Cake in a Mug

We love sweets at our house, but we just don't need them. Since I am not working full time I have enjoyed baking and cooking more and that means we eat more. That is not a good thing. A friend had told me about a cake in a cup recipe that was simple and satisfying so I tried it and we enjoyed it.

This is the final cake in a cup at our house.

You must use an Angel Food cake mix and any other

cake mix of your choice. I love chocolate and this is

what I had on hand. It made my decision an easy one.

You combine your two cake mixes together in a gallon

Ziploc bag. Make sure they are mixed well.

You will need to measure 1/3 cup of the mixture and add

to a cup or mug that is microwavable.

Add 3 tablespoons of water.

Mix very well and microwave for 1 minute.

This is what your cake will look like after being cooked.

I had some lite cool whip and added that on top. Some

ice cream would be good too.

My husband and I have enjoyed this simple, but delicious

dessert. You try it and let me know what flavor of cake

mix you  use. I think I want to try lemon next.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Lemon Mint Tea

 It is the time of year that we start craving flavored teas and

other drinks that are cool and refreshing. I started making

lemon mint tea a few years ago and it has become a favorite.

 You will need to pick up some mint flavoring at the

 grocery store unless you use mint leaves. I like to use

the flavoring and garnish with the leaves.

 Also, add a can of pink lemonade concentrate to your list.

 This recipe is one that I had saved from Southern Lady.

The recipe is as follows:

3 1/2 quarts cold water, divided

3 family-size tea bags

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 (12-ounce) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed

Garnish: fresh lemon slices

In medium saucepan, bring 1 quart water to boil; remove from heat. Add tea bags and mint;

cover, and steep for 5 minutes. Strain tea into large container. Add sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add lemonade concentrate and remaining water; stir to mix well. Serve over ice. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired. Add fresh mint leaves if desired.

Janet's Version

 I use decaffeinated tea and substitute splenda for the sugar. I also don't use quite that much sweetener. Instead of using the fresh mint leaves I add several drops of mint flavoring. I use the mint leaves for garnish.

This makes close to a gallon, but you will need a lot because most folks want more than one glass.

 Enjoy that glass of tea while you read, explore Pinterest, etc.

I couldn't help but share my notebook that I stored all my goodies in. I would put each page in a protector and pull them out in when I needed or used them. This was before Pinterest and days of pinning.

Enjoy!

Fresh Blackberry Cobbler

My husband planted blackberries in the fall of 2010.  This is the first year that we have had a lot of berries. I made a cobbler to share on Mother's Day and I have so many berries in the freezer that I will use to make jam. The cobbler recipe is a combination of two recipes. One is very old and the other is from Pioneer Woman.

 This is a picture of some of our vines where you can see a few ripe berries and others that are still red.

           I measured out 2 cups of berries and washed them really well.

 The recipe is very easy. Measure a cup of  self rising flour.

 Add a cup of sugar.

 Add a cup of whole milk and stir until smooth.

 Melt 1/2 stick of butter in baking dish.

Add the flour, sugar, and milk mixture to the butter.

 Put the berries on top of mixture. DO NOT STIR!

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. This is delicious with vanilla ice cream. You can also use canned fruit or other fresh fruit. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day! As I was reflecting this week my thoughts kept going back to my mother. I only had her a short fourteen years, but what an impact she made on my life. My mom could take nothing almost and make it into a meal. She quilted and sewed with perfection. She also loved to work in her flower and vegetable gardens. Mama instilled the love of reading into her children as well. I can truly say she was a Proverbs 31 woman. What a godly heritage she left behind and I pray I leave one behind to my children and grandchildren. I guess I got my love for sewing and reading from her as well as making jelly, etc. If I could, I would love to say thanks for all the things she passed on to me and for the love that was given.

I searched for a good picture of my mother and me and had a hard time finding one. This one is made in front of her flower gardens. I guess it is around 1960 in this picture.

This is a picture made of  my family last year. It includes both daughters and my grandson. Next

 year there will be another grandson added to our family! How thankful I am

for my family and so glad to be their Mom and Nana.

Happy Mother's Day!

Towels, Towels, Towels

It's the time of year when you have graduation gifts, wedding gifts and baby gifts to buy. A personalized gift is always nice so that's where towels come in to play. I have made four different towels this past week.

A friend made a cute hooded towel using a design from Applique Corner.
I wanted to make one for Stuart and chose the monkey.
 His favorite character is Curious George and he loves his monkey towel.

I really like how the ears are made from a washcloth. This was so
easy to make and I think it is super cute.



My daughter wanted a hooded towel for a baby gift. The parents
are not going to find out the gender of the baby so we went
with the duck. The orange washcloth really makes this little guy.



Add some bath items with the towel and you have a perfect
gift that will be fun to give.



Graduates are thinking of going to college in  the fall. Girls love
to take personalized things and towels are no exception.




I did a monogram on this towel. I used the school colors of the
college she plans on attending in the fall.




Each gift will have a bath towel, hand towel and washcloth. Hope
they like their gifts. They were fun to make!

 Enjoy this beautiful spring weather!