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How To Add Special Touches to Store-Bought Desserts

April 5, 2012 By

I love to bake, but I don’t have near enough time to serve as many homemade desserts as I’d like. Whether it’s for entertaining or for a regular weekday night, a store-bought dessert can be a time-saver. Just because it’s store-bought doesn’t mean you can’t fancy it up and make it special!

I wanted to show a few different ways to “plus up” your store-bought desserts, so I went out and bought a few of my favorites. These special touches with COOL WHIP can add flair and flavor to any dessert.

Here we have fruit pizza, brownies and Strawberry pie- several kid-friendly and family favorite treats:


To achieve a perfect dollop, spoon your COOL WHIP into a large Ziploc bag and cut a bit of the corner off to make a quick and fuss-free pastry bag! Look how this plain supermarket Strawberry pie has been transformed into something extra-special.


Sometimes a simple dollop of COOL WHIP is all you need, but I often like to add toppings like fresh fruit, nuts, sprinkles and sauces. Here’s a plain brownie with added excitement!


A few dollops of COOL WHIP on a fresh fruit pizza is one of my favorites. The beautiful colors of the variety of fresh fruit with the added dollops of COOL WHIP look suited for a special occasion, but literally only took me two minutes to add the special touches.


I am all for homemade desserts, but when I’m in a time crunch or don’t feel like baking, I know that I can add my own touches to create that extra-special feeling of a homemade dessert.

How do you “plus up” store-bought desserts?

If you haven’t yet, check out the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple or Everyday Food for my COOL WHIP ad! To see behind-the-scenes video of our photo shoot for the ad and for more recipes, visit COOL WHIP’s facebook page.

I am working in partnership with the COOL WHIP brand and I am receiving compensation for my participation in this campaign. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Filed Under: Blog, Desserts, Promotions, Recipe Box 10 Comments

What You Add Makes It. {Cool Whip Blogger Ad Launch!}

March 27, 2012 By

As Moms we often have a lot on our plate, but still find the time to add special touches to our family’s daily life. Maybe you surprise your family with their favorite meal on an ordinary weeknight, add fun notes to ordinary lunch boxes, or add a dollop of COOL WHIP to an ordinary dessert.

What you add makes it.

COOL WHIP’s newest ad campaign features several bloggers (including myself) who are real moms that believe in adding those special touches for our families. You will see us throughout the next few months in several of my favorite magazines: Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, and Real Simple among others.

The photo shoot for this ad campaign made us regular moms feel like stars for the day! Colton thinks it’s pretty cool that his Mom is in a magazine. It is definitely an experience I won’t forget and the ad will be fun to show my future kids and grandkids! Here is my behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot {also check out this new behind-the-scenes video!} and here is the finished product:

That scrumptious dessert you see me holding? It’s a Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake inspired by one of my very own recipes. Turn an ordinary meal into something special by serving this simple recipe for dessert!

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake
Prep Time: 10 min. | Makes: 8 servings; each cake serves 2

What You Need

  • 1/2 cup COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
  • 8 chocolate cookies
  • 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
  • 1/4 cup strawberry jam, warmed

Make It
Place four cookies on dessert plates. Top each with 2 Tbsp. of Cool Whip.
Top with berries and jam. Repeat layers.
Serve immediately.

What do you add to something ordinary to make it extra-special?

I am working in partnership with the COOL WHIP brand and I am receiving compensation for my participation in this campaign. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Filed Under: Blog, Promotions, Recipe Box 23 Comments

Overnight Breakfast Casserole

March 26, 2012 By

You might have noticed I like to take a few shortcuts when it comes to meal time. Some days I feel like whipping up a fancy new recipe that I’ve been dying to try, but other days I feel like throwing in a frozen pizza and calling it dinner. This Overnight Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole can be served with the Overnight Fridge Oatmeal and you’ve got yourself a big, beautiful breakfast already made when you roll yourself out of bed.

I will say that this recipe is named “Overnight Breakfast Casserole,” but is actually done in about 6-7 hours, so if you like your beauty sleep, be prepared to wake up a little earlier. I have a crock pot with a timer {similar to this one}, so it shuts off and keeps the casserole warm without over-cooking. If you have a smaller family you can easily half this recipe as well.

Overnight Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole
Inspired by: A Latte’ with Ott, A

Ingredients:

  • 1 pkg hashbrowns
  • 1 small onion
  • 6-8 small sweet peppers
  • 1 cup frozen spinach
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 lb. diced ham
  • 12 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded VELVEETA®
  • 1 (10 oz.) can RO*TEL®
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  1. Saute the diced onion, peppers, and spinach with the garlic and olive oil until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.
  2. Spray the crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. You are going to layer your breakfast casserole starting with the hashbrowns (about 1/3 of the bag), followed by a layer of the pepper mixture and lastly about 3/4 cup shredded VELVEETA® (Feel free to skip the measurements and make your own layers). You’ll want to end with a top layer of hashbrowns.
  3. In a large bowl, mix your eggs, ham, milk, basil, thyme, RO*TEL® and a bit of salt and pepper. Pour this over your layered hashbrown mixture in the crock pot and top with the remaining cheese.
  4. {Tip} Sometimes egg casseroles can be a little bland for my taste, so I like to top with peppery arugula, basil and sliced red onion tossed with a bit of olive oil and finish with a bit of salt and pepper.

To view other recipes with VELVEETA® and RO*TEL® head on over to Weeknight Wow.

VELVEETA® and RO*TEL® are hosting an amazing sweepstakes to encourage simple, easy weeknight family meals and entertainment ideas. Winners will be picked each week, and the more points you collect the more chances you have of winning! Grand prize winner will receive $15,000! 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of VELVEETA/RO*TEL. The opinions and text are all mine.

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Promotions, Quick & Easy, Recipe Box 2 Comments
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