Fettuccine Salad

I used to LOVE getting this at Souper Salad back when they were open... and this is a really good copy-cat version.

Fettuccine Salad

8 oz Fettuccini, cooked & drained
1/2 cup Mayonnaise (I used Hellman's, but just make sure it's real mayo)
1/2 cup Frozen Corn
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated (I used fresh Parm and my Microplane - but I'd get the powder)
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Pepper
Salt to taste

Mix all together in a large bowl while the noodles are warm. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!Pin It Now!

Texas Trash Dip

Texas Trash Dip

1 (8 oz) block of Cream Cheese (softened)
1 cup Sour Cream
2 cans Smooth Style Refried Beans
1 can Mild Rotel (if you want more spice - use any Rotel)
1 can chopped Green Chilis
2 cups Cheddar Jack Cheese (may need more)

I used my stand mixer to mix everything to make it easier -- but any sort of mixer would be fine.

Mix together all ingredients except for the cheese. Spread into a 13x9 inch pan, evenly. Cover with cheese. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is warm.

Serve with Tortilla Chips or Frito Scoops.

We had this yesterday, and everything was gone except a few tortilla chips -- I was amazed!Pin It Now!

Fruit Salsa with Pie Crust Chips

Pie Chips with Fruit Salsa

• 1 package refrigerated pie crust (15 ounce with 2 ready-made pie doughs)
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup diced strawberries
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 1 cup diced kiwi (about 3 kiwi, peeled)
• 1 cup diced peaches (about 1 large peach)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Mint for garnish (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven according to pie crust package directions; line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside

Unroll pie dough and brush with melted butter. Cut 1 crust into 8 wedges, then cut each wedge into triangles like chips. Repeat with second crust. Transfer chips to prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle chips with the cinnamon-sugar mixture and bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

While chips are cooking, prepare your salsa. Dice all fruit and place in a medium serving bowl. Combine honey and lime juice in a small bowl and then pour over the fruit. Serve with the chips.

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Rice Krispies Treat Cake

This is another crowd pleaser that can be adapted for all sorts of different holidays! In retrospect - I wish I hadn't done the white chocolate on the top, but it sure is pretty!

Adapted from a recipe I saw on the internet

12 cups of Rice Krispies
16 oz bag of mini marshmallows
1 stick of butter + butter for the pan
gel food color
white chocolate almond bark for the topping
Sprinkles or Candy for decorating if you do the topping

Generously butter your bundt pan - I used about 1 tablespoon or so off of a separate stick of butter -- and I'd recommend doing the same because mine slid right out of the pan easily. Make sure that all surfaces are completely buttered on the inside of the pan.

I split the stick of butter into 3rds --  measured 4 cups of Rice Krispies cereal -- and roughly 2 cups of mini marshmallows per "batch" -- I threw in an extra fist full of marshmallows to each of the batches.

Remember that when you invert the bundt "cake" the colors are going to come out in reverse -- so if you want a certain layer on the top -- make that color first and put it on the bottom of the bundt pan. 

Make each batch separately - in a large saucepan, melt the butter - add in the marshmallows until melted smooth - add in 2 drops of gel food color, and mix until the color is completely combined. Mix in the cereal, until combined - then spread it around the bundt pan. I used a 1/4 cup metal measuring cup and sprayed the bottom with butter flavored cooking spray -- then pressed the mixture firmly into the pan.

 Clean out the pan, and repeat for the next color. Repeat a third time. After the third color is pressed on top - set it to the side (away from any heat) for 30 minutes before turning it out onto a plate or glass cake holder.

If you choose to do the topping -- use about 1/2 of a package of white chocolate almond bark (it spreads a bit more easily than white chocolate chips) -- I had to help make the drips on the sides so that it looked a bit like a drip cake -- work quickly and add the candies or sprinkles while it is still warm enough for them to stick and adhere to the top. My son helped me with this -- we used M&M eggs for Easter -- and he followed a pattern.

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Individual No-Bake Cheesecakes

These were so wonderful that I've now decided we can make them for Easter as shown... but also you could do red, white and blue for Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Labor Day... red, white and green for Christmas... candy corn for Halloween... ombre red for Valentine's Day... whatever colors suit your fancy! The filling is white without the coloring added -- so it would really work! 

Adapted from Sugar Hero

6oz short bread cookies (I used a sleeve of Girl Scout Shortbreads)
2 TBS melted butter
1 packet unflavored gelatin
2 TBS cold water
1 lb (16 oz) cream cheese - at room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream - at room temp
1/2 cup International Delight Sweet Cream creamer - at room temp
gel food color - I used pastel for Easter
Whipped cream for garnish
Candy or sprinkles for garnish

Make sure that a couple hours before you want to start making these -- you've pulled out your cream cheese and both types of cream so they can get to room temperature.

Place a jumbo silicone muffin pan on a baking sheet. Pulse the shortbread cookies in a food processor until they are finely crumbled OR you can put them in a large baggie and use a rolling pin to crush them up finely. Mix them with your melted butter in a small bowl.

Using a cookie scoop or spoon divide the crumb mixture in the cavities of the muffin pan evenly. (it was about 2 scoops per cup for mine) Press firmly into the bottom of each portion of the pan to form your crust. I used a small medicine cup from a children's nyquil bottle -- it needs to be the hard plastic kind for it to work.

Place the cold water in a separate small bowl and pour the gelatin on top. Mix it together and then let it sit to the side until you're ready to use it.

Put the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (a hand mixer could also be used) - using the paddle attachment - beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy without any left over lumps. Make sure you scrape the bowl completely and mix again before adding anything else.

Add in the sugar, lemon juice, vanilla bean paste, and salt - mix well - scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl well.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the cream and creamer, mixing until everything is smooth. I put both of mine into the same measuring cup to come up to room temp - so I just poured in a 1/4 of the mixture at a time.

Finally, microwave the gelatin mixture for about 10-15 seconds until it is liquid again. Mix it for just a little bit, and then finish mixing it by hand to make sure you've scraped the sides and gotten everything mixed well.

Divide the cheesecake mixture by the number of colors you will be adding -- for Easter, I did 4 -- but for other holidays adjust accordingly. Stir in 1-2 drops of food coloring into each bowl and mix until the color is mixed in completely. (I used 2)

Using the same medium sized cookie scoop (again mine was 2 scoops per color) - you could also pipe in the colors if that make it easier for you. Place the scoops in the middle and spread outwardly with a spoon - I made sure that each color touched the sides of the pan all the way around each cup before adding in the next color.

Repeat with the remaining colors - layering until you've finished with all of the colors. Place the pan that is sitting on the sheet pan into the freezer for at least 2 hours. I did 2.5 to make sure that they were good and solid. They should feel solid to the touch before you try to unmold them.

To unmold - press up from the bottom of the pan, and turn it upside down - pushing the cake into your hand. We put ours in a rectangular 13x9 cake pan with a lid - and allowed them to sit in the refrigerator until time to be served the next day. You at least want them to have 30 minutes between the time you remove them from the molds and the time you're planning to serve them so that they aren't frozen. They can sit in the refrigerator for several days if you'd like to make them in advance.

To decorate - top with whipped cream (I used rediwhip so that it was fresh and looked pretty) & a pinch of sprinkles or candy. I used egg shaped M&Ms for our Easter version.

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Bite-Sized S'Mores

Bite-Sized S'Mores

48 Pretzel Chips
2 Hershey's Bars (broken into 24 pieces)
96 mini marshmallows (4 per pretzel)

- Lay out 24 pretzel chips (I only used the whole ones, not broken pieces)

- Preheat broiler to high -- I moved my rack down a little bit because I burned my first attempt.

- Place 4 marshmallows on each pretzel, and stick it in the oven for 2-3 minutes (watch them because you want to make sure the marshmallows & pretzels don't burn -- ask me how I know.)

- Place a Hershey chocolate piece on each pretzel on top of the marshmallows. Place back in the oven for 1-2 minutes so the chocolate will melt. We turned off our broiler for this step and just used the residual heat.

- Place a second pretzel chip on top of the chocolate.

- Enjoy them all warm or put them in the fridge to chill.

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Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

1 – 15 OZ Can of Black Beans (drained & rinsed)

1 – 15 OZ Can of Whole Kernel Corn (drained)

1 – 10.5 OZ Can of Rotel (drained)

¼ c. Red Bell Pepper - Minced

½ c. Red Onion - Minced

¼ c. Fresh Cilantro – Finely Chopped

¼ c. Jalapeno – Minced (optional)

Salt, Pepper & Garlic Powder to taste

Dressing:

1/3 c. Red Wine Vinegar

1/3 c. Vegetable Oil

1/3 c. Lime Juice

Instructions:

Mince the Red Bell Pepper, Red Onion & Jalapeno (if using) and place them in a mixing bowl.  Next, chop up the cilantro and leave it on the cutting board – we will add this later.  Open all cans and begin by draining and rinsing the black beans.  Once the black beans are drained and rinsed, add them to the mixing bowl.  Continue with the corn & the Rotel in the same manner until all 3 cans of ingredients are in the mixing bowl.

Measure all of your liquids for the dressing into a 2 cup measuring cup and once they are all in (1/3 c. of each), use a small whisk or a fork to mix them together well.  Pour the mixture over the bowl of ingredients.

Add the cilantro to the top and stir to mix all ingredients and incorporate the cilantro and dressing.  Taste and add salt/pepper/garlic powder as desired.  Enjoy by the spoonful, or on a corn tortilla chip.

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Grandmother's Sugar Cookies

Grandmother's Sugar Cookies

** This dough has to chill overnight

2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon milk

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Add sifted dry ingredients a little bit at a time -- I added a 1/2 cup at a time. Beat well, and refrigerate overnight. Working in small batches, roll and cut into desired shapes on a lightly floured board. I put mine back in the refrigerator between rolling batches and while cookies were baking. Sprinkle with sugar if you aren't planning on frosting them. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. If baking 2 sheets of cookies -- switch the baking position about 1/2 way through the cooking time. Cool on cooling racks until room temperature.

** I almost always double the recipes for the cookies and frosting

Frosting:

1 unbeaten egg white
7/8 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cook in a double boiler for 7 minutes. Beat constantly. It is best to have 2 people working to frost the cookies because the frosting gets harder to work with as it cools. It may take up to over night to have the frosting set -- we placed ours under a fan for 4 hours and they were ready to stack in a cookie tin.

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Green Bean Bundles

Green Bean Bundles
Courtesy of Jen Bettis

4 cans whole green beans
8 slices bacon, cut in half so that you have 16 short pieces (We actually quartered the bacon and got 32)
1 cup brown sugar
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 stick butter, melted

Divide green beans into 32 bundles - our bundles had about 8 green beans a piece. Wrap each bundle with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place in baking dish. Combine sugar, garlic, and butter and pour over bundles. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bacon reaches desired "doneness".Pin It Now!

Brown Sugar Cake

Brown Sugar Cake
Courtesy of: SuperChikk


1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 pkg (3 oz size) vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2/3 cup water
½ cup oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350. Beat first 6 ingredients with mixer 3 minutes or until well blended. Add brown sugar and mix well.

The original recipe calls for mixing 1 cup of pecans in with the batter. I just sprinkle the pecans into the bottom of my greased bundt pan, but my cake got stuck in the end... so I might try mixing some into the batter next time and have some on the top.

Pour into 12-cup fluted pan or 10-inch tube pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. (I baked 1 hour, but probably should have gone a bit longer)

Cool in pan 15 minutes. (Mine cooled longer than the 15 minutes, but still had some problems coming out of the pan) Loosen and invert. Cool completely and enjoy!

This is a GREAT cake, and is similar to my chocolate chip bundt cake... I will be making it again and playing with the pecans a bit to see if that helps with my little bit of sticking.Pin It Now!

Margarita Pie

Margarita Pie
Courtesy of: A grocery store cookbook (my son ripped off the cover and I'm not sure who's it was)

1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
1 envelope KOOL-AID Lemon Lime Unsweetened drink mix
1 tub (8 oz) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

For the crust:
Mix pretzel crumbs, sugar and butter together. Press into bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie crust. For best results - use a glass or metal pie plate instead of a disposable one. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

For the filling:
Mix the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and KOOL-AID drink mix together in a large bowl. Whisk in COOL WHIP. Pour the contents into the pie crust, and freeze for 6 hours.

Remove the pie from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving, let stand at room temperature until slightly softened. Use a large knife dipped in warm water to cut the pie into slices. I dipped the knife in the water after each cut. You can top the pie with more COOL WHIP if desired.

My crust came apart a bit - so I sprinkled the pretzel crumbs on the top so no one missed any of their salty bite with the sweetness of the filling.Pin It Now!

Amish Friendship Bread

Amish Friendship Bread

Starter:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 cups white sugar, divided
3 cups milk

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.

Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).

To make bread on Day 10:
To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon (we left this out of ours)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

** We made banana nut bread by using banana pudding mix instead of the vanilla... and we made the chocolate chocolate chip bread by adding chocolate pudding and chocolate chips to the batter. You can make this in any combination you can think of - use any flavor pudding... and add all sorts of mix-ins! 

Next time we might just add chocolate chips to the version with the vanilla pudding - that would be YUMMY too!Pin It Now!

Creamy Lime Squares

Oh sweet heaven... YUM! Somehow being pregnant has kicked into a weird love of limes... especially key lime yogurt!

Creamy Lime Squares

Courtesy of: Pillsbury.com

Yield: 24 servings

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cold butter or margarine
3/4 cup frozen (thawed) limeade concentrate (from 12-oz can)
2 containers (6 oz each) Yoplait® Thick & Creamy Key lime pie yogurt
1 box (4-serving size) French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 to 4 drops green food color
Extra whipped topping, if desired
Lime slices, if desired
Fresh mint leaves, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix flour and powdered sugar. With pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture looks like fine crumbs. In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, press mixture evenly. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 40 minutes.

In large bowl, mix limeade and yogurt with wire whisk until blended. Beat in pudding mix until well blended. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken. Stir lime peel into yogurt mixture. Gently stir in whipped topping and food color until desired green color.

Pour yogurt mixture over cooled crust; spread evenly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

For squares, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Serve each square topped with extra whipped topping, lime slice and mint leaf.

High Altitude:
Bake 23-28 minutes

Nutritional Information:

1 Serving:
Calories 200 (Calories from Fat 90)
Total Fat 10g (Saturated Fat 6g, Trans Fat 0g)
Cholesterol 20mg
Sodium 125mg
Total Carbohydrate 25g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 13g)
Protein 2gPin It Now!

Fruity Spinach Salad

(Photo from Taste of Home.com)

Yet another salad that makes me drool right now... pregnancy might just be VERY good for my diet! Because protein is important to me right now - I'd likely either have a side of grilled chicken with this, or toss it into the salad.

Fruity Spinach Salad

Courtesy of Taste of Home.com

Servings: 8

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon grated onion
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 package (12 ounces) frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed and undrained
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1 package (9 ounces) fresh spinach, torn
• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 large banana, sliced
• 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  
  
• In a large bowl, whisk the first five ingredients until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in thawed strawberries and poppy seeds.
• Place spinach on individual salad plates. Arrange the fresh strawberries, banana and avocado over spinach. Top with green onions and dressing. 

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 214 calories, 13 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 29 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 2 g protein.

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Mixed Berry Cheesecake

(excuse the photo - all I had when it was served was a cell phone)

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Courtesy of Ina Garten

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature (5 8oz packages)

1 1/2 cups sugar

5 whole extra large eggs, at room temperature

2 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, about 2 lemons (I only used 1 lemon)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I used my vanilla bean paste)

For the topping:

1 cup red jelly (not jam) such as currant, raspberry, or strawberry

1/2 pint sliced strawberries

1/2 pint raspberries

1/2 pint blueberries

** I opted just to use sliced strawberries mixed with a little sugar and lemon juice for our topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

To make the filling, cream the sugar and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of  the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. (I left the cake in the oven the whole time - I just opened the door for the 30 minutes, and then closed it again for the 2-3 hours.) Wrap and refridgerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

To make the topping, melt the jelly in a small pan over low heat. In a bowl, toss berries and the warm jelly gently until well mixed. Arrange the berries on top of the cake. Refridgerate until ready to serve.

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Cathi's Turkey Burgers

Cathi's Turkey Burgers

Courtesy of my sister Cathi

1tbls dijon mustard

8-10 oz of spinach (thaw and squeeze dry)

salt

pepper

garlic

minced onion

1 lb ground turkey

1 egg (added by John to a double batch)

1/4 cup bread crumbs (added by John)

Mix all ingredients together. Grill them until they are done, or you could pan fry them. Serve with your favorite hamburger toppings... we also put them on whole wheat hamburger buns.

** This recipe could be used with ground beef, ground pork, ground white meat turkey, or even ground chicken... I don't know if you can get ground seafood - but try it with your favorite ground meat!

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Dump Cake

Dump Cake
Courtesy of Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

2 cans of fruit flavored pie filling (you could use your choice: apple, blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, cherry, peach... the possibilities are limitless)
1 white, yellow or lemon flavored cake mix
1 stick butter

Put the pie filling in the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Add the dry cake mix on top of the pie filling, spread it evenly over the fruit. Put pats of butter over the top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool and serve with ice cream or whipped cream. (I had this as a kid warm with ice cream over it... it is really rich, but very good!)Pin It Now!

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa
Courtesy of Ellie Krieger

1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup peeled, diced cucumber
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Combine the mango, cucumber, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice and cilantro leaves and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.Pin It Now!

Sunshine Cupcakes

How stinking cute are these?!

Sunshine Cupcakes

Courtesy of Betty Crocker

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 min
Total Time: 2 hours 20 min
Makes: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

Frosting and Decorations
Yellow food color
1 container (1 lb) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting
Powdered sugar
48 large yellow, orange and/or red gumdrops
Betty Crocker® black decorating icing (from 4.25-oz tube)
Betty Crocker® red decorating gel (from 0.68-oz tube)

1. Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes, using water, oil and eggs. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

2. Stir 15 drops food color into frosting until bright yellow. Frost cupcakes.

3. Lightly sprinkle powdered sugar on work surface and rolling pin. Roll 4 gumdrops at a time into flat ovals about 1/8 inch thick. Cut thin sliver off top and bottom of each oval to make rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half crosswise to make 2 squares; cut each square diagonally in half to make 2 triangles.

4. Arrange 8 gumdrop triangles around edge of each cupcake for sun rays. Using small writing tip on black icing tube, pipe sunglasses on each cupcake. Using red gel, pipe smiling mouth on each cupcake. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Store covered in refrigerator.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Follow High Altitude directions for cupcakes on cake mix box.

Do-Ahead
Roll and cut sun rays ahead of time so kids can easily assemble the cupcakes.

Success
For brighter yellow frosting, use gel food color instead of liquid.

Nutrition Information: 1 Frosted Cupcake (Undecorated)

Calories 200

Calories from Fat 70

Total Fat 8g

Saturated Fat 2g

Trans Fat 1 1/2g

Cholesterol 25mg

Sodium 190mg

Total Carbohydrate 30g

Dietary Fiber 0g

Sugars 21g

Protein 1g

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Stuffed Strawberries

These look so dang good to me - I'm wishing I could rush out and buy a pastry bag at Target and make them this instant!

Stuffed Strawberries
Courtesy of Weight Watchers

Makes 12 servings

1 lb fresh strawberries
2 1/2 teaspoons Splenda sugar substitute (I used the brown sugar blend)
4 ounces fat free cream cheese (I used the 1/3 less fat)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

** You could add some chocolate shavings or chopped nuts for an extra kick... the possibilities are limitless!

1. Clean the strawberries and cut off the tops so that they are flat. Place them on a plate.

2. Make a hole at the top of the strawberries with a small knife.

3. Using a mixer, blend the cream cheese with the vanilla and Splenda.

4. Using a small spoon (or a pastry bag), put little dollops of the cream cheese in the strawberries.

5. Chill until ready to serve.

Or those of you not trying to loose weight - ummm... how amazing would this be if you dipped the strawberries in chocolate... yeah - I just hurt myself. YUM!

WW POINTS per serving: 0 (without my added tips)
Nutritional Information per serving:
21 calories
0.2g fat
0.8g fiber

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