Dirt Cake and Baked Brie

This is a recipe from my SIL, she has been making it for family gatherings for years but I just started making it myself at home. It is sooo yummy. Very rich, which is the way I like my dessert.

1 bag of Oreos
8 oz Cream Cheese
12 oz carton Cool Whip
2 pkgs French Vanilla Instant Pudding
3 1/2 cups milk
Gummy Worms and Fake Flowers for decoration

Crush the entire bag of oreos. Whip the cream cheese and then add in the oreos, reserving about a cup for the topping. In another large bowl, mix together the pudding and milk, then add in the cool whip. Layer cookie mix, then pudding, cookie mix, then pudding in an 8″ plastic flower pot. Top with the remaining oreos and gummy worms, stick some plastic flowers in if you like. I made this last night for 10 women, nearly everyone had at least one serving if not two, and I had some left over.

I also made Baked Brie which turned out great. What I love about this is that it seems so fancy and difficult, but it is actually super easy, which makes it great for a party where you are preparing more than one thing. I bought a store bought pie crust in the refrigerator section, my SIL uses pizza crust, or you can use pastry dough. All I could find was pie crust. Get a round of Brie and fresh raspberries. Top the Brie with the fresh raspberries, I covered the entire top with one layer, then wrap the crust around the brie so that it meets and gathers on the bottom. Bake on a sprayed cookie sheet at 350 until the crust is beginning to brown, this took about 50 minutes in my oven which seemed like a long time. Serve with crackers or bread. It was a hit!

Onions with Pasta Nests

I saw this in Better Homes and Garden and thought it looked yummy so I bought some sweet onions with the intention of making it at some point soon. I ended up throwing it together with some broiled carrots for a quick lunch after church yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. It would be a great side dish for you meat-eaters, and for us it was great to eat along side roasted vegies and fruit.

1 TB butter
1 TB olive oil
2 lb. sweet onions, sliced 1/2 inches thick and separated into rings
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 oz dried coiled pasta or angel hair pasta (of course, my store which carries nothing did not have coiled pasta, so I used thin spaghetti which I had in the pantry)
1 1/4 cup water

In a 12 inch skillet heat butter and olive oil over medium heat until butter melts. Add onions, salt and pepper. Cook, covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes more or until onions are tender and browned, stirring frequently. Remove onions from skillet; set aside. Add pasta to hot skillet. Cook and stir for 4 minutes or until pasta is browned. Add cooked onions and water to skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover. Cook for 3-4 minutes more until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.