Strawberry Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Fresh, sliced strawberries between layers of moist strawberry cake and frosted with dark chocolate, cream cheese frosting.

What more says Happy Valentines than CHOCOLATE?

It seems every dessert I post includes some form of chocolate. Who doesn’t love chocolate? If you are one of those people, we can’t be friends :).

This layered Strawberry Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting has a layer of fresh strawberries between two strawberry cake layers.
So…. it’s OK to eat chocolate when it includes berries!

This recipe uses a boxed cake mix which makes it quicker to put together. And, I actually thought the cake mix was great- and a great shortcut. Making your own Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting takes the cake over the top and makes it taste more ‘homemade’, with less time involved.

Continue reading “Strawberry Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting”

Bloody Mary Recipe

This quick and easy Bloody Mary recipe is made with a bottle of premixed Bloody Mary and Tajin on the rim of the glass. Just add Vodka and garnishes.

This is a meal in a glass!

This is the perfect drink when you are grazing over food during a football game or for a Sunday brunch!

We enjoyed these Bloody Mary drinks on Thanksgiving Day while we were cooking a large meal to have in the afternoon. We had a nice breakfast of pancakes and just needed a little something to tide us over until dinner…

….and if the ‘little something’ contained alcohol, even better!

Continue reading “Bloody Mary Recipe”

Enjoying Illinois’ Wineries

Southern Illinois’ Wineries -sampling some wines and taking in the scenery!

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Check out our privacy policy disclosure for more information.

Believe it or not there are many wineries in Illinois with some very nice wines to be tasted and enjoyed. A lot of the wineries have nearby shops, parks, bike trails and hiking to also be explored. And, as an added bonus, some wonderful scenery!

We’ve always enjoyed taking a day trip or a weekend outing to explore our local wineries. We have several within close distance and can be sitting down with a glass of wine within 20 minutes. We like the atmosphere and it slows us down from hectic schedules and honey-do-lists and chores around the house.
We have a nice setting to enjoy a glass in our backyard but sometimes find it hard to relax – instead start looking around and seeing something that needs to be done!

Continue reading “Enjoying Illinois’ Wineries”

Layered Strawberry No-Bake Dessert

Strawberries, cool whip, chocolate graham crackers, drizzled with chocolate syrup for a quick and easy layered, no-bake dessert.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Check out our privacy policy disclosure for more information.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This is one of the quickest desserts you can make. AND, it’s delicious. It’s perfect for the summer – you don’t have to heat your oven.

NO-BAKE dessert!

Layer sliced strawberries, graham crackers, lite cool whip and drizzle the top with chocolate syrup. Mmmm!

Grab a 13 x 9 glass or plastic cake pan. Something preferably with a lid. So you can save the leftovers and put it in the refrigerator for later. This dessert is just as good the next day as the day you make it. The graham crackers do get a little softer and it will have a different texture, but it still holds up better than you would imagine.

Continue reading “Layered Strawberry No-Bake Dessert”

02/02/2020

Palindrome Day February 2/2/2020

February 2, 2020 or 02/02/2020. And that date backwards is: 02/02/2020.

A lot of twos. Groundhog Day, Super Bowl Sunday and, much, much more.

So, I’ve examined the number two and its impact on our lives on this the second day of February, 2020. We’ll start with Ground Hog day. This year Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow so that would indicate an early spring. Here in southern Illinois that would seem the case. It’s in the mid to high sixties today – a great day for a wedding. Continue reading “02/02/2020”