Torte

Again, I have been cooking, but not posting. Terrible! I haven't been taking pictures of any of my creations either! I can't believe me! There are three things that were exciting for me... The Ward Christmas Party Salad, Cherry Chocolate Christmas Torte, and Pumpkin Spice Torte. All were VERY easy!!!

Somehow I was included in the group that planned the meal for the ward Christmas party. It was not on purpose! And then I was put in charge of the salad (along with a few other things). But we wanted a sophisticated salad. Not just greens and ranch dressing. Well, I figured it would be fancy to add fruit and nuts. So I did! And I LOVE poppy seed dressing! And there were the makings of a salad. I had the recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad and improvised for a winter/ budget friendly/ large crowd version.

Romaine Greens
Red Onions
Canned Mandarin oranges
Raw cashews
Brianna's Poppy seed Dressing (not so budget friendly, but easier for a large crowd and REALLY yummy! I bought it at WinCo, but I've seen it at Albertson's and Wal-Mart too.)
The Homemade Poppy seed Dressing Recipe is Here.

I made the Cherry Chocolate Torte for Christmas dinner at my in-laws. Again an improvisation of another Pampered Chef recipe. I am LOVING The Pampered Chef Torte Pans. You can make a cake mix, add a filling and a frosting and you have an amazing dessert! I LOVE IT! Anyway... The Cherry Chocolate Torte was:
chocolate cake mix
Cherry pie filling
and I melted some white chocolate chips and drizzled it over the top.

The Pumpkin Spice Torte was for a potluck dinner hosted by Jeff's work. Yah, his work party was potluck. Sign of the economy. But I dazzled with a GREAT dessert.
Spice Cake mix
I mixed Cream Cheese, Cool Whip, and pureed pumpkin together for the filling.
Topped it with Cream Cheese Frosting (from a tub). And put some dollops of the leftover filling on top with my Easy Accent Decorator. Fun!
It was yummy. EVERYONE loved it! I would change the filling for next time. I think I would mix the pumpkin with either vanilla or cheesecake pudding mix. It would be a little sweeter.

So... there you go. I wish I had taken photos. The Torte's looked professional. I am sorry I am bragging. But I love it when I make something that looks amazing, and I get a lot of compliments, and I didn't have to slave for too long. I love not making ordinary things.