I've been making this fun cake for several years now and I'll be heading to the store for the ingredients to make it again this year! 

I posted these pictures and recipe a few years ago just before the 4th of July so I thought I would share it again in case anyone is looking for a festive and delicious patriotic dessert for this year's July 4th celebrations.  I think I will be making this dessert again this year as we have plans to spend time with family and friends for a cookout. 

My mom passed on the recipe to me and it's as delicious as it is festive for any 4th of July gathering!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of white cake mix (I used a box of Duncan Hines white cake mix in these pictures, but I've been baking cakes from scratch for awhile now so I think I'll use this homemade white cake recipe HERE.

•  3 oz. package of Raspberry Jello

• 3 oz. package of Berry Blue Jello

• 8 oz. thawed Cool-Whip

Directions:

•  Prepare cake mix as directed.  Pour batter into two 8 or 9 in. round cake pans.
• Bake as directed on box.  Cool 10 minutes while still in pans.  Remove cakes from pans and cool completely.

• Place 2 cakes back in their pans, with their tops up
• Prick each cake with utility fork at about 1/2 in. intervals 

• Mix 1 cup boiling water with Raspberry Jello package; stir to dissolve 
• Spoon Raspberry Jello over 1 cake layer making sure to spoon watery mixture over the pricked holes.
• Repeat with the Berry Blue Jello and spoon Jello over other cake layer.  I used almost all of the Jello mixtures when I spooned/poured it over each layer.  

• Refrigerate cakes for about 3 hours.
• Dip each cake pan into warm water to loosen the cakes, then remove each cake from their pan.

• Spread the red layer with Cool Whip topping

• Put the blue layer on top of red layer and frost cakes with remaining Cool Whip
• Refrigerate until ready to serve

You can then decorate the cake any way you want.  Since I was bringing this to a 4th of July gathering I made this design with strawberries and blueberries:


And the inside looks like this:



So if you need a great festive cake for this 4th of July, give this one a try!  It's always a hit with family and friends!

It's been almost a week since I last updated my little corner of blog land here.  I guess maybe the reason is that I'm still in shock that I now have a 15 year old in our house as we celebrated her birthday last week and I wrote her annual birthday tribute post.

Or maybe I haven't been a consistent blogger because I continue to work with a small team on the website, Saintnook, where the Saints are always online! What is Saintnook you may ask?  Read all about it and enjoy!
Fun and exciting things are happening with this project so if you haven't signed up for the Saintnook email newsletters, don't hesitate.  Just do it!  By signing up you receive special news and updates from us. We promise to send you only the kind of thing you want to see; secret releases, new Saintnook features, fun activities, and so on.

Or maybe I haven't been a consistent blogger because our local Catholic homeschool group is starting a co-op using Classically Catholic Memory (CCM) and we are still organizing and planning all that will go into a faith-filled, fun, and successful co-op!  Have you heard of CCM?  If so, do you use CCM at home or in a co-op setting?  If so, I would love to hear all about your experience(s) with CCM!

Whatever the reason I haven't popped over to update my blog, it's always fun to jump back on board and write a post when I can.

This past Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and it is the birthday of the Church!  It's a big deal and a great reason to celebrate!  Pentecost also falls 50 days after Easter and marks the end of the Easter season and we now enter Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar.  
Red is the liturgical color for Pentecost as it represents fire and the altar is decorated with red linens and banners and the priest wears red vestments.  Our local parish also paid tribute to our fallen men and women in service as it is Memorial Day weekend as well.

Sunday night we had "Pentecost Pancakes" with 3 of my children since my husband and other 2 children were out of town for a soccer tournament all weekend and got back late Sunday night. 


Pentecost pancakes for dinner with 12 "flames" to represent the 12 "fruits" of the Holy Spirit: charity, generosity, joy, gentleness, peace, faithfulness, patience, modesty, kindness, self-control, goodness, and chastity. Although on Pentecost the Apostles received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but fruits of the Holy Spirit worked better with the strawberry theme. :)


If you are looking for an easy, delicious and "patriotic" fruit salad (for Memorial Day or the 4th of July), this one is it.  Just cut up strawberries and plums and add in the blueberries and it is a perfect combination.  I served this salad at my sister's bridal shower in 2012 and it was a hit and I've served it for several other formal and informal occasions.


I hope your Memorial Day has been blessed as we remember all those that have sacrificed so much for our families and freedom.  Thank you just doesn't seem to be adequate enough for all those who have paid the ultimate price for our country's freedom.  Our family continues to pray for all our military men, women, and families.

God bless America!

I haven't shared a recipe on my blog in awhile, so I thought I would share a few now. 

On Easter Sunday this year, my parents came over for Easter lunch and there were two dishes I served that I thought were blog worthy.  :)

The first recipe is for homemade Mac & Cheese and I'm sure everyone has their favorite recipe for noodle and cheese goodness, but I thought I would share it anyway since my parents and my family really enjoy this version.  The other dish I served was a Squash Casserole.  These were both easy and delicious.  Both recipes were given to me by dear friends of mine in my homeschool group. 

As we begin Holy Week, I wanted to pop in quickly here on my blog just to let you know that my Chocolate Green Smoothie recipe that I drink almost every morning was featured at Jenna's blog,  Call Her Happy, today.  Click HERE to read more!  Thanks Jenna for allowing me to be a guest post on your beautiful blog! 


May you have a blessed Holy Week!

OK, so I'm trying to kick the sugar addiction too, so my Rocky Road Fudge recipe is NOT intended to be made and eaten immediately. (Unless you cave in to the temptation and do so)

It can't hurt to look at the delicious-ness and drool over the load of sweet stuff in the photos, can it? 

I hope my post here isn't tempting anyone. 

If so, I'm sorry.  That's not my intention. :)

This recipe was made by my Mom when we were growing up and it's a family favorite.  I made some batches of it over Christmas, along with the pretzel treats and "Bua" bark, to give to neighbors, family and friends.  It's always a hit and a little bite goes a long way!  (It's rich in taste and maybe some calories too!) ;-)


So just save the recipe for later by pinning it or printing it.   Or come back to my blog and get the recipe again and maybe the second go around you will be able to drool and make it at the same time! :)    This is super simple and so, so sweeeet and so, so yummy!


Ingredients:
12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
14 oz. package Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2 TBSP butter
2 cups dry roasted salted peanuts
10 oz. package miniature marshmallows

1. In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chips with sweetened condensed milk and butter
2. Remove from heat
3. In large bowl, combine nuts and marshmallows
4. Fold in chocolate mixture
5. Spread in wax paper/Press-N-Seal lined 13 X 9 in. pan
6. Chill 2 hr. until firm
7. Remove from pan and peel off wax paper/Press-N-Seal
8. Cut into squares
9. Cover and store in fridge. 

Enjoy!


I'm linking this post to Try a New Recipe Tuesday at Home to 4 Kiddos

This post contains affiliate links.

It's hard to believe this is the 4th Sunday of Advent and the last Sunday before Christmas Day!

It will surely be a busy week for our family as I'm sure it will be for you too!

I thought I would post some crafts and baking links that I have done in the past and I hope to do some of these this week during our break from homeschool lessons.  Just click on link to find out more.

Sock Baby Jesus
We made our sock baby Jesus last year with our homeschool group after I read Saint Francis Celebrates Christmas, a great children's book about the first Nativity that began 800 years ago by Saint Francis of Assisi.

Handy Tree Skirt
This week we will be adding to our "Handy Tree Skirt" that we have been doing each Christmas since 2008.
It's always fun for our family to compare the hand sizes through the years and it is very festive under our tree. 

Gingerbread House Fun
We always make a gingerbread house each year.  This is on my "to do" list this week. 

We have also done these fun activities from the past and some of them we still do each year like making the Bua Bark, pretzel treats, and a birthday cake for Jesus. 



Also, my blog here has been nominated in 2 categories for the 2014 Homeschool Blog Awards.  I was nominated in the Best Variety Blog and the Best Homeschool Mom Blog.

If you feel my blog is worthy enough for both or either category, could you take a second to click on the links below and click the circle next to my blog name ( A Slice of Smith Life) ?  Then click "Vote".  You can vote once per day per device until 12/29.  Thank you for your support and vote!

 
  Click here to vote for my blog as Best Variety Blog 2014 


Click here to vote for my blog as Best Homeschool Mom Blog 2014 

Coming up soon on the blog this week will be a collection of our family's Christmas photo cards from the year of our wedding (1997) to present as a fun way to wish my readers a blessed and merry Christmas!  

See you soon!

This post contains affiliate links.  

Several years ago a friend of mine handed down a great recipe that is so easy to make and so delicious!  

This recipe, called Poppy Seed Chicken, has become a family favorite that ALL 7 of us enjoy, from the toddler to the teens to the adults in our family.   I have also served it when family and friends have joined us for dinner and it's always a big hit!   


Poppy Seed Chicken

Ingredients: 

* 1 whole fryer chicken or 2 lb. chicken breast, cooked, deboned, and cut into bite-size pieces OR you can just buy a whole Rotisserie chicken from the grocery/Costco/Sams and cut it up into small pieces.  (The Rotisserie chicken option is so easy and economical!)
* 1 (8 oz.) carton of sour cream
* 1 can cream of chicken soup
* 2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
* 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
* 1 stick butter, melted

Put chopped chicken in the bottom of a 13x9x2 in. casserole dish.  Mix sour cream and cream of chicken soup together.  Spread over chicken.  Mix crushed Ritz crackers, poppy seeds, and melted butter in a bowl.  Sprinkle over top of sour cream-soup mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serves 6.  Can be frozen.

Enjoy!

For more great recipes, be sure to visit Try a New Recipe Tuesday at Home to 4 Kiddos!

As you share a family meal this week, may I suggest a great children's book that can be read aloud to children of all ages as we remember and honor all our heroic veterans.  H is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet is such a wonderful book "from the Marine Corps' courage, character, and commitment to "mail call" and letters from loved ones, H is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet, pays deep respect to the remarkable and outstanding group we call the American Armed Forces-the world's very best."  On Nov. 11, be sure to remember and thank a veteran for their sacrifices for our country!  Thank you and God bless!



Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email Inbox to keep up with "A Slice of Smith Life" posts?  If not, just enter your email address here: 

This post contains affiliate links.

I'm really trying hard to not buy boxed cake mixes and make cakes and sweets from scratch as much as possible as a healthier alternative to the boxed ingredients.   In the past, I have made this soccer cake with homemade yellow cake with cream cheese icing, homemade funfetti cake with chocolate mousse layers, homemade chocolate cupcakes, and recently I posted about the homemade pancake mix that has been a hit with our family.

Last week, it was my 6 year old's turn to make our Tea Time snack (I'll blog about what Tea Time is all about soon, I hope), and she wanted to make brownies.  I didn't want to go to the store to buy a boxed variety so I went to Pinterest and found a delicious and easy Homemade Brownie Mix.  And my mind tells me it's a "healthier" version of brownies (sort of) so I can sneak a few more brownie bites :)

Here's the recipe and I like that you can easily turn this recipe into a gift by placing the dry ingredients into a mason jar or container and leave instructions on how to add the wet ingredients and bake them.  They are delicious (and did I mention easy too?) :)

Homemade Brownie Mix

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
chopped pecans (optional)

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup melted butter or margarine
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
1. Mix dry ingredients together and place in a jar or container.

To Make Brownies:
1 Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until well combined.  Grease a 9 X 13 pan.  Spread batter evenly and bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes or until done.

Notes:
Gluten Free...Use your favorite gluten free flour mix in place of the all purpose flour and add 1 tsp. xanthum gum.    For Dairy Free....Use dairy free margarine.

Enjoy!

Want to check out other recipes?
This week I'm linking up to Lisa's New Recipe Link Up at Home to 4 Kiddos.


 

This past week was our first week back into the homeschool routine after having a fun and memorable Christmas break.   With the hustle and bustle of the Advent and Christmas season, I didn't get a chance to post some homemade gifts our family made for loved ones for Christmas.  

I had some great fun making a few gifts with felt. (Thank you to my friend, T.D., who let me borrow her bag of felt material over the holidays!)  I thought I would share the 2 gifts I made in hopes that it will maybe inspire you to use felt in fun and festive ways!

For my parents (a.k.a "Grandpa and Nana"), I took a 4x6 photo album that I had for a few years. I used my hot glue gun to make a snowman cover by gluing black felt with glitter  to the cover and back of the album.  With scissors and patience, I snow scene was made.

On the inside, the first page of the album was covered with black and white cardstock paper and my family and I dipped our fingertips in white paint to make a family of snowmen because "We love Grandpa and Nana "snow" much!"  Each of us signed our names under our snowman and I cut out a green felt tree.  The snow was made by dipping a Q-tip into white paint and making dots.
Then for my sweet niece up north, I took a large (clean) green bean aluminum can and made a "P" is for Piper "can"-tainer.  I used my hot glue gun to glue a pattern of felt around the can and then took foam shapes to finish off the decorations.  I had so much fun making this "can"-tainer for Piper.  I put in a few art supplies into her felt can in hopes she will use these items to create art projects, which she enjoys doing.   

Besides making homemade gifts with love, I enjoy finding homemade recipes that are easy, healthy, and yummy for my family.  I wanted to share a healthy homemade pancake mix that I found that my family has enjoyed eating.


I found a Healthy Homemade Pancake Mix recipe HERE at Today's Mama.

For the oat flour in the ingredient list, I just take a cup of oatmeal and grind it up in my Vitamix blender until it's a flour consistency.

I wrap any extra uneaten pancakes in saran wrap in groups of 3 or 4 and put them in the freezer.  Then during the school week the kids can reheat the pancakes in the microwave for a quick and easy breakfast.