Cake Pops

Cake Pops

Here are some of the cake pops I've made:

Leprechaun Cake Pops (remember these guys??)

Baseball Cake Pops

Bikini Body

Cows & Pigs

Fuzzy Chicks

Pepsi Themed

Tiki Heads

Quails

Mini Pancake Muffins

 

This week has been awesome and chaotic all at the same time! One of my dearest friends is having a baby next month and this past Saturday was her baby shower! Guess who got to make all the sweets? This girl right here. Woohoo! It was so much fun and everything was completely amazing! I won't go into too much detail because I'm going to post some pics of the treats later this week! So, keep your eyes peeled!

In the meantime, In case you missed my guest post over at My Happy Place...  I thought I'd share :)

Mini Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins Recipe:   |Print Recipe|
2 cups pancake mix
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons maple syrup
*More syrup for dipping!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a mini muffin pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine pancake mix and sugar. Stir in water, milk, egg, vanilla and syrup. Mix in chocolate chips and combine well.

Fill each section of the mini muffin pan just over 1/2 full.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Place muffins on skewers and serve hot with plenty of maple syrup for dipping!

Recipe makes 36 mini muffins.

Marshmallow Filled Buttermilk Mocha Cupcakes

Life has been kind of stressful lately and you know what makes me feel okay? Chocolate.

Unfortunately, the husband doesn't care for chocolate desserts, so I very rarely make anything involving chocolate... but, one day I was so angry with life that I decided to be crazy and make something as chocolately as I possibly could. The whole time I was making this dessert, I felt like I was taking out some of my anger on these little chocolatey beauties. With every mix, every pour, every squeeze, I felt a little better and I came to the realization that baking is both therapeutic and delicious.

The great thing about this recipe is that when you are rushed or not in the mood to "whisk together flour and baking powder" and "cream together butter and sugar," you can simply dump all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them together and it comes out juuuuust fine! I love recipes like that.

Do you know what else was wonderful about this recipe? I used canned frosting... and guess what? I liked it. It was the perfect fudgy addition and I didn't have powdered sugar covering my counters. Powdered sugar covering your counters when you're in a bad mood is not so fun.

What's that thing they always say? Oh yeah...

Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts.

Marshmallow Filled Buttermilk Mocha Cupcakes Recipe:   |Print Recipe|
2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup hershey's cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coffee (just use your leftover coffee from that morning!)
2-3 cups Small (Kraft) Jet Puffed Marshmallows
1 can (Duncan Hines) Chocolate Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingrendients, except the frosting and marshmallows, in a large bowl. Mix until well combined and no lumps remain.

Fill 24 cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake in preheated oven for 30-32 minutes.

Right when you remove cupcakes from the oven, poke a hole in the middle using a wooden spoon (or if you have one of those awesome little cupcake coring tools you can use that!)Rock the spoon back and fourth to clear out a little room in the center. Poke 5-6 small marshmallows right in the hole.

Allow cupcakes to cool, then pipe on a pretty little pile of fudgy frosting right in the center.

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French Toast In a Cup {Guest Post}

Hi everyone!

I'm Sophie from My Happy Place...! I met Devi about a week ago when were assigned to guest post for each other during a Trading Blogs party!

I'm so happy we've had the opportunity to get to know each other a 

little, and post together! 

I am 14, and I have a passion for baking, photography, Paris, France {even though I haven't been there… YET!} and all things vintage… Stop by my blog sometime to learn a little bit about me and my baking endeavors! :)

Anyhoo… When we were talking back and forth thinking of ideas for our posts, Devi asked me to do something Mother's Day related… 

After thinking for awhile, French Toast in a Cup popped into mind!

I had seen it on Pinterest awhile ago and had been wanting to make it! So I thought now would be the perfect time to give it a shot!

I just LOVE all the single serving recipes that are out there! 

This stuff would be great to whip up for you special someone on Mother's Day because it is SO quick and easy… and of course delicious too! 

French Toast in a Cup

2 pieces of bread {whatever kind you like!}

1/2-1 egg {depending on how eggy you like it. I used 1/2 an egg because I'm picky about textures…}

3 tbsp. milk

sprinkle of cinnamon

a drop of vanilla {optional}

Cube your bread and butter the inside of a coffee cup. 

Place the bread inside the coffee cup of you choosing…

In a separate bowl, mix the egg, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Mix it all together with a fork and pour it into the cup.

Smoosh it down a little {but not too much. You want your bread to soak it all up!} and give it a minute to soak.

Stick your cup in the microwave. Start with a minute and add 10 seconds until it's cooked just how you like it. 

Bon Appetite! 

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Make sure you check out Sophie's blog - My Happy Place... She is an amazing baker and you are sure to love everything she makes! Also, while you're there you can check out the guest post that I did which includes a super yummy treat! :)

Lemon Pistachio Shortbread

I am seriously so excited that It's time to finally post this recipe! About a month ago I signed up for a little competition called "Get Your Chef On," which is hosted by the Awesome Jen at Four Marrs and One Venus and Julie at White Lights on Wednesday! It's basically an Iron Chef-esque challenge where you have a mystery ingredient and you make something with said mystery ingredient! How fun, right?

This is my first time ever entering and the mystery ingredient was "Lemons"! I was so excited to get started and I got to thinking right away. I knew I wanted to make something different, something that would "wow" them and make them think "Wow, Devi is the most AMAZING and talented girl ever!" So, what I came up with was a flavor combination that was out of this world. Something that no man or woman had ever dared to think of before... Something SO delicious, SO wonderful, that you can only truly appreciate it once you've tried it... Lemon & Pistachio. Yes, I went there. I went there and I'm so glad I did! I invented one of my all-time favorite cookies. It's sweet, sour, crunchy, lemony, pistachio-y and over-the-top delicious all at the same time. I strongly urge you to try this recipe if you want to be amazed. Plus, as an added bonus it's really beautiful. Buttery yellow with little hints of green throughout, topped with a pretty white drizzle.

I even took these little beauties in to share with some hungry teachers and their families. I was especially honored to receive an amazing compliment from one adorable little kindergartener who said "mmm I like how lemony they are. Mrs. McDonald is a magician in the kitchen!" My heart instantly melted, much like the tremendous amount of butter that is in these cookies. 

Lemon Pistachio Shortbread Recipe:   |Print Recipe|

1 cup salted butter (not too cold, but not completely room temperature either! I would leave it out of the fridge for about an hour)

4 tablespoons white sugar

4 tablespoons confectioners sugar

2 tsp fresh lemon zest

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2-1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

4 drops vanilla

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp sour cream or milk (I loved the sourness of the sour cream!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add lemon zest and lemon juice and mix to combine. Add pistachios and slowly mix in flour, 1/2 cup at a time.

On a floured surface, roll or press dough into a rectangle, about 1/2" thick. Using a pizza cutter, or a knife, cut into 3" sticks.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet, about 1" apart.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn golden. Remove cookies and allow them to cool.

While cookies are baking, combine confectioners sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and sour cream (or milk). 

Once cookies have cooled, use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the top. 

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Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

Here are some delicious recipes for your Cinco de Mayo fiesta!

Is it even possible to have a fiesta without Salsa? 

Honestly, this is one of those recipes that just knocks your socks off.

You really can't go wrong when there's tri tip involved. You just can't.

Throw this in the crockpot in the morning and you will have taken care of dinner and if you save some and throw it in some scrambled eggs, you'll have breakfast the next morning!

This "crazy" chicken makes a delicious addition to any Cinco de Mayo party!

It's beefy. It's cheesy. It's a beefy, cheesy casserole and it's good. That's really all I have to say about it.

I crave these. Now that i'm looking at them... I'm craving them so hard.

Make any of the above dishes and pair it with this rice and your family will thank you, love you and they may even do the dishes. Try it and see what happens.

Is there anything I'd rather have for dessert on Cinco de Mayo? No, sir.

Spanish Rice

I'm going to keep this post simple and sweet because well, I have to get my daughter to school like... right now. Sooooo, all you lovely people will just have to bare with me as I keep this post to a minimum. Do you think you can do that? I appreciate it. I mean, I really and truly wish I could sit here and write a long, detailed post about all the amazing things happening in my life. But, well, let's face it, there's really nothing that amazing going on in my life right now anyways. If I were going to write a long post, I would probably be here for hours trying to come up with a story, or a funny little anecdote. But, unfortunately, there is simply no time for this. My daughter is sitting on the couch just waiting for me and waiting for me... and I really must go now! 

Here is my version of spanish rice. This is the same recipe *with a little tweaking* that my husband used to make for me when we were dating. He liked to impress me by cooking for me and making me wonderful meals. He really and truly knew the way to my heart, and he still does!

Easy Spanish Rice Recipe:   

{Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic (minced)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups white rice
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 2 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 3 cups water

Directions:

In a large pan (with a lid) over medium heat, add oil and heat. Once oil is hot, add garlic and onions. Sautee for 4-5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. 

Add rice and stir. Allow rice to cook for about 2 minutes, then add your tomato sauce your water and your chicken bouillon cubes.

Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to simmer.

Cook for about 20 minutes, or until rice is no longer "sticky".

Country Breakfast Enchiladas

Once I get something stuck in my head, especially when it comes to food, it is nearly impossible for me to forget about it until my taste buds have been satisfied. This weekend has been quite a story. A story of tragedy, inspiration and finally, a long awaited victory. 

The weekend started out like any other weekend, with me getting up at the crack of dawn. No matter how tired I am from the week and how much I look forward to sleeping in on Saturday mornings, it just never seems to happen. As my husband and daughter peacefully slept into the late hours of the morning, I sat on the computer and browsed recipe after recipe, basically just torturing my stomach. You know that feeling when you are having a food craving, but you just can't figure out what it is that you want? That was me. My search seemed endless...

About the time I was about to give up on my food quest, I had a moment of clarity. What I wanted was a beautiful breakfast mixture, full of eggs, bacon and cheese, all wrapped up in a cozy tortilla. But it wasn't a burrito...No, no! What I wanted was a hybrid, a love-child, if you will,  of a good ol' country breakfast and a warm, cheesy, enchilada. It would be glorious!

Just as I sprung from my chair to head into the kitchen to make my vision a reality, my late-waking husband was walking into the kitchen to get some coffee and reminded me that we had a birthday party we needed to be at! Darn. My dreams were shattered. Still, my daughter was very much looking forward to this party, as was I, so out the door we ran.

I'm going to be honest with you, while my body was physically present at the party, my heart was at home, in my kitchen, with my delicious little creation. I obsessed over it.

To make a long story, short...er.... Sunday came and went, with too many activities to fulfill my culinary obligation to myself and I feared that I would have to wait until the next weekend to finally make my creation. But then It happened... after my husband and I dropped my daughter off at school on Monday morning, my husband turned to me and said "You know what i'm really craving? A breakfast burrito." Clearly this was fate.

Country Breakfast Enchiladas:   |Print Recipe|

12 eggs 

1/2 pound of bacon 

3 medium potatoes (diced into 1/4" cubes)

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons butter

Salt & pepper 

12 flour tortillas

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided into 12 parts)

1 package country gravy mix (prepared according to directions. I could have made my own, but I was lazy!)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

Sliced green onions (garnish)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease your baking dishes. I use a large lasagna pan. 

In a large pan over medium heat, place oil and butter. Once heated, season potatoes with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook for 12-14 minutes, or until potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

While potatoes are cooking, in skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and place on paper towels to drain. When it's cool enough, crumble and break it up into smaller pieces. 

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, season with salt and pepper, and pour into the same skillet you cooked the bacon in (yes...grease and all! Yum). Cook eggs over medium heat for about 2 minutes, then add bacon pieces and potatoes to egg mixture. Cook until it's the consistency you like.

Place 1 tablespoon of gravy onto each tortilla, 1/12 of the cheese and 1/12 of the egg mixture and roll. Place into the baking dish. Repeat with all 12 tortillas. Pour remaining gravy over the top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes, or until cheese is melted and everything is nice and hot!

Garnish with sliced green onions.