Multi-Grain Pretzel Dogs

Mutli-grain Pretzel Dog

I LOVE soft pretzels (they are one of my favorite foods), so when the hubby told me that I should try to make "pig's in a blanket but with pretzel dough" he didn't need to ask twice. I looked at all my soft pretzel recipes and picked one that I thought would work. Then I just jumped in head first (I generally don't fight my creative urges when it comes to cooking). I was glad that I did because these were DELISH! The kids loved them and we did, too. They are better than hot dogs in a bun and you could do a lot of playing around with dipping sauces, such as cheese, queso, ketchup, mustard, or chili. They take less than an hour to make and I think I may attempt freezing them (like their store-bought cousins by Super Pretzel but cheaper and hopefully better).

Valentine Caroling, maybe a new family tradition?

At Christmas, Mr. R was so excited about caroling to our neighbors, but alas, we all got sick and stayed sick through New Years. He was quite disappointed over missing out on caroling. Fast forward to Valentine's Day... I decided that we were going to make up Red Velvet Brownies, cut them into large hearts and deliver them to our neighbors along with homemade Valentines. When I told the kids about the idea, Mr. R got a big smile and said, "We're going Valentine caroling." I told him that I wasn't really thinking about singing to the neighbors (since that is what caroling is all about, singing). He declared that they could sing as they delivered their valentines. I asked what song and they unanimously decided on "Jesus Loves Me". So that's what we did.

First, I took some white cardstock and I printed our Valentine message on it. Here is a link to the PDF that I made. Then, I cut the cardstock in half and had the kids glue heart shaped foil paper doilies to the front. They wrote their names on the back.

Finally, we cut our brownies into large hearts (they look small because I forgot to pick up little paper plates so we had to use large paper plates), and placed them on plates covered with plastic wrap.

The kids LOVED visiting each of our neighbors, delivering a Valentine, treat, and song to them. I think our neighbors enjoyed it as well. 

Shape up, Mr. Biscuit!

Biscuit Cars with Mixed Berry Jam

There are days when I know that the kids want need me to turn the mundane into something special and lunch is usually my ticket. It was time to think outside the [recipe] box... Sometimes I get the cookie cutters out and we make PB&J shapes but today needed something just a tad more interactive. Hmmm...pancakes?  No, we just had French toast... Biscuit pizzas? Nope, not enough cheese... Aha! I had it, biscuit shapes with  homemade mixed berry jam!

Miss E. and I made up the dough (just your standard fluffy, flaky biscuit recipe) and rolled it out. Then Mr. R., Miss A. and Miss E. picked out cookie cutters and cut out some shapes. We baked them according to the recipe and then ate them warm with some mixed berry jam. There were footballs, stars, cars, and circles to enjoy. And enjoy they did for they didn't leave even one to share with daddy! Poor daddy will have to wait till next time!

Stars, circles, cars, and footballs make for a fun lunch!

Permanent Marker Mugs

Right before turning the oven on

Since adding homeschooling Mr. R. and Miss E. to my list of jobs, I have struggled with including more of the extracurricular activities (art, music, etc.) into their school week. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day for me to get everything done, so when I do fit some such activity into the day I want it to be a little big and definitely memorable. This was one week where I really wanted to do a fun art (well, more craft than art) project with the kids.

Microwave Blueberry Oat "Muffins"

My 1st Attempt

I am always up for quick, easy, and healthy dishes for breakfast or snacks so when I happened upon a recipe for 1 Minute Berrylicious Microwave Muffin I decided to try it.

Egg "Pizza"

A couple of months ago, I decided to try something special for my kiddos for breakfast - Egg "Pizza". They thoroughly enjoyed them then so I decided to do it again for Valentines. I let the kids add the "toppings" and cheese. Here's how they work:

In a small bowl whisk together eggs (2/person) and milk (a couple of teaspoons for each set of 2 eggs).

Cake Mix Cookies

I am a big fan of Cake Mix Cookies. They're fast and easy, they taste good, and they're fun to make with the kids. There are also so many different varieties that you can come up with depending on what cake mix you use. Here are a few of my favorite combinations.

Base Cookie Recipe (all the variations include the ingredients of this recipe)

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter (or coconut oil), softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, butter and eggs until smooth and well blended. Add optional ingredients (chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, etc.) Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Variations:

• Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies - Dark Chocolate cake mix and 2/3 cup dark chocolate mint chips (usually only available around Christmas)
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies - Devil's food cake mix, 2/3 cup white chocolate chips, and 1 cup coconut flake (add 1/2 cup of the coconut flake to the dough and then press the top of the cookie dough ball in the other 1/2 cup).
• Macaroons - Coconut cake mix + ½ cup coconut + 1½ cups chocolate chips + 1 tablespoon butter. Mix ¾ cup chips into the batter. Melt the other ¾ cup chips and 1 Tbsp. butter together then drizzle over cooled cookies.
• Double Chocolate Chip - Dark chocolate/devil’s food cake mix + chocolate chips. 
• Berry Vanilla Chip - Strawberry cake mix + white chocolate chips.
• Oatmeal Raisin - Yellow cake mix + 2/3 cup quick cooking oats + ¾ cup raisins (in place of baking chips) + ½ cup walnuts (optional).
• Spiced Carrot Oat - Spiced cake mix + 1 1/2 cup old fashion rolled oats (quick cooking will suffice if that's all you have) + 1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrot + 1/2 cup raisins, craisins, or chocolate chips (I'd suggest semi-sweet or white) + 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional  - this one reminds me of carrot cake

What variations have you tried for this recipe? Is there anything you do differently?

Banana Dogs

I happened to see this lunch idea on Tasty Time with Ze Fronk (a Disney short) - the Banana Dog. I was out of bread today but had half a package of hot dog buns and thought it would be a fun thing to try with the kids.

• bananas, 1 for each child
• hot dog buns, 1 for each child
• peanut butter
• jelly

Place jelly on one side of the hot dog bun and the peanut butter on the other side like you would ketchup and mustard with a hot dog. Set the peeled banana inside the bun like you would a hot dog. Enjoy!

The kids LOVED it!

Biscuit Dough Personal Pizzas

With the hubby gone for the day, I just couldn't decide what to make for supper. I wanted to do something fun, easy, and interactive with the kids. We ended up making Personal Pizzas and this is how we did it:

Ingredients

• 1 can Grands! Biscuit Dough (8 count Flaky Layers Original) - You can also use english muffins, tortillas, etc. as your pizza "crust", but I happened to get the biscuit dough for $ .50 a can a few weeks ago so that's what I used.
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 small can sliced black olives (optional)
• any other toppings you'd like

Directions

1. Flatten each biscuit into a 1/4" thick circle and place on a baking sheet.
   
   
2. Spread 1 tablespoon pizza sauce over the dough.
   
3. Topping with 1/4 cup cheese and black olives (or any other toppings you choose to use). I rolled out the dough and put the sauce on, then I let the kids put the cheese and olives on their pizzas. They each had fun making a face on their pizzas.
   
   
4. Place in the oven and bake for 13-17 minutes at 350 degrees.
   
5. Cut and enjoy!