Create May 2019

Can you even believe that May is almost over? I know I can’t. It just flew right on by and almost completely got away from me. On that note, does anybody else feel like May is honestly almost as busy as Christmas? Because I do. Busy in a different kind of way, but still crazy busy. Either way, I was able to work on my #Create2019 project this month: Cake pops.

Guys, not to brag, but I make the best cake pops I’ve ever tasted. Blake and I keep trying others, and nothing else is quite as good. The problem? They never turn out pretty. So that was my goal for this month. Well, that and to try out some new flavor combos. And I am here to report that, while I’m still not 100% there yet, I have upped my cake pop game quite a bit this month. (Cue the party music).

Here are my best tips, in no particular order, for tasty (and semi-pretty) cakes pops:

1. Start with Betty Crocker cake mix. It is honestly just the best. Some people swear by Aldi brand cake mix. It’s good, but I think Betty Crocker is the way to go. Wanna hit it out of the park? Buy the box of Party Rainbow Chip cake mix and the coordinating icing. You won’t regret it. I’ve gotten the most compliments on that specific kind.
2. Get yourself some good quality melting wafers. Not baking chips. They simply don’t work as well. No, you need melting wafers. If you want a smooth coating, splurge a little bit. I recommend Ghirardelli brand. They taste super good, plus, they melt and coat beautifully. I do not recommend Wilton brand, for two reasons. 1. It doesn’t taste as good. 2. They don’t really melt much better than cheap baking chips. I also found a brand at Michael’s that was pretty good, Choco Maker. I like them because they have a variety of colors and flavors. Plus, melted fairly nicely, which was a bonus.
3. Some tutorials instruct you to put your rolled cake balls into the freezer, and some instruct you to place them in the fridge. I’ve tried both, and I’m here to say that for me, it worked best to put them into our deep freezer.
4. If at all possible, melt your wafers in a tall mug. This makes it easier to cover all of your cake pop. While dipping, I also found it easiest to pick up the mug and move it around until the cake pop was covered, instead of swirling the cake pop around in the chocolate (does that make sense?) Otherwise, I had a lot of cake pops fall off the stick. Still tasty, but technically no longer a cake pop.
5. It helps to have some tiny helpers to mush up your baked cake and roll up the balls. Many hands make for quick work, and they can roll almost faster than I can scoop.

6. Speaking of scooping, it helps to use a scoop like the one sitting in that bowl. Mine is Pampered Chef. I believe it’s this one. That will give you nice, even sized cake pops.

7. It doesn’t hurt to have helpers sticking the sticks into the cake balls either. Just make sure they get them fairly centered, and don’t poke them all the way through.

8. If adding sprinkles to your cake pops, do so almost immediately after dipping, because that shell dries quickly.

9. One box of cake mix makes a heck of a lot of cake pops, so be prepared to share. I wonder if they freeze well? I’ll have to try that and report back.

10. Cake pops are fairly involved. I like to make the cake a day in advance, and then turn them into cake pops the following day. That helps to break it up a little. (Plus, cooling time takes foooorrrrreeeeevvvvveeeeeeerrrr and I’m just too darn impatient).

This time we made Chocolate Fudge cake mix with white chocolate coating and some with coffee coating. I prefer the coffee, the kids prefer the white chocolate (thank goodness, that means more for me!) Earlier in the month we made Party Rainbow Chip with white chocolate coating and some with dark chocolate coating. Time and again, the Party Rainbow Chip with white chocolate coating is my absolute fave. But let’s be honest, they’re all good. (Unless they’re made with the Wilton wafers, in which case I don’t care for them 😅). Now don’t mind me while I go come up with some names for these babies, and maybe eat one or two while I’m at it.

Moving Forward – Recipe Round-up

Well, last month was certainly heavy wasn’t it? I think it was appropriately heavy. A kind of “necessary” heavy. But now I’m exhausted! There is a time and a place for the hard and the heavy, and I want to walk through those places with each one of you, but I also want to walk past that with you. I want you to see the beauty beyond the pain, the light at the end of the tunnel if you will. Because while your grief won’t ever fully “end”, life does pick back up again. Some of you may have a hard time believing me, but life beyond grief is possible. It is possible to live a life fully thriving, even after tragedy and loss.

Have you ever seen the show “Monk”? It’s a comedic murder mystery show about a guy who has serious OCD, among other issues. Early on in the show you learn that his wife had been tragically killed many years ago. He lives in his grief everyday, but not in a healthy kind of a way. In one episode, he goes to visit his wife’s parents. Throughout their home you can see reminders of her: pictures, the outfit they brought her home in framed on the wall, and her room left unchanged. But in spite of those things, her parents are doing really well. Monk asks her mom how she can go on living a normal life and feel happy again. I think about her response all the time. She talks about how she grieved so hard for so long. She didn’t think she could go on living. “And then one day,” she says, “the sun came out, the garden was blooming, and there were some kids riding by the house on their bikes, and I decided to give the world a second chance.” He looks unsure and as she touches his shoulder she tells him, “It’s still a beautiful world.” She realized that life still goes on, the world around her was still going on, and there are good things in it.  I sometimes have to remind myself that life. goes. on. There is still beauty around me. And I can choose how to live the rest of the life I have to live. You can still thrive beyond this grief. If you want to watch that specific episode, it’s Season 3, episode number 8, “Mr. Monk and the Game Show.”

Part of the way that I thrive beyond my grief is making delicious meals for my family.  Somebody gave me the idea to do a monthly round up of my favorite recipes I’ve tried and loved. I love sharing recipes, but not necessarily blogging about them, so sharing someone else’s recipes sounded like and excellent idea. First on the list:

saucy coconut curry with rice noodles and garden vegetables From Half Baked Harvest

If you don’t follow Teighan already, you’re missing out. She always posts the best recipes, most of which are simple – and crazy beautiful. This dish was AMAZING! And really, very easy. If you’re a fan of Thai food, give this dish a try. I don’t have her cookbook yet, but it’s at the top of my Christmas wishlist this year.

Next up:

FoolProof Eye of Round Roast from Mrs. Happy Homemaker

 

 

This one involves a little more effort, but is oh, so worth it! She prefers Eye of Round Roast, but I’ve found that I truly enjoy it with whatever roast is on sale at the moment.

For our third dish, I’ve included a side:

Roasted Broccoli with Smashed Garlic from SkinnyTaste

 

Seriously. This one is life changing. We don’t make our broccoli any other way now – except that when I’m in a hurry, I don’t even smash the garlic. And it’s still good. We even make our cauliflower similar to this. They’re both a hit all around.

Finally, I’m sharing with you an amazing dessert/breakfast/coffee snack we make this time every single year:

Starbucks Double Glazed Pumpkin Scones Copycat Recipe from Momspark.net

These are INCREDIBLE! And so close to the real thing. And honestly, they really aren’t even that difficult to make. At all. Take my word for it and give it a whirl.

That’s all for this month’s round up. What do you think? Do you like the inclusion of a monthly round up? Or would you rather pass? And what are some of your favorite go-to recipes?