Jen

6 Ways I am Investing in Myself Right Now

Tis the season for holiday celebrations and gift giving! You probably have a big list of people who you’re planning on giving gifts to this year – family, friends, delivery people. In the spirit of gift-giving, why not give yourself a gift that is also an investment in yourself. Maybe something that helps grow as a person, set and reach goals, indulge in a favorite leisure activity, or take control of the chaos of a busy schedule.

I have decided to share the 5 ways I am investing in myself right now to make 2019 the most productive and best year yet. Some of these investments are brand new investments, but some I have been benefiting from for a few months, or even a year now!

Powersheets

I first became introduced to Lara Casey’s message of Cultivating your life much in the same way you would tend a garden in the book Cultivate: A Grace-Filled Guide to Growing an Intentional Life. I was so inspired by that book that when I heard about Powersheets I knew I had to try them for a year.

Powersheets are interactive worksheets for making intentional goals, and an action plan to make your goals a reality. I just ordered mine sight unseen, so I can’t tell you all that much about them yet, but here is the features as listed on the shop page:

A signature PowerSheets Preparation process to uncover the right goals for your season of life.
Goal coaching on every page so you stay motivated and on track.
Seasonal worksheets to refresh and refocus your goals each season.
Exclusive access to a free library of downloadable Wildcard pages to help customize your goals, including a meal planner, finance tracker, reading list, monthly calendar, budget, and more!

Check out the Cultivate What Matters Shop

Plum Paper Planner

I have been a faithful Erin Condren Life Planner user for a couple of years, and every year I find I rely on my planner even more than the previous year. This year I kept finding myself wishing for subtle changes that would make the Life Planner function even better for me. I really wanted notes pages at the end of each week, and while the hourly was closest to perfection for me, I was using a ton of stickers to create lists on days when I didn’t need the hourly layout. So when I heard about Plum Paper Planners in a Planner Facebook group I was intrigued.

Plum Paper’s web app allows you to walk through the entire process of building your perfect planner, it is very similar to Erin Condren with slightly more customization options. You first choose your general layout: the size, timescale (daily/weekly/monthly) and orientation (horizontal/vertical). From then on, you can name customized list areas, add, pick your cover, and for me, most importantly, add optional pages.

Erin Condren doesn’t allow you to add on any extra pages – you can only choose the weekly spread layout. Plum Paper has plenty of add-on pages to choose from, plus you can choose from a combination. For my 2019 Planner I added the blogging section and the cleaning section. I also added additional dispersed notes pages and checklist pages. I really can not wait to get my hands on my new planner! I will definitely keep you posted .

Stitch Fix

When it became painfully clear my wardrobe was in desperate need of updating, I decided to give the Stitch Fix styling service a trial run. I also decided to document the experiencethat helps can read more about my fixes here. Every time I wear a Stitch Fix item I always get compliments, I find myself so frequently answering the “where did you get that?” question with “Stitch Fix!”. Yes, it is just clothes, but let’s face it when you look good you feel good.

Stitch Fix is an online styling service for women. When you sign up, you fill out a detailed style analysis. You get to pick and choose which styles best fit you, your sizes and measurements, what types of items you want to get, and you can even leave notes about your specific body shape, concerns, and or best features (something I really appreciate, because I have broad shoulders and my stylist has been awesome about choosing items that downplay this area for me). Your Stylist picks 5 items for you, and sends them to you. You have three days after receiving your Stitch Fix box to try out all the clothes and inform Stich Fix on which pieces you will keep, and the pieces you plan to send back. You always receive a pre-paid shipping bag that you will use to send back the pieces you didn’t care for.

Check out Stitch Fix

Carrie Elle Meal Planner

I’ve had a subscription to Plan to Eat for over a year now, but recently I’ve found I haven’t been using it. I am not really sure why I am not utilizing Plan to Eat like I have in the past, but I’m not, and it is time to move on. I still need a meal planning system, and because I am so fond of paper planners I thought I would give the Carrie Elle 8.5 x 11 Meal Planner a try. The Meal Planner seems flexible in case my planning needs change or I miss a week, and has a perforated grocery list so I could plan out my weekly menu and shopping list and then rip off the list and take it with me to the store. Although I imagine I will take the whole thing with me to the store!

Each book comes with the following:

12 monthly calendar pages (undated) for those of you who like to meal plan a month at a time
60 weekly meal planning pages, with a place to plan out meals for the week and a place to write your grocery list. The pages are perforated so you can rip off the grocery list to take with you to the store.
10 holiday meal/dinner party planning pages, with space to plan the meals (and even supplies you need to buy) and a place to write out your shopping list. The pages are perforated so you can rip off the grocery list to take with you to the store.
10 lined pages at the back of the book for notes/recipes/helpful websites
Space to keep track of your favorite meal planning resources
Freezer Inventory sheets
Pantry Inventory sheets
Spice Inventory sheet
Measurement and baking conversions
Double-sided pocket folder (keep your recipes, grocery store flyers and coupons here)

Like the Plum Paper Planner, this is a new buy for me, and I will definitely keep you posted!

Check out the Carrie Elle Meal Planners here

Gym Membership

Shortly before my 40th birthday I decided to make losing weight, and getting healthy a priority. I started watching what I was eating and tried my go-to exercise of choice walking/jogging around my neighborhood, but the weather was less than cooperative.

I was pretty reluctant to bite the bullet and invest in a gym membership, but it turned out to so much better than I thought it would be. Living on a farm can be kind of isolating especially when you don’t work outside of your home. The town I live in is small, and at any given time I know the majority of the other people using the gym, it’s nice to get out of the house and to be able to chat and feel like a part of the community. But most importantly, it all makes me feel good. It’s even – dare I say it – kind of fun. It’s fun to move in new ways, try new things, and set new goals. It is fun to watch your progress.

Book of the Month

Book of the Month (BOTM) is a monthly reading/book subscription box that offers newly released (often released before anyone else can get their hands on them) hardback books. You are given five choices every month and you select up to 3 books that you’d most like to read. I usually end up paying around $20 a month for a couple of hardcover books and let me tell you I’ve never regretted it.

I LOVE READING. The Book of the Month Membership is totaly worth it for me. Indulging in a couple of books a month brings me hours of reading joy. I look forward to the box every single month and this isn’t an exaggeration. Reading is something I will never ever fall out of love with. Treating myself to this small pleasure has been one of my best and smartest acts of self care. It may seem like an added or unnecessary expense, but it has NEVER been that to me.

Check out Book of the Month

Some of these items are new investments for me, and some I have been doing for months now. I will keep you posted with any new to me products!

How are you investing in yourself.

Some of the links above are affiliate or referral links which means the link is traced back to me, which means when I share these kinds of resources and you make a purchase, they share some profit or a credit with me. But I have and will continue to gladly pay money out of my own pocket for these services.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have an amazing day celebrating with family and friends. It’s the perfect time to take a moment to reflect on what you’re grateful for this year.

I plan on spending the day cooking (and eating) and spending some quality time the kids, grandparents and my brother and his fiance, but I just wanted to take a moment and let you know how very grateful I am for you. I feel so lucky every single day to have such a wonderfully kind community of people here who have connected with me through The Vintage Housewife.

I know things have been somewhat quiet around here, and the break in my blogging was not intentional. After my sites were hacked, the restoration took a lot of time and was rather costly, and once I bounced back from the actual hacking and had finished mucking around in code I was burnt out. I didn’t enjoy all the backend work to repair the damage that had been done, and honestly didn’t even want to see the log window of my site for a while.

I just felt drained.

But I missed spending time here with you! And I know some of you felt the same way, and even took time out or your busy days to send me emails, messages, and comments during my break, and that meant so much to me!

Thank you for spending a little bit of your day with me here on the blog, your comments, advice, and emails! I am so grateful for the wonderful community of ladies we have here, and I am so excited to spend more time with you!

How are you celebrating today?

And what’s your favorite part of today’s feast?

I’m all about the pies!

October Monthly Meal Plan (Slow Cooker Heavy)

It’s that time again, monthly meal plan time!

How did September go for you? For our family, September was all about getting back into a normal routine, and the meal plan really did help the transition.

I am sharing our Monthly meal plan again below, and I have also pinned all the recipes to my October Meal Plan Pinterest Board.

I use Plan to Eat to quickly organize my family favorite recipes and organize them into meal plans and generate shopping lists! If you have a Plan to Eat Account send me a friend request (my username is HomeinFLX), I’d love to exchange recipes!

I plan for the month but shop for the week. Since I have already set aside the time to meal plan, I find it easier to plan for the whole month, kind of a once and done thing. The other nice thing, after each month, is planned for the year, you are done. You can repeat weeks or whole months if you would like. I also purchase some things for the whole month, especially if they are on sale, but the majority of the grocery shopping is done weekly.

Things to know about the October Meal Plan

I leaned heavily on my slow cooker this month! My daughter has swim meets, and my son has fall baseball & football. We will be pretty busy and I love coming home to a hot meal fully cooked meal on a chilly fall day.
There are 4 pork dinners on this meal plan, all 4 meals can be made from 1 whole pork loin! Whole Boneless Center Cut Pork Loin Roasts are great budget cuts of meat (Wegmans sells them for around $1.69/lb. and they average 8-10 lbs.) If you have never cut down a whole loin, have no fear it is incredibly easy and there are plenty of tutorials, or you could have your meat cutter at the grocery store do it! Be sure to package your cut pork loin and refrigerate or freeze as soon as you can. Check out: How to Turn a Whole Prok Loin into 9 meals and save a ton of Money
My family is not bothered by chicken a couple of nights in a row, but we generally don’t eat red meat multiple days in a row, just personal preference!
My meal plan is pretty flexible, and I consider it a “guideline” not a rule, and one you can ignore at will. Craving tacos on Monday and have all the ingredients of hand? Go for it! I’ve never had the meal planning police knock at my door for observing Taco Tuesday on another day of the week 🙂 Have fun with it, meal planning is supposed to make your life easier, not cause stress. Really the only time I strictly follow my meal plan is when fresh perishable food is involved, like seafood.

I hope you find our meal plan helpful or maybe inspirational, (I know all families are different and have different preferences or dietary restrictions). I am looking forward to sharing meal plans for the upcoming months.

October Monthly Meal Plan

Monday, Oct 1: Slow Cooker Meatball Sandwiches with a tossed salad
Tuesday, Oct 2: Easy Ginger Pork Stir-Fry *use a portion of the pork loin
Wednesday, Oct 3: Baked Potato Soup with Garlic Cheesy Pull Apart Bread
Thursday, Oct 4: Leftovers
Friday, Oct 5: Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry
Saturday, Oct 6: Saucy Chicken Thighs with Baked Potatoes and Steamed Spinach.
Sunday, Oct 7: Roast Chicken & Perfect Rice Pilaf *I bake 2 chickens and shred & freeze 1 for use in other meals (ex: chicken stew or chicken quesadillas)
Monday, Oct 8: Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak with Freezer Mashed Potatoes and corn
Tuesday, Oct 9: Chicken Stew with Dumplings
Wednesday, Oct 10: Broccoli Cheese Soup
Thursday, Oct 11: Leftovers
Friday, Oct 12: Linguine with Clam Sauce with a tossed salad
Saturday, Oct 13: Beef Nacho Pie with Mixed Vegetables
Sunday, Oct 14: Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Fajitas *use a portion of the pork loin
Monday, Oct 15: Western Omelette with Fruit
Tuesday, Oct 16: S low-Cooker Apricot-Glazed Pork Roast and Stuffing *use a portion of the pork loin
Wednesday, Oct 17: Slow Cooker Chili with Corn Bread
Thursday, Oct 18: Leftovers
Friday, Oct 19: Chicken Quesadillas & Easy Spanish Rice
Saturday, Oct 20: Cabbage Sausage Supper
Sunday, Oct 21: Asparagus ‘n’ Shrimp with Angel Hair
Monday, Oct 22: Homemade Sloppy Joes with French fries and Roasted Cauliflower
Tuesday, Oct 23: Slow-Cooker Mexican Pork *use a portion of the pork loin
Wednesday, Oct 24: Broccoli Chicken Divan with a tossed salad
Thursday, Oct 25: Leftovers
Friday, Oct 26: Macaroni and Cheese with green beans
Saturday, Oct 27: Dad’s Meatloaf with Tomato Relish with baked potatoes and corn
Sunday, Oct 28: Cube Steak and Gravy Recipe with Freezer Mashed Potatoes and Oven Roasted Frozen Broccoli
Monday, Oct 29: Classic BLT Sandwich with cut fruit
Tuesday, Oct 30: Cheesy Gnocchi and Sausage Skillet with Easy Garlic Bread
Wednesday, Oct 31: Fast English Muffin Pizzas

Some great easy Fall desserts for October:

Looking for More Dinner Inspiration?

Check out the September Monthly Meal Plan

5 Easy Things to Do to Prep For Christmas in September

I love Christmas, but I don’t love the how jam-packed the month of December is. Between company holiday parties, school choir concerts, family parties, out of town guests, every weekend is booked with events which does not leave a lot of time for baking, shopping, and general holiday prep. So I have been doing my holiday prep earlier and earlier every year, and there are some serious perks to planning ahead.

The idea is to do a few things every month so that the holiday season will be less stressful and more enjoyable. Here are the things I do to get ready for Christmas in September.

Deep Clean the Living Room

Every September I wash my walls, curtains, baseboards, and window and door trim. I also rent a carpet shampooer and clean my carpet, although, I am rethinking this, and considering buying my own carpet cleaner this year. This is also the perfect time to touch up any paint that may have dinged on the trim. The super clean living room ensures we will be ready for holiday visitors and provide a clean slate for all the holiday decor!

Start Shopping for Decorative Accents

I love picking up small holiday decor accents at the Dollar Store, but they tend to sell quickly. Spending some time at your local dollar store can be useful when you’re on a budget but still want to decorate festively. The dollar store has everything from ornaments and stockings to festive place settings and floating candles. If your Dollar Store doesn’t have their Christmas display out yet, check back in a few days, it will soon!

Make a List

Make a list of everyone you will be buying gifts for and what you want to get them. Come up with a couple of ideas and a budget for each person. Make sure to include gifts for coworkers, neighbors, and a secret Santa and add a few extra just in case!

Open A Layaway Account

It’s hard to fit all the holiday shopping in one month’s budget so I love to take advantage of Layaway. Walmart offers Layaway beginning in September for toy and electronics free of charge. This helps spread the cost of those often pricey items over the course of a few months without turning to your credit card.

Christmas Card Prep

If you use a family photo for your holiday card now is the time to make the appointment for the photo shoot. Make a list of who you want to send cards to this year., and gather up and update addresses for the Christmas card list. If you haven’t tried keeping a list on your computer, this would be a great time to create a permanent database and update it every year around this time. Then you can just print the addresses on labels, which makes the process a little bit faster.

I don’t go all out super early, but I have found this is a nice foundation to get the ball rolling.

How do you prep for the holidays in September?

Chicken Stew with Dumplings

Chicken Stew with Dumplings is a family favorite meal that is both hearty and comforting. This easy recipe was created to takes advantage of a grocery store rotisserie chicken and tube of refrigerator biscuits so you can get this homestyle dinner on the table fast.

This is a great recipe to have in your back pocket, the filling is incredibly versatile, you can use it in chicken pot pies, or with biscuits for chicken and biscuits or with dumplings like we have here. Once you have to basics down, like any other soup or stew it is easy to customize and tweak to suit your family’s preferences and tastes. I occasionally add in different veggies. Sometimes I will add a can of sliced potatoes or frozen peas and carrots with green beans, I just make whatever I have on hand work. Really, there is no right or wrong way to make soup or stew 🙂

I love using rotisserie chickens for recipes like this, it is a great shortcut on busy nights. If I were baking the chicken myself there would be no way I could serve this on a weeknight.

Canned refrigerator biscuits are also a time-saving alternative to homemade dumplings. You can add up to 2 of the smaller tubes in this recipe, I prefer 1 tube, but I know lots of people like a dumpling heavy dish, if that is the case go ahead and add two.

A tip for cooking dumplings: smaller dumplings cook better. The dough will expand once it is placed in the warm broth.

Print Recipe

Chicken Stew with Dumplings

The ultimate comfort food made easy with two shortcuts: a rotisserie chicken and refrigerator biscuits.

Prep Time40 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Jen

Ingredients

Chicken Stew

1 whole rotisserie chicken *see note
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp chicken base
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For the dumplings

1 7.5-ounce can refrigerator biscuits
1 cup chicken stock if desired

Instructions

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick.
Add the shredded chicken, carrots, peas, and parsley. Stir well.

To Make the Dumplings

On a lightly floured surface, roll or pat each biscuit to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into quarters.
Drop cut biscuits, one at a time, into boiling chicken mixture. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.
If after the dumplings have cooked the stew seems to thick add up to an additional cup of chicken stock to thin.

Video

Notes

*One rotisserie chicken will give you about 4 cups of shredded chicken, both white and dark meat (no skin).

Additional chicken stock may be desired to adjust the consistency of the stew.

Recipe Adapted from Ina Garten’s Chicken Stew with Biscuits Found in Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family

Excuse the Mess…

Recently this site and all the others on my server were hacked. I was able to recover my posts but lost many of the images. Please bear with me while I make LOTS of updates to The Vintage Housewife and restore it.

If you notice anything out of place (missing links or PDF printables) Let me know and I will work on restoring those ASAP!

Keep an eye out for new posts and updates next week!

September Monthly Meal Plan

After a crazy summer I am ALL about simplification, so I sat down and created a monthly meal plan. All the links to recipes are listed below, and I also created a Pinterest board where you can find images of the dishes and links to the recipes.

I plan for the month but shop for the week. Since I have already set aside the time to meal plan, I find it easier to plan for the whole month, kind of a once and done thing. The other nice thing, after each month is planned for the year, you are done. You can repeat weeks or whole months if you would like. I also purchase some things for the whole month, especially if they are on sale, but the majority of the grocery shopping is done weekly.

September Monthly Meal Plan

Saturday, Sep 1- One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta
Sunday, Sep 2- Beef Tips and Gravy *read reviews on salt modifications
Monday, Sep 3- Chicken Quesadillas Recipe
Tuesday, Sep 4- Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Wednesday, Sep 5- Stuffed Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples
Thursday- Sep 6- Leftovers
Friday, Sep 7- Beer Battered Fish
Saturday, Sep 8- Best Spaghetti, and Meatballs
Sunday, Sep 9- Slow Cooker Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Monday, Sep 10- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Tuesday, Sep 11- Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
Wednesday, Sep 12- Chicken Caesar Wrap Recipe
Thursday- Sep 13- Leftovers
Friday, Sep 14- Classic Tuna Melt
Saturday, Sep 15- Cafe Style Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
Sunday, Sep 16- Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin
Monday, Sep 17- Homemade Pizza
Tuesday, Sep 18- Turkey Ranch Club Wraps
Wednesday, Sep 19- Crazy Good Beef And Broccoli
Thursday- Sep 20- Leftovers
Friday, Sep 21- Best Tuna Casserole
Saturday, Sep 22- Mississippi Pot Roast {The BEST EVER Pot Roast}
Sunday, Sep 23- Cheese Stuffed Shells
Monday, Sep 24- Slow Cooker Angel Pork Chops
Tuesday, Sep 25- Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki
Wednesday, Sep 26- P. F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef
Thursday- Sep 27- Leftovers
Friday, Sep 28- Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Saturday, Sep 29- Skillet Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Sunday, Sep 30-Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

How do you Meal Plan! What is on your menu?

Motivational Monday: Summer Vacation, A Clean House and Tackling the To-Do List

Happy Monday, friends!

Today is my last day of taking a prescribed course of prednisone, and while I started out feeling horrible, near the end of my treatment I was not only feeling better but had a ton of extra energy to burn. I spent a lot of time cleaning my house, which always happens when I am on prednisone. It is one of those odd side effects the Dr doesn’t mention, for whatever reason, it puts me in the mood to clean.

So now that my house is presentable, and I think I have the kids on board with maintaining this level of cleanliness this summer. I have been thinking about the organization systems I have in place that are working for me, and the ones that aren’t. I think I will share a post about my favorite organization hacks, and maybe even some fails (I am looking at you under sink storage area) soon.

This week we have some form of baseball every night, which I actually really enjoy now that school is out. Friday is my son’s birthday so we will likely do a birthday dinner out after the baseball game. We have a wedding on Sunday, and it is looking like the temperatures are going to be in the high 90’s, so I will be shopping for a cool and comfortable dress this week.

What I am Working On….

I have been super focused on getting my house in order, and for the most part, it is in good shape, there are a few areas that need organization or attention, but I will be working on those at a slower pace, and as I can invest in the pieces I want to complete decor and set up organizational systems.

On the menu for this week….

Monday: Sheet Pan Pineapple Chicken Fajitas
Tuesday: Grilled Pork Chops, potato salad, and corn
Wednesday: Clean out the fridge night (AKA leftovers, you’re on your own)
Thursday: Dorito Taco Salad (a kid favorite!), cornbread, and watermelon
Friday: Top your own pizza night with homemade pizza dough, I set out olives, onions, pepperoni, sausage crumbles, shredded cheese and let the kids build their own pizzas
Saturday: Grilled Chicken with Cobb Salad
Sunday: Garlic Grilled Steaks, roasted vegetables, and baked potatoes

On my to-do list….

This week isn’t looking super great for farm work like cutting or baling hay, so I should be able to focus my efforts around the house.

Paint backsplash. It was a dark bluish grey, that I am sick of and want to lighten up, so I picked up a quart of Sherwin Williams Sea Salt, and I am looking forward to a lighter and brighter kitchen!
Take 2 Boxes of junk to Goodwill. We live in an old farmhouse and storage areas are at a premium, and they seem remarkably cluttered lately, it is time to go through and get rid of stuff I don’t need. I have 2 larger sized boxes that recently came from a order I received, so the plan is to just fill those and donate or get rid of clutter I don’t need.
Stay on top of the housework Like I said my house is pretty clean right now, and I am totally enjoying it. I created myself a little daily checklist of tasks to do EVERYDAY so I stay on top of things.

Looking forward to this week….

Really this week I am looking forward to getting into our summer routines. Schoool is out, and I want to enjoy this summer. I have created a morning and evening routine for myself, so we can use the day to enjoy the summer.

Looking around the house….

Things are looking pretty good right now, but there are a few things I want to change up a bit.

I do want to swap out the decor above my kitchen sink, but I will probably do that after I paint my backsplash.
Put together a plan for an odd little area we have behind the living room. For years when the kids where younger it is where we stored their toys, now it is empty and looks like a forgotten space. I am thinking it would be a good reading area.

My one big goal for this week…

Our grocery budget is one of the hardest places for me to stay disciplined and consistent, and now that summer is here the kids are around the house more, more food is eaten. I have already seen an upswing in my weekly grocery total, and more midweek runs to pick up additional items. So, my big goal for this week is to take a good hard look at the grocery budget, and put together a plan to reduce our spending on food, and cut back on waste.

I hope your week is off to a great start! What do you have planned?

Blessings,

Pretty in Pink Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (1950’s Recipe)

A slice of strawberry cake on jade dessert plate with strawberry sheet cake in the background with serving spatula — Strawberry Cake on Hearth & Hand Green Appetizer Plates from Target (click to shop)

There are some foods that are so intertwined with certain memories that they seem to define certain places, events, and most importantly family. For me, Strawberry Cake will always be the dessert of church potluck dinners. This classic strawberry cake made with a box of white cake mix, strawberry flavored gelatin and fresh strawberries was always my favorite part of church potluck dinners. It took me years to find a version (and there are many out there) closest to the one I remember.

This moist cake is loaded with strawberry flavor, and the color is truly “vintage” pink. I have eaten this cake at many picnics, potlucks and family get-togethers over the years, and think it would also be outstanding at a bridal shower or baby shower.

Strawberry Cake Recipe made with Cake Mix and Jell-o

I tried to track down the origins of the Classic Strawberry Cake Recipe, or at least a publication date, but I was unsuccessful. What I did find was memories of versions of this cake being made in the 1960’s, which seems about right given the popularity of boxed cake mixes and Jell-O at the time.

In the early 1950’s Betty Crocker was advertising the glamorous “Colorvision Cake”, which got its vibrant color and flavor from the addition of fruit-flavored gelatin. Housewives of the time were incredibly willing to utilize convenience mixes like boxed cake mix and instant Jell-o, ironically, however, women actually added labor back into the cooking process. While they seemed to wholeheartedly embrace convenience mixes, there was a lot of “doctoring them up” with additional ingredients, special touches, or dramatic presentations that gave the impression they’d spent real time and effort in the kitchen preparing the dish.

I can’t find any evidence to support my claim, but I imagine the addition of fresh strawberries to the Colorvision cake was the home cook’s attempts at doctoring up a decidedly prepackaged processed recipe.

Green paper quart basket holding fresh strawberries sitting on folded vintage kitchen towel — Ripe Strawberries on Berries Jubilee Kitchen Towel from Retro Planet (Click to shop)

I personally am usually hesitant to combine the fresh in-season flavors of sun-ripened berries with artificial flavors like those found in Jell-O, but I make the exception for this cake.

The Cake of Picnics and Potlucks

Regardless of how the Strawberry Cake came to be, what has made it a potluck staple is the ease of preparation, and of course amazing flavor! Let’s face it, there are just some days when you don’t want to open a cookbook, haul out a bag of flour and fill your sink with dirty measuring cups and spoons. In those instances, when the church potluck or child’s birthday is rapidly approaching, boxed cake mixes save the day.

9 x 13 Strawberry Cake in Glass Pan, on wooden table with vintage kitchen towel and silver serving spatula — Strawberry Cake on Berries Jubilee Kitchen Towel from Retro Planet (Click to Shop)

I made this cake on an usually warm Father’s Day. After I had my morning coffee this cake was the first order of business, I live in an old farmhouse with no air conditioning, and in Upstate New York, the high was 91 degrees this year. If you are not familiar, with Upstate New York’s weather, in summer not only does it get hot, it gets humid, so the air has a swampy quality that is rather unpleasant. The cake was mixed and cooked before my kitchen ever had a chance to heat up.

My strawberry cake is always made as a sheet cake. Sheet cakes are totally the unsung heroes of the dessert world. These flat, single-layer, rectangular cakes are easy to make, decorate and transport. If you are feeling extra, or want your strawberry cake for a special occasion you can totally bake your cake in 2 (9-inch) round cake pans (make sure to adjust the cooking times, and you will want to increase the frosting).

Print Recipe

Best Strawberry Sheet Cake

Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 30 mins Total Time 50 mins Servings: 10 to 12 servings

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Strawberry Cake

Servings: 12 servings

Author: Jen

Ingredients

For the cake:
1 16-ounce container fresh strawberries divided
1 16.5-ounce package white cake mix
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 3-ounce package strawberry flavored instant gelatin divided

For the strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup butter 1/2 stick room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar sifted
1 teaspoon strawberry flavored instant gelatin reserved from cake
2 tablespoons strawberry puree

Instructions

For the cake:

Wash and hull the strawberries and lightly puree them in a food processor. The strawberries should be well chopped up, but not all liquid. You will need 1 cup of this puree for the cake and 2 tablespoons for the icing. The amount of berries called for in the recipe should make more puree than you need. However, if it doesn't, pour the puree into a measuring cup and add just enough water to make 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons.
Preheat the oven to 350° F and lightly spray a 9X13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the cake mix, eggs, and vegetable oil until well combined.
Open the gelatin and measure out 1 teaspoon and set aside for use in the icing. Pour the remainder of the gelatin and 1 cup of the strawberry puree into the batter and mix well.
Pour the mix into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before icing.

For the icing:

In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer cream together the butter and cream cheese until well combined and all lumps are gone. Add the vanilla and mix well.
Slowly add 3 cups of the powdered sugar separately mixing well after each addition. Add 2 tablespoons of the strawberry puree and the reserved 1 teaspoon of strawberry flavored gelatin and mix well. Add additional powdered sugar if the icing is too thin. Spread over the cooled cake.

Notes

*1 (15-ounce) package frozen strawberries, thawed and pureed can be used in place of fresh strawberries

Initially, the frosting may have a gritty texture, this will quickly dissipate as the Jell-O dissolves into the frosting

Store the frosted cake in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Sheet Cake with Jade dessert plates in the background and fresh strawberries in a bowl. — Strawberry Sheet Cake in The Pioneer Woman Adeline 9″ x 13″ Glass Baker (Click to Shop)

Recipe Adapted From: Southern Bite

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Do you have any memories of this strawberry cake? I labeled this as a 1950’s recipe, but that is based off my “best guess”, leave a comment if you can help me pinpoint a more accurate timeline of this classic cake!

10 Ways Celebrate Your BFF on National Best Friend Day

June 8th is National Best Friend Day!

We all have “a person”.

The friend that you share secrets with, you can count on to be there for you through thick and thin, the one you want to do fun things with, the one you want to just hang out with, and this is your day to celebrate them and your friendship!

And best friends are definitely worth celebrating! Did you know that close female friendships make you happier, less stressed, and give you a sense of belonging and purpose!?

It’s true!

And, You really don’t have to spend any money to honor your bestie, here are 10 ways to reconnect with your friend and show her some love.

10 Ways Celebrate Your BFF on National Best Friend Day

Have a coffee date Plan a meet-up at Starbucks, Dunkin or your local coffee shop. Nothing goes with chit-chat better than coffee!

Send a handwritten note or card Remember passing notes in school? Texting is the modern day equivalent, and while super convenient there is something about getting a card in the mail and physically holding the letter. Letters are a lasting reminder of your friendship, they never disappear into a cloud.

Take a hike (or walk) visit a nature preserve and go hiking, or take an evening stroll in the village. Walking and talking is a great way to reconnect, get a little fresh air, and exercise together.

Go shopping together One of my bestie’s and my favorite thing to do before we had kids was to go shopping. We had so much fun in the dressing rooms trying on clothes, checking out different cosmetics at the make-up counters and just general window shopping. These days we are more likely to be found in locally owned home decor shops, but it is still fun!

Cook her dinner Schedules are so busy, especially once you and your friend have kids. Getting out to dinner isn’t always possible, but you can still send dinner your friend’s way. Prepare a freezer meal! It will be such a blessing for your friend on a busy evening. Make sure that when you drop off the meals, you leave instructions on how to cook/reheat!

Have Girls Only Movie Marathon Stream all your favorite chick flicks. Beaches (grab your kleenex), Thelma & Louise, Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias are some of our favorite female bonding films!

Catch up over Facetime If you and your friend are separated by a great distance, make a date to Facetime or Skype.

Get Crafty Tackle all those Pinterest Pins you have been sharing with each other. You will not only spend time with your friend but get those creative juices flowing! Even if they turn out to be Pinterest fails, you’ll inevitably have fun and have a story to laugh about later!

Create a slideshow Gather all your old photos and videos to celebrate your friendship in a video. Use Adobe Spark to easily create free great looking videos that tell the story of our friendship and celebrate your bestie.

Just spend time together You really don’t need to do anything special, just get together and reconnect with your best friends. This is the perfect day to chat about the past and present, and nourishing your relationship.

What are your plans for Best Friend Day?