So What Can I Tell You?

Well, you know those little Pillsbury books they sell at the checkouts of grocery stores? Like they'll have the Bake-Off theme, or Fall Desserts, or whatever. A few months ago I bought the Mexican Meals one and just made the Easy Strawberry Margarita Dessert. Soooo good. And it's all mine because Little Guy (formerly known as Toddler) can't have it (allergies) and M. doesn't like fruity berry desserts. I didn't think it worthy of a picture, and I'm not going to drag my pregnant self 10 feet to the kitchen to get the recipe, but it's something like frozen strawberries, thawed (I used mixed berries because I had them), frozen margarita or daiquiri mix, thawed, one can of sweetened condensed milk, mixed together. Then you fold in whipped cream. I used Cool Whip Lite to feel better about the whole thing, even though nothing beats real whipped cream and Cool Whip kind of tastes like band-aids to me. All of this gets poured onto a pretzel crust (I don't like pretzels so I made a graham cracker crust) and then frozen. Not only does it taste really good, but it's so pretty. It's all raspberry and cream colored and swirly and pretty. There's more to life than just gourmet and fancy stuff. Why be a food snob? Embrace the Rachael Ray inside every now and then.

OK, what else? With our dinner tonight (ham, potatoes au gratin, brussels sprouts sauteed in oil and garlic--how's that for low-brow, textbook housewife blogging?) I made a really good cornbread. The reason this is noteable is because I use the Betty Crocker plain old recipe from the red spiral-bound book we all know and love but I substitute Smart Balance Light for the butter, soy milk for the milk, and egg replacer for the egg and it still turns out SO great. Some recipes are not very adaptable to these kinds of substitutions, but this one is wonderful.

I've decided to stop complaining about the short winter we've had. This little taste of spring (62° yesterday and today) has made me realize that warm weather is quite uplifting and fun. I know it's going to dip back down again and we might have a cold March, but that's OK. Also, I've been terrified by global warming and learning that this year has had the least snow here since the winter of 1918-1919 made me feel a little better.