Christmas Cake Pops

I have seen cake pops, eaten cake pops, and now I can finally say I have made cake pops! You may not be as excited as I am, but wait until you try them! These little balls of cake and frosting are not only delicious but they are surprisingly simple to make.

All you need is:

• your favorite cake recipe
• your favorite frosting recipe
• candy melts or wafers (I used red and green)
• decorative sprinkles
• lollipop sticks
• styrofoam (you can also find cake pop stands too)

For my cake pops, I used red velvet cake and cut the recipe down to a quarter of the recipe so it fit nicely into an 8x8 cake pan. The cake should only be about 1/2 an inch thick. This made 15 pretty large cake pops. If you want to make more, you do not have to cut down your recipe.

Bake the cake and let it cool completely.

Next whip up your frosting. The more simple the better on this. I used a simple butter cream frosting consisting of powder sugar, soft butter, vanilla and a dash of milk. I used about a quarter cup of frosting.

You want your cake pops to be mostly cake, and just enough frosting to hold them together.

Break up your cake into crumbles and mix in the frosting until you can tell it will stay together easily and you do not see any white frosting peaking out anywhere.

Roll the cake mix into 1 inch balls and freeze for about 30 minutes. I froze mine overnight and I didn't have to refreeze them at all, but 30 minutes is sufficient if you want to make them in one go.

When your cake balls are frozen, melt your colored candy melts. Stir every 30 seconds. If you overheat them you can stir in a dash of vegetable oil to loosen the melts back up.

Insert a lollipop stick into the cake ball about halfway through or more, but don't let it poke out the other side (unless you are making snowmen cake pops, which would be adorable!). Holding the stick, coat the entire ball in melted color and tap the stick on the edge of the bowl to let excess drip off. QUICKLY add sprinkles and decorations while the coating is wet.

Then stick the cake pop into the styrofoam and gaze at the beauty you just created.

Make as many as you want and easily freeze the cake balls if you want to save them for later use.

Lastly, enjoy your delicious treats!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Cowboy Caviar

After getting my favorite salsa from the grocery store deli today I read the ingredients and laughed at myself for spending the money on it when it has such simple ingredients! Now I have a fridge full of it and I will never buy it again!

This is how I made it:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 whole green bell pepper chopped fine
1 whole yellow bell pepper chopped fine
1 whole red bell pepper chopped fine
2 jalapeno peppers chopped fine
1 vidalia onion chopped very fine
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans

Mix all together in a large bowl and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours to let all the flavors mix together.

Then enjoy with some crackers or chips! I cannot believe how easy it is and how amazing it tastes!

ENJOY!

Sweet Potatoes, Egg, and Avocado Hash

Sweet Potatoes, Egg, and Avocado Hash

I know, I'm a terrible blogger. Maybe someday I'll get the hang of it.  

This is a fast, healthy, filling recipe. Many adjustments can be made. I know a few people who don’t like sweet potatoes (weirdos), so feel free to switch for regular potatoes.

Ingredients

1/2-1 tablespoon oil (I used coconut oil)

1 clove garlic

1/2 -1/3 grated sweet potato

1/4  cup chopped onion

1/2 green pepper or any other green vegetable chopped (I used asparagus)

Handful of spinach

2 eggs

½ cup avocado cubed

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Melt oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add sweet potato, garlic, and onion. Let cook until soften to your liking. Add spinach last (it wilts faster). Cook for a few more minutes. Move the vegetables to the side of the pan to make room for the eggs. In the space made, crack the eggs and sprinkle with seasoning. Cover the pan and cook the eggs till your desired readiness. I sometimes flip mine after a few minutes to cook the yolk more. Once the eggs are cooked, scrape all of the contents of the pan onto a plate. Top with the cubed avocado and salsa, if you like! Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict From Scratch

INGREDIENTS

4 pieces of bacon or 2 pieces of Canadian bacon or ham
1 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish
2 eggs
1 teaspoons white or rice vinegar
1 English muffins
Butter

HOLLANDAISE
10 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne or tabasco (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Start with the bacon/ham. Heat a large pan on medium heat. Add the meat. Slowly fry, turning occasionally, until the bacon is browned on both sides.

While the meat is cooking, bring a large saucepan two-thirds-filled with water to a boil, then add the vinegar. Bring the water to a boil again, then lower the heat to a bare simmer.

Make the hollandaise. Melt 10 Tbsp unsalted butter. Put 3 egg yolks, a tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl, whisk for 20-30 seconds, until eggs lighten in color. Continue whisking and pour in melted butter. Taste for salt and acidity and add more salt or lemon juice to taste. Set aside.

Poach the eggs. Working one egg at a time, crack an egg into a small bowl and slip it into the barely simmering water. Once it begins to solidify, slip in another egg, until all are cooking. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for 4 minutes. (Be careful about the time, make sure to cook only 4 minutes if you like the yolk runny, I left mine in about 6 minutes and they were fully cooked instead of runny by accident.)

Place the bacon or ham on your buttered english muffins, then put the poached egg on top of that, and finally cover with the hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle parsley on top.

This is also delicious served on a bed of hash browns!

YUM!

Sweat for Sweet...Potatoes!

Southwestern Sweet Potatoes

This recipe takes a while to make, but it is very simple and delicious! It is a great alternative to your everyday Mexican dish.



Ingredients:
sweet potatoes
brown rice (optional)
black beans (optional)
salsa
plain greek yogurt
ground turkey
taco seasoning



Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 435 F.
Poke holes in potatoes with a fork and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until tender.
Meanwhile, make the brown rice and brown the ground turkey. Once turkey is cooked, add your taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water and cover until water is evaporated. Make brown rice in a medium pot following directions on package. (Usually 1 cup dry rice to 2 cups water, boil, then let simmer for 45 minutes until water is evaporated.)

To assemble, cut a slit in the top of the potato, add toppings to your liking and ENJOY!

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

I was at my dad's house, where there is NO FOOD! So naturally I dig in the pantry and try to find some baking ingredients. I was lucky enough to find just enough to whip up the following recipe. Ironically in the fridge I found the exact amount of butter necessary to make this delicious treat! It was meant to be!

These are simple and really tasty! I added a chocolate drizzle on top just for kicks!

Ingredients

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon until smooth. Add flour, oats, and raisins; fold in just until combined.

Spread batter in prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan.