Rigatoni in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ever try one of those dinners that are great the first time around....and the second? third?? This delicious pasta dish made three rounds in my house (after serving some time in our freezer) and you know what? It was just as tasty as the first day we ate it. My poor husband always has to hear me go on and on about how wonderful it is that I can put a dinner that tastes amazing in front of us that only took some thawing time in the fridge and a quick zap in the microwave and not have to spend the time in the kitchen to prepare it.

This rigatoni is simple but don't let that fool you! It is not lacking in flavor, or texture. It has diced up pepperoni (which as a bonus for me, I happened to already have some leftover in the fridge, which if you don't, well then you have an excuse to make some homemade pizza the next night!) in the sauce which adds the perfect amount of saltiness that there is no need to add any. Another bonus? the basil--yum!! .....hey, top any leftovers of that on that pizza too ;) Enough from me, here is the recipe!

Rigatoni in Creamy Tomato Sauce
(recipe found on allyou.com)

2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 oz finely diced pepperoni
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C dry white wine
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 C heavy cream
16 oz rigatoni
1/4 C finely chopped fresh basil

In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add pepperoni and onion, cook until onion is soft, stirring occasionally about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, saute about 1 min more.

Add wine and cook until almost evaporated, stirring frequently 2-3 min. Stir in tomatoes and sugar bringing to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15-20 min. Stir in heavy cream.

Meanwhile, cook rigatoni noodles as package directs. Drain and add noodles to the sauce, toss to coat. Fold in basil, serve immediately, you won't want to wait!

BBQ Turkey Burgers w/ Mushrooms

How was everyone's Christmas? Mine was great! It was our first holiday spent away from family in our hometown but we managed to keep with our traditions. I'm sad to see the excitement of the Christmas season go...the decorations, music, and all the magic the holiday brings. I am excited however, for a new year to begin and all the great new adventures that await!

Since the holidays, I have neglected my blog for a few days and was not able to get any posts out there....so this fabulous burger will make up for that! Now, I have never met a burger I didn't like, but this one is certainly up there on my top 10.

This burger is very moist, full of flavor, and a little messy. You will be ok as long as you don't set it down between bites...but c'mon, you won't want to set this one down!  ;)

BBQ Turkey Burgers w/ Mushrooms
serves 4

1 lb ground turkey
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg white
3/4 C diced onion
1/4 C water
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 C bbq sauce, divided (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
4 slices sliced provolone
1 tomato, sliced
4 cheese-topped rolls, split

  Combine turkey, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, pepper, egg white and onions in a large bowl. Form into four patties.

Add 1 tbsp oil to large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add turkey burgers to pan, lower heat to medium. Brush tops of burgers with 1/8 C BBQ Sauce. Cook 4 min. Flip burgers, brush over with 1/8 C BBQ sauce. Cooking an additional 4 min.

To the skillet, add 1/4 C water and quickly cover with a lid, leaving a small open gap to allow some steam to escape. Reduce heat to low, cook another 4 min. Top with burgers with cheese slices; cover, cook 1 more minute until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in small saute pan, add remaining 1 TBSP olive oil. Heat over med heat. Add mushrooms, cook until tender, stir in  1/4 C remaining BBQ sauce. Heat through, set aside.

To assemble: Place burger over bottom half of bun. Top with tomato slices and mushrooms. Cover with top bun.

Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

I love cupcakes! I adore everything about them. They are not only a favorite dessert of mine, but I also choose to decorate my kitchen with them ;)  You know of another love of mine?? CHOCOLATE! Yes, you can never go wrong with a good chocolate cupcake...or one with a smooth buttercream to finish it off! Of course a cupcake can still be fabulous with out the frosting...but then come on, we might as well just call it a muffin! These cupcakes will leave you satisfied. They are easy to make and super moist! I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do!


15.25oz pkg Devils Food Cake Mix, such as Betty Crocker Super Moist
5.9oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
1 C canola oil
1/2 C warm water
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C sour cream

Preheat oven to 350º. Line muffin tins with 24 muffin cups, or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cake mix and pudding mix, set aside.

In medium bowl, with an electric mixer on low speed, mix together water, oil, and eggs until blended. Pour into cake mixture and add sour cream, mix on medium until just combined, scraping down sides with spatula as necessary.

Using an ice cream scoop, evenly divide batter among cups. Bake for 19-20 minutes until cakes spring back when touched lightly. Allow to cool in pan 10 min before moving cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, prepare your frosting:

2 C butter, softened
7 C confectioners' sugar
2 tsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugar, and salt until blended. Add milk and vanilla, beat until desired consistency ( about 5 min). Add in food coloring of choice (opt.) Frost cupcakes. (frosting is for 24 cupcakes)

Chocolate Coated Marshmallow Red Velvet Cookies

These scrumptious soft & gooey little cookies conclude my holiday baking (which in my opinion, went out with a bang!) These cookies are amazingly addictive, I promise you will want more then just one. I found this in Miss Katrina's Holiday event, I'll Bring the Cookies, by i am baker. 

They start with a melt-in-your-mouth red velvet sugar cookie, topped with a fluffy marshmallow and finally covered in vanilla-flavored candy coating and topped with sprinkles.

 I would say, this recipe is fairly easy, but make sure you either break up the process, or make sure to dedicate your day to these little charms. The only trouble I would say I came across, was finding the perfect size round cookie cutter. I first used slightly too large of a cutter, and then half-way I (thankfully) was able find one of my sons Play-doh cutters that was the perfect size, ever so slightly larger then the width of the marshmallow. Using the proper size cutter was key to having the candy coating easily spread over the cookies to allow excess fall through the wire racks. On to the recipe!

1-½ C unsalted butter 
2 C sugar
3 eggs
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp gel food coloring
4 C all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
 regular sized marshmallows (1-2 bags depending on if you plan to make all these cookies with the dough, or use the remaining dough for another use.) 
Wilton Candy Discs in red, white, and green)
vegetable shortening (as needed)
sprinkles

 In a large bowl, beat butter & sugar until well combined, about 2 min.

Add eggs, mix until combined. Add the extracts and food coloring, mix thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.

About a cup at a time, add the flour to the butter mixture. Using your mixer (or your hands if easier), mix until just combined.

Cover dough in Saran wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. While dough chills, prepare your marshmallows, by cutting each in half. Set marshmallows aside.

Preheat oven to 350º, roll dough out onto floured surface, cut into 2" circles. Place onto cookie sheet, bake 5 min. Remove from oven, place a marshmallow half over top of each cookie. Bake an additional 2 min. Allow to rest on cookie sheet about 2 min, then transfer to a wire rack. Repeat process until desired amount of cookies are baked.

Once cooled, melt a package of candy coating as directed on package (I like to use my glass Pyrex measuring cup) You want a thin consistency, so add a tsp or two of vegetable shortening to help achieve that. Separate cookies into three different piles (if planning to use all three colors). Put cookies on wire rack sitting on top of a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Pour the candy coating over the cookies, and with a spatula, spread the candy coating around to cover the cookies. The extra candy coating should drip through the rack onto the paper. Finally, top with desired sprinkles. Allow to harden either on the counter or in the fridge. Repeat this step for the other two colors if desired.

Chocolate & Candy Cane Topped Rice Krispie Treats

This year, my holiday baking has consisted of trying to find new "keepers" for holidays to come. Every year, we have had the same rotation of holiday treats that have just been what I grew up with. Well, now that my little family of three has moved to a new place (state), it's time we find new holiday treats and traditions of our own. 

These very easy rice krispie treats were inspired by The Sweet Life: White Chocolate Covered Peppermint Rice Krispie Treat recipe. I set out to make these, but I swapped the white chocolate for semi-sweet since I am already making two other goodies that have white chocolate and I want to switch things up a little ;)

First I made the Rice Krispie treats, using The Joy of Baking's recipe (below). Next, instead of putting the rice krispies in a pan, I pressed them into twenty-four cup mini muffin tins (You will have some leftover). Once they have set, I removed them from tins, placed upside down on a wire rack set over a pan. I just used a spoon to add Baker's Dipping Chocolate over the tops and a light sprinkling of crushed candy canes. Allowed them to cool in the fridge about 15 min. 

Whats great about this recipe? There are so many different ways to make them. White chocolate/dark, different flavored candy canes, any other candy you have available etc...

The Joy of Baking, Rice Krispie Treats (ingredients)

6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/8 tsp salt

10 oz pkg mini marshmallows

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

Directions

• Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.
• Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Pour Rice Krispie cereal in bowl.
• Spray a medium sized saucepan with cooking spray, add butter and salt, melt over med-low heat.
• Add vanilla and marshmallows. Stir until melted. Remove from heat, pour marshmallow mixture over cereal, stir until combined. Spray a spoon with cooking spray, put globs of rice krispie mixture into muffin tins, press tops with bottom of spoon. Allow to sit about an hour before removing from tins and adding your topping.

White Chocolate Cherry-Pistachio Fudge w/ Marshmallows

We all have our usual Christmas cookies and other goodies that we make each year. The typical selection for me, has always been rolled-out sugar cookies with a sweet buttercream icing, always made with the same cookie cutter shapes  (stocking, bell, tree, star), Russian tea cakes, and on occasion fudge....always with semi-sweet chocolate, and always very rich! Although I  look forward to these treats every year, I am always looking for some new ones to add to the holiday spread. 

Tonight, I decided to make some fudge. It is made with white chocolate (for years, I have stayed away from white chocolate because I knew it wasn't real chocolate...I can be stubborn that way). Well like other food issues I have recently gotten over, I finally gave in to this confection.

This recipe I adapted from McCormick's Pistachio Fudge (found on recipegoldmine.com). I'll admit, I had every intention to just make the recipe as-is, but then I started thinking about how I had maraschino cherries in the fridge (with no intention to use them) and some adorable Christmas-themed marshmallows. Can't go wrong with all that right? 

 White Chocolate Cherry-Pistachio Fudge w/ Marshmallow
8oz cream cheese, softened
3 C powdered sugar 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
16oz white chocolate chips
Wilton "Leaf Green"  Gel Food Coloring
Wilton "Christmas Red" Gel Food Coloring
1/2 C chopped roasted & salted pistachios
1/2 C quartered maraschino cherries (drained well)
1/2 C marshmallows ( I used red and green Christmas trees/stars marshmallows, cut them in half. Or you can just use mini size)


Line an 8x8" baking dish with foil. Foil extending over sides of pan. Spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar--mixing well with each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.

Over a double-boiler, melt the white chocolate until smooth. Pour into cream cheese mixture, blend thoroughly. Divide mixture into 2 bowls. Add desired amount of green food coloring into one bowl, red into the other (I used only a tiny bit. Dipped a toothpick into the colors and spread it over the mixture, if you prefer a bolder color, repeat until desired shade). After the colors are mixed in, fold in the pistachios into the green mixture, cherries into the red.

Pour the pistachio layer on the bottom, spread evenly over pan. Pour the cherry mixture over top. Or if you wish, swirl the two colors with knife. Finally, sprinkle marshmallows over top, pressing them lightly into the fudge. Cover with saran wrap and allow them to sit in the fridge at least one hour before cutting.

How to Avoid Creases in Cupcake Liners

Ok so I'm sure most of us have encountered this problem. You have plans to make adorable cupcakes. Everything with the recipe worked out great, and you just bought some super cute liners to go with your adorable cupcakes. Then you start to put the batter in, and the liners crease. Bad enough to make your cups look like Pac-Man's evil brother... Fret no more, I did a little research (since I just had this problem.)

^ Before and After ^

First of all, if you keep your liners in a plastic cup, rather than the bag they came in, they will keep up their shape. I have not tried that myself, but I plan to test it out. Another solution though, which was my only one at the time since I was already in the process of using the liners, is to just do a little snip with your scissors on each liner which will allow the liners to open to the correct size you need. The cut you made will kind of have the liner overlap where it wants to crease. See? Voila! Now your cupcakes will come out nicely too!

Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas w/ Jalapeno Cream Sauce

Three things about me that have changed over the course of....about a year: I have found a new love for enchiladas (I use to loathe them!!!), I crave shrimp tacos over my usual burger when me and hubby dine out, and the tiniest mention of cilantro no longer makes me run the other way. 

This recipe is much different than any other enchilada I have ever had (I haven't had many, but I have only really heard of  the basic red sauce/white sauce chicken variety...) The shrimp is mixed with a mixture of cabbage and carrots, which remind me of the coleslaw usually found in shrimp tacos. The creamy jalapeno sauce over the top adds the perfect amount of spice...you will want an ice cold glass of milk to go along with this dinner, but it is well worth it! A hint of cilantro, and you feel like you are at a beach-side cantina restaurant. 

I found this great recipe while scrolling Pinterest (of course). It's from Damn Delicious. You can find the original post along with great step-by-step photos here. I'm sure you will enjoy this recipe as much as my family has!

Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas w/ Jalapeno Cream Sauce

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
 salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
2 cups shredded green cabbage... (I used coleslaw mix)
1 carrot, peeled and grated
3 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoons chipotle pepper, in adobo sauce
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese


Jalapeno Cream Sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons  flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup sour cream
2 jalapeno seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
 salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, toss together 1 tbsp olive oil with salt and pepper to taste. With a slotted spoon, place shrimp over parchment paper.

Put into the oven and roast about 6-8 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool before chopping them.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375º. Coat a 9x13" baking dish with cooking spray. Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage/coleslaw mix, carrot, spinach, chipotle pepper, oregano and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach just begins to wilt, about 1-2 minutes. Mix in the shrimp.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in the flour until lightly browned and smooth. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock and cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream, jalapenos & garlic powder and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.

To assemble: Lay the tortilla on a flat surface and spoon 1/3 cup of the shrimp mixture in the center; sprinkle with cheese. Roll the tortilla up and place seam side down onto prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and shrimp mixture.

Pour half of the jalapeno cream sauce evenly over the top. Bake, covered until lightly golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Serve with remaining jalapeno cream sauce.

Tortellini w/ Mushrooms in Lemon-Basil Parmesan Sauce

I typed this recipe up in June, maybe July? I guess it got lost in my many other things I have yet to get around to making. Well I wish I had given it a try sooner because it is very tasty and an easy one to make. It's creamy, but not over-whelming where the noodles get lost in the sauce. The lemon in the sauce is a great compliment with the basil and the mushrooms. Finally, the added topping of fresh mozzarella, for that extra ooey-gooey goodness we all love.

Tortellini w/ Mushrooms in Lemon-Basil Parmesan Sauce

Ingredients
20oz pkg refrigerated tortellini (I used Buitoni Herbed Chicken)
1-1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp flour
1 C milk
1/2 C grated Parmesan
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
10oz sliced mushrooms
3 cloves minced garlic
about 3/4 of a well-drained 10oz can diced tomatoes
about 1/3 C chopped fresh basil
fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a large pot, cook tortellini according to directions on package. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, add in flour and stir until light brown and smooth. Slowly whisk in milk and stir frequently until thickened (thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon). Stir in Parmesan, zest, and basil. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms, cook until tender, and mushrooms begin to caramelize. Add the garlic, cook about 1 min, then stir in the lemon juice and and diced tomatoes.

Drain the tortellini. Combine noodles with mushroom mixture and Parmesan sauce. Transfer into a 13x9" baking dish, top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Sprinkle the top with garlic powder. Bake about 20-25 min.

Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites

So before making these, I had planned to take doughnut holes and dip them in candy coating. I had committed to making some sweets for my sisters baby shower  (cupcakes and cake balls)... well I have never made cake balls, and I wanted to play around a little in the kitchen practicing how to use candy coating, but not really up for making the cake part just yet and doughnut holes I figured would some-what resemble the same texture. ANYWAY...(rambling off subject..) ....  It came time to make them and I had invited my friend over to make them with me. We had had just started melting the candy coating, and were getting ready get the doughnuts out of their box, when my friend noticed ANTS crawling all around the doughnuts.....ok, I admit... the box was left open over night....I had to try one, maybe two : / 

Obviously we were wanting something to make either way, and the candy coating would have gotten wasted... So luckily I had a box of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownies in my pantry!!! So we decided to take the gamble that this would work, and it did...dangerously beautifully, I might add ;)

Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites

Ingredients 
1 box Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie mix 
*ingredients called for on brownies 
1-2 bags Wilton Candy Coating Discs (vanilla/confetti)

Bake the brownies as directed, allow to cool until able to handle. Crumble up the brownies in a large bowl. Roll into balls (about 1-1/2 tbsp each). Place onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze about an hour until firm.

 Prepare another cookie sheet or two with wax paper. Melt a package of candy coating as pkg directs. Put the candy coating in a microwaveable dish (I like to use my Pyrex measuring cup). Remove about 4-5  balls from the freezer at a time, they defrost quickly and you will want them to stay firm as you dip them in the candy coating. Take a metal skewer (I use about 4 at a time), stick it into the top of the ball, dip into the candy coating. Lightly tap the skewer on the side of the dish slowly rotating the skewer. Do this to allow excess candy coating drip off. Set it on the wax paper and using another skewer to hold the ball down, gently pull the skewer out the top then dip the tip of the skewer in the candy coating and carefully fill-in over the hole from the skewer. Before moving onto the next ball, sprinkle with pink sugar sprinkles (optional).

Rolo-Stuffed Golden Oreo Reese's Peanut Butter Balls

Ever have one of those days where you just want to have fun in the kitchen with no recipe and determined to have awesome results? Well these oreo balls is one of those! My friend and I were at the store one day with our kids and we decided while there, to pick up a few things to make our own little concoction of goodness. The plan was, the kids will play, we will get inventive (two heads are better then one after all..) and with any luck...considering they would taste good, chow down on some......(Behind the counter of course! We didn't need our already hyper kids sampling the sugar)

In addition to these curing whatever craving for sugar you might have, they are fairly easy, and will last a while in your freezer. 

Just from talking about these, I might need to make some again soon ;)

Ingredients
1 pkg Golden Oreos
about 1/2 bag of Rolo's
8oz cream cheese (softened)
2 bags Reese's Peanut Butter Chips
2 Tbsp butter
about 1/4-1/2 C milk (as needed)


In a food processor, process cookies until smooth crumbs, put into large bowl. Using your hands, mix the cream cheese into the crumbs. 

Cut each Rolo into fourths, mix into the crumb mixture. Roll into about 1-1/2 tbsp balls, place on a cookie sheet. Freeze about 30 min and until ready to use.

 In a saucepan of simmering water, place pb chips into a metal bowl to make a double boiler. Over medium heat stir pb chips. While melting, add in the butter and the milk a little at a time (pb chips are really thick, you want a thinner consistency so you can dip the balls into them). Once chips are smooth and easy to work with, put bowl on the counter, take the balls out of freezer. 

Using a skewer to pick the ball up, dip into pb mixture and then set on top of a wax paper/parchment paper lined tray or cookie sheet. Carefully remove skewer; if desired, decorate with sprinkles. Continue until all the balls are coated. You may need to reheat the pb and add another splash of milk in the middle of coating the balls. 
 

Freezing Cookie Dough

So you commit to making cookies. You make a mess of your kitchen making cookie dough, and after filling up one cookie sheet (sometimes your one and only!) you pop them into the oven, you wait while they bake.....maybe clean up the kitchen, relax on the couch etc...Cookies are done, and your over the excitement of baking them. After all, you already had one, so your craving is fulfilled. Then you realize you probably still have about 2-3 more batches to make. So you finish them, and by now you are tired and don't really feel like doing much else productive...except maybe eat more cookies. Not to mention, the pressure to eat them before too many days pass and they lose that fresh-from-the-oven softness that started your craving in the first place. If this sounds familiar to you, then you will really love this post!

I use to always think freezing food was silly. Between my husband and I, when we would cook, we would just divide it up and eat what we wanted. Well usually when food is sitting in front of you, you are not going to listen to your body and stop eating when you are full. I also use to be 40 lbs heavier... Until I started freezing leftovers. Obviously, I lost weight from other methods as well...but freezing food helped tremendously!!
1. Out of sight, out of mind. After getting a normal serving amount, and your wanting to clean up dinner, it goes to the freezer, you realize your not hungry for more after-all when you see that there is no more food on the counter to be eaten.
2. Those cupcakes I have leftover from a party, they aren't sitting on my counter, they are frozen and I don't really want to wait for them to thaw.

Think about the money you save on groceries when you have leftovers still to be eaten in the freezer...sometimes 2-3 more nights of dinners! Even better, you don't have to eat these leftovers every night of the week, so you appreciate it as much as the first time you had it.

Well I'm letting my excitement of freezing get carried away and off subject here. This is about freezing cookie dough!

After making cookies one day, I really didn't feel up to rolling more balls of dough and baking them. We are just a family of three, how many cookies do we really need around here? I have a husband and toddler who will gladly eat them up, but that isn't healthy and I was trying really hard to maintain my weight watcher points, I could have a cookie...but could I really just have ONE?  Yeah right. So after just the one batch, which on my cookie sheet, was about 7 or 8 cookies--plenty. I took the rest of it, shaped it into a loaf, wrapped it in saran wrap and put it into a freezer bag. Wrote the baking instructions on the bag and voila! Pre-made homemade cookie dough for another day! It gets even better...

Few weeks pass, I come across another cookie to try out. I used the same freezing method with the leftovers and now I have 2 different kinds of cookies to choose from in my freezer! Clearly, this could go on and on... 

So this is great because now anytime you want cookies you can choose from what you have in your freezer, let the dough sit for as long as it takes to preheat your oven, slice off a chunk of it, roll them into balls (or shapes if using sugar cookie dough) and bake them. You can literally have home made cookies from start to finish, in 20 min (including preheating time), and the only clean up you have is your cookie sheet. You could even just bake one cookie if that's all your wanting or mix and match (which is what I usually do, husband likes chocolate chip, son likes m&m cookies). I hope you will try this tip out, it will change your life!!!!!   Here is a link for Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies that are in my freezer now ;)

Holiday Cake Balls

Cake balls have been becoming more and more popular. They are easy to make and can be decorated to fit any occasion. They are such a trend, that there are even appliances for making them now! Well, I have yet to use one of those cake pop makers, but I don't personally see the need for them since I found they are just as easy (and fun) to make on your own....saves on counter and cabinet space of course too! So I have found plenty of different methods to making these, but I will share what I found works for me. Here is an explanation for making any kind of cake ball:

Bake a 13x9" cake. Use whatever flavor you fancy whether it comes from a box or you're using your much-loved passed on from generation family recipe. Allow cake to cool (cool enough to handle is fine).

Wash your hands, roll your sleeves up and dive in! Crumble up that cake into little pieces. Transferring to a large mixing bowl. Sometimes the pieces along the edges or the corners of the cake might be a little hard, so as you come across them, toss them out....or as I do, set them aside as a snack for later ;)

Mix in about 1/4-1/2 a tub of your favorite frosting (mix and match...whatever). If using your favorite frosting recipe, use about 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup frosting. You want to have a a consistency that allows the cake to stick together, but not too gooey. I found some cake can use a little less depending on moistness (like the cake ball recipes I will be showing below). Cover and refrigerate about 30 min.

Grab a tray or cookie sheet, cover it with wax paper. Roll the cake into golf-ball sized balls, setting onto tray. Once all rolled, pop the them in the freezer, and allow to freeze firmly about 2 hours.

Prepare another cookie sheet or two with wax paper. Melt a package of candy coating ( I use Wilton's candy discs) as pkg directs. You can add a tsp of extract if you would like to. Put the candy coating in a microwaveable dish (I like to use my Pyrex measuring cup). Remove about 4-5 cake balls from the freezer at a time, they defrost quickly and you will want them to stay firm as you dip them in the candy coating. Take a metal skewer (I use about 4 at a time), stick it into the top of the ball, dip into the candy coating. Lightly tap the skewer on the side of the dish slowly rotating the skewer. Do this to allow excess candy coating drip off. Put the skewer into a large cup cake-ball up. While that hardens, it will only take a minute, start onto another skewer/cake ball. I use about 4 skewers, then I carefully pull the cake ball off the skewers and set them on the wax paper. They are likely to roll around. If you want cake balls with a flat bottom, don't put them in the cup to dry; instead, set it on the wax paper and using another skewer to hold the cake ball down, gently pull the skewer out the top then dip the tip of the skewer in the candy coating and carefully fill-in over the hole from the skewer. <<< I found this second way, is more time-consuming and can sometimes look less pretty, but they wont roll.

Once the balls are done, if desired, use a squeeze bottle filled with melted candy coating to squeeze on  a different color. Or add a little bit of candy coating to the top and before its dry, dip into sprinkles.

Ok, onto some recipes!!!!!

Spiced Pumpkin Cake Balls
(adapted and altered from McCormicks Spiced Pumpkin Cake)

You will need:
1 pkg yellow cake mix
4-serving size box of vanilla instant pudding mix
1 C canned pumpkin
1/2 C oil
1/2 C water
3 eggs
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
about 1/4 tub cream cheese frosting
1-1/2 packages Wilton Vanilla Candy Coating Discs, orange colored (Micheal's)
1/2 package Wilton Vanilla Candy Coating Discs, white (Micheal's)

In a medium bowl, whisk together cake mix, pudding mix, and spices. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mix, beat together pumpkin, oil, water, eggs, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and beat for about 2 min, until batter is smooth. Pour into a greased 13x9" pan and bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Put pan on wire rack to cool.

Crumble cake up, put into a large mixing bowl. Add in the frosting, until it would stick together (wont take much, this cake is kind of gooey to begin with).  Cover and refrigerate about 30 min.

Roll cake into golf-ball sized balls. Place onto wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Put in freezer, allow to freeze about 2 hours.

Melt orange candy coating. Using a metal skewer, Put the candy coating in a microwaveable dish (I like to use my Pyrex measuring cup). Remove about 4-5 cake balls from the freezer at a time, they defrost quickly and you will want them to stay firm as you dip them in the candy coating. Take a metal skewer (I use about 4 at a time), stick it into the top of the ball, dip into the candy coating. Lightly tap the skewer on the side of the dish slowly rotating the skewer. Do this to allow excess candy coating drip off. Put the skewer into a large cup cake-ball up. While that hardens, it will only take a minute, start onto another skewer/cake ball. I use about 4 skewers, then I carefully pull the cake ball off the skewers and set them on the wax paper.

Melt the white candy coating, put into a squeeze bottle and slowly squeeze 3-4 lines over the top of the cake ball. Repeat until all are done. Allow to dry. These store nicely in the fridge and freezer.

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Cranberry-Orange Cake Balls
(adapted & altered from Taste of Home, Tart Cranberry Cake) 

You will need:
3 eggs
2 C sugar
3/4 C butter, room temp
1 tsp orange extract
2 C flour
2-1/2 C fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 C chopped pecans
1-1/2 pkgs Wilton Vanilla Candy Coating (white)
1-1/2 tsp orange extract
1/2 pkg Wilton Vanilla Candy Coating (red)

In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until slightly thickened and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Add butter and 1 tsp extract; beat 2 minutes. Stir in flour just until combined. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Spread in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.

Bake at 350º 45-50 min, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Place pan on wire rack to cool. 

 Crumble cake up, put into a large mixing bowl. Add in the frosting, until it would stick together (wont take much, this cake is kind of gooey to begin with).  Cover and refrigerate about 30 min.

Roll cake into golf-ball sized balls. Place onto wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Put in freezer, allow to freeze about 2 hours.

Melt white candy coating, stir in 1-1/2 tsp orange extract. *Sometimes adding in the extract might change the consistency of the candy coating, stir in about 4 tsp shortening to get the texture back to where its smooth. Using a metal skewer, Put the candy coating in a microwaveable dish (I like to use my Pyrex measuring cup). Remove about 4-5 cake balls from the freezer at a time, they defrost quickly and you will want them to stay firm as you dip them in the candy coating. Take a metal skewer (I use about 4 at a time), stick it into the top of the ball, dip into the candy coating. Lightly tap the skewer on the side of the dish slowly rotating the skewer. Do this to allow excess candy coating drip off. Put the skewer into a large cup cake-ball up. While that hardens, it will only take a minute, start onto another skewer/cake ball. I use about 4 skewers, then I carefully pull the cake ball off the skewers and set them on the wax paper.

 Melt the red candy coating, put into a squeeze bottle and slowly squeeze 3-4 lines over the top of the cake ball. Repeat until all are done. Allow to dry. These store nicely in the fridge and freezer.