After School Snack: Chocolate Fondue Muffin Tin

Filling up a muffin tin for my kids' after school snack is a snap. I made the fondue in the morning and just reheated a little right before they got home.

I served it with apples, bananas, pretzels and graham crackers.

My made-up fondue recipe. :) based on what my friend made the other night.
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
Heat these three ingredients on medium low until the milk starts to hang off the spoon when dipped.
Add
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate)
1 c. peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
Heat thoroughly and serve.
Have a sweet day!

Ready To Pop Themed Baby Shower Fun

I've been a little MIA on the paper crafting front lately but for good reason. I have an amazing friend who is due in just a few short weeks. She's one of my bestest workout buddies and makes me feel awful when she runs faster than I do even being 8 months pregnant!!! :)
So I put together a little baby shower with the Ready To Pop theme and it was really fun. 

I tried to come up with as many foods that had "POP" in their names as I could. We ended up having

Homemade Kettle POPCORN

Hand Dipped Chocolate Marshmallow POPS

Green Chile POPOVERS (thank you Renee)

Jalepeno POPPERS

and Tropical POPICAL Punch (hahaha, I just made that one up)

The goody table

This is the full set up.

I made Peanut Butter Chocolate Twist Cup Cakes. They were so yummy. Compared to other recipes I've seen it's pretty simple and easy to follow. So much better than boxed cupcakes.

There's the soon to be mama and her little guy. So sweet.

Those popovers were really delicious. I put out little bags for people to scoop popcorn into.

The children at the shower enjoyed the chocolate marshmallow pops the most. :)

The table runner was fun and easy to make. Just stack 7 or 8 tissue flowers together, staple in the center and then fluff.

 

I couldn't find any cups that matched my theme so I just picked out three coordinating washi tapes and ran them along the bottom of simple plastic cups. Easy fix and cute too.

Recipe for the Jalepeno Poppers at Skinny Taste

 

You can find the recipe for these delicious cupcakes at BHG here...the only thing I didn't do was add chocolate to the icing and swirl peanut butter and chocolate icing. Still perfect ;).

Simple decorated chalk board.
I had a lot of fun putting this together and I can't wait to meet the little man!!
Have a super weekend.

Meatball Stew- Simple One Pot Meal

Meatballs

3 eggs, beaten

2/3 c. bread crumbs

1/3 c. parmesan cheese

pepper to taste

1/2 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground chicken

OR JUST USE FROZEN ;)

To the pot add with meatballs add

4 med potatoes, chunked

3 sliced medium carrots

1 1/2 c. chopped celery (3 stalks?)

1 med onion, wedged

1 zucchini, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

4-6 mushrooms, sliced

1 envelope onion soup mix or make your own *(recipe below)

Water, if you want it to really be more stew like add a minimal amount of water. I added 10 cups and it was great. You can also add beef or veggie stock instead of water for more depth of flavor.

10-20 snap pea pods, cut in half and added the last 10 minutes of cooking

Simmer 30 minutes until veggies are tender

*Onion Soup Mix

from "Self Reliance by Jamie"

2/3 cup dried, minced onion

3 teaspoons parsley flakes

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Best Dinner Rolls I've Ever Made

So, I've attempted many different bread and roll recipes over the years. I got this one from my friend who makes awesome cinnamon rolls with it! So far this one seems no fail. I've used the recipe for cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls and even calzones.
Enjoy!

3 c. warm water

1/2 c. sugar

2 T yeast

(I let these three ingredients hang out in the bowl for a little while before adding the other ingredients)

1/3 c. oil
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
7-8 cups of flour (I live in a dry area and always end up using the full 8 but not much more)

Make a nice soft round of dough and let rise in the bowl for 20 minutes. I cover with sprayed saran wrap
Pinch of rounds of dough and make into rolls. I like to tuck the ends under so I get a nice even top on my roll.
Let rise for half an hour or so. Sometimes my dough starts to rise TOO MUCH.  So,  when they get to a nice looking size pop them in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350.
These rolls stay nice and soft for a few days if you cover them.
BTW this recipe makes two 11x13 pans full of rolls.
Have a great day!

Oh yeah, and I confess. I ate that missing roll-right from the oven-buttered up and delicious.

Eggplant Mozarella Melt

EGGPLANT MOZZARELLA MELT
image and recipe link fond at the above link.
Don't walk...RUN...to your nearest grocer and get yourself some eggplant to make this delicious, melty meal. It is heaven to the taste buds.
I used Costco's Pugliese Italian Bread for my base and some premium jarred pasta sauce (without any HFCS) and topped it with some mozzarella.
Everyone in my family loved it-from my little four year old guy all the way to my big hunky guy.
Go try this easy recipe for yourself.
YUM!

New Year's Eve and Family

We rang in the New Year at home, surrounded by our munchkins who stayed up later than I did as I wasn't feeling very well. We enjoyed Shirley Temples (a family tradition since I was a child) and dad's homemade nacho sauce. He really knows how to work with processed cheese ;).

Mostly, Trav and the kids played Skylanders. It's been pretty huge around our house since someone secretly bought it for our children even though mom said no and really dislikes console games because they're such time wasters...I mean come on...you could've learned to basket weave in the time it takes to beat a few levels, BUT I digress...I was an enjoyable evening.
My marriage ROCKS, seriously :).

The next day Travis' brother and his family arrived here from California (it was their second day and they actually came from Arizona that day) on their way to Virginia. A BIG move for their sweet family.

 

Sterling is holding his own in the losing hair department despite the fact that he's 5 years Travis' junior. This picture was his idea...for posterity you know.

The girls were so excited that it snowed being from CA and all. They really wanted to make snow angels but it's been so dry here all summer that there's no ground cover so they would be more like mud angels.

She is such a sweet little girl! She came right to me although we've never met until that night. Awww.

Cousins RULE!

There's my snuggler, doin' his thing. Can't wait to get some of these printed and scrapped.
Hope you're enjoying your family and fun times.

Zombie Cupcakes and Halloween

My li'l guy wanted so badly to be a puppy for Halloween. My mom was so nice to fix this old costume that Jakob and Aaron wore years ago.

We had a preschool party to attend and luckily Travis was home to decorate some awesome zombie cupcakes. I think they turned out pretty great and they're yummy too.

 

Here's my pound puppy and his best friend the cheetah!

Life and Lunch

I try to send my kiddos to school with healthful lunches. Homemade items or fun little cheese shapes...I don't want them to get bored of getting a "sack" lunch. I sent hummus with pita chips yesterday as a side and my kids came home complaining that all of their classmates were "grossed out"...told them it "looked disgusting" and all kinds of other negative comments. I feel bad for my kids being made fun of but I feel even worse for the kids that are missing out on great food!
My second grader did say that a few of his classmates tried it and said "yum". I guess beyond second grade you get less adventurous.

Maybe I'll send them with home made sushi next week! Hah

Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken

We had the Skinny Taste Asian Glazed Drumsticks for dinner tonight (because the chicken was marked down today) with brown rice and some broccoli. It was REALLY yummy. Took some time for the sauce to cook down to a glaze though.
Trav is making rice pudding for FHE with the left overs as we speak. I think I'm adding a dollop of Nutella. :) Have a super night.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss: Fun Friday

Yep, it's the day that we eat green eggs and ham! Dr. Seuss' birthday!!!!!

I do not like them Sam I Am...but my kids sure do ;)

Even the one who looked a bit grumpy before...silly kids. I love reading Dr. Seuss to my kids and this is a fun way to remember him.

BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER...or second best ;)

On Thursday night I attended a Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake-off with the wonderful ladies in my ward.

I decided to make a recipe that my friend, Amber, had made a few years ago that I fell in love with. I think it came from MS. It's buttery and chewy with a bit of crispness when you bite into it. It's a bit of heaven in your mouth ;)

Here are some of the judges. Everyone had such a good time. Chatting and chewing.

Even down to the tinniest judge. I had some stiff competition and actually voted for the warmest gooiest chocolatiest cookie that Amber made. MMMMMM (I need that recipe). This recipe came in second...beaten out by Nicole's "Our Best Bites High Altitude Cookie". ENJOY!

So here's the recipe I use: not as it's written because I had to change it up a bit

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup dried cherries ( I use cherry flavored cranberries or just cranberries)
• 4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use 5.5 ounces of chocolate chunks or chips)
• 1/2 cup toffee pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high speed to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the oats, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine after each addition.
4. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Repeat, spacing 2 inches apart. I use an ice cream scoop that is not totally full for some nice, BIG cookies.
5. Bake cookies until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes.

Fun Friday Food

Christmas treats abound at the house today. :)
-Graham cracker chocolate covered peanut butter truffles
-Buckeyes
-Chocalte cake truffles (just a chocolate cake with chocolate icing dipped in chocolate)
-Peanut chocolate covered peanut butter truffles THIS RECIPE-Chocolate chip cookie dough chocolate covered truffles
-Pecan/Pretzle turtles

This is what it looks like when you make rolo turtles :)
Pretzels, rolos and pecans that's all you need. Pop them in the oven at 300 degrees for 3-5 minutes. Perfection

Cinnamon Almonds: SO SUPER EASY in the frying pan
1 c. of sugar
1/2 T. cinnamon
1/4 cup water
3 c. almonds
heat until sugar dries and cool on wax paper. YUM!


Don't you want a taste?
COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES is used This Recipe with no eggs.

Oh my goodness...I need to work out 10 days a week :)
Have a super day and don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the Scor-Pal/Authentique Blog Hop.