~ Frozen Strawberry Dessert ~

(Sorry about the fuzzy picture!)

Ingredients

• 4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
• 1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 (12 ounce) tub Cool Whip, thawed, divided
• 12 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, finely chopped
• 1-2 T. butter, melted

Directions

1. Line 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mash 2 cups of the strawberries in large bowl. Add condensed milk, juice and 2 cups of the whipped topping; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.
2. Mix chopped cookies and butter. Spoon over whipped topping mixture. Cover with ends of foil and gently press cookie mixture into whipped topping mixture. Freeze 6 hours or until firm.
3. Invert dessert onto serving plate when ready to serve; remove pan and foil. Spread remaining whipped topping onto top and sides of dessert. Slice remaining 2 cups strawberries; arrange over dessert. Store leftovers in freezer.

          This is easy & can be made in advance and kept frozen. I think it's best to allow it to sit out about 30 min prior to serving...much more flavorful & creamy. You can also vary the fruit and use graham crackers if you like. Just ensure the fruit is drained well.

I'm joining the following:

~ Questions ~

What the heck is going on with Blogger?  I have sooooo much trouble with it, especially trying to "Follow" a new blog.  Most of the time, the "Followers" section doesn't even show up when I read a new blog OR after I've followed one, I cannot follow another.

How do you comment on blogs that are using Typepad?  I have been able to in the past but cannot now.

I receive the response, "Conflicting Edits", many times when commenting on a blog. Once I go back to it, 95% of the time the comment is really there.

I've tried clearing the cache, all history, restarting the computer and everything else I can think of.  Anyone have answers for this frustrated blogger????

~ Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda ~

You've probably seen this before but I think it's a good reminder and bears repeating!  FYI ~ I did NOT write this.

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine. 
 
I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible. 
 
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you? 
 
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched ' Jeopardy ' on television? 
 
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gasp and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few days ago. We never did have lunch together. 

 
Because we cram so much into our lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! 
 
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college. 
 
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.' 
 
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord. 

  
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
 
Now....go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? I had a friend from high school that I was always going to call and never did. The other day her name was in the obituaries so we never had that chat.
  
 
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask, 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply? 
 
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' and in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'? 
 
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over. 
 
‘Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!’
 
And.....I hope you dance!

~ Quiet Time ~

Life is wayyyyy too short....and very precious. Each day is truly a magnificent gift we are given.  I try so hard not to take it for granted but we're all human and we really can't help but do it. We make plans for next year, next month, tomorrow, this afternoon ~ you name it.  Two of my long-term friends....from high school days & that's a heck of a long time!....passed away. One about 10 days ago and one yesterday.  My cousin passed away on Saturday.  They all had health problems and I know intellectually that they are in a better place.  It's just the human factor of missing them, remembering all the good times, the laughter, jokes, events ~ treasured memories for sure.

I think I need a bit of quiet time ~ maybe a couple of days, maybe longer.   I just don't have anything else to post or share right now.  I so appreciate your reading this and hope that you'll hang in there with me!

~ A Neat Surprise! ~

I feel so honored that Danni from Lamb Around featured this post,  Margarita Pie , on her blog.  If you feel so inclined, please stop by and cast your vote!  This is a first for me ~ and I so appreciate it!

~ Update on the Cake Balls ~

This morning I took the remaining cake balls out of the freezer and just frosted them with thinned cream cheese frosting. Since they were icy cold, the frosting worked well!  I'm thinking that's the easy way to do these "things" ~ :-)  Anyway, I delivered the whole kit and caboodle (you've done that haven't you?) to the grands. They were both with their friends so just visited with my son & d-i-l for a bit.  The report when they got back home this afternoon was...."they're AWESOME!"  That's all that really matters isn't it?

~ Hit or Miss ~

Yes, I missed alright!  I tried making cake balls for the first time this afternoon....talk about a miss, mess, maxi fail.  First of all, it was too ding dang hot to have the oven on but noooooo, I was determined I was going to try this. Well, I baked a red velvet cake and allowed it to cool completely.  Then I crumbled it into a large bowl ~ following directions here!  I zapped the can of cream cheese frosting in the microwave for about 20 seconds so it would be thinner and then added 1/2 - 3/4 can to the crumbled cake.  Going good now!  I sprayed a small scooper thingy with Pam and proceeded to form the balls. I placed them on a flat tray so I could get them in the freezer.  I froze them for hours...in fact, some are still freezing...not.  Why won't they freeze???  I got so tired of waiting so after a few hours, I melted a 12 oz. pkg of Ghiradelli white chocolate chips with a tsp of shortening in the microwave.  15 seconds at time...making sure it wouldn't scorch....stirred well each time and back to the microwave until it was all smooth and melted. Now, you do have to work fast before the chocolate begins to harden again. The first attempt? Perfection!  :-)  After that, it was all downhill.  Had they been totally frozen...and the white chocolate stayed warm and thin...I believe I would have been successful.  Well, they are covered in white glop and that's the way they'll stay.  Oh...except for the remainder of the balls in the freezer that are still NOT frozen.  I'll have to dip them in the morning in some kind of chocolate mixture before I just throw them all out.  Kidding!  I feel sure that the grands will not really notice all the "imperfections" that Mimi is so frustrated about. 

No, I didn't make pictures. I always forget to do so while I'm cooking but had these turned out beautifully like I planned, I would make photos for you to see.  I will share this though....this is what they "could" look like!

Are these not gorgeous?  Perfection too!  I even love the colors better than red covered in white that are gloppy.

Just know that I tried ~ that's all a girl can do, right?  ;-)

~ Margarita Pie ~

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup white sugar  (I really don't use the sugar)
• 2 limes, zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed ~ Important:  Using only 1/2 the container of whipped topping allows the pie to set up better...will be firmer and slice well. Use the other half to top the pie.

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine crushed pretzels, melted butter, and sugar. Press mixture into a pie pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, orange juice, and sweetened condensed milk. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon filling into pretzel crust. Chill pie for at least 4 hours before serving.

This is a very versatile pie.  I normally use 1 small can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed, for the liquid ingredient, omitting the orange juice. You can also use just 1/2 or 3/4 of the concentrate, filling the small can with Tequila.  Using the fresh lime juice...use fresh orange juice, orange zest and a hit of orange liqueor.  Adding a drop or 2 of green food coloring adds a bit of color and looks more festive. :-)

Easy recipe, no baking and great to serve during this hot weather!

I will be linking with the following ladies' memes ~ please stop by and see all the incredible recipes posted.