Monday, July 19, 2010

Cupcake bites



A few of you asked for the recipe for these when I posted about them on my other blog. So, to make it easy, I will post it here. My friend Yvonne taught me how to make these a couple of months ago. They are definitely a sweet treat and something you might want to consider sharing with others, as they are LOADED with sugar, sugar, sugar, lol.

Step 1: Make a cake, any cake. Whatever flavor you like
Step 2: Pick a can of frosting that will go well with the flavor of cake you baked
Step 3: Pick up 2 different kinds of Wilton candy melts (I used chocolate for the bottom on these ones and then red colored ones for the top shell)You can pick up white ones and add food coloring to make them the color you want if they don't have a color you are looking for.
Step 4: Take the can of frosting and the cake, put them in a bowl and mix them together until mashed and blended well. With a big baking pan/platter, roll the cake/frosting mix into golfball size balls (maybe even a little smaller) and place them on the sheet
Step 5: put the cupcake balls on the sheet in the fridge while you are making the base for the cupcake bite
which, you will need some of these for:

Step 6: Use a frosting bag or a plastic bag (with a tip you can cut off) to put in about 1/4 of the candy melts that you want to use for the base, and melt it in the microwave (or melt it in a ceramic bowl if you don't want to microwave plastic) Start with 20 seconds and add more time if needed
Step 7: pipe the melted candy base into the molds, take the cupcake balls and set them on top of the melted candy base. You want to make sure the mold is almost all the way full of the candy melt base, otherwise the cupcake cake part will not stick to the base when you refrigerate it
Step 8: Put the molds with the cupcake ball on top in the fridge to set, for about 5-10 minutes
Step 9: Take the candy melts that you want to use for the hard candy shell and put them in a microwave safe bowl, big enough for you to be able to dip into. Melt the shell candy until completely smooth
Step 10: Take the base with the cupcake bite out of the fridge, and carefully pop the bases out of the molds. Then, tip the cupcake bite upside down and dip the top into the shell of the candy melt.
Step 11: If desired, top with a garnish of your choice, nonpareils, sprinkles, M&M's (we used white sprinkles and M&M's) and place back onto the baking sheet/platter and let sit in the fridge for another 5-10 minutes
Step 12: Once the shell of the cupcake bite has hardened, you are now ready to enjoy your delicious cupcake bites

FYI: This entire process took us about an hour, not including the baking of the cake (this we did ahead of time), so it's a bit of a lengthy process, but the cupcake bites are worth every minute in the end.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Spinach Salad with Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Nectarines

(photo courtesy of Oxmoor House)

Feast your eyes on the easiest, tastiest salad ever! :o) This salad has become a favorite of mine this summer as it is super easy to make, tastes delicious, and almost has zero clean-up. I got it from CookingLight.com (don't I always post their recipes?)

One thing on the nutritional value. I make this salad as my main course and I'm a big eater so I eat more than their serving size for the nutritional info and if you have a healthy appetite like me and want to feel satisfied, yours will be more than the 169 calories too. Because, I mean really, I want more than 2oz of pork in my meal!
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Prep Time: 16 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
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Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 2/3 cups spinach salad, 1/2 nectarine, about 2 ounces pork, and 2 teaspoons cheese)
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Ingredients
1 (1-pound) peppercorn-flavored pork tenderloin, trimmed
3 nectarines, halved
Cooking spray
2 (6-ounce) packages fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup light balsamic vinaigrette (I use a white balsamic and LOVE it)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
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Preparation
1. Prepare grill.

2. Cut pork horizontally through center of meat, cutting to, but not through, other side using a sharp knife; open flat as you would a book. Place pork and nectarine halves, cut sides down, on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill pork 5 minutes on each side or until a thermometer registers 160°. Grill nectarine halves 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until thoroughly heated. Remove pork and nectarine halves from grill. Let pork rest 10 minutes.

3. Peel off nectarine skin (it will come off easily after being cooked). Cut nectarine halves into slices. Thinly slice pork. Combine spinach and vinaigrette in a large bowl; toss gently to coat.
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4. Divide spinach mixture evenly on each plate. Top each serving evenly with nectarine slices and pork slices. Sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle evenly with pepper, if desired.
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Nutritional Information
Calories: 169 (31% from fat)
Fat: 6g (sat 2g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.9g)
Protein: 16g
Carbohydrate: 15.8g
Fiber: 3.9g
Cholesterol: 41mg
Iron: 2.9mg
Sodium: 766mg
Calcium: 86mg