Creative Dawn

Today  we are celebrating my stepsons 18th birthday.  As I have mentioned in the past, money is tight so I made a cake.  An awesome Jello poke cake!  If you have never tried one you should they are great.  You make a basic white cake and let it cool once it is, use a fork or skewer and poke holes all over the cake.  Make some Jello and using one cup of boiling water and a half cup of cold.  Once it is dissolved, pour it over the cake and let it chill and set then top it with whipped topping and serve.  YUM!  Check out the Betty Crocker website if you have any questions. I also drew a sign to put on the cake since you can't really decorate it.  There is also a banner that I made to hang up.   Simple and budget friendly ideas that still make a great celebration.  It's not how much money you spend it's how much time you spend together that matters.

At one point in my life, I worked at a craft store and we had a Christmas potluck.  I decided to make candy for the first time ever.  After grabbing my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook, I found a recipe for truffle cups.  They were easy and yummy.  But, I like a challenge and instead of just keeping that recipe, I decided to go one better and make the actual truffles that were also listed in the cookbook and they used flavored liqueurs.  They were more tedious to make, but the results were awesome.  After that, my friends and family started to expect them every year.  The first few years, Chambord was the only flavor that I did, but as the years went on, I started to experiment with other liqueurs.  Bailey's, Kahlua, Grand Marnier and many many more.  Every year, I try a new flavor, which is very easy because in the alcohol industry they are constantly coming up with something new and interesting.  Last year I used Malibu a...