Better Than Anything Pineapple Poke Cake

Hey there! How’s your summer going? Are you enjoying the sunshine and making great memories?

We’ve been trying to keep busy and entertained in the house. I haven’t been feeling too inspired or productive lately the 100+ degree weather. I have been meaning to make this cake for quite some time and finally got to it. Now this is not my normal healthy recipe I like to make, but it brings back memories of summer when I was younger. My mom didn’t make this often, but it was a really yummy treat when she would make it.

Cake:
1 package plain yellow cake mix
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
Topping:
1 can (20oz) crushed pineapple packed in juice
1 cup sugar
1 package (5.1 oz) vanilla instant pudding mix
3 cups whole milk
1 container (8oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
optional:
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 package (6oz) frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9x13” pan with non-stick spray. Set pan aside

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, melted butter, and eggs. Blend on low for about a minute. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more. The batter will be thick and well combined. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly.

Put into the oven and bake for 28-32 minutes. Cake should spring back when lightly pressed and begin to pull away from the sides.

While cake is baking, prepare the topping. Place pineapple with juice and the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and mixture comes just to a boil, 2 minutes. Set aside.
When you remove the cake from the oven, immediately poke holes in the top with a drinking straw or chopstick. Spoon pineapple mixture over the top of the cake.

Put pudding mix and cold milk in a bowl and blend according to directions. Spread pudding over pineapple layer. Place the pan in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Place whipped topping, pecans, and coconut in a mixing bowl and stir gently. Spread over pudding layer and return to fridge. Chill for another 30 minutes until topping has a chance to set.

DIY Baby Food: Zucchini Millet Medley

My little girl is just growing up so fast! I could have sworn she was just rolling over yesterday, haha! I’m pretty slow when it comes to feeding my babies, and by that I mean I’m slow to progress them along. Partially out of just wanting to keep them little and partially because purees are so easy to make.

I have started to make a few more advanced meals like this one and the Squash and Quinoa meal and she seems to like them both so far. I really like to make sure anything I make my babies is healthy, nutritious, and fresh. This is all of those!

Zucchini Millet Medley
-1/2 cup Millet
-1/3 Cup Zucchini Puree (see below)
-2 TBSP Apple puree
-1/4 Cup Fresh Basil

Begin by boiling 2 cups of water, add millet, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Once done cooking, divide the millet and store half away for later. With the other half, combine with zucchini and apple purees. Let cool. Stir in basil just before serving.

Store in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to use storage containers similar to these and these.

If you don’t happen to have zucchini puree on hand already prepared, here’s how to whip some up….

Take 2 large or 3 small zucchini and wash. cut into 1 inch rounds. Place a steamer basket in a pot with 1 inch of water over medium heat to boil. Once boiling, place zucchini in the steamer basket and cover for about 7 minutes until the zucchini is very tender.

Puree the zucchini in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Store unused puree in a sealed container for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.