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Memorial Weekend Treat: Frozen Berry Flattened Trifle

by Susan

Can you believe Memorial Weekend is already (almost) here?! This weekend is always one of my favorites. The sun is (usually) shining. The flags are flying. And we are (almost always) working a wedding and then spending the holiday weekend at the river. This is the first year, in EIGHT YEARS, that I do not have a wedding this weekend. I am cutting way, way back this year on my wedding business. I still have one-ish a month for the majority of the season. But it’s a fourth of what I did last year. Because I want to be around to enjoy fun-filled weekends (like Memorial Weekend) with my family!

That being said - how about a festive NON PALEO NON WHOLE30 BUT INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS dessert? Yes… every now and then you just have to live by the 90/10 rule. (Keep in mind, this dessert was created we discovered my gluten intolerance… so I will not be eating this. But my friends and family will love it!)

Frozen Berry, Flattened Trifle
 
Print
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
1 hour
Total time
1 hour 15 mins
 
Two Sleeves of Graham Crackers One stick of Melted Butter One Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (For a slightly lighter, less rich taste use fat free) Approximately 8 ounces of Greek Yogurt. Four-ish of Pineapple Greek and Four-ish of Lemon Greek. (Again, for a slightly, less rich taste you can use normal yogurt) An average sized lemon to zest and squeeze the juice One 8 ounce Container of Thawed Cool Whip Half of an Angel Food Cake (I did store bought) Approximately 1.5 cups of Fresh Strawberries Approximately 1.5 cups of Fresh Blueberries
Author: Susan {2 cats & chloe.}
Ingredients
  • Two Sleeves of Graham Crackers
  • One stick of Melted Butter
  • One Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (For a slightly lighter, less rich taste use fat free)
  • Approximately 8 ounces of Greek Yogurt. Four-ish of Pineapple Greek and Four-ish of Lemon Greek. (Again, for a slightly, less rich taste you can use normal yogurt)
  • An average sized lemon to zest and squeeze the juice
  • One 8 ounce Container of Thawed Cool Whip
  • Half of an Angel Food Cake (I did store bought)
  • Approximately 1.5 cups of Fresh Strawberries
  • Approximately 1.5 cups of Fresh Blueberries
Instructions
  1. Take the Grahams, double ziplock bag 'em, then smash them to bits! Add the melted butter and mix into the bag.
  2. On your cookie sheet, spread out some wax paper. This makes for a much easier cleanup. Lay the buttery grahams out and press them down hard. Making a make-shift crust. I popped it into the oven, on 350 degrees for about 5 minutes to help bind it. {Not sure if this is necessary or not though since you will be freezing it.}
  3. In a separate mixing bowl you need to mix your yogurt, sweetened condensed milk, zest the lemon until you don’t feel like zesting anymore, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze it’s contents into the bowl, sans the seeds. Then blend in the Cool Whip.
  4. Cut up your strawberries and tear up the Angel Food Cake. You could cut it, but let’s be real… it’s way more fun to tear it up. More than likely it will take you back to your first birthday where they told you to run amok with the cake. DO IT! And do it so the pieces are small squares.
  5. I highly recommend fresh fruit. Unless you are in Hertford, NC. In which case they “ran out” of blueberries. I have never made this with frozen fruit before but in my mind, they are going to be frozen in the long run – this should just save on the freezing process? (Bottom Line: Stick with the fresh if you can.)
  6. On top of your grahamy crust, lay out some blues and straws… berries that is. This ensures that even when the top looks like the American Flag, your happy family and friends will get some of each fruit.
  7. Put a layer of the Angel Food Cake down. Surprisingly this is AWESOME when frozen. Then smooth the layer of your fruity cool whip concoction on top of the cake.
  8. Use your slices strawberries and blueberries to make the top look like the American Flag. OR, I think this would look just as pretty, scatter the strawberries and blueberries around like you did on top of the grahams. Use your creative juices to figure out your frozen treat decor.
  9. Cover it up and pop it in the freezer. I let mine freeze through the night. It’s still a bit gooey because of the contents, but my oh my! You’re going to enjoy!
3.3.3070
Happy Memorial Day Weekend Y’all.
#thisisnotpaleo

Be safe. Have fun. And take a moment to remember those who have given their lives to keep us safe.

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PS. Today is the Southern Soiree! So linkup here:
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Filed Under: Holiday, Summer, The Soiree

Easter was Golden!

by Susan

Ah, what an incredibly fun Easter Sunday. While I do regret that we did not get to church this past Sunday, overall, it was a beautiful, sunny, family-filled day.

My husband and I headed across the bridge first thing in the morning to help my folks get their house ready. When we arrived we realized that my mom had already been at her Easter Bunny Duties! (If you missed this past Say What Saturday, you should go back and read it so that you can fully grasp how cut-throat our family egg hunt really is…) Once the house was prepped and the table was set, I decided to die some eggs while we waited for everyone to arrive. I mean, when in Rome right?

This year I used the Paas tie-dye kit. It was really quite cool, except I would recommend to Paas that next year, you put more than two pieces of the white, tie-dying material in the box. My paper towels didn’t work quite as well - but really did leave a cool effect!

2 cats and chloe: paas tie dye eggs

2 cats & chloe: easter 2015 died eggs  //  paas tie dye

Beautiful right? 😉

Next on our Easter agenda was lunch. I’ve mentioned to y’all a few times that between my food allergies, my sister going veg, my dad not eating red meat… our family functions can be quite interesting. I always giggle at this card my mom has framed that sits on the table:

2 cats & chloe: Everyone eats different foods in our family!

Since there were so many family and close friends over, we had to divide and conquer. Here is most of us (except you cannot see my god-mother and my husband. Apparently no one taught them the “if you can’t see me, I can’t see you” rule…)

And then my sister and her boyfriend volunteered to sit at the bar… I’m pretty positive they volunteered so that Leslie could stare out the window, planning and hunting for Easter Eggs while we all chowed down… Aren’t thye cute?

Easter - Leslie and Aaron

After lunch - things got real. My mom handed out the bags and counted us down. Nine adults sprinted off the deck, swiftly through the 3 acre yard in search of 98 Easter Eggs, including 2 Golden Eggs. The Goldens are the ones with the big money. Apparently even the Easter Bunny was hit with the recession - they each only had $5 this year. ($10s and $20s in the past.) But quite frankly, it’s really about the beautiful shiny egg and the title… not the money.

adults hunt for eggs

Y’all - you would’ve thought that this was the end of the world and these were the last coins we would ever see again. While there was no pushing and shoving this year… things got pretty heated at the end when my sister and I were tied for first place with the same number of eggs, and 97 eggs were found.

Adult Easter Egg Hunt

It was like some lame sitcom. I kid you not… the 98th egg that was missing was one of the Golden Eggs. So the search continued for another 30 minutes or so. We gave my mom such a hard time because she did the hiding and could not remember where in the world that last egg was. Now, I wouldn’t have expected her to remember every random pink, yellow or green egg… but the Golden Eggs?! She should’ve known exactly where they were!

2 cats & chloe: Very serious easter egg hunt

Eventually we all gave up, clouded with defeat and haunted by the mental image of my dad chopping the Golden Egg up with the lawn mower, then shooting it across the yard. And then off went my mom. In hopes of not losing this family egg, or her mind. (Are there any Gilmore Girl fans out there who remember the episode where they used real eggs one Easter, then the whole town started to stink?) Since my mom worked as the Easter Bunny and did all the initial hiding of the eggs, we told her she couldn’t participate. Until the Golden Egg Debacle. At which point - she hunted for another 15 minutes and eventually came back with the 98th (MIA Golden) egg. She got to keep the $5. We are all still wondering if it was in her pocket the whole time…

2 cats & chloe: benjaminson family easter egg hunt

So who won the infamous Benjaminson Family Easter Egg Hunt of 2015? Well… in the end my sister pulled ahead with one more egg than me. HOWEVER! I did find the first Golden Egg, which put me over the edge in terms of money. While everyone else found mostly eggs filled with coins - I ended up with 23 eggs, equaling a whopping $12.13! #WinnerWinnerEasterDinner! Then my husband and I proceeded to take selfies with the Golden Egg.

2 cats & chloe: the golden easter egg winner 2 cats & chloe; golden egg // easter 2015 2 cats & chloe: happy blogger

All in all, it was a really great, stress-free, sunny, golden day! I wish every Sunday was full of that much love and competitiveness!

How was your Easter? Does your family have an Easter Egg Hunt? Do the adults partake?

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Filed Under: Family, Holiday, Spring

He is Risen!

by Susan

Happy Easter friends! From the absolute bottom of my heart… He is Risen! We are so blessed! Jesus died for our sins and rose from his grave three days later. He is risen, just as he said!

While I’m a sucker for Christmas, I really love the meaning and joy of Easter.

2 cats & chloe: He is Risen Matthew 28:6

Have the best Easter you can possibly imagine! Spend some time with your family and loved ones! Be thankful and rejoice!

2 cats signature

Filed Under: Faith, Holiday, Spring

SWS: Will you be doing an easter egg hunt?

by Susan

So let me preface this Say What Saturday by telling you that my family is cut-throat when it comes to easter egg hunts. There is pushing. There is shoving. There is name calling. But it’s all in the good spirit of Easter and finding that one “Golden Egg.”

You see, my mom is an absolute Rockstar every day of the year, but especially on Easter Day. Not only does she spend the day making a delicious meal that works with all of our eating issues (I’m paleo, gluten-free, sugar-free and mostly dairy-free. My dad doesn’t eat red meat. My sister is a vegetarian… You get the picture right? Holiday meals are a smorgasbord in our home!) So she does all the meal prep, and then my mom spends at least an hour wandering around the yard before we all arrive hiding plastic eggs. 90% of them are either filled with spare coins or (melted, depending on the weather) m&ms. The remaining 10% have cash-money in them. Most of the eggs-with-bills only have a dollar or so in them. BUT there is always one with a $10 bill and one with a $20 bill. You better believe it is hard to find the Golden Egg with the $20. A few years ago my roommate and I spotted it at the same exact time… There was pushing and possibly a skinned knee over it.

So today, I wanted to know what everyone else does when it comes to Easter Egg Hunts, so I asked my sponsors. Does your family do them? Is it just for kids? Is there name calling involved?

Easter Egg Hunt for Bloggers

Meet My Sponsors: Dagmara from Glamista Home, Jenn from What You Make It, J from A Hot Southern Mess.

2 cats & chloe: peeps for easter

Now y’all, I need to go run some laps, practice my tactical moves and read through a few “Where’s Waldo” books to prepare for tomorrow… Mama’s gotta find that Golden Egg to support the blog!

Jokes aside, remember the reason for this holiday. He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Have a blessed Easter!

2 cats signature

If you want to be part of the 2 cats & chloe Say What Saturday Series – it’s easy! This is just one of the many perks as a sponsor of this blog. All the money the comes from your sponsorships goes right out to sponsor bigger blogs, bringing more people back here to see you, your ad, your blog post (if it comes with your sponsorship) and your personality on Saturdays! So you see, it’s a win-win for all of us!

Filed Under: Holiday, Meet My Sponsors, Say What, Spring

SWS - St. Pat’s Day!

by Susan

Are you ready for another installment of Say What Saturday? Tis the season for green clothes, green beer and Irish jigs. I have never really been a huge St. Patty’s Day fan - but I’m definitely not opposed to it! Especially now that I have a very Irish last name: Geoghegan! Lemme know if you figure out how to pronounce it!

With the impending “green” holiday (unless you want to be pinched!) I asked the 2 cats sponsors if they had any St. Patrick’s Day traditions!

2 cats & chloe: Blogger opp  // say what saturday  //  st. pat's traditionsMEET MY SPONSORS: SARAH FOR SAY HELLO, DAGMARA FROM GLAMISTA HOME, AND JENN FROM WHAT YOU MAKE IT

Suz and Mike St Pats Day 2011

As for me, I try to wear green because I passionately hate all of you pinchers out there. And if the year falls just right and my favorite band is in town, you will find me at a Carbon Leaf concert. They are such a fun band and once a year (for St. Patty Shows) they will play all of their old, classic, Irish-inspired tunes like Mary Mac! Carbon Leaf hasn’t been in town for this show in several years! I CANNOT WAIT until Tuesday’s show! If anyone is local - join me!

[The picture above was taken in 2011 when Michael and I were just dating… Other than his silly “mustache march” ‘stache …cute right?! I had no clue that years later I would be sharing his Irish last name!]

So what are YOU doing for St. Patty’s Day? Do you have any special traditions?

2 cats signature

If you want to be part of the 2 cats & chloe Say What Saturday Series – it’s easy! This is just one of the many perks as a sponsor of this blog. All the money the comes from your sponsorships goes right out to sponsor bigger blogs, bringing more people back here to see you, your ad, your blog post (if it comes with your sponsorship) and your personality on Saturdays! So you see, it’s a win-win for all of us!

Filed Under: Holiday, Meet My Sponsors, Say What

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A wedding planner, marketing junkie, and blogger. Obsessed with clean eating, glitter and adventures. Whether it is her home, her work, parties, conferences, projects or her style - Susan's goal is to appreciate everything and everyone around her, while making life pretty, one blog post at a time. Read More…

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Full Disclosure: All content and pictures on this blog belong to Susan Geoghegan and the 2 cats & chloe site, unless otherwise stated. If you pin a picture, please give credit. Some links on this site may contain affiliate links. Clicking on these links helps support this blog. A "c/o" in front of a product represents that that product was either gifted to me in exchange for the post or I was compensated by said company for my time. However, all posts are my own thoughts, opinions and reviews! Thanks for your support!

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