Monday, June 21, 2010

A SWAP Party!

Check out Nic's blog here:

SWAP Party Blog

And check the cake ball recipe- looks amazing!

Paula’s Cake Balls



Serves: 36
Cook Time: 20 Minutes


Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package cake mix
1 (16 ounce) container prepared cake frosting
6 ounces of chocolate flavored confectioners coating disks or bar (available in white chocolate, dark or milk)
Food Coloring (optional)
Paula's Favorite Combinations:
*Red Velvet Cake/Cream Cheese Frosting and dipped in white chocolate coating
*Strawberry Supreme Cake/Strawberries and Cream Frosting - Dipped in Chocolate Coating
*White Cake/Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting - Dipped in Chocolate Coating
*Caramel Cake/Chocolate Mocha Frosting - Dipped in Chocolate Coating
*White Cake/Wild Cherry Vanilla Frosting - Dipped in Dark Chocolate Coating
*French Vanilla Cake/White Chocolate Almond Frosting - Dipped in Chocolate Coating
*Dark Chocolate Cake/Cream Cheese Frosting - Dipped in White Chocolate Coating
*Spice Cake/Cream Cheese Frosting - Dipped in White Chocolate Coating
*Lemon Cake/Lemon Frosting - Dipped in White Chocolate Coating
*Confetti Cake/Vanilla Frosting - Dipped in White Chocolate Coating
Steps

Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box. When cake is finished baking allow to cool for 30 minutes. Crumble the cake into a large bowl using a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Add the frosting and mix until well combined. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Line a baking tray with wax paper. Use a melon baller as a scooper to form balls with the cake mixture. Place on wax paper. Once you have used all of the cake mixture, place the baking tray in the freezer for 1 hour. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl of the microwave, stirring every 5-10 seconds until smooth. At this point you can add a bit of food coloring if you are using white chocolate.

Remove the balls from the freezer. Using one toothpick, pick up the balls one at a time and dip in the chocolate. Use a second toothpick to slide the ball off the first toothpick onto the wax paper lined baking tray.

NOTE: We found that an old Easter egg dipper works as well. If the balls fall off the toothpick into the chocolate, they are not firm enough to work with and you'll need to place them back in the freezer for additional time

Once you have covered all the balls in chocolate coating place the tray in the refrigerator until the chocolate coating is set. At this point you can drizzle other chocolate on the balls for decoration.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with a cold glass of milk!

Monday, June 7, 2010

June Show!

Hello bloggy friends and listeners!

Check out jasmere.com, and cherryhilldesigns.com!



We LOVE our labels!

Some SUPER FUN summer ideas:

Eating popsicles in bathing suits in the backyard!

Letting the kids fill the kiddie pool with water and soap bubbles and taking a bath outside in their swim suits.

Showing a movie in the backyard with a big projector screen (or white sheet) and a projector...inviting neighbors over to watch and eat Popsicles or ice cream sundaes.

Tracing shadows on the driveway/sidewalk with chalk. Trace a person then draw the clothes, face, etc. Trace a tree or plant and give it limbs, leaves, flowers.

Sipping a rum and coke poolside...oh wait, without kids!

http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/ to see if there is a bowling alley in your city that participates in the Kids Bowl Free program! Sorry, Kelly! Waco didn't make the list!

Check your city library calendar for the summer reading program and weekly family activites during the summer months. The summer reading program and kids activities are free!

One of our local malls is doing weekly summer events for the kids! (Leave it to me to find the free kids activities at a mall!) It is actually at Willow Bend Mall in Plano where Kelly and I met for mommy time..I mean Patriot and Cayden's playdate!

Take a small toy and put it on construction paper and leave it outside in the sun for couple of hours. Go outside with the kiddos and remove the toy. They will see the shape of the toy because the construction paper has faded everywhere except where the toy was. This works great with animal toys!

Mix washable liquid watercolor paint and water and place it in an empty squirt bottle. Place an old sheet over the fence and let the kids squirt the sheet. You can also do this with paper, but I have seen it down with a sheet and it is pretty fun! You can get washable liquid watercolor paint on http://www.orientaltrading.com/.

I brought my daughter back a mini kite when I was on a business trip, and we go out in the neighborhood and fly the kite. Since it's not huge, she's able to do it on her own - running up and down the street - and it burns off a lot of energy! She is 4

Water painting on the wooden fence. A cup of water and a paint brush is all you need and there is no messy clean up. The kids think it's cool to watch the "paint disappear!"

gardening, esp. raspberry picking; blowing bubbles; painting outside; making popsicles; swimming; camping; running around the house in our underwear;

My boys particularly enjoy finger painting and painting rocks. They love picking out the rocks themselves and then "decorating" them! It keeps them occupied for a LONG time!

drawing with chalk, "washing" cars, making "homes" for rollie pollies.

Super Yummy Salmon Recipe:

Seared Salmon Wrapped in Provolone & Alfredo Sauce

*fresh or frozen filet of salmon (i used 2, which could have fed 4 peeps!)
*1-2 slices of provolone cheese per filet
*1 jar of your favorite alfredo sauce

If salmon is frozen (i used the 'fresh' frozen salmon from the freezer by the fish market in our grocery store) take 10-15 minutes to thaw in warm water. Preheat your oven to 425 while thawing.
spray some olive oil into a hot skillet and sear the salmon for about 2 minutes on each side. Spray your baking sheet (with an edge all around) to ease your clean up, then place the scale side down on the baking sheet when searing is complete. Lay 1-2 slices of provolone cheese on each filet. pour 1/4 or so of the alfredo sauce over the top and place in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes to melt everything together!

I served w/ pasta and used the remaining half of my alfredo sauce to mix with the pasta.

delish! thanks mollie for this fast, fancy-italian take on salmon!