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Homemade Cracker Jack

July 21, 2009 By Kate 11 Comments

For my son’s baseball-themed birthday party this weekend, I wanted to serve peanuts and cracker jack. I just thought it wouldn’t be much of a baseball party without them. We found the peanuts without a problem, but the cracker jack was another story. Have they stopped making Cracker Jack? We looked everywhere and couldn’t find any, not even the individual snack boxes.

Just as I was about to give up on the whole cracker jack notion, I remembered who I was dealing with. I get a kick out of making homemade versions of random things, right? So how hard could it be to whip up some homemade cracker jack?

Actually, it’s not hard at all. And it was really quite good, considering it was prize-less. Plus the best part is that there are actually peanuts in the homemade version – like at least a few for every handful.

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Homemade Cracker Jack

  • 10 c. popped popcorn (air-popped or stove-popped, not microwave)
  • 1 -2 c. cocktail peanuts
  • 1 c. butter
  • 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
  • 2 t. vanilla

1. Combine popcorn and peanuts in a large bowl.

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2. In a small sauce pan, melt butter and brown sugar together. Bring to a slow boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

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3. Pour caramel sauce over popcorn and peanuts and toss to coat. Pour onto a cookie sheet or two and bake at 250 for 15-20 minutes, until dry.

Stop by The Grocery Cart Challenge for more recipe swap.

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Baseball Cake Pops

July 20, 2009 By Kate 18 Comments

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I fell in love with Bakerella’s cake pops a few months ago. I knew I had to make them ASAP. Well, ASAP turned into about 3 months, but I’m glad to say I’ve finally tackled this project.

We had a party for our son’s fifth birthday on Sunday. We were having a baseball-themed party and I knew the cake pops would make great baseballs. So even though I am neither crafty or a cake decorator, I thought I’d give it a shot.

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I’m so glad I did. They are not the prettiest things and they definitely pale in comparison to Bakerella’s edible masterpieces, but they were delicious and definitely a hit at the party.

I let my son choose the cake/frosting combo. (I used boxed cake mix and a tub of frosting because I did not want to risk any mess ups.) He went with chocolate cake and vanilla cream cheese frosting.

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I did learn a few tips during the process.

  1. For your first time, make two boxes worth of cake. That way, you don’t have to worry about running out or making mistakes. p7168508
  2. Make the cake balls a few days ahead of time and freeze them in freezer bags. That way, when you are ready to decorate, you can just get right to it. Plus, the frozen cake balls are easier to handle.
  3. If you can’t find lollipop sticks, bamboo skewers work just fine.
  4. A thicker coating of the melted white chocolate is easier to get smooth than a thin coating. So buy more chocolate than you think you’ll need also.
  5. If you lack artistic skills like I do, just go for it anyhow. Don’t focus too much on the how the finished product will look or you’ll just get nervous and make more mistakes. When I just did it, they looked better than when I focused on getting them perfect.
  6. Make sure the ratio of cake to frosting is accurate, according to Bakerella’s instructions. If you have too much frosting, the balls will be too heavy and they’ll fall down the sticks. You can see the few I lost to that fate in this picture.p7198538

I’ll definitely try making these again. They’re unique and so good. Plus, I think the more you do them, the easier they will be.

If you’ve ever made them and have any other tips for me, I’d love to hear them.

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Black Bean & Mango Salsa

July 19, 2009 By Kate 1 Comment

This salsa is so simple but so good. I really like it because, while I love salsa, I don’t really enjoy eating fresh tomato-based salsa. I’m just not a big fan of raw tomatoes. So this is the perfect alternative.

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Black Bean & Mango Salsa

  • 2 c. fully cooked black beans
  • 2 mangoes, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 2 T. lime juice
  • 2 T. cilantro, minced
  • 2 t. salt
  • 1 t. cumin

1. Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until serving. You can eat this right away, but I think the flavor is best when it’s prepared at least a few hours in advance.

This is great as is for dipping chips. It is also good over chicken or pork, or combined with cheese for quesadillas.

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