Passion Fruit Mousse

There's nothing better than a super simple throw together dessert that satisfies your sweet tooth and your kid's too! This mousse is made with 3 ingredients. 2 of which are shelf stable and the third stays in the freezer until you need it! This mousse is sweet, tart and very creamy.

1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can table cream (found near the condensed milk and evaporated milk in your grocery store)
1 package of frozen passion fruit pulp

Put all three ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into individual ramikins and refridgerate for until set.

Enjoy!

Toddleriffic Summer Smoothie

This is such an easy treat to throw together. It can be customized to whatever fruits you have available, but the melon is the key. Melon is a sweet and easy way to get vitamins into your kids. This smoothie can also be turned into popsicles. Make a bunch and mix it up, I froze as pops half of the blender full and pour the rest into cups. Drink with a straw for a cool relaxing treat!

1 1/2 cups sliced melon ( your favorite i like cantalope)
2 kiwis skinned and chopped
2 cups organic strawberry yogurt
1/2 cup ice

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

That's it!! Easy! Enjoy!

Mini Biscuits

These biscuits are super fast and easy to make. My son loved them with concord grape jelly, and I did too! These are made with table cream, which can be found in the international aisle of your local grocery store over by the condensed milk, they come in cans. If you can't find table cream you can use sour cream. The great thing about table cream is that it's shelf stable before opening, so I always have it on hand. (Sorry for the camera phone picture, my husband is on a business trip and took my camera with him. )

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tblsp light mayonnaise
1/2 table cream (give the can a good shake before opening)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Sift dry ingredients together. Using a fork cut in the mayonnaise until coarse crumbs are formed. Add the cream and mix until a soft dough forms. Drop by spoonful into a greased mini muffin pan. Bake 8 minutes or until slightly golden on top.

Serve with your kid's favorite jelly/jam/preserves.

Kid Friendly Banana Muffins

My son calls anything in a cupcake shape "Cake." These muffins were delicious and lasted about a day. The best part was that my son was able to help me make "cake" by mashing the bananas and doing some of the mixing for me. (This recipe came from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

Makes 12 large muffins.

Mashed Butternut Squash

I bought pre-cut butternut squash at Wegmans the oter day and wanted to do something with it other than roast it. This was super quick and really great. I made it as a side for chicken, but it would be great with steaks as well.

Ingredients:

3 cups Butternut Squash in chunks (you can find pre-cut in the produce section of your local grocery store)

4 tblsp Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a 6 quart pot bring water to a full boil. Add the squash and boil until tender, about 16 minutes.

Strain and place squash in a bowl. add the butter and using a large fork mash the squash. If the squash is tender enough it will be very easy to mash. Mix well until completely mashed (it will be a bit stringy) and the butter is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Roasted Chicken and Rice in a White Wine Sauce

This was a delicious meal that was simple to put together and tasted like restaurant quality.

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Thighs bone-in

Adobo Seasoning

4 cups Chicken Stock

1 1/2 cups Minute Rice

3 tblsp butter

1 tsp Garlic Paste or minced

3 tblsp Flour

1 cup White Cooking Wine

2 tsp dried Parsley

Season both sides of the chicken thighs with Adobo seasoning and place in a tin foil lined baking pan. Roast in a 425º oven for 10 minutes and then lower to 400º for the remainder of the cooking time. (cooking times will vary depending on the size of the chicken thighs) It took me 20 more minutes to cook the chicken through.

Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 cups chicken stock to a boil, remove from heat and add rice. Set aside to let rice get tender.

In a frying pan, add butter and allow to melt all the way at medium heat. Add garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the flour and wisk until a rue is formed. (It should be clumpy and dry looking) Cook until ligt brown in color. Add the White Wine and wisk well. Let bubbles begin to form and then add the remaining chicken stock slowly. Wisk until throughly combined. Allow to simmer and thicken slightly. Add the parsley, stir well and then remove from heat. Serve and enjoy!!

Beef and Olive Pockets

Ingredients:

1 Can Crescent Roll dough

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 onion chopped

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 small can black olives pitted and chopped

1/2 cup while cheddar cheese shredded

Unroll the crescent roll dough and make 4 large rectangles. ( the can comes with 8 pre-cut triangle, using two triangles, flip one to make a rectangle and then press on the seam to stick them together)

In a small frying pan brown the ground beef until fully cooked. Add the onions, stir and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and olives, cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Using a large spoon, add filling to one half of each rectangle. Fold the dough over and press the seams together. Make sure none of the filling is showing. Bake at 375 for 13 minutes or until golden. Let sit for a minute or two as it will be very hot. Serve with ketchup on the side and enjoy!!

Oodles of Noodles in a Cheesy Tomato Sauce

Doesn't it look awesome? It's toddler approved and perfect for that day before you go grocery shopping and you have odds and ends laying around just begging to be used. Feel free to change it up and leave your own recipe in the comments!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup tomato sauce (plain)

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp sugar

1/4 whole milk (heavy cream would be fine too)

1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used white cheddar)

4 slices of American cheese, cut into small slices

Cooked Pasta and steamed veggies or your choice (I used ziti and carrots)

Over medium high heat, pour the tomato sauce into a medium sauce pan. Stir in the seasoning and sugar. Allow sauce to boil, occasionally stirring. Lower heat to medium low and simmer for about a minute, just to allow the seasoning to make the sauce fragrant. Add milk, and both cheeses. Stir briskly until sauce is completely smooth and well incorporated. Remove from heat. Add pasta and veggies and stir to coat. Serve with garlic bread. Yum.

I cut up some cooked low fat turkey hot dogs and added them to the plate for the kids. Since this was a quick lunch I thought the additional protein was a good idea.

A Sweetheart of a Cake

Yummy! Landon helped me make it, but it was so quick to put together I didn't get to take any pictures of Landon helping me out. But the finished product is soooo yummy! This is not a big fat cake, it's perfect for a sweet treat in a small portion.

Cake Ingredients:

1 stick + 1 tblsp butter softened

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs beaten

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tblsp milk

Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 1/2 tblsp warm water

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

SweetHeart Conversation Heart candies

To make the cake:

Grease an 8x8 square pan. Preheat oven to 375º F

Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and beat well, Add all of the flour and beat until well incorporated. Mix in the milk and stir until mixture is smooth. (Will be on the thick side) Pour into prepared pan and spread flat. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until very lightly golden and toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

Frosting:

Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, add the lemon juice and warm water. It will be a thin pourable consistency, and will dry slightly as it stands. Spread over cake and add the conversation hearts in a random pattern. Enjoy!

Baby Frittatas

This is a super simple and fast breakfast, lunch or dinner recipe. It goes great as a sidedish or a main course. They are like little scrambled egg crustless quiches. Mix them up and use veggies your family likes best.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 tblsp milk

1/4 cup shredded cheddar

1/4 corn (I used frozen)

3-4 grape tomatoes diced

dash of salt and pepper

Seasoned bread crumbs for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375º F Grease well a muffin tin.

Using a fork wisk together the eggs and milk. Add veggies, cheese, salt and pepper. Using a small ladel, pour enough egg mixture into the muffin cups to fill each only halfway. Sprinkle each with seasoned bread crumbs. Bake for 12-14 or until golden. Run a knife around each frittata to losen it from the muffin tin. Use a fork or small spatula to lift them out. Cool slightly before serving. You will get between 8-10 frittatas. Enjoy!

Chocolate Croissants - The Easy Way

So this was part of my husband's birthday breakfast on monday morning. Landon helped me make them. You'll need one can of croissant roll dough. We use Wegmans brand in our house.
Preheat oven as stated on the package directions.

Ingredients:

1 can croissant roll dough

3 tblsp of salted butter melted

1/8 cup sugar

cinnamon
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Unroll the croissant dough and lay all of the triangles flat on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using a pastry brush or back of a spoon, brush a thin layer of butter onto each triangle. Sprinkle sugar quickly over the butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the sugar.

(Landon had a great time with this part)

Lightly press chocolate chips into the dough at the wider end of the triangle. Remember not to go all the way out to the corners.

Roll the triangles from widest side to the point. Place the roll with the tip tucked under, so that when it rises it won't unroll.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Remove from oven and enjoy warm! (warning the chocolate wil remain hot for a few minutes)

Yea..so I'm a slacker and some changes

I haven't posted anything since December on this blog. I'm going to change that. Starting right now. In a few minutes I'll have up a yummy recipe. I'm changing the way I do things on here too. Taking pictures of everything the family eats for each meal was getting a bit crazy and well tiresome. So instead I'm going to post meals and recipes that my son loves and us adults do to. I'm hoping to offer meal ideas for picky kids since my son is one of them and ideas to keep us all from getting bored with the same things over and over aain. Forgive my laziness.