Happy Independence Day!

It's hard to believe that it's already July 4th!  This year is racing by.  My mom always told me that the older you get, the faster it goes.  I'm beginning to see what she meant.  Speaking of my mom, she always did her best to make the holidays special for us.  We didn't have a lot of money growing up, but I never really realized it until I was grown.  Holidays were always a big deal.  Mom went all out, or atleast as much as she could.  We always went to the 4th of July parade and to the fireworks.  We always sat on the the football field (the fireworks were at the high school and some people sat in the bleachers) we took blankets and laid down on the ground!  For whatever reason, I thought that was a big deal!  To me, the people in the stands, were getting screwed.  (I'm not sure why, but as a kid, that is what I thought).  Anyway, we always had sparklers!  Yes, sparklers are always a must for the 4th!

Now that I'm "grown" we usually go to my sisters house.  It's sort of our "new" family tradition.  I don't have children of my own to start my "own" traditions.  (Yeah, the holidays aren't as much fun without kids).  This year I stayed home.  William had to work today anyway.  So this 4th of July sucked ass!  But we did grill out, and we might walk down to the river for the fireworks.  Yes, I live that close to down town.  I've been going out to my sister's as much as possible lately.  (Partly to escape my MIL).  But mostly because they're truly my best friends and I love being with "our kids"!  I've said this before, and I'll say it again, Brandee and Adrien have been so amazing about sharing their kids with me!  Being Aunt Buffee is one of the best parts of my life.  And one of the things I'm best at.  I love my nieces and nephews to pieces! 

Normally I bake cupcakes for the holidays.  Pillsbury Funfetti to be exact!  EVERY. SINGLE. HOLIDAY.  Now they have holiday themes for just about every holiday.  (Or atleast Super Target seems to always have them).  Before they came out with them, I used to buy my own sprinkles/colored sugar and decorate the funfetti cupcakes myself.  I'm not a "baker" by any means, so these are fun, decorative, and EASY!  And they just so happen to be my favorite!  I love them!  Ask anyone who knows me!  

This 4th of July the MIL decided she wanted a "poke cake" instead.  Which meant she wanted me to make it.  At first I was really hesitant, because it involves Jello and Cake?  I thought it sounded disgusting to be honest.  But she (and more importantly William), convinced me that it was really good and that I should try it.  (I'm not one for stepping outside of my comfort zone, I'm OCD, I do things a certain way, over and over again).  And that is the honest to God's truth!  But I decided to give it a try.  It was easy, but time consuming.  And it turned out beautiful!  Normally I would save this for a Share a Spoon with my sister.  But we just did sweets, and it's the 4th, and I want to share my only redeeming moment from this 4th of July!

    

           

It was very easy to make, and very forgiving of my mishap!  

To start off, I baked a WHITE cake, Pillsbury, in 2 round tins according to package directions.  Once these are made, they have to cool completely.  (Warning, do not try to remove the cakes from the baking tins until they are cool).  That's why mine broke.  But if this happens, no worries, the jello will fix that!  The reason I removed them from the baking tins, was because that's what Laura said to do??  (So I could wash out all of the crumbs)?  By all means, skip this step if you want, there weren't enough crumbs to make this step necessary in my opinion.  

Once the cakes are completely cooled, you can make the jello.  I used blueberry and raspberry jello again.  The recipe only calls for 1 cup of hot water when making the jello.  Do not add the additional cup of cold water.  ( I did add one ice cube to help the jello cool faster).  While the jello is cooling I took a fat wooden skewer and poked holes all in the cakes.  Apparently the more holes you poke, the better!  I didn't poke as many in the blue layer, so the red one turned out better.  Next spoon the jello over the cake.  This is a messy job, as you can see by the pictures.  I recommend using a spoon or ladle.  (Pouring the jello from the bowls was a bad idea on my part)!  Once you have the jello on the cakes, place them in the fridge to set up.  (A few hours).  

Once the cakes have set up and are ready, I placed them in the sink with (very little) hot water in the bottom, to help loosen them up.  I did this one at a time.  The "icing" is just Cool Whip.  I iced the first layer and topped it blueberries.  Then I added the second cake layer and iced the whole thing.  I decorated the top with more blueberries and raspberries.  (I only had 4 raspberries left, someone had eaten them, bastards)!  But it was delicious!  I loved it!  You could always substitute strawberry jello and strawberries!  But I love raspberries!  

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!  I hope you'll try the poke cake!  I think it's fun and festive!  I know the weekend is almost over, but you can change up the colors, and do it for another occasion!  It's cool and refreshing for the summer!