a 50s diner, and is ever-so-simple to make.

White layer:
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup sweetened vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup milk

Blend and spoon into 2 glasses. Place glasses in freezer.

Pink layer:
1/2 cup sweetened vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen raspberries

Blend and spoon second layer in glasses. Place back in freezer.

Blue layer:
1/2 cup sweetened vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen blueberries

Blend and spoon third layer in glasses.

Note: I used a Ninja blender for this recipe. If using a regular blender, you may need to add milk to the pink and blue layers.