Celebrate with Cherries

It's my blogiversary today!  I can't believe that I have been blogging for an entire year!  I have made some friends, found some great recipes, had more than a few laughs, and above all, I have really pushed myself in the kitchen.  Foolin' Around in the Kitchen has inspired me to try lots and lots of new recipes.  After all nobody wants to read (or write) about the same five things over and over again.  A year ago, I never would have thought that I would have a big jar of yeast in the fridge, that I would regularly make pizza dough from scratch, or that I would have made homemade ravioli.  It has been an incredible year!  Celebrate with me!

I had a wonderful dessert at Brett's aunt's house around Christmastime that was cooked in a crock pot.  When I like something, I usually ask for the recipe.  I was unprepared for the answer, "Oh it's so easy.  It's a can of cherry pie filling, some canned pears, a yellow cake mix, some butter and a packet of instant oatmeal.  It's on the Food Network website.  It's one of Sandra Lee's recipes!"  UGH Sandra Lee!  The one person that I have to turn off quicker than Rachael Ray.  There's just something about her that grates on me.  I think part of it is that her kitchen is redecorated for every episode.  And I can't stand her "tablescapes."  But I also think that her recipes are just too easy.  It's barely even cooking.  It's more like assembling.  So I almost just forgot all about the recipe, but tasting is believing, and this one was really good.

It is officially called Pear and Cherry Buckle but it's pretty much a dump cake.  There were only a few things that I changed in the recipe.  I swapped pears in syrup for pears in juice which I think made the final product a little thinner (next time I won't put all of the juice,) I put significantly less butter, and I left off the almonds.  You pretty much just plop everything in the crock pot and let it cook for 4-6 hours.

It turned out thinner than I remember, but it was oh so sweet and delicious.