Sweeten Up Summer Celebrations with Cake Ideas from Betty Crocker

Summer is here and along with long, lazy days of summer vacation come summer celebrations!  My birthday falls right smack dab in the middle of July with my husband's coming two weeks later.  Whether you're celebrating summer birthdays, or another event like a family reunion, anniversary party, bon voyage or "just because", Betty Crocker has lots of fun summer cake ideas to get your creativity flowing.

Ice Cream Cone Cakes – Kids of all ages will love personalizing these single-serving cakes! And this infographic shows easy step-by-step directions to make these unique cakes that are both adorable AND delicious!  (Keep reading below to find more fun cake ideas!)

· Flip-Flops Cake – Personalize these edible summer wardrobe favorites with candies and fruit snacks – transforming a sheet cake into footwear that looks (and is) good enough to eat.

· Watermelon Cake – Your family’s favorite fruit is about to get even more popular. This melt-in-your-mouth cake offers a surprise in every bite, with chocolate chip “seeds” and a green jelly bean “rind.”

· Cookies n Cream Cupcakes – Perfect for family picnics, these cupcakes taste like your favorite ice cream without all the mess! 

· Butterfly Cake – This beautiful, and fun, cake transforms a traditional birthday cake into a beautiful butterfly perfect for outdoor summer parties. 

Which cake idea looks the most fun to you?

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post.  Any opinions are my own.

Creamy Avocado Dip Recipe

This cool and creamy dip is perfect in a dish for dunking tortilla chips or veggies.  It's also delicious with quesadillas, spicy chicken or any other tex-mex inspired creation.

2 avocados
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream

Remove avocados from skin and chop in chunks.  Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy. Transfer to serving bowl.

Easy Pull-Apart Cake - A Great Alternative to Cupcakes!

This is an easy way to make a cake that requires NO slicing and is much easier than making and frosting a cake that is made up of a bunch of individual cupcakes stacked together.  Ours was designed to look like a snowball, but that "snowy" look is totally optional!

NOTE:  This actually makes TWO cakes!

Prepare white cake mix according to package directions.
Using two 9" round pie plates, nestle 12 cupcake papers into each.
Fill the wrappers half-way with batter:

Bake according to box directions for a layer cake.  Once they start to barely brown, stick a toothpick in the center to see if it comes out clean - if so, they're done! (I cooked these just a bit too long.)

Let the cake cool thoroughly, and then transfer to a serving plate.  It's ok if the pieces come apart while you're doing this - it's easy to fit them back together like a puzzle.  Frost with your favorite frosting.

Salted Caramel Brownies with Whole Wheat Flour

This yummy treat has that perfect blend of salty and sweet. If you're not serving it right away, keep the caramel topping separate and heat and add right before serving. While you can add it earlier, I love it fresh and warm!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

For topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Sea salt for the top

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.   
Spray a 9" square baking pan with cooking spray.
Blend butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well.
Stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and mix until well blended.
Spread into prepared pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of brownies comes out clean.

Caramel sauce topping:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium low heat.  
Stir in the brown sugar and whisk for approximately 2 minutes.
Add in the whipping cream and  whisk for approximately another 2 minutes.
Stir in vanilla.

To serve:  
Cut brownies into squares.  Drizzle with caramel topping.  Sprinkle top with sea salt.   

Homemade Healthy Potato Chips in Your Microwave

These chips are delicious as a snack and also make a great side with lunch or dinner.  They are best eaten right after cooking, but they are so easy you can make them any time.  Make them with plain salt or use your imagination and try garlic salt, seasoning salt, pepper, parmesan cheese....you name it!

Ingredients:
potatoes
olive oil
salt or other seasoning
(cooking spray optional)

Scrub potatoes well. I leave the skin on, but you can peel the potatoes if you like.

Slice as thinly as possible. If you have a mandoline or other slicer, use it to make the slices more even (but a knife works just fine).

Place potato slices in a bowl and mix with a small amount of olive oil to coat.

Spray a microwave safe dinner plate with cooking spray (if you used a lot of olive oil you can skip the spray, but I like to use less oil). Spread the slices in a single layer. If you have any thicker slices, put them on the outer edges.

Sprinkle with salt or other seasoning.

Microwave 3-4 minutes (depending on the power of your microwave) until slices begin to look a like they are cooking. Flip the slices over - CAUTION they will be very hot! Cook another 4 to 5 minutes or until just slightly golden. The chips will continue to crisp up after you take them out of the microwave.

Enjoy!

Easy No-Boil Baked Ziti Recipe - Vegetarian

This is a very popular recipe in our family and I make it a lot.  It's one of those dishes that taste even better as leftovers.  And since it cooks up a nice, big batch its perfect for a family get-together or to bring for a potluck. 

Easy No-Boil Baked Ziti Recipe

2 jars of pasta sauce
15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella
16 oz box of ziti

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix everything EXCEPT half the mozzarella cheese in a large casserole dish.
Add in one jar of water* and stir well.
Cover the casserole and bake for approximately an hour and 15 minutes. Remove cover and top with remaining mozzarella. Return to oven and baked uncovered for 15 minutes or until cheese is nice and bubbly.

I like to serve it with a salad and Garlic Cheese Crescent Rolls.

*To make sure I don't miss a single drop of sauce, I fill one of the empty jars 2/3 full with water, put on the lid and shake it really well. I then pour that water into the other jar. I then put on the lid and shake that one. I fill the 2nd jar the rest of the way to the top and then add it to the rest of the mixture.

It's the Making Dollar$ Out of Change Blog Carnival! Enter to Win a Coach Purse

Here at Thrifty Recipes we try to always share recipes that will help you stretch your dollars and make good food that fits your budget.  This year our goal is to post even more recipes!  (If you are here visiting us for the first time, be sure to browse around and see what you can find!)

While thrifty recipes are one way to save a heap of money, there are lots of other ways too. To offer you some ideas, we have joined together with a bunch of other great bloggers to give you some money-saving ideas and you also have a chance to win a great prize just for reading tips and leaving some comments!

The prize is fabulous - an AUTHENTIC COACH ROSE GOLD METAL FRAME LEATHER HANDBAG COACH MODEL MSRP $398.00!  Just find the articles for the carnival at the bottom of this post and continue reading here for the rules.

Rules:

1) Read an Article like Madame Deal’s Make Your Own Duvet Cover article #1
2) Comment on the Article and share your own tip or lets us know if you enjoyed the article
3) In the comment collection box below, find the number of the blog article and place it in the box (If you're on Madame Deals.com and reading her, "Make Your Own Duvet Cover" article, you would put commented on article #1 in the comment box)
4) You can enter as many times as you want by going to each blog on the linky and repeating the above. The more blogs you visit the greater your chance to WIN the purse.

 BLOGGER RULES for Linking up




COACH CONTEST!
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