My First Product Review- Microwaveable Cinnnamon Rolls

Recently my dad purchased several different frozen treats, I think from his coworkers' kids (school fundraising, you know the deal).
Since I can't really modify any of them, I thought it would be fun to try them all out and review them.

First up, Heidi's Homemade Desserts Microwaveable Cinnamon Rolls, we had these for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving, which was perfect, because no one felt like cooking.

The rolls take about a minute and a half in the microwave, when I took them out of the package I was hoping they'd puff up in the microwave, but they didn't.

The rolls did however get nice and bubbly, then it was time to top them with the individual packets of frosting. The portions of frosting were generous and much too much for me. The frosting was very sweet, I only needed about half of it. The rolls themselves were pretty sweet.

Overall the cinnamon rolls were gooey and delicious (and a little messy). My sister complained about the way they smell but I disagree, they gave the house a nice cinnamon-y scent.
Definitely a good choice for when you're feeling lazy and just want something sweet.

Kiwi Mojitos

It would probably help to start with the fact that I am underage, so this will be a virgin cocktail.

Why bother with virgin cocktails? Because I'm sick of drinking soda while everyone is drinking wine and fancy mixed drinks. It's not fair. I want to feel fancy too, so I was delighted when I stumbled upon this recipe the other day. I didn't have any parties coming up to try it out on, so I made them for a grueling study session. They were, of course, a refreshing hit.

I made them again tonight for me and my sister. I just checked the original recipe and apparently both times I made these I made them pretty differently. My way turned out pretty well. :)

Virgin Kiwi Mojitos
(for 1 serving)
Half of a ripe kiwi
Half a lime
4-6 mint leaves
Diet lemon-lime soda
Ice

Find a nice tall glass.
Add the mint and kiwi, muddle (mash) them together. You can use a muddler, if you have one but I used a tablespoon spoon and it worked perfectly. Really mash them, you want the mint to release it's oils and break the fruit up well.
Squeeze the lime it and then fill the glass the rest of the way with soda. Stir.
Add ice and a straw. Enjoy.

(If you want to have a little more fun, add 2 oz of light rum.)

Halloween Treats Part 2- Ghostbusters Cupcakes

This post is SO late, I'm really sorry. (As soon as I finish it I'm writing up 2 more.)

As previously mentioned, I made these showstopping Ghostbusters cupcakes for our annual Halloween party. Everyone seemed really impresssed, at first by the adorable white chocolate logos and then by the surprise "slime" filling.

The original recipe is here, but of course changes have been made.

I cheated, as much as I love making things from scratch, but then I've got 3 other things to make and the party is quickly approaching, I turn to the boxed cake mix. Boxed cake mix is great, and with the homemade slime filling, no one could tell the difference.

The logos might seem a little daunting (and I wish I had more pictures of steps), but if you give yourself enough time and work slowly, they'll turn out great.

Ghostbusters Logos
(makes 24)
14oz of red candy melts
about a 1lb of white chocolate or white candy melts

Line two trays with parchment paper. Find a smallish cup about the size you want the logos to be. Trace the bottom twelve times onto each sheet with a marker. Flip the pieces of parchment (you don't want to get ink on the chocolate.)
Melt about half of the red candy melts (it's a lot easier to it in batches) in the microwave (30 second intervals will work). (I always use sandwich bags).
Pipe circles onto the parchment, using your tracing as a guide. Then put a slash through each like the Ghostbusters logo.
Let the red circles set completely, if you're impatient put them in the fridge/freezer.

Once they have set, melt some of the white chocolate and pour the chocolate into a pastry bag or a disposable plastic baggie. Fill in both sides of the circles and 4 lines on each side (for the hands). Next to each logo pipe out and fill in a tear drop shaped head. Let everything set up. Then take each of the heads and using a little white chocolate adhere them to the logos.
And that's it.
Now to the cupcakes!
"Slime" Lime Curd Filling
3 eggs
1/3 cup juice from about 8-10 Key limes
1 t. finely grated or chopped lime zest
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
green food coloring

Combine the lime juice, sugar, and eggs in a metal bowl. Heat up a couple cups of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and place the bowl on top of that, heating up the mixture and stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove the mixture from the heat and immediately pour it into a fine mesh strainer to remove any pulp or eggs that could have curdled. (Never skip straining!)

Stir in the butter and the zest, and then add in a couple drops of green food coloring until you get the desired shade of “Slimer” green. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool in the fridge.

Mix up your favorite vanilla boxed cake mix (or if you're feeling ambitious your favorite from scratch batter).

Put cupcake liners in your baking trays and then fill each with 1/3 of the way with cake batter, then add about a teaspoon of the lime curd. Then fill it up with more cake batter, to about the 2/3 mark.

Bake as directed for the cake mix.

Frosting time! The Ghostbusters recipe called for a buttercream frosting, but I felt like using my old standby frosting recipe.

Vanilla Frosting
1 cup of Crisco (vegetable shortening)
6 cups of powdered sugar
a few tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Cream Crisco in mixer and slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla. Add milk to smooth it out then let the frosting whip for a few minutes to get airy.

To assemble the cupcakes, just frost and top with the candy logos.
Drizzle extra lime curd over the cupcakes just before serving.

Halloween Treats Part 1- Candy Sushi

Yes, Halloween is over, but luckily my Halloween treats are perfect for all year round.

Candy sushi is a staple at all of my parties and while it's the easiest treat to make, I always get a lot of compliments. I made these along with Ghostbusters cupcakes and cake pops (both of which I'll be posting soon).

Nothing gets me compliments like candy sushi does, some people love it on sight, others have been weary, but in the end they all rave about it. It tastes a bit like Fruit Loops.


I don't have a definite link to attribute this recipe to, I've found it on a few different sites.

You really only need about half a batch of rice krispie treats, but I always just make a full batch and feed the rest to my family.

Candy Sushi
half a batch of rice krispie treats (I use this recipe)
10 fruit roll-ups, whatever color you want
20 sour gummi worms

Unroll all the fruit rollups, but leave them on the plastic sheets (it makes rolling them much easier).

Pull off about a fourth of the rice krispie treats and microwave for a few seconds until warm and pliable.

Take a small amount of the rise krispies and flatten it in the middle of the fruit rollup, you want to cover about 2/3 of the fruit rollup. Then place 1 or 2 gummi worms on top of the rice krispies.

Roll the whole thing up like a piece of sushi, making sure to completely close it. If it isn't completely circular, once the edges are sealed roll it over our counter till it's cylindrical. Repeat with the rest of your supplies. (If the first few are a little messy, don't worry, you just need practice.)

If you're going to serve the candy sushi now, pull the plastic off and slice it into about 4-5 pieces.
If you're making it ahead of time, put all the sushi rolls into a ziploc bag and then cut them right before you plan to serve them (you don't want them to get stale). They'll keep for a day or two. I usually roll them the night before a party.

To complete the "sushi" look, set a small bowl of soy sauce (chocolate syrup) and wasabi (green frosting) next to the sushi. Don't forget chopsticks.