Reunion Cakes

Family reunions are many things to many people but to us it's all about the food!  Well, not really, but the food is really high on the list.  We had a family reunion recently and the desserts - oh my, they were over the top!
My daughter made the Pig Pickin' Cake and the Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookie Cake - not a crumb was left!
And my Mom made Chicken Pastry (the real kind).

Chocolate-Covered OREO Cookie Cake

1 pkg.  (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix

4 squares  BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

1/4 cup  butter

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup  sugar

2 cups  thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

12 OREO Cookies, coarsely crushed

 

HEAT oven to 350ºF.
PREPARE cake batter and bake in 2 (9-inch) round pans as directed on package. Cool cakes in pans 10 min. Invert onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.
MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP and crushed cookies.
PLACE 1 cake layer on plate, spread with cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread top with chocolate glaze; let stand 10 min. or until firm. Keep refrigerated.

Pig Pickin’ Cake

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 (11 oz.) can Mandarin oranges with juice (do not drain the juice!)
• 4 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 (16 0z.) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (3.4 oz.) box instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 (8 oz.) containers Cool Whip, thawed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*. Grease and flour (and line with parchment, if you can!) three 8-inch cake pans.
2. Mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil and oranges, along with their juice. Divide the batter among the cake pans, using about 1⅓ cup of the mixture in each. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a cake tester poked in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool the layers in the pans for 5 minutes and then turn them out on a wire rack to cool completely.
3. For the frosting, stir together the drained pineapple and the pudding mix. Once combined, fold the pineapple mixture into the Cool Whip. Frost each cake layer and then the sides of the cake. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. ENJOY!

 

Lulabelle

I went to Table of Grace last week and the short (less than 15 min) sermon was about chickens.  I know, I know, you're thinking chickens - well, it was a good sermon but the best part was after the service.  I was the only person there that had chickens so I had to tell how they're like pets, named, can't eat them, all that stuff.  But after the service, a member of the church told the minister and me about her Mother's chicken.

When she was growing up her Mother had a chicken named "Lulabelle" and she was a house chicken.  Now realize this lady was older than me and so it was a while ago when this happened and having a chicken in the house would be unusual to say the least.  Anyhow, when they moved from Danville to Durham they put the chicken and the dog in the car with the children, etc.  They would stop along the way and the dog and the chicken would get out of the car and do their business and come back and they'd head on down the road.

One day Lulabelle got sick and they really thought she was dead.
But the Mother took Lulabelle and felt of her neck but determined she could be saved.  Sure enough it was full of stuff but she couldn't breathe.  So she took a razor blade and slit her throat, pulled out all that stuff (I won't elaborate) with a shoe horn (honest to pete that's what she said) and sewed her back up with a needle and thread.
Lulabelle lived several more years.
Sometimes you hear the strangest things in church.  So I'm gonna name my next chicken Lulabelle!

Safechild Charity Quilt

I've been quilting but not much to show right now.  This is a quilt for Safechild (my favorite charity with our quilt guild).  I saw this pattern on a blog somewhere. If you look in the left top corner you'll see my mistake - must have gotten carried away with myself.  Didn't see it till after it was all put together - to late then!   Made enough blocks for two quilts and hope to get the other quilted soon.  It will go to Safechild when I finish (let's hope it's this year - I am really behind).

February Snow

Here comes Peter Cottontail

Grapevine

I've had this grapevine for several years sitting in a pot.  So long, in fact, that it started growing in the tree limbs where the pot was sitting - it was way past time to get it in the ground.  But indecision's, time, etc. kept me from getting it done - you know how that goes.  Finally, I'm about finished with the grapevine arbor or whatever you want to call my attempt and I did use only stuff that I had on hand so there's a little variety in the materials. 
Last year I had a few grapes on the vine so since it's in the ground now, I'm thinking the birds and I will share a few more this year.

Cold and Daffodils

It's cold out and we have a chance of snow flurries tonight.  The daffodils have been trying to bloom. Miss Minnie and some of the other girls were trying to find some bugs this morning.  They're doing fine - eating and not producing!  But Heavens to Betsy I can't eat them so I'm thinking they'll hang around forever.