Mmmmm.... Cake Balls!

Well, I finally did it....yep I tried my hand at cake balls. Thanks to my Niece Ms. Nikki, whose undyling devotion to them lit a fire under me to make them.

They looked really easy to make..  A baked cake, mix in some frosting and roll them and chill them and dip them....have you heard of the old saying "harder then it looks"?  Well, I don't want to turn anyone off of making these, but let me give a couple of tips to all of you out there ready and willing to try their hand at cake balls.  First though, here are the ingredients.

1 box cake mix any flavor made according to package directions
1 can of store bought frosting( make your own if you dont like store bought)
1 bag of Wilton candy melts or Almond Bark (white or chocolate) you can also use two bags of white or chocolate chips
Shortning to thin out dipping bark

First....bake your cake the night before you want to dip them, there are many flavor combindations out there by the way.  Let cake cool until warm.    At that point you want to go ahead and crumble your cake mix and mix in your frosting together until the frosting is well incorporated and roll the mixture into balls. 

Pumkin Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting

Second, chill them overnight in the refrigerator for best results...now a lot of people would say freeze them, and you most certainly can do that also, but a good chilling is what i found to be workable as long as you are quick (yes,.... yes, i did learn this as i went along... thanks for asking)

German Chocolate Cake with Pecan Coconut Frosting

The photo above is of the German Chocolate cake balls just rolled and ready for chilling.  Third, don't be like me, an overachiever in the kitchen, who just HADDD to make two different kinds.  Try to control yourself and make ONE box cake mix according to the directions and mix in ONE can of store bought frosting and get on with your life....Next, melt your almond bark or candy coating disks in a double boiler...with a teaspoon or two of shortening....( i used coconut oil for the chocolate balls because its better for you, but more expensive) once coating is melted dip balls into the coating using a fork or dipping tool.  I also used a toothpick to help when transferring them from the dipping to a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Chill on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator for at least one hour before transferring to container. You should also put on sprinkles or any other decoration while the balls are still wet.

Drum Roll Please..... and here are the cake balls dipped and decorated!   My kitchen most certainly did not look as pretty.  Are cake balls worth the work?  Yes definately!  One last thing....I do not really care for the taste of the candy melts so i mixed in half a bag of chocolate chips in with the candy disks for the German Chocolate and used white chocolate chips for the Pumpkin Balls coating.  The family went crazy for them.  Not bad for a Sunday in the kitchen.  Can ya just taste these Nikkers?

Here is the pan of them that i am bringing to work.......Not to shabby!!!!





Whats For Dinner Mom?

That question must be asked in 99.9% of households not only in America, but all over the world!  How we moms manage to answer that question everynight can be a challenge to our sanity.  Some nights there is no question whats for dinner, and other nights we cringe at the thought of having to do one more thing. But... if we plan ahead, and take small shortcuts when we can, then its relatively easy to pull off the daily "whats for dinner mom?" question.

So.... what WAS for dinner tonight mom?  Well, tonight in a matter of one hour, I put together a dinner of barbecued pork tenderloin along with some yellow rice and sauteed green and yellow squash.  A simple meal, but one that tonight received comments of: "Wow, that squash looks so good" and "Mmm.. this pork tenderloin is soooo good".  Lets take a look at what we had.

Yellow and Green Squash

Barbeque Pork Tenderloins

Yellow Rice

Yes...that was what was for dinner......

For the pork tenderloin I simply rinsed it and sprinkled on some salt, pepper, garlic powder and some five spice powder and rubbed them with a little olive oil and roasted them for 1 hour on 375 degrees.  For the rice I simply combined some water and olive oil and put it in a one quart casserole dish with a lid and cooked it on high for 5 minutes and then of 60% power for 15 minutes.  For the squash, a simple garlic salt and pepper mixture was used and I sauteed it in Coconut Oil and Butter until it was nice and tender.  Yes, yes, i hear you all out there....WHAT?? she didn't make the rice from scratch???? it was a no salt rice mix???  Yes, it certainly was! Good food does not have to come from scratch everyday to be really loved by our families, it just needs to be made with love.  Afterall, love is the only reason that we accomplish anything in life.  Here is hoping you try this meal with a little love for your family.

 

"Hey Mama"!

That is what my son would shout out when he would come home or call me....I miss him very much, he left this earth on May 12, 2009....he loved my cooking and I miss him rolling through the front door shouting out "Hey Mama!" so I thought why not start a blog in his honor and share some of the food he loved and some other family favorites of mine and the rest of my family and friends?

Soooooo..... here goes..... stay tuned for some good home cooking that he loved and also some talking points here and there for everyone to share.....see you soon and when you come to visit don't forget to shout out "Hey Mama!" just so I know you're home.....