Suzanne’s Pudding Pie
(Anna's daughter-in-law's recipe)
1 stick butter
1 cup sifted flour
1 cup chopped pecans
9½ oz Cool Whip
8 oz cream cheese
1 sm. box instant vanilla pudding
1 sm. box instant chocolate pudding
2 ¾ cups cold milk
1 Hershey bar
Combine
butter, flour, and nuts. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 13X9
inch glass baking dish. Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 350°. Blend one
cup Cool Whip with creamed cheese and spread over cooked crust. Combine
both puddings with the milk (23/4 cups) following the directions on the
package. Put this over the cream cheese mixture. Follow with the rest of
the Cool Whip. Top with grated Hershey bar.
(My
daughter-in-law, Suzanne Mullins, first brought this treat to a family
gathering many years ago and the family has requested it for every
gathering since and gave it that name. I’m not sure if it was originally
a Cool Whip recipe or not but I often substitute whipped cream and make
it outrageously decadent.)
Confessions of a Crazy Fox – Review by Martha A.
Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; A Book and A Dish and Think With
Your Taste Buds
‘I stewed about it until New Year’s Day, 2010,
and then I wrote Jimmy a long letter pointing out a lot of the things he
and Jeannette had done to hurt me the last decade and if he didn’t put a
stop to it, I was going to go ahead and release my story. I had
decided not to take the last offer I had, after Jim was diagnosed with
cancer, but my sister inspired me to try again. I knew I wouldn’t hear
from my brother and posted on Facebook that New Year’s Day that my
resolution was to publish my family memoir. It did shock a few family
members who couldn’t imagine what I had to write about or why. I
figured if Jeannette’s story was the one our extended family had been
hearing all these years, perhaps it was finally time to broadcast mine.
That shouldn’t really surprise any of them. They all know I write when
I’m pissed and believe me, Jeannette pushed me way past that point this
last time.’
I never research nor read other reviews before starting a new book and when I was sent a copy of Anna Mullis’ book Confessions of a Crazy Fox,
I actually expected it to be a mystery, murder, suspense. What I never
expected it to be was the story of her life. My first thoughts were borrrring!
And since I will decline a book before I’ll write a bad review, I
almost turned this book down. But I always give a book, any book, a
chance and at least try to read the first 25-50 pages hoping it will
appeal to me and that’s exactly what I did with Confessions of a Crazy Fox.
I read the first couple of chapters as Anna
talked about her childhood, she sure had a streak of defiance! I
continued reading as she introduced her ‘guardian angel’ that saved her
from being bitten by a snake. When I read about her cousin Bobo I
actually started feeling that I knew him. Her parents turned out to be
the kind we all wish for. Their love for their family, friends and
neighbors was something many only dream about. Then tragedy hits, first
with the death of her Dad and later her Mother and with each also comes
the separation of family. I’ve always said that the 2 things that
bring out the worse in a family are weddings and funerals. I’ve decided
to add another to that list - money.
Reading about the greed between the siblings
actually reminded me of a few incidents within my own life after the
death of my own parents. I’m sure we can all relate to this greed at
some level, either through our own experiences or through the pains
we’ve watched others experience. I personally feel that greed is the #1
cause of family problems throughout the world. And greed isn’t just
about money. While reading Confessions of A Crazy Fox I finally realized that greed is nothing but jealousy. Someone gets just a bit more, got a bit more or will get a bit more, bringing on a jealousy called greed.
I’m sure that by now you have realized I read
the whole book. Actually I had trouble putting it down. It firmly
points out that if you make someone mad enough your sorrow might just
come back to haunt you by way of a book telling the whole world just how
greedy you really are. In Confessions of a Crazy Fox,
Anna Mullins doesn’t just blow the top on her siblings she also includes
her own sins throughout her life, and her honesty in admitting her own
faults is one of the things that made this book so interesting.
That's a great review -- I also read Confessions of a C.F, and agree with everything you wrote.
ReplyDeleteA particularly good review of Confessions of a Crazy Fox that I have also read and enjoyed very much. You're right, I think many if not all of us, can relate to Anna's words.
ReplyDelete