Cake Balls

1 box cake mix (any flavor)
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

Make cake according to package directions.  While the cake is still hot, spoon it into a large bowl.  Using a potato masher, mash the cream cheese into the cake.  Make sure it's well blended and there are no lumps from the cake nor the cream cheese.  Roll into walnut size balls.  Refrigerate.  Makes about 3 dozen.

Comment:  I made these using a Butter Pecan cake mix and added about 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.  I had decided to roll the balls in powdered sugar but it ended up dissolving so I'm omitting that from the recipe.  You can use ANY flavor of cake mix you want.  A friend of mine made these using red velvet and dipped the balls into melted white chocolate.  This recipe is so easy that there is no way you can mess it up!  Imagine - strawberry or chocolate with nuts or butter with coconut, etc. 'Think With Your Taste Buds'!

Easy Chopped Spinach

I use a lot of spinach.  I love using it with chicken or egg dishes but have even worked up a couple of recipes using pork.  In the past I've always bought frozen, chopped spinach, keeping at least 2 packages in the freezer at all times.   Many times I've had my taste buds set for a dish just to remember that my spinach is still in the freezer so I put off making my dish until the next day.  And we all know that when using frozen spinach you not only have to thaw it out before using, you also have to go through the process of squeezing out the liquid.   Well.... I've found a solution to both of these little problems.

While looking through the produce department I found fresh baby spinach on sale.  I picked up two bags, got them home and, like a lot of times when I buy foods on sale, I realized that I wouldn't be using 2 whole bags of spinach before it started to wilt and I would have to throw out what wasn't used.  So, I did what I frequently do and that was put one bag in the freezer.  A couple of weeks later I found a recipe I wanted to make that called for spinach.  I grabbed the bag of frozen baby spinach and when I took it out of the freezer the leaves started breaking up.  Since the recipe called for chopped spinach I simply started mashing the bag.  This broke it up into the size I needed keeping me from thawing it out and then cutting it up.  Also.... I didn't have to squeeze the liquid out!  It didn't seem to have any liquids to squeeze.  I simply added my spinach to my pan and completed my dish. 

This is a great time saver and makes cooking with spinach so easy.  Do make sure you buy the kind that says it is pre-washed or if you buy it by the pound, wash it first and DRY it completely before putting it into a sealed bag and into the freezer.