I am sick. I suffer from "cookbook-aholism".  Is there such a thing? Seriously, though, I have a problem.  I have in excess of thirty cookbooks, not including two binders FULL of recipes I have collected as well as a box stuffed full of more. They are divided and neatly categorized, of course, but still...I have more recipes than I know what to do with.  And I will be the first to admit, I don't want to stop. Every time I go to a book store - new or used - I wander through the cookbook section scouring them for something I MUST have. I watch QVC and want every single cookbook they have.
Sometimes, and I really hate to admit this, but, I go to my mom's house and eye her stack of thirty-plus cookbooks as well (for I truly believe this is a genetical disease) and wonder how I can snatch a few without her noticing.

I have cookbooks from the south. A Mennonite cookbook. Ones that have just Italian cooking. Pressure cooking and slow cooking books. Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. Weight-loss cookbooks. A few all-inclusive cookbooks. Books on desserts. Good grief, my head is spinning!  Then, those binders I referred to? Well they have years of Taste of Home magazine recipes that I cut and pasted, literally, into it. And I have a few of the actual Taste of Home cookbooks.  Then don't even get me starting on the board I have on Pinterest with recipes and all the ones I have "saved" on Facebook. I just can't stop!

Ask me how many of them I have actually used on a consistent basis. Uhh..maybe not....that's not fair. I get ideas from them every once in a while. I have my tried and true ones that I do on special occasions and I always think I am going to use that one recipe from that one book that I saw one time...where was it now? Ugh....Yes, I am hopeless. But at the same time I know that I won't stop. I can't stop. It's a sickness I tell you! I just don't have the time to experiment with all that delicious-ness. And besides, I do not have a dishwasher, automated or real, that can clean up the messes I make when I cook.

Maybe one of these days I will have the speed of Flash and be able to scan everything into the computer and make my own cookbook and free up valuable real estate in my kitchen, but for now I will content myself sharing a few here and there with you, knowing that I am somehow justifying my addiction.

Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake

12-16 Servings
Prep: 25 min.
Bake: 25 min. + cooling
Ingredients

• 1 package white cake mix (regular size)
• 1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup mashed unsweetened strawberries

Frosting

• 1 cup heavy cream,
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced or halved.

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, gelatin powder, water and
   oil.
2. Beat on low speed for 1 minute or until moistened; beat on
   medium for 4 minutes.
3. In a small bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on high speed
   until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites and mash strawberries into
   cake batter.
4. Pour into two greased and floured 8-in. round baking pans. Bake at
   350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
   Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool
   completely.
5. To prepare frosting, beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks form.
   Place first cake layer on serving tray, top with a layer of whipped cream and strawberries, place second cake layer on top and top with remaining whipped cream and strawberries.

Tell me THAT doesn't look heavenly!!!

So, for now, enjoy the recipe and send me more. You know I will savor each and every one. Post them in the comments section so I can print them out and add them to my notebook. I promise I will try each and every one...eventually (wink, wink).

Until tomorrow when we discuss my heart and soul...writing.

Petra