Two Layer Oreo Cake

I have been finding so many blogs lately that I just LOVE!  I found one the other day and she posted a recipe for the most delish looking cake.  It looks SO good I dont think I will even be trying to make it......well.....

Ok so here is how you make it.

For the cake:

2c Thrive White Flour
2c Thrive White Sugar
3/4c Cocoa Powder
2t Thrive Baking Soda
1t Thrive Baking Powder
1/2t Thrive Salt
3T Thrive Whole Egg Powder
1/2c Applesauce or Oil
3T Thrive Instant Milk
1 1/2c Water
1t Vanilla Extract

Filling and Frosting:

2 8oz Packages Mini Oreo Cookies
3 1lb Tubs Vanilla Frosting (feel free to use homemade)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a cake pan. For this cake, I used an 8" pan and made 2 layers. For a 12" cake pan, you'll need to double the recipe. Or you could just double the recipe anyway and make more layers.

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and whole egg powder. Stir well. In another bowl, combine applesauce, instant milk, water and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in small batches, stirring well between each addition, until all ingredients form a smooth batter. Pour half of the batter into each cake pan and bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

While the cakes are baking, make your frosting. Pour 1 whole bag of mini oreo cookies and half of the other bag into a large zip top bag and seal. Use a rolling pin or mallet to smash the cookies into powder. In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs with 2 tubs frosting. Mix well and set aside. Do not refrigerate.

 To assemble your cake: Center the first layer on your cake plate. Slide several strips of wax paper or tinfoil under the edges of the cake all the way around - this will keep your cake plate clean while you frost the cake. Apply a one inch layer of vanilla frosting to the top of the cake, then put a layer of mini oreo cookies over the frosting. Gently push the cookies into the frosting. Center the second layer over the filling and frost the whole cake with the cookie crumb frosting. Store at room temperature until ready to serve.

You'll have some cookie crumb frosting left over. Smear it on graham crackers. Trust me.

Thanks Why Just Eat When You Can THRIVE! 

Wonder Box

One of my most fave things I have made is my wonder box.  You can use it to keep things hot or cold and you can even cook in it!  No joke!  The best part about cooking in it...........it wont burn no matter how long it is sitting in the box!

I have a recipe for enchilada surprise that is delish but no matter what temp I cook it on or how long or short I cook it for in my crock pot it ALWAYS burns!  Now I assemble it in my hot crock pot and let it sit until its good and hot then I put it into my wonder box.  I do that in the morning and by evening we have a HOT non-burned dinner.

You can cook just about anything in it including BREAD!  I havent made bread in it personally yet but my friend has and it was delish!  When cooking or just keeping something hot or cold, make sure the food is in a pot with NO handle and the pot is as full as possible.  The handle will draw the heat or cold away from the food and the food will not stay as hot as you would like.  You also need to have water in your food.  Make sure the water has come to a boil for 10-15 minutes WITH the lid on.  You dont want to put a cold lid on your hot food.  The lid will draw the heat away from the food.

Have you ever had to take dinner to a friend and its nice and warm when you leave your house but by the time you get to their house the food has cooled off?  That will no longer be a problem!  Simply place the food into your wonder box and it will be just as hot as it was when you left your house.

I`ve talked a lot about hot food but what about cold food?  Yes, this truly keeps cold food cold.  I was asked to show some ladies at my Mom`s church how to make these.  I wanted to show them how it worked.  At 10am I went to the grocery store and bought a 1 gallon bucket of ice cream.  I put it in my box and it sat in my hot car (not ideal) until about 7pm.  When I pulled it out to show the ladies there were ice crystals on the bucket.  It was still frozen solid 9 hours later!

I have 2 baskets, one in my garage and one in my van.  The one in my van I leave there so when I am grocery shopping and find a good deal on something that is refrigerated or frozen but I still have 2 more stores to go to.  I just put it in my box and it stays cold until I get home.  I dont have to worry about hurrying home just to put away my cold items.

Click here to learn more about how to use the wonder box.  At the bottom of that page there are links to the pattern to make one.  These are SO simple to make.  Even if you cant sew a straight line you can do this.  You will NEVER see any mistakes you make.  If you dont have the money for material use an old sheet (MUST be 100% cotton!!)  I found the beads you need at Fred Meyers.  They are the bean bag beans.  1 bag will make 2 boxes.

Shelf Reliance is Going BIG

Shelf Reliance is going BIG!  Starting August 1st we will have a new line of buckets.  There will be 17 or so different products that will be available.  3 of which are NEW!  The 3 new items are: Hard Red Wheat, Oat Groats and Spelt!  All 3 will be available in the #10 and pantry cans.  The oat groats and spelt will also be available in our pouches.

Each bucket will hold more than 8 #10 cans of product! 

If you are signed up on the Q, you can start preordering these buckets tomorrow!  If you are not signed up on the Q and want more information about the Q click here.  If you are interested in signing up for the Q let me know and I will help you get signed up!  Here is a previous post I did talking about the Q.

To see a complete list of all the items that will also be available in buckets and their prices click here.

Back Pack

I had a customer buy our deluxe back pack and she wanted to see how sturdy they are.  So she opened it up, stuck her leg in it and pulled as hard as she could.  She also pulled at the seams to see if she could pull them apart...........NOTHING!! This back pack is as sturdy as they come AND they are only $24.99!  I had decided that I was going to buy one of these for all of our 72 hr kits. 

My son just graduated from cub scouts into boy scouts and has his 1st camp out this month.  So I needed to get him a back pack.  Of course this is the one I chose.  When I received it I was pleased!  It has several different pockets, lots of storage room will be lasting a long time!

I was at an event a week or so ago and another consultant was there with me and she had the other back pack that we carry.  This was the 1st time I have seen this one or even had any feed back on it.  I was very please with what I saw!  This back pack also has tons of pockets and a storage room.  This one is only $8.99!  They come in red or blue.  Unfortunately they just send you a color you do not pick which you want.  I am even considering buying these for my boys for school.  My girls want girly back backs or I would get these for them as well. 


The difference I saw between the two is the deluxe back pack is build for camping and hiking.  Thats it!  The deluxe back pack can be used 72 hr kits but I have young kids and they are just too big for them.  The other back pack we carry will be great for them!  Both are great back packs.  When choosing which one you want it will end up coming down to which will work better for your family.  I really cant recommend one over the other.

Sting Ease

Several months ago my sister was at my parents house with her 5 year old daughter.  All of a sudden she heard Emma, her daughter, screaming so she went running to find her.  She found her covered in bee stings.  15 to be exact.  Thankfully she was at my parents house.  My Dad has the best sting relief medicine ever.  I dont remember what it is called.  So she used it on Emma and after a while she felt better. 

Jonna, my sister, has been looking for something like that medicine.  She has now found it!  It is from Shelf Reliance and is called Sting Ease.  Not only is it for bee stings but it can also be used on insect bites!  The medicine comes in a bottle with a dropper on the top.  To use it you simply put 1 drop on the bite or sting and gently rub in with the dropper top.  If it still hurts after 15 minutes repeat!  This stuff works wonders!  And the best part.....its only $3.46 through me!  The bottle will last a LONG time!

I will be buying some for our first aid kits, my sons scout back pack and our 72 hr kits.  I dont want to be caught with out this stuff!  Click here to purchase some.