Category: Snacks

Simple delights

Posted on by jplatt27

Happy Valentine’s Day!

My day started off on the right foot after wobbling on the wrong foot momentarily.  Mike had to leave early for work this morning so we set our alarm for 5 am to go to the gym. It went off and Mike decided that he wasn’t going to make it and I was laying there debating about whether to go or not.  I got out of bed to get ready and got kind of annoyed that we set the alarm so early and Mike didn’t even end up going to the gym.  Washing my face I realized that I was still really tired and could use like another half hour of sleep, wishing that we had just set the alarm for 5:25 or 5:30.  Though it’s just a half hour, there is a big difference between 5 am, 5:30 am, and 6 am. I got back in bed and said to Mike “I wish we would’ve set the alarm later, I could use another half hour of sleep” and then turned to see the time was 5:28.  I could still get a half hour of sleep and then get up and go to the gym. So that’s what I did.  And the extra half hour was amazing. I felt very different when I woke up. I love when things like this happen.  I would’ve hated to start my Valentine’s Day (and Mike’s) on the wrong foot.

But that’s actually not why I’m writing this morning.  I’m writing to share some simple, delicious foods I’ve been eating lately.

First, last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast.

 While I was making a smoothie yesterday morning, I noticed a recipe on the side of the Chobani container for gorgonzola and yogurt crostini. Gorgonzola is my favorite cheese and we just happened to have some in the fridge from a gorgonzola cream sauce we made a few weeks ago. We also had this delicious loaf of bread I bought at Trader Joe’s to go with dinner on Sunday night. So I thought, yep, this is what I’ll have for dinner tonight. (Mike has class on Monday nights so we do our own thing for dinner.)

I whipped it up pretty quickly: toast some bread, mix yogurt and gorgonzola in a 2:1 ratio in a bowl with a fork and spoon to mash the cheese and spread the yogurt mixture on the toasted bread.  I topped mine with fresh blackberries (BOGO this week and we needed some for tonight’s dessert) and a drizzle of honey.  Delicious!

Another simple, tasty breakfast I’m in love with is this apple cinnamon oatmeal (in the crock pot, no less!) from Cooking with Jax.  My boss shared this recipe and I tried it late last week.  I made a batch on Thursday night, brought it for breakfast on Friday morning and shared with two co-workers, had more Friday afternoon, and finished it up for yesterday’s 10 o’clock snack. Clearly it made a ton, and it stayed perfectly fine in the refrigerator.  I topped mine with some brown sugar.  Mmm, Mmm, Mmm.

And last but not least, my go-to snack this week is chocolate pudding with crunchy peanut butter.  I mentioned this here before but haven’t had it in quite some time. I take a Jello pudding cup, pour the pudding in a larger dish and add about a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter (for some texture, crunch and protein). So quick, so easy, so delicious.

I have some more delicious food coming my way today and I can’t wait to share our Valentine’s Day date here later this week. Until then, Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’d love to know:

What delicious things are you eating lately? 

A Valentine Treat

Posted on by jplatt27

I had big plans yesterday to make these beautiful Valentine’s Day cake balls and share them and clear instructions with you here today so that you could make them for your loved ones tonight just in time for the big day tomorrow. I thought it would be super cute to do strawberry cake with chocolate coating and then chocolate cake with pink coating.

Well, I made them and they didn’t turn out great even though I “perfected” the method two weeks ago. But this is real life and I want my blog to reflect that so instead of scrapping the whole post, I’ll guide you through the process–it’s actually pretty easy–and where I went wrong.

You’ll need:

  • 1 box of cake mix (and whatever ingredients it calls for)
  • 1 container of frosting
  • bag of chocolate chips
  • vegetable oil
  • food coloring (optional)
  • decoration of your choice (sprinkles, nonpareils, M&Ms, whatever)

Directions:

  1. Prepare cakes according to package directions.  Let cool completely. [The cooling is important.  The first time I didn’t let them cool enough and it didn’t turn out great.]
  2. In a large bowl, crumble cake until fine. 
  3. Add frosting and mix to combine well.  [Usually the ratio is one container frosting to one box of cake mix. However, with the strawberry cake I made one container was too much. So I recommend starting with about half the frosting and going from there.]
  4. Roll the cake mixture into balls and set on cookie sheet. [I like to use a 1 tbsp measuring spoon to help here.] Update: you can use a small cookie scoop for this step, my friend Amanda did and it saved her a ton of time.  I’ve thought about buying one but didn’t want to part with precious “household/personal items” money.  But I think I might have to invest.  Considering I’ve made about 4 batches of cake-balls and see many more in my future, it will be worth the six bucks.
  5. Put in freezer for 30 minutes or more.
  6. Melt chocolate chips and mix in vegetable oil (and food coloring if desired) in a double boiler. Use 1 tbsp vegetable oil for 1 cup of chocolate chips. [Double boiler: heat pot of water on stove and put a glass bowl on top.  The steam will heat the glass and the chips will melt.] Update: What does the vegetable oil do, you ask? It thins out the melted chocolate to make it easier to work with.
  7. Once chips are melted, pull cake balls out of freezer and dip each one in chocolate until fully coated. (I use a combination of spatula and fork to assist here.) Put back on sheet and sprinkle with decoration of your choice.
  8. Pop back in freezer about 15 minutes to harden chocolate.
  9. Enjoy!

Notes/Advice:

  • Leave enough time to complete this project.  Maybe like an afternoon or spread it out over an evening. Update: I’ve crunched the numbers and you probably need about 4 hours total for this project.  I’d say only an hour/an hour and a half is work time.
  • You can also use almond bark or the melting chocolates that they sell at craft stores.
  • Be sure to chill the balls before dipping them in the chocolate.  If you don’t the cake can start to crumble off into the chocolate and it’s just messy and difficult.
  • My love for cake balls started when my co-worker brought them in. He is engaged to Miki from Miki’s Kitchen and my team often gets to taste Miki’s latest creations. Miki has a great tutorial for how to make cake balls and cake pops.
  • Have fun with this and don’t get frustrated. Even if they don’t look that great, they’ll taste delicious.  And sprinkles make everything prettier!

I’d love to know:

Have you made cake balls or cake pops before?  How did they turn out?  Do you have any tips to share?