Recipe - Oreo Fluff Dip

As promised, a new recipe post!

So as we all know, I've been addicting all of my friends to Funfetti dip (and Zombicide. They go well together). We're having another games night with friends tonight and everyone is expecting me to bring Funfetti but awhile ago I decided to pull a fast one on them and bring a different dessert dip. I don't want to get in a funfetti rut, ya know? Can't overplay that card. I also have over 100 pins on my Yummy Sweets Pinterest board and I've barely made any of them. And I love sweets... and I love sharing sweets.

The dessert dip I decided to make instead is this one: Oreo Fluff Dip

How will it go over? Only time will tell... T minus 5 hours, 28 minutes until the party! (At the time of writing at least... but I'm scheduling this post to go up when I'm at the party.)

This recipe also gave me an excuse to use the food processor that my parents got Chris for Christmas. LOVE IT! It's definitely loud but very effective.

Oreo Fluff
 1 box white chocolate instant pudding mix  
(I actually used two 1 oz boxes... The original recipe I had pinned didn't specify an ounce size to the box, so Chris just bought two, and then I found one that specifies 3.4 ounces. I didn't want to go to the store, so I decided to wing it with just 2 ounces.)
2 cups milk  
(I used whole milk. Boyfriend was a dear and picked up stuff for dinner on Tuesday and I had the Oreo fluff makings on the list too, so he got that too and he got whole milk. I had a small glass of it a few days ago... Man! So different from skim milk, which I've had for about the last 20 some odd years)
1 tub Cool Whip (8 oz), room temp 
Mine wasn't room temp but it had been in the fridge for two days, worked fine. I also used Lite Cool Whip.
1 pkg. Oreos, crushed

The pin calls for Doublestuffed but they had no doublestuffed so BF picked up reduced fat.
2 cups mini marshmallows
I used fat free marshmallows -- no just kidding. They're marshmallows! I used normal ones. Be sure not to get colored ones or your dip is going to be weird colors.

1. In a large bowl, mix milk and pudding mix for two minutes.
2. Stir in Cool Whip and crushed Oreos, and mini marshmallows. (Actually, prior to step 1 I used my food processor on pulse to crush the Oreos to nothing. I left some larger chunks but the majority of it became dust. I also used my large kitchen mixer for all of this with the dough hook. It makes everything so much easier.)

Oreo dust!

3. Cover with foil and store in fridge until ready to eat and serve. (I made mine the night before the party so it has a lot of time to chill, cos if it's anything like funfetti, it needs time for all the flavors to meld together.)

I tried it last night. It basically tastes like Oreo pudding. What could be better than that??

I think next time I will hand stir it though, not use my kitchen mixer because I think I might have overmixed it. What do I mean? Well, go look at the picture of the dip in the original pin. So white and fluffy with black Oreo crumbs!

Here's mine.

Not pretty but it is delicious!!

Hmmmmmm.... Pinterest fail? I think just Picture fail.

Will report back later on how it goes over! Man I hope it's good or my friends might mutiny when I show up with no Funfetti....

Recipe - Funfetti Cookies

Like practically everything I've cooked for the last eight months or so, I can't take credit for this. I found it on Pinterest. (Not pin-interest as my friend and boyfriend like to call it. I'm looking at you, Kevin and Chris!) So awhile ago I discovered Funfetti dip and made it for a game night, which I know I've talked about on this blog, and it was a hit. And I've made it about three times since.

I had another game night with friends on Friday and figured I'd try something different. Funfetti cookies! They were from the same blogger who I discovered the dip through, so I figured it was worth a shot!

Definitely go check out the original blogger's site: http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/. Good stuff there.

Now without further ado... how does the dip translate to cookie form?

We start with three ingredients - Funfetti dip, 2 eggs, low fat yogurt
(I used vanilla because that's what the original recipe called for. Original flavor would probably work too, but the vanilla is a little sweeter and we are making cookies here.
To note, I do use original yogurt when I make the dip. But you have a lot of sweetness from the cool whip in that recipe. I also usually split the big tub of yogurt - half for the funfetti dip, half to make ranch dip for veggies, since I only make this when I'm having a party or bringing food to a party. Okay, that's enough footnotes for now.)

I also used my brand new non-stick baking mat for this. OMGILUVITSOMUCH<3! Seriously, if you bake. Get it. That's a standard size cookie sheet. Look how big the mat is!

And mix! Mix! Mix! Make the mixer do the work for you! This is after I made the mistake of using the whisk attachment and all the dough got in the middle of it... that was fun. Living and learning, living and learning.

And put them on the mat! I used my cookie scooper to do it. The dough is really sticky so I do recommend some type of utensil, or just a spoon, not your hands.

Just a different view... I don't know why. I did learn that the cookies do spread out more than I thought they would so definitely don't have them as close together as some of mine are. Mainly those two on the bottom left.

And then you bake for about 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

And you end up with these!

My thoughts on the cookies? Are mixed. Some of my friends liked the dip more, some liked the cookies more. I like the dip more just because it yields more. I only ended up with about a dozen and a half cookies. So they went really fast, whereas we can sit there and eat the dip all night and still have leftovers. I'll probably make them again, because they're not bad cookies. They're actually really good. It just depends on the setting you're making them for. A small get together, or just a night by yourself, the cookies. A large get together, the dip.

Now one of my friends wants to dip a funfetti cookie in funfetti dip... Next time, funfetti icing for the cookies?

Recipe in easy form:
1 box Funfetti cake mix (18.9 oz)
2 eggs
1/2 cup low-fat/fat-free vanilla yogurt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix cake mix, yogurt, and eggs until all clumps are gone. Drop small rounded balls onto cookie sheet greased or covered in baking mat, parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are slightly browned.

Sunday Monday Confessions!

It's that time of the week again!


1. I'm just going to start calling these my Monday confessions. I just never can seem to get this done on a Sunday! It's on my calendar, I think about what I want to post, I just never get it done.

2. I'm getting a new kitchen doohickey this week! It was recommended to me by one of my awesome friends who loves to craft, bake, and is a great mom. She's like Martha Stewart. But cooler. Cos I can ask her questions. And she never went to jail.
So this is what I'm getting:

You can get your own at Amazon!

It's a Matfer 321005 Exopat 11-5/8-by-16-3/8-Inch Nonstick Baking Mat. I've been using parchment paper when I bake, which makes clean up so much easier, but it's a bit of a pain (I'm also just lazy). I don't want to spend the time cutting it, and then the paper is wider than the pan so I have to squash it down so it doesn't hang all over the place. And then I saw my friend posted a pic of her cookies out of the oven and I was all, 'yum! Hey what's that mat they're on....' I was sold.

3. I plan to test out my new baking mat this week! I have a game night with friends coming up this Friday so I'm going to make Funfetti cookies! Everyone loves the dip, and the same blogger who posted the dip (http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/) has a post with them in cookie format... So I want to see how they translate. Will report back soon.

4. I am Zelda obsessed! Reading The Legend of Zelda; Hyrule Historia, finding out about the Wii U Zelda in the works and the remake of Wind Waker has totally inspired me to play the old games again. I dug out my old Nintendo DS, the one that still has the GameBoy Advance slot, and started replaying Minish Cap from the beginning. I'm already about halfway finished. I tried to continue playing Ocarina on my 3DS but I don't remember where I am or what I was doing so I turned it off, I'll come back to it. I plan to also replay the Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons games -- flashback to GameBoy Color!! Pretty sure they'll play in the GBA slot on my older DS. And awhile ago I restarted playing Twilight Princess. Will pick that up again in awhile.
And I still have no plans to even try to finish Majora's Mask. Stupid game. I just can't do the lover's mask task, I can't do it!

5. I think I need to amend my 2011 taxes. Ew. :/ Should be pretty easy... thank you Turbo Tax!

6. I worked out Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and I'm working out tonight. Go me!

7. I read What Alice Forgot last week, in about 3 days, and it's seriously made myself think -- if it was ten years ago and then the next thing I knew, it was today, what would I think of my life?
That makes very little sense... Here's the book synopsis, to help explain:
Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she's actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce. A knock on the head has misplaced ten years of her life, and Alice isn't sure she likes who she's become. It turns out, though, that forgetting might be the most memorable thing that has ever happened to Alice.
 So let's see... ten years ago, I was almost 22. (I was probably playing Oracle of Seasons/Ages, lol.) I was living with my parents in Lake Jackson, after nearly flunking out of TCU. I wasn't in contact with any of my friends from TCU because I was so ashamed of how badly I'd done and how I had to leave. I was going to Brazosport College to appease my parents... It was my second semester. I think it was around this time I was taking a computer programming class and realizing that I could do college, I wasn't dumb, and I had decided on a major that I could graduate with in a year. I think I was still terrified of my parents' idea that after I graduated from BC, I needed to go to a university and finish up my bachelor's degree. I was working at Hallmark/Coach House Gifts. I was totally frivolous with my money and accumulating a lot of debt that future me would get to deal with. I spent most nights hanging out at IHOP with my friends -- ah! The start of my chub! Eating a club sandwich or pancakes or fries or a sundae at 11pm then going to sleep an hour later... My dating life was pretty nonexistent.
Now? (I'm still playing Zelda!) I'm living in the Galleria area with my long term boyfriend. I've reconnected with my really close friends from TCU. Do we see each other? No, but I do want to change that and soon, Miss Polly and Miss Lissa! But our lives are busy. :) I have an MBA and a payroll certification. I work for the Houston Rockets. I have seized control of my debt and am much more aware of my expenditures and my disposable income. 
If I had short term amnesia today, and was thinking it was 10 years ago, and I was looking at my life, I definitely don't think I would recognize it. But I'm actually so thankful of that. I have grown so much in the last ten years and I am in such a better place, in all aspects of my life. Financially, emotionally, mentally, physically.

Me, Myself, & I link up #2. And cookies!!

It's that time of the month again (no not THAT time of the month) - the Me, Myself, & I link up party. My second time doing this, I believe!


1. What was your favorite gift given to you as a child?
Let me paint the picture! It was 1991... I was 10 years old, sister was 13, brother was 15. We had banded together and asked for the Super Nintendo game system. It was all we wanted for Christmas! Christmas Eve we exchanged the family gifts, all good stuff, but no SNES. But that's okay, Santa had yet to come (and yes I think at this point I still believed in Santa - is that weird??) So Christmas morning comes, we get our Santa gift and still no SNES so we're all three a little bummed and then my dad's all, 'Hey, what's that behind the tree?' The end of this story would be terrible if it wasn't an SNES. Well it was! Man, my siblings and I played so much Super Mario World that Christmas break. And that next summer (I think) sooo much MarioKart.
There have been a lot of great presents over the years, but this was definitely the most memorable.

2. Christmas is almost here, what is that one Christmas song you could listen to on repeat?
Carol of the Bells and O Holy Night. Practically any version. I could also watch that video of the house lights synced with a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song constantly. 

3. What are a few of the items on your Christmas list this year?
New set of pots and pans, food processor, blender... It's a very kitcheny Christmas! Not a Kitschy Christmas. That's different. 

4. Do you and your family have any special holiday traditions?
We exchange family gifts on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning is all about Santa gifts! It's a little different as we get older... since Santa doesn't visit adults anymore. We're still figuring it out. But usually when we're around the tree exchanging presents, alcoholic beverages are involved. 

5. Which do you prefer: wrapping paper or gift bags? Why?
I love the look of wrapping paper and beautiful bows, but do enjoy the ease of gift bags. When you know what you're doing with tissue paper, you can make them look nice. All gift wrapping is really wasteful though... but I don't really care!

Let's see... what else is going on this week for me.

Oh, so no cookie swap party for me as it turns out. As usual, I way overbooked myself this week (seriously. I really need to work on that) and left no time to finish my Christmas shopping and gift wrapping. So I was looking at my schedule, workwise and lifewise, and realized I had one remaining day of vacation hanging out in my balance that I'd been saving for something or just wanting to rollover. I actually debated taking it off or not because I really wanted to go to the cookie party. I had my cookie picked out (holiday confetti cake batter cookies) and I had heard from a new commenter on my blog that the chocolate mint cloud cookies would totally work, since you're essentially making a meringue which bakes fine... AND she told me about a new cookie I should look for, and I totally did and will have to try out sometime (strawberry cake mix and cool whip cookies - yes I am a little obsessed with all the cookies I can make from cake mix! But hey, I had such success with the chocolate chip pumpkin spice cookies, why stop there?)

But I had to. I have the day, I need to take it, I have so much to do. I would have been going crazy Friday night. I also need to take advantage of the fact that there's the long weekend and I get presents and see family and friends and I can just BREATHE... before the year end mess and January busy'ness hits me and hits me hard.

Maybe I'll just make some cookies tomorrow. I have having lunch with a friend who's on holiday break from law school and back in town. Maybe she'll make cookies with me! It all depends on where I am come lunch time with my private gift wrapping party.

This week I also bought my Christmas present to myself -- 4th generation black iPad with 64 gig. I LOVE IT. MERRY CHRISTMAS, SELF.

In case I don't have a chance to blog again in the next few days, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! And have a good weekend to those who don't!

Cookie swap prep

Just found out my department is doing a cookie swap on Friday. Hmmm.... Time to invade the Pinterest board o' sweets!

Holiday Confetti Cake Batter Cookies - it uses box cake mix, yay! I do like sprinkles...

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies - tried and true, always turns out well, easy easy easy...

Dark Chocolate & Mint Chip Clouds - only egg whites and sugar? Doesn't seem like they'd stay together...

Funfetti Cake Cookies -  you can bake yogurt? Hmm. This IS from the same blog that brought us Funfetti dip...

Decisions, decisions...

Recipe - Cherry Coke Salad

My first real recipe post! And it's not just a regurgitation of something I found on Pinterest!

So a little back story  This is a dish my great aunt on my dad's side would always bring to the family dinner at our house on Thanksgiving. My dad has the recipe and my sister made it for Thanksgiving this year. I had a holiday dinner with a bunch of friends last night and decided to bring this to the meal.

Is it good? Weird but yes it's good. But half of my enjoyment of it is really more nostalgia than anything.

So here it is! And contrary to what a lot of my friends assume when they hear the name, you don't use cherry Coke. This recipe has been made in my family for long before cherry Coke was invented.

Cherry Coke Salad


2 pkg (4-serving-size) black cherry flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 can Coca Cola
1 cup cherry liquid, make up the needed liquid with more Coca Cola
1 can seedless black cherries (drain and reserve liquid)
1/2 cup broken pecans
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup chopped celery
8 oz cream cheese, chopped into small chunks
Juice of 1 lemon

Put gelatin in a bowl and add hot water, stir until gelatin is dissolved. Add Coke and reserved cherry juice. Add lemon juice and place mixture in refrigerator: allow to gel completely. When mixture has gelled fully, use a spoon to break up into small chunks: add cherries, pecans, celery, marshmallows and cream cheese; mix lightly. Return to refrigerator to maintain gel, serve cold.

Notes: Chopped Pineapple can be used as additional filling in the salad – 1 cup.
I leave out the marshmallows and celery.

Sunday Confessions

It's that time again! That was a seriously fast week... It's been a seriously fast weekend too but it's been so great. Love this time of year! So many parties.... I've gotten to spend more time with people I haven't seen in weeks, find out what's going on in their life... So great.


1. I finally got my jelly beans! I was running various errands yesterday and doing Christmas shopping, and heading to Candylicious on West Alabama was on my list but I really didn't want to go there because it was across town from everything else I was doing and no other errand required me to go that direction. So I was heading back on Westheimer, out past the Beltway and I passed an HEB and thought to myself, that seems like a pretty big HEB. I wonder... So I pulled in, parked, hunted down their candy aisle...

It's like the promised land. Or something.

2. It's raining and I want it to stop. I need to go to the store soon to get stuff for crockpot chili (I'm planning to do this recipe) and I hate driving in the pouring rain. Other drivers are crazy when it's raining...

3. I am almost finished with my Christmas shopping! I need to go to one more store to get my dad's present and that's it.

4. Funfetti dip gathers new fans! I made it for a party on Friday night. I was bored and it didn't seem colorful enough so I dug in the pantry to see what I had and added red sprinkles. I'm going to get green ones so I can make it red and green sometime and call it my Christmas Snow Dip!
Here is the recipe for Funfetti for those of you who may have missed it on my earlier blog post.

5. I had a dream last night about reconciling with a friend who I essentially "broke up with" years ago. The dream was absolutely crazy. She was taller, and a mother now, and had an accent that she'd picked up from the foreign guy she married a few years ago. It made absolutely no sense. But now I'm going to thinking about her all week. Stupid dream!

6. I love the little clementines that arrive in all stores around the holiday season. So delicious  so easy to peel! I get one whiff of that delicious citrus smell and my mind is swept away to CHRISTMAS TIMES, YAY! That smell just reminds me of Christmas. It's really interesting how closely connected to our memories our scent of smell.

I've always seen them named Cuties. Maybe Cuties are from Florida, Sweeties are from California?

5 for Five #1

I really like this idea... Saw this linked on one of my new followers' blogs (Hi Mia!) And since this is my first time doing this, I only have to make a list! I don't have to update how I did on this last week.

So here's the deal. This is a link up with Jenn and Jessica. Every Monday, I'll set five goals for myself to be accomplished over the next five days. Then the next Monday, I'll evaluate how I did on my goals and set new ones. And then the next Monday, I'll evaluate those and set new ones... Do you see the pattern?

Okay, new motivation method... Let's go.


1. Put my laundry away. That's right. I know. I did some of it last night but I still need to hang stuff up. So. Do it!

2. Zumba at least twice this week. Last week I was sick, so didn't. Fine, whatever. But this week, no excuses! I have it on my calendar for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I want to make it to at least two. If I can do all three even better!

3. Make food for parties. I have some get togethers this weekend, Friday and Saturday night, and I plan to make Funfetti dip for Friday's and cherry coke salad (no link for this, it's an old family recipe and I can't find the exact recipe online... I may just have to make one on Allrecipes and then take a picture) for Saturday's. And maybe my dad's cranberry sauce for Saturday's. Maybe. I don't have a zester or a small hand held juicer and I would need that for the recipe.

4. Do some more Christmas shopping. Need to get a present for my dad, my mom, and a white elephant gift for a party in late December. That gift might bring me to Bed Bath & Beyond... which is a dangerous place to go when I already stated I don't have a zester or juicer!

5. Call my parents. I haven't talked to them in awhile... Dang, self, have you even talked to them since Thanksgiving? Bad daughter, bad. Call mom and dad.

So.... I'm not a millionaire.

Like many others today, I did not become a millionaire last night at 10:59pm EST when the Powerball lottery numbers were drawn for the $550M jackpot. Shocking. I know! The odds were so in my favor!

The odds, from Powerball's site:

	Powerball - Prizes and Odds
	Match Prize Odds + Jackpot 1 in 175,223,510.00 $1,000,000 1 in 5,153,632.65 + $10,000 1 in 648,975.96 $100 1 in 19,087.53 + $100 1 in 12,244.83 $7 1 in 360.14 + $7 1 in 706.43 + $4 1 in 110.81 $4 1 in 55.41 The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 31.85. The odds presented here are based on a $2 play (rounded to two decimal places). Why isn't the chance of winning $4 at 1 in 35? Click here for FAQ.

I knew the jackpot was pretty high so yesterday, when one of my coworkers came around and asked if I wanted to enter the pool with $10, I said sure why not. Eight of us went in so we ended up buying 40 tickets and guess what! None of them won anything!

But that's okay.. I'm rich in so many other ways. I don't need millions of dollars. I only wanted the money so how rich I am financially could match how rich I am spiritually, emotionally, etc. Well.... $550M, was really worth $320M net... then divided 8 ways.. $40M would have been a nice start to match how rich I am financially to how rich I am in every other way.

• I have my wonderful friends -- too many to name! They're funny, they're supportive, they keep me active.
• I have my wonderful family -- my parents have raised me to be someone they can be proud of and I can be proud of. They are always supportive. My sister is one of my best friends. My brother is my fellow adventurous spirit. And I cannot forget my siblings-in-law. The perfect matches for my siblings. Gotta love seeing those I love happy!
• I have my wonderful job -- working at a place I never imagined I'd work. For a professional sports team? Crazy! I still remember my thoughts when I saw the job opening when I was searching.  I was chatting with one of my best friends at the time on Yahoo Instant Messenger, and going through my job postings emails, and thought, wow they're hiring. Ha, they'd never hire me. And she said something that was very true - "They'll definitely never hire you if you don't apply." Truer words have never been said! You have to go for your dreams. You never know when you'll actually snare one. Every day is different... I never know who I'll run into in this building. I never know what swag I'll get! The organization culture is very close and friendly. My coworkers are all great and easy to talk to and easy to work with. And most importantly, I know I'm appreciated. And I appreciate that!
• I have my health. And I have a game plan to make that health even healthier!
• I have my kitty. My goofy kitty who is always nudging her face against my Kindle, annoying me because it's hard to read when she's bumping it, but it just means she wants my attention.
• And last. And very certainly not least. I have my boyfriend. My awesome awesome sweet boyfriend of 1 year, 2 months, and 13 days (no that's  not creepy... I just did the math right now, I don't wake up every day with that count updated in my head). Some days I cannot believe I met him and he fell in love with me. Me! He just gets me. And supports me. And surprises me. And makes me laugh. And I can't wait to continue our life together... even if he does leave his dirty socks on the floor. Not all the time. I think just when he wants to remind me he's human. Or when he wants to annoy me.

So there we go. A little belated "what I'm thankful for" post. Hey Thanksgiving was last week but it's still November! People on my Facebook are still posting their days of thanks posts every day. (Only two more days of that...)

Still... my cut of the $550M jackpot would have been nice to add to that list!

In other news.... one of my friends is taking his (hopefully!) last exam for the CPA certification tomorrow. We'll be partying it up with him tomorrow night in celebration now that he can end his studying quarantine! Chris is going to make a cheesecake for his parents who are getting back from China tomorrow evening. I am going to try a curry recipe using a sauce mix his parents gave us awhile ago. I'm hoping it turns out close to how the curry is at Tokyo Bowl in Clear Lake. We've been there a few times with his parents. So tasty!!

I am almost finished with my Christmas shopping. I need to buy a few things -- to Bed Bath & Beyond I will go! With coupons in hand! Then I need to see where Chris is on his shopping.

Got an interesting email last night from Pinterest: Texas Parenting Magazine invited you to start pinning to the board, Texas - Food and Recipes. I was very surprised and a little freaked out at first. It's like getting a parenting magazine in your mail. Or worse. Anything about menopause. Um, hello, last I checked, I don't have children -- I'm not interested in anything Parenting related!!! But I left the email marked as unread and came back to it this morning to check out the board: Texas food and recipes

Um. Yum. So I accepted the invitation. Don't read too much into things, it just means 1) I have lots of awesome food on my Pinterest board and 2) I'm in Texas.

I already have my first contribution to the board! I was pretty excited when I saw this pin: Crock Pot Cinnamon Almonds but when I clicked on it to see the original recipe, it doesn't say how long to cook them. Um that's a little important... So I did some searching of my own and pinned this one: Slow Cooker Cinnamon Almonds. With cooking level and time, yes! And the recipes are exactly the same, ha. So I will definitely be trying that recipe this holiday season! Expect updates when I do.