Miracle Microwave Cake

Come to a Princess House party?
'What? Are you kidding? I don't do parties like that. Besides, I don't want or need any crystal.'  Yes, that was my reaction to my friend's invitation to a party. But I decided to go anyway and I'm glad I did.

I thought, like most of my family I think, Princess House was strictly glassware. If you think the same, it's time to get reacquainted.  My friend kept telling about this awesome casserole dish that cooks a chicken in the microwave in 1/2 hour and it is delicious. "No way", I said. "For one thing chicken is not nice and juicy with crispy skin unless it is baked in the conventional oven." Of course she said I wouldn't believe it until I tried it and now I'm hooked.

I borrowed her miracle, magic pan  after the Sunday morning party and made the chicken and a pasta recipe. Rich loved them both (need I say more? ).  The last thing I tried was this magic microwave cake. I was not sold on this at all.  This is the easiest cake  and it was GOOOOOOD.

All you need is a cake mix and can of fruit pie filling.  I chose a white cake and peaches.  People I know have made chocolate and cherry and yellow and blueberries.

Mix both together with 3 eggs and scoop the batter into the 3 quart casserole dish.

Bake for 25 or so minutes in the microwave. It doesn't look like much does it?

After letting the cake cool, I inverted it onto a an oval plate. If the cake was frosted it would make a great Easter Egg cake. But I chose just to add a dollop of Cool Whip.  This nice light desert did not last long in our house. 

I am glad I went to the party to see all the new Princess House cookware and kitchen items. The bad thing about the party is now it's my turn to have one. But, as the hostess, I can get my own casserole dish at a very good price.

If you like to cook or bake, my advice would be for you to go to a party if you have the chance and take a look at the new items they have. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.  

Do you have any experience with microwave cooking or with using Princess House cookware?   Leave a comment to share your thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Lessons Learned:

1. I'm going to try the spray flour in the pan next time. Although the cake came out of the pan OK, I think it might be even easier to get out with a little spray.

2. I need an oval cake platter. I can see these cakes will be very common in our house.

Enjoy. 

Jiggety Jig Irish Table Runner

As you may have noticed, my posts seem to focus on holiday creations. This is because, unfortunately, Irene stole almost all of my holiday decor. What little I could salvage was in the attic, but most was in the cellar. One of these days I'll bring myself to post photos of that horrific event. But I would rather focus on creating items to help us move on with life because,  we all know,  life goes on and doesn't stop for anything.

This table runner reminds me of the happy times spent enjoying St. Patty's day.  I love the green because for me it is calming, and the holiday (much less stressful than Christmas) is a happy one. Someday Shannon and I would like to go to Ireland. But for now, this runner will have to remind me of those shamrock fields and the Irish jigs I'm listening to as I post this. :)

Of course my idea came from Pinterest.  I started by taking a trip to Joey's ( JoAnn Fabrics) to select fabric.

After deciding on the length of the strips for the middle of the runner I cut fabric and cut them on my handy dandy Accuquilt Go machine.  Maybe one of my next blog posts might be about this machine. I love it. 

It creates perfect strips for quilting or any project.

Once your strips are cut, layout your design and start sewing the strips together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. 

Be sure to trim your strips before adding any border. 

I chose to add two black borders. I love dark borders. It really does make some colors just pop.

After adding the border(s) you desire, place your runner on the batting. 



After pinning the topper to the batting, I chose to use the stitch in the ditch method of quilting. I did this between the two borders. 

 Again, it is important to straighten your edges.

After straightening the edges I zig zagged the layer of fabric to the layer of batting. 

I added the backing by using the pillowcase method. Basically it is very simple, just place the two right sides of the fabric together, sew around and leave an opening, turn right side out, stitch the opening and then I top stitched around the entire runner.

Add a few candles and here you have a pretty, simple St. Patty's table topper for the holiday. 

Lessons Learned ?

This was the second time I used my Accuquilt Go! machine. I am still learning all it can do and I hope to do a lot more projects using it. Here is a sneak peek of a valentine table topper I started, but didn't quite finish. You'll have to wait a year to see the finished project.

What projects have you made for St. Patty's Day?  Would love to have you post a link to your projects.

Luck O' the Irish  and a Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!