In the mood for an eclair?

Sometimes I'm in the mood to make dessert from scratch. Sometimes I'm not. This "quick eclair" recipe, which I got from my sister-in-law, is for those days when you want to use store-bought ingredients and still end up looking like you tried. We thought it tasted great; my kids especially loved it. Just make sure you plan ahead for the refrigeration time. I halved the recipe, but the full recipe is included below.

THE RECIPE:

2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
3 c. milk
1 8-ounce container Cool Whip
1 box graham crackers
1 tub chocolate frosting*

Mix pudding and milk until thickened. Fold in Cool Whip. In 9x13 pan, layer graham crackers, then half of pudding mixture, then graham crackers, then other half of pudding mixture, then graham crackers. Heat frosting until softened and kind of pourable, but not melted. Spread over top graham cracker layer. Refrigerate several hours (I did six hours) or overnight.

*I used extra frosting, because I'm a chocoholic.

Sugar and spice and everything nice

Sweet potatoes with apples and cinnamon make a wonderful side dish. They are easy and delicious. I have used all different kinds of apples with great success. Of course, the dish seemed especially wonderful in the fall, with apples from our own trees.

THE RECIPE:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1/4 c. melted butter
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 apple

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut sweet potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Place in 9x13 pan and toss with butter. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over all, then toss again to coat. Cover with foil and bake about 20 minutes. Core apple -- don't peel -- and cut into chunks. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and add apple chunks, stirring together. Cover again, then bake everything 10 minutes* more.

*That's for an apple that is cold from refrigeration. If yours is room temperature, you should probably cook it a couple of minutes less, so it won't get mushy. You want it to be tender-crisp. Keep in mind, the sweet potatoes need 30 minutes altogether.

Fat-free dessert

If you are counting calories, these chocolate meringue bites might be the dessert for you. It's kind of a melt-in-your-mouth cookie -- very light but still chewy. They are semi-sweet, so a nice dusting of powdered sugar was a must for me. I got the recipe from a health magazine. The cookies are low in carbs and have zero fat, zero cholesterol and only 25 calories each. The magazine boasts, "In fact, you could eat ten of them and still not equal the calories in one piece of chocolate cake!" I thought the cookies were yummy, but I'm gluttonous when it comes to chocolate, so I need a nice helping of fat in order to be completely satisfied. So sad.

THE RECIPE:

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 c. sugar, divided
3 egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. mint extract (optional)
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, sift together cocoa, salt and 1/4 cup of the sugar. (I didn't sift.) In larger bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time until meringue is glossy and stiff peaks form. Fold in cocoa mixture and extracts.

Drop by teaspoonful about 1 inch apart onto foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. Cool completely before peeling off foil.

Perfect Parmesan

My neighbor introduced me to these yummy and easy Parmesan potatoes. I love the crispy, golden Parmesan after it's baked. I'll admit I scraped the crumbs off the pan and ate them.

THE RECIPE:

5 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced (maybe a quarter-inch?)
1/4 c. melted butter
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Pepper
Powdered Parmesan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place potatoes on rimmed baking sheet and toss with butter. Spread potatoes out evenly, then sprinkle generously with spices and Parmesan. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn over and sprinkle again. Bake 15 minutes more. I don't recommend lining your pan with foil, because the potatoes will stick to it, making them difficult to turn.

Edible art

My 4-year-old and I had a blast painting these cornmeal cookies. It is such a fun idea -- use paintbrushes and food coloring to make edible works of art! You could do it with sugar cookies, too. All you need is a cookie that can be glazed so you end up with a flat, smooth, dry, nonporous surface. Use clean craft brushes or makeup brushes, nothing too thick. The fine-tipped ones work great. You only need a tiny dip into the food coloring. The glaze recipe is below, along with the cornmeal cookies.

THE RECIPE:

2/3 c. butter, softened

2/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 c. flour

Beat butter and sugar. Add baking powder and salt. Beat in egg, lemon peel and vanilla, then cornmeal and flour. Wrap dough in plastic wrap or waxed paper and chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours. Work it with your hands until it is easy to handle, then roll out dough on floured surface until it's a fourth-inch thick. Cut into shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes, or until edges start to brown very lightly. Dip fronts of cookies into glaze or spread glaze with a knife. The glaze is self-leveling. Let dry before painting.

Glaze:

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 Tbsp. milk

Stir together ingredients until you reach spreading consistency.

Use your leftovers

If you need a great way to use leftovers from a holiday ham, try this -- ham fried rice. It's easy, and it tastes wonderful. Plus, you can adjust the ingredients any way your sweet little heart desires. There's no need to add salt, though, because there's enough in the soy sauce and ham.

THE RECIPE:

3/4 c. uncooked white rice
3/4 c. uncooked brown rice
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. diced ham
1 c. peas
4 green onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. oil (I used canola)
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Cook rice according to package directions. (Remember, brown rice takes more water than white.) In large frying pan or electric skillet, scramble and cook eggs. Add cooked rice, ham, peas and onions. Toss with oil and keep frying. Add soy sauce, spices and sugar, and keep frying until you feel good about it. The ham and eggs will get a little browned on the edges. Turn off the heat and let it sit until you're ready to eat. It tastes best if you let the flavors mix for a little bit.

Polly want a cracker?

Have you ever thought of making homemade crackers? I hadn't, until I ran across this recipe on Smitten Kitchen. These Parmesan cream crackers are a nice little treat. They are thicker than a store-bought cracker and extremely easy to make. After rolling out the dough, I cut it with one of my kids' playdough accessories to make the crackers look more like the real thing. Feel free to get creative. You could spread something on them or serve them with soup.

THE RECIPE:

1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. grated fresh Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter*
1/4 c. cream or half-and-half

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly dust with flour. Put flour, salt, cheese and butter in bowl of food processor. Pulse until combined. (You could do it by hand with a pastry blender.) Add cream and mix until dough forms. (You'll probably have to finish combining it by hand.)

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface until it's a fourth-inch thick or less. From into individual crackers -- mine were about an inch and a half long. Place on baking sheet and poke with fork. Bake until moderately browned, about 12 minutes. I think mine took longer. Cool completely on rack before eating so they will be dry and crisp. Makes about 30 crackers.

*If you are using salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe by half.