I'm always on the hunt for easy, kid-friendly, but delicious dinners for my family. When I came across this Pizza-Style Manicotti recipe from Taste of Home I pinned it and knew I had to try it! It only takes 8 simple ingredients and your kids can easily help you make it. My 4 year old (oh wait, almost 5 year old!) had so much fun "making this dinner herself" as she poured the sauce in the pan, rolled the string cheese and stuffed it into the shells herself. She even wanted to take her own photo of the finished dinner... ...guess she's not as good at photography as she is at "baking"! Anyway, my family gave this recipe a huge thumbs up and we'll definitely be eating it again! Next time, however, I think I might need to make two pans of it! … [Read more...]
Strawberry Apple Rhubarb Crisp
4-5 large stalks of fresh-cut rhubarb (cut into 1/2 inch pieces) 3 cups of fresh-cut strawberries, hulled and quartered 6-8 medium-sized tart apples sliced (I prefer Harlson Apples) 1 1/4 cups sugar 1 T cornstarch 1/4 cup orange juice 1 cup flour (you can use bleached or unbleached) 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2-2 cups quick cook oatmeal (be sure not to use instant) 1 1/2 sticks of melted butter 1/4 cup sugar Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the strawberries, apple and rhubarb in a bowl along with the cornstarch, orange juice and 3/4 cup sugar. Place in baking dish after all mixed. For the topping, mix the 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, oatmeal and melted butter until the mixture crumbles. Spread over the top of the fruit and bake for 1 hour. Serve with fresh whipped cream or ice cream! … [Read more...]
Mix of the Month- Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal
Here is what you will need to make your own mix of fantastic Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal: 1 Cup oatmeal (quick oats)- grind until finely ground 1 Cup oatmeal (quick oats)- leave whole 2 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 T maple flavoring (not syrup-flavoring) 1 Cup brown sugar packed Mix all ingredients in a large container (feel free to double this or even triple it). Store in an air-tight jar. When you are ready to prepare simply scoop 1/2 cup out and add 3/4 cup water and microwave for 30-45 seconds. Delish! … [Read more...]
Crock Pot Applesauce
I'm going to warn you...if you do not like the smell of apple pie, fall, or cinnamon then this is not the recipe for you! My favorite thing to do is to get this applesauce cooking while we are going to be out during the day so that when we come home we are welcomed by the AMAZING smell! It's really easy to make and you do not have to know how to can things in order to save it. We like to can applesauce during the fall when the apples are perfect and crisp. When we do it this way we have enough applesauce to last us until next fall. If you do not want to (or don't know how to) can the applesauce then you can freeze it in plastic bags and thaw it out in the fridge the night before you want to eat it. Slice, core, and peel enough apples to fill your crock pot (we like to use Harlson apples because they are crisp, a little tart, and are firm) 1/3 cup water 2T fresh lemon juice 1T cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar Add all your ingredients to the crock pot and set it to low. Let it … [Read more...]
Fairy Bread and Tea
It's time for a fairy tea party! My girls love to have tea parties and having a fairy one is no exception! Tottie was feeling a bit down on herself the other day because Nutty was in school and she wasn't. To help her feel better, I had a fairy tea party with her. I really didn't do anything special. I simply made fairy bread and some "fairy tea", picked a few flowers, put on some fairy wings, and set up a little "party" on the table outside. It was enough to make her extremely happy (and make Nutty jealous when she got home from school). Fairy bread is super easy to make and is something I learned about from my Australian friends. It is a treat typically served at children's parties though the origin is not quite known (at least by my friends). To make it: 1) Spread a thin layer of butter over white bread 2) Cover the buttered bread with small, multi-colored sprinkles 3) Cut the bread into 4 triangles and serve. The "tea" is actually a simple punch recipe I grew up … [Read more...]
Mini Caramel Apple Bites – Pinned it, Did it!
I hosted book club at my house last evening. I decided to do fall themed food as the weather was cool. On top of caramel cashew pretzels; meat, cheese and crackers; and baked brie bites (another Pinned it, Did it for later) I chose to try making mini caramel apple bites. I found them on Pinterest but it was only a photo, it did not link to a website. How hard could they be to make based on the photo?? Um, yeah, don't let the photo above fool you...I'm bad at making regular caramel apples, let alone mini caramel apples! I got out my melon ball scoop and began to scoop out the apple. This part wasn't so bad and was actually kinda fun. Tottie tried to do one but it was too hard for her. The caramel part is where I had problems and thus have no photos. I thought you simply melted the caramel and then dipped the apple pieces in. Well, I tried that and the caramel was too think so I had to mold the caramel over each piece of apple (the above photo … [Read more...]
