Zoku Quick Pop Maker Homemade Popsicles and Ice Pops in Minutes!

Summer is here and so is the warmer weather.  What I remember most as a child was the ice cream, popsicles, and spending countless hours running through sprinklers, and playing with the neighborhood kids.  In our house, the boys go through popsicles or ice pops almost year round.  When we hit the grocery store, popsicles are almost always on the list.

Ice pops and popsicles, aren’t just great for cooling off, but they are also this mama’s go to for when the inevitable sore throat and fever invade the household.  Typically, when my little ones have a sore throat, they don’t really want anything other than this, to help ease the discomfort.  If they are dehydrated, this is another great way to get the fluids in them.  Outside of the being sick, they are just a fun, and tasty treat during the Summer or any time.

Recently, I have had to chance to try out what I call my new best friend when it comes to popsicles.  If you haven’t heard of the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, you must run and get yourself one very soon!  Your kiddos will thank you and you will spark a creative side in you that you didn’t know you had.  What is a Zoku Quick Pop Maker?  It is a cool and awesome little gadget that you keep in your freezer at all times, until your kiddos come to you and say “mommy, I want a popsicle.”  This is when you either have to say, “well we don’t have popsicles,” or with the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, you can whip up a few fun popsicles in just minutes.

How does it work?

First you have to put the Quick Pop Maker in the freezer for 24 hours before you can get started.  This is important so your pops will freeze properly.

Next, you pull it out and insert the sticks.  The Zoku Quick Pop Maker, comes with 6 sticks, but you can certainly order addition popsicle sticks so you can make extras.

Then you start having fun, by adding chilled juices and beverages.  You have to wait around 7-9 minutes for it to freeze.  If you are making more intricate pops, this can take a little longer.

Once they are frozen, you use the quick tool to remove the pop!

Once you have an idea, I would recommend laying out all your materials and juices etc before pulling the Zoku from the freezer, and then you put in the sticks and start pouring in your ingredients. I found that, when you are doing layers and a recipe asks for a half an ounce, I used a medicine measuring spoon to measure it out, then I used the siphon to get it out and put it in the Zoku. If you are doing layers, you have to wait for each layer to freeze completely before adding the next. These are the most time consuming, but the results are pretty and very cool. After, you have a frozen pop, you use the Quick Tool to get them free. I still cannot figure out how this works, but it works great! You twist on little handle with what looks like the threaded end of a screw and you twist clockwise and the pop eventually comes free when the Quick Tool goes from being a little hard to turn to feeling easy to turn. That is how I know the pop can be pulled out. Once you have them out, you can pop on a drip tray, which is perfect so it can catch drips when the pop melts.

(getting ready to start!)

My first venture in making the popsicles moved a little slow, because I was learning the ropes on how to make them and I also picked a really elaborate rainbow popsicle to make from the Zoku Blog.  I never pick boring, and all the bright colors appealed to me, so I dove head first in making them.  The boys were as excited as I was to give this a try.  You can also get the optional Zoku tools which includes three pour cups,  angle tray, siphon (this is really handy when you are making intricate popsicles), the fruit wand and little heart and star stencils that look like mini cookie cutters for adding fun little shaped pieces of apple or fruits or even chocolate!

(The siphon works great for getting your liquids right where you want them)

(You can see them starting to freeze right before your eyes!!!  So cool!)

You can be simple by just pouring in a favorite beverage or juice, or you can get creative and more elaborate by making filled core pops, or stripes or fun angles, you can add fresh fruits and purees, the possibilities for this thing are endless.  What I love about it from a mom’s perspective is that I can decide what to give the boys.  I can make popsicles that are all fruit and low in sugar, I can dilute their favorite juices, or I can add  the fun things like chocolate, or marshmallows, and I can do it in minutes and they are ready to go.  Instead of having twelve identical popsicles from a box, loaded with tons of sugar, I can give the boys something different every time.  It is is also a great little project you can do with the kids and let them create their own popsicles.  The reusable sticks and drip trays are very easy to clean with a little soap and warm water.

Twist the Quick Tool and out they come!

The boys mostly want to eat them right away, but if I make them ahead of time, I went and bought the Zoku Storage Case, that holds up to six pops, so you can have some ready made in the freezer.

Here are a couple of the results!! A rainbow and in honor of Fourth of July (the stars are made from using the stencils and apple slices)

The Zoku Quick Pop Maker, makes three pops at a time and I haven’t experimented on making more than three at a time, but the Zoku is still frozen solid after I make just three, so I would guess you could make at least three more before putting it back in the freezer.

After you’re done, you just pop it back in the freezer for next time.  They don’t recommend washing it afterwards,  because water can freeze to the bottom and then when you make a new batch you won’t be able to get the popsicles out.  I learned this the hard way when my freezer got left open and started to defrost (blame the 5 yr olds in the house), the Zoku had water that formed in the bottom, and froze and when I went to make a new batch of quick pops, I could not remove them.  This is stated in the manual, and they aren’t kidding.  I was bummed that I had to defrost the whole thing and dry it out and put it back.  If you don’t have a freezer left open, then you don’t have to worry.

Happy Faces!

Overall, I love it!  I like experimenting with new things to try and offering a healthier version of popsicles.  The Zoku Quick Pop Maker retails for around $49.95 and the Quick Tools for around $20.  I think it is worth the investment, and you won’t have to ever buy another popsicle again and you can be as boring or as creative as you like.  Hands down, the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, is one of the coolest things for Summer!

 

Blue Velvet Cupcakes

Blue is my favorite color.  I was at the Farmer’s Market when I ran across this little hole in the wall cupcake shop and I decided I must go in.  Prominently displayed in just four simple glass dome cases perched on crystal cake stands were one of four flavors for the day.  They had the obligatory chocolate, vanilla chocolate, and something else which I forget, then my eyes were drawn to these pretty little blue velvet cupcakes with white icing.  I had to have that one!  Not only is it my favorite color, I wanted to see just how good could a blue cupcake be?

I didn’t have time to eat it on the way home, so I tossed it in the fridge till I could savor the moment.  The husband was gone with the boys and I decided to give it a try.  I took a bite and the flavors danced on my tongue like the most beautifully indulgent serenade.  I found my blue heaven, these things were to die for!  I quickly began to scour the internet for a recipe because the Farmer’s Market is only once a week, and well I wanted to see if I could replicate.  I ran across a few variations when I stumbled across a recipe I liked.

Humming the song “blue belvet”  popular in 1950 and, written by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris (can’t get the song out of my head now), I made a few variations, because I was a little timid about using all this blue food color, I like vanilla so I added a smidge more.  I only halved the recipe for the cream cheese frosting because I only made half a batch.  The result was a very blue, and very yummy blue velvet cupcake.  I was rather impressed.  My kitchen on the other hand looked a little like a visit from the Smurfs.  A little secret about me, is I like to spread out in the kitchen, which results in a big old mess, if it’s my first time baking a new thing.  What I did for the cocoa and coloring gel was I mixed it as per instructions then added only about half of what was there.  The violet color is so your cupcakes don’t turn out to bee turquois.

Here is the Recipe

For the cupcakes:

• 2 cups sugar
• ½ pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp Wilton royal blue gel food coloring or if you can find the paste you can just use two tsp)
• 1 small dab of violet gel food coloring (just a little bit on a toothpick will do)
• 2 ½ cups cake flour (Swans Down is the best hands down)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

the frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and line cupcake pans with liners
2. Cream sugar and butter in mixing bowl till light and fluffy, then add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg
3. Mix cocoa and food coloring together to make a paste — this takes a while and patience  to mix thoroughly with all gel (looked a bit like a science experiment), but it came together nicely; add this paste to sugar mixture and mix well again
4. Sift  flour and salt, and add to creamed mixture a bit at a time, alternate with buttermilk, then mix in vanilla
5. Combine baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl and add to cake batter; mix just to combine
6. Scoop thick batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full, and bake for probably 20-25 minutes, but start checking at 18 minutes — mine were done at about the 20 minute mark; watch for toothpick inserted in center to come out clean, watch your edges they can brown very quickly (trust me I know from my first batch  lol)
7. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow cool completely on a wire rack

How to make the frosting

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer until nice and smooth
2. Add sugar gradually and beat on low till combined, then beat on high speed until very light and very fluffy

If you like red velvet cake, this would be a great twist on a classic!  They taste just like red velvet but ate a wonderful, beautiful blue.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  My boys got a kick out of them and gobbled every last one up!

Raspberry Fudge

I have never before in my life made fudge of any kind.  In fact, I have never really eaten it.  Over the weekend I tried some raspberry fudge at one of the vendors and I instantly had to buy some.  They were completely out of it with the exception of two small blocks, and I told them to discount it and I bought them.  I took them home with the idea that these tiny blocks of fudge would last me a few weeks, but sadly they were gone in two days  LOL.  Since the farmer’s market is only on Saturdays, in my desperation I decided to make my own.  I scoured the internet and came up with several recipes and decided to give it a try.  This is the raspberry fudge recipe I used but I changed the amount of sugar to 2 cups instead of 2 and 3/4.  To me fudge is rather sweet, so I wanted to experiment and it came out ok as far as I can tell, you can go all out with the sugar or experiment.  I also added a little more of the raspberry flavoring because I like it.  I would recommend using an oil which I found at a cooking supply place.  The imitation stuff at the store is too liquidy (is that a word?).

Here is the Cast of Characters

Recipe

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) margarine or butter
• 1 5-ounce can (2/3 cup) evaporated milk
• 1 7-ounce jar Marshmallow Cream
• 1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 2 cups or 2  3/4 cups sugar(depending on personal preference)
• 1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts – optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 10 drops Raspberry Flavoring

Lightly grease a 13-x9-inch or 9-inch square pan.

Mix margarine or butter, sugar and milk in a heavy 3-quart saucepan; bring to a full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly.

Continue boiling 5 minutes on medium heat or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.

High Altitude: Decrease recommended temperature (234°F) 2 degrees for every 1,000 feet above sea level. (Who pays attention to this?)

Gradually stir in chocolate chips until melted. Remove from heat.

Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour into prepared pan.

Cool at room temperature.

When cooled, cut into squares.

Makes about 3 pounds

ENJOY!!!

This is the end result and it turned out pretty yummy for my first go around.  The nice thing about fudge is it will last you an eternity if you exercise self control.  I am personally trying to diet, so just a tiny piece of it, is enough to curb my chocolate cravings so I don’t fall off the wagon.  What is your favorite chocolate recipe or fudge recipe?

Twix Coconut

Chocolate has always been a weakness of mine.  I have some favorites when it comes to candy bars. Twix bars have always been a long standing favorite for me, that goes back to my childhood.  I have always loved the combination of a crisp cookie, caramel and chocolate.  I almost always eat them with a tall glass of ice cold milk.

I was recently offered the opportunity to give Twix Limited Edition Coconut a try, and see if I liked this new added twist to an old favorite.  When I think of coconut or smell it, I think of sun tan oil, and pina coladas and the beach.  It makes me think of an island escape to the tropics.

I am not a huge coconut fan, but I do however enjoy it in a candy bar from time to time.  Would this be love at first bite?   I grabbed my obligatory glass of milk, and was very excited to try one of my favorites.  It has the same chocolate, cookie, and caramel and the slight hint of coconut.  The taste was yummy, but I noticed that there is no actual coconut, but only the taste of it.   I was a little disappointed , but the flavor was still pretty good.  I think a thin layer of coconut would have added some interest and great texture. Will this be my absolute favorite?  Probably not. But, if you are coconut lover, this might be something fun for you to try.

If you love chocolate, caramel and coconut, this would be a great way to tame your craving with that awesome Twix combination.  I can’t think of a better way to take a time out.  Get this Limited Edition Twix while you can, because you might blink and they will be gone.  Grab a cold drink, Twix Coconut and plan your island escape (even if it’s only in your backyard).

 

 

Twix sent me a fun gift pack with samples to try.  The opinions expressed here are that of my own.

 

I Think My Taste Buds Are Dead

I have recently decided to embark on an adventure to change my eating habits. I am not quite gung ho yet, because I simply dread taking that next step. I know that I will go through my standard three week sugar and no bad food withdrawal before I will even remotely feel like I am human.

Exercise sucks for the first few weeks, and even then I often find myself praying for my one hour to be over. You know you do it too! It isn’t fun…and the people who say its fun are usually the people who are twigs. I don’t enjoy it, and yes it may be mind over matter, but it still sucks.

Eating the actual healthy fruits and vegetables isn’t really all that bad, since I usually like them. But I think my taste buds are dead from all the processed crap that I eat. A piece of fruit doesn’t even remotely taste sweet at all. When I was feeling my best before I had the boys, I was working out and feeling great. Id go for an apple and it tasted like chocolate.

Eating healthy is difficult, because it costs more, and meal preparations take longer. Eating out of a box is certainly faster, but it isn’t the greatest for your body. And I think maybe there is a big conspiracy between health insurance companies, the grocery stores, and fast food chains. There aren’t coupons for lettuce or tomatoes, I can go to McDonalds and buy a full meal for 5.00, yet if I fix a healthy meals I spend way more. It’s all ass backwards. We all need to go back to living off the land, like I can envision myself hunting and gathering in the woods, in the freezing weather.

So my taste buds are dead, and I need to get them back in order, to where bad food tastes like crap, and the healthy stuff tastes good again. I’m praying for the motivation and the will to pass up my favorite chocolate and go for the apples. Wish me luck! I think I can, I think I CAN, I THINK I CAN.

Bob Evans Farmhouse Feast

Everyone can use a break from cooking, and I know that I simply get bored with making dinners and meals all the time.  With the holidays approaching and holiday meal preparations, shopping, and decorating, the flurry of activity can get to be overwhelming.  Meal planning can be a real pain in the neck when you are tired, and out of ideas for what to fix for your guests or your family.

This year however Bob Evans is offering you the Farmhouse Feast, an alternative to slaving away all day in your kitchen, so you can enjoy making holiday memories with your family.  I know as Moms, often times we are busy in the kitchen or doing things to prepare and often miss out on some of the fun.  The Farmhouse Feast is a fully cooked meal that feed 6-8 people, all you have to do is heat it up and it’s ready to go.

The Farmhouse Feast Includes:

• Your choice of either a slow-roasted whole boneless turkey breast  or a sliced boneless ham (this is a large ham, we had leftovers fr breakfast)
• A pumpkin pie with whipped cream topping
• A loaf of pumpkin bread
• Mashed potatoes
• Gravy
• Cranberry Sauce
• Sweet corn with garlic herb butter
• Bread and celery dressing
• Green Beans with ham
• 1 dozen freshly baked rolls

For just $74.99 you can have enough food to feed an army at an average of about $10 per person.  Not too shabby, considering  you can spend more than that in your local restaurant.  You can conveniently place your order online up to the day before, or give your local Bob Evans a call.  If there is something that you don’t like on the menu, you can easily make a substitution.  We had the chance to try the Bob Evans Farmhouse Feast, and all of our food was fantastic.  The meal was nicely boxed up when I went in to pick it up, and when we got it home, we followed the easy heating directions.  Total time on heating up the meal in the oven is about an hour and a half.  I heated ours in the microwave for a total of about 30 minutes.  My favorite part of the meal, was the green beans, rolls and stuffing.  Both of the boys cleaned their plates.  We had an army of food for just the four us and the Farmhouse Feast would more than feed eight people with leftovers.  There is plenty to go around.

The Farmhouse Feast is a perfect time out for mom this holiday season, and is a great alternative to stressing over what to make for dinner.   I highly recommend it, especially if you just don’t feel like cooking.  Sit back, relax and let Bob Evans do the work.

**Bob Evans provided me with gift cards to cover the cost of the Farmhouse feast to facilitate my review, my opinions are that of my own and this post was written solely by me**

Staying Healthy With Healthy Choice

When it comes to eating and making healthier choices for myself, it isn’t always an easy task. As a mother to twins, I often find myself waiting till the much later in the evening to eat. I know that this isn’t the best practice, but there are days when I just don’t have time to make something that I even feel like eating.

I recently had the chance to try out Healthy Choice steaming entrées. I rarely buy frozen food meals in the store,because they never really taste all that great to me. And the word “healthy” on a label is something I am easily deterred from buying. I have found that many frozen dinners are overdone with a ton of sauce or flavoring and there isn’t anything really there other than a few poor quality pieces of meat. I was hesitant because many meals that are frozen just don’t taste the same as a good home cooked meal.

About Steaming Entrees from Healthy Choice

I tried the Roasted Chicken V and it was pretty good. I could definitely taste the cilantro in it and it had plenty of veggies and rice. It was a little on the spicy side for me, but that isn’t a negative thing if you love a little heat in your meals. Healthy Choice offers up 8 Steaming entrees and you can surely find something to satisfy your taste buds and keeping low in calories. Even though frozen meals don’t appeal to me, I can see me picking up a few of these to have on hand in the freezer, when I am tired and cooking something is the last thing on my mind.

Be sure to visit and “like” the Healthy Choice brand Facebook page so you can learn more about Healthy Choice and other great info to help keep you Healthy! www.Facebook.com/HealthyChoice

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Healthy Choice and received samples of their new steaming entrées to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Banquet Fruit Pies

I am a sucker for pie especially when it is fresh out of the oven and when someone else makes it for me.  Pie has to be one of those comfort foods that tastes good out of the fridge or warm.

I love to roll up my sleeves and make a fresh pie, but sometimes I just crave a slice of pie that doesn’t require me going through all the steps to make one.  Recently, I was given the opportunity to try Banquets new fruit pies, and I was excited, because who doesn’t love pie?  Banquet has been making  meals for more than 50 years, and now they are introducing new single-serving fruit pies.  Each Banquet fruit pie has a half serving of real fruit inside a flaky pastry shell that you can enjoy hot from the oven or microwave. The pies come in three delicious flavors: apple, peach, and cherry berry for a great low price.

I   popped one of the cherry berry pies in the oven because I like a crust that is more brown and a little crunchy, but you have the option of making them in your microwave. Then after pulling the pie out, I topped that baby with some whip cream and grabbed my fork. The crust was nice and flaky and the filling was pretty good and had just the right amount of sweetness and tart mixed together. Banquet’s new fruit pies are perfect if you have that late night sweet craving or if you want to treat the kids. And the fact that they only cost around a dollar makes it an even sweeter deal. I will definitely have a few of these on hand in the freezer from some late night indulgence and fun treats for the kids.

**I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Banquet and received free coupons to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate**

Fruits Of My Labor Literally!

So this is what I have been up to and I am not finished yet.  I guess I got myself on a fruit picking and jam making kick.  Although I am not a huge jam person myself, I do enjoy it on my morning toast on occasion.  I actually enjoy being outdoors and doing the picking and making something from it, but it is rare that I eat most of it, and just like giving it away.  The experience is much more fun!

Raspberries are fun to pick.  I was a little intimidated by all the bees but they really just leave you alone and go about their bee business.  I was expecting much bigger berries, but you have to remind yourself these aren’t fertilizer/miracle grow injected store bought berries.   The season wasn’t quite in full swing, but I loved going out to pick my own!

Then there were peaches, peaches and more peaches!   Ever try a peach that is actually ripe, right off the tree?  You are missing something if you haven’t!  The juice from the peach just runs down your arm.  We all had a bit of a belly ache after our picking but the peaches were beautiful!

Here is some of my finished product.  I am getting good at this stuff!

Now this weekend there are blueberries to be picked and rumor has it that there are more raspberries!  I have a whole house to clean and polish for guests next weekend, a 4yr old birthday party to plan.  Do you think I can get it all in?  If you don’t see me I’m lost in a blueberry field somewhere!  I could open my own general store by now!

Breyers Smooth And Dreamy Ice Cream Bars *review and giveaway*

Who doesn’t love ice cream in the Summer time or just about any time for that matter.  For us moms, I am sure we break out a pint of of favorite ice cream when the day hasn’t gone so well and it makes all your trouble melt away.  July is National Ice Cream month and to help celebrate, I had the chance to try Breyers Smooth and Dreamy Ice cream bars. 

I am always looking for a chocolate fix and I almost always like my chocolate cold.  Ice cream seems to be my latest craving and the more chocolate the better.  Breyers, has a new selection of ice cream bars that will satisfy those chocolate craving that come up in the heat of the Summer.  I tried the Triple Chocolate Chip Bars and I thought I died and went to heaven.   They have just the right amount of chocolate goodness with a hint of crunch from the mini chocolate chips and the chocolate shell coating.  Nothing was left out and it is the perfect combination.  Not only that, Breyers Smooth and Dreamy Bars have no artificial flavors or colors, 160 calories or less and 4-6g of fat per serving!  What can be better than felling like you are indulging without the guilt?  After trying them, I shoved the box into the back of the freezer to keep them well hidden, so I don’t have to share.  I will definitely be keeping a private stash in my freezer.  I can’t wait to try all of the different flavors.

To help me celebrate my love for chocolate, and for the sake of chocolate in general, Mom Central and Breyers is letting me giveaway some Breyers Smooth And Dreamy to five lucky readers!   You definitely want to get in on this one, and who can pass up free ice cream????

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Breyers and received products necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Here’s What You Gotta Do

Tell me why you would like to try Breyers Smooth And Dreamy Bars, Or share a childhood memory about ice cream.

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Contest Starts July 30 and Ends August 2o, 2010

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