Guacamole Burgers

I'm stealing a recipe from Barbara and Gavin.Several Sundays ago we were at their house and decided to BBQ. Gavin concocted some sort of guacamole, he says it is a secret recipe but I saw salsa being added to smashed avocado and he was using some seasoning too.Well anyways we then put this guacamole on our burger and it was great.This was the first time I have ever had guacamole on a hamburger and I must say I was surprised at how well it went with hamburger.

I don't have any recipe details but I guess you could use any guacamole recipe.

Strawberry Coconut Cake

Both R and Barbara (my daughter in law) have June birthdays just several days apart. So what better way to celebrate a birthday than with a cake made with fresh strawberries. This recipe came to me by way of the blog, Daisy Cottage. If you love the cottage look...this blog is for you.
This cake recipe combines both store bought packaged items and fresh items. The cake is very very moist and holds together well when sliced...even the first slice (always the hardest) came out perfect.

Strawberry Coconut Cake

1 1/2 boxes of white cake mix
5 eggs
2 C water
3/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 box strawberry jello (3 oz size)
1/2 C chopped strawberries (I used 3/4 to 1 C)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Fold in strawberries. Fill three (3) round cake pans that have been sprayed with vegetable oil spray each with 1/3 of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes or until toothpick is dry when poked into cake. Let cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry Coconut Icing

16 oz sour cream
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 box of jello (3 oz size)
7 oz bag shredded coconut
1/2C chopped strawberries
1 8 oz cool whip

Combine all ingredients except cool whip. Mix thoroughly. Use a 1/3 of mixture between layers 1 and 2. Another 1/3 of the mixture between layers 2 and 3. Fold cool whip into remaining mixture. Use this mixture to frost the entire cake. HINT After I folded in cool whip I placed the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set up. I also placed the cake back in the fridge also. After frosting the entire cake I decorated with sliced strawberries. Store cake in fridge until ready to serve (because of the sour cream and cool whip).

This cake is very tall because the 3 layers are thick layers so make sure your cake cover is tall enough. If it is not...you could always trim the top of the individual layers to make them thinner. This would also make the cake flatter and less likely to have a layer slip or have the cake not level. Mine was slightly askew but it seems all my cakes are like that. I blame it on the oven.....it just couldn't be me!!!Enjoy!!!

Canning Class in Battle Creek

My sister Ranee and I attended a canning class in Battle Creek last Saturday. It was a combination of hands on and observation. We observed pressure cooker canning and performed the hot water bath/steaming method by canning bread and butter pickles and bruschetta to take home. We also made carrot and fennel soup for lunch and freezer jam to take home.The soup was ok, not something I would make let alone take the time to can. I think the soup would have been better served with a little cream mixed in more like a volute. The freezer jam was very delicious. It was a Lemon Raspberry Strawberry Jam. Very tasty but I don't understand why anyone would go through all that only to freeze it for up to 6 months. I really don't have space in my freezer and would much rather use the traditional canning method that would allow me to store the jam on a shelf for up to a year.

The bread and butter pickles were also tasty but both my sister and myself along with the other women at our table all felt that the pickles needed to be sliced very thin. Their recipe called for 1/4 inch thick slices. You cannot fill the jars completely when the slices are that thick. All the bread and butter pickles I have ever tasted were all thinly sliced. I think that the thin slices would work better on sandwiches and burgers plus it better utilizes the space in your jar.

The class lasted 3 hours and along with several jars of pickles, bruschetta, and freezer jam we also received a tote bag, Ball Recipe book, several canning utensils, and an apron.

Fun was had by all...then it was on to shopping because it's a law of nature that when two sisters get together....they must shop.