Cupcakes from Fancy Cake Shop

For all of you cupcake lovers out there, there is a wonderful cake shop in Carlisle, PA called Fancy Cake Shop. I have been lucky to have their cupcakes on 3 different occasions this summer. Their lovely creations are very creative and always tasty. If you're ever in Carlisle, if you live there or if you're just looking for a special treat, you must check them out. They even make gorgeous wedding cakes.

First I had the lemon cupcakes and the raspberry cupcakes (yes, I ate one of each!) at Katie's Bridal Shower. They will even coordinate the cupcake frosting color to your party color scheme!

Then I had pink champagne cream filled cupcakes at my bridal shower! So delectable!

And just last weekend I had the cheesecake filled cupcakes at Bec's Fiesta. I even had one the next morning for breakfast because I'm pretty sure I dreamt about them!

I cannot wait until another special occasion arises so I can get more of these wonderful cupcakes!

**And these are my own opinions of Fancy Cake Shop. They have no idea who I am. But I sure do know who they are! Yum!

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I'm in love....

... with a new instant oatmeal!
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Growing up I never liked instant oatmeal, especially the traditional Quaker's variety. Then one day a free sample of Quaker's Simple Harvest oatmeal came with the Sunday paper and I really enjoyed it! After buying it a few times, it disappeared from the grocers' shelves.
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So a few months ago I came across another oatmeal called Oat Revolution. The tall slender shape of the box really grabbed my eye. But what really sucked me in was the $1.19 price tag for 5 servings. I thought, what the heck?!, I should just give it a try. And what do you know, I love it!
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I eat it for breakfast at work or for a mid afternoon snack. The pouch the oats comes in is also a measuring cup so you know how much water to add. Then in 90 seconds in the microwave it's ready!





I have only found Oat Revolution at some, not all, stores that carry the Sur Fine brand, which around where I live is Karns. I have not found it at Giant yet.



I like to stock up on the Maple & Brown Sugar and the Cinnamon Roll.



What a satisfying snack for when I don't have the time and ingredients to make my favorite hot breakfast cereal, Bulgar Porridge. I recommend grabbing a box if you can find it!!
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Guylian Chocolates & Giveaway

Giveaway is closed and a winner has been chosen!

Congratulations Amy & Brian! A representative of Guylian will be contacting you soon about shipping the chocolates to you.

I would like to introduce to you some very delectable Belgian chocolates! Guylian has been producing beautiful artisan chocolates for over 50 years and this week I've had the distinct pleasure of sampling an array of their products.

These are great little chocolates! There are the dark chocolate truffles - my favorite! - and the truffle pralines which are milk, dark and white chocolate swirled together with a slight hazelnut flavor. They come packaged in a variety of sizes, as well as individually wrapped.

Here is a picture of a dark chocolate truffle:

For those out there who have to watch their sugar intake, Guylian makes sugar free milk and dark chocolate bars.

Most impressive to me are the adorable sea creature shapes these chocolates are made into! These are a must have for any party or wedding with a sea/ocean/luau theme.

Quotes from my friends about the chocolate:

"Velvety smooth dark chocolate truffle"

"My daughter has loved Guylian for years! I am so excited to see the individually wrapped praline chocolates!"

"Delicious!"

"The seahorse is just so fun!"

"Just what I needed for an afternoon pick-me-up!"

Visit the Guylian website to learn where to buy the chocolates and to find out more about the company. I do know you can find Guylian at Wegmans, Wal-Mart & Giant. Every once in awhile they are at Marshalls, TJMaxx and Ross. These chocolates are well-priced for their gourmet quality - you can get a large box for around $10.00.

Additionally, Guylian wants to give one of my readers some of their famous chocolates! If chosen as the giveaway winner, you will receive Guylian Original Seashells, 4.4 oz. & Guylian Original Praline Tempations, 4.4 oz. - a $14 value.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below about chocolate! Any comment will do! Remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.

On Friday, February 11 at 12:00 am, I will randomly chose a winner, contact you for your mailing address and then Guylian will send you your goodies! Good luck!

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Wegman's Pizza Dough

When I was at Wegman's a few weeks ago I bought their in-house pizza dough. I put it in the freezer when I got home to use for a quick meal for a work night.

(Photo from wegmans.com)

So on Monday morning I put the frozen dough on the counter and when we got home 10 hours later, the dough was thawed and had risen immensely!

I took it out of the packaging and attempted to stretch it out onto an oiled baking sheet. I did not have luck. It was very elastic and would not keep it's shape. Therefore we ended up with a very thick pizza! But the crust was quite delicious. I would buy it again if only I knew how to make it into thin crust. A couple people reviewed the dough on the Wegman's site and said it was enough dough to make 2 pizza's but I just don't know how I'd manage that. Maybe I should leave the pizza making to the professionals!

Anyway, we enjoyed our deep-dish style pizza. I picked up a jar of pizza sauce and some shredded mozzarella cheese, sauteed some portobello mushroom slices in olive oil for a few minutes and then put them on the pizza along with hand-cut slices of mini pepperoni. The mushrooms look a little like sardines too!

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The dough packaging has baking instructions.

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We certainly got our carbs that day!

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Chef Tim's Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette

My Aunt Donna gave us a bottle of Chef Tim's sweet balsamic vinaigrette because this particular dressing is a good marinade for venison. Knowing we eat a lot of venison, she thought we'd enjoy it. And we do!

On Friday morning I put venison tenderloin slices in a gallon zip lock bag, added this vinaigrette and put the bag in the fridge to allow the meat marinade for the entire day. At the end of the day, I skewered the meat and put them on the hot grill. You could really taste the sweet, herby flavor.

I think this dressing would be a good marinade for chicken, beef and even pork.

Aunt Donna got this vinaigrette at a food and wine festival but I just saw it the other day at Karns. You can go here to see where else to buy it.

Thanks again, Aunt Donna!

My new favorite lunchtime treat

Mary introduced me to the new Jell-O Mousse Tempations and I lovvvve them! She brought me the Dark Chocolate Decadence to try one day and it was good but over the weekend I bought the Chocolate Indulgence and it's even better! These are perfect lunchtime snacks, especially at 60 calories each. I highly recommend them if you pack your lunch (or someone else's) everday. The Mousse also comes in Caramel. They're sold in a pack of six for about $3.00 (mine cost $2.69 at Giant).

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Keep in mind I am not a huge fan of pre prepared puddings and mousses like this, but this product is suprisingly tasty - almost like the real mousse containing tons of eggs, chocolate, butter and sugar! Speaking of, this has inspired me to make some real mousse. I've been wanting to try this for quite sometime now. I will let you know when I make the real thing, but for now, this is a good subsitute!

If you notice the time stamp, I am eating one right now for lunch. It's so good, it inspired me to share with you all!

Settings: A Cookbook

I have had this book in my hot little hands for quite sometime now. I made the buttery mushrooms in wine broth two times. Sooo flavorful - I've never had mushrooms this good before and I even made them! Wow!

I wrote a post for the Savvy Grouse about the book. Check it out here.

I made the mushrooms for our Labor Day party but it was the only thing we didn't get a picture of! Oh well.
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Chicken Piccata (but I cheated a bit)

I was planning on making Ina Garten's Chicken Piccata the other evening for dinner, a classic Italian recipe from one of her cookbooks that I've been wanting to try for awhile. On my way home from D.C. on Sunday, I drove by a Trader Joe's and decided to stop because we don't have these stores in central Pennsylvania. As I was browsing the aisles and filling my basket, I came across a jar of piccata sauce. Anticipating my high level of tiredness, I stood in front of the jars and thought, should I buy this jar or continue to collect the ingredients to make my own sauce??!! In a few seconds, I grabbed the jar and continued walking along! I did use Ina's recipe to prepare the chicken.

The jar of piccata sauce... oh and you can see the box of my new favorite granola in the background: HempPlus. Yum!!

Here is the recipe for Ina's entire dish. Again, this time only made the chicken. And I served it with pasta.

4 split boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

1 cup flour

2 extra-large eggs

1 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

olive oil

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, reserving lemon halves

1/2 cup dry white wine

sliced lemon for serving

chopped parsley for serving

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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment papper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap (but I put a single breast in a sandwich bag) and pound it out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

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Mix the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the eggs and 1 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and then the bread crumbs.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium low heat. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook for a few minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the baking sheet while you cook the rest of the chicken. Heat 2 more tablespoons in the saute pan and cook the second 2 chicken breasts. Place them on the same sheet pan and allow them to bake for 10 minutes (or until done) while making the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute plan with a dry paper towel. On medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, white wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons buttter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves. Serve one chicken breast on each plate, spoon on the sauce and garnish with lemon slices and parsley.

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Here's my chicken from Ina's recipe, the Trader Giotto's piccata sauce and pasta. The sauce was quite good and had some capers in it which gave it a nice tart ting so I'm sure you can add some to Ina's sauce too.

If you're ever at a Trader Joe's I recommend picking up a jar of their piccata!

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Delicious Salsa From Pennsylvania?!?!

Yes, it's true! I've found some all-natural, tasty, PA-Preferred salsa! While Greg was at the Broad Street Market last week, he picked up a jar of Torchbearer Black Bean Mild Salsa. Boy oh boy, this was flavorful and addictive... even with just a few ingredients (see photo of label below)! We ate it with chips but I also put some on tacos.

After looking around Torchbearer's very cool website, I found out that 3 guys from Mechanicsburg began experimenting with hot sauces because of their large pepper crop and as time passed, they established a sauce- and salsa-making franchise. The salsa we tried contains the #4 Tingly Sauce, which I really enjoy... just the right amount of hotness.

Torchbearer products can be found at the 2 Whole Foods locations in PA, at the PA Farm Show in January and apparently every now and then, at the Broad Street Market. You can also purchase products from their website.

There are even some recipes on the website. I think I want to try these burgers topped with a slice of cheddar... I'll have to get some Super Fancy Sultry Sauce though.

So if you're ever out and about and come across a Torchbearer product, try it out! Even though I've only had one of their several products, I have a strong feeling they're all quite yum!

You can see how much the two of us ate in one evening!

Thanks, Greg, for picking up this great treat!