Strawberry Poke Cake Recipe

As promised, here is the easy peasy recipe for the Strawberry Poke Cake I made on Easter. Also known as Refrigerator Cake, this type of baking method is perfect for those Spring and Summer get-togethers. It tastes cool, fresh and moist, but this version also tastes very similar to strawberry shortcake, but with less fuss. Some people make it with white cake, but I prefer using strawberry to bring out the flavor all the more. Give this version a try to use any cake/gelatin combo that suits your taste!

STRAWBERRY POKE CAKE

INGREDIENTS

1 Box Strawberry Cake Mix
1 cup Boiling Water
1 pkg. (3 oz) Strawberry Jello
1/2 cup Cold Water
1 tub (8 oz) Whipped Topping, thawed
1 pint Fresh or Frozen Strawberries


DIRECTIONS

Bake cake as directed on package in 13x9 inch pan. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

Add boiling water to gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water; pour over cake. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Frost cake with whipped topping and top with fresh strawberries.

Easter Sugar Cookies

Easter is almost here, so of course I had to continue the trend of making a batch of sugar cookies. This time I made two small sets, one with traditional Easter figures and another in the style of Peeps.

Here are the Wilton cookie cutters I used for the Peeps set. I just couldn't resist them! I saw them at Michael's and Walmart earlier this season, so I'm sure they would be easy to find!


That's about all the baking I've done for Easter so far, but planning to make a strawberry poke cake to bring to Easter dinner on Sunday!

St. Patrick's Day Sugar Cookies

I don't go to the pub or eat corned beef and cabbage, so for St. Patrick's Day I decided to decorate a small batch of sugar cookies, with mint flavored frosting.

I also did a bit of decorating around the house, but it was also to coincide with my husband's birthday, which was on the 15th. Not a holiday I usually go out of the way for, aside from wearing green, so it was fun to do a little more than usual. Have to celebrate my Irish heritage somehow!

Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

For Valentine's Day I decided to make my honey a batch of Valentine sugar cookies. I decided I would really like to make them with cherry frosting, because when we were dating in high school (many years ago) I made him a delicious batch of cookies with cherry frosting that I was never able to make again. For some reason, I was never able to find cherry frosting again, even though Betty Crocker still makes it, according to their website. I thought about making it myself, but all the recipes online had complaints about the frosting tasting like cough medicine. Not the tart taste I was going for!

I had decided I might have to settle on something else, so I picked up a can of Pink Lemonade to give it a whirl. When I opened the can to take a taste, the first thought was how much it tasted like real pink lemonade, almost as if they had just used a packet of pink lemonade Kool-Aid to make it. Lightning suddenly struck my brain and I suddenly had an idea! Why not buy a packet of cherry Kool-Aid and mix it into some vanilla frosting?! But would it work?? YES, it absolutely did! It was the perfect solution, so I was able to make my cherry frosted cookies after all. Here is the final result...



By the way, as it turns out, any flavor of Kool-Aid will work with frosting. I suggest using only half a packet for every 16 oz of frosting. Also keep in mind that it will tint your frosting the color of the flavor, so account for that when using this method. Experiment with adding it to white cake mixes as well!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!! I can't believe it's 2014. Another year come and gone, but as it is every January 1st, there is much to look forward to in the year to come. Always hope for new and exciting adventures, for change or progress, and new goals to be met. I love the promise of a new year, despite the fact that it means I am one year older. I am also one year wiser! That's the great reward of age. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes and can use those lessons to help others. To contribute to problem solving and help those younger and more foolish to know better than we did. Well, at least we can say "we told you so!" :)

So what did I do this New Year's Eve? Well, went over my brother and his wife's house for a night with the family of playing games and eating junk food. Oh I know, I am a real party animal, but I did bring this creation along...a set of sugar cookies I made especially for the big night. My skills are still wanting, but I am new at this whole cookie thang and pretty pleased to be able to do this much so early in my self-taught journey of sugar cookie decorating. I hope to improve with each batch, but for now, I will bask in the glow of my current accomplishment. Hey, whaddyaknow? I already have a resolution for 2014! Hope you new year is greatly blessed!

Roundup: 20 Pumpkin Recipes For Fall

Happy October! Now that Autumn is in full swing, I thought it was time to pull out some really fantastic pumpkin recipes to get you in the mood. I have to say, just looking at these got me drooling! There is a good variety of goodies here, some you may even want to save for your Thanksgiving feast next month. Enjoy!

Brown Butter Pumpkin Pancakes	Praline Pumpkin Cake

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Buttercream Frosted Pumpkin Bread

Spiced Pumpkin Doughnuts	Pumpkin Crescent Rolls w/ Honey Butter

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats

Pumpkin Pie Fudge	Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

Pumpkin Cake Truffles

Pumpkin Bark	Pumpkin Spice Ginger Snaps

Chocolate-Glazed Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Pumpkin Pecan Dessert {in a jar}	Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin-Pecan Tassies	Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread

Pumpkin Spice Whoopies	Marbled Chocolate-Pumpkin Brownies

For more Fall recipes, follow our Pinterest board:

Ahoy! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Shiver me timbers, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day 'n t' honor such an occasion I wants t' let all me Maties know that thar be plenty o' booty t' be plundered! Sail on over to Long John Silvers and if ye say 'ARRRR!' ye be getting a free piece of classic white fish.


Then hoist the sail 'n head o'er t' Krispy Kreme who be givin' away a FREE Original Glazed Doughnut t' all who talk like a pirate, but better yet, if ye dress like a pirate ye be gettin' a whole dozen!


Now fer a wee bit o' fun! Below are some jokes ye can tell ye hearties today (though they may force ye t' walk th' plank), courtesy of PirateJokes.net. 'n if ye too would like t' speak like a genuine pirate, check out the FREE Pirate Translator below! Simply enter in any text ye wants 'n 'twill automatically transform it into Piratenese.


Q: What's a pirates favorite kind of fish?
A: A GOLDfish!

Q: Why did the pirate go to the Apple store?
A: To buy an iPatch!

Q: How does a pirate feel about his spouse?
A: Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's wife for me!

Q: What's a pirate's favorite letter?
A: You think it's the RRRRR, but it's the C that they're in love with!

Q: What does a pirate say when he has a heart attack?
A: Arrr! Me heartie!

Q: Did you hear about the pirate who took up boxing?
A: He had a killer left hook!

Q: What's the difference between a hungry pirate and a drunken pirate?
A: One's a rumbling tummy, and the other's a tumbling rummy!

Q: How much did the pirate pay for his piercings?
A: A buck-an-ear!

Q: Why did the pirate have trouble keeping his car on the road?
A: Because the road was SCURVY!!!

Q: How much did the pirate pay for his peg leg and hook?
A: An arm and a leg!

Q: What do you get when you cross a pirate with a zuchnni?
A: A Squashbuckler!!!

Q: What happened when Redbeard the Pirate fell into the Blue Sea?
A: He got Marooned!

Krispy Kreme Seasonal Donuts

Popped into Krispy Kreme this weekend and noticed that they had 3 seasonal donuts. One is cream filled with a pirate design, made especially for 'Talk Like A Pirate Day' 9/19. The other two were Fall flavors, including their classic Pumpkin Spice glazed old-fashioned cake donut (that I look for every year), along with a new Pumpkin Cheesecake filled donut with cream cheese icing and a gingersnap cookie crumble. All were devilishly delicious, but I still have to say that the Pumpkin Spice is my favorite! Along with these Fall specials, Krispy Kreme also has a line of Halloween themed donuts, which will be available by October, so keep an eye out!

Roundup: 20 Apple Recipes for Fall

September is generally the month that is best for apple picking, but what do you do with all those delicious apples once you get them home? Here is a roundup of some delicious recipes I found online that are sure to get you drooling!

The BEST Hot Apple Cider

Baked Apple Cider Doughnut Holes	Fresh Apple Cake

Easy Apple Tart

Apple Blossom Tart	Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Caramel Cream Cheese Apple Dip

Apple Harvest Bread	Caramel Apple Cake

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Cream Horns

Apple Butter Swirled Pancakes

Caramel Apple Muffins	Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

Apple Pie Bars

Caramel Apple Trifles	Apple Pie Caramel Apple

Apple Cider Floats

Mini Apple Pie	Caramel Cheesecake Apple Dip

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with Walnuts

For more Fall recipes, follow our Pinterest board: