Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls

Ok...  I know that title is a mouthful.  But so are these delicious cake balls!  The strawberry cake and the milk chocolate coating are the perfect combination!  

Top them off with some cute sprinkles (like the adorable Valentine's sprinkles I found at the store) or a white chocolate drizzle and you have a finger-food dessert that is great for any time of year!  And they're also perfect for a party since one batch makes about 60 cake balls!  Be ready to share!

Beware though, these are a little intense to make.  It would be absolutely perfect if you had a friend to help share the work, but it is completely possible to make these little beauties on your own.  They are just a little high maintenance but totally worth it!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls
Makes: 50-60
Adapted from: Tidy Mom

Ingredients:
1 boxed strawberry cake mix, prepared and baked as directed
1/2 - 3/4 tub of icing of your choice (I used some strawberry and some cream cheese)
about 1 pound milk chocolate
1-2 tablespoons Crisco
White chocolate and/or sprinkles for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare and bake strawberry cake as directed on package.  Allow it to cool completely.
2. Crumble the cake into a large bowl.  Mix in the icing with a mixer, spatula, or your hands.  Make sure you completely combine the icing and cake.
3. Roll the mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Place in the freezer for about 1 hour to firm up.
5. Before removing the cake balls from the freezer, melt the chocolate and Crisco in the microwave at 30 second increments until smooth.
6. Use a toothpick to dip cake balls in chocolate and place on waxed paper to dry.  The chocolate will dry very quickly, so make sure to add the sprinkles (optional) quickly.
7. Add white chocolate garnish when milk chocolate has dried (optional).
8. Refrigerate until ready to eat.  These can be served cold or at room temperature.

 *Note:  When dipping the cake balls, I use one toothpick to dip and another to push the cake ball off of the first toothpick.  Then, to cover up the hole, I dab on a little chocolate with a spoon.

I hope you enjoy these delicious treats!  Be sure to have a plan to share some of them, because 60 cake balls is A TON!  Enjoy!

Crepes from Heaven

 
So, I bought some fresh strawberries at the store yesterday.  And as I was laying in bed last night, I decided just what to do with them... Strawberries and Cream Crepes!

BEST.  IDEA.  EVER.

These crepes were absolutely amazing!  Seriously, crepes from heaven is not at all an exaggeration!  I could have kept eating these until it killed me.  That's how amazing they were!  I definitely should not have eaten all four.  I would highly suggest sharing these with a friend unless you want to follow them up with a major workout (which I did, good for me, lol).

You should go make them... Now... Whatever time it is that you're reading this!  I had them for breakfast, but they would be equally as perfect for dessert!

So I used my Crepes for One recipe.  Then I whipped (literally) up some cream cheese cream to put inside of them.  And with the tart, fresh berries.  YUM!

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream (for one)
This made the perfect amount of cream for the four crepes that the Crepes for One recipe makes.  *Note: the crepe in the photo was filled a little too full, so I filled the other ones a bit less to compensate.

2 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
2. Add whipping cream and powdered sugar.  Beat until combined and slightly stiffened.
3. Set in refrigerator while you cook the crepes.  (Crepes for One Recipe)
4. Spoon two dollops into the center of each crepe, then top with fresh strawberries.
5. Roll the crepes up and enjoy heaven!

 I am not even kidding.  I would make these every single day of the week if they wouldn't make me fat!  Please go make them so that someone else will know what heaven tastes like with me!

The Spirit of Valentine's Day

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I made two yummy pink treats yesterday.  The recipes for both will follow next week, but for now, I just wanted to give a little sneak peek.

For breakfast, I surprised the hubby with some baked donuts.

They are a simple vanilla donut with strawberry glaze.  And of course, you can't forget the adorable Valentine's sprinkles I found at the store!  But since Thomas isn't as enamored with sprinkles as I am, I only put them on half of the donuts.

They were super yummy and weren't too sweet.  Definitely a recipe I'll make again, maybe with chocolate icing next time!  Delicious!

Then, for our Valentine's Day dessert, out of the many desserts I had picked out, Thomas chose the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls.

So I made a million of those and topped them off with the same adorable sprinkles!

The thing about cake balls though is that one cake makes a ton.  So we will be sharing a bunch of them with friends over the next few days!

We had a great time yesterday, spending some time outside together.  Then we ordered some pizza and came home for a relaxing night in.  We decided to save "The Monuments Men" for a different night, so I'll give you a review of that when we see it.  Instead, we rented "Riddick" and watched some Olympics while snacking on cake balls!  All-in-all, a fabulous day!

Sweets That Say "Love" {Lundi Little Lovelies}

This year for Valentine's Day, I will be making a sweet treat for the hubby and I to munch on rather than getting dessert at a restaurant.  We're trying to go the bit more budget-savvy route and mostly stay in for Valentine's Day.  So, I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas of something that is both cute and delicious to make.  And in spite of some of Thomas' picky tendencies that narrow down the field, I still have a plethora of ideas.

So here are some of the delicious and adorable treats that I like so far.  And beware, they range from simple to decadent and easy to insanely difficult to make!

***Please note that I do not own the photos or recipes in this post.  They are from many different websites that I have found via Pinterest.  Please click on the link below each photo to go to the website for a recipe.

 

Raspberry and Chocolate Cheesecake Trifles from Crumbs and Chaos

Strawberry-Cheesecake Filled Profiteroles from Bakers Royale

 

Valentine's Dipped Rice Krispie Treats from Cooking on the Side 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls from Tidy Mom

 

Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies from Brown Eyed Baker

Cupid's Crunch from Fake Ginger

Dessert Nachos from Julie's Eats and Treats

Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse from A Family Feast

Valentine's Day Cupcake Fondue from Hoosier Homemade

Cherry Cheesecake Pretzel Bites from Shugary Sweets

Strawberry Shortcake No Bake Mini Cheesecakes from Cravings of a Lunatic

Neapolitan Hearts from Make Something Happy

Valentine's Day Heart Cake Pops from Spoonful

Pink Velvet Cupcakes in a Jar from Hoosier Homemade

 

Creamy Strawberry Dip from Lemon Tree Dwelling

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cheesecake Pudding Filling from Eat Cake for Dinner

Sweetie Pies from The Farm Chicks

Strawberry Cheesecake Muddy Buddies from Creme de la Crumb

Raspberry and Chocolate Mini Tarts from Bakers Royale

  Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Strawberries from Cupcakes and Kale Chips

So, there's a pretty hefty list of some delicious looking treats!  Now, I just have to narrow it down to one... easier said than done!

January Movies

Well, Thomas and I ended up seeing two of the January movies I mentioned I wanted to see in this previous post.  So here are the reviews:

Lone Survivor - This movie was so incredibly INTENSE!  I don't think I relaxed for even one moment of the last hour and a half of the film.  Now, if you are sensitive to language, I would not recommend this movie.  The amount of bad language that was used was, in my opinion, incredibly unnecessary.  But I realize that a lot of people use those words everyday, I just don't agree with it.  Aside from that, I thought the movie was amazing.  It's hard to say it was good, because I know it was based on a true story where many men lost their lives.  The truest thing I can say about it was that it was extremely intense and also very respectful.  The end of the film was very sobering and respectful to those who lost their lives in the events depicted.  One last disclaimer: it was almost physically painful to watch all the things those men went through knowing it really happened.  Whew!  Like I said, I didn't relax at all during the entire last 3/4 of the movie.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - LOVED it!  Just as I suspected, I definitely loved Chris Pine as Jack Ryan.  Though I really don't love Keira Knightley without an English accent.  I love her, but when she uses her real accent.  It is, I'm a bit sorry to say, a reboot.  That's to say that the storyline clashes with that of The Sum of All Fears, the most recent Jack Ryan movie that starred Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman.  But, the movie was highly entertaining, and just the right blend of action, drama, character building, and comedy.  I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes action flicks.

Our next movie date is set for next Friday, Valentine's Day.  And we actually have a kind of weird tradition on Valentine's Day that I absolutely love.  We always go see an action movie.  I know, right?!  Valentine's Day is the one day of the year that you are practically required to watch a sappy chick flick.  But, that's exactly why we don't.  The theaters are packed for the girly movies that come out especially for Valentine's Day.  So we always go see a guy movie instead.  And if I'm being really honest, it makes me feel a little good about myself to be the kind of wife who will do that with her husband on Valentine's Day.  And if I'm being even more honest, Thomas is so great about watching romantic movies and taking me to see the ones I really want to see in theaters, that I don't have to use Valentine's Day as a guilt trip on him.  (But don't ever tell him that I shared that on the blog... he might not be too happy with me for admitting to the world that he watches chick flicks and sometimes enjoys them.)

So anyway, long story short, our Valentine's Day movie is The Monuments Men.  It's not a super "guy" movie like we've seen in past years , we both can't wait to see it!

So there is your movie update!  The hubs just got home, so I've got to go put dinner on the table!

I'll Go Ahead and Consider Today a Success

Because here's the accomplishment I'm the most proud of today:

 

Yep!  Now I feel awesome.  Lol. 

That is all.

Another Maxi Skirt

I mentioned a while ago that I had some new fabric to make another maxi skirt with, and this week, I finally got around to making it!  I also mentioned that I am a very impatient seamstress.  Meaning that I will skip steps if I don't see them as absolutely necessary, and I will go off pattern if the pattern makes it look harder than I think I could make it on my own.

All this combined with the fact that the fabric I chose was a knit (in general harder to sew than woven fabrics), it had stripes (more things to match up and make straight), and I wasn't following a pattern to begin with, I was a little worried about how the skirt would turn out.  I have made some things in the past that, once they're finished, disappear into the back of the closet and never get worn until I finally throw them out.  That's what comes from not being willing to follow directions.

But, surprisingly, the skirt turned out pretty well!  Meaning, I will actually wear it!  Woohoo!  It's a very similar design to the aqua one I just made, but I tweaked a few things to work better for this fabric, etc.

So I finished it up this morning and snapped some pictures!  Though the colors may not show super accurately here, it's coral and black striped!