Strawberry Dessert

1 large box of instant vanilla pudding

½ cup sour cream

Milk

 1 large container of Cool Whip

1 large package of angel food cake

Lots of strawberries cut up

Mix up the vanilla pudding according to the directions on the box.  Before it sets mix in half a cup of sour cream.

Cut up the strawberries

Cut up the angel food cake into bite-sized pieces

In a 9 by 13 baking pan, layer the ingredients lasagna-style.  Angel food cake.  Pudding.  Cool Whip.  Strawberries.  Repeat.  I can only get two layers in myself, but I always wish for three.  Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight for flavors to mix.

One of my favorite childhood memories is opening up the refrigerator one summer day to see my favorite food and screaming, “Hallelujah! It’s Strawberry Dessert!”

Baklava

This recipe came from Mike’s Greek math adviser in Indiana

Ingredients:

Baklava:

5 cups chopped walnuts

½ cup of sugar

1 Tablespoon Vietnamese cinnamon

1 ¼ cups sweet butter, melted

1 ½ pounds phyllo, defrosted

Let Phyllo dough defrost in refrigerator for 2-3 days before you start.

Chop walnuts in a hand food chopper. 25 chops. Put in a bowl with sugar and cinnamon. Stir.

Melt butter in a small saucepan.

Cut Phyllo sheets to be the size of a baking dish so that the sheets can lie flat.

Brush bottom of the pan with butter. Alternate four sheets of Phyllo and butter. No butter on the fourth sheet.

Sprinkle ½ cup of walnut mixture. Add Phyllo. Alternate layers. Butter Phyllo Walnuts Phyllo until walnut mixture is gone. Finish with 5 sheets of Phyllo with butter between them. Top with more butter.

Score the top of the phyllo with a serrated knife. Ten vertical lines. Then diagonal lines to allow 4-5 full diamonds depending on if you want big or small pieces.

Wet your hands and shake water on the top of the pan twice.

Put the roasting dish on a cookie sheet to prevent the bottom from being burned.

Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 50 minutes.

Increase temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 5 to 10 minutes until the top starts to brown.

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature several hours or overnight.

Syrup:

4 cups of sugar

4 cups of water

2/3 cups honey

1 stick cinnamon (or some ground cinnamon.)

13 cloves

Cut the vertical lines all the way through the baked pastry.

In a large saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil. Boil for five minutes.

Add honey cinnamon stick and cloves.

Boil for another five minutes.

Pour hot syrup over cool baklava.

Let soak overnight or at least eight hours.

Cut along scores and put them into muffin cups.

Refrigerate or freeze if kept over three days. Defrost for a day if eating from frozen.

If you want it dry change the syrup recipe to

Syrup:

3 cups of sugar

3 cups of water

1/2 cups honey

1 stick cinnamon (or some ground cinnamon.)

7 cloves