Chocolate Covered Valentine's Pop

Mmmmmm and fun too.  

Chocolate Covered Pops.

I have the handy dandy Zoku Pop Maker, the Zoku Tool Kit and the Zoku Chocolate Dipping Station, (thanks mom) which speeds up the freezing factor and makes a nice dip pattern with the chocolate.  These toys are fun but are not necessary to make these tasty frozen treats.

The following recipe makes 6 cold treat pops.  I discovered the recipe on the Zoku web site.

Two Thumbs Up :)

Photo from Zoku Web Site

See the little apple hearts imbedded in the pop?

Zoku Pop Maker - Makes Cold Treats in 8 Minutes

Zoku Tool Kit

Zoku Chocolate Dipping Station

INGREDIENTS

For the Strawberry Base
6 ounces strawberries
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup low fat milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

For the heart accents
Use a heart cutter to cut out desired number of hearts from a thin slice of apple.

     (I cut out about a dozen tiny apple hearts)

For the Quick Shell
2/3 (4oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup (2 1/2 oz) refined coconut oil

Decorations 

Either heart shaped candies or red and white sprinkles

How Too's

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE QUICK SHELL
Melt Chocolate and coconut oil together

Let cool completely before applying to pops

Yields 3/4 cup of Quick Shell, enough for 12 pops.

I melted the chocolate and coconut oil together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds until smooth.  A double boiler could be used, but why clean the extra dishes when the microwave works just fine.  Also, you can skip this step if you buy Magic Shell at the grocery store.

MAKE THE STRAWBERRY BASE

Blend strawberries, heavy cream, milk, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.

ASSEMBLE THE POPS

Using the Zoku Fruit Wand apply the apple hearts to the walls of the pop maker 

Insert sticks and pour the strawberry base to the fill line.

Let freeze completely, (about 8 minutes) and remove the pops with the Super Tool.

Repeat with remaining pops.

The strawberry base can be poured into any cold treat mold, including going old school, with a dixie cup and a stick.  The beauty of the Zoku Pop Maker is that the pop freezes in about 8 minutes.  No planning ahead and the kids can help start to finish without waiting all day.

ADD THE QUICK SHELL

Hold a pop flat side facing up, use a small spoon to drizzle Quick Shell onto the pops.

If desired, add festive sprinkles to the Quick Shell while it is still wet.

Wait a few seconds for the shell to harden.

Enjoy.

I was delighted how well ours came out and that both girls gave this fun looking and great tasting treat a thumbs up.

Mexican Rice and Black Bean Casserole

Going Vegan or Vegetarian does not need to be difficult or expensive.  Mexican Rice and Black Bean Casserole uses basic pantry staples and because it is made with beans and rice, no need to worry about being hungry or not getting enough protein.

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice

3 cups water

8 oz of tomato sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 can of drained black beans or 2 cups cooked

1 cup corn

Directions

Preheat Oven to 350

Add all of the ingredients to a casserole dish and stir

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until rice is tender.

Notes

This will easily serve a family of four.

A salad of greens would make a nice side dish.

I often use canned corn and when I do, I use the entire can, so none go to waste.

This recipe is from the website MyPlantBasedFamily.com.

Zoku Quick Pops - Product Review

Our family absolutely loves the Zoku Quick Pop Maker.

What is a Zoku Quick Pop Maker you ask?  Well, it is this amazing little, in just 8 minutes, you have a frozen treat maker.  I am not talking about crappy popsicles made out of cool aid.  I am talking about amazing looking and tasting frozen whole food good for you treats!  Don't worry.  Zoku has a fantastic recipe book to go with the pop maker.  Lots and lots of fun, creative and tasty recipes.  

This is how it works. Very simple. The Zoku pop maker lives in the freezer.  When you are ready to use it, pull it out, add a stick and pour in the liquid.  Wait 8 to 10 minutes and use the super tool, as they call it and remove the frozen treat.  It is that simple and fast.  The Zoku pop maker holds enough cold to do three cycles. 

This is the maker.  It comes in a single, a double or a triple.  I have the double, pictured above.  I can make 6 pops before the unit gets to warm to be use and needs to be returned to the freezer. 

This is the recipe book.  The Zoku pop maker does come with instructions and a few recipes but this book is a must.  Every recipe has a picture.  This book also gives an abundance of advice and ideas to get the most from the pop maker.

The Zoku Character Kit makes the pops supper fun and cute.  

Can you say, Rock Star Mom!  

This is a fun accessory, but not needed.  

These pops made using the Zoku Character Kit.

Zoku Tool Kit.  

Another not needed accessory, but fun to have and use.

These pops were made using the Zoku Tool Kit

Oh, My!

This is the Dipping station.

It allows you to perfectly dip each pop.  

The dipping station gives each pop a professional looking appearance.

The dipping station can be used with Magic Shell.

These pops were decorated using the Zoku Dipping Station.

The storage case

Look how pretty the pops look.

Extra Sticks with drip catch guards.

All of the above pictures were taken from the Zoku website.  You can purchase directly from Zoku or my personal favorite, Amazon.com.

In time I will be posting recipes and pictures of pops the girls and I have made.

Flash-Roasted Vegetables and Rice with Chipotle Tomato Sauce

This rice dish is a little different.  It is over rice but does not have the usual Asian flair, more Spanish or Mexican.

This recipe is from the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times.  I found the vegetables a little on the mushy side and the spices a little intense, so I have scaled back on the roasting time and cut the chili power and chipotle chiles in half.  This dish has great potential.  To make it Vegan, just omit the crumbled queso fresco.

This will easily serve 4 and took less than 45 minutes to cut, roast and assemble.  I assembled each persons serving into individual bowls instead of layering in a casserole like the original recipe called for.

Vegetables and Rice:

1 c white rice

2 small zucchini, cut on a bias into 1/4 in slices

2 small yellow squash cut on a bias into 1/4 in. slices 

2 small red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4 in rings

2 tbs olive oil

1/2  to 1 tsp chili powder

4 oz. queso fresco, crumbled (optional)

Chipotle Tomato Sauce:

1 or 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp)

1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large white onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1) Preheat oven to 475 and coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.

2) Cook rice according to directions.  I used my rice cooker.

3) Toss together eggplant, zucchini, and bell peppers with oil and chili powder.  Spread on baking sheets and roast 15 minutes, or until tender.  Turning occasionally.

4) To make the Chipotle Tomato Sauce, blend the chipotles and garlic in a blender until smooth.  Add the tomatoes and pulse until almost smooth, leaving a little texture.

5)  Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in tomato mixture and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.

6)  To serve, spread the rice in the bottom of a casserole dish.  Top with the vegetable, than add the Chipotle Tomato Sauce.  Sprinkle with the queso fresco, if using.

Notes:

Omit the queso fresco to make this dish Vegan.

To save calories, cook the onion in a thin layer of water instead of using the oil.  Add water as needed.

In the summer months using tomatoes from the garden in the place of the can of fire roasted diced tomatoes would certainly work.

To reduce clean up, assemble into individual bowls.

This is dish creates a complete meal and a side dish was not necessary.

The pictures are from The New Year Challenge blog.  Thank you for saving me a step.