Spicy Southwest 5 Cheese Dip with Kraft #FreshTake

If You Like A Spicy Kick, You’ve Got To Try This Dip!

By Amy Trauntvein

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Kraft Foods #FreshTake #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions, ideas, and photos are my own.

My family loves Mexican food and spicy South-of-the-border flavors so when Kraft Foods asked me to create a new recipe using one of their Fresh Take flavors, I knew which one I wanted to try and what recipe I would make.  Spicy Southwest 5 Cheese Dip using Kraft Fresh Take Southwest 3 Cheese.

I took the kids to Walmart to find the Kraft Fresh Take and a few other ingredients.  It was easily found among the cheeses in the Deli Section and had a variety of flavors to choose from.  Also, if you go to the Meat Department, there will be and IRC (immediately redeemable coupon) stuck on packages of chicken.  The coupon takes off $1 for one package of chicken when purchased with Fresh Take.  The coupons will run until 7/31/13.

I love Kraft Fresh Take and have been using it to make some pretty tasty dinners lately.  It’s easy to use and the cheeses and spices are a perfect compliment with chicken no matter what flavor packet you buy.  Since I’ve enjoyed the Fresh Takes flavors, I knew adding it to a dip recipe would turn it from “It was alright” to “Wow, how did you make this? I need your recipe!”  Just look at the yumminess on the package, and it already contains 3 of the 5 cheeses for my dip recipe!  How easy it that?

Now back home for the creation of the spicy, cheesy, ooey gooey goodness!

Recipe for Spicy Southwest 5 Cheese Dip

• 1 Package Kraft Fresh Take Southwest 3 Cheese Flavor
• 1 8 oz Package Kraft Cream Cheese
• 1/3 cup Kraft Mayo
• 1 cup shredded Kraft Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 Jalapeno chopped finely with seeds removed.

If you like things really spicy, use 2 peppers.  Go ahead, I dare ya!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut Jalapeno in half and scrape out seeds. Chop finely.

Warm cream cheese in in microwave until soft.  Add mayo, monterey jack cheese and jalapeno.  Open package of Fresh Take and mix the cheeses and breadcrumbs together.  Reserve 1/2 cup of Fresh Take for Topping, and add the rest of the Fresh Take to the other ingredients.  Mix well.  If mixture seems a bit dry, add more mayo by tablespoons until mixture looks nice and creamy.  I just mixed it all in the actual baking dish (to save me from dirtying another bowl).  Once mixed well, smooth out the top.

Toss into oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Pull out and stir.  Now add the reserved 1/2 cup of Fresh take to the top and toss back into oven for another 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serve with chips or crackers of your choosing.  I liked mine with Pita Chips for their “heftiness”.  This cheesy, hot and gooey dip is a perfect compliment to any Mexican, Tex Mex or Southwestern meal, or a perfect appetizer to your next party.  Your guests will beg you on bended knees for the recipe!  I mean, how can anyone go wrong  with 5 cheeses???  Yep, it’s a winner!  And Thanks to Kraft Fresh Take for taking it to the next level of yumminess!

Watch for the Kraft Possibilities Tour truck which will be making stops across the country to the end of July.  To see if they are making a spot in your town, you can check their website Fresh Take Possibilities Tour.

Love To All! ~Amy

 

 

 

 

 

I have been married for 23 years to my awesome hubby, Todd and we have 4 equally awesome kids who keep me young! Our favorite thing to do together is travel. I enjoy gardening, yoga, walking and saving money! I am very active in my church and am currently serving the children, and I love volunteering at my kids’ schools doing whatever I can to help the teachers and staff.

 

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Homemade Caramels Recipe

Making Homemade Caramels, It’s Easier Than You Think

My family loves homemade caramels.  They just can’t compare to the cellophane wrapped squares that you find in the grocery store.  Don’t get me wrong, those store bought ones are great if you want to make caramel apples, but if you want some amazing, soft, decadent eating caramels, there’s nothing like making them in your own kitchen.  When we have caramels in the house, my youngest thinks she can live on eating caramels alone she loves them that much!  And even better, they really aren’t that difficult to make.  The key to good caramel making is to stir constantly.  Otherwise all those sticky sugars can easily burn if not continually moving it around in the pan.  It really only takes about 15 minutes of actual cooking/stirring time so it’s really not that bad.  Let’s start with the recipe that I like to use.

Homemade Caramels

1 cup Brown Sugar (make sure it is soft with no hard chunks)

1 cup White Sugar

1 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 cubes (1 cup) Butter (salted butter is fine)

1 cup White Corn Syrup

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 cup Chopped Nuts -optional (any kind of nut you want, I use pecans)

I also use a good candy thermometer for my caramels.  It is not required and will show you how to test the caramels for doneness without one, but it does make caramel making easier and takes the guesswork out of it.  I bought mine at Target for about $10 a few years ago when my last one gave up the ghost.  This kind is great because it has a clip on the back to hold it onto your pan, the markings are easy to read and the actual thermometer doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan to give you a false reading (the bottom of the pan is hotter than the actual candy cooking).

First, if you are using nuts in your recipe, chop them up before you start cooking.  That way they are ready when you need to add them and you won’t end up burning your caramel while it waits for you to chop the nuts. Don’t chop them too fine, leave some good chunks.

Now you’re ready to cook!  Using a nonstick (works much better for sticky caramel as it won’t stick to the bottom of your pan and burn) pot on medium high heat, add both sticks of butter and melt.  I like to melt the butter first before adding any other ingredients.  Once the butter is melted, dump in both sugars, condensed milk and corn syrup to pan and stir until combined.  Save out the vanilla and nuts.

Bring to a boil and continue stirring.  Once boiling, add the candy thermometer to your pan.  If you don’t own one, it’s ok, skip this part.  Keep stirring…

When it has been boiling for a good 10 minutes, you will notice it turning a darker brown.

Start watching your thermometer and cooking to between “Soft Ball” and ”Firm Ball” or 244-246 degrees F. Mine is just about there…  I’m not a fan of caramels that pull my teeth out so this is where I cook it to.  If you like a firmer caramel, cook right up to “Firm Ball” or 2 degrees above, 248-250 degrees F.

*Testing Caramels WITHOUT a Candy Thermometer- If you don’t own a candy thermometer, this is how you can test to see if your caramels are ready.  Get a small bowl or a short wide mouth cup that is big enough to put your hand in.  fill it with cold water and set to the side of your cooking caramel.  When your caramel starts turning color, pull a bit our with your stirring spoon and drip into the cold water.

Move the caramel around with your fingers for a few seconds until it’s cool and pull it out.  If it holds shape and feels like the consistency you want in a caramel, it’s probably ready.  If it doesn’t hold shape, keep cooking and testing until you are satisfied.  It goes pretty quick, so you’ll want to “test” every couple minutes if not more.  Good thing though, every time you “test” you also get to taste!  It’s a bit messy, but kind of fun and yummy!  Even though I use a thermometer, my kids beg to “test” the caramels this way just like when I was a kid and got to be my mom’s “tester”.

Now that your caramel is done (almost firm ball, or holds shape when cooled), take off heat and stir in vanilla and nuts.

Pour into a lightly greased 9×13 pan (I like to use glass).  Let cool completely (4-6 hours).  I made a double batch, one with nuts and one without.  To do this, I poured half into a pan before adding the nuts, then stirred in the nuts and poured the second half into another pan.

Let cool completely, 4-6 hours then cut into bite-size pieces and wrap.  I like to use waxed paper pieces, but you may also use plastic wrap.

Now you can enjoy these little pieces of paradise and suddenly become everyone’s best friend if you decide to share the little puppies!  I hope you have fun making your own Homemade Caramels and let me know how they turn out.   I would love to hear from you!

Love to all!  ~Amy

 

 

 

 

 

I have been married for 22 years to my awesome hubby, Todd and we have 4 equally awesome kids who keep my young! Our favorite thing to do together is travel. I enjoy gardening and puttering around my yard. I am very active in my church and am currently serving the children, and I love volunteering at my kids’ schools doing whatever I can to help the teachers and staff.

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English Toffee Recipe

Who Doesn’t Love English Toffee?

by Amy Trauntvein

The holidays are right around the corner and for me that means baking and lots of it, and homemade holiday candy tops the list!  Peanut butter balls, dipped pretzels, almond joys, and caramels, clusters, turtles….  But my favorite homemade treat is my grandma’s recipe of homemade English Toffee.  For years I  just let my mom and grandma make it while I enjoyed eating it thinking it was WAY too complicated and difficult to make, but then my husband and I found ourselves moving across the country with our then 3 (now 4) children and if I wanted any of this wonderfully delicious treat at Christmas time, it was now up to me to make it.  ACK!!  I thought for sure I was going to ruin it the first time I tried, but you know what?  It really was easier than I thought and it turned out perfect!  So now I’m going to give YOU the recipe and show you how you can make and enjoy your very own English Toffee and wow your friends with your culinary smarts!  And one other awesome thing about this recipe, you don’t need a candy thermometer to make it!  Score!  Ready?  Here we go!

English Toffee

• 2 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 lb butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup

Topping

• 12 oz chocolate chips or good quality chocolate chopped up
• 2 cups chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts or pecans) Purely optional.

Yes, 1 lb of butter is correct.  I never said it was light and healthy, did I? But there IS one secret to successful toffee and that is do not leave it alone.  Period.  You need stay at the stove because it must be constantly stirred and watched. If you think you can run upstairs and fold a load of laundry or go answer the phone while it cooks, before you know it, you’ve got a big burned mess.  It turns quickly and you need to be present.

First, you need to get your topping ready before you start cooking the toffee.  Chop the nuts, I used pecans for this recipe.  I chopped one cup more finely than the other for the topping.  One cup will go into the toffee (if you desire) and one cup will go on top of the toffee and chocolate.  Take one cup of nuts (the coarser chopped) and sprinkle onto an un-buttered cookie sheet

Chop up your chocolate and toss into a microwave safe bowl. Or if you are using chocolate chips, do nothing.  Here’s my chopped chocolate and the 5 lbs. of chocolate I buy every year to make candy.

My daughter wasn’t real happy about modeling it for me.  I really do go through almost all of it every Christmas making candy so it’s worth it to me to buy good quality chocolate.  No, we don’t eat it all ourselves.  I give most of my treats away to lucky recipients for the holidays!

Now you’re ready to start cooking!  Melt butter in a large non-stick pot on med/med high heat (do not brown).  Add sugar, water and corn syrup and mix well.

Bring to a rolling boil and continue stirring.  This is what is should look like.  I’m showing you so you can see the difference between the color of when it starts and and when it is finished…

Continue to boil while stirring until it turns the color of a brown paper bag (about 15 minutes).  See the bag and the toffee?  At this point it will start to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Let it cook for another 2 minutes stirring constantly.

Take off heat and pour onto the cookie sheet.  I forgot to sprinkle mine with the nuts so I poured them over the top and pressed them into the toffee.  It still worked just fine.

Now for the chocolate.  If you are using chocolate chips, just pour the chips evenly onto the hot toffee and let melt.  If you are using chopped chocolate, toss into the microwave and heat in 30 second increments on high while stirring in between until melted (it took me 60 seconds total).  Pour chocolate onto (still hot)toffee.  Spread chocolate evenly and top with remaining nuts.  Let cool completely.

Once cooled, break into pieces, enjoy the deliciousness and bask in the glow of the compliments you will receive!

Thanks for joining me and I hope this tutorial had helped you get over any qualms you may have about candy making. It really is easier than you may think!  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Love to all!  ~Amy

 

 

 

 

 

I have been married for 22 years to my awesome hubby, Todd and we have 4 equally awesome kids who keep my young! Our favorite thing to do together is travel. I enjoy gardening and puttering around my yard. I am very active in my church and am currently serving the children, and I love volunteering at my kids’ schools doing whatever I can to help the teachers and staff.

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Pumpkin Rolls Recipe

How To Make- Pumpkin Rolls

by Amy Trauntvein

Tis the Season for anything pumpkin!  Pumpkin pie, cookies, ice cream, cake, but my favorite pumpkin dessert is pumpkin rolls! There’s just something about the yummy pumpkin goodness twirled around the creamy filling that gets my heart to go pitter patter!  Today, I’m going to show you how to make these pretty bites of heaven!  Don’t be scared, they really aren’t that difficult, and once you make your own and see how good they are, you’ll never go back to the grocery store and buy one again!  Let’s start by giving you the recipe…

Pumpkin Rolls

3 eggs                                                        2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar                                             1 tsp ground ginger

2/3 cup pumpkin puree                    1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp lemon juice                                  1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup all purpose flour                 1/2 chopped walnuts or pecans (purely optional)

1 tsp baking powder

Creamy Filling

6 oz cream cheese (softened)          1 cup powdered sugar

4 Tbsp butter (softened)                    1/2 tsp vanilla

 

First, we are going to beat the eggs on high speed for 5 minutes.  Gradually beat in sugar.

Stir in pumpkin puree and lemon juice until well combined.Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl,Gradually add dry ingredients to wet while on slow speed.  Mix until just incorporated.  It should look like this…

Now for a quick Reality Check!  I have been baking for about 22 years and have been using my pans for just as long.  They are clean, just well used and loved.  I’m not about to go buy brand new pans just so everyone can think, “Oh look how lovely her pans are.” So… yes, for all my recipe posts, you will see just how well used all my stuff is, and guess what?  They work just great!  You will only see brand new stuff only if I’ve busted something which may happen.  Look for more Reality Check!(s) in many of my future posts, just so we can “keep it real, people.”

Now back to the recipe….  Line a cookie sheet (15X10 sheet WITH sides) with wax or parchment paper.  Spray the sides only, with cooking spray, you will thank me later.  Pour batter into pan and spread evenly.  Once spread, I like to wiggle the pan back on the counter and pick it up an inch or two an drop it to help even the batter out a bit more.  At this point, if you like nuts, sprinkle your chopped walnuts or pecans evenly on top of the batter.  I don’t do this step, otherwise my kids won’t eat it and then my husband I will have to eat it all.  Hmmm…. maybe next time I’ll throw nuts on!
Bake on center rack in oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Do NOT over cook please, and thank you.  While cake is in the oven, lay out a (clean) linen or cotton kitchen towel.  Do not use a terry cloth towel unless you want bits of towel stuck in your cake. :)  Next, sprinkle a good amount of powdered sugar ALL over the thing.  I use a hand sifter to make it more even.
When the cake is done (if it bounces back when touched) pull it out, and run a kinfe between the pan and cake along the long sides.

Next you need to gently pull the cake from the ends of the wax paper.

While the cake is still hot, you will invert the entire pan onto the sugared towel.  Sounds hard, but it’s really not.  Just use a towel to hold the pan so you don’t burn yourself making sure you are also holding the ends of the wax paper so it doesn’t fall out of the pan too soon.
Pull off the pan.  There should be no sticking.  Gently and slowly pull the wax paper off the cake using a butter knife to hold down the cake if needed.  It shouldn’t stick too bad.
Viola!  Your cake is ready to be rolled. This part needs to be done while still warm/hot or your cake will break. fold the edge of the towel closest to you over the cake and start rolling.  and roll the towel right up along with cake.  The towel will help to keep it rolled up while cooling.
Done!
Let the cake completely cool.  Usually takes about an hour or so.  While the cake roll is cooling, go ahead and make the filling.  Throw the softened cream cheese and butter into a mixer and beat together until nice and smooth.  While still beating, add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat unitl smooth again.  I did a double batch of filling (I made two cakes, if I’m making the mess to make one, I may as well make two!) so you won’t have as much, but it should look like this….
Once the cake is cooled, unroll it from the towel (it should stay together and not break if cooled rolled up) and plop all your filling onto the cake.  Start spreading evenly clear out to the edges.  Don’t worry, you’ve got enough, just keep spreading.

Now it’s time to roll it back up the same way you did before, but without the towel!

Pull out two sheets of plastic wrap and wrap the your lovely pumpkin roll in it. Next pull out a nice big sheet of aluminum foil and wrap it up in that.

Now put your lovely package that you are so proud of on a cutting board or cookie sheet and stick it in the freezer! Freeze for at least 6-8 hours preferably overnight. Once they are good and frozen, you can take out the board/sheet. This just keeps them in their nice shape. The secrect to perfectly sliced pumpkin rolls is to cut them while frozen. 
Whenever you are ready to enjoy a slice of paradise, take it out, unwrap (no need to wait for it to thaw) and cut.  You’ve got perfect slices that are not flattened from the knife and the filling stays intact!  Also, you are free to slice just as many as you need, then rewrap the rest on toss it back into the freezer for another time.  Pumpkin rolls stay good in a deep freeze for months as long as they are wrapped tight.  So if you’re having a party, make these way ahead of time and save yourself some stress.  On party day, just pull them out and slice away whenever you’re ready to serve. 
Here you are, beautiful Pumpkin rolls and taste so much better than store bought!  My family actually prefers to eat then while still frozen, the filing tastes almost like ice cream and it’s not as messy!  I’ve also converted many of my friends to eat them frozen too, they love them that way.   Every year near the holidays, I make 2 pumpkin rolls and keep them in the freezer for maybe an impromptu get together, a party we get invited to that we need to take a dessert, or just for surprising the kids on a regular old Wednesday night after dinner or homework.   A unexpected treat for each child, and maybe just maybe they might clean their room!  Yeah right, well it’s a good dream anyway.
Enjoy making your very own Pumpkin Rolls.  Thanks mom for teaching me the art of this recipe and a love for baking.  If you enjoyed this post, let us know!

Love to all! ~Amy

 

 

 

 

 

I have been married for 22 years to my awesome hubby, Todd and we have 4 equally awesome kids who keep my young!    Our favorite thing to do together is travel. I enjoy gardening and puttering around my yard. I am very active in my church and am currently serving the children, and I love volunteering at my kids’ schools doing whatever I can to help the teachers and staff.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Recipe for an Ice Cream Sandwich Cake!

 

I will tell you that the Ice Cream Sandwich cake itself is not a pretty sight. It isn’t a fancy looking elegant cake. It is more like… oh wow.. what a mess THAT is!

Carrie posted this on my link party a few weeks ago and I’ve been wanting to try it since then. Here is her post.

My best tips…  Be prepared BEFORE you start the process.  I was not.  I decided to make this on a whim. My son ran to the store for me, and came back with 2 boxes of semi frozen ice cream sandwiches to start. The whipped cream was semi frozen also.

Ingredients for the Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

• 24 ice cream sandwiches (I wanted vanilla, but I know others like peanut butter or chocolate ice cream in them)
• Whipped Cream – a large tub
• 12 – 19 oz bag Candy – I used Reece Cups and crumbled them up. You could use Oreos, Butterfinger, Toffee… etc.
• Caramel syrup. – you could also use chocolate.

Prepare First

• Make sure your whipped cream is thawed (if it was frozen)
• Unwrap and break up your candy
• Make sure your ice cream sandwiches are unwrapped and well frozen before beginning.
• Trying to unwrap soft ice cream sandwiches, a bunch of Reece cups while you are trying to build this and things are melting…. isn’t a good recipe for success.  Just sayin’.

Recipe

• Layer 6 ice cream sandwiches across your cookie sheet. (You can also use a large flat platter. It gets kind of heavy, so make sure whatever you use can go in a freezer and is supportive.)
• Top it with a layer of whipped cream, sprinkle a layer of candy pieces on it and top it with some caramel.  then repeat those layers. (I can’t give you exact amounts, just wing it – what looks right to you)
• I went up four layers. The top layer I did not include the caramel sauce, although I could have. I already had such a melting mess that I had to get into the freezer quick… lol

If my whipped cream had been completely thawed it would have been easier to spread.

See, I told you it isn’t pretty…  Looks like a real mess!  But I didn’t care, I was too excited to try it.

Now take this concoction and put it into a freezer for a couple hours.

Ours stayed in the freezer over night.

I took it out this morning, expecting it to look a little different I guess…. but it looked just the same… .but frozen solid.

Since we started it too late for the kids to have any last night … since it had to still freeze,  I did what any  step mother would do – I said they could have a little piece this morning! Yes, they ate their breakfast first.

I cut this piece into thirds for them.

It passed the kid test with flying colors! They loved it. What i think will be fun is that it was SO novel that I let them have a dessert in the morning (I won’t even let them have pop tarts for breakfast on a school morning) they will have really fun memories of this cake.

Elise

Zach

Alex

By the way I tried it also… and loved it. I’m not a huge fan of the DQ ice cream cakes, but I LOVED this! The sandwich part of the ice cream sandwich is such a perfect layer.

This one is going to be in our “keep” file … for sure!

I did see another version where they did it in a cake pan – lined with foil. It would have been just a double decker I’m thinking… rather than my 4 layers. I didn’t do it this way because I thought it would be hard to get out of the pan. It wasn’t until I went back (after I made mine) and looked at the recipe again to see that they had  lined the pan with foil first. Duh!  But the kids loved the tall 4 layer ice cream cake.

Spagetti Tacos Recipe

If iCarly Can Eat Spagetti Tacos, The Triplets Can Too!

Want to surprise your kids? Tell them you are going to make them spagetti tacos!  Chances are they will know exactly what you are talking about.

I can’t tell you how excited three 11 year olds were when I asked them if they wanted Spagetti Tacos for dinner. I got several … “What?” and then “Do you know who eats Spagetti Tacos?  iCarly does… and Victorious had them on their show just last night!!”  They were beyond excited!! What a riot… a meal that isn’t particularly healthy (not at all) it was a real winner with my kids.

I heard about this recipe from @MamaBzz who had them on her blog a couple weeks ago.  I told her I would have to try it!  I just now went to her blog to pick up the url and realized she had topped her with shredded cheese…oops… I forgot that on mine!

Ingredients:

Taco shells
Spagetti Sauce
Ground beef /Venison(I used)
American Cheese
Spagetti
Shredded Cheese (optional for top – that I forgot)

Directions:

Ground the meat
Boil your spagetti
Heat your spagetti sauce
Microwave (or heat in oven) your taco shells

Oh… look at this idea I had to use to hold my taco shells (I think I was as excited about this as I was at the recipe… I might have seen it on pinterest, but I’m not sure – they might have been using something similar)

Turn your cupcake tins upside down and use to hold your taco shells. It worked awesome!!!

I have to tell you.. I was super excited about this! lol

Line your taco shells with a slice of American cheese

The cheese will melt when you put the hot spagetti in it.

 Drain the spagetti, mix in the sauce and meat and spoon into your shells.  I found these tongs to work a little easier.  

Serve!  - This handy holder works great to also carry them into the table!

Yes.. these would look better with shredded cheese on top! You could also use parmesan cheese on top if you preferred, but my kids didn’t miss it.

 

The happiness followered. Alex was trying to decide how to eat that first bite. lol

Elise just dug right in!  She decided that this is what she wants for her birthday dinner this year!

Enjoy!

Green Smoothie Recipe

Spinach Green Smoothie and it’s Yummy!

I found this recipe for this green smoothie on pinterest and decided to try it and loved it!  I know… looks gross… like something for Saint Patrick’s day or something. Am I a total healthy freak who thinks all that gross healthy stuff tastes good? Nope.. not at all.  I am a total sugar-holic (but going through sugar de-tox now! LOL ) I do not have a taste for veggies, they are hard for me to get down, so this is a great way to do it.

Does it taste like spinach…. NO!  Believe it or not.

I have been having one each morning and it holds me until lunch… easy!
This has been referred to as a diet secret weapon…. and I can see why!
It tastes like a banana peanut butter milk shake.

It is around 350 calories per serving – but remember, it is a meal and it is so healthy and will help you not to have those in between cravings.

Ingredients

1/2 cup fat free or low fat yogurt (Greek yogurt would be good, but it is more expensive, so I don’t use it)
1 cup skim milk
1 banana (you can slice & freeze ahead if you want, I use ice cubes instead)
1 T peanut butter
several cups of leaf spinach
hand full of ice cubes

Cup up your banana

Add 1/2 cup yogurt

Add 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Add 1 cup skim milk
Fill the rest with spinach

Add a handful of ice.

Pulse your blender until the ice has made it’s way down. I like to put it on top because it seems to push the spinach down a little better.  Once your ice is chopped pretty well… then let it blend on smoothie or high for about a full minute.  There shouldn’t be any pieces of spinach left. (at least that is how I like it)

You get a large serving. Drink it all.

It tastes like a peanut butter banana shake!!!  Honest! My 11 year old tried it and liked it (the other one wouldn’t try it)

So happy I found this… you’ll have to try it!

 

I made the shake myself. These are my pictures. Please do not use them without permission, other than pinning them to pinterest. That I would love! :)

Recipe – Brownie Goodie Bars

Awesome Brownie Goody Bars Recipe:

by Hoosier Homemade

Do these look awesome or what?  Liz from Hoosier Homemade has graciously offered to let me borrow some of her fantastic recipes to share with all of you.  I was browsing her site and saw these.  I had to stop! OMG… these look awesome.

I’m hoping to have actually made these before this post, so I can show you some pictures of my own.

Recipe:

1 box brownie mix.
1 cup vanilla frosting (You can use premade or homemade)
1/2 cups salted peanuts  (optional)
2 cups Rice Krispies (or store brand is fine)
2/3 cup creamy Peanut Butter
1 1/3 semi sweet or milk chocolate chocolate chips

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and bake brownies as instructed on box.
Let Brownies cool completely

Frost brownies
Sprinkle peanuts on top and put in the refrigerator

Microwave:
Heat slowly the chocolate chips and peanut butter. (heat about 1 min at a time, stir and heat longer if needed. Takes approximately 2 minutes)
Add the chocolate/peanut butter mixture to the Rice Krispies and stir until all are combined.

Take brownies out of refrigerator and spread on top.

Refrigerate 1 hour more until set.

Cut into pieces and enjoy!

This recipe was originally found on the Betty Crocker site and adapted by Hooiser Homemade where I found it.  Be sure to stop by her blog and see more great recipes.

 

 

 

Recipe – Easy Kids Snack

Shake ‘n Go Snack Mix Recipe

We all want quick and easy snacks for our kids don’t we?  I found this easy and fun recipe on Betty’s site!   This would be really cute for a kids party or a late night movie snack.  If the kids wanted to have a camp out in the backyard or it would also be awesome for camping or a beach day. I also think the kids would love to make it.

It is called a recipe, but when there is no flour, sugar, oil or anything to mix up, I have a hard time thinking of it as a recipe.   It is an easy variation on the chex mix that we always think of … you know, the one where you have to mix in the Worcestershire sauce, bake it, pull it out and turn it – bake some more.  (But that is awesome too!)

It is so super simple.  .. well, stir it up, no shake it up I guess.

Here is What You’ll Need:

* 5 cups of Chex cereal (I bet Crispex would also be good)
* 1 cup of Teddy Grahams snacks
* 1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1/4 cup jelly beans or M&M’s.(Bring on the M&M’s for me!)

Put everything in a big baggie, seal and shake!

You can pour it into fun cones like this, or ice cream cones.  Doesn’t that sound fun?

You can also take the safer route and put it in a no spill travel cup for the kids to snack out of when you are in the car.  Have you seen those other little travel bowls that never spill?  Those would be perfect to put something like this in for the car.

You can see the whole recipe on the  Better Crocker post along with oodles of others of course.  The picture is from the Better Crocker site (it is not my own picture)

 

 

4th of July Cake Recipe

Cake for 4th of July!

Doesn’t this look awesome?

I found this picture first on pinterest.com. I then tracked it down to the Lily White Flour site.  I wanted to share it, it looks so good.  I love how you don’t really think of it as a red, white and blue cake until you cut it.  Hmm…. I wonder if you get a red or blue mouth?

From the recipe it is a marshmallow frosting, so it seems it would be a lighter cake. When it is hot outside, then light is good when it comes to cakes.

 

 

Independence Day Cake by Lily White Flour

Supplies Needed

•	Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
•
Cake
•	3 1/2 cups White Lily® Enriched Bleached All Purpose Flour
•	2 cups sugar
•	1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
•	1 1/2 teaspoons salt
•	1 teaspoon baking soda
•	1 1/4 cups buttermilk
•	1 1/4 cups Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
OR	1 1/4 sticks Crisco® Baking Sticks All-Vegetable Shortening
•	5 large egg whites
•	1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•	1 teaspoon almond extract
•	1 tablespoon red food coloring
•	1 tablespoon blue food coloring
•
Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting
•	2 cups butter, softened
•	2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
•	1 teaspoon almond extract
•	1 (13 oz.) jar marshmallow cream
•
Garnish
•	Fresh blueberries and strawberries (optional)

 

Instructions:

1.	HEAT oven to 350º F. Coat three 8-inch round pans with no-stick cooking spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper, cut to fit. Coat paper with no-stick cooking spray.
2.	WHISK together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Add buttermilk and shortening. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add egg whites, vanilla and almond extract. Beat an additional 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed.
3.	POUR 1/3 (about 2 cups) of batter into prepared pan. Divide remaining batter into 2 medium bowls. Stir in food coloring to make one red and one blue batter. Pour batter into remaining pans. Tap pans on counter several times to remove air bubbles.
4.	BAKE 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes before removing from pan. Remove cake and cool completely on wire rack.
5.	BEAT butter in a large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until fluffy. Beat in almond extract. Stir in marshmallow cream until well blended.
6.	PLACE blue cake layer on cake plate and generously frost top. Stack white layer and generously frost top. Add red layer, frosting top and sides of entire cake. Garnish with fresh blueberries and strawberries, if desired.    If you try it, please let me know! If I make it, I’ll show you of course. Heck.. you know me, I show you all the stuff we do! I found this  recipe and picture from the White Lily Flour site.

 

 

Homemade Lemonade Recipe

Home Made Lemonade

Lemonade is a symbol of summer I think.  When I think of lemonade, I think of hot days outside, the glass of cold lemonade sweating.

I was working on  the kids lemonade stand post when I did a google search. I found this recipe for home made lemonade and the picture looked so good.

Don’t you love the lemon shake ups you get at the fairs in the summer? Water, Ice, Lemon and sugar. Shake it up and your good to go.  Bees are always buzzing all over those trailers  with the lemon shake ups aren’t they? Can you tell I’m getting the visual?

As easy as this is, if I make “real” lemonade, it is from the frozen concentrate can like mom used to buy, instead of the powder mix.  This would also be a good activity for the kids to do during the summer.  Make home made lemonade.  Wonder if they advertised it that way, if they would make any more money. (giggles)

I am getting all these great ideas on easy things to make this summer. I’m all for the easy folks. Especially when it comes to preparing food.

Pork Recipe

Janelles Pac Man Pork Recipe

This week’s Gem of the Week award is going to go to Janelle from At Home with My Monkeys for her Pac Man Pork. I love the name…her kids named it because they “gobble it up”. I will frequently have the kids name a new recipe, but ours is something like Jenney (my last name) surprise. LOL
I also like Crock Pot recipes. I think they are great in the winter…and although I usually don’t make them in the summer (we grill out more) they actually make more sense in the summer instead of using the stove. I just think of Crock pot recipes as nice warm comfort “winter” food.  (Read more…..)

Read more

Butterscotch Cake Recipe

Guest Post from SnoWhite

I am giving my Gem of the Week Award to SnoWhite (isn’t that cute?) from “Finding Joy in My Kitchen.”
This cake looks soooo good! She gives the step by step pictures (which I love) to making this cake. You will have to go see the whole process. You can see it very simply by clicking HERE.

Read more

Zucchini Recipe

Using Captain Crunch Cereal

 

We got these zucchini out of our garden. Alex was out measuring it each day and discovered it was growing about a 1/2 inch a day. He was thrilled to go out and pick the first 2!

Ingredients

1 large zucchini
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
2 c Captain Crunch cereal (or off brand)
1/2 c flour
olive oil

Prepare

Slice the zucchini.

Crush the cereal in a plastic bag until pretty fine. Put in bowl and add flour.
Stir mixture. (These amounts are approximate as I did not measure. I added the flour because the cereal alone was not sticking well, so you can play around with the amounts). Put this bowl aside.

In another bowl mix eggs and milk. You can salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat.

Dip the zucchini into the milk/egg mixture.
Dip into the cereal/flour mixture and cover both sides.

Place in oil and cook on both sides until brown.

Place on paper towels to soak up the extra oil. Then serve. Yummy!
Come join Share My Recipe Sunday! Just add your recipe onto the Mr. Linky. Pick up the button and put it on your site with your recipe. Link it back here. Be sure to visit often! Pick up some other recipes and visit other site.

 

 

Sugar Free Peach Crisp Recipe

Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker has earned my Gem of the Week again. She has given us a recipe that diabetics can enjoy! My father is a diabetic and loves good desserts…and is thrilled when we can find a good recipe that is sugar free.
Join our Share my Recipe Sunday and add your recipe to the Mr. Linky. Feel free to pick up any recipes to use in your kitchen!

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There are a lot of diabetics in my family. It runs in the family. Therefore, I try to make desserts once in a while that everyone can enjoy without as much guilt as usual ;-). This dish isn’t terribly sweet and lets the flavor of the peaches shine through. If you choose to use fresh, you may have to alter the time a bit.

1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup crystaline fructose
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups sliced frozen peaches
2 tsp minute tapioca
Place peaches in the bottom of a 9 X 9 pan. Sprinkle with tapioca and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Combine oats, flour, fructose, butter and remaining cinnamon in a bowl and combine with a pastry blender until nice and crumbly. Sprinkle over the peaches. Bake uncovered 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with sugar free vanilla ice cream if desired.
Kristen

Grilled Cheesy Potatoe Packets

 

Share My Recipe

This recipe is from the Betty Crocker Site. I thought it looked great for something to use not only on a grill, but over a campfire.

4 cups frozen potatoes O’Brien with onions and peppers (from 24-oz bag)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (3 oz)

1. Heat gas or charcoal grill. Spray 1 (18×13-inch) sheet of heavy-duty foil with cooking spray. Place potatoes on center of foil. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with seasoned salt.
2. Bring up 2 sides of foil over potatoes so edges meet. Seal edges, making tight 1/2-inch fold; fold again, allowing space for heat circulation and expansion. Fold other sides to seal.
3. Place packet on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 30 minutes, turning once. Carefully open packet; sprinkle cheese over potatoes. Cover loosely; let stand 4 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Come and join Share my Recipe Sunday. Add your name and recipe with link to your blog (and the recipe) on Mr. Linky. Take the Share My Recipe Button from my right sidebar and post it on your site with the link back to Share my Recipe.

Southwestern Rice Salad Recipe

Guest Recipe from Stephanie

This salad looks wonderful. Stephanie from A High and Noble Calling submitted this salad. She has won my Gem of the Week Award.
There is so much color in this salad. It looks like something that would be a hit anywhere you served it.
She has great pictures on the process of making it too. (I love that!) Visit her blog to see all the great pictures!!

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This recipe was passed onto me by a friend and it is absolutely one of my favorites! Anything with corn and black beans ranks high on my list, and this dish has all that and one of my favorite spices: cumin!

It makes a large bowl full and is a quick and easy summer recipe. This recipe is adapted from Taste Of Home, and originally called for all of the veggies to be sauteed, but I like it better when they are raw and fresh. It makes it crispier, healthier and keeps your kitchen cool on a hot day!

Southwestern Rice Salad

2/3 cup cooked Brown rice

3/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup of chopped red onion

1 cup chopped medium carrot

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 16 oz package of frozen corn (thawed)

1 15 oz can of black beans (rinsed and drained)

2 medium plum tomatoes chopped

1 cup salted peanuts (or chickpeas)

1/3 cup of lemon juice

1/2- 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper to taste

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Optional: 1 Tbsp of flax seed oil

1. Chop up the veggies an put them into a bowl

2. Add the corn and black beans and the peanuts
(or chickpeas) and cumin, then mix all together.

3. Add the lemon juice, cayenne and cumin and flax
seed oil and mix well.

4. Add the rice and mix well. Cover and refrigerate
for at least 4 hours for the flavors to meld
together.

5. Enjoy!!

Stephanie
Join our “Share My Recipe Sunday” and share YOUR recipe here. Be sure to link this to your recipe on your site. Add the Share My Recipe Button (you can get it off the right hand sidebar of this site for best results). You may win the Gem of the Week award that you can display on your site.
Thanks!

Yogurt Coffee Cake Muffins Recipe

I thought these muffins looked so good and when I first saw the picture I was so hungry. I wanted one!!
Amy from The Finer Things In Life submitted this recipe.
Enjoy!!
Join along – Add your recipe onto the list with the link back to your blog. Pick up my Button and post it with your recipe. Click on the Share my Recipe Button above more more directions if needed. Thanks.

Yogurt Coffee Cake Muffins

* 1/2 c. butter
* 3/4 c. sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 1 1/2 c. plain yogurt
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 1 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
* 1 c. whole wheat flour

Topping:

* 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
* 3 T. sugar
* 1 1/2 T. brown sugar

** sour cream is a nice substitute for plain yogurt

** the topping is also delicious with chopped pecans added

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Mix well. Combine baking soda, baking powder and flours. Add to wet mixture. Scoop into greased muffin tins. Sprinkle topping over each muffin. Bake at 350° for 20-22 minutes. Yield: 2 dozen muffins

Avocado Salad Recipe

This week’s Gem of the Week goes to Heather from Just Doing My Best. She had presented a couple of good recipes. This is her Avocado salad. Did you know you can freeze avocados? I didn’t. Make sure you visit her blog and see what else she has been up to.

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This embarrassingly easy recipe came from my grandpa in Texas, whom I think is one of the best cooks ever.

Coarsely dice 2 avocados and 3 small tomatoes and place in serving bowl. (I’ve used Roma and they work well because Roma’s have less liquid than some of the other varieties.) Then, coat the diced duo with Italian dressing. You will have to eyeball the amount, but you will not want to use too much. Just enough to coat.

It’s THAT easy. My kids like to eat avocado salad with tortilla chips, as they would guacamole, but it’s also great served by itself. The salad is extremely versatile so you can vary the quantity of fruits used based on the size of your family and personal preferences.

Heather
Join me for Share your Recipe Sunday. Add your name and recipe to Mr. Linky. Post it on your site with the Share your Recipe Button. You may win my Gem of the Week award. Be sure to pick up some other good recipes and come back each Sunday if you would like to add even more recipes!

Oriental Salad Recipe

I love this recipe. I had it at potlucks and always was thrilled to eat it, but never had the recipe. Most of you probably thinking….Oh I have had that one forever…but there may be a few of you like me that haven’t. So here it is:

Oriental Salad
1 – 16 oz bag cole slaw (in bag, I think mine was 20 oz – shredded)
1/2 jar roasted sunflower seeds
1-2 green onions -little ones (I don’t use these)
2 pkg almonds – slivered, roasted
2 pkg Ramen Noodles – break up, don’t crush (without seasoning)

Mix together
sprinkle on the 2 packs of dry seasoning from the Ramen noodles.  Or you can mix it into your sauce.

Sauce
1/3 c. sugar
3/4 c veg. oil
1/4 c white vingear
Mix well (because it doesn’t mix well) and then pour over top and mix really well. Refridgerate

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