strawberry cream puff marshmallow kabob*

Remember the strawberry cream puff kabobs that I made here? Well, these are exactly those kabobs, only with a yummy marshmallow added into the mix! Not only is it a delicious addition, but I love the contrast of colors that the marshmallows add.

All you need are some strawberries, cream puffs (I got mine from the frozen section), marshmallows, semi sweet chocolate chips. and some skewers.

Skewer the strawberries, cream puffs and marshmallows in any order your little heart desires. Over a double boiler (or in a microwave safe dish if you prefer that option), pour about 1 cup of chocolate chips and stir until completely melted and smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over your skewer of delicious goodness.

Set aside for 5-10 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened. Now eat your little heart out!

*as seen on Pinterest*

-alyssa*

strawberry filled cupcakes w/ laffy taffy frosting*

We made these cupcakes last week for all of the students. It may be selfish, but I actually chose to make these because I don't like strawberry flavored things. I like strawberries, but not most strawberry flavored things. They are just so sweet and..I don't now. There is just something about strawberry flavored things that rub me the wrong way. Anyway, I have been very successful eating healthy and I didn't want to fail so early on :). I did try a little tid-bit, and I wasn't a huge fan, but everyone else I talked to loved them! I think I didn't like it too much because it was strawberry flavored, of course, but also because of the buttercream. I am really beginning to think I am not a fan of buttercream. I am still not ready to make it official, however.

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes with Laffy Taffy Frosting

adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

1 box white cake mix

1 (10 oz jar) Smucker’s Simply Fruit Strawberry Spreadable Fruit

2 cups whipped topping

red food coloring

Sprinkles

Prepare cake mix according to the directions. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners and fill them 3/4 the way full. Bake according to the directions on the box.

In a medium bowl, combine the spreadable fruit and whipped topping. You will notice the coloring is not all that attractive, so add a couple of drops of red food coloring. Now that's better! This will be your filling for the cupcakes :).

When the cupcakes are nice and cool, hull out the middles. Put your fruit/whipped topping mixture in a pastry bag (I used a star tip) and squeeze in the filling.

Top with the laffy taffy frosting (recipe below).

Laffy Taffy Frosting

***This frosting is enough to cover all of the cupcakes but if you want it piled on on the cupcakes like I did in the photo then you will want to double this amount.***

• 10 pieces of strawberry Laffy Taffy candy (the fun sized ones)
• 2 Tbsp. heavy cream
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar

In a small sauce pan, melt the taffy and the heavy cream together stirring until the mixture is smooth. 

Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

While the mixture is cooling, begin preparing the frosting. In a mixing bowl, whip the butter until smooth. Mix in the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time, whipping until fluffy. 

Then add the melted and cooled laffy taffy a spoonful at a time.  You don’t want it too thick.  If needed, place it back on the stove for a few seconds to soften it just enough. After each spoonful of the laffy taffy, turn the mixer up to high and whip the frosting until it’s fluffy. You can also add a little pink or red food coloring to get the desired shade but I was happy with the color as it was.

Frost the cupcakes with the laffy taffy frosting and top with sprinkles. Makes 22-24 cupcakes.

And last, but not least, DIG IN!

-alyssa*

parent conference snacks and treats*

Phew, I am so glad we made it through last weekend! We had several parents from all over to visit their kids and the teachers and staff at Heritage. With the help of my staff, we prepared 4 meals and 3 different snack bars for approx. 320-340 people! HOLY TOLIDO - that's a lot of people! But we survived and it was a great success!

On Thursday night we had a networking and mingle for all of the parents to meet each other and get to know each other a little bit. They had a workshop and then headed on over to the cafeteria for some goodies. On the menu we had meatball sliders, chicken salad croissant sandwiches, veggie tray, hummus w/ pita chips, chocolate chunk and macadamia nut cookies, rice krispy pops, cream puff and strawberry kabobs, and a fresh fruit bowl. My favorites were the chicken salad croissants, rice krispy pops, and cream puff and strawberry kabobs :).

Rice Krispy Pops

*Rice Krispy squares dipped in melted chocolate Candy Melts, drizzled with white chocolate and poked with a lollipop stick!*

Cream Puff and Strawberry Kabobs

from Get Off Your Butt and Bake

*Frozen cream puffs (thawed), drizzled in chocolate Candy Melts, then skewered with some deliciously sweet strawberries*

 

 Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches

*Shredded chicken, Miracle Whip, chopped onion, chopped celery, salt and pepper on a buttery croissant*

Meatball Slider
*Meatballs - cooked (I cheated and bought frozen), topped with marinara and shredded mozzarella on a slider bun*

The spread in all of it's glory :)

'Nother angle

Although we prepared WAY too much food, I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome! Everything looked delicious and tasted even better! Tomorrow - a chocolate peanut butter nutella ganache cupcake! Get ready - it's gonna be a doozy!

-alyssa*

creamy crepes w/ lemon strawberries*

I am definitely a crepe lover. However, I have never ventured off to "savory" crepes. I am sure that they would be equally delicious, but right now I am hooked on the sweet crepe variety. Once in awhile the husband and I have to go to Village Inn so that I can have an order of their yummy strawberry crepes with hashbrowns and some crispy bacon. Mmmmmm....

You know what I just discovered? You know how it is a BAD idea to go shopping when you are hungry because you could possibly end up buying out the entire store? I think it's the same thing about blogging. It is not a good idea to food blog when you are hungry. Right now I am mentally going through each cupboard in my kitchen trying to decide if there is anything I want to eat. Rather, if there is any one specific thing I want eat so I don't end up snacking on a little bit of everything.

Sorry, I have a problem getting off track (man I wish I had some strawberries on hand so I can make these crepes RIGHT NOW!!). This past weekend I made these for breakfast when we were at the cabin with my sister-in-law and her husband. I really liked how everything turned out. I think I added a tad more sugar to my strawberries (and still could have gotten away with adding even a little more), but other than that I followed it to a T. I really liked the filling. It is definitely not too sweet, and the strawberry topping balances it out. I also really like the crepe recipe. The first couple of crepes I made weren't keepers, but once you get a couple of ugly ones the rest turn out beautifully!!

Creamy Crepes w/ Lemon Strawberries
from Heritage Kitchen

simple crepes

makes 4 servings, 2 crepes each

1 c. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt, a generous pinch

1 tsp. white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. cold water

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. butter

powdered sugar, for garnish

1. Sift together the flour, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl with the milk, water, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Refrigerate while preparing any fillings or toppings.

2. Spread 1 teaspoon of butter on the bottom of a small cast iron or non-stick skillet (or a crepe pan) and heat over medium low heat. Once the pan is hot, reduce heat slightly to just above low. 

3. Using a 1/4 c. scoop, pour the crepe mixture into the pan using a circular motion. Spread it into a circular shape using the bottom of the scoop. Flip when the edges begin to look dry and the pancake slides easily in the bottom of the skillet. Place a small piece of wax paper between each crepe until they're all ready to be filled.

Strawberries & Cream

1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed, hulled and chopped

1 lemon, zested, and the juice of half

2 tsp. white sugar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 c. cream cheese, softened

1. Combine chopped berries, white sugar, and lemon juice and zest. Let sit for at least 3-5 minutes before use.

2. Combine brown sugar, cream cheese and sour cream and roll in warm crepes. 

Top crepes with strawberries and serve.

 

-alyssa* 

strawberry puffcakes*

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! This year Landon and I decided to not buy each other a Valentine's gift because we got back from our cruise 2 days before, so that was going to be our Valentine's presents to each other. Well, I kept my end of the bargain, but at about noon these little beauties arrived at work.

Cute huh!! These are the exact flowers that we had at our wedding. Although he is in big trouble for breaking our pact, I couldn't stay mad at him for long! I LOVE YOU LANDON!!

So I promised you a delicious treat for Valentine's day and I think that it was a success. While I was on vacation one of the tasks that I gave Sarah was to pick us a fun dessert to make for Valentine's for all of the kids. She didn't let me down! These little cupcakes are so stinkin cute and they look fancy and elegant. Perfect for the holiday of LOVE!

Strawberry Puffcakes
adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 box chocolate cake mix (and eggs and oil package calls for)

Frosting:

½ cup fresh strawberries, hulled

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still slightly cold (we used salted and omitted the pinch of salt)

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Chocolate Topping (see my ganache substitution below):

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners and bake cupcakes according to package directions. Let cupcakes cool.

For the Frosting:

Place 1/2 cup of strawberries in a food processor or blender and process until pureed into liquid.

 

Beat butter and salt until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar slowly until combined. It will be very dry and you will seriously start to think that there is no possible way it could turn into frosting..

and then all of the sudden something miraculous happens!

Add vanilla extract, and the pureed strawberries. Mix until just blended.

Frost cooled cupcakes using the tip below.

Chill cupcakes in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (I put mine in the freezer because I think the frosting will fall off because I am paranoid, hence why kids are no where in my near future) to harden the frosting so that they are easier to dip. 

Decorating Tip: An easy way to pipe frosting without using fancy decorating tips is to fill a Ziploc bag with some of the frosting and cut off one of the corners on the bottom of the bag to about the size of a nickel. Begin piping your frosting.

For the chocolate topping:

Place chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe boil and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted.

Substitution:  Now, I used ganache. I  made the chocolate topping that the recipe calls for, but it didn't seem nearly runny enough and plus, I just love ganache. You can find my ganache recipe here.

Let cool slightly before dipping your cupcakes. You don't want to melt the frosting right off!

Carefully dip the chilled cupcakes in the melted chocolate just once. 

At this point you can garnish with strawberry pieces if desired.

Once dipped, place the cupcakes in the refrigerator so that the chocolate can set up.

Serve chilled or pull them out of the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving :)

Happy Valentine's Day everybody!!

-alyssa*