Lazy @The Lake Recipes by Request

The 3rd Thursday  - Ladies Day Out 
Lazy@The Lake Recipes

My friend Victoria owns a darling boutique just around the corner from Lakehouse Outfitters online distribution facility and Boatique in the small town of Log Cabin, Texas.  She and I have become friends and allies as we happen to be the only two locally owned and operated lake retailers on the south end of Cedar Creek Lake.  

Victoria was one of our first customers this past July as we moved into a former liquor store to run the online portion of our business and dabble in a bit of local retail trade.  Our building is just around the corner from her boutique Hallelujahs Devine Designs which is housed in a former church. As I'm writing I almost laugh aloud - this it's kinda funny how it seems like we both found the perfect places that fit our styles and personalities to a tee.  

We've collaborated on several advertising ventures and events, one of our most popular has become our 3rd Thursday Ladies Day Out.  It's a social, sip'n and shoppin' type event the third Thursday of every month from 3P-6P in the afternoon.  We have Happy Hour Food & Drink, Deals and Door prizes.  Mostly locals attend and are quit happy for the mid-month distraction.

The two most heard comments from this event are:

1. Oh what fun!  I hope you ladies will continue to have these
2. The desserts are yummy - can I get the recipe

The answer to both is YES!

By popular demand - here are the two most recent recipes from 3rd Thursday.  

Disclaimer - These are Not my original recipes, but adapted as I went along.  

Enjoy!

Green Fluff

An oldie but goodie and oh so easy to make!
Some might know it as Pistachio Fluff or Pistachio Dessert Salad.

NO BAKING and comes together in less than 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 4 oz package of INSTANT pistachio Jell-O pudding Mix
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup shelled/roasted pistachios chopped
1 8 oz container cool whip - thawed
Optional - toasted coconut

In a large mixing bowl: Mix together the pudding and the crushed pineapple with juice until blended.  Add marshmallows and nuts.  Fold in thawed cool whip until blended.  Fold with wooden spoon or spatula, gently to mix together (do not beat).  Spoon into single serving vessels such as stemless wine glasses, simply baked paper cups or custard dessert cups OR simply serve in the bowl.

Top with additional pistachios or toasted coconut for additional crunch.  Both compliment this recipe very well.  

Either way - chill the salad for a minimum of one hour until ready to serve.  Will hold in refer for a couple of days.  
I found the recipe online HERE


No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse

Another easy recipe that requires NO COOKING

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup +/- pumpkin puree (not filling, this is the raw pumpkin in cans most often used to bake pies)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of cloves
Optional Caramel Syrup (such as you would pour over ice cream)

In a mixing bowl whisk the whipped cream on high until froth, a couple of minutes
Add powder sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until stiff peaks form (this is when the whip cream holds it shape when you stop beating it)
Transfer whipped cream to a separate bowl.  
USING THE SAME BOWL as you whipped the cream in add:
Cream cheese and caramel (if you're using it - about 3 TBSP) mix together until smooth
Add pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves and mix with the cream cheese mixture until well combined.  
Fold in one cup of the prepared whipping cream.
Mix together until smooth.

Using a piping bag or a zip lock with the corner cut, pipe pumpkin mixture into ramekins or simply baked cups for easy clean up.  Pipe a dollop of reserved whipped cream on top of each and sprinkle with cinnamon.  
Chill for at least an hour - these also hold very well for a couple/three days in the fridge.

I found this recipe HERE

We used  the small Simply Baked paper cups for our December event.
Festive and delish!

SIDE NOTE:  This whip cream recipe holds up so well.  The appearance did not change even after being help over two days.  Leftovers for our best customers with a sweet tooth!
 It's now my go to whip cream recipe.

If you're in need of some easy recipes that feed a crowd over the holidays  - these two are perfect and your guests will be in awe of your culinary talents.  :-)

Merry Christmas ~  Cindy

Yummy Snacks for Christmas At the Lake - Moose Munch

I don't know about you but I love cooking and making things that my friends and family love.   Especially when it's something they don't expect.  Such is the case with my recent attempt to make home-made moose munch.  If you're not familiar Moose Munch is basically caramel corn with nuts and chocolate.

The idea came to me as I was listening to my hubs order Christmas gifts for his corporate clients.  He was on the phone with Moose Munch headquarters ordering dozens of tins to be delivered to offices all across the country and I started to think how yummy that stuff is.  All of the sudden, I'm on Pinterest and Google looking for recipes.  I needed Moose Munch now!

I found a couple of recipes that looked good and went with the one that matched the ingredients I had on hand.  It was A-MAZ-ING!  Almost as amazing as my husbands reaction when he came in the kitchen to find home made Moose Munch - to die for.

Start by popping some popcorn.  We don't have a popper so I just popped it in a heavy pan that had a lid with a steam hole which worked like a charm.  Two batches - EZ PZ.

Place the popped corn in a deep, oiled roasting pan and put in the over at 250 degrees while you're making your caramel sauce.

If you like nuts, you'll want to sprinkle your preference (I used mixed cocktail nuts) over the popcorn before I put it in the oven.  More or less to your liking.

While it's roasting in the oven....

Make the Caramel Sauce:

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar 
• 1/4 c. honey

Mix together all ingredients to dissolve, stir until mixture comes to a boil.  Let it boil for 5 minutes - set the timer and let it do it's thing.

At the end of the 5 minutes, bring the popcorn out of the oven and pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn nut mixture.  Stir to coat and place back in the oven for 30 minutes - stirring the mixture at the end of 15 minutes to coat the popcorn and nuts with the caramel goodness.  

At the end of the 30 minutes, prepare a space on the counter by placing two large pieces of wax paper out as a resting place for your hot caramel corn mixture.

Remove the caramel corn from the oven and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips (again, more or less depending on how chocolate you want it) gently mix and spread it out on the wax paper to cool.  

Once cool and crispy eat and eat and eat and eat!  If there's any left,  keep it fresh by storing in a air tight container.

There are tons of recipes out there.  I used THIS ONE from An Oregon Cottage as my road map - taking a few detours along the way to make it match what I had in my head.  

The good news with Moose Munch is that you can't go wrong!  Hope you're enjoying time at the lake house and making Moose Munch this holiday season.

Enjoy!  

Cindy