Hip Hop Bunny Cake

We decided to make the Hip Hop Bunny Cake at Kraft Foods this year for our family Easter party with all the cousins. But we made several changes to their recipe. Instead of carrot cake and cream cheese frosting, we made a funfetti cake with vanilla frosting. Additionally, we had to change some of the decorative candy due to a lack of gumdrops. We used Raspberry M&M's for his ears & nose and blue sugar to make his eyes.

Snake Calzone

Ingredients
1 can (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza dough
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
pepperoni
1 egg white
1 drop each yellow and green food coloring
2 manzanilla olives
1 cup pizza sauce

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F.

Unroll dough on lightly floured work surface; roll or flatten to 17x10-inch rectangle.

Cut 1 pepperoni slice to resemble a snake's tongue; set aside. Arrange remaining pepperoni slices over dough rectangle, leaving 1-inch border around all sides; top with cheese. Roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion, starting at one long side; pinch seams together to seal (use water on your finger to seal stubborn spots). Place, seam-side down, in "s" shape on baking sheet lined with parchment paper to resemble snake.

Beat egg white and yellow food coloring lightly; brush about half over dough. Add green food coloring to remaining egg white; brush randomly over dough to resemble a snake's splotched skin. Cut hole and insert olives into one end of dough for the snake's eyes. Add pepperoni tongue.

BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until golden brown. Meanwhile, heat pizza sauce just until warmed.

Serve calzone with the sauce.

Jack-o'-lantern Cheese Ball

Ingredients
3 green onions, divided
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red peppers
2 slices pepperoni
crackers

Preparation

Cut 4-inch length from green end of 1 onion; slice remaining onions. Beat cream cheese and 1-1/4 cups Cheddar with mixer until well blended. Stir in sliced onions and peppers. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Shape into pumpkin shaped ball; roll in remaining Cheddar. Cut pepperoni into shapes for the jack-o'-lantern's eyes, nose and mouth; press into cheese ball to make face. Insert green onion piece into top for stem.

Serve with crackers.

Mummy Pizza Bites

Ingredients
1 plain bagel, divided in half
2 Tbsp. pizza sauce
2 sticks string cheese
4 slices black olives

Preparation

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Spread bagel halves with sauce. Pull cheese into thin strips; place in random criss-cross fashion on tops of bagels to resemble mummy bandages. Trim ends with kitchen shears and fill in holes with trimmings. Add olives for the eyes.

Place on baking sheet.

Bake 10 min. or until bagels are crisp and cheese is melted.

Pancakes: Scratch vs. Mix

So, I've had many a discussion about the pros/cons of pancake mix with various people. I am a fan because it makes my life a bit easier and isn't very expensive. But you wouldn't believe the lectures I've gotten from people about how it's more expensive and doesn't taste as good. So apparently, people have strong opinions on this subject. I therefore found an article in Bon Appétit's blog, titled Is Making Pancakes From Scratch Worth the Effort? very interesting. The final analysis was that they taste the same, cost the same and scratch takes more time - so you might as well use mixes.

Christmas Dinner 2010

Our family’s tradition for Christmas dinner is that we each get to pick two dishes that we want and then I fill in the menu with sides, breads, etc. Usually, there is no limit on what a person can pick (for example, last year my oldest daughter chose crab legs). This year, because we are living with another family and are on a tight food budget, each person only got to pick one dish and couldn’t pick anything expensive. I also didn’t cook everything, as both families contributed. But I have posted recipes and thoughts on those things that I did prepare.

Menu:
Grilled Tilapia
Mini-cheeseburgers & Buns
Paninis
Hotdog & Buns
Soft Tacos
Shrimp Ramen
Broccoli & Cheese
French fries
Utah Scones
Honey Butter

Paninis

Sliced sourdough bread
1 pkg. deli sliced turkey
1 lb. sliced Colby jack cheese
1 tomato, sliced
1 lb. bacon, cooked
1 medium avocado
2 tablespoons ranch dressing
Butter

Mash avocado into a small bowl. Add dressing and mix well. Butter outsides of two sourdough slices. Inside, layer turkey, cheese, tomato, bacon and avocado dressing. Grill over medium heat, flipping occasionally until sourdough is toasted golden brown and cheese is melted.