Oregon Transplant: Layered Strawberry Parfaits

Creativity. A concept I ponder often. I don't consider myself the most creative person in the world, but I'm not going to deny that there's a certain degree of innovation bubbling underneath the surface. Sometimes ideas come, and I run with them. It's funny, because when I get an idea, I tend to think I'm brilliant for coming up with it. In the case of this particular dessert, however, I discovered my creativity had a sneaky source. And did it ever burst my bubble.

During the course of my brother's visit (which was awesome, by the by), we- the hubby, brother, and I- were at the grocery store. The bro saw berries on sale and decided he wanted berries and whip cream for dessert. Immediately after he said that, I imagined a layered dessert in a jar. I just so happened to have a box of Vanilla Wafers at home which I envisioned being perfect for the cakey-crusty layer. Voila, these parfaits were born.

The catch didn't come until 2 days later. I was getting ready to leave the house for a doctors appointment and the boys were staying home to play video games. I picked up my library book off the coffee table to take with me, uncovering August's issue of All You, which I received last month. There, smack dab in the middle of the cover, was my layered parfait dessert. While I hadn't read the magazine yet, I must have quickly glanced at the cover and committed the image to memory. My creativity was a sham, and all 3 of us of knew it. We ended up having a good laugh, because if you can't laugh at yourself, what can you do?

While I may not be the most creative person in the world, my palette's got no problems. These parfaits are the simplest to make, and they are freakin' delish! There's only 3 ingredients-

1. Whip cream

2. Crushed vanilla wafers

3. Fresh strawberries!

For such a simple dessert, you'd be impressed. They are light, sweet, and fruity. The vanilla wafers absorb the cream, giving them a custard-y feel. I chilled mine for 24 hours, which I think allowed the wafers to soak up so much cream. It seriously only took about 10 minutes to make these! They'd be perfect for a last-minute get together with friends, they look way more elegant than they actually are. I made the cream in my stand mixer while I crushed the wafers and sliced the strawberries. Dessert doesn't get any easier than this.

I realized I was so frazzled yesterday, I didn't even post an update on the little bro's trip. He was here for a week, and I swear, fastest week ever. I blinked, and it was gone. I think he had a good time, though. We took him to Cincinnati, with the intention of taking him to a Red's game. We stayed with the hubby's cousin and his wife while we were in town, and the boys had a terrific time taking advantage of their pool and hot tub. While we all had fully planned on going to the game, we ended up at a bar across from the stadium where we watched the majority of the game. It was great fun, and I don't think anyone minded we didn't make it into the stadium. We laid low the rest of the week, and didn't really travel too much. I did make that Buffalo Chicken Pizza that the bro had been requesting, and it was worth the wait. It was delicious, and beautiful. I didn't get any pictures, so I'm recreating the pizza this week. It was that good! Before I knew it, the week was up and the hubby and I were dropping the bro off at the airport. I think we sent him home full, relaxed, and ready to jump back into things :)

The hubby and I's 10K is this weekend, so we are trying to take it easy on the running front. We are cross-training today, doing a short run tomorrow, and then taking 2 days off before the race. Our training schedule has us running on Friday before the race, but I'm skipping that. I know my body, and I run very well with 2 days rest under my belt. Fresh legs make me hap-hap-happy!

Have a great day! Happy Tuesday!

Ingredients (makes 2 parfaits):

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp sugar

2-3 drops vanilla extract

~2 cups vanilla wafers, crushed

1 cup strawberries, chopped

Directions:

1. Combine heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, beat cream until light and fluffy, 5-8 minutes. Set aside.

2. To assemble the parfaits, spoon a layer of vanilla wafer crumbs into a tall glass or small mason jar. Spoon a layer of cream on top of the wafers. Top the cream with a layer of berries. Repeat layers.

3. Chill in fridge for 2-24 hours. Serve cold.

Printable Recipe