Strawberry Layered Dessert

Bottom layer:

Mix one white or yellow cake mix according to package directions. Divide mixture into two greased 9x13 pans. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Middle layer:

Mix 8 oz. softened cream cheese and 2 c. powdered sugar until well blended. Fold in 12 oz. Cool Whip. Divide in half and spread over cooled cake layers.

Top layer:

Slice two baskets of strawberries and mix with one 13 oz. container of strawberry glaze. Spread over cream cheese layer. (You need two baskets of strawberries and 1 container of glaze for each pan.)

Chill for two hours then slice, serve and enjoy!

From whence it came: This great recipe is another one from my wonderful friend, JoDee Glazier. She's the one who shared that great tortilla soup recipe with us, too. And someday soon I will share JoDee's pasta salad recipe with you, and you will thank me (and JoDee) until the cows come home, because it's one of the best pasta salads I've ever ever had! JoDee, you are so nice to share your yum-e recipes. And you're so nice in every other way, too!

Why it's blogable: This recipe is just as pretty as it is delicious! It's very light and perfect for a springtime or summer dessert. I made 18...yep, 18...of these puppies this past weekend for a wedding. If you're thinking that's crazy, you're almost right. Actually, it wasn't all that bad. I made the cakes a couple of weekends ago and put them in the freezer. Then, on the morning of the wedding my amazing, fabulous, wonderful mom helped slice the 36...yep, 36...baskets of strawberries. It was worth the work, because they looked really pretty and tasted really good!

A HUMONGOUS shout out: Us Andersons have the world's most fabulous friends! In the friend department, we are abundantly blessed! There's a group of us who all pitch in and help each other through life's most wonderful moments, and sometimes during life's most difficult moments. Some of life's most wonderful moments are the weddings of our children. Last July my dessert eating daughter from San Diego married a meat eating boy from Chicago and the world's most fabulous friends all swooped in to help us pull of a fairytale day and night! I'll forever and ever be grateful to every single one of them. This past weekend we all gathered together to do the same for our beloved friends, the Halls, and it was so much fun. At one point of the evening I was helping out in the kitchen...shocker, I know, Pam in the kitchen...and I was looking at about a million 10 pound cans and one very small can opener. Well, maybe not quite a million, but at least five, and just one small can opener. Then, who do you think would appear? My new BFF, VJ Bitton. Yep, VJ Bitton is my new BFF. I said, "VJ, if you open these cans for me you will be my new BFF and I will tell the entire world about it on my blog." (That would only be true if the entire world read my blog, but in my mind and dreams the entire world does, so it's sort of true.)

Let me take a second to tell you about Grace and VJ Bitton. Who am I kidding, it would take hours to tell you about Grace and VJ Bitton. They are truly the best of the best! Grace worked her magic on the reception this past weekend, and the result...magical! VJ opened my cans, and did a boatload of other things to help make the night oh so memorable. Speaking of boats, last summer Grace and VJ took our family out in Oceanside Harbor on their super cool and super speedy boat and helped us create a fabulous memory.

I hope each of you find yourselves surrounded by friends such as these. I've said it before...friends, family and food! It just doesn't get any better than that!

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!