Ritz cracker ice cream dessert

Ritz Cracker Ice Cream Dessert

Hmmm, it’s kind of been a while since I paid any attention to my little blog here.  Some people in my family say it’s because I’m bitter.  I’m not exactly bitter – that’s a harsh word – but let me start at the beginning and explain…

Every Easter, we have a little tradition in our family that we call our “Iron Chef Throwdown.”  There’s a shiny trophy and everything.  My sister (Bea) chooses an ingredient and my mom, my youngest sister (Dani), and I throwdown and compete for bragging rights and the trophy.  This year, the not-so-secret ingredient was Ritz crackers.  I whipped up absolutely delicious, hard-to-resist, homemade Twix bars.  My sister made a tasty pecan pie.  And my mom?  Well, she made this ridiculous Cool Whip concoction and decorated the whole thing with sprinkles and jelly beans to appeal to our younger voters.  The votes came back with Mom beating me out by ONE VOTE.  Just one vote!  I tried really hard to be a gracious loser, I really did.  Then I took a nap.  As I was napping, Bea popped in eating one of my Twix bars.  She proceeded to tell me that if they had been colder during the tasting, she would have voted for me over my mom.  Grrrrrr.  That would have meant a tie and we would have had to re-vote.  Totally unprecedented!  So am I bitter?  Well, maybe a little after that!  It’s like rubbing salt in a wound, for crying out loud!

No, seriously, I am glad my mom got to have the trophy back because she was just tickled.  She even got a super cute bunny chef hat to wear.  I still contend that my homemade Twix bars were beyond amazing, and I wasn’t terribly crazy about this dessert my mom served, but obviously a lot of other people were.

This tradition of ours is kooky and fun, and very competitive.  I’ll post the other recipes soon too, so you can judge for yourselves.  And if you choose my Twix bars, please tell my mom!

{two years ago:  English muffin bread}
{three years ago:  tie-dyed mini cheesecakes} 

Recipe:  Ritz Cracker Ice Cream Dessert

(found here)

2 sleeves reduced fat Ritz crackers
1/2 c. butter
1/2 quart of vanilla ice cream
2 boxes instant white chocolate pudding
1 c. milk
1 container of Cool Whip

Crush crackers and layer in bottom of rectangular cake pan.  Melt butter in microwave and pour over crackers.  Mix together and press into bottom of pan to make a crust.  In a mixing bowl, mix ice cream, pudding, and milk for 2 minutes on high speed.  Fold in Cool Whip.  Pour over cracker crust and refrigerate for about 2 hours or until firm.