Tommy Wants Wingies...

We live in a wonderful sports town.  But, unfortunately, with three kiddos and no cable we don't really have the opportunities anymore to enjoy the sports bar atmosphere with the masses.  So, it being red October here with a baseball game on tonight, the hubby and I decided to put the munchkins to bed, tune in to the game on the radio, play scrabble and devour homemade wings.  And they were delicious and so far so is the game.  Kind of a fun at home date night.  Thought I'd share the spicy part of the evening...

Wings (My camera is broken. So, this is as good of a pic as your gonna get...)

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken wings
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
2 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the wings, olive oil, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

Step 3: Place the wings onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, using metal tongs to turn them and then bake for another 25-30 minutes.

Step 4: To make the dipping sauce, combine the roasted red pepper, goat cheese, sour cream and salt in the bowl of a food processor until emulsified.

Serve wings immediately with dipping sauce.

Definitely different than any other wing I have had and that's not a bad thing!  Pretty darn good if I say so myself.  Will be making these little guys again.  Maybe soon if the NHL can figure themselves out...

What? I Can Eat the Whole Thing?

Remember when I said that everything tastes better in cute baby sizes?  That theory remains true after today's little baking project.  I decided to do a little test run on some individual apple pies that I wanted to make for a dinner party we are hosting next week.  They are baked in the apple itself!  Isn't that fantastic?  Cheap, easy, delicious, completely edible, and they look a lot fancier than they really are :) My perfect kind of dessert.

Here it goes...

Ingredients:

Filling:
8 medium apples
Dash of cinnamon 
1/2 cup sugar 
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 TBSP flour 
2 TBSP vanilla 
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Pie Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup corn starch

1 tbsp sugar

7 tbsp butter, cold

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

Directions:
(20 minutes prep, 40 minutes baking)  Total time: 60 minutes

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 370 degrees

Step 2:  Mix all the pie crust ingredients together.  Roll out the dough on a cutting board between two pieces of wax paper and place in the fridge while working on the apples.

Step 3: Clean the apple and pat dry.  Cut off a lid.  Using a sharp knife and a spoon, cut the inside of the apple out and scrape to make a bowl.

Step 4: Peel and cut the lid, discarding the core.  This will be your pie filling.  Add a little lemon juice to the apples to keep them from browning.

Step 5: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add vanilla, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.  Remove from heat and add cut apple-lid pieces. Mix thoroughly. 

Step 6: Pour apple mixture into the apple cups, saving a little of the juices for the pie crust lid.

Step 7:  Take the pie crust out of the fridge and use a cookie cutter to create a "lid".  I used a leaf since this was for a fall inspired event.  Don't try to push it down because the dough will be stiff and you will break it.  It will form to the apple once baked.  Brush a little of the remaining sugar mixture on top of the crust. Create a few small holes in the crust with a straw to help vent.

Step 8: Bake for 40 minutes on a baking sheet until the apples are soft

Yummy, yummy, yummy!  Wouldn't that be just fantastic with a little vanilla ice cream? Cute single serving and it looks decadent! 

Paint and Peppers

It is officially October!  My favorite month of the year.  A time of year where just a mere glimpse of outside is an antidepressant for me.  To kick off the season I decided to try two new things with the potential of uber mess, paints and peppers...

It is chilly out and I wanted to enjoy something heavy and warm in my tummy.  I had an over abundance in red bell peppers and zucchini last farm food go around and decided that Italian stuffed peppers and squash would do the trick.  I found a couple of recipes that sounded tasty, took the best parts of each and combined it into literally one yummy hot mess.

Here's how it goes:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup grated Romano
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan 
• 1/4 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 zucchini, ends removed, halved lengthwise and crosswise
• 3 short red bell pepper, halved and seeded
• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2: Lightly drizzle the olive oil into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Whisk the egg, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the Romano cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the turkey. Cover and refrigerate the turkey mixture.

Step 3: Using a melon baller or spoon (I used one of those little cookie scoops), carefully scrape out the seeds and inner flesh from the zucchini, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Be careful not to pierce through the skin.

Step 4:  Fill the zucchini and pepper halves with the turkey mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange the stuffed vegetables in the baking dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the stuffed vegetables.  Top with the Parmesan.

Step 5: Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer the stuffed vegetables to a platter and serve.

They turned out perfect and there were no leftovers.  Yup, people.  My kids ate them...

Next the paint.  Just for giggles I drew my kiddos a little tree and pumpkin scene with a black sharpie.
Adelyn was very excited.  And yes, at our house we eat saucy things and paint nakie.  It's just how we roll.

I gave them each a little plate with fall tempera washable paint colors and cotton swabs and showed them how to "dot" the leaves on the trees.  Kept them busy for an hour!  That's like a year toddler time!

Messy yes, cleanable yes, memorable yes :)

I Have Yummy Hooters...

Well now that I have your attention...

I wanted to share a pinterest find that I have modified to make it Angie awesome.  Simple Oreo owl cupcakes.  For anyone who has been a part of my life these last four pre and post crazy prego years knows that I absolutely crave Oreos (and bacon but that does not apply here, unfortunately).  Like life or death, must have now type of thing.  So, when I came across this idea to incorporate my love of Oreos, with my love of owls, with my love of cupcakes... I was ecstatic.

Here they are... Aren't my little bakers and the cupcakes adorable?

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix (and all the ingredients called for on the box)
2 packages of Oreo cookies
1 container of chocolate frosting
small bag of Reese's Pieces
cup cake liners

Directions:

As the adorable Adelyn is modeling here, we have separated the Oreos into two separate parts.  One still attached to the incredible frosting goodness and one just boring old chocolate.  Place the frosting side of the Oreo, frosting side up in the bottom of the liner (I used orange Halloween Oreo's here because orange rocks and makes me happy but not necessary.  The plain old guys will work).

Mix the ingredients together according to your cake box instructions.  Take the leftover Oreo pieces and crush them in a food processor to a crumb like state.  Mix them in with the cake batter.

Pour the batter over the frosting Oreo pieces in the liners and bake the cupcakes according to your box instructions.

Let your naughty one year old eat some while you aren't looking... It's her cuteness that keeps her alive...

Once the cupcakes are cooled,  frost them as normal but try to create two little points at the top.  Take two frosted Oreo sides and place them on for the eyes.  Stick brown Reese's on top of the cookies for the pupils.  Stick an orange one side ways for the nose.  Simple but ridiculously adorable and tasty!

And a whole parliament (I learned today that a group of owls is called a parliament.  A flock is a generalized grouping.  Surprised you didn't know that...)

Just a quick tip, do not add the Oreo eyes or the candy noses until you are ready to serve.  The moisture from the frosting will eventually seep into cookies and make them mushy :(  Always store cupcakes in an airtight container with a bread heal.  The bread will become hard as a rock but your cakes will remain moist!  The more you know! (you know the song.)

"Tacos Baby Style"

So I ran across these little cuties on pinterest and thought they would would be a perfect way to get my picky kiddos to eat dinner. Because everyone knows that if it's cute and baby-like it taste better, naturally... Well in this case it was true. I can't remember another meal where we didn't have leftovers due to the kids needing seconds and even thirds! Here it is...

Ingredients: 

1 lb taco seasoned ground beef or Turkey
Pkg of wonton wrappers
2 cups of shredded Colby Jack cheese
Sour cream (optional)
Bell pepper (optional)
Onion (optional)
Minced garlic (optional)

Directions: 

Step 1: pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

Step 2: brown the ground beef and season it according to the taco seasonings instructions.

Step 3: push the wonton wrappers gently into muffin tin. Bake for two minutes
Step 4: fill wonton with meat and cheese and bake for an additional 6 minutes or until wrappers are golden brown.

Top with anything you would regularly have on a taco...

Optional: I used the same pan I seasoned my meat in and sauteed peppers, onions and garlic until slightly blackened to top my taco bowls. Aren't they pretty? I served these with Spanish rice and they were delish!

Veggie Gluttony with a side of pasta

Ok.  So I really enjoy this farm co-op that Jason and I have invested in.  It has challenged me to try things I would have never tried, learn new cooking techniques and discover that you can eat things I never dreamed to be edible...  However, sometimes we get an overabundance of certain veggies that I can't really keep up with before they go bad.  For instance, zucchini, eggplant and yellow summer squash have filled my two bottom drawers in my fridge for the last month.  Definitely a beautiful display of God's great eye for design and color but not really sure what to do with all of it (coming from a girl whose extent of veggie preparation six months ago involved a microwave, something frozen and garlic salt).  This past week I was lazy.  I didn't plan my menu very well and come Wednesday night I had about four squash like creatures and several other freshies getting ready to turn nasty in my drawer.  They had to be eaten that night or I was going to become an American statistic of throwing out 40% of my groceries to waste.

What's a mommy to do? Make what I so aptly and grossly named, purge pasta. That's right.  I said it.  I sliced and diced zucchinni, eggplant, mushrooms, spinach and squash and threw it into a skillet with a little olive oil and minced garlic.  I sauteed the heck out of that stuff.  Now Jason insists on having meat in his pastas so luckily I had some chicken sundried tomato sausage from Trader Joes that was about to eat it as well.  Well, Mr. unrecognizable meat, come join the disposal party.  I let that stuff just hang out in all those glorious juices and a marinara sauce for a spell while I prepared some whole wheat spaghetti.  I also was lucky enough to find in my mystery produce drawer some fresh garlic cloves that were about to be not so fresh.  I popped those in a foil packet with a dab of olive oil and baked for 30 minutes while everything was just stewing.  At the end of this experiment lazy meal, I had what Jason quote un quote said was the best pasta he had ever eaten.  WHAT???? Not to brag but Italian is kinda my thing.  And I have made him some pretty stellar pastas.  So, my about to die lazy pasta is the best?  Well, I guess I can tote this up to a happy accident.  Enjoy.

Veggie Gluttony

Ingredients:

1 zucchini sliced thin
1 medium eggplant peeled and sliced thin
1 yellow summer squash peeled and sliced thin
8 oz container or so of mushrooms
two handfuls of baby spinach? (not so good with measurements)
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs olive oil
package of sausage of some sort
Red sauce (I am partial to Trader Joe's Four Cheese Sauce)
Whole wheat spaghetti
two fresh garlic cloves

Directions:

Step 1: Prepare the spaghetti as indicated on the packaging.

Step 2:  Pre-heat oven to 350.  Using a sharp knife cut the stem off of the garlic clove until the individual cloves are visible.  Place on a small piece of foil.  Drizzle olive oil over it and seal.  Set on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
 
Step 2: Meanwhile in a large skillet, brown your sausage with a tablespoon of water for approximately 7 minutes over medium flame.  Cut into bite size pieces and return to skillet.

Step 3: Add two tablespoons of olive, minced garlic, and all the veggies.  Saute until softened.  Lower heat and add sauce.  Cover and let simmer.

Step 4:  When the pasta and garlic are finished, throw the sauce in and stir. 

Voila!  Look Ma!  I'm eating my veggies! 

Eggplant Chicken?

I don't know about any of you mommies of little ones but I am faced with a moral dilemma daily, to lie a little or play Russian roulette with the truth when it comes to feeding my picky toddlers.  I don't know if I would call it lying... it's more like putting an exciting spin on something that's not really exciting, maybe?  Dinner is always a time of walking on egg shells in our house.  Breakfast and lunch are pretty standards with not too many taste bud surprises but dinner can throw a good day out the window like a fart in the wind.  I'm sorry little ones but Momma can't survive on chicken nuggets and grapes every night like you would prefer so it's always an intense time until that first bite is accepted or even tried at all.  Sometimes things need to be delivered in deceiving packages.  Such as eggplant as chicken.

We are involved in a local farm food co-op (which I love and highly suggest to anyone who wants to eat organic and local on a budget) and are constantly getting new and untried fruits and veggies.  I am hesitant to admit that eggplant has always weirded me out a little.  I'm not quite sure why.  Maybe all the freakishly small slimy seeds inside and the texture when handling it.  But that is what we received this week and it was my job to disguise it into something even I could trick myself into eating.  And it worked.  I made eggplant parmesan that was so good my kids really believed it was "chicken and magic sprinkles (that's what we call parmesan cheese.  They will try anything with that stuff on it) and I think I even kind of believed it myself.  Here goes the recipes...

The picture stinks because I always take one last minute with my phone before the nightly food fight and wailing commences.  I served mine over whole wheat spaghetti noddles. Delish.

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

•  1 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced (fed my husband and I and two toddlers)
•   1 egg, beaten
•   2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
•   3 cups spaghetti sauce, divided (I love Trader Joes Four Cheese)
• 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, (sliced or shredded) and divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
2. Place eggplant in a colander and salt.  Let sit for 30 minutes to sweat and then rinse and pat dry.
3. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 7 minutes on each side.
4. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella (I placed slices on mine) and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
5. Turn oven down to 350 and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

MIA and Sinful Bananas

Missing in Action.  That has been me for the last couple months.  I have been floating around in this routine-less haze for the last two months and my anal organized self can't take the chaos anymore.  It all started with me having my third baby in three years.

You wouldn't think a little thing like bringing another life into this world would knock me off my axis but it definitely shook things up.  And not the newborn, the toddlers and husband were the real culprits.  The baby was the easy part.  Actually, I joke but not joke that my labor and delivery was my vacation...but it really was. 

I came home to having the siding and windows replaced, a husband who didn't work summer school this year and decided that would be an excellent time to finish the basement room and refinish the kitchen table and chairs, and summer activities (lot's of them).  Mind you all on very little sleep :)  All the above were wonderful blessings but none-the-less out of the ordinary.  And we all know that change, know matter how good, can be hard.  So I decided to disappear for a while; putting those daily expectations, like blogging, aside and embrace the disorderly.

But enough is enough and back to reality I go.   I have a back log of like a million things that occurred this summer to share; projects, parties, and yummy baking and cooking galore.  But for the sake of your attention span and mine, I'll start with one.  My dangerous addiction to making good for you things really bad for you.  Like these bananas.  I covered them with naughtiness and they were glorious.

I sliced them and placed them on parchment paper.  I spooned a little peanut butter on top of each. I then melted chocolate candy melts (always add a little canola oil and melt in a glass/ceramic container) and submerged them.

Now I was just making them for my family so I didn't spend time trying to make them pretty but if I was making them for others I would have used a skewer to dip them and tap off the excess chocolate.

They were very yummy and easy.  A weight gaining nightmare :)

Resurrection Rolls

Easter.  The day is supposed to be the top holiday celebration for Christians; the reason we are Christians.  Yet like so many others, I definitely get caught up in the Easter Bunny, eggs, baskets and ham, mmm....  Don't get me wrong.  I see nothing wrong with playing up the cute springtime hippity hoppity cuteness that comes with the season.  My kids love it and so do I.  However, I make it a personal challenge to tie in all of our fun activities back to the reason we are doing them in the first place.

This year I was really excited to wake up Easter morning and make resurrection rolls with the girls.  I had never personally done them before but had heard about them and gotten a good recipe off of, where else, pinterest.  I wasn't too sure how much of the concept that my little ones would get but I'm all for starting new yummy traditions that I know some day they will grasp :)  So, here's how they went.

All you need is...
8 marshmallows (or however many rolls you are making)
Crescent Rolls
Cinnamon Sugar
Melted butter
Parchment Paper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  While waiting, read John 19.  We read a simpler version out of one of the girl's kiddo Bibles.  I explained to them that the marshmallow was Jesus, pure and white because He was sinless.  We dipped him in the embalming oils (the butter) and then the spices (cinnamon sugar) that were used to prepare Him for burial.   We then wrapped Jesus in his burial "blankie" (the crescent roll) pinching the sides all closed.  He was now in the tomb.  Just for yummy goodness and no relation to the story,  I brushed the outside of each roll with the remaining butter and sprinkled it with the remaining cinnamon sugar.  I was out of parchment paper but I highly recommend using it since mine really stuck to the baking sheet!

We placed the rolls in the oven and while they were baking for the 12 minutes that were instructed, we read John 20 to the girls.  We asked Adelyn what she thought would happen to Jesus in his tomb.  She said, "He's probably going to Heaven with God but I really want to eat his blankie..." Well she was getting part of it :)

She was sooooo excited when the rolls were done and she got to open it up and see what happened to Jesus.  The marshmallow melts away and leaves an empty "tomb" inside the roll.  She kept yelling, "Daddy, He is Risen!  He is Risen, but where's my marshmallow?" Magic.

Not only was this activity a fun illustration of what Easter is about, and a new yearly tradition at our house, they were incredibly delicious.  Next year I will be making double.  Especially since Adelyn kept asking for more "delicious Jesus blankies" and Marcella kept making a open and close fist while shouting "more blankie!"  They took something away from it :)

Spicy Mexican Skillet Chicken

So, Jason is constantly complaining that I don't make enough of his precious beans and rice.  A meal substitute that he believes he could happily live off of for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I, on the other hand, don't really care for beans.  Which is something that has not gone unquestioned in Jason's mind "what was I thinking...".  However, being the awesome wife that I am, something else that hasn't gone unquestioned..., I try to make at least one Hispanic meal a week to appease my love's ferocious appetite for everything spicy.  I have to say, my daughters also share his love.  I am outnumbered.
This is one of his favorites.  What he doesn't know, is that it is good for him and I thoroughly enjoy it as well.  It is easy, cheap and is versatile.  Jason likes to eat it in a bowl mixed together.  I like it wrapped in a whole grain flour tortilla with lite sour cream and shredded cheese.  Bonus, the girls eat it without a fuss.  That's worth it's weight in gold.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 to 2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can of Mexican corn
1/2 cup salsa
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1/2 onion

Optional:  Serve with Zatarin's Spanich Rice (the best boxed rice I can find!), shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortillas.

Step 1:  Cut the chicken into small cubes or slices.  Mix with the chili powder, salt and pepper until evenly coated.

Step 2: Heat oil in skillet on medium/high heat.  Add seasoned chicken.  Cook until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.  Approximately 8-10 minutes.

Step 3:  Add beans, corn, bell peppers, and onion.  Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until veggies are cooked through.

Step 4:  Add salsa.  Heat through.  Serve.

End result, kids who find it hilarious that their daddy is wearing a pink bib and a wife with a happy content husband.

Valentine Puppy Chow

Um... Can we say amazing?  I love this incredible addictive stuff!  Simple, cheap and yum!  Can't beat it.  I doubled this recipes because... um, well... we are fatties.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups rice chex cereal
1/2 cup candy melts (I used red)
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp butter
2/3 cup powder sugar
1/4 cup m&m style candy
2 tbsp valentine colored jimmie sprinkles

Step 1: Place cereal in medium bowl. In small microwavable bowl, microwave candy melts, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Step 2:  Place the cereal mixture in 1-gallon food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil; cool about 15 minutes.

Step 3:  In serving bowl, mix cereal, candies and sprinkles. Store in airtight container.

Fantastic!

Strawberry Cookie Sandwiches

One of my new favorites!  Easy, inexpensive and incredible!  Enjoy! Since they are stacked will yield between 12-15 cookie sandwiches.  So, you might want to double the recipe!

Ingredients:

Cookies:
1 package strawberry cake mix
2 eggs
3/4 cup shortening

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick of butter, softened
2 tbsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Step 2: Mix together all cookie ingredients in mixer on medium for two minutes until well blended.
Step 3:  Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out dough and roll into balls (since you are going to
             stack them it's important they are all roughly the same size.) Place 2 in. apart on cookie sheet.
Step 4: bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
Step 5: Remove from oven, let cool for a minute and transfer to a cooling sheet.
Step 6:  Mix frosting ingredients in mixer on medium until smooth.
Step 7:  Once cookies are completely cool, frost and stack together like an oreo.
Step 8:  Try not to eat all of them in one sitting.

My Prego Italian Creation...

There are numerous not-fun side effects during pregnancy but one of my favorites is cravings.  I am free to try and make all the crazy combo yummies that I would be too calorie conscious or timid to try.  Pregnancy opens the senses to a creativity that only hormones can muster, an urge to try new, strange fusions of flavor.  Oh, happy eating.

I was recently asked to make a main dish for a holiday potluck and I was feeling pasta.  I ventured to the market and started collecting a cart full of ingredients that all just sounded good.  A little bit of sundried tomatoes (I can eat those things like candy), spinach, glorious garlic, italian dressing, chicken, garlic, fettuccine, alfredo sauce and did I mention garlic?  I went home and immediately started creating this masterpiece that I am bestowing the honorable title of Hit the Spot Fettuccine.

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 bottle of Italian salad dressing
3 TBSP olive oil
1 package of sun dried tomatoes
1 bag of baby spinach
6 TBSP of minced garlic (roasted garlic cloves would be incredible but I was too lazy)
1 package of fettuccine
2 jars of Classico Alfredo Sauce

Step 1:  Marinate the chicken breast overnight in the italian dressing and 2 tbsp of garlic
Step 2:  Cook fettuccine according to the instructions.
Step 3:  In an electric skillet or large skillet over a medium flame, heat 2 tbsp of oil.  Saute chicken until no longer pink.  Set aside.
Step 4:  In same skillet, add remaining oil.  Saute sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and remaining garlic until spinach is soft.  Add the chicken back in.

Step 5:  Add alfredo sauce to the saute mixture.  Let simmer for ten minutes.
Step 6: Combine everything for one wonderful concoction.

I don't know the sentiments of everyone else but this nutrient devouring fatty thought it was fantastic.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ok, Ok... I know I'll stop with the pumpkin stuff.  But this is one of my favorite traditions.  I love an evening of homemade chili, hot apple cider, family, friends, pumpkin carving and it's wonderful bi-products; happy faces, stuffed tummies, spooky jack-o-lanturns and glorious salty pumpkin seeds.  This is the recipe I use every year but I occasionally like to change up the seasonings...

After carving out the inside of my pumpkins, this year was an especially good yield, I place the pumpkin seeds in a strainer.  While running water over them, I try to pick out all the "pumpkin guts" that made it in with them.  Once I have them all cleaned out, I coat them with olive oil while still in the colander.  I spread the seeds out flat on a baking sheet and coat with season salt and another seasoning of choice.  You can use the seasonings sparingly or extra salty like I like them :) This year I chose a Pico de gallo hispanic seasoning.  I bake them in the oven for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15, at 350 degrees.

Pure yumminess!  Oh, why can't there be a pumpkin harvest year round? Would love to hear some other pumpkin seed recipes!

Delicious and Adorable Toddler Snacks

This week it is my turn to bring snacks to my mom's group.  True to form I have been racking my brain on what to bring.  How to pick a universal, cute and affordable snack for all ages.  There are soooo many variables!  Not all the kiddos are old enough to indulge in sweet treats, avoiding common allergens, we are at someone else's home so I don't want to bring something messy, it should be healthy and I have to feed 8 calorie counting moms who really want sweets but don't want to admit it and a plethora of crazy wild children. Ahhh!  The pressure no one but me is placing!  But alas that is what the wonderful world of surfing the web is for, and I think I came up with a few options.  Not to mention countless others I will be trying in the future.

First and foremost, the winners...

Edible Bracelets

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/edible-bracelet-699565/

I am going to use red licorice lace and string a combination of apple, banana, and regular cheerios.  Easy-check, not messy-check, age appropriate-check, somewhat healthy-check, and cute-check

Apple Cake Pops

http://bakedwithloveandbutter.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-make-apple-shaped-cake-pops.html

Um... no explanation needed.  Cake pops are cute and just plain necessary.  Enough said.

Nutty for Acorns

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/nutty-for-acorns-1022745/comment-21612/

This one is a runner up.  It's pretty cute and if I don't make them for this occasion they will need to be made in the near future :)


Secondly, the resources...

Too many ideas, too little time with family fun

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/appetizers-snacks/healthy-snacks/
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/appetizers-snacks/finger-foods/hands-on-finger-foods-714753/2/

You know what...I'm going to stop listing links.  Just go here and spend countless hours looking at the awesome family friendly recipe options and links on the left hand side.  I could write for the rest of my life on how awesome all these look.


Loved this parents magazine top 20
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/feeding/healthy-eating/the-20-best-snacks-for-kids/

Please share thoughts and ideas!  What are your go to kids snacks?

Buffalo-Style Turkey Tenderloin

 This is quickly becoming one of Jason's new favorite recipes!  Just better not tell him it's on the healthier side!  It takes 30 minutes to make but really that's bake time.  You only have to put in about 10 minutes of attention!  Therefore, it's a great go to recipe when your kids are screaming and crawling up your leg.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2-2 lbs turkey breast tenderloin (I use the pre-packaged marinated kind), sliced in one inch cubes
1 bag frozen cooked potato wedges
1 medium onion, sliced
2 medium red bell peppers, sliced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 tablespoons reduced-fat blue cheese or reduced-fat ranch dressing
2 tablespoons franks buffalo style hot sauce

Step 1:  Begin baking the potato wedges as instructed on the bag.

Step 2: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Throw in turkey and let brown.  Approximately, 4 minutes.

Step 3:  Stir in the onion and pepper slices to the mix.  Cook for about 3 minutes and add garlic.

Step 4:  Lower heat and let simmer until your wedges are done.  Once fully cooked, add the potato to the mixture. 

Step 5:  Stir in dressing and sauce slowly.  You kind of have to taste as you go.  You can make it as hot or as mild as you want.  Jason likes his, kill your ulcer hot.  So I pull some out just special for him :)

Voila, husband loving man meal in less than 10. 

Mommy note:  I pull some out for the girls before adding the hot sauce and they love it!  My nine month old was even munching on red pepper!

An Apple a Day Keeps the Kids at Play...

Today our fun family of four ventured out to explore the world of apple picking.  I had so much fun watching Adelyn pick peaches weeks before that I decided Daddy had to be in on the next adventure.  It was cloudy and drizzled a little but that didn't dampen the day.  It actually cooled it off, kept the crowds away and allowed us to pick apples from our own private orchard.  We spent about half an hour laughing, eating and watching J climb trees to reach the cream of the crop.

We gathered enough for an apple pie, homemade carmel apples and Adelyn's new found obsession with fruit right off the tree.  We then let the kiddos run ram-pet on the grounds.  They rode tractors, played on their play place and seemed to discover every stick, rock and dirty water puddle within a mile of the place.  Good outdoor fun :)  I found a coupon on Eckert's website that allowed kiddos to pick two pounds free. So, we walked away with a pretty inexpensive trip.  I came home and decided to be Susie Homemaker and try my hand at apple pie since my peach pie turned out incredible.  Another success.  Here's the method.

Ingredients

• 6-7 cups sliced Golden Delicious Apples
• Dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 TBSP flour
• 2 TBSP vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 (9-inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).   Core, cut and remove peel from apples. 
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add vanilla, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.  Remove from heat and add apples.  Mix thoroughly. 
3. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apple mixture (saving some residual for the crust), mounded slightly. Cover with 2nd crust. Gently pour the remaining sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.  Brush it evenly over the surface.  Place on baking sheet to prevent spillage in the oven.
4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Mine turned out super messy but it was delicious!