Man Food - Bacon Wrapped Brats

Seriously?  Bacon wrapped around a bratwurst?  The hubby's eye started bulging out of his head when he saw this one.....and I think he might have started drooling too.  What a simple way to amp up a casual little BBQ (around here we BBQ all year!).  Forget hamburgers and hot dogs.....these are pretty much just as easy (you just have to wrap the bacon around the brat, securing with toothpicks), but man oh man.......you will make everyone sooooo happy!

We served these on some french bread buns loaded with spicy mustard and sauteed onions and pepper.  Delicious!!  So delicious, in fact, that I completely forgot to take a picture of the finished project.  Oops!!  Just picture it in your mind, and then run to the store and make this as soon as you can......you will make the men in your life very, very happy!  Oh, and my one word of advice........remember to remove the toothpicks before eating!

Check out Two Peas and their Pod for the recipe.....and Enjoy!!

This post is linked to:

Fusion Fridays - Fat Camp Friday - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Friday Food - Tuesday Talent Show - These Chicks Cooked - Cast Party Wednesday - Full Plate Thursday - Show Off Your Stuff

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

It's almost Halloween!!  Our oldest son is asking us every day how many more days until Halloween.  I think he's waiting for the candy windfall that's bound to happen.......which reminds me.....I have completely forgotten to buy any candy for our house yet.......ack!!  I better get on that before the only thing that's left is Tootsie Rolls and Smarties......the two candies that I really really don't like!

Since we're not allowed to bring in any homemade treats to our son's Kindergarten class (don't even get me started), I'm making up for it by bringing a ton of things to my younger son's preschool class.  These white chocolate covered pretzels are so easy to throw together.......you can really use any type of sprinkles on them........they're even great covered in mini M&Ms (I wish I had Halloween colored ones, but I didn't).  I found cute little sugar pumpkins at my local baking supply store.....all of the other sprinkles were from Target.  Michaels carries the cute little pretzel rod bags, so that you treats can be neatly bagged up.  I love these treats.....a perfect combination of sweet and salty!!

To make these guys you'll need:

pretzel rods

white candy melts or white chocolate

sprinkles (any kind will work)

additional colors of candy melts (if you want to drizzle some over the top of the sprinkles)

wax paper

Melt the white candy melts in a microwave safe bowl.  Once they have melted, transfer to a tall narrow glass (careful when pouring!).  Dip a pretzel rod as far as you can into the melted candy melts and shake off the excess.  Lay down on the wax paper and add on whatever sprinkles or decorations you want to use.  If you're putting on mini M&Ms you may want to wait a second before adding them on.....since they're so much heavier than the sprinkles they have a tendency to slide off the sides.....waiting a minute will allow the surface to get a little tackier so that they can stick better.  If you want to drizzle an additional color over the top of these, melt the other color and then place in a ziploc bag.  Snip off a little bit off of the corner of the bag, and drizzle.  

Once completely dry, place into bags and tie with ribbon or string......Enjoy!

This post is linked to:

These Chicks Cooked - Cast Party Wednesday - This Week's Cravings - It's a Keeper Thursday - Turning the Table Thursday - Sweet Treats Thursday - Full Plate Thursday - Show Off Your Stuff - Fusion Fridays - Fat Camp Friday - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Favorites - Friday Food - Sweet Tooth Friday - Anything Goes Linky - Sweets for a Saturday - Seasonal Inspiration - Sweet Indulgences Sunday - Monday, Mmmm....Dessert - Tuesday Talent Show - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - T' Time

Frankencrispies

Say Hello to my new little friend!  I call him Frankencrispy....and I think he's adorable!

I saw these Frankenstein Rice Krispy Treats Pops over at Pop.O.Licious.  They had made them as pops....but when I tried to do that I had a little trouble.  Once I got the green candy melt coating on these guys they got so heavy that they pulled right off of the stick......so instead they became little hand held guys.

To make these guys you'll need:

green candy melts
black or brown jimmy sprinkles
candy eyes
black food marker

Melt the green candy sprinkles, and while still wet, dip the top of the head in the jimmies and lay on it's back on wax paper. Sprinkle a few more jimmies on the front of the head.  Add the candy eyes (to make the eyelids you'll kind of scrape the eyes into the candy coating as you're putting the eyes into place).  Let dry completely.  Once dry, use a black food marker to draw on the mouth and a scar.  Or, if you have black candy melts, you could melt those down and pipe on a mouth and scar.

Have fun with these......and remember, they're monsters....they don't have to look perfect!!

Packed up and ready to go!

This post is linked to:
Sweet Indulgences Sunday - Monday, Mmmm...Dessert - Tasty Tuesday - Tuesday Talent Show - T' Time - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - These Chicks Cooked - Cast Party Wednesday - This Week's Cravings - It's a Keeper Thursday - Turning the Table Thursday - Sweet Treats Thursday - Full Plate Thursday - Bake with Bizzy - Show Off Your Stuff - Pin'Inspirational Thursday - Fusion Fridays - Fat Camp Friday - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Favorites - Friday Food - Sweet Tooth Friday - Anything Goes Linky - Sweets for a Saturday - Seasonal Inspiration - Halloween Traditions Link up

Spiderweb Cupcakes

So I can't decide.....do my white chocolate spiderwebs actually look like spiderwebs, or do they look like snowflakes?  I'm leaning towards spiderwebs, but I think they could probably pass for snowflakes too.....

These are the cupcakes that I brought to our neighborhood Halloween party.  I knew that it would be mostly kiddos eating these, so I just went ahead and did a box cake mix of Halloween funfetti.  But I knew I wanted to try doing those white chocolate spiderwebs that I had been seeing on Pinterest, so I made some chocolate frosting for the spiderwebs to sit on.  The chocolate frosting recipe I used was from Our Best Bites, and it has a great chocolate flavor, without being too intense for the kiddos.  The spiderwebs are from Country Living.  There's a recipe and a template to print out.....just follow the lines!

One of these days the weather will cool off and it will actually feel like Fall!  At least it's a little cooler in the mornings now......but by the afternoon it's still plenty hot.  We've been to our local pumpkin patch twice so far (Lombardi Ranch), and both times it's been pretty toasty out there.  Going to the pumpkin patch is one of the things I look forward to all year.......the pictures always come out gorgeous, and the kids have an absolute blast!  Half the time they completely ignore the pumpkins, and instead want to run in the hay bale mazes, play on the vintage fire truck, and ride the choo-choo.

Pure happiness!

Our big guy is getting so big!

Superheroes!

Jedis!

Check out Our Best Bites for the chocolate frosting recipe, and Country Living for the spiderweb template........and Enjoy!

The kids can spend forever just running through the pumpkins!

This post is linked to:
Show Off Your Stuff - Sweet Tooth Friday - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Fusion Fridays - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Food - Sweets for a Saturday - Seasonal Inspiration - Fat Camp Friday - Sweet Indulgences Sunday - Monday, Mmmm......Dessert - Tasty Tuesday - Tuesday Talent Show - T' Time - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - These Chicks Cooked - Cast Party Wednesday - It's a Keeper Thursday - Turning the Table Thursday - Sweet Treats Thursday - Full Plate Thursday - Bake with Bizzy

Apple Pie Cake

This is the first month of the Improv Cooking Challenge, started by Sheryl over at The Lady Behind the Curtain.  Each month she will give the participants two ingredients, and we're to come up with any recipe we want as long as it includes those two ingredients.  For this month, the two ingredients are apples and caramel.

I decided to go with a recipe that I haven't made in years (Apple Pie Cake), and add to it the Caramel Rum sauce that was so amazingly delicious from the Club: Baked challenge a couple weeks ago (Bananas Foster Fritters).

The toughest thing about this recipe is peeling, coring, and slicing all those apples!  There are a lot of apples needed for this, and you will get a springform pan packed to the gills with apples!  Don't worry, they will cook down a bit.  But you may want to make sure you have some people to share this with.....there's a lot to go around!  The great thing about this recipe is that the same dough that is used on the bottom is sprinkled on the top....only two bowls to dirty!

I waited until the pie/cake had cooled before drizzling on some of the caramel sauce, but because I hadn't waited for the caramel sauce to completely cool off it kind of soaked into the topping.  Had I gotten it completely cooled off before drizzling it on, you would have seen it better in the photo, but trust me, it was still delicious!  This sauce was a gigantic hit for our Baked challenge.....caramel and rum go together perfectly.....not to mention it's a piece of cake to throw together!  It's easy to throw together because it's not a traditional caramel sauce where you would dissolve your sugar and wait for it to get to the darkness you like......this one is much much easier!

APPLE PIE CAKE
Source: Martha Stewart

2 cups flour

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

5 pounds tart apples, such as Granny Smith (about 12)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  Using an electric mixer or a pastry cutter, cut in butter until the mixture forms pea-size pieces.  Press two-thirds of the mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up the side of a 9-inch spring form pan.

Preheat oven to 350.  Peel the apples, cut into thin slices, and place in a bowl.  Pour off any accumulated liquid.  Toss the apple slices with the remaining teaspoon cinnamon and the lemon juice, and put them in the prepared pan, pressing down gently as you pack them in (they will mound above the edge of the pan).  Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top.

Put the pan on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and let the cake cool in the pan to set.  Serve at room temperature.  

CARAMEL RUM SAUCE
Source: Baked Explorations

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum
Pinch cinnamon (optional)

Place butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir together until smooth.  Add the heavy cream and bring the mixture to a boil.  Once a boil is reached, remove from heat and stir in the extract, rum, and cinnamon.  Set aside until ready to serve.





This post is linked to:
Show Off Your Stuff - Sweet Tooth Friday - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Fusion Fridays - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Food - Sweets for a Saturday - Seasonal Inspiration - Fat Camp Friday - Sweet Indulgences Sunday  - Monday, Mmmm....Dessert - Tea Party Tuesday - Tasty Tuesday - Tuesday Talent Show - T' Time - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - These Chicks Cooked - Cast Party Wednesday - It's a Keeper Thursday - Turning the Table Thursday - Sweet Treats Thursday - Full Plate Thursday - Bake with Bizzy - A Themed Baker's Sunday

Oreo Mummy Pops

You've probably seen these Oreo Mummy Pops before......they were all over blogland last Halloween.  I made them twice last year, and they were such a huge hit, I had to make them again this year!  We had our annual neighborhood Halloween party this weekend, so I whipped up a batch to bring.  What kid can refuse an Oreo covered in chocolate??  Even my older son, who is a notoriously picky eater (even when it comes to dessert), will devour one of these.  I'll be making another batch of these closer to Halloween to pass out at my younger son's preschool class (you have been warned!).......unfortunately I can't bring it to my older son's Kindergarten class......no homemade treats allowed (BOO!).

These treats are really simple to put together......and they come together waaaayyyy faster than cakepops do!  For instructions on how to make the Mummy pops, check out How Does She.  If you've never made Oreo pops before, and need instructions on the basics of putting them together, they've got a step-by-step guide here.

My little mummies from last year packed up and ready for school!

In case you were wondering.....we all dressed in Star Wars costumes this year (after being super heroes last year)......yes, we are dorks, but it was fun!

Enjoy!!

This post is linked to:
Monday, Mmmm......Dessert - Tuesday Talent Show - Tasty Tuesday - Tasty Tuesday - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - These Chicks Cooked - Cast Party Wednesday - T' Time - Turning the Table Thursday - Bake with Bizzy - It's a Keeper - Sweet Treats Thursday - Full Plate Thursday - Show Off Your Stuff - Sweet Tooth Friday - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Fusion Fridays - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Food - Sweets for a Saturday - Seasonal Inspiration - Fat Camp Friday - Sweet Indulgences Sunday - This Week's Cravings - Halloween Traditions Link Up

Club Baked: Sawdust Pie

This round of Club: Baked was selected by Tessa over at The Cookin' Chemist, and she picked Sawdust Pie.  I had never heard of Sawdust Pie before, but it's basically a Pecan Pie with the addition of coconut and white chocolate.

I decided to throw this together for a last minute BBQ we had last weekend.  I had everything on hand, and to make it even easier for me, I used a refrigerated pie crust so that all I had to do was fill it and bake it......easy peasy!!  This is a one bowl dessert.....once you get all the main ingredients in, just add in the egg whites and mix till it's all combined.  It looked a little strange to me....but those Baked guys haven't let me down yet, so I went with it.  I'm glad I did, because it came out beautiful!  It smelled wonderful...definitely like a pecan pie, but with that extra little something from the coconut and white chocolate.

The pieces held up beautifully when the pie was cut.......no oozing apart like pecan pies sometimes do.  The recipe says to top with either whipped cream or banana slices.  We did whipped cream, since that is one of my favorite things on the planet.  This pie was a hit with everyone!

For the recipe, go to The Cookin' Chemist, and check out Club: Baked for the other bakers' results......Enjoy!!

This post is linked to:
Fat Camp Friday - Sweets for a Saturday - Sweet Indulgences Sunday - Sharing Sundays - Monday, Mmm....Dessert - Tuesday Talent Show - Tasty Tuesday - Crazy Sweet Tuesday - These Chicks Cooked - Cast Party Wednesday - Turning the Table Thursday - Bake with Bizzy - It's a Keeper - Sweet Treats Thursday - Full Plate Thursday - Show Off Your Stuff - Sweet Tooth Friday - Friday Favorites - Anything Goes Linky - Fusion Fridays - I'm Lovin' It - Friday Food - Seasonal Inspiration - Tea Party Tuesday