Have you ever made a Jell-o Poke Cake? Oh, so much yummier than it ought to be. It’s also really easy and simple, and the kids can help.
1 box of yellow cake mix (and the eggs and oil, etc. that it requires)
1 small box of whatever flavor Jell-o you want
1 cup of boiling water
About 4 ice cubes and enough cold water to make that into 1/2 cup
1 tub of Cool Whip
Bake the cake according to package directions in a 9×13 pan and let cool. Leave it in the pan. Poke a bunch of holes all over the top of the cake, using a fork.
Boil 1 cup of water and mix it with the Jell-o. When the Jell-o is all dissolved, add the ice cube/cold water mix and stir until the ice cubes are all melted. Pour over the top of the cake, making sure to get Jell-o into all the holes. Refrigerate the cake for a few hours and then frost it with the Cool Whip and devour. Refrigerate the leftovers.
Strawberry Jell-o is divine. Peach is amazing – peaches and cream! Chocolate cake with cherry is yummy. I’ve heard spice cake with orange Jell-o is good, but I haven’t tried it yet.
We loooove poke cake around here!
So, it’s a week and a day until Thanksgiving. I’m deep into the planning here. This year, we’ll have me, my three kids that still live at home, my grown daughter and her boyfriend, my mother, my brother, and his girlfriend.
Our menu:
Turkey (duh)
Stuffing (cooked outside the bird)
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Cranberries (fresh and the canned jelly)
Squash (at my mother’s request – she and I will be the only ones to eat it)
Cheesy broccoli rice casserole (my daughter is bringing this)
Sweet potatoes (no marshmallows here – yuck)
Rolls
Pumpkin pie (my mom will be bringing this)
Blueberry cheesecake (really blueberry cream cheese pie – this is our family tradition)
And we’ll have my spiced pecans for munching while we wait for dinner.
I’ll be making what I can ahead of time, to leave lots of time on Thanksgiving Day to play board games, which is also our family tradition. I’m going to make the mashed potatoes ahead and heat them in the oven (I’ve never tried this, but I’ve read about it all over the ‘net, so here’s hoping it’s good – mashed potatoes with gravy are THE thing on Thanksgiving for most of my family). I’m going to buy a couple turkey legs and make some gravy ahead of time, because there’s never enough. I’ll make up the sweet potatoes ahead of time, too, and the cranberry sauce. And I’ll get the rolls done early and ready to just thaw and throw in the oven.
The plan:
Monday: Make dough for rolls and freeze.
Tuesday: Make sweet potatoes, spiced nuts, and cranberries.
Wednesday: Make mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh, and cheesecake!
Thursday: Everything else.
Family will arrive around noon and we’ll eat around 3pm. That’s the plan, anyway.
What are your family traditions? What’s your menu?