Spinach Ravioli Bake

When I saw this recipe from Mrs.Tuna, I was especially attracted to these words: spinach, mushroom, easiest recipe ever. Turns out she wasn't kidding about the easy part; it's super easy! She only forgot to mention one thing; it's delicious!!

15 oz. package frozen cheese ravioli (or your own homemade, if you are Susie Homemaker)

6 oz package fresh baby spinach

1 24-oz jar spaghetti sauce (or your own...)

1 cup mozzarella cheese 

Optional, mushrooms, but really--who doesn't like mushrooms? (Never mind.), sauteed in butter and crushed garlic. If you're aiming for hardened arteries, don't drain the butter off.

This recipe is SO easy. Mrs. Tuna said you only need one pan, but I used two--Mix everything together in a nice, big bowl, and then plop it into a 2-quart, casserole dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (Someone should think of a quicker way to say that, like "a SWNSCS casserole dish" or "a slicked-up casserole dish" or something like that (I'll keep working on it).

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes (covered). Uncover, add mozzarella, and bake 15 more minutes. YUM

Cake Pop Kids

I first got into the cake pop thing after landing on Bakerella's blog and buying her book for Kendall. Kendall was too busy with school--classes, prom, final exams, getting her driver's license, etc. to barely open it, but I figured it could be a fun little hobby for her.  She loved the cake pops I made, and when she finally wrapped up her A.P.European History exam, she decided it was time to play!  She made her first batch on Wednesday, and they were so wildly received at school that she and her friend, Kelsey, excitedly made some more, this time for A.P. classmates.

That little bottle in her hand is worth its weight in gold, btw!

A little messy (she's learning). 

I suggested she decorate before putting them in the cute little paper cups,

 but what do I know?! :)

You know you've been making cake pops when...

Cake pops, cake balls, goof balls...It's all good!

Baby Shower Cake Pops

In case you haven't noticed, I've got a new hobby--making cake pops. 

Inspired by Bakerella's book, Cake Pops, I've been having a lot of fun! 

Recently, I googled "Baby Shower Cake Pops" and found a super-cute baby cake pop photo 

(which I can no longer find, of course). 

My colleague, Tina, is about to "pop," so what better treat to bring to her baby shower 

at school tomorrow!  I had so much fun making these!

I used Bakerella's Basic Cake Pops recipe and used the following ingredients to finish my them off:

Dark Chocolate Cake

Milk Chocolate Frosting

Wilton white/vanilla candy melts

Dark Chocolate Candy Coating purchased at my local cake decorating store

a black "candy marker"

cupcake liners

tiny fabric ribbon

a Styrofoam base on which to display the cake pops

cotton candy for the "bed" of my display

Obviously, I went with white candy melts for some of these. I have to admit; they're not my favorite, 

but I didn't know where to find "white" chocolate on short notice. 

I also used dark chocolate candy coating, because that's my favorite, 

and I love the results...soooo cute! 

(It's hard to see in the photos, but they are adorable in normal lighting.

Sadly, I had one "crack baby."

And this one is the first one I made (and my favorite)...

It was a messy job at times, but the process was fun and not hard at all (just lots of steps).

How could it not be fun, with these little cuties staring at you all night?

For what it's worth, they are easy to make; it's just time-consuming. You can easily make the dough and roll the pops ahead of time.  You can also keep them in the fridge (air-tight container or foil covered) for days;
I've eaten week-old pops that are still fantastic.

So, don't you wish you were pregnant?

(Me neither.)

But I'm pretty sure Tina's gonna be glad she is!

Note: Making these took me five hours (I told you it's a hobby!) If I make them again, it will probably go a little quicker.  If I were to sell these cake pops, I wouldn't make them for less than $100, considering the labor and materials. (That's about $2.40 each.) So, yeah; it's not something I'd do every day, but I'm really glad I made them, because I know they'll be a hit tomorrow at the shower!

Sweet 16th Cupcake Wars Birthday Bash!

This post is simply some videos from the "Cupcake Wars" birthday party we threw for my daughter's birthday. It's for us, certainly, to refer back to when reminiscing, but also for anyone looking for fun ideas for such a party.

First, the surprise (Kendall knew she was having a party but had no idea what kind):

Then, the intro....

After baking, the girls presented the inspiration for their cupcakes...

And a little bit of the judging....Our "Simon," Mr.4444!

We also enjoyed pizza (that we baked while the cupcakes were being decorated)!

In fact, after two hours, I had to ask the girls to wrap up the baking/decorating, 

because we still had to eat and do the presentations.

As it was, the party lasted four fun hours!

The only thing I forgot to do was put all of the cupcakes together and put candles in them for a "cake."

I did that later, at home, and it was okay, but everyone was sick of cupcakes by then, of course.

All in all, the party was a huge success and one no one will soon forget.  

I highly recommend having a "Cupcake Wars" birthday party! :)

Candy Writer Fail?

I bought these "Candy Writers" to decorate my Easter Egg Cake Pops, and for about 30 minutes, they worked, but overall, I am really not happy with them, so I thought I'd warn you.  I followed instructions on the tubes, and they seemed warmed up well enough, but I just could not get the yellow one to come out more than one time. How strange is that?! The other two colors worked for my eggs, but after that, they were useless. I'm sure I can get my money back if I take them back to the store I got them from, but I'm not happy about the hassle. I'm new at the sweet-decorating thing, so if you have a product you love that does the same thing (adds fine detail in bright colors that aren't gels), let me know, please :)

Update: I left the tubes sitting next to my computer for about an hour before I picked one up and noticed that it had warmed up again, due to the "exhaust" from my computer on that side. Out of curiosity, I picked it up, took the cover off, and tried it out (on my finger). It worked.  How funny.  Also, I finally figured out that it's cheaper and easier to simply buy a little, plastic, cake decorating bottle and fill it with melted candy coating to decorate with. Works like a charm :)

Cake Pop Fragments

So much to say about cake pops that I decided to put them here, rather than at Half-Past Kissin' Time.

Difference Makers and I made a bunch of cake pops tonight.

I made some Easter Egg Cake Pops/Bites over the weekend. Visit this post for pics.

My sister Judy made the cutest cake pops for Easter. Aren't they adorable?!

She also made some amazing graduation cake pops, just for fun...

Incredible, no?

For my next trick, I will make baby boy cake pops for a baby shower. 

You will love them.

I've gotten such a kick out of turning so many people on to Bakerella's book. 

It's a joy to have inspired people to have so much fun. 

  I look forward to seeing more of your creations in the coming months. 

 Thanks, Bakerella!

Bakerella's Cake Pops

These cake pops are so popular, I so far keep forgetting to get photos of them before they are all gone! I'll keep working on that. For now, please accept this shot, taken by Angie Dudley, a.k.a. Bakerella.

I learned about Cake Pops/Cake Bites/Cake Balls a couple of weeks ago and have made three batches already. I'm serious about how good they are---EVERYone absolutely loves them. I bought Bakerella's book, Cake Pops for Kendall's birthday party, and I had to try them out. Although I am putting the recipe basics here, I highly recommend the book; it is very detailed (yet user-friendly) and filled with inspiration. You can find it everywhere, but I bought mine at Target for about $15.

Basic Recipe:
A boxed cake (and accompanying ingredients--usually 3 eggs, oil, and water) I prefer Dark Chocolate flavored)
1 container of ready-made frosting (I prefer milk chocolate flavored)
almond bark or candy coating (I strongly prefer melts from Creative Cake Supply in Green Bay)

Optional:
sucker sticks (paper is best), for if you want to make cake pops
tiny cupcake paper thingies
sprinkles/candies

Basically, all you have to do....

[Hmm. Should I really make this sound easy? Maybe I should keep that to myself, so I can be admired like I was today at work when I shared these. I kind of like the illusion that I am a fancy, talented chef. Nah--I'm too nice to keep it to myself--You win.]

All you do is bake a cake, cool it, crumble it up (directions for novices, like me, are in the book). Add 2/3 can of frosting, and mix it together using the back of a spoon or spatula. Chill. (The dough, silly.)

After several hours in the fridge (or 15 minutes in the freezer, apparently), take some of the dough out (keep the rest cold) and roll it into little balls with your hands, washing (and drying) your hands every so often (when they get too sticky). Treat it like Play-doh, and make sure there are no cracks.  Place the balls on wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Put the balls in the fridge while you roll the rest of the dough.

Put the candy coating disks in a microwave-safe bowl and melt them. Bakerella recommends 30 seconds at 50% power, stirring and repeating until melted. Drop the balls, one at a time, into the candy coating (or put them on sticks and dip them). Use a teaspoon to lift the ball out, tap the excess coating off and carefully place on a cookie sheet.  This is the part that takes a little finesse; be prepared to eat a few mistakes!

THIS IS IMPORTANT: The coating dries quickly--If you're going to sprinkle stuff on it, now's the time to do it! If you're going to get all fancy like the book and make adorable faces, etc. on the cake balls, you'll have to follow the directions in the book.

After the cake pops are dry (5-10 minutes), you can put them in decorative little cupcake papers or stand the pops up on a styrofoam block. They also make cute display boxes for them. I keep my cake pops cold, but that's just my preference.  The cake pops last a long time in the fridge. For example, tonight (Thursday), I ate some from Kendall's party last Saturday, and they were still excellent! (cover with plastic wrap or keep in an air-tight container.

Oh, and if you don't have decorative sprinkles, you can just drizzle melted candy coating across the cooled pops--It looks very pretty.

For the record, Walmart has a wonderful selection of cake baking paraphernalia, but I just do not get the same results from their melts; I would rather go without than use theirs.

I have so far made these with:
*dark chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting, coated with dark chocolate melts (my favorite)
*yellow cake with vanilla frosting, dipped in chocolate (wonderful)
*strawberry cake with vanilla frosting, dipped in white chocolate (not candy coating). These were sickeningly sweet. Next time, I'll avoid white chocolate and stick to white candy coating, maybe.

I've also made these labors of love for a baby shower.  It's one of my most popular blog posts to date.

So now, I'm thinking of finding a way to sneak some crunchy peanut butter inside the dark chocolate cake pops.

Be still, my heart!