For My Valentine - Peanut Butter Cheesecake Parfait

As we laid in bed one Saturday morning talking, I asked my husband what kind of dessert he wanted for Valentine's Day. He instantly said pudding. I turned my head and looked at him with an odd look.

 

"You always complain about how I bake for everyone else but you and now that I ask you, you say pudding?"

 

"Anything with peanut butter and chocolate?" he offered.

 

"Argh!"

 

My husband likes simple desserts. If it were up to him, everything I bake would be peanut butter and chocolate flavored or a cheesecake. The blogger in me wants to resist the simple and sometimes wants to over complicate things. For a week, I wracked my brain for something creative to write about for Valentine's Day but then I had to stop and think....KISS! (keep it simple stupid). Why was I making a Valentine's Day treat for my blog when I should be making a treat for my Valentine? Yup, I was going to make what my husband asked for from the very beginning.

 

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Parfait

 

1-1oz box of sugar free cheesecake flavored pudding

2 cups of cold milk

1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Approximately 10 chocolate creme cookies, crushed

Lite whipped topping

Chocolate jimmie sprinkles for garnish

 

Whisk the pudding mix and milk in a cold metal bowl until mix is dissolved. Whisk in the peanut butter and until smooth. Allow to set in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

In a clear container (such a mini trifle dish), layer ingredients starting with the crushed cookies, pudding, cookies, and whipped topping. Garnish with sprinkles or mini chocolate chips.

 

Sueshine Note: I couldn't find any chocolate graham crackers so I stood in the cookie aisle for quite some time trying to figure out what to use as a "crust." The store I was at didn't care any of my usual sugar free cookies so I ended up using something I had discovered awhile ago. European biscuits tend not to be so sweet and have a great crispy texture. Luckily, the store did carry Hit chocolate cream cookies. These cookies have a very light chocolate flavor (compared to an Oreo) but they complimented the peanut butter pudding. If your local store does not carry these, another alternative I found were chocolate BeVita. I haven't tried those yet but I'll definitely have to look into that soon.

 

 

I handed my husband his parfait and he asked me what it was. He drove right in and between spoonfuls, I asked him what he thought.

 

"I think this might be my favorite thing you have ever made."

The parfait was so easy to make, involved no baking at all, and had a limited sugar content. Although small, it would easily satisfy you and your sweetie's sweet tooth after a nice homemade Valentine's dinner (which I will be doing on actual Valentine's Day due to my husband's other comment on that Saturday morning: "Why don't you have a steak  blog?")

 

I hope all of you have a lovely Valentine's Day with your special someone and don't forget it's all about showing the one you love you care and that it doesn't have to be all fancy or expensive. It's about what they desire....even if it's just pudding :)

 

Super Bowl PigSkins - Mexican Style Baked Potato Skins

I went back and forth trying to decide what I wanted to share on the blog for the upcoming Super Bowl and before I knew it, it was already Saturday. Oops! So if you are just like me and slacked a little in prepping for the big game, I decided to change it up and go with a fast and easy savory appetizer that will please your Super Bowl guest of 2 (like me and my husband) or the whole neighborhood.

Let's be honest, Super Bowl Sunday is kind of a day to indulge in not the most healthiest of foods so of course I was inspired by one of my guilty pleasures. Something you can find in almost every taco shop in San Diego is carne asada fries. For around $6-$7, you can get a huge styrofoam platter of french fries covered in guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese, beans, and carne asada which could easily feed 2 people, making you instantly guilty but in the back of your mind, it was so worth every bite. In honor of the Super Bowl, I decided to tweak this favorite and subbed potato skins for fries and carnitas (shredded pork) for the carne asada for what I dubbed: "Pig Skins!"

Mexican-style Potato Skins aka Pig Skins

6 large Russet baking potatoes

16 oz (1lb) of pre-cooked pork carnitas

1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

1/2 cup guacamole

1/2 cup fresh salsa

olive oil
salt & black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425*F.

Wash potatoes thoroughly and pat dry. Rub olive oil on the outside of the potatoes and place on a baking sheet or sheet of foil. Baking in oven for approximately 45 minutes or until soft.

Remove potatoes from the oven and allow to cool before handling. Once cooled, cut the potatoes in half length wise. Carefully hollow out the potatoes with a spoon, leaving a thin layer inside. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the inside and outside of the potatoes then sprinkle with salt and black pepper, also on both sides. Add a pinch of shredded cheese inside the potato. Place back in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the skins are slightly crispy.

Remove from oven. Add the carnitas inside of the potato skin then add more cheese. Place in the oven until the cheese melts. Serve with your favorite toppings such as guacamole, fresh salsa, sour cream, or onion and cilantro.

Carnitas from Fresh and Easy

Sueshine Note: If you do not have access to carnitas, most stores have a precooked BBQ pulled pork package available. Change it up and add the BBQ pulled pork instead and top it with some cole slaw! Yum....yes please! Or of course, you make your own BBQ or carnitas.

So if you are in a rush to come up with an appetizer for the game tomorrow, please don't wander into your freezer aisle and grab those lame frozen potato skins. Make my super easy recipe and I'm sure everyone will coming back for more.