What I Made for Dessert

So we were invited over to some friends to watch the Cowboy game tonight (Monday Night Football, anyone? I know...me, neither), and we can't go empty-handed, so we asked what we could bring, and this is what my friend's husband requested.

The first time we ever went to these friends' home, I brought this particular dessert. Now I'm almost not allowed in the door unless I bring it.

This is Paula Deen's Turtle Trifle.

If you've ever tried anything that Paula Deen makes, then you'll know that this recipe is not for the faint of heart. And by "faint of heart," I mean anyone who has a heart condition. Or may have a heart condition in the future. Ok, this trifle will give you a heart condition.

Seriously. I think each serving has over 1300 calories. It's killer.

And it's KILLER GOOD.

(Here's the recipe.)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/turtle-trifle-recipe/index.html

Two things: 1) You MUST use real whipped cream, NOT whipped topping. MUST. NOT. USE. WHIPPED. TOPPING. and 2) I have never used a purchased caramel sauce. It's not that hard to make one from scratch, and the taste is far better!

Now, since each serving contains over 1300 calories, I opted to make half of the recipe and put the adults' servings into parfait dishes (pretty, right?). Usually, I use a Pampered Chef trifle bowl, and while it is SO NICE, the reality is that we don't need that much of the trifle, and there are always so many leftovers because it's JUST SO RICH that we can't finish one, even with two families of 6 eating it.  So to avoid "having" to eat it until it's gone (and I HATE WASTING FOOD), I decided not to make an entire batch. I'll bet we still have leftovers.

And if you decide to make a Turtle Trifle, I hope you have leftovers, too. And that you don't develop a heart condition.