A Tribute to my Heritage & Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Those of you who know me know I love to cook. Growing up, I was always baking, and when I got to college, the mess in the kitchen was almost always mine because I was the one usually cooking. My mom is a very good cook and could concoct meatloaf out of chocolate (ok, well not really, but she can make just about anything), and she came from a house where potatoes were not allowed because my Grandpa was too gourmet for potatoes. Needless to say, I didn't get their genes. I inherited the love for cooking, but not the gourmet cook gene.

Over the years, I have learned my strengths and I have learned that I am a great cook with what I like to call "White Trash Recipes." Don't get me wrong, I love the recipes with all of my heart, but they are classified as "White Trash" because I would not exactly consider them gourmet or even completely homemade, but they are pretty dang good. I am a pro at finding super easy recipes that taste really good, and I know I have reached new heights when my husband hypes up my food more than he does his mom's.

I'm not ashamed. We've always joked that as children, hiking in the woods singing "Hi Ho" in rainbow striped shirts and booty shorts, we were the epitome of White Trash, and I am proud to label my recipes accordingly. So, as a tribute to my heritage, and as a favor for all those wives out there who want to outdo their mother-in-law's cooking every once in a while and receive high-marks from the hubby's without having to spend all day in the kitchen, here is my recipe blog. I will add new recipes that I find that work, and I will also post my "Classic White Trash Recipes" that I have mastered.

As a kick-off, here is one of easiest desserts EVER that is one of my most requested recipes.

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Ingredients:
1 box of Graham crackers
2 small boxes of vanilla pudding (I prefer French Vanilla)
3 cups milk
1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip

For chocolate glaze:
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter (or margarine)
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
1. In a 13 x 9 cake pan, make one layer of graham crackers

2. Mix together pudding and milk, then add Cool Whip. Spread half of mixture over graham crackers

3. Cover pudding mixture with another graham cracker layer, and then use the rest of the pudding mixture for another layer

4. Top with one more layer of graham crackers.

Ok, the original recipe calls for chocolate frosting on top. Now, that would really constitute a super white trash recipe, and I am sure if you're in a hurry, it would totally work, but for once, I went against my nature and actually made something from scratch. Here's the best part....

5. In a medium saucepan, mix cocoa, sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil for 1 minute and then remove from heat. (Be sure not to scorch--basically, as long as it's all melted together, you'll be ok.)

6. Let cool for a couple minutes, then pour over graham crackers.

7. Refrigerate for a few hours...overnight is best. (It's super hard to resist, but I promise that this is definitely better the second day, just ask my sister who probably ate half of the dessert the first night, no exageration, and by the time the dessert was at it's prime, there were only a few bites left.)

8. Enjoy!