I don’t know about you but I am always looking for fun food for my kids. I love to surprise them with new foods, fun foods or food they can help whip up.

I have seen these Apple Nachos all over the internet lately, so we had fun making (and eating them).  I think food that is a “project” first is extra fun for the kids…it’s a craft AND a treat! Have fun with these!!

No real recipe here…just grab a couple of apples and raid your pantry for add-ins such as caramel, hot fudge, mini chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, granola or anything else your kids might get a kick out of. Maybe even slightly melt a little peanut butter and/or fluff throw it in a little sandwich bag, snip off the end and let the squeeze away (just though of that now…sounds fun)and then why not add a few rounds of banana. Let me know what your kids come up with

Posted December 6th, 2011 by Colleen in Colleen, Desserts, Fruit, Kid Fun, Snacks | 1 Comment »

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 Its funny how one day you become a parent and the next day your baby is a “little person” whom you adore and would give the sun and the stars to if you could.  I never knew how my becoming a Mother would change me and you know what?  I kinda like the changes!

One example is how I have no fear of trying something if at the end of the day it will better my children, put a smile on their face or help them in some way.  Case in point.  Last year for my son’s birthday…knowing that he is not a big fan of cake, I made him some very special cookies instead.  It was my first attempt at outlining and flooding cookies to make decorative ones.  I enlisted the help of my husband and we created cookies from our sons favorite video game…we were up until 2am doing it but you know what?  He went bananas!  So it was worth it!

This year my son turned 10 (I know, I know…sniff) and I decided to surprise him with a HUGE XBOX cake made to look like a controller.  I contacted a friend of mine who happens to make cakes and asked her if she thought she could make on like that – she said yes.  However as it turned out she was already making a Thomas the Train cake for the same day – so it was a no go.  So then I thought…I am not artistic but you know what…I am going to try it!

And I did…I once again enlisted the help of my husband and as a team we did it again!

My son and his 22 friends went nuts!  You see, we had the cake covered, only my 7 year old daughter know what it was.  We looked silly walking into the lazer tag facility we had his party at carrying a huge box covered with a towel…but so what!  It was a great moment.  Once again my being a mother pushed me…and my son now has a moment I do not think he will ever forget.

So my message is “go for it”!!  They are only young for awhile and the little things we do to surprise them are exciting for us and memorable for them!  I had never even touched fondant before let alone worked with it and we pulled it off…wonder what’s next?

Posted November 15th, 2011 by Colleen in Desserts, Family time, Parent's Corner | No Comments »

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This is a snap to make and I am sure you have the ingredients on hand! Hope you like it! I asked my 9 year old son what we should call it and he thought and said “I really don’t know.” “It’s just sooooo good”!  It’s based off of something that had my kids and husband very excited at a BBQ earlier this summer.

That particular dish was pretzles, popcorn, potato chips, M&M’s and who knows what else…In one huge pile.  I just took a peek in my pantry and combined these ingredients and the kids really dug it….the adults too!

Chocolate Marshmallow Pretzel Delight AKA Chocolate Pretzel Thing

4 TBS butter
1 bag mini marshmallows (10.5 oz)
1 1/4 cups Nestle chocolate chips
6 oz pretzels broken up a bit (I used Snyders Snaps)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup white chocolate melting disks for drizzle
Optional: a sprinkle of salt

Set up a cupcake pan with cupcake liners, spray them lightly with a bit of cooking spray.

Place the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once melted add in marshmallows and stir often until fully melted and incorporated. Turn off the heat and add in chocolate chips, stirring vigorously until mixed. Add in pretzels and raisins, stir well.   My kids enjoyed helping with this part!!

Working quickly use 2 spoons to scoop out the mixture and get it into the liners. Fill each cupcake liner with a mound of the mixture. If you want smaller candies, line another pan with 6 more liners and fill 18 instead of 12.

Let them set for 30 minutes in your air conditioned home or for 10 minutes in your fridge. Melt white chocolate in your microwave for 1 minute (or less) then spoon in a small baggie, snip off the end and drizzle each candy.

I am sure you could also just mound these babies on a parchment lined baking sheet…have not tried it myself, but from the consistency, I am sure it will work, especially if you are in air conditioning.

You could add in anything else you like…nuts, candies, dried fruits, etc.

Happy Cooking!

Posted August 21st, 2011 by Colleen in Candy, Colleen, Desserts, Snacks | 1 Comment »

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Who is more excited for this weekends festivities?  You or your children?

One of the great parts of Summer are all the fun parties and barbecue’s we go to.  The kids play and swim and the adults get to hang out – love it!

Then there is the food!!  All of that wonderful, barbecue, apps and side dishes folks contribute and as a bonus lots of desserts are usually available. YUM!!

Strawberries are definitely a Summer food for many of us, so have some fun with your kids and decorate them for the 4th!!  A perfect way to serve all of the kids a sweet treat with fruit benefits that is so cute and festive…that is if the adults don’t gobble them all up first!

Festive Strawberries

Strawberries

White chocolate melting disks 9I like Wilton from the craft store)

Blue sprinkles, sanding sugar or jimmies

Wash and completely dry your berries.  I a small, deep bowl, melt chocolate in your microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth (careful not to burn it).  In another small bowl place your sprinkles/sugar.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Dip your berries one at a time into the melted chocolate, let the excess drip off.  Then gently place the end of them into your blue sugar/jimmies.  Now you have a red white and blue berry!  Gently place it on you parchment/wax paper lined baking sheet and repeat.  Give each berry some space.  Place the baking sheet into your refrigerator to allow the melted chocolate to firm up. 

Have a fun. tasty and safe 4th of July weekend!!

Posted June 30th, 2011 by Colleen in Candy, Colleen, Desserts, Fruit, Kid Fun | 1 Comment »

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I am one of those Mom’s that stays away from boxed cakes mixes and prepared frosting’s.  It’s one of the ways I cut down on the partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup that ends up in my family.  My kids love whipping up the cakes, cookies and cupcakes plus I feel better about the choices I am making in feeding my family.

The BEST yet batter I have found for chocolate cupcakes and cakes comes from none other than Hershey’s – it is light, it is moist and it is addictively delicious!

Why not try it out on your kids today? 

Hershey’s Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Heat your oven to 350°F.
Line your cupcake pan (or grease your cake pan if making a cake). Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add in eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin…it’s oooooook).

Bake 20 to 25 minutes for cupcakes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and frost as you wish.

I love this with Butter Cream Frosting from my other site!

Happy Cooking!

Posted June 21st, 2011 by Colleen in Colleen, Desserts, Lunch Box, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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Summer is here and you know what that means – the kids want ice cold treats – stat!

I remeber growing up and loving to get my hands on the freeze pops my mom would stock the freezer with – blue and green were my favorite!  A big box of 100 freeze pops went a long way when you have 5 kids!  Now that I am a mom and a little conscious about what I feed my family, I don’t continue that tradition.  There is just to many “unnatural” ingredients found in them.

Instead my kids and I make popsicles!  My kids are not a fan of fruit pieces in their pops, instead they opt for juice pops and sometimes they add in some yogurt for added texture and taste.  My kids love making the popsicles and of course they love eating them too.  I love watching them have fun creating their treats, thinking up flavor combinations and of course I feel good about what they are eating.

What you will need:   Popsicle sticks and either popsicle molds or dixie cups

The tangerine pop is 100% fresh squeezed tangerine juice – that’s it.  We poured the juice into a dixi cup and froze it overnight. (Just insert the stick about 1 hour after you place cups in the freezer if you are using cups and when ready to eat, use sissors to cut the cup and continure ripping the rest of the cup away).

Let your kids select fruits that interest them…such as oranges, lemons, limes, taggerines, grapefruits, kiwis, watermelon, etc.  Squeeze every last drop our of your chosen fruit(s) add some sugar to the more sour fruits or depending on the palate of your kids any fruit.

Another option is purchasing 100% organic juices from some supermarkets.

If you want to incorporate yogurt into the pops, just fill the molds/cups part way with your chosen juice, then add a layer of yogurt and in another 2 hours or so add another layer of juice or vice versa – no rules here!

Enjoy!

Posted June 3rd, 2011 by Colleen in Colleen, Desserts, Fruit, Kid Fun, Snacks, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

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Spring is in the air and Summer is just around the corner…can you feel it?  The kids sure can!  One great way to spend time together as a family is by cooking together.        It might be a treat that takes a few minutes to create or a 4 course meal that each family member had a hand in…whatever the case, kids love to have fun with food.        Kids 2 to 22 can’t say no to that!

Here are 4 fun treats for outdoor dining! b: Create your Own Cones – Unleash your inner Picasso!

Cooking together not only creates wonderful memories, it bonds, it empowers it’s fun and tasty too!

Ice Cream Pie – an interactive dessert…create one for the person to your left!

The only thing better than a strawberry is a strawberry stuffed with fresh whipped cream!  Try Stuffed Strawberries..Yum!!

For a super special treat (that is a craft too)!  Make some Edible Sand Art.  It makes a fantastic party activity that acts a a goodie bag item too!!

What is your family’s favorite treat?

Posted May 15th, 2011 by Colleen in Colleen, Desserts, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

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We all know kids love to make and eat food then eat it,  however when that food is fun it brings it to a whole new level!  This would be an awesome twist on giving flowers to Mom or Grandmom this Mothers Day!  These flowers you can eat!!

Kids just love the visual of a fun treat, let’s spoil them a bit while we can!

I sent this in for my daughters Father-Daughter Dance.  I have to admit, I had an especially busy week and only gave the treat I committed to making some thought on my way home from work that afternoon.  Once I thought about the theme of the dance…flowers…this popped into my mind.  My 6 year old daughter was thrilled with the idea, and helped stick, dip, place the flowers and sprinkle!  She was proud to bring this to her dance…I will say, had I actually given this a bit more planning, I would have spray painted the pot and tied a pretty bow around it – next time!  This would be super cute as centerpieces for a birthday party or as one of the treats at a tea party!

All I used were:

A flower pot and a half circle of florist foam.

Marshmallows

2 sizes of lollipop sticks

Melting disks (Wilton – from the craft store)

Various sprinkles I had on hand

Sugar flowers

Either select a flower pot and foam that work perfectly with one another or cut the foam to fit.  Slip the foam into your pot.  Get your sticks, marshmallows, sprinkles and flowers ready.  Melt the chocolate disks.  Dip one marshmallow at a time 1/2 of the way into your melted chocolate, place 1 flower on the top of the marshmallow (the chocolate acts like glue) sprinkle with your chosen decorations and gently stick it into the florist foam.  Repeat until you have the look you want!  Place in your cool garage or refrigerator to firm up the chocolate quickly.

This literally took us 20 minutes to make once I had the foam in the pot.  Be careful when placing your “flowers” in the foam, every once and a while a flower wanted to slide…I just had my daughter hold the stick for a minute until it began to firm up if that was the case.

Have fun making this if you do!!

Posted May 2nd, 2011 by Colleen in Candy, Colleen, Desserts, Snacks | No Comments »

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This is amazing!  Adults and kids alike will compete to see who can get to the most of this super tasty, super juicy pineapple…!Maybe you should bake 2!

By roasting the pineapple, it becomes even sweeter and jucier if you can believe that!

Slow Roasted Pineapple

-Jim Fobel,  from the cookbook Big Flavors

1 whole pineapple

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Slice the leafy green top of the pineapple off, cutting just to where it ends.
Place your pineapple standing up on a baking sheet and roast it for 1 hour in your oven (if it is a super large pineapple…add 15 minutes). Turn off the oven, leave the door closed and allow the pineapple to cool in the oven for an additional hour.
*If you need the oven…it’s ok remove the pineapple and let it cool on your counter.

Serve by slicing off the top and the bottom. Cut off the skin and the eyes. Slice into rounds and eat around the core or core the slices and serve the halves. Either way – serve it warm and enjoy the deliciousness! (My mouth is watering as I type this!!)

No real recipe here for your kids to follow, however it may interest them to see how the pineapple tastes different after the slow roasting…be sure to have napkins aplents.  This is one juicy, tasty dessert or snack!

Posted April 17th, 2011 by Colleen in Breakfast, Desserts, Fruit, Snacks | No Comments »

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Please welcome Melissa from The Highlandview Pantry.  She is a homeschooling mom to 5 children who happen to live on a farm where the homestead.  Melissa and her family have a life very different from my own (one that I think is wonderful) and I thought many of you would enjoy peeking into it.  Please visit her site for many ideas on recipes, crafts and more. http://thehighlandviewpantry.blogspot.com/

If you are planning on planting strawberries this season with your kids or grand kids making Melissa’s Strawberry Freezer Jam is a wonderful way to use up some of the bounty you will get!  As a perk, your kids can have a hand in their future school lunches…how cool will it be to know they made their jam on their sandwich.  Plus you know exactly what is in the jam and can feel good about feeding it to them.  My kids love strawberry jam sandwiches, I am totally making this with them once our berries are ready!!  Thanks Melissa!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

-The Highlandview Pantry

The appearance of juicy, ripe strawberries kicks-off berry season.  Making strawberry freezer jam is a fun project to do with a child.  The most exciting way to get the child involved is to check local area papers for a u-pick strawberry farm.  Once the berries have been harvested, the strawberry freezer jam process is simple.

 Ingredients and Supplies:

2 cups of crushed strawberries

4 cups of sugar

¾ cup of water

1 box of fruit pectin (1.75 oz)

Freezer containers

Wide-mouth funnel

Directions:

1. Wash and dry several freezer containers.

2. Wash the berries.  Have the child remove the stems.

3. Using a potato masher, have the child smash the strawberries one cup at a time.  When all the berries are crushed, the total amount of crushed fruit should be two cups.

4. In a large mixing bowl, have the child stir together the crushed strawberries and sugar.  Let the mixture sit for ten minutes.  This allows the strawberries’  juices to flow.

5. The adult should heat the water and pectin to a boil in a small saucepan.  Boil one minute stirring constantly.

6. Pour the pectin mixture into the strawberry mixture and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.

7. Have the child help pour the jam into freezer containers leaving room for expansion. A wide-mouth funnel helps keep this process neat.

8. Let the jam sit at room temperature for twenty-four hours.  While the jam is setting up, have the child design cute labels for the containers.  Store in the freezer for up to one year.

Tips -   This recipe yields five cups of jam.  Strawberry freezer jam can also be made with honey and fruit juice instead of sugar.  However, a low-sugar or no-sugar pectin would be needed for that process.

Posted April 14th, 2011 by Colleen in Breakfast, Desserts, Fruit, Kid Fun, Lunch | No Comments »

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