Saturday, April 23, 2011

Cake Pops

Choose your cake mix and follow instructions and bake. Let it cool for one hour or so. Put in big bowl and crumble up into fine crumbs. Add your favorite frosting, canned or homemade. 1/2 c or so. Mix it up with fingers and set in fridge for a 2 hours or overnight. Check to see if it will roll into a ball. It should: this makes a very malleable, easy-to-handle cake mixture. But if it needs a little extra moisture, add milk a spoonful at a time.

When the mix is completely done, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. You can leave the mix refrigerated for several days at this point. You could probably also freeze this.

Making Cake Pops

What you need
Lollipop sticks (found at Michael's, JoAnn's, or other craft stores)
12 ounces chocolate chips
12 ounces white chocolate bark
Edible wax, optional
Colored sugars, candies, and other decorative sprinkles

How to make the balls
Prepare two large baking sheets by covering with wax paper or parchment. Take a bit of the cake mixture and roll it into a smooth ball. If you want to use the lollipop sticks, stick one into the end of each ball, pointing upward, as you put the ball back down on the sheet. [Note: I cut the long lollipop sticks in half; they seemed a little long for the size of the balls.] Repeat until you've used up all the mixture. As each sheet fills up, put it in the freezer so that the balls harden.

How to decorate the cake pops
Melt chocolate or white chocolate in a double boiler on the stove. If you want to make the coating a little more resistant to melting, add a small square of wax to the pot and let it melt too. Stir well. Dip each ball into the chocolate until covered.

Dip in sugar, coconut, sprinkles, or anything else you'd like to decorate with. Put it back on the sheet to harden.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Turtle Cheese Cake from my Cousin Cindy Stahl Gullion

1 3/4 C Chocolate graham cracker crumbs

1/3 C butter or margarine, melted

3 packages of cream cheese, softened

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

3 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 Cup (9 oz) semi sweet chocolate morsels

2 Tbsp caramel syrup or ice cream topping

2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

1/2 Cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/4 Cup semi sweet Chocolate mini morsels



PREHEAT oven to 300 degrees. Grease 9 inch springform pan.

CRUST: combine crumbs and butter in medium bowl. Press onto the bottom and one inch up side of pan.

FILLING: Beat cream cheese and milk in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, lime juice and vanilla extract; beat until combined. Microwave 1 1/2 Cups of morsels in medium, uncovered microwave safe bowl on HIGH power for 1 minute; STIR. If needed, heat additional 10-15 second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Stir 2 cups of batter into melted morsels; mix well. Alternately spoon batters into crust, beginning and ending with the yellow batter. BAKE 70-75 minutes or until edge is set and center moves slightly. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; run knife around edge and let cool completely. Drizzle syrups on top. Sprinkle with nuts and mini morsels. Refrigerate several hours. Remove side of pan.

Carnitas Mexican Pulled Pork

* 2 lb Pork Loin
* 1 Tablespoon Cumin
* 2 Tablespoons Oregano
* 1 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
* 2 Tablespoons Chili-Lime Powder, or Chili Powder
* 1 Tablespoon Chicken Bouillon Powder
* Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
* Salt to Taste
* 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
* 1 Large Onion
* 2 Habanero Chile Peppers, Minced
* 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
* 1 Bay Leaf
* 2 Cups Orange Juice
* Freshly Squeezed Juice of 1 Lime
* 2 Cups Milk
* 1/2 Cup Butter, or Lard
* 1/2-1 Cup Water

Directions:

Lay the pork loin fat-side down. Cut it through to the fat in about 1-2″ wide strips. Be careful not to cut all the way through the fat! The “strips” must still be attached by the fat.

Mix the cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, chili-lime powder, chicken bouillon, black pepper, salt in a small bowl. Coat the pork loin with spice mixture, including the fat side and down into all the cuts.

Put the pork loin fat-side down in a large heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat. Pour the vegetable oil into the pot around the pork loin. Cut the ends off the onion, peel off its skin, cut the onion in half. Then cut it into wedges. Arrange the onion wedges in the pot around the pork loin. Add the habanero peppers, garlic, and bay leaf to the pot.

Pour the orange juice into the pot surrounding the pork loin, being careful not to wash the spices off it. Add the lime juice and milk, again trying not to wash the spices off the pork loin. Cut the butter into smaller slices and add to the broth.

Add enough water to just cover the pork loin, about 1/2 to 1 cup.

Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for about 3 hours. Remove the pork loin from the pot. It should be falling apart at this point. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a large fork, press the meat apart into smaller bite-size pieces. This will be very easy to do as the meat should be very tender and easily fall apart.

Put the pulled pork (carnitas) into an oven dish and add the onions. Spoon some of the broth from the pot over the meat. Toss the meat to cover it thoroughly with the broth. Discard the remaining broth in the pot, or freeze it to serve as a base for another dish.

Bake the carnitas for about 15 minutes until the broth cooks off and the tips of the meat are a bit crispy. If there´s still broth in the dish, remove it from the oven, toss the meat in the juice again, put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes or so, and then remove.

Enjoy the carnitas with warmed corn tortillas, beans, and pico de gallo.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Tami's EASY Cheese Enchilda's

4 Cups Shredded Cheese (Mexican, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Combination whatever you like)
20 corn tortillas
2 cans of Red Enchilada Sauce (I use Old El Passo Brand,Mild)

Warm 7 shells in microwave for 30 seconds. (put between paper towels to warm up) Take a handful of cheese put in center of tortilla and roll. Put in sprayed 9 x 13 pan. Roll tight. Fill pan. Pour cans of sauce over enchilada's. Put remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. And serve with re-fried beans, rice, chips, salad, sour cream, etc.