pie cupcakes

pie cupcakes in celebration of national pie day

instruction came from the book What's New, Cupcake?

used a yellow cake mix and colored m&ms for the pie filling

mixed some yellow food coloring and cocoa powder into vanilla frosting

for the piping on the pie crust and lattice crust

mini pie cupcakes

boxed them up and gave them out to friends

happy national pie day!

chicken & waffles

my sister gave me one of her old waffle makers

so after running a half over the holiday weekend 

I figured a meal of chicken & waffles was in order

found a low-cal whole wheat waffle recipe online

low-cal waffles

1/2c. whole wheat flour

1/2c. flour

1TSBP splenda

1tsp baking powder

1/4tsp salt

1c. skim milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2TBSP canola oil

1/2c. fruit (optional)

mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl

then make a well and add in the wet ingredients and whisk together

pour about 1/4c. of batter onto iron for each waffle

add some fruit, smuckers light syrup & light whipped cream for a 

healthy & delicious breakfast

or add some fried chicken, potato salad, collard greens and purple drink

the choice is yours

s'mores cookie dough pops

baked perfection also had a recipe for s'mores cookie dough pops

so of course I had to try these out as well

this recipe is the same as the chocolate chip cookie dough recipe, with a few tweaks

substitute 1/2c. flour for 3/4c. graham cracker crumbs

substitute 3/4c. mini chips for 3/4c. chopped chocolate bar

add 3/4c. halved mini marshmallows

roll the balls & chill 'em

stick 'em

dipped half of the pops in vanilla melts and topped with graham cracker crumbs

dipped the rest in dark cocoa melts

these pops were really sweet, more so than the chocolate chip cookie dough

delicious - though most thought they were too rich to have more than one

chocolate chip cookie dough pops

 

a number of people had been giving me suggestions of other treats 

they would like to see in ball or pop form
top on the list was cookie dough, so I tried some for Matt's birthday

the internet directed me to baked perfection where I got the recipe

chocolate chip cookie dough
1c. flour

1/4tsp salt
dash of cinnamon
1 stick softened butter
1/2c. brown sugar
1/4c. sugar
1/2tsp vanilla

3/4c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

combine flour, salt and cinnamon

in another bowl, beat butter, sugars and vanilla together

slowly beat in dry mixture, then stir in chips

the rest of the process was the same as making cakepops

roll the balls, chill them, stick them, dip them

used dark cocoa melts and vanilla-flavored blue melts for the drizzle

the pops were well received and it was a nice change from the usual cakepops

they taste great and take less prep time than cakepops - a win win

elvis cookies

peanut butter banana cookies to celebrate the king's Jan. 8th birthday

make that peanut butter banana oatmeal cookies

yum

happy birthday!

quinoa salad & poached pears

after receiving a whole grain cookbook from Chad & Lauren for Christmas

I combined a few of the ideas and made a spinach & quinoa salad

prepared poached pears in red wine for dessert

ever since Kelly made these for the mystery dinner I have wanted to try making them

started out with some red wine

then added in the juice of an orange and orange zest

and finally some sugar, cinnamon stick and cloves

while that simmered, I peeled the pears and cut off the bottoms so they could stand up

then placed them in the liquid for about a half hour

once the pears were cooked, I took them out and heated the liquid until syrupy

then poured that back over the pears and chilled them for a few hours

this dessert is very tasty and relatively healthy

good option if you are having friends over for dinner and dessert

new years eve

champagne cupcakes for our new years eve celebration

(adapted from betty crocker recipe)

used the champagne from last new years that was thrown off the balcony

and was recovered from the side of the street the next morning

melted purple and blue wilton melts in plastic bags to pipe out decorations

rolled the sides of the frosting in clear sugar crystals

did some mini cupcakes as well

happy new year!

darth maul dip from the star wars cookbook II

roasted red peppers, garlic, poppy seeds, etc.

Lauren put together a wonderful drink menu

with lots of options

loved the menu!

and the bartender...and the gingey whiskers...and the back porch...