CAKE!!

Black Forest Cake (This was a recipe that Mike's Grandma made all the time and we love it! This is one of my go to cakes when I make one to take to someone for funeral, celebrations etc! It's so easy and yummy!

1 Box chocolate cake of your choice(OR a Cherry Chip or Strawberry cake)

3 Large eggs

1 Can Cherry Pie filling

Beat eggs, add to cake mix and then add can of cherry pie filling and stir. You can make this in a 9x13 but the layered cakes are so pretty! Divide batter into 2-8" cake pans ( A great trick I learned from the Queen of cooking Miss Paula Dean...use a ladle to do this so you can get even amounts in each pan and even cakes. Also spray your pans well and place a square of parchment paper in the bottom and spray that if you have it, if you don't spraying works!)

Bake 35-40 mins. until toothpick comes out clean. Cool a few mins. and invert.

Frost with 1 1/2 cans Chocolate icing (if you use 1/2 of a 2nd. can then you have it in the fridge next time you need another 1/2! ha I just don't think they put enough icing in those cans anymore especially for a layer cake!) and I like to doll up the top! You could sprinkle it with powdered sugar after the icing sets up, or sprinkle the soft icing with any kind of sprinkles, chocolate chips, nuts of any kind but this time I had some beautiful strawberries so I melted a few Tbs. of Chocolate chips and a bit of Crisco in the microwave and dipped those berries and set them on a plate with wax paper and popped them in the freezer! YUUUUMMM!

This baby boy is turning 17 today!! amazing how time has flown....We've spent this year watching him run Cross Country and Track, do alot in his leadership group at school, he loves his Youth group at church and enjoys discipling younger kids, he got his first "real" job including paycheck this Spring, we made a college visit and I think he's decided on that too....Crazy to be doing all this stuff with him when just yesterday we were watching Toy Story 3 and he was singing along with Buzz and Woody! boo hoo....He is a wonderful young man and we couldn't be more proud...I'm so sad he will leave home before we know it but I guess this is why we raised him, to go out into the world and do his thing...and he does a pretty great job!!