Tuesday, November 30, 2010

M&M Pancakes


What melts in your mouth and not your hands? M&M's of course. Those colorful candy coated chocolate bites are perfect inside many recipes, but have you ever tried them in your pancakes? Ever since I made Butterfinger pancakes I decided that I wanted to get creative and make different types of fun pancakes, with M&M pancakes being one of them. I don't know why I didn't try this sooner. It is basically the same thing as chocolate chip pancakes, but more colorful. I still added chocolate chips to the batter because I didn't want to over power the pancakes with too many M&M's, but feel free to add more M&M's if you like. Well I hope you enjoy these fun pancakes and I can't wait to share the next fun pancakes I am going to make I just have to decided what I am going to do next. So many possibilities out there :)
M&M Pancakes
Pancake mix
Bag of M&M's
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Prepare the pancake mix according to the directions on the package. Preheat a lightly greased skillet. Pour the batter in the skillet depending on what size pancake you want to make. Sprinkle a desired amount of M&M's and chocolate chips on top of the pancakes. When edges look cooked flip the pancake over and cook on the other side until pancake is fully cooked and no longer doughy. Remove from skillet and place on a plate. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle some M&M's on top. Enjoy. :)
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Monday, November 29, 2010

Mini Chip Snowball Cookies

Now today is actually national chocolates day but I forgot and ended up making cookies instead, but at least there is chocolate in the cookies. Well anyways I was craving something sweet, but I didn't know what I wanted to make. So I first went to my pantry to see what I had, then I visited verybestbaking.com. While searching around I came across these really good looking cookies and it just so happened that I had all the ingredients as well. Lately every time I go into the kitchen to bake something I find out that I no longer have anymore of the ingredients and I usually don't find this out until I have already mixed some of the ingredients together. This usually happens because I have roommates and I never know if they finished the items until I need to use them myself. Well let me get back to these delicious cookies. They are called Mini Chip Snowball Cookies and they are so amazing. As they were coming out of the oven I kept sampling them. I think I eventually ended up eating ten by the time they were done. My boyfriend Tomas loved them as well, he ate a bunch too but not as bad as me. Well I hope you enjoy these delicious bites and don't say I didn't warn you can't stop eating them yourself. :)

Mini Chip Snowball Cookies
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups (12 oz package) semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375*F. Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in the flour, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Shape level tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place on an ungreassed cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned. Remove from oven and after a couple of minutes transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Dust some powdered sugar on top and enjoy. :)


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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Turtle Cake





I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I know I did. I went home to Atwater and spent time with my family. Unfortunately I could only stay for the day because I had to work the next day at 6:30 in the morning. Well anyways did you know that there was another day worth celebrating on Thanksgiving? The 26th of November was also national cake day, So to celebrate I made a turtle cake. It was actually a death by chocolate cake, but I made a turtle topping and poured it on top. Everything came out great and tasted wonderful. However there was one problem with my caramel sauce; it was a little on the thin side. But it turned out to not be a bad thing because it just soaked into the cake making the cake have a moist caramely top. Well I hope you get to enjoy this cake and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and ate lots of great food. :)
Turtle Cake
Death by chocolate cake
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant pudding mix
12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
Caramel Turtle Topping
25 caramel squares unwrapped
2 Tbsp milk
2Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Beat together the sour cream, water, and oil in a large bowl. Add the cake mix and pudding mix. Beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Next prepare the topping. Melt the caramels, milk and butter in the microwave for a minute and a half. Make sure to stir every 30 seconds. Cook until melted. Place the cake on a plate and pour the caramel on the top of the cake. Next sprinkle the pecans and the chocolate chips on top. Serve and enjoy :)




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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Pomegranate Champagne

It has been a while since my last post. I have been so busy I had no time to make anything or even post it if I did. So once again I missed out on a lot of great national food holidays, which I love celebrating. So to get back into the spirit today I will be celebrating national cranberry day. I wish I could be sharing a great cranberry sauce recipe for Thanksgiving, but unfortunately I don't have one because my sister makes the cranberry sauce every year, which is delicious. Instead I am going to share one of my favorite drinks, which is very versatile. This tasty drink is pomegranate champagne and since today is national cranberry day I placed a few frozen cranberries on top for a festive touch and it also keeps it chill. Well I hope you have a wonderful national cranberry day. :)
Pomegranate Champagne
1 bottle of your favorite champagne (mine is the Spumante and Moscato one put out by Barefoot)
1 bottle of flavored syrup ( I love the Pomegranate one put out by Monin)
Pour yourself a glass of champagne. Add about a tablespoon of the flavored syrup. Gently stir it. Add a few frozen cranberries on top if you like. Since you will have more champagne leftover after one drink, then go ahead and make yourself another glass and enjoy. :)
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Cookies and Cream Cake Truffles


Guess what? I have another cake truffle recipe to share. While I was working the other day, my friend Jeni found these cookies and cream sprinkles. So we came up with the idea to make cookies and cream cake truffles. I am glad we did because once again they came out great. So let me warn you again that these will not last long because everyone will love them.
Cookies and Cream Cake Truffles
1 white cake mix
1 can vanilla frosting
1 package of chocolate melting chips
10-15 crushed chocolate sandwich cookies.
Bake the cake as directed on the box. When the cake is done let it cool until it cool enough to handle. Crumple up t he cake completely. Add in the entire can of frosting and mix thoroughly. Add in the crushed cookies Roll the cake mixture into small balls, about 1 inch each. After they are all rolled place in the refrigerator for about an hour. After that melt the chocolate according to the package. Dip the truffles into the melted chocolate. Shake off excess chocolate and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle some crushed cookies on top or some sprinkles. When dry, then serve and enjoy. :)
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Fried Ravioli



Today's national food holiday is national fast food day. I didn't make a food that you would be able to get at your local fast food joints, I did however make something that is fried. I ended up making fried ravioli for me and Tomas, which happened to be the first time I made them for him. My mom use to make these at her parties all the time, which is how I learned how to make them. They are best served warm with some marinara sauce fr dipping. But let me warn you now, they are so good that you will have to keep making them because the plate will be empty before you know it. :)
Fried Ravioli
1 package already made refrigerated cheese ravioli
About 1/2 cup canola oil for frying
Marinara sauce
Heat the oil in a skillet over a medium high heat. When the oil is hot, gently drop a few ravioli at a time into the skillet. Cook 15 seconds on each side or cook until they turn a nice golden brown. Transfer the ravioli to a paper towel lined plate. Continue until all the ravioli is cooked. Serve warm with marinara sauce and enjoy. :)
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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Cherry Blossom Cake

Guess what? I made another cake. I have been making cakes like crazy lately, but I don't mind one bit because I absolutely love it. It is also great practice. I made this cake the other night for my friend Amie. It was her birthday and they invited me and Tomas to come over for some drinks. I didn't want to show up empty handed so I hurried up and put together a cake for her. While making it I was saying that I felt like I was partaking in one of those cake challenges because I had this cake finished in less than 20 minutes (not including baking time though). What made this cake a little easier is I made the cherry blossoms a few days back, so all I had to do was pop them on. One special thing about this cake, for me at least, is that it was one of the first times I used fondant. I tried using it years ago, but I had no idea what I was doing, therefore the cake suffered a little. However, this cake came out cute, it has a few mistakes (such as it being a little short and the branches are a little too thick) but hey I'm learning. :)
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

National Vanilla Cupcake Day


The only thing special about my post today is that today in national vanilla cupcake day. So I couldn't help but make a vanilla cupcake to celebrate this holiday. I have a pretty busy day today, so I didn't want to make a complicated or time consuming cupcake. Therefore I kind of cheated by buying a French vanilla cake mix. I did however make my own butter cream frosting, which I posted the recipe for a while back. I didn't want to do too much when it came to decorating so I just put the frosting in a piping bag and used a frosting tip #2D to frost the cupcake. To top it off I used harvest color sprinkles for decorating. Well I hope you have a great national vanilla cupcake day. :)
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Monday, November 8, 2010

Fried Won Ton Wrapped Rolos

After Halloween I stocked up on a lot of candy, especially since they were half off. I let every one at my house eat most of the candy besides the Rolos because I was going to make these candies called Pecan Pretzel Turtles that my mom made on her blog. Well while I was working yesterday this idea popped in my head to wrap a rolo in a won ton wrapper and fry it, almost like I did when I made the Fried Nutella Won tons. They came out so good and I loved the warm chocolate and caramel centers. The only tricky part was sealing the wrapper completely so the oil didn't go inside or so a Rolo didn't escape, which did happen once. But after you get the sealing part down they become easier to make. Well I hope you love these little crispy pillows of goodness. :)

Fried Won Ton Wrapped Rolos

Small square Won ton Wrappers

Rolos, unwrapped

Oil for Frying

Heat up the oil in a fryer or a pot on the stove. Take a won ton wrapper and wet the edges with a little bit of water. Place a Rolo in the center. Bring up the edges to the middle and seal the edges by firmly pressing them together leaving no openings. Gently place in the hot oil and fry until a nice golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy warm.


This is my attempt of taking a photo of the chocolate caramel goodness on the inside of the Won ton. It doesn't look as pretty as it taste.


I was just having fun with this shot.



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Saturday, November 6, 2010

Dessert Nachos


I feel like it has been a while since the last time I celebrated a national food holiday and the sad thing is I missed out on some good ones that would have been fun to do. So to get back in the game I decided to celebrate today's national food holiday but with a twist. Today is national nachos day and instead of me making regular nachos I decided to make dessert nachos. I started off by making baked cinnamon and sugar won ton chips (which I will provide the recipe below)and I topped them off with some apples and chopped peanuts and then I drizzled chocolate sauce and caramel sauce on top. There is no right or wrong way when it comes to what you want on top of your dessert nachos because you can put what ever you want on top. Just remember to have fun and be creative on national nachos day :)


Now I don't have a precise measurement for the won ton chips because it depends on how many you want to make and how much cinnamon and sugar you want to sprinkle on top. These chips are pretty yummy so you might just end using up the whole package.

Cinnamon Sugar Won ton Chips

won ton wrapper squares, cut into triangles
Splenda or regular sugar
Cinnamon

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Line up the cut won ton wrappers on top of the greased pan. Spray the tops of the wrappers with a little cooking spray. Sprinkle the Splenda or sugar on the tops of the wrappers and then sprinkle a little cinnamon on top of that; you can also premix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and then sprinkle that on top of the wrappers. Place in the oven and broil until they start to brown a little. Let cool and enjoy. :)
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Thursday, November 4, 2010

Another Guitar Cake


Omg!!! I cant believe that this is my 100th post, that means I made a lot of tasty things and lots of fun cakes. Speaking of cakes, I was asked to make another guitar cake. Next to the Death Star Cake this is one of my most requested cakes. And each time I am asked to make this cake it always comes out different because everyone ask for it to resemble the guitar of the person they want me to make it for; which is probably why it is such a big hit. So once again I hope that the one receiving the cake loves that it looks just like his guitar. And I cant wait for all the post that I will be sharing in the future. :)
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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Butterfinger Pancakes

OMG!!!! This has to be my new favorite way to eat my pancakes. I use to love chocolate chip pancakes, but now I am in love with Butterfinger pancakes. My friend Jeni first introduced me to these pancakes when she took me to this new breakfast restaurant in Fresno called Batter Up. She highly recommended that I get the Butterfinger pancakes, I did and they were amazing. They were so good I decided that I need to learn to make them myself that way I can make them all the time. Now these pancakes may not be the most nutritious breakfast to eat, but they are so good that they are worth having once in a while, especially on special occasions. :)

Butterfinger Pancakes

Pancake mix
1 cup crushed Butterfingers (or more if desired :)

Follow the directions on the back of the pancake box to make batter. Fold in the crushed Butterfingers. Preheat a lightly greased skillet. Pour the butterfinger batter in to the skillet depending on what size pancakes you want to make. When the edges look cooked flip the pancake over and cook on the other side until finished. Remove the pancake to a plate. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle some crushed Butterfinger pieces on top. Serve and enjoy :)


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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Larry Birds Celtics Jersey Cake


I have been asked to make so many cakes lately. Its like as soon as I finish one, I am asked to make another. Luckily I don't mind because I love making all these different cakes. Its like it is a piece of art and the cake is my canvas. Well my latest piece of art would be my Larry Birds Celtics Jersey Cake. One of my friends contacted me and asked if I would be able to make a cake for her boyfriends birthday. She wanted it to be Larry Bird's Jersey from the Celtics. It seemed like it would be easy so I agreed to squeeze it in to my busy schedule. The cake took no time at all to make and it came out looking great. I hope her boyfriend liked his birthday cake :)
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