Cake Pops – Can Also Save a Crumbled Cake Disaster!

Ruined cakes are no longer a problem!

Over the last year, I’ve noticed that the newest treat idea has been Cake Pops. I read up on a few recipes and the concept is pretty easy with a great outcome which would make you look like a kitchen expert. The basic recipe is to bake a sheet cake from a boxed mix, your choice of flavor. Once the cake has been baked and cooled, you crumble it into a large bowl and then bind the cake crumbs together with either store-bought or homemade buttercream frosting. You need to add enough in order to form balls of ‘dough’. You insert a lollipop stick into each of them and freeze the cake balls until firm. You dip them in either candy coating or melted chocolate to cover and form a shell.

Now, that is the bare minimum, however, it seems to me that so much more can be done to enhance these little cakes on a stick.

Ideas . . .
You could include some crushed candy cane in the crumb mix.
Have some ground nuts on hand so you can immediately dip the end of the cake ball into them.
Put some melted coating into a squeeze bottle and drizzle a design on the freshly coated treats.
Dust them with colorful sugar or sprinkles before the coating sets.
Add some tiny chocolate chips to the crumb mix.

Italian Casserole Dish

This is a relatively quick meal to get into the oven. You can add some crusty, warmed bread, and a crisp salad to make it a feast and impress your family with your culinary abilities!

Italian Casserole Dish
8-10 ounces uncooked pasta shape of choice (not spaghetti, however)
2 eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese, divided
1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
Pinch of chili flakes to taste
2-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, divided

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cottage cheese, spinach, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, Feta cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and chili flakes; set aside. Stir in 2 cups of spaghetti sauce into the pasta. Layer half of the pasta mixture in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish coated with vegetable oil spray. Layer with spinach mixture, remaining pasta mixture and remaining spaghetti sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Cover and bake at 350° for approximately 45 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover and continue baking for another 10 minutes to brown the top a bit.