::Lemon Buddies::

McKayla actually saw this recipe hanging off the side of a Chex display. They seemed easy enough so we decided to give them a try. My camera was dead and then I couldn't find the charger for some reason. So...no pictures...again. Guess I now have an excuse to help McKayla "count" and "measure" so we can make more. No big deal, these only take about 15 minutes! That's with the help of a 5-year-old. These are just like making Muddy Buddies.

::Ingredients::

9 cups Rice Chex cereal (pretty much just the entire smaller box)

1 1/4 cups white/vanilla baking chips

1/4 cup butter or margarine

4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 cups powered sugar

::Directions::

1. Into a large bowl, measure (dump in entire box) cereal; set aside.

2. In 1-quart microwaveable bowl, microwave baking chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave again in 30 second increments; stirring between until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into a 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

::Russian Mousse::

I was searching for something easy that wouldn't heat up the house too much. I needed something that could be adjusted to serve several people at a BBQ. I was browsing Facebook and my cute friend, Jessica had just mentioned she was making a mousse for her family's dessert that night and she was nice enough to share. I'm thinking of making it again to share with some co-workers. SO simply...here it goes...

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 pkg 4 serving size box instant vanilla pudding

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 small container whipped topping (Cool Whip)

Topping of choice: berries, chocolate, etc.

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine milk and pudding. Whisk until thick (this shouldn't take long). Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave, on high for 20 seconds, stir and continue melting at 15 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Trust me, I was in a rush last time and it ruins the texture to find chunks of chocolate periodically. When melted, add chocolate to the pudding mixture and whisk in. Fold in entire container of whipped topping until well combined. Cover and refrigerate 20-30 minutes. Serve. I like to divide the mousse into bowls and top with fresh berries. Last time, I wasn't able to find any raspberries (which is my favorite berry with this) so I substituted frozen. I thawed them in the bag and strained out the juice into a measuring cup. I boiled the juice into a syrup, cooled it and used it to make the mousse look fancy-shmancy. This recipe yields about 4-6 servings...if you let it. Super easy, not to mention, super inexpensive.

::Lemon Cookies::

I came across this recipe on the Betty Croker website. I needed something quick and easy that wouldn't heat up my kitchen too much for a pot luck BBQ. These were perfect. Completely refreshing and not heavy at all. Even the kids went crazy for them. They were the first desert to disappear from the table!

::Ingredients::

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist lemon cake mix

1/3 cup shortening (I used Crisco Vegetable)

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

1 container lemon frosting*

::Directions::

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In large bowl, beat cake mix, shortening, butter and egg on medium speed about 2 minutes or until blended.

2. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, dropped by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart. (You know I used a 1 Tbsp. cookie scoop.)

3. Bake 9-12 minutes or until lightly brown around edges. Cool 1 minute, remove from cookie sheet; cool completely. Frost with frosting. Store covered.

According to the website, you can also roll the dough out by separating the dough into 4 equal parts, roll each part 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface with cloth-covered rolling pin. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes or until light brown around edges.

*I couldn't find Betty Crocker lemon frosting. So, I used a Pilsbury lemon frosting in a can. Here's the tip...I don't ever use the frosting straight from the container. I empty all of contents into a bowl and whip it with a hand mixer (or Kitchenaid for more than 2 cans) and beat it until I like the look. I do this especially before piping onto cupcakes for that "homemade" look.

::Strawberry Cream Cookies::

We tried making these for ourselves today and they are delicious. They'd be so pretty for a little girl's tea or just because really. I'm going to make a second batch for a work party. This first one was a trial and I couldn't stop eating them. They're SO much lighter tasting than you'd imagine. Such a great alternative to heavier cookies.

Above: if you're lazy like I can be...this is how they turn out if you just use a small cookie scoop and skip the rolling.

Below: rolling after using the cookie scoop to make them uniform in size.

::Ingredients::

1 cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

Seedless strawberry jam (any flavor you really like would probably be just fine)

::Directions::

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle (I used the underside of my 1/2 tsp measuring spoon), make a 1/2 inch deep indentation in the center of each ball; fill with about 1/4 tsp jam. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.

They will still look white on the top, so lift up one or two with a spatula and when they are a light brown, they're done enough. They will stiffen up a little as they cool, so don't worry if they're still a little soft.

Yields about 5 dozen cookies.

::Snickerdoodle Bars::

So, snickerdoodles are probably my favorite cookie and every now and again...I'm in the mood for some, but the work of making them totally takes away any craving I might have. So...I found this recipe from the classic Betty Crocker and figured it was worth a shot. Delicious! I especially like not having to hunt through my cabinet to find the cream of tartar that I keep around only for snickerdoodles.

Ingredients:

Bars:

2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon Filling:

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 to 2 Tbsp milk

1/4 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease bottom only of 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on high speed until creamy. Beat in sugars. Gradually beat eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients until combined.

3. Spoon half the batter into pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over batter.

4. Dollop teaspoons of remaining batter evenly over cinnamon-sugar mixture.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

6. In small bowl, stir glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over bars. Cut into desired bar size and enjoy!

::Chocolate Banana Smoothies::

I LOVE these smoothies. They are SO easy and I always keep the ingredients on-hand. It's a quick way to get a little fruit in a kiddo when in a hurry or disguised as a dessert.

2 cups cold 2% milk (use whatever you would usually drink)
1 package (1.4 oz) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix (I can't ever find this size, so I use the larger box and divide it in half into snack-sized bags.)
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 large ripe frozen bananas, sliced (I slice a banana into chunks and put 2 into freezer bags/containers to freeze--this makes it easy to measure for this smoothie as well as anything else like banana bread.)
2 cups coarsely crushed ice cubes (I almost always leave out the ice)

In a blender, combine the milk, pudding mix and vanilla; cover and process until blended. Add the bananas and ice; cover and process until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses; serve immediately. (Trust me, you want to serve this ASAP-if you don't, the pudding mix starts to get grainy and it isn't yummy.) Yields 4 servings.

::Oatmeal Carmelitos::

This has to be, by far, my favorite treat. I adore caramel. These are so easy and always great for gatherings or work parties.

Ingredients::

Crust:
1 1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cup flour
2 cup quick oats

Filling:
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping (use the jar, not the squeeze bottle type)
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions::
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix crust ingredients and press into bottom of 13x9 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Mix flour and caramel in small bowl and pour over crust in pan. Top with chocolate chips, then the rest of the crust mixture. Bake for 20 minutes.

::Carrot Cake Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting::

I tried these out today and they were SO easy. Such a great fall/Thanksgiving type treat. Since I'm not really a huge fan of pie, I'm pretty sure these bars will be making it to our Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients:

Bars::
1 box (1lb 2oz) carrot cake mix
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp maple flavor

Icing::
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 to 3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 15x10x1-inch pan with baked spray with flour.
2. In large bowl, beat bar ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spread evenly in pan.
3. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until top is evenly golden brown and bars spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
4. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk, vanilla and cinnamon with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable. Spread frosting evenly over cooled bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

::Easy, No-Bake Cheesecake::

Okay, I haven't posted in forever! This is the time of year our family has always started thinking of treats and yummy stuff to make for the upcoming holidays. We almost always start baking the day after Thanksgiving for treat trays to give to friends. So, I'll post a few of our tried and true recipes from years past as well as a few new ones.

This cheesecake is one I came up with while looking for treats to make for my friend's daughter's blessing. It was spring, so something light and refreshing really seemed to be what I was looking for.

No-Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz whipped topping (Cool Whip)

1 tsp vanilla

graham cracker crust

topping of choice

Directions:

1. Blend cream cheese. You want it softened, but not really at room temperature. Beating it in a bowl for a while after removing it from the fridge makes it perfect.

2. Add in whipped topping, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until well blended. You'll be able to see a slight difference in color from the whipped topping to the cream cheese, so it'll be pretty easy to tell if you haven't whipped enough.

3. Spoon into crust and chill for at least two hours.

4. Top with whichever topping you choose and serve.

My Variations:

::To make these easier to handle on a buffet table, I used Nilla wafter cookies instead of a graham cracker crust. I put one wafer (flat side down) on a sheet pan and used a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop to put the cheesecake mixture on each wafer. Then, I topped with strawberry topping.

::You can also use a different extract other than vanilla. I suggest lemon.

::If you like a chocolate cheesecake, you can use a chocolate cookie crust or sprinkle in mini chocolate chips into the batter.

Please let me know of any variations you come up with! This is the best recipe when you want a quick cheesecake fix or are in need of something quick, especially if you need to make a lot! I doubled the recipe and still had left overs after filling 4 sheet pans and going through 2 boxes of Nilla wafers.

::Italian Pasta & Beef Bake::

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups uncooked penne pasta (6 oz) – Any shape is fine

½ lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

1 can (15 oz) Italian-style tomato sauce

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained

1 jar (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 oz)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms. Heat to boiling. Remove from heat; pour into baking dish.

3. Add cooked pasta; stir gently to mix. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; place sprayed side down on baking dish, and seal tightly.

4. Bake 15 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until casserole is bubbly and cheese is melted.

I serve this with a side salad (usually Caesar) and some garlic bread. It makes a pretty rounded meal. Just another way to satisfy the spaghetti craving without the rut of plain old spaghetti each time. On occasion, I use bulk sausage instead of hamburger. It kind of depends on what’s on sale.

=Water Colors=

McKayla loves to paint...with any type of paint. The downfall, is that she can use up an entire strip of watercolors in less than a week. This can get pretty costly. I buy a few during "back to school" season, and put a few in her craft bin. We also save a few to give as gifts with some paper and brushes to friends. Since it's starting to get a little cooler and outside time is getting limited, I started coming up with ways for her to play indoors and not drive me crazy. This is quick, easy, and cost effective enough for her to use for hours.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp whiet vinegar

1 Tbsp baking soda

4 Tbsp corn starch

1 Tbsp corn syrup

Food Coloring

Directions:

Mix together the vinegar and baking soda. When it stops foaming, add enough food coloring to make it as dark as you want. Add the corn starch and corn syrup and mix well. Store in small containers.

::Chocolate Chip Cookies::

I'm pretty sure I've tried just about every chocolate chip cookie recipe I've ever come across and none of them have ever really worked for me! I don't know what it is. I can bake almost anything else with minimal failure. However, chocolate chip cookies (which should be the simplest things) seem to elude me. Until...I came across this AMAZING recipe. The cookies come out incredibly soft and have a lot of give. Pretty much, it takes a lot of effort (even for me) to screw these up!

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 oz) pkgs instant pudding mix*
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)*

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Sift together flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until well blended. Stir in eggs & vanilla. Blend in flour mixture. Finally, stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded spoonfuls* onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Edges should be golden brown.

Using the 1 Tbsp cookie scoop this yeilds about 10 dozen cookies! Great for parties or cookie exchanges.

*My Hints*
*You can use any flavor of pudding mix for the recipe. Try changing it up, but I almost always use sugar-free vanilla. Some have suggested chocolate, which sounds fine to me!
*Not many people I know like the taste of semi-sweet chocolate chips. I like them fine in this recipe, however, to switch up the pace a little, I will sometimes substitute with M&Ms.
*Also, I think 4 cups is a little excessive. I add my desired chocolate pieces in 1/2 cup increments to the batter until it looks right to me. Usually about 3 cups for M&Ms and maybe 3 1/2 if I use chocolate chips.
*I am not a fan of nuts in cookies, I know it says "optional" but, ick.
*I almost always use a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop to make these cookies. You can use larger if you'd like or even a teaspoon, I'm not so great at that.

::Chicken-Tortellini Soup::

Ingredients:
6 1/2 cups water
3 cans (10 1/2 oz each) condensed chicken broth
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup chopped onions (2 medium)
1 cup sliced carrots (2 medium)
1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pkg (7 oz) dry cheese tortellini
1 bag (9 oz) frozen cut broccoli, thawed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

Directions:
1. In 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, heat all ingredients except tortellini, broccoli and cheese to boiling. Stir in tortellini. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in broccoli; simmer 5 to 10 minutes longer or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Sprinkle individual servings with cheese.

Recipe Break

Alright, so as much as I love baking and cooking up new recipes, I decided everyone (mostly myself) is probably sick of the random recipe postings I've been doing. I think, starting next week, I will post 2-3 recipes by "theme". This may vary depending on my moods, I'm sure. There are a few blogs/websites that I seem to read religiously. These have given me the brilliant idea to share a few tips that we use around our house to make things a little easier and stress-free. I learned a long time ago that you need to pick your battles, especially with children. These tricks help A LOT with keeping my sanity mostly...especially since I'm pretty OCD about certain things. I'll try to keep each "Tip Posting" to a minimum. I can't keep coming up with tricks that often!

::TIPS::

1. If you use the foam hand soaps, save the pumps and reuse them for things like children's body wash. Do this by refilling the pump a third of the way full with your favorite body wash and fill the remaining with water. Shake it up a little and you have foam soap. You can also do this wish your favorite hand soap or dish soap.

2. Hair detangler is a MUST around our house, to cut down on the cost, you can fill your own bottle with 1 part conditioner to 10 parts water. Mix well and pour into your spray bottle. This is great and you can use the same conditioner that you wash their hair with, so you don't get that mix of "smell" in their hair from using 2 different products - yes, I hate that.

3. Use a mesh laundry bag to store bath toys. It can be hung in the tub and the holes in the mesh allow for drainage. I purchased 3 lingerie mesh bags (the ones with zippers) at a local dollar store. Keeping different toys in each one allows McKayla to sort as well as making it easy for me to switch out every now and then.

4. It sounds stupid, but WASH your shower curtain liner and any bath toys together. I put them in my dishwasher on a low cycle. This will increase the lifespan of your liner and toys as well as eliminating bacteria.

5. Also, put brushes and combs in side of a pillow case-after removing any excess hair (I purchased a separate pillow case just for this purpose on a clearance rack for 25 cents) and wash in your washing machine. Wash on a delicate cycle-I found this out the hard way, without soap. This removes a lot of things that can build up on your hair accessories. Headbands, non metal hair clips, etc can be treated the same way. This is great if someone in your household has had lice and you don't want to purchase all new items. Just wash on warm to hot water.

6. Right now, we have linoleum flooring in our bathroom. Now that McKayla is older, she likes to be a little more independent about getting herself out of the tub. To reduce mess, I place a towel on the floor for her to stand on, we plan on putting in tile soon, so I realized that slippage may be an issue. I found that either a piece of the foamy-time shelf liner or a tub mat (the kind you put on the bottom of the tub as to not slip) underneath the towel does wonders!

So, 6 tips today sounds pretty good. I'll try to keep them all pretty "theme" related as well. That way, it doesn't seem like I'm random all the time. Sorry, I just put things down as they come to my mind...which can be a little weird for others to justify. If you have any tips, I'd be glad to hear them! You can keep to topic or post anything you like, I'd be glad to also mention any tips in future posts as well!

Happy Bathing!

::Peanut Butter 'n' Jelly Muffins::

Often, we are running behind schedule with getting out the door in the morning...for those of you that know me, this is no real surprise. McKayla's preschool does serve breakfast, however, my child thinks she needs to eat about once every hour. Mind you, she's 4 and only weighs in at about 32lbs. Doctors are not concerned about her weight, and tell me to feed her as often as she is hungry. Apparently, they have no idea that she may eat meals like a bird, but she can eat snacks ALL day! I ran across this recipe quite a while ago, and it's great for her to grab on her own for breakfast or as a quick snack when she gets home from school or after playing outside. They travel great and we often take them to parks or the zoo. Feel free to switch up the filling with anything your child might really love. Plain strawberry usually does the trick for us though.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup thawed apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup reduced-fat chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup fat free milk
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup 100% strawberry spreadable fruit

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine the eggs, apple juice concentrate, peanut butter, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray (we use cupcake liners). Spoon half of the batter into cups. Spoon about 1 1/4 tsp spreadable fruit into the center of each; top with remaining batter.
Bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields 1 dozen.

Taco Soup

It's not quite that cold outside yet, but since I've been sick, all I want to eat is soup. This is one of my very favorite recipes! It's really easy and I can put it together the night before and in the morning, set the crock pot on low and it's ready by the time I get home. Plus, leftovers taste amazing. Thank you, Paula Deen! Ha ha...

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2 oz) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2 oz) can pink kidney beans (red is fine-I can never find pink)
1 (15 1/4 oz) can whole-kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2 oz) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 oz) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2 oz) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6 oz) can black olives, drained & sliced (optional) (I never do this)
1 (1 1/4 oz) packet taco seasoning mix
1 (1 oz) package ranch salad dressing mix
corn chips, for serving (optional)
Garnish Items (optional): Black olives, sour cream, green olives, cheese, or pickled jalapeños

Directions:
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix. Cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapeños.