Simple Open Faced Tea Sandwhiches

My dear friend Dana just got engaged and we finally had a girl's night to toast to her happiness, here and ever after. Everyone made some great food to bring along, and I made these little tea sandwhiches that are always a SIMPLE hit.

I used a 3 inch circle cookie cutter, and cut two circles out of each piece of pumpernickle bread. I smothered the bread with some cream cheese, and topped it off with cucumbers. Simply drizzle some GOOD EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL over the top, with some cracked black pepper and some sea salt.

I also made some with tomatoes and basil, the same with the drizzle of GOOD EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL and sea salt and cracked black pepper.

YUM!

Safari Cake Pops

These are so cute! Little elephants, lions, and giraffes were made for a baby shower this past week, but I didn't want to post them till the lucky mother-to-be got to see them first! They were on her baby shower invites that Christina chose and she asked me to make them in lieu of the theme...so voila!

For the Lions, I dipped the cake balls in candy melts (orange and yellow mixed together) then sprinkled hand colored coconut (just put the coconut in a Ziplock and a few drops yellow and red food dye and shake away) for the mane, a brown m+m for the nose. The other lines I stuck circle flat sprinkles around when the candy melt was almost set. Personally, I like the coconut guys better.. :)

For the orange giraffes, I pushed in tic-tacs for the horns and THEN dipped the in the candy melts....I hand drew the giraffe's spots with a paintbrush dipped in melted chocolate.

The yellow ones I kept the tic-tacs on top of the candy melts, I just thought the contrast was cute on them.

For the elephants I just draped over a rolled piece of cake on top of the cake pop ball, and popped them in the freezer for 15 minutes before dunking them in the grey candy melts I made (combo of white and black). For the ears I used Bakerella's idea of putting melted melts on a plastic spoon and popping them in the freezer to firm up. I attached them with a bit of melted candy melts.

Stuffed French Toast Hearts

Happy Mother's Day! I've been making these the past few years for my momma dukes on Mother's Day, they're always such a hit! You don't need to cut out the shapes, obviously, but I think it just adds a little something extra, and your patrons will appreciate the added touch.

Mix together about 1/2 cup of raspberry preserves with 1 pkg of softened cream cheese.

Take your bread, and make a sandwich with the raspberry cream cheese in the middle.

Use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes and set aside.

Whisk together 3 eggs and a glug or two of milk, with a tsp of vanilla and cinnamon.

Dunk the heart shaped pieces into the egg mixture, coating both sides.

Put your griddle on, with some melted butter on med-high heat and cook the French Toast about 3 minutes per side, till golden brown on both sides.

Serve with maple syrup and you're done!

There will never be any leftovers with this one!

Bridal Shower Cake Pops

My dear friend Kiley is getting married in COSTA RICA next month to a wonderful guy, and this past weekend was her bridal shower! What's a better way to celebrate then to make mini wedding cakes in lieu of her pending nuptials?

There's red velvet cake inside...just mix it with 3/4 container of your favorite frosting....and shape them out! and I took some photos of them before dipped in the white chocolate so you can see the shape created.

Dipped in white chocolate...still missing some glitter and love...

voila! A glitter frosting pen and some large sprinkle hearts make these babies crowd pleasers.

I made little tags that were stamped with wedding themes and covered them in a treat bag with some ribbon for the party. They were a big hit!

yum...

Cake Pups

Here are some cake pops I made for my little sister's birthday party, I can't believe she's 20 years old!! Although, everyone at any age always loves puppies.

So here are some "CAKE PUPS" that were inspired by cute little puppies. Inside was vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, and I shaped the ears by making tear drops on the inside of plastic spoons and put them in the freezer to set.

The noses are mini m+m's, and the eyes are candy eyes I stocked up on from Halloween.

So cute!

Mint Oreo Truffles

I saw this recipe online and decided to give it a try, they came out pretty darn tasty! I used candy melts in green and white in honor of St Patty's coming up.

All you need is one package of mint oreos (with the green centers) a package of cream cheese, and some chocolate or candy melts to melt down. Put the oreos in a food processor and crumble them down, you could also put them in a zip lock baggie and run a rolling pin over them too. Once the cookies are crumbled, place them in a large bowl and add the package of softened cream cheese. Work together until combined. Form little 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) for about 15 minutes to firm up. Melt your chocolate or candy melts down and decorate!

These were going to be for St. Patrick's Day although they have all been gobbled up!!

Cupcake Cake Pops *New and Improved*

So, I found these candy molds for peanut butter cups and they are PERFECT for making my cupcake pops not look like mushrooms anymore.

Just pour about 1/3 of the mold full with melted chocolate, and pop a cake ball** see other posts for instructions** (no more than 1" round) in and let it set for 5 minutes. Then pop them out of the mold, add a Popsicle stick to the bottom and dip the "cupcake" into melted candy melts. Add sprinkles and an upside down M&M for the topping. So cute!

I used up my black and white ribbon on these babies too...

DELISH!!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I have been craving mushrooms lately, and wanted to make a soup... hence the post today for Cream of Mushroom Soup!

1 pkg Oyster Mushrooms

1 pkg Button Mushrooms (white)

1 pkg Crimini Mushrooms **you can use any type of mushroom, if you can't find one double up on another type**

2 tbs butter

GOOD extra virgin olive oil

fresh thyme

1 or 2 carrots

1 onion

1 or 2 stalks of celery

rind of Parmesan cheese (I also save the rinds from cheese parties because they add a great flavor to stocks...if you don't have one, no biggie!)

6 cups of water

2 leeks

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

dash of GOOD extra virgin olive oil

1 cup WHITE wine (whatever is in your fridge)

1 1/4 cups half and half

2 tbs cream cheese *secret ingredient*

salt and pepper to taste

crushed red pepper flakes to top it off

first wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth, and separate the stems from the mushroom meat, place in separate bowl. Roughly chop the stems and place in bottom of a heavy pot. Chop up the carrots, celery and onion as well and add them to the pot. Add in 2 tbs butter and a swirl or two of the Olive Oil and begin to saute. Let cook together and cook down for about 15 minutes so the veggies can release all their goodness, add in 2 sprigs of fresh thyme the cheese rind (if you happen to have one) and pour in the 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 45 minutes stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, chop or slice the mushrooms, however you prefer. Chop up the leeks and discard the bitter leaves, and saute in a new pot with the 1/3 cup of butter and a swirl of Olive Oil. Let the leek cook for about 10-15 minutes, then add the chopped mushrooms and 1 tbs of freshly chopped thyme leaves. Saute until mushrooms are cooked through, another 5-10 minutes. Add in the 1/4 cup of flour, and allow that to cook through a minute or two. Next add in the cup of wine and cook another five minutes, stir together.

At this time the stock should be ready and reduced to about 4.5 cups, so strain the stock to get rid of the veggies and add to the cooked mushrooms and leeks. bring to a boil, and let them get friendly for another 10 minutes. Add in the 1 1/3 cup of half and half and the 2 tbs of cream cheese, (it gives it a small tangy background flavor without overwhelming the soup) do NOT bring to a full boil. Once the soup is mixed together, add salt and pepper to taste and pour yourself a bowl. (I add red pepper flakes to mine because, I like it spicy!)

YUM...

Funny Mustaches

I bought a mustache candy mold and had some fun with it the other day. This would be great for kids to play around with, or for someone's silly 30th birthday.....thanks to my sister for posing with these for me!!

Birthday Cupcake Cake Pops!

Here's a batch of cake pops I made for Sarah's Birthday! I've also upped my game with the packaging .... pretty cute right?

((Just bake a cake, crumble it up into a bowl, add some frosting (almost a full can), mix it together with your hands, once combined form into desired shapes, stick a Popsicle stick in the bottom and freeze for about 10 minutes to firm up. Then melt your candy melts and let the decorating begin!))

Shrimp + Pasta Toss

I would love to tell you all how busy and important I am that I've been too unavailable to post on here...but unfortunately that's just not true. Oh, wait. What do you care? Yes, I am that busy and important. ha ha. Here's something I made for dinner tonight with what I had on hand.

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

1 1/2 cups sodium free chicken stock (or veggie stock would work too Kiley)

3 cloves garlic, minced

swirl of GOOD virgin olive oil

1 can of clams with clam juice

juice of 1 lemon, as well as the zest

pepper

crab meat, about 1 cup (flaked)

1 bag of frozen shrimp (thawed, peeled and deveined)

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

3/4 lb thin spaghetti

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add in the spaghetti. Cook till almost al dente, drain and set aside.

In a separate large pan saute the garlic with the swirl of olive oil for five minutes, add in the chicken stock and wine and let simmer and reduce to half. Once reduced, add in the shrimp, crab meat, and can of clams with the clam juice...then add in the butter. Cook, covered and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through and opaque. At this time, toss in the drained pasta and frozen peas (I usually reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water to add in as well, to help the pasta absorb the flavors of the sauce). Remove from heat and top with red pepper flakes and salt/pepper to taste.

My sister loved the sauce so much that she kept dipping her dinner roll in it.