Cookies-and-Cream Cake

Good Tuesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are from yesterday's visit with Mikie's family at the river. (See. I didn't say "the lake.") We had a good time tubing, eating and just "being." My great-nephew gets greater by the day, and I have yet to meet a sweeter two year-old. (No, really. He's the best one in the whole world.) He loved his Thomas the Train stickers, and we made two pictures... one for his refrigerator and one for mine. I'm telling you, the boy is so creative.

As the photos indicate, it was a very good day.

RANDOMNESS #1 - Sometimes, just sometimes, when I make a date with someone, I kiddingly set the time for 10:48 or 2:22. I think it's funny, you see. So imagine my confusion when I received a phone message asking if Mikie and I were available for a meeting Wednesday, December 1 at 9:42 a.m. Hmmm. Was someone stealing my joke? But this was a professional "thingie." It must be a mistake.

So I called and left a message to "verify" the message I had received. The next day, the woman called me and asked me if the date was okay with me and Mikie. "Yes. Yes, it is. I just need to get the right time. It sounded like you said 9:42," I said.

"Well, 9:42 or 9:44. Somewhere in there," she said as she laughed a little.

I'm not a rocket scientist, but "somewhere in there" translates to 9:43. I think I've met a kindred spirit. I'm really looking forward to our meeting in December... at 9:43!

Fun fact for you... I have a cousin who really is a rocket scientist. How cool is that? So I always use the phrase, "I'm not a rocket scientist" instead of the phrase, "I'm not a brain surgeon." That way I can always mention my cousin. (I know. I get more pathetic by the minute!)

RANDOMNESS #2 - I want to talk about something important to me tomorrow, so if you could possibly visit A Simple Life again in the morning, I would greatly appreciate it! (Come back around 10:12 a.m.)

Cookies-and-Cream Cake

This cake is on the agenda for today, so check the Gallery tomorrow for pictures (good OR bad). As you know, I love desserts which BEGIN with a simple cake mix, but END with a little bit more. I'm sharing this recipe from my new cookbook "101 Things To Do With a Cake Mix." My friend, Melaney, recently gave it to me, and I LOVE it.

You will need the following for the cake:

1 white cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 egg whites
1 1/2 cups Oreo cookies, crushed (Ahhh! The magic ingredient!)

You will need the following for the frosting:

1 can vanilla frosting
1/2 cups Oreo cookies, crushed (Ahhh! More magic!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil and egg whites until smooth.

3. Gently stir in crushed cookies.

4. Pour batter into greased (and floured) 9" x 13" pan.

5. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.

6. Mix frosting and spread over cake.

Yum! This one will be for Josh! I think I may shake things up a bit and use Light Whip Cream instead of the vanilla frosting. The cake will have to stay refrigerated, but that kind of frosting tastes better to me. And for some reason, I like "cold" cakes. Don't ask me why.

I'll let you know how we liked it first thing tomorrow. (But let's face it. If it contains crushed Oreo cookies, it's a winner no matter what!)

Have a beautiful Tuesday. Fall will be here soon. I just know it! So Wednesday's Wisdom, Tradition and Randomness will all revolve around that one word... FALL! And just like FALL, it is all good!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda