Key Lime Cheesecake Trifle by Making Home Base

Hey Friends!  I have a special treat for you today!  My new friend Chelsea has come by and all I can say is YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE HER!  I've just recently discovered her but her warmth and love of family and life come across so clearly in her blog posts.  And she is sharing a low fat version of one of my most favorite desserts EVER!  But I will let her tell you all about it... 

 Meet Chelsea!!!



Hello Pondered Primed Perfected friends! I'm Chelsea from Making Home Base. My blog is where I share fun crafts, DIY projects, and the occasional recipe to satisfy my sweet tooth. Today I'm going to share one of my favorite spring time sweets that's low fat and delicious!

 

 A couple years ago my husband and I visited Key West, Florida for a week. It was such a fun vacation! We snorkeled, ate, swam, ate, and kayaked, and ate some more. My husband got hooked on key lime pie. They have these incredible key lime pie slices on a stick and then dipped in chocolate. Can you imagine? Yeah. They are that good! I know I can't come close to making a replica of that delicious treat but I did come up with a key lime treat that incorporates two of my favorite desserts: cheesecake and trifles!

 

 Let's get to the recipe shall we? This yummy dessert has three layers: "diet soda cake," sugar free cheesecake pudding, and fat free cool whip. Ingredients: Cake layer: Box of white cake mix 10 oz Diet 7 Up 2 egg whites 1 3 oz box of lime jello 1 cup boiling water 1/2 c cold water Pudding: 1 box of cheesecake jello pudding fat free milk Juice of half of one lime Cool Whip Free Lime for garnishment (optional) Directions: Make cake by mixing cake mix, Diet 7 Up, and egg whites. Bake according to directions on the box. After the cake has cooled poke all over with a fork. Mix jello mix and boiling hot water. Stir for two minutes or until jello mix is dissolved. Add cold water. Pour over cake and refrigerate for 3 hours. Prepare cheesecake jello pudding according to directions on the box. While whisking, add in the juice of half of a lime. Let set for 5 minutes in the refrigerator. To prepare the trifles, put a layer of cake on the bottom, then a layer of cheesecake pudding, then a layer of cool whip. Garnish with a slice of lime. Serve right away.

 

You can make these mini trifles (because everything is cute miniature) or you can make one large trifle with several layers. I love this low fat guilt free treat! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! For more yummy treats and craft and DIY projects come by my blog. I'd also love to connect with you on Facebook, Pinterest, or Hometalk! Thanks so much for having me Sherry! It's been so fun!

Chelsea, thanks for coming by and sharing this irresistible looking dessert...and low fat even!  I can't wait to get home from Hawaii and try it!  Okay, I jest!  I don't want to come home from Hawaii but when I do get home I'm totally going to make these for the family.  :)

Thanks for stopping by today.  If you haven't already done so please hop on over to Chelsea's blog, Making Home Base.  You'll be glad you did!

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Redhead Can Decorate Is In The House!

Guess who's visiting Pondered Primed Perfected while I'm off on vacation?
It's Julie of Redhead Can Decorate!  You've got to see some of her projects.  This redhead really can decorate...and remodel...and cook...and so much more!  Her kitchen makeover is unreal.  I have to tell you I am so envious of that kitchen with the big island in the center.  What a wonderful family central!!

So give a big welcome to Julie of....

redheadcandecorate.com

Hi there!  My name is Julie, and I am the redhead over at redheadcandecorate.com.
Sherry and I have a lot in common and have become close friends over the past year.
We both love DIY home projects, and we both love to cook.
Sherry is always inspiring me!
Hopefully right now she's flipping off her flip flops and sipping (gulping)
a tropical drink out of a coconut!
While Sherry is busy doing that (lucky girl),
feel free to check out what I do over at our house.
Maybe I can convince you try some of my innovative and affordable ideas in your own home.  I may even make your tummy growl!

DIY Kitchen Makeover

White Master Bedroom

Dining Room Turned Office

Hutch Turned Tool Bench

Thank you for hanging out with me at Sherry's place...
can't wait to hear how her vacation went.
Time to get back to work little Sherry!
Like I always say to Rick, my hubby,
"What?  Are you on break?"

By the way...you can find redheadcandecorate.com on Facebook , Pinterest, and I am also an Ambassador over at Looksi.  Hope you will follow along!  I would love to hear from you.

Love,
Julie

Thanks so much for holding down the fort for me Julie!!!

Love, Sherry

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The Ultimate Spring Cleaning Mega Giveaway!

Ready to tackle your spring cleaning and organization projects with a BANG? 

You could win one of 10 amazing prizes...including the GRAND PRIZE of a $160 Target Gift Card, an entire Shaklee Starter Kit, Nostalgic Bulbs Vintage Light Bulbs and a Board Dudes Organizational System. Nine runners up will also win Board Dudes Organizational Systems worth $50 each.

Please Note: This give away is only open to residents of the continental US.

HOW TO ENTER:

Step One:

Please follow the below hostesses and hosts on Pinterest:

Step Two:
Follow the instructions via Rafflecopter below to complete your entries
{It may take our friend, Rafflecopter, a moment to appear}:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We will draw on April 27th and publish the winners here. Winners will also be notified via email and will have 24 hours to claim their prize before we choose another winner.

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RedheadCanDecorate.com's Curated Collection of DIY Decorating For Less

Guess What?

I'm being featured on Looksi Square today!

Yep, my sweet friend Julie of Redhead Can Decorate has her Curated Collection up today and it is all about DIY Decorating For Less.  So I'm among some pretty talented DIY company.

(Just click I will take you there)

Here are just a few examples of what you will see there:

Garden Hose Wreath ~ Create Craft Love 
Dresser Makeover ~ Bliss Ranch
DIY Dining Room Makeover on a Budget~ I Should Be Mopping the Floor
Beachy Buoys~ A Button Tufted Life
 Reupholstered Chairs ~ Debbie Doo's
 Painted Hutch ~ Homework

Julie, has done a beautiful job compiling her favorite DIY Decorating Projects on Looksi!  Hope you can go by and see what she's sharing.
And don't forget to come back here on Tuesday because Julie will be visiting here and sharing  DIY Decorating projects she has done in her own home.  She's a talented gal, that Redhead!

And there's more. Miss Julie has a lot of exciting things going on right now but you will have to come by and see her here on Tuesday to find out!  

  I'm excited for her!

Thanks for stopping by today :)

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Tank Top Beach Bag

Sometimes you just have to take what you've got and make it into something better or more useful.  Like this tank top I turned into a beach bag.  I never wore the tank top, not even once, but this beach bag is about to take a trip to Hawaii with me!

I bought this tank top on clearance at a little boutique a few years ago.   It was adorable!  I loved how it looked...

...ON THE HANGER!  

It was adorable with the sweet fringed neckline and the sheer pleated body.  So romantic.  A bit sexy.

But it didn't look cute on me!  

The color is too close to my skin tone so it washed me out bad.  Not good!

That will teach me to try things on before I buy them.

Even if they are only $5.00 on clearance.

So I put it in the donate bag and there it sat.  Until the other day when I saw some tank top totes on Pinterest.  I didn't pin them because I had no intention of making one so I can't share who made those particular totes I saw that day.  There are numerous versions you can find online though.  Just type tank top tote/bag into the Google or Pinterest search bar and see what comes up.  :)

Then the other day I was thinking about what I would carry my towel, sunglasses, book and sunblock in while in Hawaii and those tank top totes popped into my head.  And I pulled out my tank that had never been given it's day to shine and here's what I did:

I grabbed a piece of scrap fabric I had that was a nice tropical print on a cream background.  This would become the lining for my beach bag.

I measured how deep I wanted my bag and cut the lining that long.  I traced the arm holes and straps because these would become the handles of my new tote.

Once the measuring was done I folded and cut out my lining fabric to size.

I also cut a couple of strips of lining fabric for reinforcing the tote handles.

I sewed up the sides of the lining fabric.  The bottom was the fold so it didn't need to be sewn.

Here's how it looked once the sides were sewn up.  (above:  I turned it right side out for this photo) 

This piece gets turned inside out again and put inside the tank as a lining.  My tank was so sheer and "stretchy" from those pleats that I wanted to give it some form with this lining fabric.

I folded the handle pieces over and sewed down the edges then turned them right side out using a safety pin to push through.

The bottom of the tank was sewn with a zig zag stitch, the excess cut off and turned right side out again.

The lining was put inside and stitched all around the edges with a zig zag stitch to attach...sewing the little handle reinforcements under the straps.

This isn't much of a step-by-step tutorial but honestly, it wasn't too difficult.  

If you use a tank with a more substantial fabric you could create a bag without adding a lining at all...just hem up the bottom and voila!

It's the perfect size to carry my beach stuff around.  

It's cute enough to carry into a restaurant or shop as well.

And that's just what me and my new bag will be doing when we arrive in Hawaii next weekend...bumming it on the beach or shopping the open air market and sipping Mai Tai's at local restaurants.

Wish I could hide you all in my bag and take you with me :)

I hope you come and visit next week when I've got a couple of wonderful guests coming to share their fabulous~ness with you while I'm gone!  You won't want to miss them.

Aloha!

Sherry

Sharing with:

http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2013/04/mop-it-up-monday-63.html

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Lemon Crepes filled with honey-lemon Greek Yogurt

Crepes just sound so French and Sophisticated, don't they?  

I like feeling French and Sophisticated from time to time.  :)

This weekend I decided to try my hand at making crepes for the very first time.  

I found the best crepe making advice from a wonderful post by Yummy Mummy Kitchen.

You really should go see Marina's Crepes and exquisite photos!  Since she seems to know much more about making crepes than I, I would suggest following her step-by-step directions.  You can view her post HERE.

No special equipment was used to make these crepes....just a large, good quality non-stick skillet.  

I modified Yummy Mummy Kitchen's recipe as follows (since I didn't have all of the ingredients that her recipe required on hand and I didn't want to run to the Grocers').  They turned out delicious and I was thrilled at how simple they were to make.  

Ingredients

Blueberry Sauce:

3 cups frozen blueberrries

juice of 1 orange

Crepes:

1 cup skim milk

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest 

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons melted butter 

1 cup flour, I used all-purpose flour

Filling: 

2 cups Greek yogurt, I used Zoi Traditional Greek in Honey flavor

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Tablespoon of honey

1/4 cup fresh raspberries for garnish (optional)

I simmered and reduced my blueberries and orange juice just as Marina's recipe indicated I should.

I whipped up the crepe ingredients as Marina described and poured the batter by 1/3 cupfuls into my non-stick skillet...swirling the pan around immediately to make sure they are nice and thin and round.

I mixed my Greek Yogurt with the lemon juice and  honey...then added a couple dollops on each crepe and rolled them up.  

Sprinkle some powdered sugar, add a spoonful of blueberry sauce and these crepes are finished off perfectly!  

Just a touch of subtle lemon in these light crepes makes them dreamy good.  

Thank you so much, Marina, for sharing your crepe making expertise with us so that we may enjoy feeling French and Sophisticated from time to time.  

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Egg Salad Sandwich lightened up :)

It's nice to change up the routine and add some variety to our meals.

Plus I had some hard boiled eggs left over from Easter :)

How about some egg salad on wheat for lunch?

Two hard boiled eggs (leftover from Easter 156 cal)

Tablespoon light mayo (45 cal)

tsp yellow mustard

dash of Mrs. Dash seasoning ~ hehe!

Franz 9 grain thin Sandwich round (90 cal)

Spring Mix

Mini Sweet Peppers and Pepperoncini as garnish 

Tasty and satisfying.

Simple.

Light on the calories.

Nice change of pace from a green salad.

Perfect for a healthy lunch.

Devoured.  :)

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Quick, Easy and Low-Cal ~ Blended Mocha Frappe

This tip is so easy I'm almost embarrassed to share it.

But I'm going to share it anyway...just in case.

Of course you might already know how to make a blended frappe.

It's not like it's rocket science.  But I have a tip or two that may make it quicker, easier and maybe even creamier and tastier!

One of the hardest things for me in my battle against the bulge is feeling deprived of many of the treats I really love. 

I really love my coffee.  

And chocolate.  

And I especially love them together...

If you want to keep enjoying delicious frappes without all the calories you can make your own version at home.  You could use your leftover coffee from that morning or you can use one of these Ready Brew packets from Starbucks. There are other versions you can use (like Folgers) at your local grocery store too.   You could even use some of those instant coffee crystals that come in a jar if you choose.

I like these decaffeinated Ready Brews for days when I'm craving a frappe in the afternoon but don't want to lay awake half the night regretting my decision.  Although that's when I get to watch all the best Vampire shows on Netflix or Hulu...shhhhh!

You'll need a blender of some sort.  Ours isn't anything fancy but it works great.

Add to blender:

Two cups of lowfat or nonfat milk

Two cups of crushed or cubed ice

1 or 2 packets of Ready Brew or individual serve instant coffee (depending on how strong you like it)

1/2 packet Jell-O chocolate flavored, sugar-free * fat-free instant pudding (save the other half for next time)

Blend until creamy.  Serves two...I make one for my sweetheart too.  He makes coffee for me in the morning before I wake up and I really appreciate that!  He's such a sweetheart.  :)  

Pour into your favorite treat glass and enjoy!

The pudding mix is the secret ingredient that gives the chocolate flavor AND the creamy consistency of a full calorie, full fat frappucino.  Oh so yummy!!!

I also added a little dollop of fat-free whip cream and sprinkled some chocolate on top.  

What are you waiting for?  

Sugar-free, low-fat, and even caffeine free if you want...

Who said being good had to be boring?

Sharing With:

http://www.thistlewoodfarms.com

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