Winter Wonderland and Warm Coffee Cake

The past few days have been so pretty around here in the valley! All the frost looks like snow, and I get all excited for winter!!!!! This morning I took some pictures from around our house, and I just had to share :)

Below is a picture from our front porch....

 These are some frozen pine needles 

 Our little tiny house :)

 Frozen power lines....

 Frozen fescue

 Brody :)

My frozen antenna that waves when I drive.

Did a say some pictures, I meant A LOT of pictures !! :)

Anyways, it has been literally freezing cold the last couple days, and Leon, his dad and brother in law have been tearing out his brother in law's bathroom, which requires crawling under the house,, among mice skeletons, and rat's nests, o ya and it's COLD! Last night he requested that I bring something warm for them to snack on while they are working. I went over to my friend Laura's house, while our husbands were at singing practice and I asked her if she had a good simple coffee cake recipe (of course she did! She is a great cook!!) Boy did she get me a simple recipe, I love how easy it was!!!! Here is the recipe...

1 box cake mix

Whatever ingredients your cake mix needs

1 small box vanilla pudding mix, or if you keep pudding mix in bulk it is a heaping 1/3 cup of the mix

1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons water

 Mix up your cake mix according to the directions on the box, then add your pudding mix....

 After you mix your cake, drop your flour container on the floor while trying to carry ALL the ingredients for the crumbs over to the island, this humbles you when you think you are a great cook who is going to make THE BEST coffe cake :)

 After a heavy sigh, eat a freshly made caramel chocolate your friend made last night, this heals the humiliation of the flour mess.......

 Mix the butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a separate bowl, until crumbly.

 Pour half the cake batter into a 9x13 pan

 Crumble half the crumbs on the cake batter, then pour the rest of the batter on top, then pour the remaining cake mix on top, then crumble the remaining crumbs on top of the cake. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, then cover with foil, and then wrap in a blanket and take it to the men. Pour the icing over the top of the cake, and watch them all ooo and ahhh. I wanted to get a picture before we tore into it, but I had to fight to keep the men away from it, so I had no time to take a picture before they ate some ;) Then I got to laugh as they tried to eat this HOT coffee cake (I know that's kind of mean, but it was really funny...) 

What a great beginning to a very cold day :)