April Fools on me....Cake Pops

I was having a conversation with some other moms on the playground and discussing a cake pop company in the city we live.  I needed a dessert for a party and thought I would just order some cakepops.  I have never made them before and if someone else can do it, why not.

Well when I looked them up on the web, their cake pops are $30 a dozen.  Not wanting to spend $120 on cake balls, as I would need close to 4 dozen, I decided I would try my hands at making them. How hard can cake mix and frosting be.  I have a drawer full of chocolate discs already. (I can buy a lot of boxed mix and canned frosting for $120)
Of course I went to the queen of cakepops, Bakerella's website for some advice.  I also watched a few utube videos to get the correct technique.

I happened to have a 9 inch cake leftover from St. Patrick's Day cupcakes in my freezer so I could get started right away!

Well, this is what I came up with.....The trick was on me this time.

The kids said they were edible.  Granted they tasted sweet and delicious but not going to be at any party I was going to!

I had given up, and thought maybe I will order cupcakes.....$20 a dozen. Really??
 I spoke to a friend on the phone who just made the most adorable baby cakepops for a shower and got a few hints from her as well as a motivational talk if you will:)

I waited a few days to get out of my sinus infection fog and tried again following her tips: place in the freezer for 15 minutes.  I also kept the chocolate over a double boiler to see if that would help with the coating.

Well I am no Bakerella, I can not sell these, but I will be serving them to people!!

I also tested something I had not tried before.  I had some white chocolate left over, too much to throw away.  I decided I would adorn these pops.  I used some Gel food coloring and successfully dyed the chocolate.  Just quickly placed it in a baggie and clipped the ends off.  Not beautiful but a change from sprinkles.

I think Cake pops are adorable and always amazed at the creations of people but now I an say, been there done that....

Sushi anyone...Before you say no look more carefully.

As I was getting a few items at Target the other day I saw a book about kids snacks sitting in the Easter aisle.  I briefly browsed through it and saw candy sushi.  I know this is not a new phenomenon but something I had not done before.  Plus I thought it would be an great trick to pull on April Fool's Day.

My kids happen to enjoy some sushi, mainly california rolls so they, in fact, might be
disappointed to find these in their lunch boxes.  But those folks who might be disgusted by raw fish, will be pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients are up to you but basics to have:
Rice Cereal
Marshmallows
Fruit roll ups or by the foot--find all green for more realistic looking:)
Swedish fish, I found multicolored ones
Other candies, jelly beans, peeps etc.


Make a your favorite rice krisipies recipe.

While still pliable, grab a handful and mold into your sushi shape.   For rolls you may want to add the candy first and then roll them around it.

Use the fruit roll ups as you would the Nori--green seaweed around the rolls.

For the hand rolls I think the larger fruit roll ups would work much better.

Your kids will love making them too.

Hand Roll-should have cut fish in half

Unfortunately, these only stay fresh a day or so.

Ironically one of my friends emailed me about peepshi.  I had never heard about it but pretty funny use of the peeps that are all around this time of year.  Basically sushi made with peeps.

What other fun tricks do you have up your sleeve.  Love to share links this week if you want to leave a comment!!

April Fools Day--Lunch trick

Although this day already holds a special place in my heart as it is my birthday, this year I am celebrating a milestone. .    So I am in the process of coming up with a good trick for my kids but thought I would share this one that I did last year and never posted.  See the post from last year for more ideas

I usually have a box of Smuckers Uncrustables in my freezer for those days I do not have sandwich food or just too plain lazy to make them.   The night before April Fools Day last year, when the kids were asleep, I started experimenting.

I used a large mouthed glass cup to cut out circles out of bread.  I then cut the sandwich meat and cheese out of circles.

Then I carefully opened an uncrustable and removed the sandwich.  Put them in a freezer bag and placed them back into the freezer.

I put the circle sandwich together and then used a fork to replicate the pattern around of the uncrustable.

Put the new sandwich into the PB& J bag and reseal with double stick tape.

Bam, when the kids pull out their lunch they will be surprised that it was not peanut butter.  NOTE: Do not do this in a peanut free school you will cause an uproar!

Sticker You Review

When I was approached by a company to Stickeryou.com to review their product and wasn't sure what to expect.


I initially went on their site and was overwhelmed with the amount of variety they have.  You can make decals, car stickers, all types of labels, skate board stickers, company promotional material to name a few.  I was not sure which way I was going to choose.  I really did not need any holiday themed items and my kids all had name labels.


I waited for them to come home and check out the hundreds of graphics available.  Then each sheet becomes your canvas. You choose the size of the sticker and what wording you want.  They also have some premade sheets if you are not in the mood to be creative.


I chose to make a few to and from stickers for my children to add to the birthday gifts they give.  

I also found my children's school's symbol and made them stickers with each of their names to add to notebooks etc.  The best part is many of the graphics can change color. Just like these paw prints which were white initially on their website.

I was impressed with the stickers when they arrived.  They were sturdy and very brightly colored.


Make adorable stickers for birthday parties or hostess gifts. Give yourself sometime to browse your options.


Definitely check out www.stickeryou.com and see the tons of possibilities available to you.



They have offered my readers a discount code15off30-IKTSK to use on orders. You will have until 4/10/2011 to use this code on your orders in which you will receive 15% off your sticker page(s) (not incl. shipping). Wow, spread the word!!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

New and Healthy Twist to Quesadillas

Found this recipe in Everyday Cooking Magazine and was thrilled to try it out. Kids love the traditional glob of shredded cheddar cheese in a flour tortilla. I do make it a little healthy as I mostly use whole wheat tortillas.

When I saw goat cheese and Mango together I definitely was intrigued. Not a flavor combination I have put together before. The best part is that the article suggests that a take out quesadilla has 284 calories and this homemade version fills you with only 156.

Knew my husband and I would enjoy these but the real test was the kids.

Well 1 out of the 3 really enjoyed it. I think if I skipped the onions it may be better received. I thought not only were these easy enough to make I think they would make a great appetizer for guests if sliced into small triangles.

Goat Cheese and Mango Quesadillas

4 ounces fresh goat cheese, room temp.
6 whole wheat tortillas
1 large, ripe mango, peeles, pittted and thinly sliced. Key is ripe mango and see pic below for easy to way to slice it thinly.
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced. (my opinion this is optional)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1. Spread goat cheese on tortillas. Divide mango, onion, jalapano and cilantro on one half of each tortilla. Fold tortilla over filling.

2. Heat a very large heavy skillet over medium-high. Owrking in batches, cook quesadillas until cheese softens and tortillas are crisp and browned in spots, 1 to 2 mins per side. Transfer to cutting board and cut into 4 wedges. Serve immediately.
Serves 8. (as an appetizer I can eat at least one whole one!)

Candy Land Game Key Chain Review

Wow the second thing I received after my vacation to review was this portable Candy Land game keychain. By no means was the excitement lost by being at home as my youngest son gets to sit in the carpool line with me for 20 minutes each day. Of course my older children had the package open before I could even take a picture.

The quality of the product is very sturdy. The key chain itself has a strong attachment that would work well on a back pack or travel bag. The one concern I had for this game is that it only had 8 cards. I know the one at home has a ton. Also the words on the board are a little hard to read because they are in such a small font.

The 2 people are magnetic so there is no trouble with a bumpy car ride or turbulent airplane. However, out of the 8 cards, 2 of them are candy cards. You know go directly to that candy on the board...but these are at the very beginning of the game. So my 4 year old got very frustrated every time one came up. At one point he "lost" the card and just played with the colored squares.

I have never actually played to see if someone won, I assume the makers did. The one advantage of this way of playing is that it will last for a long time. You could probably drive cross country or fly over the atlantic and the game will still be going on.

The other games that Wholesale Key Chains make are definitely worth trying like Connect 4, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Battleship or Bop IT. I even noticed Monopoly which would be interesting to test out. I think these would make great easter basket presents as well. The Board games retail on the site for $7.99.

To check out their selections Visit Wholesale Key Chains.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

St Patrick's Day Cupcakes with a little trick too!

I received an email for a grasshopper cake recipe. I thought that would be a great idea but did not want a full cake sitting around and also thought I could use a similar concept with cupcakes.

Even though I am only Irish by marriage, I love the trick playing of this holiday. Don't get me wrong when I was younger I went on pub crawls but as a mother of three that is not that realistic.

I thought I would make a few cupcakes just plain with green frosting for them to taste the day or so before St. Patrick's Day and then some on St. Patrick's Day with a green twist. So you might want to try to make these without the kids watching if you want to surprise them!!

For my family I decided to make only 12 cupcakes and freeze a 9 inch circle for another occasion.

All you need is your

1. Favorite yellow or white cake recipe or box mix as I used
2. Green food coloring
3. White icing can or homemade
4. Peppermint extract (optional)
5. Green sprinkles (optional)

I made the recipe per the box but kept out about 1 cup of batter. I dyed it green with the food coloring.(you can also flavor it with peppermint if desired)

Then I added it to the top of 6 cupcakes. Next time I would add a little plain cake batter, a little green and then top it off with plain cake batter. Swirl the batters only slightly with a toothpick and bake according to the recipe.

After the cupcakes have cooled, add a teaspoon or so of peppermint extract to the frosting if you family likes that flavor and tint with more food coloring. You could also only flavor half of the frosting to trick the kids even more!

Frost the green cupcakes first so you don't get them mixed up and add some green sprinkles if desired. Frost the other ones and make a little different pattern so they are not confused. I did not add sprinkles to the plain ones and told my kids that the other ones were more decorative for ST. Patrick's Day.

When the kids get a taste of the cupcakes the day or so before they will just be eating a plain cupcake.

After the Leprechauns have had their fun, the kids will find a green surprise in their cupcakes too!! How did those clever Leprechauns do that!!

Have a great ST. Patrick's Day as aren't we all a little Irish on this day? Also come visit the St Patrick's Day Blog Crawl.

Lephrecaun Trick or SImple Science Experiment

When my son brought home a white carnation from church a few weeks ago I thought about an experiement we used to do with food coloring when I was a child.

Recut the stem slightly and add to a vase. Simply add enough food color to make the water change into a deep version of your color. After several hours the petals and stem change into the color of the food dye chosen. We first used blue and the kids loved watching the flower change. A teaching moments of how a flower drinks.

After that I thought I don't ever remembering trying 2 colors. We emptied the blue water and recut the stem and used red food coloring. The effect took much longer and not as dramatic. I imagined a rainbow flower but no chance!

As I was doing this I thought what a wonderful St. Patrick's Day trick. All you need to do is buy an inexpensive white carnation from the grocery store and place it in a vase. (non glass may be more shocking) After the kid go to sleep, add some green food coloring and by the time they awake in the morning, the silly lephrecaun will have spread some Irish onto the flower.

If the kids can see the colored water it may be less believable and shocking!! For more St. Patrick's Day Tricks reread this post.

Also don't miss out of these money saving opportunites:

SKIN MD Shielding Lotion Review

One of my son's has dry skin and we have tried other products to help prevent it. He would often go rub it off because he did not like the greasy feeling.

When we received our free sample of Skin MD=Shielding lotion he did not complain. I applied it to my hands as well and noticed how quickly it absorbs into your skin and leaves no greasy residue. My hands felt instantly soft as well.

It comes out very watery compared to other brands of lotions but you don't need that much to get the affect. I was a little hesitant at first because of this, but it leaves your skin soft and residue free. My other son also had no complaints when I applied to his legs for this review!

I also noticed my husband's forehead was dry after our spring break trip and he applied it to his face. It cleared up with only a few applications. He did say it tingled a little bit.

The advertising showed improvements of extreme skin conditions and we don't have those issues here so no before and after shots to share. Visit their website for that.

Another cool fact about this product is that it is "Skin MD Natural and Skin MD Natural + SPF 15 are manufactured in the United States using 100% solar power, free of animal products and animal testing". It also says VEGAN if that is a concern for you!

It is not poison ivy season yet here but this is one benefit I am willing to test out.

Gardening

Protects skin from gardening chemicals while helping to prevent skin irritation caused by poison oak, sumac and ivy

Read the SKIN MD's website for a lot more info and try it yourself. I will buy the SPF 15 next time as we can all use the extra sun protection.

WHERE TO BUY: Just follow the link to store locator on their site. When I added our zip code small pharmacies as well as Walgreens and CVS came up.

The 4oz bottle I received (pictured above) should last 1 to 2 months. (longer if only on small areas such as face) and retails at $18. Not bad for a quality product. Also on line they offer different deals for the more bottles you buy as well as free shipping. For more info, your own free sample and purchasing options visit here!!

Mini Pies-Guest Blogger

Last Days to enter Pendant Giveaway

In honor of National Pie Day, March 14th, I thought you would enjoy this post and my first time guest blogger!

My name is Michelle, aka the Fun On a Dime Lady, from Fun On A Dime. If you are looking for some inexpensive fun for the whole family, you should come over and check out the fun we are having. There are a lot of yummy recipes, crafts, games and many more fun ideas to keep you and your children busy. Come join the fun every Friday for Friday Brag Fest and show off the fun you have been having with your family!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Pie Day coming on March 14th (3.14 - get it? :-D ) I thought it would be fun to share our favorite pie recipe...these Mini Pies! We love to make multiple types of pies, so we do not have to worry about cutting a huge pie and all the mess (and leftovers) that go with it. We get to try apple, pumpkin and whatever else we want to make and not feel guilty that we are eating too much! Just perfect for our small family! My husband says that these are even better than regular apple pie, especially when they were super juicy. Yum, yum, yum!

Here I will show you how to make Mini Apple Pies, but you can use the crust portion of this recipe and substitute your favorite pie filling for the apple pie filling. I hope you like this!

What You Need:

• Your favorite pie crust - store bought or made from scratch
  
  • the flour, salt, butter/shortening, water kind of recipe
  
  
• Apple Mix
  
  • 6 chopped apples (peeling is optional)
  • 2 T lemon juice (adjust to taste, we love lemon)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon (to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (to taste, a little less if you do not like nutmeg)
  • 1/4 cup Craisins (optional - we chopped ours up)
  
  
• Crumb Topping - Yummy!
  
  • 3/4 cups flour
  • 3/4 cups brown sugar
  • 5 T butter
  
  
• Cupcake pan
• Cupcake liners
• Rolling pin or a solid cup/glass
• Yogurt or sour cream lid
• 2 med-large mixing bowls
• 1 small mixing bowl
• Pastry cutter/fork

* Bake at 375 Degrees

Directions:

Step 1: Prepare your apple mix using recipe above in a medium sized bowl. Peel your apples if you do not like the skins baked. I do not mind them, my husband prefers them peeled! Add all the ingredients together and if you have time, let them sit in the fridge and soak. They will get quite juicy the longer it sits. I also suggest tasting to make sure it is the flavor you like. We like a lot of lemon and cinnamon, so start out light if you are unsure.

Step 2: Prepare crumb topping. Add sugar and flour together. Then cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry cutter. Make sure the butter is not melted, just soft like it has been sitting out of the fridge. Set aside. And just in case you do not know what cutting the butter is check out here. It is the same concept with a fork as with the pastry cutter.

Step 3: Prepare cupcake pan with liners prior to making the pie crust and preheat oven to 375 Degrees.

Step 4: Make (or buy) a basic pie crust. Nothing fancy just the kind with flour, water, butter/shortening and a bit of salt. Any should work.

Step 5: On a large, well floured surface roll out your dough really thin. I did it until I could see the counter through the dough. If you have difficulty rolling your dough out, save some muscle and put it in the microwave on defrost for 10 or so seconds at a time until it is slightly warm. It makes it a lot easier to roll out, but it will shrink on you this way so be quick! Make sure you flour the surface of the dough as well, so your "rolling pin" is not sticking to it.

Step 6: Use a lid the size from a sour cream or a large yogurt container to cut your pie crust into mini circles (see above picture). Place/press each circle once cut into the cupcake pan/liner immediately. The edges will overlap a little. If necessary, stretch it out a little as pressing.

Step 7: Once all the mini pies are made, Add apple mix to the mini pies. Fill it 2/3 - 3/4 full. Make sure you grab a spoonful or two of the juice and put it in. The first batch I made was quite a bit drier than the second without the additional juice.

Step 8: Sprinkle on crumb topping, covering all the apple mix

Step 9: Place on top of another pan to catch drippings and bake in the oven until you can hear the juices sizzling/bubbling. Approximately 15-20 minutes. There should be a slight golden brown look to the top. But you know it is done because you can hear the juice, so if you hear the juice and it is not golden brown, go with your gut!

Step 10: Definitely share these, because they are addicting if you are a pie lover!

Enjoy!

* Although I did not use any little helpers for this one, if you are not in a rush, it is a very easy recipe to let them help!

~ Michelle (aka The Fun On A Dime Lady)

Emeril's Nutty Granola Bars

I saw this recipe in my March Everyday Cooking Magazine. I have never attempted granola bars before so I was intrigued. My children love the quaker oats chewy bars so I thought I would try this one in which I knew exactly what was going into it.

I had most of the ingredients on hand. I did not have enough almonds so I add some walnuts as well. I also added a few mini chocolate chips at the end, hoping to entice them a little bit.

Be sure to watch the oats and nuts in the oven, mine started to burn in about 15 minutes, they suggest 20. Don't go answer the door or make a phone call while making these or you waste a lot of wholesome ingredients.

I was excited to try them. The kids were less then thrilled. They took a few bites and said they were ok. One of my children brought some on her field trip the next day and said half the kids liked them and the other half did not care for them. I really enjoyed the freshness of the granola bars and knowing I was not eating something processed. Also I did not have slivered almonds so I chopped them and really like the taste of the nut in each bite. I think I ate most of the batch.

My guess is that if they never tried the sweeter packaged version, they would enjoy these more. I continue to eat them for a breakfast treat. They are best eaten within a few days, the recipe suggests 5 but that is pushing it!!

Enter to win an adorable pendant from Tara Plays With Paper that I am hosting.. Only a few days left. Enter Here

RECIPE

3/4 cup Honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/3 cups slivered almonds (6 ozs)
coarse salt
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit
1/3 cup creamy almond butter or other nut butter (I used crunchy natural peanut butter)
1/4 cup light brown sugar


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8- or 9- inch square baking pan and line with parchment. Lightly grease the parchment and set aside. This was not on the original recipe but much easier to get out.

Combine 1/4 cup honey and butter in a small saucepan and heat until butter is melted and honey is hot. 2 mins.


In a large bowl combine oats, almonds and a pinch of salt. Drizzle honey mixture over oat mixture and stir to combine. Spread mixture evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 mins, stirring occasionally.

When oats come out of the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer to a large bowl and add raisins,and chocolate chips (optional) and stir to thoroughly combine.


In saucepan, combine 1/2 cup honey, almond butter, and brown sugar over medium. Cook, stirring occasionally until mixture comes to a boil and sugar dissolves. 10 mins. Drizzle over oat mixture and stir until combined.


Transfer mixture to the prepared baking pan.

Cut a piece of wax paper and place on top of the granola mixture.

Using your hands, press the granola mixture very firmly into the pan. Remove wax paper and discard. Refrigerate until firm, about an hr.

Bake the granola for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Remove from the pan by pulling up on the edges of the parchment. Using a sharp knife, cut into 10 (or desired number) even bars.
Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve.

Yield: 10 to 20 servings, depending on the size of the bars