St. Patrick's Day

The Leprechaun didn't do any pranks. I only did one meal for the holiday. And of course, like I said, the Rainbow Cupcakes. I got this "Taste A Rainbow" recipe from Family Fun.

Here are my six colors. I didn't follow the food coloring guide from Family Fun. I used Wilton Gels instead of the liquid. My red was a liquid, and it turned out pink. I even added extra. But the other colors came out VERY vibrant. I was pleased.


Here is a look at the layers. This was tedious work. My back was sore, and it took a lot longer than I had expected. One big cake in a Spring form pan would have been better. Layering 16 cupcakes was too long.

Here's a look at the cupcakes when they came out of the oven. Cool Red color on top, despite the pink batter.

Now... taking them out of their paper liner was a trick! I only ended up with about 7 cupcakes that had flat bottoms. I almost think that you need spray the liners with non-stick spray. And some of the liners bunched. So they left creases in the cupcake. See two pictures above for an example. You can see the gap between the liner and the cupcake pan. Anyway... those ones were harder because of the way the cake baked around the bunched part. Too much? Sorry, let's move on...

Here's the finished product. I added the green sugar, because I was on a green kick. Go figure! Note the ones that were decorated upside down. The tops were flat enough to hold the cupcakes up. It made for a fun twist to this fun dessert!

Here's one of the cupcakes cut in half. So you can see what the middles look like. This is a fun recipe! We gave some to friends. One of them said their girls enjoyed the colors and wants these for her birthday party. This would be a fun treat ANYTIME of the year!

So the meal I made was far from Irish. But it was GREEN!

Spinach Ravioli with Pesto Sauce. Sorry nothing too fancy as far as cooking directions. Frozen Ravioli, that I boiled. Then fried in Olive Oil for about five minutes. Covered with Pesto from a jar, and warmed on Low/ Medium for a few minutes, until the Pesto was heated.

Green Jell-O with Gold Coins (Bananas)

Green- Green Salad

Leaf Lettuce, Broccoli, Sweet Peas, & Green Apples

Green Kool-Aid

And that was our St. Patrick's Day. What did you do? Share your ideas, and I will give you a Pampered Chef Cookbook! Leave a comment with an idea and a way to contact you. You don't have to know me, or live by me. I know how to use the Post Office! Thanks in advance for sharing.

Torte

Again, I have been cooking, but not posting. Terrible! I haven't been taking pictures of any of my creations either! I can't believe me! There are three things that were exciting for me... The Ward Christmas Party Salad, Cherry Chocolate Christmas Torte, and Pumpkin Spice Torte. All were VERY easy!!!

Somehow I was included in the group that planned the meal for the ward Christmas party. It was not on purpose! And then I was put in charge of the salad (along with a few other things). But we wanted a sophisticated salad. Not just greens and ranch dressing. Well, I figured it would be fancy to add fruit and nuts. So I did! And I LOVE poppy seed dressing! And there were the makings of a salad. I had the recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad and improvised for a winter/ budget friendly/ large crowd version.

Romaine Greens
Red Onions
Canned Mandarin oranges
Raw cashews
Brianna's Poppy seed Dressing (not so budget friendly, but easier for a large crowd and REALLY yummy! I bought it at WinCo, but I've seen it at Albertson's and Wal-Mart too.)
The Homemade Poppy seed Dressing Recipe is Here.

I made the Cherry Chocolate Torte for Christmas dinner at my in-laws. Again an improvisation of another Pampered Chef recipe. I am LOVING The Pampered Chef Torte Pans. You can make a cake mix, add a filling and a frosting and you have an amazing dessert! I LOVE IT! Anyway... The Cherry Chocolate Torte was:
chocolate cake mix
Cherry pie filling
and I melted some white chocolate chips and drizzled it over the top.

The Pumpkin Spice Torte was for a potluck dinner hosted by Jeff's work. Yah, his work party was potluck. Sign of the economy. But I dazzled with a GREAT dessert.
Spice Cake mix
I mixed Cream Cheese, Cool Whip, and pureed pumpkin together for the filling.
Topped it with Cream Cheese Frosting (from a tub). And put some dollops of the leftover filling on top with my Easy Accent Decorator. Fun!
It was yummy. EVERYONE loved it! I would change the filling for next time. I think I would mix the pumpkin with either vanilla or cheesecake pudding mix. It would be a little sweeter.

So... there you go. I wish I had taken photos. The Torte's looked professional. I am sorry I am bragging. But I love it when I make something that looks amazing, and I get a lot of compliments, and I didn't have to slave for too long. I love not making ordinary things.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I read a blog about a Strawberry Spinach Salad and had to share my favorite recipe.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Dressing

1 lemon
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1/3 C sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds

Salad
1/4 C sliced natural almonds, toasted
8 oz. (1 1/2 C) strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 medium cucumber, sliced and cut in half
1/4 small red onion, sliced into thing wedges (1/4 C)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) baby spinach leaves

1. For dressing, zest lemon using Zester/Scorer to measure 1/2 teaspoon zest. Juice lemon using Juicer to measure 2 Tbsp. juice. Combine zest, juice, vinegar, sugar, oil and poppy seeds in Measure, Mix, & Pour. Blend; Cover; refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F. For salad, spread almonds in single layer over bottom of Small Bar Pan. Bake 10-12 min. or until lightly toasted. Remove from oven; cool almonds in bar pan.

3. Meanwhile hull strawberries using Core & More; cut strawberries into quarters.

4. Score cucumber using Zester/Scorer; remove seeds using The Corer. Using the Ultimate Mandoline fitted with v-shape blade, slice cucumber; cut slices in half. Slice onion into thin wedges.

5. Place spinach in Bamboo Bowl ; add strawberries, cucumber and onion. Stir dressing; pour over salad, gently tossing to coat using Bamboo Salad Tongs. Sprinkle with almonds. Serve immediately.

Yield: 10 servings

LOW FAT Nutrients per serving (1 cup): Calories 70, Total Fat 3 g, Saturated Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Carbohydrate 10 g, protein 1 g, Sodium 15 mg, Fiber 1 g

Cook's Tips:
I like to use the Egg Slicer Plus to slice the strawberries instead of just quarter them.
You can sprinkle some brown sugar over the almonds to give them texture and a sweet taste. You can also put the almonds and Small Bar Pan in microwave for about 3min. to toast.
For thinner onion slices use the Ultimate Mandoline with the adjustable slicing blade.
We also carry Large Square Bowl or Dots Large Round Bowl, which are GREAT for salads too!