~It's Never To Hot To Bake~

Hey everyone, Hope you are all having a great August. Even though it was a scorching 101 degrees today we know that summer is coming to an end. The kids in our school district go back to school next week! Yup, Wednesday is the big day! Like other moms, I am kind of excited for them to go back and kind of sad at the same time. It will be good to get back on a schedule. Any way, since our central air cooling system is working well, (yay!) I have been heating up the oven to bake some yummy new recipes. Here is one that was posted on facebook that I had to try and I was so glad I did! Chocolate over load and so so good! Everyone in the family that tried it loved it. Here is what it looks like and the recipe. ~Enjoy~

Chocolate Poke Cake Yield: 9x13 cake Ingredients Chocolate Cake 15.25 oz box Devils Food Chocolate Cake Mix, plus ingredients listed on box 14 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips Chocolate Whipped Cream Topping 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa 1/2 tsp vanilla extract mini chocolate chips chocolate sauce Learn Basic Food Safety Tips Instructions 1. Bake cake according to box directions in a 9x13 cake pan. 2. Once cake comes out of the oven, poke holes all over the top of the cake. 3. Place sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. 4. Whisk chocolate and milk until smooth, microwaving more, if needed to melt the chocolate. 5. Pour chocolate mixture over the cake and spread to fill in holes. 6. Set cake aside to cool, about an hour, then refrigerate until completely cooled. 7. To make whipped topping, whip heavy cream until it begins to thicken. 8. Add powdered sugar, cocoa and vanilla extract and whip until stiff peaks form. 9. Spread whipped topping evenly over cooled cake. 10.Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over cake and drizzle with chocolate sauce. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Come back soon ~Hugs~ Denise

~Cabinet before and after~

Finally! here is the before and after!

At first I felt like the paint seemed a little too bright white and I was going to paint over it with an off white color called, "Oak Buff" but as I asked family members and friends what they thought everyone seemed to like it as it is. I antiqued it lightly and I think I will more than likely add more of the antiquing stain and wax but for now I am happy with it. For the back splash area behind the dishes I am leaving brown for now. Most of the dishes I display in this cabinet are white and they show up nicely with the brown background but I have seen a lot of refurbished cabinets with different papers and patterns behind the dishes and they look really cute. I need to make sure and keep it a color that will look good with the different dishes that I will be putting in when I change them out with the changing seasons. Any how, for now i am liking how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by! ~Hugs~ Denise

~Countdown To Christmas~

I was so excited when I saw this on Facebook today! I love the "Countdown To Christmas" movies that the Hallmark Channel has starting on October 31st! Only 90 days from today!!! So, I thought it might be a great idea to set a goal for myself to have my Christmas shopping done by that day! Wouldn't it be nice to have the shopping done and just be able to stay in and do the holiday baking, decorating, wrapping gifts and enjoy watching Hallmark Christmas Movies the whole time!?! That would be awesome! But probably not realistic. So I'm going to do the best I can and at least have a good start of the holiday shopping done by then. Hope you are as excited as I am for Hallmarks Countdown To Christmas! I can't wait to see all of your blog post's with your beautifully decorated homes for the holidays! ~Hugs~ Denise