Lots of New Beginnings

So I have been the worst haven't been the best blogger lately. Sorry! But, there are a lot of things going on that have kept me super busy in the last few weeks. After half of a semester off, my grad school classes started again so my school work is taking up a lot of my time--aka I put it off until the last minute and then get really stressed and grumpy about having so much to do. I'm a procrastinator by nature and I can't help it :) 

Another exciting thing that happened is that I quit my job! No, not to become a professional blogger/cake pop bakery owner (yet!). I had been casually looking for a new job for a few months and I couldn't pass up the opportunity when it was offered to me. I was very sad to leave my old job but had to move on to bigger and better things. Check out the view from my new building!

So far things are going pretty well! Everyone is very nice and they have birthday celebrations every month. For this month they are having Crock pot Wars. Hell. Yes! I'm thinking I might bring the party meatballs, or the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. 

So my classes started, I started my new job...what else?

Oh yea! My best friend got married! Isn't she gorgeous!

Her wedding was beautiful, her dress was amazing, and it was so much fun! We danced A LOT and then after, we soaked our feet in the bridal suite hot tub. I love that picture! We have all been best friends since high school and we have a prom picture just like this. These girls are amazing and and I'm so glad that they have hung around me for almost 11 years (ugh we're old). We decided that at all of our weddings we are going to take a prom style floor picture :) It' necessary. 

In other news, Harvey was a puggle shark for Halloween. He loved every minute of it... 

Just kidding. 

He hated it and would try to run away every time we took the costume out.

He thought it was some type of punishment. He crouched really low to the ground and put his ears back when we put it on him. I felt bad...but we left it on him because he was so cute. I mean, what dog doesn't like to be dressed in clothes? 

Wicked Yummy Sweets has been going really well too! I don't advertise at all except for on this blog and through Facebook so I am still amazed at the orders that keep coming in. Business really picked up after the stART on the Street festival here in Worcester and I am almost completely booked through January!

Here is a recent one that we did for a Dr. Seuss inspired baby shower. 

Thing 1 and Thing 2. My first experience with fondant...I guess cutting circles isn't really that hard but I was proud of myself.

My Thing 1 and Thing 2 army :)

Plus hats! All wrapped with colored ribbons and ready to be packed up!


I have been busy this week with carnival themed cake pops for a birthday party. I used bold colors, swirls, and colored fondant stars to match a picture that was sent to me.

I didn't take a picture. Oops!

But that's because I had to get those done and then start right on 150 cake pops that I need for a vendor fair tomorrow. Here's the flyer!

I went to this fair a few years ago and there were a good number of people that went to shop so I'm excited to sell some more cake pops and get my name out there! If you are in the area, I suggest you stop by. There are tons of gift ideas to get a jump start on your holiday shopping plus yummy food and snacks. But the best part is the raffle. Each vendor must donate a raffle item worth at least $20. That's a lot of raffle items!

 I will be donating a regular chocolate cake pop bouquet (worth $35) to the raffle.

You should probably stop by.

And try to win it. Doesn't it look yummy?!

That's all for now...I promise to have more recipes coming soon!

Love, Monica

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Hearty Beef Stew

 Servings: 10

Serving Size: 1.25 cups

WW Points+: 7          Calories: 268.1         Total Fat: 12.7g         Fiber: 2.9g 

Apparently it's hurricane weather in New England...the wind and rain are a little ridiculous and Harvey and I have been snuggling on the couch all day watching Law and Order and NCIS. Don't judge. A day like this calls for a nice warm meal...that is if you have power. 

This slow simmered beef stew is perfect for cold, lazy days. Prepare it in the morning and let it cook all day for an easy and hearty meal that is sure to warm you up this season. 

For this stew, use either a chuck or round roast, cut into 1 inch cubes and trimmed of fat. This is usually what is in the packages at the grocery store labeled "stew beef", so if you use that, just trim off any excess fat that you see. In addition to the beef, large chunks of potatoes, carrots, and celery make this a very hearty stew and the worcestershire sauce and red wine give it great flavor. 

This is definitely a favorite in my house and I made it two Sundays in a row. The leftovers heat up really well either in the microwave or on the stove as well. 

Enjoy!

Chicken and Avocado Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Servings: 4

Serving Size: 2 cups Salad, 2 oz Chicken, 2 tbsp Dressing

WW Points+: 7       Calories: 288.5        Total Fat: 16.0 g        Fiber: 5.5 g

Pomegranates are in season! And avocados were 10 for $10 at the grocery store...yes I bought 10, despite the fact that I had 2 already at home....and despite the fact that there are only two people in my house. That means lots of guacamole, lots of salads and sandwiches with avocados, plus one of my favorite snacks- a half of an avocado with salt, pepper, cilantro and a little lime juice and olive oil. Yum! Ok, enough of my avocado obsession, back to the salad!

Anyways, pomegranates are now in season here and I love adding pomegranate seeds to salads. This vinaigrette is super easy to make and adds a tangy and sweet flavor to this salad. I grilled the chicken with a little salt and pepper, but you can cook it however you want or start with a rotisserie chicken. 

Ok, now you enjoy while I go back to my avocado obsession :)

Lightened Up Shrimp and Broccoli Alfredo

Servings: 8

Serving Size: 1 3/4 cups

WW Points+: 8             Calories: 313.3        Total Fat: 5.6g       Fiber: 6.6g

Whole wheat pasta, shrimp, and broccoli in a creamy light alfredo sauce is simple and makes a perfect weeknight meal. If you are short on time, you can make the alfredo sauce in advance and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. I have added the nutritional facts for just the alfredo sauce below as well in case you want to use it for another dish. 

I made all 8 servings and because there is only 2 of us, we had lots of leftovers. They reheated nicely for lunch the next day...and dinner :) We really liked this one!

Enjoy!

Festivals and Cake Pops!

I've been a bad blogger :( I didn't post any new recipes last week...not one! Sorry! But I had a good reason- I was extra busy all week preparing for the 10th annual stART on the Street festival in Worcester, MA. I made over 400 cake pops in 7 different flavors (with help from Matt of course) and guess what! They all sold out!! I was so worried that I would come home with tons of cake pops so I couldn't be happier with the turnout! I'm not quite sure how many people were at the festival but they said they were expecting 50,000 people! There were so many vendors plus a huge food court and tons of live music. Unfortunately, we were so busy that I only got to leave my booth for about 5 minutes! 

Anyways, I made a display for each flavor to put on the table at my booth. Then I had some loose cake pops on the table and the rest in coolers. It was a beautiful day so I didn't really have to worry about them melting. These bouquets were a hit so I decided to offer them for sale on my website in two sizes

No Bake Hawaiian White Chocolate Macadamia Granola Bars

 

Servings: 10

Serving Size: 1 Bar

WW Points+: 5           Calories: 188.9          Total Fat: 6.7 g         Fiber: 2.8 g 

No bake Hawaiian white chocolate macadamia granola bars...that's a mouthful. But I didn't want to leave anything out! Simple granola bars are dressed up with salty and sweet flavors. Salty macadamia nuts plus dried pineapple, white chocolate, and coconut make these more of a dessert than a healthy snack. 

These follow the same recipe as yesterday's Cranberry and Pistachio Granola Bars and are super easy to make. Plus, they were family and boyfriend approved, so that's a good sign!

I love macadamia nuts...too bad they have a thousand points+. Ok, 28 points+ per cup, but that's still a little ridiculous. So I chopped them up small to get a little macadamia goodness in every bite. I actually just recieved a text from my boyfriend that says "I accidentally ate the granola bars." ...You may want to double this recipe :)

Enjoy!

No Bake Cranberry and Pistachio Granola Bars

Servings: 10

Serving Size: 1 Bar

WW Points+: 5          Calories: 198.7             Total Fat: 5.7g             Fiber: 3.5g

I loved the chewy granola bars when I was little and we always had them for snacks after school or in our lunch boxes. I never realized how easy they were to make. This recipe is adapted from the granola bars made by Rachel Ray but I added my own ingredients that I love and made them a little lighter by using light butter and light brown sugar. These are a great snack for kids during or after school, or even for breakfast when they are running out the door. 

I chose dried cranberries, pistachios, and chocolate chips to give these bars a nice sweet and salty flair. The little bits of red and green would make these cute holiday snacks too (only 110 days until Christmas!...But who's counting...). When forming these into bars, I only used half of the width of my baking sheet so that they would be thick enough to keep their shape. They are sticky so forming them to one side of the sheet was very easy.

These certainly didn't last long and I had to whip up a new batch the next day--a different flavor of course and I will share that recipe with you tomorrow!

Enjoy!