Miss D'Lish - She's Got The "Dish" On ALL That's Delish!

2010-12-11T12:51:00.000-08:00

Holiday Cake Pops!

I had to check out the Bakerella website this holiday season because I knew she'd have some adorable holiday cake pop ideas. These babies are sure to impress at your holiday parties and with these easy step by step instructions. I am posting a variety of holiday styles. Send us pictures! Email me so I can post your holiday cake pop creations! jessica.macdonald@mail.com

Basic Cake Pop Instructions:

1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can frosting (16 oz.)

Wax paper

Lollipop sticks

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting. (I use the back of a large spoon, but it may be easier to use fingers to mix together. But, be warned, it will get messy. Also, you may not need the entire can of frosting, so start out by using almost the entire can and add more if you need to.)

Roll mixture into quarter size balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50)

Melt chocolate in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.)

Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the cake balls. (Insert a little less than halfway.)

Place them in the freezer for a little while to firm up.

Once firm, carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too.

Place in a styrofoam block to dry.

Frosty The Snowman:

White candy melts

White confetti sprinkles

Red mini M&M’s

Black edible ink pen

Red edible ink pen

Black candy color

Pink jumbo confetti sprinkles (You can find jumbo flower sprinkles and you can skip drawing the petals. I just didn’t have any on hand.

Blue confetti sprinkles

Toothpicks

Orange gumdrops

Japanese somen noodles (you can also use pasta, it’s just a little thicker.)

Disc candy mold

Cordial cup candy mold

Reese’s (optional)

Prepare the hats first. Melt candy coating and add candy coloring until the desired shade of gray is achieved.

Pour coating in the molds and place in the freezer for a few minutes to set.

When completely dry, remove and attach the top of the hat to the base by using some melted candy coating.

Then attach a pink jumbo sprinkle to the hat using a small amount of candy coating. Next attach a smaller blue confetti sprinkle on top of the pink one. If you can find jumbo flower sprinkles, you can skip drawing the petals on.

With a black edible ink pen draw on the hat details if you like. But be prepared to suck up the ink in your edible in pens.

Now dip the cake pops in white candy coating. Before the coating sets, attach the hats to the snowman head.

Use a new block of styrofoam… one that hasn’t been used for cake pops before. Because you will want these to stand straight up due to the weight of the hat. If you use old styrofoam, the integrity of the holes may be compromised and they might fall over.

When they are completely dry, attach the nose and eyes using more melted candy coating.

Draw on the mouths and the eye details with the black edible ink pen.

Then cut some orange gumdrops into smaller shapes.

Use a toothpick to drill a small hole in the cake pop mouth.

Break noodles down into one inch pieces and insert one end into the gumdrop shape and the other into the mouth for pipes. By the way these will be extremely delicate, so space them out in the styrofoam.

Note: you can also drill holes into a wood block to guarantee straight holes.

Snowmen:

White candy melts

Black confetti sprinkles

Orange sunflower seeds

Black edible ink pen

Regular Oreos

Miniature Oreos

Toothpicks

Styrofoam block

Prepare the hats first. Separate Oreos and remove the creme center. The miniature Oreos can get a lot of crumbs stuck to the side of the creme center, so take a toothpick and scrape the surface off for a white edge.

Use some of the melted coating to attach the miniature Oreo to the regular size Oreo half and set aside.

Dip the cake pops and while the coating is still wet, attach the sunflower seed nose and the Oreo hat and let dry.

Then attach the confetti sprinkle eyes by dotting on a small amount of coating with a toothpick and attach the sprinkles.

Draw the mouths with the edible ink pen and let dry standing in a styrofoam block.

And voila … Snowman Cake Pops

Reindeer

Heads: Chocolate Candy Melts

Antlers: ABC Pretzels I found at the World Market chain. The E, F, and Y letters work great. (If you can’t find these, just use regular or mini pretzel twists and break them in half for a pair of antlers.)

Noses: Red lemon heads, red m&ms, or anything red and round will work, brown m&ms

Eyes: Mini Confetti Sprinkles (the white ones)

Expressions: Americolor Edible Ink Pens (Black)

Paper Lollipop Sticks

Make the reindeers: Make regular cake pops using the chocolate candy melts. You can adhere the antlers while the reindeer pops are still wet or wait until they are dry and then apply a small dab of chocolate to the head to glue the antlers on. Once dry, you can also add the eyes and noses by gluing. Then using the edible ink pen, draw the mouths and dot your eyes.

Santa Hats

Hats: Red Candy Melts and White Candy Melts

Fur: white sugar crystal sprinkles

Balls: white coated expresso beans, gumballs, yogurt covered peanuts will work

Paper Lollipop Sticks

Make the Hats: Make a cone shape instead of a ball. Put in the freezer until firm. Then, holding the top part of the hat, dip the bottoms in white candy melts, insert the lollipop stick and set in a styrofoam block to dry. Once dry, dip the tops in red candy melts so that it meets where the white ends. Gently place the balls to the top of the hat while still wet. Let them dry. Then, use a toothpick to generously dab more white candy melts all around the bottom of the hat. While still wet, sprinkle the sugar crystals on.

Christmas Trees

Trees: Green Candy Melts

Stars: Jumbo Star Sprinkles

Ornaments: Rainbow chip sprinkles

Paper Lollipop Sticks

Decorate the trees: Make a cone shape instead of a ball and insert the lollipop sticks as usual. Place in the freezer until firm. Dip the entire tree in green candy melts. While still wet, you can use a toothpick to create the branches. When the trees are dry, you can also use toothpicks to apply a drop of green melted candy to the tree in the places you want the ornaments to be.
Happy Holidays!

2010-11-26T20:31:00.001-08:00

Tis The Season For Sharing

Just thought I'd share our holiday cards with everyone this year! I have had some fun creating holiday cards and Photobooks for the holidays and I thought I'd share the link here in case anyone needs ideas for holiday gifts to give your friends and family.

P.S. Please share your favorite holiday recipes! Email me at jessica.macdonald@mail.com and I'll make sure to post your name with your recipe! Tis the season for sharing :-) Happy Holidays. ~ Miss D'Lish

Joy And Magic Christmas 5x7 folded card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

2010-10-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

Allison Dubois's
Rockin Spagetti Sauce

Today I was lucky enough to nab a great recipe from Allison Dubois on Facebook. Its simple, has awesome ingredients and is perfect for Spagetti, other pastas, chicken or use it as a delicious bread dip

Heres what you'll need:

32 oz. stewed tomatoes

Small can tomato paste

Small can tomato sauce

3 crushed cloves garlic

t. sugar

t. oregano

t. thyme

t. basil

1 whole bay leaf (remove when sauce is finished)

(most important) 1 c. Merlot or Cabernet.

How to make it:

Simmer over medium heat 30 min., uncover simmer low 10 min. TADA! You can add green pepper or mushroom, hamburger etc. if you want.

THANK YOU ALLISON!! I know what I'm making for dinner tonight!

-Miss D' Lish

Jessica MacDonald Wanna share your rockin spagetti sauce recipe on the miss-d-lish site pretty please ;-) Email me.

Allison DuBois Ok here's my recipe. 32 oz. stewed tomatoes, small can tomato paste, small can tomato sauce, 3 crushed cloves garlic, t. sugar, t. oregano,t. thyme, t. basil, 1 whole bay leaf (remove when sauce is finished) most important 1 c. merlot or cabernet. simmer over medium heat 30 min. uncover simmer low 10 min. TADA! You can add green pepper or mushroom, hamburger etc. if you want.

2010-08-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Pastry Chef, Jason Krause of Crema Coffee and Bakery demonstrates on KOIN Channel 6 (Portland, Oregon) how to make the perfect fresh berry summer pie. Jason's recipe is sure to be a summer hit at your next gathering. Jason also happens to be my cousin, so I happen to know 1st hand how tasty his pastry sensations are. Had to share this tidbit with all of my Miss D'Lish followers, hope you all enjoy.

Fresh Berry Pie

Pie dough

12 oz Flour

2 oz Sugar

6 oz Cold butter

1 Egg yolk

3 oz. Cold water

¼ tsp Salt

In a mixer bowl combine your flour and sugar and mix together with paddle.

Cut your cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. With the paddle on slow mix till the resembles corn meal in its texture.

Combine your cold egg yolks, cold water, and salt. Mix

Then slowly add liquids to your dry while mixer is on slow. Mix till the wet and dry just come together. With cold ingredients and not over mixing this helps produce a very flaky pie dough.

Wrap and chill at least 4 hours before rolling out for pie.

Berry filling

(Can be any assortment of fresh berries)

2.25 lbs total berries needed

Set aside 1.25 of the berries washed and on paper towel drying.

Filling

1 lb. Remaining berries

4 oz. Cold water

7 oz. Sugar

1 oz. Corn starch

¼ tsp Salt

1.25 lbs. left over berries

½ oz. Lemon juice

Take the 1 lbs of berries and mash with the cold water in a bowl.

Combine in another bowl the sugar, corn starch, and salt to make sure they don’t clump together. After the dry is mixed together combine to the mashed berries and mix till well incorporated. Place over heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Cook at a boil till the liquid from the berries is no longer creamy in color from the corn starch mixture and that the liquid has thickened.

Remove from heat and add the remaining 1.25 lbs of berries and lemon juice. Lightly mix, trying to keep the newly added berries whole or large pieces. Let cool till ready to fill pie.

Pie Assembly

Remove pie dough from refrigerator and roll out to about 1/8 inch thick. Place pie plate on top to rough cut size. Place rolled out dough into pie place and press into the shape of the pie plate. Return to refrigerator.

Pie top is the same as a whole bottom or can be cut into lace and weaved on top of pie after filling has been poured in.

After pie plate with dough in bottom has chilled about 20min fill with filling and top or leave open faced. Roll under edge and crimp to a stylish finish. Egg wash, ( 1 egg and a bit of water mixed together) and bake.

Bake at 400F for about 30-40min. Checking for doneness.

Signs of doneness for pie:

-Filling should just start to boil

-Bottom of pie dough is browned and cooked all the way through. Great if pie plate is glass so you can check.

2010-08-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Kitty Cake Pop's

In honor of my birthday month I am celebrating with my favorite Bakerella recipe. This recipe is too darn cute to not share.....again. I posted this darling recipe in the past but it's back up for those of you who missed out.

All the Directions and Images Below
are from the Bakerella Website!

Here’s what you will need:

Boxed Mix: Cake and frosting

Mini Red m&m's

White candy melts

Jumbo Heart Sprinkles

Rainbow Chip Sprinkles

Black Edible Ink Pen

Paper Lollipop Sticks

Styrofoam Block

White Chocolate Chips

BASIC CAKE POP HOW TO:

(Whoops…I left the most important ingredient out of the above picture.)

But, take a look below and you can see how perfectly they work for the ears.

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting. (I use the back of a large spoon, but it may be easier to use fingers to mix together. But, be warned, it will get messy. Also, you may not need the entire can of frosting, so start out by using almost the entire can and add more if you need to.)
Roll mixture into quarter size balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50)
Melt chocolate in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.)
Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the cake balls. (Insert a little less than halfway.)
Place them in the freezer for a little while to firm up.
Once firm, carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too.
Place in a styrofoam block to dry.
Once dry, draw faces with an edible ink pen and allow ink to dry!

Note: Cake pops are a little more difficult to make than the cupcake pops because of trying to get the candy coating smooth. So, If you haven’t made them before, check out the posts on the Bakerella website for red velvet cake balls and cupcake pops.

Shape the Hello Kitty heads into a semi-flat oval shape. Insert tip of lollipop stick into some of the melted candy and insert into the bottom of the Hello Kitty head.
Take two white chocolate chips and dip the bottoms in the melted candy and then place/glue them on the top of Hello Kitty head.
Stand them up in a styrofoam block to dry. When the ears are firmly attached to the head, dip the entire Hello Kitty head in a bowl of the white melted candy. Make sure the bowl is deep enough so you can get it in one dunk. Then remove and gently tap off any extra coating. This will help smooth it out, too.
When the Hello Kitty heads are dry, apply the hearts and m&ms to make a bow and the yellow rainbow chips to make a nose. You can use a toothpick and a little bit of the melted candy to act as the glue.
Then, draw the eyes and whiskers on using an black edible ink pen

2010-04-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

MOTHERS DAY COOKIE HATS:
I scoped out the cutest cookie recipe on one of my very favorite sites, Bakerella. Perfect for a Mother's Day Tea Party! You can change the colors for different themes like Mother's Day, Easter, Showers, Tea Parties Kentucky Derby, Red Hat Society, Mom or Grandma's Birthday and more!

Example: These are the cookies Bakerella whipped up! She got the idea from this great cookie book called (Cookie Swap)! Find it on Amazon.

From the book. Here’s what they are supposed to look like. Gorgeous, huh! These are made using royal icing to coat the hat and pipe the perfect little dots. Fondant is used for the flowers and the bands.

Time Saver: To save time and to avoid waiting for royal icing to dry you can improvise.. and use fondant; as shown here with tinted and rolled fondant.

Details, Details: Also sugar pearls can be used to add detail. To help them stay in place, Bakerella used the pearls to press indentations around the hat. Then, I put a tiny amount of water on the sugar pearl and placed it in position.

And More Details...... Here they are with and without the tiny pearls. The base of the sugar cookie hats should be rolled thin before baking and the top part of the hat should be thicker to accommodate the fondant band. Bakerella used the shortbread sugar cookie recipe in the book, but feel free to use your own recipe and decorate.

Note: To get the fondant and cookie shapes to match in size, Re-cut the cookies with the cutter when you take them out of the oven and while they were still warm because they will spread a little.

You can attach the fondant to the cookies with a little bit of icing and you can attach the fondant flowers with a little dab of water. Fondant Flowers: Pick up a fondant flower plunger for this cute decoration.

Whats Mothers Day Without Flowers?

You can cut shapes out of fondant and by pressing down on the plunger, you can make center indentations… or not. You can also press the plunger into the fondant and remove the flower shape to then press and release onto a sponge or paper towel. This will give the flowers a curved shape.

We Call Them Curvy: See how they curve when you press them into a soft surface and release? If you wanted, you could also add sugar pearls to the centers or pipe with icing.

And.....Voila!!

(Vegan) Vanilla Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting (Meghan Ivey)

2010-04-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

serves 12

Cupcakes
2/3 cup hemp or soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup safflower oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of fine sea salt

Fudge Frosting
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Earth Balance butter
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup soy milk powder
note: soy milk powder is sold in large amounts, so if you have a bunch left, you can add water to make it into soymilk
If you don't have soy milk powder- the frosting will be fine, just a little runnier.

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 325 F. Line a 12- cup muffin tin with paper liners. Combine the milk and vinegar in a medium bowl, and set aside for at least 5 minutes or until it bubbles a little(not really so noticeable though!) Add the agave nectar, oil, vanilla and stir.

In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until no lumps remain.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are slightly springy. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then cool completely on a baking rack before frosting.

To make the fudge frosting, use a mixer to cream the butter together with the agave nectar in a mixing bowl until very smooth. Add the vanilla extract and about half the cocoa powder. Add in the soy milk powder, and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy. If it is runny, refrigerate the frosting until it sets up a little.

2010-04-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to Cupcake Provocateur for donating the adorable Betty Apron in Zebra Safari to our "Sassy Little Cupcake Contest"! If you have not yet checked out their website, YOU MUST! They have the cutest aprons, gifts and tasty treats. Looking for something to get the girl that has everything? You are sure to find something one of a kind at Cupcake Provocateur!

Go to http://www.cupcakeprovocateur.com/

2010-03-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

We have a WINNER Boys and Girls!

The winner of our Sassy Little Cupcake Contest is:

GINA

At blogger profile:

http://www.blogger.com/profile/00043577683322789925

Gina won a SASSY "Betty Apron" from Cupcake Provocatuer!

Leave her congratulations comments!

Gina you have (7) days to contact us with your address - so we can mail out your prize - congratulations! Thank you for entering!

~Miss D' Lish

2010-03-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

10 Minute Chicken Piccata

Quick and tasty Chicken Piccata. It takes about 10 minutes to make and tastes like a restaurant. I made this last night and I actually impressed myself!

2 Boneless chicken breasts sliced in half or 3 slices
2 TBS Butter
1 TBS Olive OIl
1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp paprika
3/4 - 1 cup dry white wine (can give or take according to taste add more if you are increasing recipe size)
3 TBS lemon juice (can give or take according to taste add more if you are increasing recipe size)
Salt
Freshly ground pepper (white or black) to taste
1 TBS Butter (for sauce at finish)
3 TBS capers

Chef's knive; platter for dredging; sautée pan.

RINSE chicken breasts under cold running water, drain, put on paper towel. Pat dry.

SLICE the chicken breasts to desired thickness 1/8 - 1/4" thick. Unlike veal, chicken is better cut than pounded thin.

MIX flour, paprika, salt and pepper

DREDGE chicken in flour mixture.

HEAT butter and olive oil in sautée pan over medium heat; be careful not to burn the butter, if using it. Add chicken breasts - do not crowd the pan. Sautée for about two minutes per side. REMOVE to a warm platter; you can place platter in warm oven.

ADD lemon and wine to pan; DEGLAZE (Dissolve the remaining bits of food) the pan using a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape. This is the basis for your sauce.

BRING to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, let sauce thicken.

WHEN sauce is thickened, swirl in butter. Add capers.

POUR pan juices over chicken. Serve.

Enjoy! ~ Miss D' Lish

2010-03-01T14:25:00.000-08:00

Miss D' Lish

Is Excited To Announce..

"Our Sassy Lil' Cupcake Contest!"

Cupcake Provocateur was a total doll and decided to give us this adorable sassy retro vintage inspired "Betty Apron - In Zebra Safari" to give to one of our Miss D' Lish subscribers! Perfect for you or the Domestic Diva in your life!

WIN THIS!!!

Enter to win by Subscribing to our Blog & The Cupcake Provocateur Blog and leave us a comment below on "What is your favorite kind of cupcake and why you would like to win!"

Contest Ends March 31st.

Winner will be announced April 1st! No, this is not an April Fools joke!

If you haven't yet checked them out online you must! They have the cutest retro inspired aprons, couture aprons, children's aprons, baking inspired gifts, pot holders, kitchen towels, accessories and more ~ Please visit their website and check them out! They are amazing. I cant stop looking at all their cute stuff! www.cupcakeprovocateur.com.

~ Good Luck Doll's!

Junk Food Sushi ( Becca @ Blue Cricket Design)

2010-02-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

My girls love to be in the thick of all I do. Be it cleaning or gardening, I can always count on having little shadows and helpers at my side! I love doing things geared towards their imagination and abilities! This is the PERFECT recipe for any young helper!

Junk Food Sushi is a concoction of all things kids love...

Twinkies! Fruit Roll Ups!! Candy!!!

I love the color of these Green Apple Fruit roll ups!!! They look as close to Seaweed
as you could get!!

Unroll the fruit roll up and using a pizza cutter slice it in 6 strips.

Now you will slice each Twinkie into three equal parts. Wrap a slice of the Fruit roll up
around each piece of Twinkie leaving the cream filling sides exposed.

Now comes the fun part! Add your favorite small candies! I always add a Swedish Fish!! It is "Sushi" right!!!! We also added sour Gummie Worms that I cut in half and Tropical Flavored Skittles! Other candies to consider using are Red Hots, Licorice Pieces,
Mike 'n Ikes and Jelly Beans! Anything small and colorful!

And VOILA!!! A super yummy tasty treat!
(I personally hate Twinkies and the taste of these but I'm a mom!!)
Kids LOVE 'em and why wouldn't they! Sugar!Candy! Junk Food!!!!

Hooray!!!!!!

2010-02-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Baby Chick Cupcakes

I know what your thinking...Easter?!?....What about St. Patrick's Day....well I promise I will have some cute St. Patricks Day posts to come... but I saw these darling Easter Cupcakes on the Food Network website and I couldn't resist these adorable spring treats!

Ingredients

1 vanilla cupcake, recipe follows
About 1/3 cup White Fluff Frosting, recipe follows
Green coconut grass, recipe follows
6 small candied malt balls (2 yellow, 2 pink, 2 white)
1 yellow chick peep
White Airhead candy

Directions

Frost a cupcake with fluff frosting. Press a circle of coconut grass on top. Nestle the malted eggs on top of the grass. Gently press the peep onto the center of the grass. Cut the white Airhead into a 1/2 oval shape; trim one side so it has a cracked egg jagged edge. Place egg next to chick.

Vanilla Cupcakes:

2 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup water
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake tins with paper liners. (To avoid cupcakes sticking if they overflow slightly, lightly spray the tops of the pans.) Put tins on a baking sheet. Set aside.

Process sugar and butter in a food processor until very creamy, scraping sides as needed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add the milk, water, and vanilla and process to blend.

Whisk both flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients, in 3 batches to the wet, pulsing, and then scraping batter off the sides of the processor as needed after each addition. Process until the batter is very smooth and pourable like pancake batter, about 2 minutes.

Evenly pour the batter into the prepared cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the cakes are just firm and spring back when gently pressed, and the tops are golden, 18 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly in tin, and turn out of tin when cool enough to handle. Cool cupcakes completely on a rack before frosting.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ease of preparation: easy

Fluff Frosting:

1/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
5 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
Pinch fine salt

Whisk the milk and vanilla extract together in a small bowl.

Slowly beat the butter and sugar, in another medium bowl, with an electric mixer until incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula.) Add the fluff and salt and reduce the speed to low. Add the milk and vanilla mixture, scrape the bowl down, and mix until fully incorporated. Raise the mixer to high and beat briefly until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Frost cupcake immediately.

Yield: 3 3/4 cups

Coconut Easter Grass for Cupcakes:

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 to 2 teaspoons liquid green food coloring
1/2 to 1 teaspoon liquid yellow food coloring

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a mesh rack on top, if available.

Put coconut in a shallow bowl. While tossing with a large spoon, add food coloring drop by drop until the desired color is reached. A little more green than yellow makes a pretty grass color. Add a few tablespoons water to moisten the mixture and help disperse the color evenly. If the color is too dark, add additional water, as needed, to dilute to the desired color. Drain the coconut in a sieve or strainer.

Spread the coconut in an even layer on the rack, or directly on the lined baking sheet. Place in the oven until dry, about 10 to 15 minutes. Use immediately, or store in covered container for up to 3 days.

Cook's Note: Food coloring can be messy and can stain your skin. To prevent this, wear latex gloves. You may find it easier to color the coconut in a large zip top plastic bag, tossing it to color evenly.

Yield: 2 cups coconut grass

2010-02-17T09:53:00.000-08:00

Tomato Basil Pizza (Jessica MacDonald)

2010-02-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

FRESH Tomato Basil Pizza

Ingredients:

Pre-made Pizza Crust (Boboli Brand)

Olive Oil

Jarred Minced Garlic in Oil

Mozzerella cheese

Pizza Sauce I use Boboli Brand

Parmesan Cheese

2 small oval shaped tomatoes

fresh package of basil leaves

pepperoni (optional)

Preheat oven to 325

Take your pre-made pizza crust and drizzle with olive oil spread on the pizza crust

Take a big heaping scoop of minced garlic and add to the crust. I use a lot I might even add (2) scoops its not as strong as fresh garlic so use a lot and spread all over crust and sprinkle crust with Parmesan.

Bake the crust at (325 -just the crust for 5 minutes - you can add a few more minutes but watch it closely)

Once the crust has had some time to bake in that flavor, take it out and spread your sauce. Add your mozzerella cheese. Thinly slice the oval tomatoes and spread all over pizza I add a lot of tomato covering every space. Add fresh basil leaves - but leave half to add after baking. Add pepperoni (optional. I make half with tomato and pepperoni for my son. He doesnt like the basil so I do half tomato and basil for me :) Sprinkle parmesan all over the top.

oval tomatoes are very tasty

Bake again at 325 until cheese is melted about 10 min. If the basil has burnt toss it and add fresh. I always add fresh leaves to the pizza after baking - basil tastes it's very best fresh on this pizza. This is my favorite recipe and its pretty easy. I added lots of short cuts!

Walnut Banana Bread (Jessica MacDonald)

2010-02-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

Walnut Banana Bread

Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2.25 oz bag of chopped unsalted walnuts
2 large eggs
4 ripe bananas
4 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

dust of powdered sugar to the top after baking (optional)

Instructions:

Mash banana, mix in with eggs, butter, sugar, milk, oil and spices. Add rest of ingredients. Spray bread pan with pam. Add to bread pan. bake in bread pan 75 min at 325 - cool and serve.

Its so good....

2010-02-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

Fresh & Fit Lunch Boxes

Check out the new Fresh & Fit lunch boxes. These things are so cute!

They are designed like cute purses in all sorts of colors and styles.

They have coolers with 3-4 mini Tupperware pieces inside. You can pack healthy lunches and save money - break the habit of eating out everyday! best part I found them at TJ Max! I am trying one out today, I packed a nice salad with dressing on the side a cup of fruit and cottage cheese.

A great way to make a healthy lunch to go!

2010-02-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

Your Best Valentine's Day Desserts

When we set out looking for valentines day treat ideas, we thought ...where better than the Martha Stewart website! We were right she had some great ideas. I picked a few selections to share with you that can be done quickly and easily. The thing about Valentines Day is we all want to make impressive treats but we also want our time for romance. Here are some quick and easy shortcuts.

(All pictures and ideas are from www.marthastewart.com) If your feeling really crafty and would like to make the homemade delicious from scratch versions please check out her website :)

Layered Heart Cupcakes

You will need:

silver muffin cups

Pink doilies (optional but a cute touch)

Box of chocolate cake mix

tub of pink frosting.

Bake cupcakes as directed and let cool. Cut the tops off chocolate cupcakes, Frost the bottom half of the cupcake saving the top. Punch a heart shape using a cookie cutter, then replac the top onto the cupcake. Fill the heart with more frosting to create a beautiful color combination of dark brown & pink.

Cocoa with Marshmallow Hearts

You will need:

Hot Cocoa Mix

Marshmallows

Tiny heart shaped cookie cutters

Red Mugs (optional but pretty presentation)

Make the hot cocoa mix as directed. cut the marshmallows in half to more easily be able to cut through them with the cookie cutter. punch through the marshmallow with the cookie cutter. Use both pieces of marshmallow to decorate the cocoa.

Mini Valentine Message Cakes

You will need:

Mini heart shaped cake or muffin pans

Cake mix, any flavor

pastel icings or pastel fondant

reg tube of icing to write with

Smoothing knife or use the back of a butter knife

Make cake mix as directed bake and cool. Spread icing or fondant smoothly. Add your special messages (or maybe a marriage proposal...)

Heart Shaped Pancakes

You will need:

Pancake mix

A steady hand

Syrup

Mix up the pancake mix as directed on package. Pour in a heart shape. Steady hands needed - you may have a few that don't turn out....but practice makes perfect and this is sure to make your hunny bunny start his day with a smile....and your little one's too!

Send us your Valentines Day recipes, pictures, ideas, information, and stories. We wanna hear from you! Happy Valentines Day....

~ Miss D'Lish

2010-02-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

Best Ever Sugar Cookie

Ok...So you know when you find the best recipe EVER and inside your head you hear a sneaky little voice that says

"Ooh!!!! You should never ever ever in a million years share this recipe with a single soul because then you can be the queen of (fill in the blank) making and everyone will think you're fabulous and envy your baking skills and wish they were you!"

Well...this is one of those recipes but I told that sneaky little voice to hit the road!

This here Sugar Cookie recipe is the BEST! My dear friend Aspen shared this with me 4 years ago and ever since I've been so loyal to it I can't bare to try another! They are moist and Soft and the perfect dough for any holiday! Cookie Cutters turn them into the perfect Halloween Bats! Best Ever Spring time Flower and of course the best heart shaped Valentine treat!

Best Ever Sugar Cookie

Blend together until smooth:

1 1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup melted Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 eggs
1 Cup Sour Cream

Combined in separate bowl:

5 Cups Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined.

Make a ball out of the dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge 2-3 hours or until firm. Over night works well too.
Once dough is firm roll out a portion of the dough onto a floured surface. You want the dough thick. I roll mine out to be about 1/3" thick!
Cut with cookie cutters and place on greases cookie sheet.
Back at 375 for 10-12 min. You don't want them golden brown. They will be the same shade as the uncooked dough.

To make the perfect glossy and smooth frosting simply warm in your Microwave a can of Strawberry Frosting for about 30 seconds. Stir it and warm it longer until it's soupy. Dip your cooled cookies face down into the frosting and let the excess frosting drip off. Add Sprinkles right away so they can stick well. When the frosting cools it dries smooth!

These are perfect for Neighbors and Teachers or to eat all by yourself! Don't ask me how I know!!!

Enjoy!!!

Lean & Mean Meatloaf (Gena Lee Nolin-Hulse)

2010-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Gena Lee's ~ "Lean & Mean Meatloaf"!!

Just wanted to thank Gena Lee Nolin-Hulse for contributing this great recipe! I am all for healthy alternatives to great traditional dishes and this one is EXACTLY THAT!! Can't wait to try her Lean & Mean Meatloaf recipe.

Gena Lee's ~ "Lean & Mean Meatloaf"!!

Depending on how many you're feeding.. I always go for more so we have left overs.

@ least 3lbs of Lean Ground Turkey
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. Honey BB-Q Sauce
1 pkg. of Crumbled Crackers - ( saltines)
1 pkg. of Ranch Seasoning
1/2 white onion (minced up)
1 tsp. Cracked pepper
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder or Fresh pressed Garlic

I always combine my eggs, bb-q sauce & mixture without the turkey, so its mixed well before adding the meat. Then, with your CLEAN hands, get down and dirty -- Mix it up!

On a cookie sheet lined with foil, create a large almond shaped mound with your turkey... Once you've made the perfect mound, drizzle honey BB-Q sauce until completely covered. Mmmmm...

Cover with foil and bake for 1-1-1/2 hours at 400'... Or I use a probe until the meat reaches 170 degrees.

The last 15-20 minutes take the foil off so you get a crisp, golden meatloaf!

I always serve with a fresh vegetable & yummy mashed potato's!

Enjoy!

Brigadeiro - Brazilian Candy (Lara Marotta)

2010-01-28T16:17:00.000-08:00

Brigadeiro Brazilian Candy

Valentines Day is near so I'm really excited about Lara's recipe! We need some new Valentines treats! I can't wait to try this one out it looks d'lish!

Here's her Recipe:
Brigadeiro is a traditional and easy to make Brazilian candy that everyone likes! You will find these at birthday parties and maybe even at a special dinner. To make this, follow the steps below.

1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon butter
1 package chcocolate sprinkles

1. In a medium saucepan combine condensed milk and cocoa powder and butter. Stir until completely dissolved.

2. Put the saucepan on low heat and stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula.

3. Continue stirring on low heat until you are able to see the bottom of the pot when you tilt the pan, the mixture will get thicker in consistency. This should take 10-12 minutes.

4. Now pour the mixture onto a lightly greased plate or cookie sheet. Spread the mixture thinly and evenly
5. Allow to cool for around 10-20 minutes or until mixture does not move or slide off the plate.
6. Grease hands with butter and roll mixture into teaspoon sized balls and coat with chocolate sprinkles.

Extra tips:
You can use other ingredients to coat the brigadeiro with, such as coconut flakes, unsweetened cocoa, crushed nuts... etc.

You can also add some dark rum to the mixture as well.

A creative way to display the little sweets is in mini cupcakes holders.

You can add or subtract how much cocoa you want to add to the mixture according to your taste.

Do not use non-fat condensed milk, otherwise it won't hold shape.

Hot Dog Doggies (Fallon DuBois)

2010-01-27T11:37:00.000-08:00

Hot Dog Doggies

This is the most adorable recipe. I remembered it from one of Allison DuBois Facebook posts and with her permission I am sharing this adorable recipe her daughter Fallon made all by herself with the help of a fun cookbook!

This is a great project to let your kids try all by themselves, or a fun project to do with your kids! Great for parties or just a fun way to encourage your kids to eat their dinner.

Ingredients:

Pillsbury Crescents

Hot Dogs (Inside Rolls and Head)

Sweet Tomato's Sliced Long (for tail)

Cherry Tomato's (Head)

Sliced Pickle's (Ears)

Chopped Black Olives (Eyes)

You Will Need:

Tooth Picks

Instructions:

Preheat oven as Pillsbury Crescents package instructs.

Roll hot dogs in Crescent dough.

Bake as instructed on crescent package

Cool

Decorate using ingredients above! Voila!

Our compliments to the Chef! Thank you for the fun share! Can't wait to try this one at home!!

Spectacular Birthday Cake "Ace of Cakes"

2010-01-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Spectacular Birthday Cake

Allison DuBois was so kind as to give Miss D'Lish permission to post a few pics of her daughter Sophia's birthday cake from "Ace of Cakes". What a fabulous cake! This stunning cake was blueberry muffin, white chocolate and raspberry! And according to her picture post it was "unbelievably good"...WOW!

Check out the detail! What a fabulous, awesome birthday cake! Sophia sure is lucky! Thanks Allison!

Chicken Tetrazzini (Nancee Rose)

2010-01-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients:
4 chicken breast halves (on the bone preferred)
One half med. Onion – chopped
2 or 3 stalks celery – chopped
One pound fresh mushrooms - sliced
One pkg shredded cheddar cheese
One can cream of chicken soup
One-cup sour cream
One half-cup red cooking wine
Salt & pepper to taste
Spaghetti pasta (boil about a one & a half inch diameter bunch of raw pasta)
Parsley
Breadcrumbs
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Boil the chicken breast in approx. 4 cups of water with onion and celery. (can add
one can of chicken broth or bouillon)

2. Boil pasta until firm doneness

3. Take out chicken when done & cool, leaving onion and celery in broth, add sliced
    mushrooms to broth and simmer until reduced in size.

4. Meantime, in another saucepan, heat soup, sour cream, wine, and one cup of
    chicken broth (from simmering mushrooms). Do not boil - when at a simmer add
    cheddar cheese and turn off heat. Stir until well mixed.

5. Debone chicken, chop strain mushrooms, onions & celery from broth (can save broth and
    store for future use)

6. Mix all ingredients: chicken, cheese sauce, mushrooms, onions, celery & spaghetti. Add
    salt, pepper and parsley as desired.

7. Put mixture in a greased casserole. Top with Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs & parsley.

8. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 mins, until bubbling

Cranberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake (Nancee Rose)

2010-01-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

Cranberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1 stick butter / margarine
2 eggs
1 cup (pint) sour cream
1 cup cut cranberries (cut in half)
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 t. almond extract
½ c. walnuts (or more)

Cream butter, add sugar, add eggs one at a time mixing in between. Add sour cream, almond flavoring, mix well. Add sifted dry ingredients, mix. Add cranberries & nuts. Pour into well greased bundt pan. Bake at 350o for 55 minutes.

When cool, drizzle with icing. ¾ c. confectioners sugar, 1 T. water, 1 t. almond extract.