Baking....ha

Well.. I attempted to make one of those big cupcake cakes round 1 was unsuccessful.. A delicious homemade cake with homemade mocha frosting... Well they say a picture is worth a thousand words...

What a delicious mess! now I can bake well but I have to get to love on the new pan first before we mesh well.

I did though make some pb cookies too. This is not my recipe but if you don't know this recipe you are missing out. It's so simple

1 cup sugar, 1 cup peanut butter & 1 egg... all one bowl, mix well roll into balls and roll in sugar and press with fork bake in a preheated 350 oven for 10-12 mins (if you have a fast cooking oven like mine only about 8 mins)

Ice Cream Sunday..

I am a full believer that Children need sweets..and us grown ups too! At least once a week we will have a special treat. I do try to keep it healthy but sometimes you just need to have a calorie fest lol. This isn't so much a recipe as it is an idea. You can make this as easy or as hard as you want on yourself.

Ice Cream Cookie sandwiches
12 Large Chocolate Chip Cookies
*you can make them using our recipe or your own, buy them from the bakery, or refrigerated cookie dough.
Ice Cream (can be homemade) Vanilla or chocolate
sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, mini m&m's etc.

* Set up some plates with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, mini m&m's etc. Take 6 cookies and spread about 1/4 cup of ice cream on them. Then place another cookie on top. Press down so that it holds together but careful not to squish the ice cream out. Then roll the sides of the sandwich over a plate with the sprinkles etc. Wrap the sandwich loosely in plastic wrap then again with tin foil. let them freeze for about 1/2 hour to an hour before eating or they will melt to fast.

The kids just love rolling the cookies across sprinkles and such. Lots of variation here. We once did chocolate cookies with chocolate chip mint ice cream and rolled them in crushed Andie's candies. They where really good. We used a healthy cookie recipe and low fat ice cream so it didn't seem as bad for you.

Thursday Theme (Pizza)

Just ask your child what they want for dinner...is the answer almost always pizza?? We likely eat pizza 2-3 times a week in our house. And no its not delivery or Digiorno lol. Pizza is a very versatile food and its so fun to let your kids help.

Making your own dough is really easy I use my bread machine most of the time but some days I just feel like doing it the old fashion way. Making a traditional pizza with homemade dough isn't the only option. You can make pizza on English muffins, pita bread, bagels, tortillas.. even bread. Its so simple when you are not fussing with dough. When we do little pizza like this the kids get so happy knowing they each get their own little pizza and I let them do their own toppings. Even my 1 year old sprinkles her own cheese on.

When making mini pizza with the kids I give them each a pre sauced pita and place it on wax paper. I line up bowls with toppings across the table starting with the cheese, pepperoni, veggies then Parmesan at the end. They make an assembly line of sorts and pull their wax paper down the line as they pick out their toppings. We then place them on the cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 8-10 mins.. when you are not dealing with dough you pretty much just need to cook until the cheese is melted.

How about Mexican pizza with your taco night leftovers? We generally will do this on English muffins pretty much the same way as above I just use salsa in place of the sauce and will put out left over beef, beans, rice & cheese.. when the pizzas are cooked they can then add sour cream, pico, lettuce, etc..

My husband also makes a wonderful breakfast pizza..I will have to get the recipe from him soon.

and for extra fun..dessert pizza? This works best on regular dough.. you cook just the dough when it comes out brush the crust with butter and sprinkle on some Cinnamon sugar, then I smooth on some vanilla pudding then top with seasonal berries and drizzle the fruit with a bit of honey... YUM!

Toddler Tuesday!

Toddlers are a strange breed! Some are great eaters. Some are good eaters one day and bad eaters the next. Some are so picky that you think you might pull each and every last hair out of your head trying to get just a few healthy bits of food into their little mouths. As a Mother of 4 I have had each and everyone one of these types. I am blessed that our current toddler loves just about everything. After nearly 12 years of feeding toddlers at various ages I think I might just have a few good tricks up my sleeve.

Toddler Feeding Tips
Portion Control- Toddlers have tiny tummy's and can be overwhelmed with huge portions half of which may end up on the floor, them self, or even you. I generally give toddlers about a TBSP or 2 of each food item or if its a casserole type dish 1/4 cup. If they love it great give them more!
Finger foods- Most toddlers see forks and spoons as merely something to hold in their left hand while the feed them self with their right hand. Try cutting everything in bite size pieces that are easy for them to pick-up and self feed. They love self feeding because it gives them a little control in an environment where they have very little control! I will say that my mini muffin pans are an asset I make lots of muffins, mac n cheese, pasta bites etc in mini muffin size this is a big hit for the kids for after school snacks too.
Dipping- Almost every toddler will eat so much better if they can dip their foods into things, messy yes but if it means I just got a bunch of raw veggies or chicken in them I will take the mess.
Smoothies- this is like a secret assault weapon, so many things you can add into smoothies to sneak in some healthiness. Banana avocado smoothie anyone?
Cookies & Muffins- A yummy treat that can also pack in some nutrition too, all kinds of ways to sneak in carrots, zucchini, flax seeds, beans etc.
Pasta- I would say about 99% of little ones love pasta. You can add many veggie purees to tomato sauce, or try veggie Alfredo or even pesto is a big hit here.
Fruits, Seeds/Nuts & spreads- Caution of course with seeds & nuts. My toddler loves to munch on Pepita's, sunflower seeds, dried fruits and leathers and nut or sun-butter or nutella on some whole wheat toast.
Shapes & colors- Bright colors and fun shapes bring a lot to the table for toddlers. How fun is it to eat some star shaped pancakes with some Cantaloupe & Honeydew melon balls?
Reintroducing previously dissed foods- Toddlers can be so finicky maybe they didn't like black-eyed peas last week but try it again in a smaller portion this week. You never know they may ask for seconds!
If it ain't broke don't fix it- if you find your toddler adores certain foods keep giving them those foods maybe jazz it up with different variations of the foods they love
Use Caution- Certain foods need a bit of caution in little ones. Cut hot dogs into fourths, cut grapes in half long ways, give only a few raisins, nuts/seeds & popcorn at a time. Avoid honey until a year of age and if your family has a history of nut allergies you may want to avoid them or slowly introduce them at an older age.

These are just a few tips that I could put together at 1am in the morning I may do more posts on the same subject at another time. If these tips help you out let us know, or if you have some tried and true tips of your own please comment!

MMMMM Monday (Chocolate Chip Cookies)

What kid doesn't like chocolate chip cookies. The smell alone of chocolate chip cookies reminds me of simpler times of my childhood. Erynn my oldest daughter has a huge sweet tooth just like her mom and always asks me to make cookies. Even worse she always wants that refrigerated cookie dough at the store. While those are super easy and all they are not very good for you. I never want to be the mom that doesn't allow treats and desserts. Moderation is key and when you make healthy treats its all the better.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about 36 cookies)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup raw sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut oil, softened (or you can use margarine)
2 large eggs
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
chopped walnuts optional

Preheat your oven to 375 and grease you cookie sheets well
in a large bowl cream together coconut oil, raw sugar & brown sugar stir in eggs and vanilla
in a large bowl mix remaining ingredients except for the chocolate chips and walnuts. Gradually blend the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients then fold chocolate chips and walnuts in. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets bake for 8 to 10 minutes until done leave on cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. You can also make these into bars by pressing into a jelly roll pan and cooking for 12-15 minuets.

Thursday Themes

I thought it might be nice to have a theme day. Where I will maybe share a group of recipes, list of helpful links, and topics. With school in session for most I thought it would be nice to talk about sandwich ideas. Sandwiches seem to be a popular lunch choice because they are easy on moms and what kid doesn't like sandwichs...for a little while anyway. Possibilities are endless when it comes to sandwiches. Here are a few Sandwich ideas for you.

breads

whole wheat sandwich bread

whole wheat pita bread

flat bread

wraps

tortillas

pancakes

waffles

English muffins

bagels
matzo crackers

Melba toast

Spreads & fillings

Hummus

Cream Cheese

Cheese/cream cheese spreads

Sun or Nut Butters

Jams & Jellies

Cheeses & sandwich meats

alfalfa Sprouts

lettuce

shredded carrots

cucumbers

pickles

leftover turkey & chicken

egg salad

tuna salad

ham salad

chicken salad

Another thing I have found a great love for is Sandwich cutters and large cookie cutters. It's much more exciting to open you lunchbox to a Sandwich shaped like a heart or a star. I keep the trimmings of the sandwiches for my own lunch at home so their is no waste. Pinwheel sandwiches are also fun for the kids. Experimenting a few days ago I made some pinwheel sandwiches with lemon almond chicken salad (recipe coming soon) and sprouts they where a huge hit. Its so simple to just slather a spread and veggie on a tortilla roll it up and cut into fourths.

Taco Tuesday!

Taco's and pretty much anything Mexican gets lots of cool points for mom around here. Taco's are quite versatile and give kids lots of choices for their fillings. Cady (21 mts) is happy with just beef, sour cream and pico de gaio (no shell) Morgan (5 years old) pretty traditional soft taco, beef, cheese, lettuce, sour cream & taco sauce, Aria (8 yrs old) is all about hard shell with beef or chicken with cheese & sour cream. Erynn (11 yrs old) Beef, beans, cheese, lettuce & ranch. I always give lots of topping options and not always beef, ground turkey & chicken. Sometimes even Mexican rice & guacamole make it to the "Taco Table" as the kids call it. My one major gripe with tacos is the mess. Anything to avoid messes gets an A+ around here. So we came up with mini taco pizza's.

Mini Taco Pizza's (makes 12 mini pizzas)
1 Package whole wheat English muffins
1 pound ground beef (chicken or ground turkey are good as well)
1 package taco seasoning (we like simply organic)
Salsa (you can make your own or we like Newman's Own Salsa)
Shredded Cheddar cheese (we like extra sharp)
sliced black olives (I leave these off mine I am not an olive lover but all my kids adore them)
toppings of your choice such as guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, beans etc.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350, brown meat and follow directions on taco seasoning.
Split English muffins and spread about a table spoon of salsa over them, then cover with beef, then cheese & place olive slices on top. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese in well melted. Then add what ever toppings you like. By placing the cheese over the beef you cut down on pieces of greasy meat hitting your nice clean floors.

With out additional toppings added you can freeze these and you can pop them in the toaster oven for a nice afternoon snack. Or even defrost and warm up in the oven on a cookie sheet. My kids like these as is with out the extra toppings. I like to double or triple most of my recipes so that on nights when we need something quick I have a few go to favorites on hand.