Red Velvet Cake Balls

After Song-My shared the link for Cake Balls, I knew I had to try it. I love cute, bite-sized versions of anything, especially red velvet cake! These looked so fun to make and yummy to eat. I brought them to a birthday party and they were devoured immediately...it was a hit!

I used the recipe from here: http://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake-balls/

• 1 box red velvet cake mix
  
• 1 can frosting (16 oz.)
• 1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
• wax paper

Forming the balls:
After baking the red velvet cake mix (I bought mine at Safeway) in a 13x9 cake pan as directed on the box, let the cake cool before using a fork to crumble the entire cake. Place the crumbled cake and frosting (I used vanilla) into a large bowl, and mix. Form balls with the mixture (about the size of golf balls) on a cookie sheet, making them compact so they don't fall apart. This makes about 24 balls. Place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Dipping the balls:

Break apart and melt half a bar of chocolate with a few drops of cooking oil in a small bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds and stir. Reheat if necessary to get a smooth consistency.


Using two forks, roll a cake ball into the chocolate and coat evenly. Place on a cookie sheet with wax paper. Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate hardens.

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Comments & Tips:

• After trying three types of chocolate, I decided Hershey's Creamy Symphony Milk Chocolate was the best in terms of smoothness/consistency
• Melting half a bar of chocolate at a time allowed for better handling because the chocolate tends to be more difficult to work with as it cools
• Making compact balls, as well as refrigerating/freezing, is important because the balls may crumble slightly into the chocolate mixture which would be difficult to reform
• Although the Cake Balls turned out delicious, they were too sweet for me to eat any more than 2. The plan for next time is to use semi-sweet chocolate and/or less frosting (or homemade frosting made with less sugar).

Enjoy!

White Wine Pasta

Recipe based off: http://dailyunadventures.com/2009/08/shrimp-and-white-wine-pasta-sauce-with.html (photo also credited to that site)

I had some white wine left over from the cioppino, so I wanted to use it to make a white wine pasta sauce. I used the recipe above as an outline, but I didn't follow it that closely, so the end product didn't look exactly like the photo. I used onions instead of leeks because I already had an onion at home, and I didn't feel like stopping at the store to pick up parsley, so I used dried basil and oregano instead.

I had rushed home after a long day at work, later than expected, and rushed to finish the sauce, making a ton of mistakes in the process. First of all, I used more white wine than I probably should have (and thus had to simmer it for longer than I wanted to), and secondly, I put in WAY too much dried basil because the cap had fallen off as I was pouring! However, in the end, the sauce was actually really yummy with the extra herbs and wine, so the mistakes really didn't matter.

I ate the sauce with a whole wheat fettuccine, which was really yummy.

Ingredients:

• 4 tomatoes, cut into small-ish pieces (I chopped each into about 6 pieces)
• 1 big chopped onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• Olive oil
• about 1 cup of white wine (I used a sauvignon blanc)
• Herbs: Basil & oregano (chopped if it's fresh, but I actually used dry herbs)
• De-veined shrimp
• Salt, pepper, and sugar to taste

1. Sautee the chopped onions and minced garlic with the olive oil.

2. When the onions are cooked and soft, add the tomatoes and sautee until soft.

3. Pour in the white wine, herbs, and simmer until the mixture has reduced to a sauce. Put in salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. (The sugar brings out the tanginess of the tomatoes.)

4. Mix in the shrimp until they are cooked (about 2 mins, or until the shrimp is curled and firm).

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas

I began with a search for filling vegetarian recipes, and what did I find? AMAZING DELICIOUSNESS in these Sweet potato & black bean enchiladas.

These are a surprising flavor mix, but the sweet-and-spicy flavor combination with a sprinkling of cheese made this a lunch-and-dinner winner. (HAH. I rhymed.)

I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website (under the "Budget Recipes" section-- I only wish I could shop at Whole Paycheck), where it was submitted by Karina Allrich, who writes the Gluten Free Goddess cooking blog. (sidenote: I'm not following a gluten-free diet, but yikes, she's got some good-looking recipes on her site!) I made a few edits to Karina's recipe to make it simpler by swapping in a pre-made salsa for her homemade sauce.

I think the salsa I used was a bit too sweet, so when I make this next time, I'll try to choose a chipotle salsa.

Oh, and don't be afraid of these little guys: they're delicious, easy to handle and not too spicy (I have a low tolerance for spicy foods). :)



Until this recipe, I'd never made rolled enchiladas before, but it was surprisingly easy-- just make sure that the tortilla has a bit of sauce on it so that it doesn't tear when you roll it up. That said, next time I will probably make this "lasagna style" for ease of serving. I struggled with getting my rolled enchiladas out of the pan intact. I'll also probably omit the cilantro, as I didn't think it added enough flavor for the $2 price.

Those edits aside, I will DEFINITELY make this again. Just thinking about it makes me want to eat leftovers! Thankfully, the recipe below was enough for about 4 hearty meals.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients:
Sauce: I used Trader Joe's Roasted Tomato Salsa ($2.29)
Tortillas: I used 8 Trader Joe's whole grain tortillas w/ flax seed ($2.49)
Shredded cheese for topping: I used monterey jack ($0.75)

Enchilada filling:
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained ($0.89)
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used 2 cloves garlic + garlic powder) ($0.25)
Fresh lime juice from 1 big juicy lime ($0.39)
2 heaping cups of cooked diced sweet potatoes (You can buy the $2.50 bag of pre-cut sweet potatoes at TJ's and then microwave; however, I just bought a few sweet potatoes, cubed them, and steamed them) ($1.00)
1 can roasted mild green chiles ($0.79)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (pantry)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder mild or spicy (pantry)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste (pantry)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro ($2.00)

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with oil. Then, create the two parts of your enchilada filling.

Enchilada Filling, Part 1: Drain the black beans. Mix the beans, minced garlic and lemon juice in a bowl.
Enchilada Filling, Part 2: In a separate bowl, mix the cooked sweet potato, can of roasted green chiles (undrained), 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of chili powder and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Next, pour about 1/4 of your salsa into the bottom of your baking dish. Take your first tortilla and dip it in the sauce so that it's generally wet/slick with salsa. This helps prevent the tortilla from tearing. Add about 1/8 of your sweet potato filling to the middle of the tortilla, then top with about 1/8 of the beans. Roll it up across the bottom of the dish. Push the enchilada to the far side of the pan and repeat for the remaining 7 tortillas. Cover with the remaining 3/4 jar of salsa and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes, or until the ends of the tortilla are brown. YUM!

The Occasional Chef: Sam

Hi everyone!

My name is Sam, and I'm going to come right out and say it: I probably cook less than most people. Although I enjoy eating good food and care about what I eat, I tend to only cook for myself, and I'm often content eating what can be best described as "picnic food" -- cheese, sandwiches, fruit, etc.

However!

I do genuinely enjoy eating good food and am embarking on a new effort to eat less meat, so I'm excited to try out new recipes and expand upon my picnic food recipes. I like to think of good cooking as a tasty solution to a logistical problem, so I tend towards strong flavors and practicality. In my posts, you'll probably find:
- tasty dinner recipes that can be easily packed for lunch tomorrow
- recipes with minimal prep work (aka: "easy" recipes!)
- vegetarian options

I'm excited by all the fabulous recipes that everyone is posting. Hope you enjoy!