COOL POOL CAKE

Again, I found this one at http://www.bhg.com/. I have made this cake twice now. It was a real winner. A friend of mine made it and she put homemade blueberry ice cream in the center instead of the blue raspberry jello. It was really good. You can make your own creations for the decorations.

Ingredients
1 3-ounce package blue-colored gelatin
1 16-ounce package pound cake mix
1 16-ounce can creamy white frosting
Yellow food coloring
Blue food coloring
Jelly beans (about 3/4 cup)
Chewy, fruit-flavor fish-shape candies (14 to 16)
Small green and yellow candies (about 1/3 cup)
2 filled sugar wafers
Fruit-flavor ring-shape jelly candies (2 to 4)
Tall, thin candles (optional)
Cocktail umbrellas (optional)
Directions
1. Prepare gelatin according to package directions. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a 9x9-inch square baking pan; set aside. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Cut a 4x4-inch square 1-inch deep in the center top of the cake. Remove cake inside the cut square, being careful to only remove cake to a depth of 1 inch.
2. Place half of the frosting in a small bowl; tint with yellow food coloring to desired shade of yellow. Tint remaining frosting in the can with blue food coloring to desired shade of blue. Place cake on a large serving plate. Frost the sides of the cake with yellow frosting. Frost the top of cake and insides of "pool" with blue frosting.
3. Decorate the sides of the cake with jelly beans and fish-shape candies. Decorate the edges of the cutout pool with small green and yellow candies. To make a diving board, cut one sugar wafers in half crosswise. Attach half of the wafer to the candies on the edge of the pool using some of the frosting. Cut another wafer to make a 2-inch-long piece. Use fristing to attach the end of the 2-inch wafer to the top of the other wafer cookie, to make a T-shape.
4. Up to 1 hour before serving, stir the gelatin to break up. Just before serving the cake, spoon some of the gelatin into the center of the cake (reserve any leftover gelatin for another use). Arrange some ring-shape jelly candies in the gelatin. If desired, place tall, thin candles into the cake as patio torches and/or place a few cocktail umbrellas into the cake. Makes 12 servings.

FLIP FLOP CAKE

I ran across this recipe a while back and decided to make it for a child's birthday party. My oldest grand liked the idea so that's what she got. I actually didn't follow this recipe but it is a great alternative for this. I think I found this one at http://www.bhg.com/. I used spiral candles where toes would be to make it look real.

Ingredients
1 10-3/4-ounce frozen pound cake, thawed
3/4 to 1 cup desired-flavor ice cream
1/2 of an 8-ounce carton frozen whipped dessert topping, thawed
Pull-apart licorice twists
Bright-color candy wafers and/or round candies
Graham cracker crumbs (optional)
Directions
1. Halve pound cake horizontally. Using a serrated knife, cut off the rounded top of the cake so each layer will be level. Cut each half into a flip-flop shape*. Place ice cream in a small bowl and stir to soften. Spread softened ice cream over one of the cakes. Top with second cake. Place ice cream-filled cake on a baking sheet. Cover and freeze until firm (2 to 3 hours). Spread with whipped topping.
2. To decorate, cut the ends of two twists at a diagonal. Insert a toothpick on the underside of each twist. Arrange the two twists with the cut ends together to form a V-shape, inserting toothpicks in cake to hold the twists in place as straps. Arrange candy wafers around base of flip-flop to decorate. Cover cake loosely and freeze until serving time. Serve on a platter sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs as sand, if desired. Makes 6 servings.
3. Tip: To cut flip-flop shape, trace the bottom of a child-size flip-flop (needs to be 7 to 7 1/2 inches long) on a piece of paper. Cut out shape. Place paper, clean side down, on a piece of clean cardboard or sturdy paper; trace shape. Cut out shape. Place cardboard shape on top of one cake half and use a small sharp knife to cut around shape and through cake. Repeat with other cake half.
4. Cake for 12: For a larger crowd, double recipe and make a pair of flip-flop cakes.

BETTER THAN SEX CAKE AND ICING

1 box yellow cake mix
1 box French vanilla pudding (can be instant)
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. water (some recipes call for milk instead)
4 eggs1 (8 oz.) carton commercial sour cream
1 (6 oz.) bag sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans
1 bar (or 1/2 box) German chocolate, grated
1 c. coconut, toasted

Add each ingredient in the order above, blend thoroughly between each.
Pour into a greased, floured tube pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until done.

ICING FOR B-T-S CAKE

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 box confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Nuts and coconut

Cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla, nuts and coconut.

Household Odor Removal

Kitchen cleaning also means having to remove cooking or generally unpleasant odors in your home, you could try :
1) Simmering a potful of stick cinammon, orange peel, whole cloves and water on your stove.
2) Place small bowls of vinegar around the room, as it absorbs any lingering odors.
3) Sprinkle some cinammon on a cookie sheet and warm it in the oven.

Now this one, I like what I read...gonna have to give it a spin..

Zucchini Parmigiana

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 15 MinutesYields: 8 servings
"Breaded zucchini slices are layered with tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella!"

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 large zucchinis, sliced
8 egg whites, divided
3 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups tomato sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking sheet.
2. In a shallow, medium bowl, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, and oregano. Set aside 2/3 cup of the mixture.
3. Place 2 egg whites in a small bowl. Dip zucchini slices in the egg whites, then coat with the bread crumb mixture. Arrange coated slices on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.
4. In a medium bowl, mix ricotta, parsley, and the remaining 6 egg whites.
5. Spread 1/2 the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/2 the zucchini, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, and 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining bread crumb mixture.
6. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve warm.

Apple Dump Cake

Now this one is something I just opened the pantry and threw this and that together and it was a winner.

1 or 2 cans apple pie filling

1 box cinnamon swirl cake mix

1/2 - 1 cup apple juice

butter

1. In a 13x9 glass casserole dish, empty can(s) of apple pie filling.

2.Take the sugar packet out of cake mix box and sprinkle half of the packk on the apple filling.

3.Dump cake mix on filling.

4.Drop pats of butter all over the top of cake mix.

5.Sprinkle the rest of the sugar packet on top of cake mix and butter.

6. Pour apple juice all over the top of the cake mix.(You can adjust the juic to your likings)

7.Bake at 350* for 45 minutes to 1 hour.(or until browning)

'

Serve hot with a scoop of french vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Dump Cake

Now, this one is tried and true. My family and friends love this one and I
have been making it for years.



1 or 2 cans cherry pie filling

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 or 2 cans pineapple tidbits or crushed pineapple

butter



1. Dump cherry pie filling in 13x9 glass pan.

2. Drain juice from pineapple and set juice aside. Dump pineapple in pan.

3. Dump dry cake mix on top of pie filling and pineaple.

4. Drop pats of butter on top of cake mix and cover with the pineapple juice you set aside.

5. Bake at 350* until golden on top (may be about 45 minutes to 1 hour).


May be eat hot or cold.

Too Much Chocolate Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate. If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Dutch Baby

Ingredients:
4 Eggs
1 C. Milk
1 C. Flour
1 tea. Salt

1. Preheat oven to 450. 2. Butter and place a 9"X11" baking pan into oven as its preheating.3. Wisk all ingredients together until unified well.4. Dump into baking pan.5. Cook for 15 Minutes6. Serve with Syrup and confectioner's sugar.