Deceptively Delicious April Fool's Food Pranks

Happy April Fool’s Day!  My sister-in-law, Dawn, is the queen of April Fool’s food pranks in the family.  Every year, she tricks her kids with meals and desserts that look like the real thing!  I can not wait until the day that I can fool my little guy but for the time being, I thought it would be fun to try it out on my parents and brother.  My mom came home from work starving so the “grilled cheese” I served her looked very appetizing. You should have seen her face when she bit into that sandwich and realized it was cake! I was literally on the floor laughing! 

Since my parents were home to see me make the meatloaf cupcakes, I couldn’t fool them but I had my next victim in mind, my brother!  I set the stage by sending him a text while he was in school to let him know I made cupcakes.  With his sweet tooth, I can only image how he looked forward to getting home, pouring himself a nice glass of cold milk and biting into what he thought to be a cupcake.  Unfortunately, I was not home to witness his facial expression as he bit into that “cupcake” but I received sweet satisfaction in the form of a text he sent later in the evening saying “lol u got me xD”.  That’s all I needed to hear!  My early April Fool’s Prank was a success.  Here is how I pulled it off:

Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Cupcakes

What you will need for 12 cupcakes:

Turkey Meatloaf:

• 1 envelope of Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup and Dip Mix
• I lb. of ground turkey
• 1/4 cup of an onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup of bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of ketchup
• 1 egg

Mashed Potatoes:

• 8 oz packet of Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes
• 2 2/3 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 4 tablespoon of butter or butter substitute
• 1 cup of milk

Garnish:

• Orange Bell Pepper

Hardware:

• 12 muffin tin
• 12 foil cupcake liners
• Large bowl
• Small plastic bag
• Vegetable peeler

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Insert the cupcake liners into the muffin pan slots.

• Combine the meat, onion, onion mix, bread crumbs, egg, water and ketchup in a large bowl.

• Take small handful of the meat mixture and shape it into 12 balls.

• Place the meat “balls” into each into the 12 cupcake liners and gently press down so that the mixture fills the liner.

• Bake for about an hour.  

Prepare Mashed potatoes according to packet:

• Bring the 2 2/3 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt and 4 tablespoon of butter to a boil. Remove from heat.
• Add one cup of cold milk and stir in potatoes gently. To achieve a smooth consistency, add more milk.

Frosting the cupcakes:

• Scoop the mashed potatoes into a small plastic bag and cut a small corner off. 

• Squeeze the “frosting” onto the cupcakes in a spiral motion to completely cover them.

Prepare the garnish:

• Peel the skin of the pepper with the vegetable peeler and slice the peel into long thin strips.

• Curl the strips with your finger.

• Garnish the cupcake with the curled orange pepper skin.

Pound Cake Grilled Cheese

What you will need:

• Pound cake, thinly sliced
• 1 cup of your favorite frosting
• Yellow and red food coloring
• 16 oz container of your favorite white frosting
• 1/2 teaspoon of whipped butter or butter substitute

Hardware:

• Frying pan
• Small bowl

Directions:

Color the frosting orange:

• Scoop out half of the container of frosting into a small bowl.

• According to my box of food coloring, I squeezed 6 drops of yellow food coloring and 2 drops of red coloring to make orange. Stir and continue adding drops of the appropriate color to obtain the shade of orange that resembles American cheese.

Grill the pound cake:

• Heat up the frying pan.

• If the pound cake is not precut, cut it into thin slices.

• Take two slices and butter one side of each slice.

• Place the buttered side down on the frying pan.

• Once the pound cake is nicely browned, spread the colored frosting on the other side.

• Lay the other slice down on top of the frosting, browned-side up. 

• Gently press down on the sandwich to make the frosting ooze out to look like melted cheese and cut it in half. 

• Serve and enjoy the reaction!

You can find more fun pranks like these at Family Fun.  What are some of the food pranks you played on someone? I would love to hear your April Fool’s food prank stories!

Mini Pepperoni Cheese Bites

Who doesn’t love pizza?  Who doesn’t love mini pizzas wrapped in pastry puff? This next recipe comes from my other sister-in-law.  She is always coming up with tasty concoctions and this one is perfect for your Super Bowl party. 

Mini Pepperoni Cheese Bites

What you will need for 16 bites:

• 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 1-1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
• 8 deli slices of pepperoni or 1 package of Hormel Pepperoni slices
• About 1/2 cup or more of marinara sauce for dipping
• Baking Sheet
• Non-stick cooking spray

Healthy Substitutions:

• Reduced Fat Pillsbury crescent dinner rolls
• Part skim mozzarella
• Hormel Turkey Pepperoni

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Spray the baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

• If you are using deli slices of pepperoni, cut them into 4 pieces.

• If you aren’t using shredded mozzarella, cut up the mozzarella into cubes.

• Unroll the crescent dough and separate it.

• Cut the separated piece into two pieces.

• Place 2 slices of pepperoni in the one half of the dough.

• Place the cheese on top of the pepperoni.

• Fold the dough over and squeeze the edges to prevent the cheese from oozing out.  

• Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden on top. 

• Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.  Make sure you put one to the side for yourself because once you put them out, they will disappear!

I hope you enjoyed the recipes I posted. I'd love to hear your feedback.  Next week will be all about Valentine’s Day.  I will be planning a scrumptious menu for the occasion.  Until then, Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Succulent Smothered Barbeque Grilled Chicken Wings

My mission: Find a recipe for the most succulent BBQ Chicken Wings and recreate it. Mission Accomplished!

My search for the most succulent, lick your fingers, oh-so-good barbeque chicken wings was successful! I have no idea why I was so worried about making them because they came out DELICIOUS!

I found a video on About.com Food by Chris Chmura that inspired me.  The wings were exactly what I was looking for.  They were smothered  in barbeque sauce and were nice and crispy. I followed his instruction for the most part but then added some of my own touches and got some help from the Grill Master himself, my husband.  Understandably, it is not 70 degrees everywhere so outdoor grilling isn't an option but you can make these wings just as crispy and delicious in the oven or by using an inside grill.

Smothered Barbeque Grilled Chicken Wings

You will need:

• Grill
• Chicken wings (I made 4 lbs. but you can make as many as you like.)
• 1-2 Tsp. of Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to season wings
• 1 lb. of barbeque sauce (My favorites are Kraft Original and Sweet Baby Ray’s)
• Medium bowl
• Non-stick grill spray (optional)

Directions:

• Spray non-stick grill spray on the grill.

• Preheat the grill on medium temperature.

• Wash your chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel.

• Either hold the wing and carefully cut the chicken at the joint with a sharp knife into two pieces or you can cut the chicken wing into two parts by cutting the tip off the wing off and discarding it and then separating the chicken at the joint.  I like to tip of the wing so I kept half of them on. it is totally up to you.  

• Place the wings on a platter and drizzle olive oil over them. Season with salt and pepper, flip them over and lightly coat them with olive oil and season.

• Line up the wings on the grill and check back in 5 minutes.  It takes about 10-15 minutes for them to get crispy.

• In the meantime, pour a generous amount of barbeque sauce into your bowl and add more if you love your wings doused in barbeque sauce like I do.

• If you have a nice crisp, turn the wings over and set the timer for another 5 minutes.

• Throw the wings into the barbeque sauce covering them completely with the sauce and place them back on the grill.  

• Grill each side for about two minutes. Long enough to crisp them a little but not burn completely. 

• Plate your wings and get ready to sink your teeth into them!

Tomorrow, I will post the appetizer I mentioned on Wednesday so you can make it in time for Sunday's Big Game!

7-Layer Mexican Dip, Guacamole and Chili Recipe

I can hardly believe it is Friday already! This week flew by for me.  On the home front, my husband and I finally finished putting the rest of the foam letters in our son’s playroom.  They are awesome! They have extra cushion which is perfect because my little guy can practice walking and we don’t have to worry about him falling and hurting himself on the tile floors. I also have to admit that it is nice to have a safe area for him to play and entertain himself while I cook.

I made two yummy dishes that took me back to my childhood.  My mom’s hearty Stuffed Peppers jumped to mind when the temperature dropped below 60 degrees and I was forced to turn on the heat!  Still not as cold as the rest of the country who are covered in snow but cold enough for me to crave something warm like mom's Stuffed Peppers and tomato soup .  I also made one of my favorite Polish dinners - breaded pork chops, mashed potatoes, and a dill cucumber salad.  I promise to give you the recipes for these in the near future.  

Without further adieu, it is time to share the 7-Layer Mexican Dip recipe. A couple years back, my sister-in-law brought over this dynamite dip and within seconds, it was devoured! The chili was made mostly according to McCormick’s Original Chili packet recipe and the guacamole is a Tyler Florence recipe that I saw on the Food Network some time ago.  The rest of the layers are simple ingredients.

Let’s start with the super easy Chili recipe. I have to admit; I do tend to take some shortcuts like this chili packet recipe but why mess with a good thing?  

Turkey Chili

You will need:

• McCormick’s Original Chili Seasoning Mix
• 1 lb. of Ground Turkey or Ground Beef
• 1 jar of your favorite salsa (I like Newman’s Own Mild Salsa)
• 1 can of red kidney beans
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup of water
• Large skillet with a cover

Directions:

• Brown the meat in a large skillet on a medium-high heat.  

• Drain the fat.  

• Stir in the Chili seasoning mix, salsa, beans and about half a cup of water (more or less) to dissolve the seasoning.  Be careful not to make the chili too watery. You just want to pour in enough water to dissolve the seasoning in the skillet. 

• Bring to a boil and cover.  Then, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. That's it! You've got Chili!

Now, Tyler Florence’s Guacamole.  He has two recipes - one that uses cumin and chili powder and another that uses serrano chiles.  I am going to make the recipe that uses serrano chiles. If you would like to follow along step-by-step, check out this video!

Chunky Guacamole

You will need:

• 4 ripe avocados
• 3 limes, juiced
• 1/2 of a red onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 serrano chiles, sliced thinly (I substituted tomatoes for the chiles but if you like the heat, go ahead and use the chiles.)
• 1 big handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• A little extra-virgin olive oil to add that nice shine
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• Halve the avocado by slicing into the avocado until you feel the pit then carefully turn the avocado around the pit. You then twist open the avocado. Next, you again carefully, hit the knife blade into the pit and twist the knife.  The pit will come right out of the avocado. 

• Scoop out the flesh with a tablespoon into a mixing bowl. 

• Mash the avocados with a fork, leaving them somewhat chunky.  

• Add the remaining ingredients and squeeze half a lime*.  Fold everything together to gently mix. Add more lime, salt and pepper to your individual taste. 

• Lay a piece of plastic wrap right on the surface of the guacamole so it doesn't brown and refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

*The original recipe states to use 3 juiced limes but the lime flavor was extremely overpowering the first time I made the recipe.  I would start with half a lime and add more as you go along according to your taste preference.

Now, we are ready for the 7-Layer Mexican Dip.

7 Layer Mexican Dip

You will need:

• Clear glass pan
• 1 can of refried beans
• 1/2 lb. of Chili
• 2 cups of Guacamole
• 1 (8 oz.) Container of Sour Cream
• 1 lb. of shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Tomato, diced
• Lettuce, shredded
• 1 Bag of Tortilla Chips

Healthy Substitutions:

• Fat-free refried beans 
• 2% cheddar cheese 
• Light sour cream

Directions:

• Spread refried beans in the bottom of the pan.

• Spread the guacamole, then the chili.

• Now, spread the sour cream.  Don’t worry about being perfect.  The easiest way to spread the sour cream is to add three big individual spoonfuls then gently spread it.  

• Sprinkle cheese, then the lettuce, lastly add the tomatoes. 

• Serve with tortilla chips. 

This last bonus recipe was an accident but what a delicious mistake! A couple months ago, my sister-in-law along with her brother and two cousins came for a visit.  My sister-in-law and I were busy in the kitchen making the dip when her cousin ran into the kitchen starving so I suggested a grilled cheese.  The only bread I had at the time was Arnold’s Multigrain Sandwich Flats.  Alyssa grabbed the bread, cheese and then decided to scoop the chili in between the cheese.  At that very moment, “The Alyssa” was born!

"The Alyssa” Chili Grilled Cheese

You will need the following for 1 serving:

• Arnold’s Multigrain Sandwich Flat
• 2 slices of American Cheese
• Butter or butter substitute
• About 2 tablespoons of chili
• Small frying pan
• Lots of napkins

Directions:

• Heat the small frying pan on medium heat. 

• Butter both sides of the sandwich flat. 

• Top the unbuttered side with one slice of cheese, chili, another slice of cheese and the other unbuttered side of the bread.

• Flip the sandwich over when cheese slice closest to the bottom starts to melt. 

• When the cheese begins to ooze, plate and enjoy.  Have those napkins handy!