Blueberry Milk

We finally were able to switch the kids from soy milk to regular milk (they never used to be able to drink regular). Anyway, of course they liked the vanilla soy, and don't like plain old milk. So, in an effort to get them to drink their milk, I tried this...and it was a big hit!

Blueberry Milk

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup water

4-5 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

1. In saucepan, bring all 3 ingredients to a boil for about 5 minutes to fully soften blueberries.

2. Pour mixture through a sieve into a storage container, smashing blueberries to push out as much flavor (and vitamins!) as possible.

3. Cool in the refrigerator before serving.

To serve, pour a glass of milk and add desired amount of blueberry syrup!

Cake Batter Pancakes

I found this recipe here...and they were SO good!

I didn't have yellow cake mix (which I think would be delightful!), so today I used a Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake mix. All 3 of my kids ate 3 pancakes and wanted more! :)

I topped with a touch of butter and a little sprinkle of powdered sugar.

And, since mine were chocolatey brown, I didn't bother adding sprinkles, but will try that next time with the yellow cake mix. These were such a big hit!

Cake Batter Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour

2/3 cup yellow cake mix

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tbsp sugar (I omitted this!)

pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 - 2 cups milk

assorted sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. Add 1 cup of milk, egg and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. You want the batter to look like regular pancake batter; not too thin, not too thick. This will vary greatly on the brand of cake mix you use. Start with 1 cup of milk and add more if needed. I suggest a small taste test as well to see if the pancakes are flavored enough.

2. Preheat a skillet on medium heat (I use an electric grilled and turn it to 250 degrees). Fold desired amount of sprinkles into batter. Pour batter in 1/4 cup measurements onto skillet and let cook until bubbles form on top, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 minute more. Serve with vanilla glaze.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 Tbsp milk
assorted sprinkles

1. Mix milk, extract and powdered sugar until glaze forms. You may need to add a little more sugar or water/milk to reach desired consistency. Mix into glaze and drizzle on pancakes.

15 Minute Pepperoni Rolls

My husband is from West Virginia, where "pepperoni rolls" are actually one of the major food groups! I am from Maryland, just an hour away from where he grew up and I had never ever heard of them!

But, he got me addicted! :) There is just something so good about pepperoni wrapped in bread and baked into a yummy surprise treat!

But I never have time to make these...it involves making bread dough...and that is one thing that I WILL do, but I hate it, so I try to avoid when possible! :)

Enter Pillsbury Crescent Rolls...ready to bake, in the refrigerator section of the grocery store! I had never thought to use these until I saw it on the internet! And so, I of course grabbed a tube of dough today and made these for lunch, and served them with a side of pizza sauce...what a HUGE hit! The kids loved them! And begged to have them for dinner too!

I hate that there are so many preservatives, fat, etc in this dough, but at least they have a reduced fat version now (which I used)...will probably break down and actually make from scratch soon, but for a quick, no fuss lunch, these are perfect!

Ingredients:

1 can crescent roll dough

40 pepperoni slices

pizza sauce, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Unroll dough. Pull apart rolls. In each roll, lay out 5 pepperoni slices, and roll up. Bake for approximately 11 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.

3. Allow to cool slightly, serve with warm pizza sauce!

Change It Up!

I am always buying bread. PLAIN bread. And it's so boring!

So I started recently, trying to buy a different kind of bread every time I go shopping, just to give us variety!

I found these pumpernickel bagels (which we all LOVED) and these pretzel rolls at Giant's bakery. I will be buying both of these so much! What a great, simple way to change up our regular eats!

Something so simple can really make a boring sandwich seem gourmet!

Sandwich Sushi

The bread was a bit dry today, so they didn't turn out like usual...so I'll have to add a new picture soon...but the kids love this! :)

Simply make your kids their favorite sandwich, only instead of using 2 pieces of bread and stacking, use one piece of bread. Lay it flat and roll flat with a rolling pin. Remove crust if desired. Put meat and cheese on top and then roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into bite-sized pieces!

Grilled Pizza Sandwiches

Want a quick and super tasty lunch or dinner idea for the kids? Give these a whirl! Our kids absolutely LOVE these sandwiches and they are so easy!

Ingredients (per sandwich):
2 slices sandwich bread
1 teaspoon butter
2 or 3 slices salami (thinly sliced)
small handful shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup pizza or spaghetti sauce

Directions:
1. Spread butter on one side of each of the two pieces of bread.
2. Assemble sandwich on hot griddle. Place one piece bread, butter side down, onto griddle. Add salami and cheese, and top with second slice of bread, butter side up. Cook until bottom bread is golden brown. Flip sandwich over and cook until bottom is golden brown again.
3. Heat pizza sauce in microwave until warm.
4. Serve sandwich with sauce to dip!

Pretzel Dogs, take 1

So Belle's gotten obsessed with the show Chopped on Food Network. She is now insisting on us doing this same idea, where the kids pick out random ingredients and we put them together to make something...it's actually fun!

So tonight the kids picked out:
hot dogs
pretzel dough (we made pretzels the night before)
cheese
guacamole

So, Chris rolled out the pretzel dough, cut it into rectangles, added a hot dog and some cheese in each square, rolled up, and cooked at about 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until fully cooked. Served with guacamole and ketchup. The kids LOVED it! Oh, and he sprinkled it with some type of seasoning...don't know what it was, Montreal Steak seasoning maybe?

We ordered some of these at the Pennsylvania Dutch Market recently, and not only do they do the hot dogs with cheese, but they also do ones that have mozzarella cheese and pepperoni inside the pretzel dough, and they serve it with pizza sauce! We'll have to try those soon!

WEMP Free Corn Dogs

Here's my version of one of our favorites! Now Derek can enjoy them too! :)

Ingredients:
2 cups Cybele Pascal's wheat free all-purpose flour mixture
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup rice milk
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg replacer mixed with 2 Tbsp water
8-10 hot dogs
vegetable oil (for frying)

Directions:
1. Preheat fryer to 375 degrees (we just heat up oil in a skillet on the stove)
2. Dry hot dogs with paper towels, set aside.
3. Combine wheat-free all-purpose flour mixture, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking soda in mixing bowl.
4. Combine 1 1/2 tsp egg replacer with 2 Tbsp water (in separate bowl)
4. Combine rice milk and egg replacer/water with dry ingredients; mix until smooth.
5. Dip hot dogs into patter and drop into hot oil, spinning it frequently so that it cooks evenly.
6. Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until brown.

Corn Dogs

This is one of Chris' favorites that I make! Super easy and yummy! SO much better than any you can buy and heat up, and they take no time at all!
I'm gonna make these for lunch today, but will try to make them WEMP free...if they are awesome I'll post the recipe later!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup milk
2 egg yolks (slightly beaten)
8-10 hot dogs
vegetable oil (for frying)

Directions:
1. Preheat fryer to 375 degrees (we just heat up oil in a skillet on the stove)
2. Dry hot dogs with paper towels, set aside.
3. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking soda in mixing bowl.
4. Combine milk and egg youlk with dry ingredients; mix until smooth.
5. Dip hot dogs into patter and drop into hot oil, spinning it frequently so that it cooks evenly.
6. Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until brown.

Erin's Smore Puddin' Pies

I got this idea when we were walking through the grocery store the other day. I thought they'd be simple enough for the kids to help with (although time didn't allow for that this time) and tasty...and they were!

Ingredients:
6 mini graham cracker pie crusts (pre-made)
1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
milk, divided (for pudding)
~1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
1. Make vanilla pudding, according to package directions. Place a spoonful of pudding into each pie crust and place in refrigerator to set.
2. Make chocolate pudding, according to package directions. Place a spoonful of chocolate pudding on top of the vanilla pudding in each pie crust. Place in refrigerator to set.

3. Place a small handful of mini marshmallows on top of pudding pies. Using a kitchen torch, toast all the marshmallows until melted and browned.

Inside Out Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Muffins (surprise!)

While I was getting ingredients together for the PB&J muffins, I saw some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on the counter and got the idea of making it into a muffin! And, BOY AM I GLAD I DID! It was soooooo good!
Again, it came from the Create-a-Muffin recipe idea!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/2-1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
12 small pieces of milk chocolate (I broke up a candy bar, but you could use hershey's kisses!)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
3. Add milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
4. Put peanut butter in small microwavable bowl, and cook on high in the microwave for about 20 seconds or until just soft. Blend into batter.
5. Fill GREASED muffin tins about 1/3 full of muffin batter.
6. Place about 1/2 to 1 tsp chocolate on top of each cup of batter.
7. Place another small scoop of muffin batter on top.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Surprise Muffins

I decided to try something new today and let me just say this was definitely one of my few successful "make-up as I go" recipes!
The muffins were delightful and the filling was pretty good too!
(Another Create-a-Muffin spin-off!)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/2-1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
12 tsp strawberry preserves

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
3. Add milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
4. Put peanut butter in small microwavable bowl, and cook on high in the microwave for about 20 seconds or until just soft. Blend into batter.
5. Fill GREASED muffin tins about 1/3 full of muffin batter.
6. Place about 1/2 to 1 tsp strawberry preserves on top of each cup of batter.
7. Place another small scoop of muffin batter on top.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Chocolate Chip Muffins (Create-a-Muffin)

So, this is my version of Chocolate Chip Muffins using the Create-a-Muffin recipe I posted the other day! They are moist and delicious, AND I make mine Egg-FREE!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/2-1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
3. Add milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
4. Mix in chocolate chips.
5. Fill GREASED muffin tins about 2/3 full of muffin batter.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

These muffins turned out so light and airy and they taste great! They were even great to freeze! :-)

I bet these would be totally awesome with a little caramel melted on top!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2-1 tsp vanilla
1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
3. Add milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir until well blended.
4. Fill GREASED muffin tins about 2/3 full of muffin batter.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

TOP SECRET!!!! Home made Warm Delights

OK, so I have NEVER in my life actually paid for (or tried) one of the Betty Crocker Delights you can get at the grocery store, although I have walked by them and drooled at them a few times. But I could never see paying so much money for a little dessert!

Luckily, I found this little secret on the internet one day. You can EASILY make these at home, and can probably make over a dozen of them for about $1. You might be able to make more than that!!!

These are SO good, super quick, and lots of fun for the kids! And, you won't believe they were BAKED in the microwave in less than a minute!

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp dry cake mix (we ALWAYS use Duncan Hines...usually the Dark Chocolate Fudge)
2 Tbsp water
Any mix ins you'd like (ex: peanut butter, hot fudge, sprinkles, mint chocolate fudge, chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, cherry pie filling, strawberry ice cream topping, etc.) - use your creativity!

Directions:
1. Whisk together cake mix and water in small microwavable bowl.
2. Add your mix ins (kids LOVE this part!)
3. Microwave for 45 seconds.
4. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter



Marshmallow


Marshmallow & Peanut Butter

Homemade Corn Dogs

I know we'll be making this one soon...it's one of Chris' favorites!

I'm gonna try this one with no eggs, so we'll see if it turns out as good...maybe I can make Julie's and then add the egg and make the rest??

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
8-10 hot dogs (we use chicken hot dogs)
vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
1. Preheat fryer to 375 degrees, or heat oil over medium high heat until hot.
2. Dry hot dogs with paper towels and put on stick, set aside. (I don't put them on sticks, I just turn them with a fork).
3. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl.
4. Combine milk and egg yolk into dry ingredients, mix until smooth.
5. Dip hot dogs into batter, then place in hot oil, turning it after about a minute to cook evenly.
6. Cook for just a few minutes until golden brown on all sides.

Grilled Pizza Sandwiches

I saw this recipe (again, it's Taste of Home) and immediately thought it would be great! So, I tried it out today...and while I was cooking I was POSITIVE that I would have to say that it turned out soggy and gross, and I figured I'd have to recommend dipping the sandwich into the sauce instead of adding it into the sandwich. But, even though it looked like it was getting soggy while cooking, it turned out AWESOME and not soggy one bit!
The kids loved them! Of course it would have been a shock for them not to enjoy these, even when they're being picky!

**The recipe calls for kielbasa or sausage, but I didn't bother adding it. I just stuck with the pepperoni. I don't think it needs the extra fat (or even flavor for that matter, since it was so good!)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup pizza sauce
2 tablespoons chopped pepperoni
*2 tablespoons chopped smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Dash salt and pepper
4 slices white bread
1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon butter, softened

Directions:
1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Cover and microwave on high until heated through. Spread two slices of bread with meat mixture; sprinkle with cheese. Top with remaining bread. Butter outsides of sandwiches.
2. Cook in a preheated sandwich maker according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown and cheese is melted (*I just cooked on the stove like a regular grilled cheese sandwich*). Yield: 2 servings.