Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day cupcakes.

Happy Valentine's Day! How do you celebrate the Valentine's Day? When I think of holidays, I think of sweets. So it's only natural that when I think of Valentine's Day, I think of cupcakes. What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than to have cupcakes. 

Cupcakes pretty much sum up the holiday. They make a statement, especially if you made them yourself. Everyone loves cupcakes. So, if you don't know what to give your sweetheart for Valentine's Day then make them cupcakes. Doing so shows that you care enough about the person to share the cupcakes with them. Even if you don't have a sweetheart to share cupcakes with make them anyway, I did. I promise you won't regret it. 

When I made Valentine's Day cupcake, I made chocolate cupcakes ,  my favorite buttercream frosting, and various decorations I found that was Valentine's Day themed. I used these adorable tiny heart shaped sprinkles and these hard candy heart decorations. Both were Wilton. 

I used my favorite piping tip: the Wilton 1M tip. I colored my frosting light pink to go with the theme, of course. 

I hope you draw inspiration from these scrumptious desserts. I shared these Valentine's Day cupcakes with my friends. They all ooohhhed  and ahhhed over them. Let me tell you a secret. I think decorating cupcakes is easy and fun. It just takes a little patience, love, and time that's all. 



 All you that need to make these is a little heart and extra love. 








All it takes is a little heart. 


Have a very, very happy Valentine's Day. Make the most of it. Tell the one's you cherish that you love and appreciate them. Because all it takes three little words to sometimes make a difference. 

As always,

Peace, love, bake on. 

                                                 Andrea 

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Salsa Roll-Ups

Okay, so I am a little late on this, but the Super Bowl was over the weekend. So, I am not much a football watcher myself, but since I was given the chance to make a bunch of food, I was all for it. I do watch football now and again. And I do understand the basic concepts and rules of football, but I don't usually let on that I do, though. I'm not sure why. 

Anyway, I was at this party several days before with my cousin, who also happens to be one of my best friends, and her boyfriend. And at this party, I had some roll-ups that had cream cheese and salsa in them. When I asked what they were made of, I told myself I was going to recreate them as soon as I got home. And I did. It all worked out perfectly since the Super Bowl was the very same weekend. 

Of course, I recreated them with my very own version. I did some research and decided to make my own version of them. And the recipe came out to be something like this.




Cream Cheese Salsa Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

1- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese plus a little extra
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1  4-6 oz can olives (sliced, which 
I always buy the whole ones and cut them myself)
3 green onions, sliced thinly
5-6 tortillas (I used 10 inch, but 
smaller ones can be used)


Directions:
  1. In a large bowl, using mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Next, add salsa and sour cream, and mix together.  
  2. Add the chili powder, cheese, olives, green onions and mix together. Now, add the olives (after adding olives, I mixed using a spoon or spatula instead of the electric mixer.) 
  3.  Now, spoon about a 1/2 of a cup of the mixture (or smaller amount if using a smaller sized tortilla like a 6 inch) onto a tortilla. Sprinkle a little extra cheese (because you can never have enough cheese, this is optional), and then roll up tightly.
  4.  Wrap each tortilla roll-up in plastic wrap individually and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours. 
  5. Cut into 3/4 inch pinwheels and serve immediately. Can be served with extra salsa if desired. 


I love these because they are easy to make and they are delicious. My whole family loved them. They make great appetizers and snacks for any occasion. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did. If you have any questions or just want to comment please by either emailing me or commenting below. Thanks!

                                                      Andrea