Dump Cake

I know, I know.  Appalling name.  And yet!  A relatively cheap and very easy recipe.  Though I won't claim it's a health food, kids love this.

Ingredients:

• Two boxes of Jiffy cake mix -- I use the white cake mix, but yellow works too
• Two cans of fruit pie filling.  Cherry or blackberry or blueberry works best
• One can of pineapple.  Get the kind with light syrup, not the kind packed in water
• One stick of butter or margarine
• If your kids will eat nuts, about an ounce of chopped salted nuts (mine will not, so I leave these off)
• Whipped cream to garnish.  You can use the sort that comes out of the can or make your own or substitute vanilla ice cream or leave this bit off entirely

Heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Get a nice pan, about 9X9 (don't get neurotic, though, 10X10 is also fine, and a big round pan will also do, or even a 13X9 -- basically, it's hard to get this wrong).  Grease it thoroughly.  I use lots of butter.

Dump the entire can of pineapple in the bottom of the greasy pan.  Dump both cans of fruit on top of the pineapple.  Spread them around and mix up a bit with a wooden spoon, but don't get crazy. Nothing has to be mixed thoroughly here.

Dump the cake mixes in on top of the fruit mixes.  Spread it out pretty good.

Slice up the butter, spreading bits over it pretty much all over the top of the cake mix.  If you're using the nuts, scatter them on top of the butter and mix.

Put the whole deal in the pre-heated oven and bake until it is brown and not wobbly anymore, and smells wonderful -- about 25 minutes, usually, though maybe 30. 

Serve warm with the whipped cream or the ice cream or just by itself.  You can also serve it cooled off.

Your husband who had a nanny as a child and whose family has been bakers for five generations will pretend to be appalled by this concoction, but he will eat two bowls of it, especially when you make it with cherry pie filling.