Strawberry Jello Cake

This recipe is kind of two fold... today, on my way to get my nails filled, I expressed to A the desire to bake something, and asked him what he wanted.  He said Strawberry Jello Cake.  Uh, say what?!  I've never even heard of Strawberry Jello Cake.  He sent me a recipe for one.  Okay - it looked easy enough AND it would help fulfill one of my January goals to try a new recipe.  I grabbed the ingredients and headed home.

He sent me the recipe from Chef Shell's Catering & Roadside Cafe... from Michigan, nonetheless, which if you knew A would shock you that he'd dare send a recipe from somewhere in Michigan.  Here's the direct link... Strawberry Jello Cake.

In typical ME fashion - the first attempt... A DISASTER!  I did exactly as the recipe said to do... put the "crust" in the oven at 375* for 30-35 minutes.  My "crust" looked more like a disc you'd throw in track, and I'm fairly certain just as hard.  So back to the store I went for a second cake mix.

Here's the recipe with my modifications...

Cake Crust

1 16.5 ounce Strawberry Cake Mix (none of the cake mixes I found were 18.5 ounces)

1 Stick of Butter (Melted)

1 Egg

Filing

2 cup Boiling Water

1 6 ounce Package Strawberry Jell-o

20 ounces Frozen Strawberries (Thawed) (For this, I ended up buying a 24 ounce container of frozen strawberries, and using the additional 4 ounces for the topping)

1/4 cup Sugar

Topping

1 8 ounce Cream Cheese (room temp)

1/4 cup Sugar

1 12 oz Whipped Topping

4 ounces Frozen Strawberries

Pre-heat oven to 375*.  

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, melted butter and egg until blended.  Press into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.  Let cool.

Dissolve jell-o and sugar in boiling water.  Make sure it is completely dissolved before adding the strawberries.  (Cool slightly.)  (Mine was completely cool before I poured it over the cake, due to having to make the 2nd crust.)  Pour strawberries over cake and refrigerate until set.    

With an electric hand blender or stand mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, and frozen strawberries until well blended.  Add whipped topping and continue to whip until smooth and creamy.  Top cake and chill for 3 - 4 hours.  

The recipe as a whole was super easy, once I figured out the length of time to bake the crust.  

D

I will update with a final determination on taste one it's completely chilled, as well as additional pictures.  The good news is that A is happy because he'll get his Strawberry Jello Cake, and I'm happy because I met ONE of my January goals.  :-)

January Goals

It's always fun to be able to manage to keep your resolutions on the 1st day of the year.  Hah.  Ideally, I'd like to have 5 goals for each category - but if it doesn't happen, oh well.  So here goes nothing...

Here are my goals for January...

Health

1.  Run a minimum of 31 miles... That's only 1 mile per day.  Totally doable.
2.  DRINK MORE WATER!
3.  No Starbucks for the entire month.  A & I went to Teavana and bought some healthy teas, so I'm going to make it a point to drink that tea for the month, and stay away from Starbucks.
4.  Cancel 24 Hour Fitness, sign up for a new gym membership at LA Fitness.
5.  Keep up with the UG Challenge(s) for the month.

Home

1.  Make a minimum of one new recipe for dinner.
2.  Menu plan, and stick to it.
3.  Go through closet, get rid of clothes that are too big, and stuff that I just don't wear anymore.

Personal

1.  Get a massage.
2.  Organize calendar with 2013 Spring school schedule.
3.  Read two + books for fun.
4.  Accomplish at least 4 items from my 101 things list.

2013 Resolution(s)

Resolutions are such a funny thing... I think so at least.  Each year starts with a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning, and an opportunity for all of us to make "resolutions" that we may or may not keep.  A definition of a resolution is a formal expression of an intention.  So here's my formal expression of my 2013 intentions...

1.  Be healthy.  I think I post this resolution or some form of it each and every year.  This year won't be any different.  From the beginning of 2012 to now, I've managed to drop another 20 lbs, and I'd like to continue that path.  My sincerest desire is to be close to my goal weight by my 30th birthday.

2.  Focus on me.  That sounds ridiculous, I know that.  But 2012 was a lot of time spent focused on a lot of other things including divorce, moving, and a ton of other changes in my world.  It seems like I wasn't able to really spend much time enjoying the things that *I* like to do, and the things that make me happy.  I want to make time for that this year.

3.  Set monthly goals.  Blog about those goals at the beginning and ending of each month.  I really miss doing this.  It was a great way to keep myself accountable for the things I want to accomplish.

4.  Focus on my 101 things to do in 1001 days list.  I need to re-evaluate the list, and make some minor updates, but I want to finish it in 2014, so I really need to spend some time focused on it during 2013.

5.  Just enjoy life.  Enjoy spending time with family and friends.  Stop stressing over things I can not change, and make it a point to be more thankful and appreciative of the experiences.