Cake Pops

After making cake pops (all chocolate) for my manager's birthday some friends were saying that all strawberry would be really good and so I decided to make some for them.. I also had several requests to know how to make them so I decided to take pics this time.

Warning: make sure you have plenty of time before starting because it will take a few hours from start to finish (once the cake is already baked and cooled)

First:

Bake a cake as directed on the back of the box and let it cool COMPLETELY

Second:

C r u m b l e the cake (I do it by hand) so the entire thing is in little pieces

Third:

Mix frosting into the cake so it gets moist enough to 'mold' and stick together....

I only end up using about 2/3 - 3/4 of the frosting....

make sure you just add a little at a time

(if you put too much the balls are going to be too moist and won't work)

Fourth:

Form balls with your hands and put on wax paper or foil....

I make mine a about the size of a ping pong ball

Fifth:

When you are done forming the balls stick them into the freezer for about 20 minutes...

transfer them to the refrigerator...

You don't want them frozen when you dip them

(as they defrost they will crack the outer coating)

Now it's time to dip....

First:

Put one package of candy melts at a time into a microwave safe bowl (not too deep) and heat up...

stirring it every 30sec or so until smooth...

usually about a minute is fine

(for the entire batch you usually need two bags)

(my "secret" to getting the coating to a manageable thickness is adding a little bit of vegetable oil...

a tiny bit at a time)

Second:

Taking a few cake balls out of the fridge a few at a time dip the stick into the coating...
stick into the ball (make sure not to put it more than half way through the ball)...
let it set for a few seconds...
then dip into the coating and let any e x c e s s drip off into the bowl
(if you want to put s.p.r.i.n.k.l.e.s now is the time)

Third:

Place the sticks into a big square of styrofoam

 (so the top of the pops aren't flattened while they dry and harden)

I decided to wrap them individually....

it took a while, but they turned out cute so it was worth it :)

Mexican Shredded Beef & "pink" Rice

I had a special dinner request for something I had never made before...I looked online at a few different recipes and then thought about what I had seen in the past and this is what I came up with...

In my crock pot I put a pot roast with some water and added to it:

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1 cup picante sauce

I put it on LOW for about 5 hours and then on HIGH for another hour or so and then took it out, shredded it and put back into the crock pot on LOW to stay warm.

I cut up some serrano peppers, onion, and tomato.

I cooked the veggies in a little bit of vegetable oil to speed up the process.

When they were cooked up I added the beef that I had already taken out of the crock pot and shredded.

I also made some "pink" rice (white rice with tomato sauce mixed it) to go with it.....

I would put how I made the rice but let's just say I still need to get some more practice in before I do that...

it did taste ok, but nothing I would recommend for anyone to make..haha!!