Pearl Sugar.  Ever heard of if?  I hadn’t until my brother-in-law was raving about liege waffles.  There’s actually lots of things you can do with pearl sugar though.  In our quest to try liege waffles, we found it wasn’t super easy to find and the price tag was a bit steep.  Good news, though.  You can DIY pearl sugar.  It gets better… you can DIY pearl sugar for pennies and a little patience.  I don’t have a lot of patience, but I probably have even fewer pennies to put toward little sugar balls.  So, are you ready for a super easy little project that will cost so little you’ll be doing a happy dance?  Your taste buds will after you bake with your DIY pearl sugar!

DIY PEARL SUGAR

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DIY Pearl Sugar

Prep time:  1 min

Cook time:  45 mins

Total time:  46 mins

Serves: ¾ cups

Pearl sugar can be used in a variety of ways, including in desserts, breakfast foods and beverages. Learn how to make your own pearl sugar for a fraction of what you'll find it in stores.

Ingredients

• ¾ cups white sugar
• 1 Tbsp water

Instructions

1. Add water and sugar to a small sauce pan.
2. Turn the stove on to low heat. Start out with it set as low as possible.
3. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until small clumps of sugar form. Try not to create lots of smaller clumps, not a few big ones. If the mixture isn't clumping and is staying in loose sugar granules, add ½ teaspoon of water and keep stirring. Don't add more water though, or you'll end up with syrup instead of sugar clumps.
4. Let the sugar sit on low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You're basically drying the sugar clumps out so they don't fall apart when you move them.
5. Remove from heat when the clumps are hard enough to transport without falling apart. Let the sugar cool completely! The clumps will harden as they cool off. Don't use them before they are completely cooled or you'll end up with a runny sugar mess instead of a little hardened sugar ball.

Notes

The bonus to this method is that you can double or even triple (or probably more, but I've never done that much so I can't vouch for it) the recipe and make a whole bunch at one time. It's a little time consuming, as you need to watch the sugar so it doesn't caramelize, but you can make a lot and then save it for later.

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There is something about lemon cake that I just love.  While most other cakes are rich and sweet, lemon cake has an added freshness, a crispness, that makes it a perfect light dessert.  Not necessarily light in calories, unfortunately for my waistline, but light in a different way.  A way that leaves me wanting more.  Refreshing is the best way I can think to describe it.  And, to top it off, pomegranates are some of our favorite fruit to snack on this time of year.  They are the perfect tangy and sweet combination.  For a recent family get together, I decided to combine the two… It was so delicious they cleaned out the pan!  Who’d have thought a pomegranate lemon cake would be such a hit!?  I will definitely be making this combination again.

POMEGRANATE LEMON CAKE

Ingredients:

Cake
– 1 box lemon cake mix
– 1 cup milk
– 2 eggs
– 1/3 cup yogurt
– 1/4 cup oil

Frosting
– 2 cups Powdered Sugar
– 2 Tbsp milk
– 1/2 cup butter, melted
– 1/2 tsp lemon extract
–  Yellow food coloring, optional
– 1-2 cups pomegranate seeds for garnish

Directions:

– Mix the cake mix, oil, eggs and yogurt in a medium bowl until well combined.
– Pour into a lightly greased baking pan and bake according to the directions on the back of the cake mix box, usually 350F for 20-30 minutes, depending on pan size and type.
– While the cake bakes, mix powdered sugar, milk, butter, lemon extract and food coloring together in a bowl until mixture is smooth and well combined.  If it’s runny, add more powdered sugar.  If the mixture is too thick, slowly add more milk. until you achieve a frosting or glaze like consistency, depending on your preference.
-When the cake is done and completely cooled, spread the frosting on top and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.  Let sit for 10 minutes.
– Serve.

Yields approximately 18 pieces.  Store leftovers in an air-tight container.

Dinner. We have a love-hate relationship. I love to eat it, I hate to cook it. By dinnertime, I’m tired. I’ve spent all day with kids, trying to juggle their wants and needs while trying to squeeze my to-do list in between caring for them. After school is a crazy, hectic and some times stressful time in our house. So I need easy and quick, no-fuss meals that taste good and fill my family up. Hello, Chicken Pot Pie Casserole!

CHICKEN POT PIE CASSEROLE

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35-45 minutes
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
– 1 package frozen, mixed vegetables
– 2 packages Jiffy cornbread mix. This makes a nice thick layer of cornbread, if you want a thinner layer, only use one package (you can really use any cornbread mix or make your own, this is just what I used)
– 3 large chicken breasts, diced
– 1 can cream of chicken soup (I actually use a powdered mix substitute instead of the soup, but the soup would be faster. You can search Google or pinterest for cream of soup substitute mixes if you are curious about that.)
– 4 eggs (2 eggs if you only use 1 cornbread mix)
– 1 cup milk (1/2 cup of you’re only using 1 cornbread mix)

Directions:
– Preheat the oven to 400° F or whatever temperature your cornbread mix directions instruct. Lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with no-stick spray.
– Mix the eggs, milk and cornbread mix in a large bowl and set aside.
– Mix together the frozen veggies and the soup (or the powdered mix and it’s required milk) until the veggies are even coated.
– Pour the veggie mixture into the bottom of your pie plate. Pour the cornbread mixture over the top.
– Bake for approximately 35-45 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle of the pie comes out with no cornbread batter on it.
– Let stand for 10 minutes and serve. Enjoy.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

This post is sponsored by Nasoya. I was provided with product and compensation, but all content herein is 100% original, honest and my own.  And it’s super yummy.

Appetizers can take a meal to the next level.  And there’s something about the combination of a chicken avocado won ton that is a total treat for the taste buds.  It compliments a variety of main dishes and won tons are super easy to make!  You may have noticed my affinity for won tons in the past with both my basic cream cheese won ton recipe and my shrimp and cream cheese step-up.  Any one of those are amazing appetizers and the perfect party foods.  It’s a great way to step away from the sweets and offer something a little more savory.

When I was presented with the challenge of creating a new recipe using a Nasoya product, I  was super excited because I have used their products for a few years now and I love them.  I’ve never been disappointed with the quality of the Nasoya products I’ve used, which are mainly the won ton wrappers and the eggroll wrappers.  And they are very reasonably priced.  Although, my first recipe attempt for this challenge was an utter failure, it was purely because of the recipe, not the ingredients.  Won tons are a fun way to bring the treat-aspect of take-out Chinese food home and you can put almost anything you want inside them.  I opted for something a little less desserty and a little more appetizery this time.  Here’s what I came up with:

CHICKEN AVOCADO WON TONS

Ingredients:

– Nasoya Won Ton Wrappers (I found mine at WinCo)

– 1 medium avocado, mashed

– 1 cup chicken dices (I used leftovers from a rotisserie chicken we’d had for dinner the night before)

– 4-5 baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

– 2 sticks of mozzarella cheese, sliced (string cheese or shredded or cubed mozzarella cheese)

– 1/2 tsp lime juice

– Oil or shortening to fry your won tons (I used about a cup of vegetable shortening in a small pan)

– A Small bowl of water to seal the won ton wrappers

Directions:

– Warm the oil or shortening in a small sauce pan on the stove on medium high heat.

–  Mix the lime juice in with the mashed avocado and stir until well combined.

– Spoon about two teaspoons of the avocado into the center of a won ton wrapper.

– Add a slice of mushroom, a slice of cheese stick and a chicken dice or two to the avocado.

– Wet the tip of your finger in the small bowl of water and run in along the edges of the won ton wrapper.

– Fold opposite points together to form a triangle and press the wrapper to seal it.

– Repeat until you run out of ingredients.  I made about 20 with the quantities listed, exact yield will depend on how full you fill each wrapper.

– Carefully, place filled won tons in the hot oil with a pair of tongs, one at a time.  Use caution, the oil can cause severe burns!

– Allow to fry until wrapper is golden brown then flip over and fry the other side until it’s golden brown.  Remove with the tongs and carefully shake off excess oil.

– Allow to cool on a paper towel covered cooling rack.  Serve Chicken Avocado Won Tons warm for best taste.  Enjoy!

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.  Rewarm in the microwave or oven if desired.