Baby Shower/Birthday Party

These rattle cake pops were made for a baby shower. The client wanted funfetti cake with cream cheese frosting. The bottom of the rattle is a gummy life saver and both ends were dipped in blue candy melts.



This balloon was made for a birthday party. They are made out of red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting. They were dipped in red, yellow, green, and blue candy melts. At the bottom of them I placed upside down hearts of the same color.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

Yield: 4 servings * Overall Price: ~$13 * Calories: 415

Ingredients:
3/4 cup bottled salsa
11/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
cooking spray
6 precooked lasagna noodles
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups (8 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients; spread 2/3 cup sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; top with 1/2 cup corn and half of beans. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese; top with 2/3 cup sauce. Repeat layers once; top with 2 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Cover and bake at 450 for 30 minutes or until noodles are tender and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with onions.

Thoughts:
This was really yummy. Not as spicy as I was expecting, but a little Tabasco fixed that right up!

Happy Father's Day

For Father's Day, I made cake balls using my dad's favorite type of cake, German Chocolate. They are dipped in chocolate almond bark and I sprinkled a little coconut on top.

Costate di Maiale con Capperi

Yield: 6 servings * Overall Price: ~$20

Ingredients:

Served here with green beans and tomato slices

6 bone-in pork loin chops, 1-inch thick, 6 to 8 ounces each
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 plump garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
½ cup all-purpose flour, for dredging, plus more as needed
1 large lemon, sliced in thin rounds
6 whole Tuscan-style pickled peperoncini, drained
3 tablespoons small capers, drained
¾ cup white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. You will need a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 14-inch diameter.
2. Trim the fat from the pork chops, if necessary, leaving only a thin layer, and salt them lightly on both sides, using 1/2 teaspoon salt in all.
3. Put the butter and olive oil in the skillet, and set it over medium-low heat. When the butter begins to bubble, scatter in the garlic; let it heat and gently sizzle. Meanwhile, spread the flour on a plate or tray, and dredge the chops on all sides. Shake off excess flour, and lay the chops in the skillet in one layer. (It may appear at first that there's not enough room for all, but as the meat shrinks you will be able to nestle the chops in.
4. Strew the lemon slices on top of the chops, and drop the peperoncini in between them. Cook the chops slowly, keeping them at a gentle sizzle, turning and moving them in the pan about every 5 minutes, as they take on color gradually and evenly.
5. After 20 minutes or so, when the pork is lightly browned and caramelized on both sides, scatter in the capers, shake the pan to drop them onto the bottom and turn up the heat to medium-high. When the capers are sizzling, push the chops aside, and pour the wine and lemon juice into the clear hot spot. Bring to a boil, and shake the pan so the wine flows around all the chops. Sprinkle over pan the remaining salt, and adjust the heat to keep the pan juices bubbling, steadily reducing and thickening. Turn the chops occasionally, so both sides are moistened and evenly cooked.
6. After about 10 minutes of reducing the liquid, when the juices are syrupy and glaze the chops, remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle the chopped parsley all over, and give the chops a final turn in the pan. Serve right away, drizzling a bit of the remaining pan sauce over each chop.

Thoughts:

This was probably the best pork chop I've ever had. All the flavors worked so well together! It's pretty easy to make; just a slow process.

Quick-Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti

Yield: 6 servings * Overall Price: ~$10 * Calories: 328

Ingredients:

11/2 tablespoon salt, divided
12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
2 pints cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped or torn fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled semisoft goat cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add 1 tablespoon salt and spaghetti to boiling water; cook 10 minutes or until spaghetti is al dente. Drain spaghetti in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Return spaghetti to pan cooking water. Return spaghetti to pan; set aside, and keep warm.
3. While spaghetti cooks, combine the cherry tomatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and red pepper on a jelly-roll pan, ture at 450 for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and lightly charred in place.
4. Add tomatoes and any tomato juice to spaghetti in Dutch oven. Add 1/4 cup of reserved cooking water to jelly-roll pan, scraping pan loosen browned bits; carefully pour water mixture and remaining 2 tablespoons oil into spaghetti mixture. Place Dutch oven over medium heat. Add remaining 1/4 cup reserved cooking water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until spaghetti mixture is moist, tossing frequently. Stir in basil and parsley. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.

Thoughts:
This was pretty easy to make and turned out pretty good. It's an interesting alternative to your regular spaghetti and maranara sauce.

Pool Party/Birthday Party Cake Pops

I made these for a pool party. They were chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. The outside is blue melts with blue sprinkles. The swimmer is a Teddy Graham in a gummy life saver.

These were made for a birthday party at my mom's work. They are carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The outside is purple and yellow melts and the bows are purple and yellow sugar sprinkles.

Chiles Rellenos Casserole

Yield: 6 servings * Overall Price: ~$25 * Calories: 335

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground turkey
1 cup chopped onion
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 16-ounce can fat free refried beans
2 4-ounce cans whole green chiles, drained and cut lengthwise into quarters
1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed and drained
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups fat-free milk
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
red onion slices

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. Cook turkey and chopped onion in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat; add cumin and next five ingredients. Stir until well combined. Set aside.
3. Arrange half of green chiles in a 11 x 7 inch baking dish, and top with half cup of cheese. Spoon mounds of turkey mixture onto cheese, and spread gently leaving an 1/4 inch border around edge of dish. Top with corn. Arrange remaining green chiles over corn; top with 1/2 cup cheese.
4. Combine flour and salt in a bowl; gradually add milk, hot sauce, eggs, and egg whites, stirring with a whisk until blended. Pour over casserole. Bake at 350 for one hour and 5 minutes or until set; let stand 5 minutes. Garnish with onion slices.

Thoughts:
This was REALLY spicy! It was probably extra spicy because we have a whole freezer full of green chiles from Colorado and that stuff is legit. Despite burning my tongue off this meal was pretty good. My brother chowed down on two servings as if he was eating bowls of grapes (not sure if that makes any sense, but I'm going with it).

Whole-Grain Pasta with Chickpeas and Escarole

Yield: 4 servings * Overall Price: ~$20 * Calories: 540

Ingredients:
2 cups whole-grain penne
1 head escarole. roughly chopped
4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste
1/4 cup capers, drained and patted dry
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed slightly, liquid reserved
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions; add the escarole during the last 2 minutes, cover and do not stir. Remove the escarole with tongs; set aside. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.  Meanwhile, if you're using capers, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the capers and fry until crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
2. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons to the skillet. Cook the garlic, parsley and red pepper flakes until the garlic toasts slightly, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, a pinch of salt and the bay leaves. Cook until the tomatoes and chickpeas brown, about 6 minutes. Add the escarole and reserved tomato juice and cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 4 more minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
3. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce; season with salt and pepper. (if the sauce is thick, add some reserved pasta water.) Stir in the cheese and top with fried capers, if using and more cheese.

Thoughts:
Instead of using escarole, I used a bag of spinach which turned out really well. If you're looking for something with a different taste than what you eat every other day than this is the meal for you. All the "odd" flavors add up to something totally awesome! I would make this again!

Taco Cake Pops

One of my best friends, Izzy, came over last week and was talking about how she really liked cake pops and wanted to know how to make them. I told her how to make basic cake balls and we later began to talk about more difficult designs to make into cake pops. My Mom jokingly said that we should make taco cake pops since Izzy works at taco bell. After she said that, I made it my mission to design and make tacos out of cake. Here's how they turned out...






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