When life hands you lemons....

.................make Lemon/Strawberry Trifle!

Ricotta Cake Recipe

One 18-1/4 ounce package yellow cake mix

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

2 pounds ricotta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease oblong 13X9 baking pan.

Mix ricotta, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl. Add yellow cake mix. Mix well Bake 55 minutes to an hour. Cool and invert....

At the bottom of the recipe that I found on the Internet someone

had written:

"This cake is like a pound cake, very dense.

The ricotta cake that I make has you make the cake with the cake

ingredients, and put it in a 9X13 pan, then mix the ricotta, eggs, vanilla, and 1/2 cup sugar. add it to the cake mix without stirring. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and then let it cool.

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding, 1 cup milk and 1 container cool whip. Mix all together and frost cake. The ricotta mixture goes to the bottom of the pan and the cake goes to the top.

It is more like a cheesecake and everyone raves about it."

"Piece of Cake" Right???????

I made the cake (according to the second directions because "cheesecake and raves" sounds like what I am looking for) and I put it in a round pan which was NOT large enough, so I put it in 2 round pans and 2 small glass bowls for Danny and me - this is a new recipe and it has to be tasted!!!! I also added peaches on the top... He liked it, I didn't.... I thought it needed something like CHOCOLATE!!! I sent the cake to work with Danny to get their opinion (and points for "wife of the year" - just kidding...) and it did get rave reviews and one co-worker sent instructions to NEVER make it or send it up there again, because she could not leave it alone. (Wish I had taken a picture - it did look nice. - just imagine 2 layers, icing in between and the top covered with peaches!) Sooooooooooo, I decided to make the cake for tonight, but this time I decided to make it according to the first directions except I added 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup oil, so it would not be so "dense" AND I put it in an Angel Food Cake pan.... Again, I made a small "test" cake. Danny liked the first cake better and I liked the second one, but both are good. I took the big cake out and it is cooked perfectly and I let it cool and turn it over and my friends - the first picture is what I got - one very broken up cake.....

We are having 7 people and the 2 of us for dinner Tuesday night.... Hummmmmmmmm, do I start over? (I have spent way too much $$$$ on the cake alone, never mind the menu that I kept changing.... I got up very early and headed to Wal Mart (you know the place where American's spent most of their paycheck!) and I looked for a Trifle bowl because I gave mine to Amanda who did not have one and then it got broken during one of her moves.... Anyway, I wanted the individual Trifle dishes, but they only had six, so I bought the one big one. Then I NEEDED some pretty bowls to serve this stuff in - found some clear bowls for 75 cents each.... Bought all the pudding, fruit, cool whip, etc. etc. to make the Trifle, which brought the cost of this dessert to way too much. I changed my menu, so had to buy more stuff to take care of that - I think this dinner ended up costing me $200.00, but hey I have a new Trifle dish and 12 pretty new glass bowls. (Only needed 8, but everyone knows you need 12 of everything - 12 plates, bowls, glasses.....) I came home and spent all morning cooking Manicotti, Chicken Picatta, Salad, bread sticks, and of course the TRIFLE... Anddddddddddd HERE is the ending to this story (I know you are glad) - drum roll please...... The people we were having this dinner for cancelled at 4:00 p.m. and the dinner was at 5:30 p.m. So more of the "life handing you lemons thing" - Danny called the preacher, whose wife is out of town, and the other 4 people and told them to come anyway because there is food to eat and they brought one more.... total of 8. We had a great visit and enjoyed our dinner and Trifle and I WISH YOU COULD HAVE BEEN HERE.... Life goes on (and on and on)................... diane (wow what a long post!!!)

PS Tina, we all have those "bad" cooking days.... Right now I am thinking I can't cook either!