I pull inspiration from anywhere I’m at.  I look for the edible in almost any object or thing. For instance,  I was looking at the jewelry at Walmart and was pleased to find not only pieces so reasonably priced but sparkly pieces that inspired me to run home and bake some Valentine’s day treat.

 There was one ring in particular that was dainty and had a pretty red heart made of jewels in the middle. Not only did I see a ring I would pop on my finger, but I thought how fun would it be to make a ring pop cake that formed a pretty heart in the middle?

I wouldn’t mind getting either one or both of  these rings for Valentine’s Day! One for my finger and one for sweet cravings.

Ingredients for ring pop cake:

• 1 – heart shaped pan
• 1 – box strawberry cake mix (along with eggs, water, and vegetable oil- per ingredients/measurements on box)
• 1 – can of strawberry icing
• ring pops
• conversation hearts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to cake mix box… most likely 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Spray heart shaped pan with non stick baking spray, and set to the side.
3. Mix cake mix according to cake mix box, then divide batter in half, and bake the first half of the batter in heart shaped pan for 25 minutes.
4. Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes, then flip it on to a plate, and allow to cool completely.
5. Then bake the other half of the cake batter for 25 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and allow that cake layer to cool completely. About an hour.
7. Spread a thin layer of strawberry icing on the first later of cake then top with second layer of cake. Spread icing on the entire cake.
8. Then press the ring pops into the top to form a heart. With any additional icing, frost over the ring portion of the ring pop.
9. Fill the center with conversation hearts!
10. Enjoy!

When I think romance or love…. I associate the two with ice cream.  Don’t ask me why.  I guess I picture a couple sharing a banana spilt or going out on a romantic stroll and stopping for ice cream.  Or maybe it’s because me and my fiance eat ice cream side by side when watching a good movie or talking out on our patio on a warm night.  Or maybe because it is so darn good and why wouldn’t I equate it with love.  I actually love it.  To get to my point, I was sorta giving you the back story with the ice cream and love bit.  This Valentine’s day,  instead of making reservations to a restaurant I’m thinking of staying home and making a yummy dinner instead, and when I asked my sweetheart what he wanted he wanted for dessert he was very specific and said “Haagen-Dazs Strawberry Ice Cream.” In my head I danced with joy thinking this will be the easiest dessert I have ever made and it will be pink and so suitable for Valentine’s Day.  I looked at him and said “No problem hot stuff.”

The beauty of this Valentine’s Day dessert/treat is they are so easy to make.  I bought everything for the ice cream sandwiches at Walmart, and the ice cream was only $3.98.  My guy is a cheap date.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Ingredients for strawberry ice cream sandwiches:

• 1 – pint Haagen-Dazs Strawberry Ice Cream
• 1 – box World Table Chocolate Caramel Cookie Thins
• candy heart decorations

Directions:

1. Remove ice cream from freezer for 10 minutes.
2. Take a cookie and place a single scoop of ice cream in the center. 
3. Top ice cream scoop with a cookie.  Press down to sandwich. 
4. Decorate the sides with candy hearts. 
5. Place back in the freezer for 30 minutes or until ready to eat! 

Brrrrrrrrr. It is seriously cold…. not only outside but inside our house too. You see, we have impeccable timing here at Presley’s Pantry.  Let me tell you what happened.  Mando,

my fiance, is an insane clean freak, and as usual he was vacuuming our wood floor and got a little too close to the heater / pilot and blew it out.  Great, on the coldest week of the year.  So he tried to re-light it against my judgement, but for some unknown reason it won’t light.  We called the gas company and they won’t be here until Monday. By that time the cold will probably be gone. Of course I go into panic mode and start putting pounds of warm layered clothing on my 4 year old, which made him think he was going outside to play.  Once the family was all bundled up, I acted like the apocalypse was near and rushed out to my closest Walmart to stock up on a bounty of hearty foods to prepare to keep us warm on the inside.

I found a bag of Idaho potatoes, short ribs, carrots, celery…. I thought “We are going to eat hot bowls of caldo de costilla de res.  I’ll make a big batch and it will last a few days.” So much for that idea.  I did make a big batch but it was gone in a matter of minutes.  That’s what happens when friends find out caldo de castillas is being made.  Looks like I’ll need to head back out to restock.

Ingredients for caldo de costilla de res:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 – pounds short ribs (bone in)
• 1 – teaspoon salt
• 1 – teaspoon black pepper
• 1 – onion (sliced big)
• 5 – carrots (peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks)
• 6 – celery stalks (ends cut off and cut into 2 inch pieces)
• 4 – garlic cloves (peeled and smashed to bust open)
• 1 – bay leaf
• 2 – chile de arbol
• 1 – can mexican beer ( I used Tecate, but feel free to use Modelo, or Corona)
• 72 – ounces chicken broth (9 cups)
• 1/3 – cup fresh cilantro
• 2 – zucchini (cut into 2 inch pieces)
• 3 – potatoes (peeled and cut into big chunks)

Directions:

1. In a large dutch oven over a medium flame add in vegetable oil and allow it to get hot.
2. On a cutting board lay out short ribs and season with salt and black pepper.
3. Add short ribs to dutch oven and fry on all side to brown for about 10 minutes.  
4. Add in onion, carrots, and celery.  Place the short ribs on top of the vegetables to allow veggies to cook for about 7 minutes. 
5. Preheat oven to 385 degrees fahrenheit.
6. Add in garlic, bay leaf, and chile de arbol.  Pour beer over the ribs. 
7. Add in chicken broth and cilantro then bring to a boil.
8. Once the broth is boiling, add the lid to the dutch oven and place in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
9. Then remove the dutch oven from the oven and place it back on the stove top over a medium flame and add in the zucchini and potatoes. 
10. Cook on the stove top for an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until the zucchini and potatoes are cooked all the way through.
11. Serve with corn or flour tortillas.
12. Eat This Now! 

In just a couple more days the winter games will start in Sochi, Russia. I imagine if I was attending I would there in the middle of blistering cold weather mapping out where all the games would take place. I think maybe I would stumble into a small little restaurant on a side street somewhere hidden craving a traditional Russian dish, and there at the center table would be a team of athletes loading up on carbs.  Taking off the many layers of warm clothing, I would walk over to the Olympians to wish them luck on their events, and snoop at what they eat. Of course I envision that they would be eating beef stroganoff, a classic Russian dish packed with pasta and creamy beef and mushroom sauce….

But since Eastern Europe isn’t a hop, skip, and a jump away from Eastern Los Angeles, I guess I’ll have to settle for sunny weather, a homemade bowl of beef stroganoff and the comfort of watching the games from my television set. I’ll make it even more enjoyable for myself…. and get everything I need for this dish at Walmart…. my one stop shop.

Ingredients for beef stroganoff:

• 4 – tablespoons butter
• 1 – pound rib-eye steak (cut into thin strips)
• 1/2 -teaspoon Lawry’s
• 1/2 – teaspoon black pepper
• 1 – onion (sliced)
• 9 – mushrooms (sliced big)
• 1/4 – teaspoon ground mustard
• 3 – tablespoons flour
• 1 – can beef broth
• 1/2 – cup sour cream
• 2 – cups egg noodles (cooked according to package)

Directions:

1. Cut beef into thin slices. Season with Lawry’s and pepper. 
2. In a large frying pan over a medium flame melt 2 tablespoons of butter.
3. Add the meat to the butter pan. Cook on both side till browned. 
4. Add in onion. Mix to combine. Cook for 8 minutes or until on onions soften. 
5. Add in mushrooms. Mix to combine. Cook for 5 minutes just to brown the mushrooms a bit. 
6. Add in 2 more tablespoons of butter and mix until melted.
7. Add in ground  mustard and flour. Mix to combine, and all flour is absorbed.
8. Add in beef broth and bring to a boil. Then once it starts to boil, lower flame to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.  
9. Add in sour cream and mix to combine. Really stir in the sour cream.   
10. Pour sauce over cooked egg noodles. 
11. Enjoy!

I hold my love for Idaho Potatoes in a special place. I hold it there all year long and at certain times it needs to burst out of it’s cozy snuggly place in my heart and show it’s true colors. February is always a great time to let my potato affection reveal itself in the light of  Potato Lover’s Month.

I have a growing boy in my house who requests potatoes with every meal. I usually make a batch of baked potatoes at the head of the week and as we get into the middle of it I find other ways to enjoy them. One of my favorite is the mojo potato. It puts the spunk back into my step and makes me fall in love.

Watch the video below to see how to make mojo’s out of leftover baked Idaho Potatoes:

Ingredients for mojos:

• 3 to 4 – leftover baked Idaho Potatoes (cold)
• 1 – egg (whisked in a bowl)
• 1 – pouch fried chicken coating mix
• 1 – teaspoon Lawry’s
• 1 – teaspoon corn starch
• 1/2 – teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 – teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 – teaspoon garlic powder
• vegetable oil

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Idaho Potato Commission. The recipe and all opinions are 100% my own. 

Thank you to my crew of two for this shoot! Mando Lopez and Tony Molina you guys ROCK!!!!!

Oh yeah… It’s almost time for the big game, just a few more days to be exact. This Sunday I’ll be sitting in a sea of people screaming and cheering for their teams, but I picture myself completely absorbed in my potato skins filled with rajas con crema, unaware of the chaos spewing around me or unable to pull my attention away to look up at the television . Sort-of like my own private Idaho….. Idaho Potatoes that is.

Check out my video on the unique combination of potato skins meets rajas con crema!

Ingredients for potato skins filled with rajas con crema:

• 10 – left over Idaho baked potatoes (better if they are cold out of the fridge)
• 2 – pasilla chiles (charred, peeled, and sliced)
• 1 – onion
• 1 – yellow bell pepper
• 1 – tablespoon chicken or vegetable bouillon
• 1/2 – teaspoon black pepper
• 2 – tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 – cups sour cream
• 1/2 – cup cotija cheese

Disclosure: A big thanks from the bottom of my heart to The Idaho Potato Commission for sponsoring this video. All opinions and the recipe are 100% my own.

Thank you Mando Lopez and Tony Molina for helping me make this video. You two work so hard and make the filming process fly by. Wish we could release all the impromptu rap songs we created this day or a photo of the three of us squeezed into the bathroom with all the equipment! Love you guys!

 I’ve been thinking of different ways to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family.  Usually we go to the parade in China Town in downtown Los Angeles and have a wonderful meal, and at the end of the evening we pass out little red envelopes filled with lucky 2 dollar bills and some coins. I decorate my patio in red lanterns and adorn the room with a big dragon and the animal of the year….. which is the horse for 2014.

This year since it falls on a Friday evening (January 31st) I decided to skip on the parade and have friends over for dinner instead. I wasn’t sure what to make for the celebration, so I pulled some inspiration from the ingredients I found while shopping at my local Walmart. I got noodles, ginger, boy choy and sausage. Then I got home and got to work. I always do a test run on the recipe I’ll serve to my friends…. this one was sensational! Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!

Ingredients for spicy sausage bok choy noodle soup:

• 1 – pound ground pork ( I use Jimmy Dean)
• 1/4 – cup green onion (chopped)
• 1 – teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 – teaspoon chile flakes
• 2 – garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 – teaspoons finely grated ginger ( I use Melissa’s Produce)
• 1 – teaspoon corn starch
• 1 – tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 – teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 – teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 – tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 – cup chicken broth
• 2 – heads boy choy
• 1 – package egg noodles

Directions:

1. In a big bowl combine gound pork, green onion, garlic powder, chile flakes, minced garlic, grated ginger, corn starch, soy sauce, black pepper, and sesame seeds. Mix with both hands. 
2. In a pot over a medium high flame add vegetable oil and allow to get hot. Add in mixed pork. 
3. Cook for about 10 minutes browning the pork and breaking it up into chunks with the back of a spatula.
4. Add in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. 
5. Add in the boy choy and allow it to cook another 10 minutes. 
6. In a separate pot filled with water over a high flame, bring to a boil and add in egg noodles. Cook as directed on package. Drain and set to the side. 
7. Place noodles at the bottom of a serving bowl then laddle in sausage and boy choy soup mixture. 
8. EAT THIS NOW! Happy New Year!