Oreo Rice Krispies

With two teenagers visiting for the summer I've had two struggles. Keeping them entertained and feeding them. It is unreal how expensive it is to feed a six person household! Today, we planned to have meatloaf, and when I realized we were completely out of eggs (because sometimes you have to eat breakfast) I made a mad dash to the store. In the process, I picked up the ingredients for these little treats because the kids love to bake!

Delicious is the ONLY word I would use to describe these. Cookies and cream meets rice krispies might just be the best combo around. Plus, what an easy snack for kids to help with.

Ingredients:
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
20(ish) Oreo cookies, roughly chopped
1 package mini marshmallows
3 tbsp salted butter

Start buy measuring out the cereal into a large bowl. Chop the Oreos and mix place on top of the cereal and set aside. (For the Oreos, you could crush them in a large ziplock bag or chop them coarsely with a knife, which is what I did.) Melt the butter and marshmallows together until smooth. Mix the dry ingredients with the marshmallow and fold until all the cereal mixture is coated. Press firmly into a greased pan. Cut once everything has cooled. Enjoy!

Ham and Cheese Gnocchi

This is sooooo good! Like unbelievably rich, creamy, salty, cheesy and amazing! I love gnocchi and the combination with ham and cheese is delicious. The best part of this for me was using leftover veggies and ham. I love anything that can be used more than once, especially because we like to keep our grocery budget tight. I'll be keeping this one in our family rotation for sure.

And, let's be real, we all love a one pot wonder!

Ingredients:
(Adapted from Kevin and Amanda)

1 tbsp butter
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced peppers (any variety)
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
14 oz diced ham
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup water
12 oz potato gnocchi (my store sells this packaged)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup cream
salt
pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Start by melting the tbsp butter over medium heat. Sauté the onion, peppers and garlic till translucent.

Toss in the ham and cook until it's browned. Pour the stock and water into the pot and bring to a simmer. Throw in the gnocchi and cover with a lid, you'll want to cook the gnocchi through for about 5-8 minutes.

Once the gnocchi is hot, add in the peas and heavy cream. Stir well and add the salt and pepper to taste.

Turn on the broiler. Top with cheese and broil for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Strawberry Whipped Cream

The amount of whipped cream being made in my home has escalated quickly! To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed that I've wasted so many years buying the canned kind. For one, it's ridiculously easy to make. Less than 10 minutes and you've got the perfect whipped topping. And second, it's way cheaper this way! We can usually take a pint of heavy cream and use 1/4 of it for whipped cream and turn the rest into homemade butter!

For the strawberry flavored whipped cream you'll need heavy whipping cream, sugar and strawberry preserves! This can be made with any flavoring you'd like, which makes it the perfect accompany to cakes, cookies or a fresh ice cream topping.

In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) begin by whipping the cream on high speed, it'll begin to aerate and double in volume. Add in the sugar and continue to whip until peaks are forming. Toss in the preserves. Whip until everything is combined and enjoy!

For my family, I generally use 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream, up to 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup preserves! It was more than enough for everyone to eat excessive amounts off a spoon.

Hawaiian Fried Rice

I'm B-A-C-KKKKK!

Man, have I been on a serious break or what!?  And as sad as it is, that means my poor family has been eating the same ole boring meals! No new dinners, or cookies, or fancy snacks, and quite frankly, I think we're all a little bored. But, now I'm back! Yay!

Fried rice is my new "garbage" go to meal. By this, I mean that you can take those frozen veggies and leftover meat and throw them in a pan with some stale rice and call it a meal. There's no secret magic to it and, aside from the chopping of a few things, you can cook a whole dinner in 10 minutes.  The most important thing is how cheap it can be. For instance, those pork chops you made that are now just sitting in the fridge, begging someone to eat them, can be chopped, tossed and ready for consuming!

Hawaiian fried rice is the best version of a classic, in my honest opinion. I love ham and pineapple! This fried recipe melds all those classic fried rice flavors we love with the salty ham and sweet pineapple. I used canned pineapple and leftover ham from our new ham and cheese gnocchi dish. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice (let it sit out for about an hour to dry out)
1/2 cup diced ham
1/2 cup diced pineapple
2 eggs
veggies of choice (I used onion, peas and carrots)
1 tbsp sesame oil
soy sauce, to taste

In a large skillet, warm the sesame oil on high heat. Dump in the rice and sauté for just a few minutes. Add in the ham and veggies and continue to sauté on high heat, browning the veggies. Push all of the rice mixture to one side of the pan, add in the eggs and quickly scramble them. Mix everything together and add the soy sauce and a little black pepper. Remove from heat and stir in the pineapple. Serve immediately! Enjoy!

This recipe is very easily doubled and remember to move quickly so you don't burn anything!

Caramel Apples

I remember growing up in South Carolina, and waiting every year for the Coastal Carolina Fair to come around. I loved hanging out with friends, going through the crazy houses and riding the ferris wheel, but my favorite thing was the peanut covered caramel apples. I've tried a few recipes over the years, all of which required melting down a package of pre-made caramels. Most were mediocre and not at all like those fair types that you pay a small fortune for. But, thanks to Cooking Light, I can now make my own! Many, many caramel apples to come in my future.

You can follow the exact recipe here. 

Now, excuse me while I go enjoy my apple! 

If you plan to add peanuts, I recommend dry roasted. Coarsely chop them and press the freshly dipped apples in the nuts immediately after dipping! 

Caramel Chex

I've made Muddy Buddies, Lemon Buddies, and even Christmas Chex! But, Caramel Chex is hands down my new favorite. It stays so crispy and the buttery coating is superb. It's been tough to keep Haley out of it (not that I've been too successful myself). The kicker for this recipe, it's only 4 ingredients! It takes just a few minutes to put together, and cools down quickly which means you can enjoy it even sooner. You could literally make this in the middle of a party and no one would even notice you're missing.

Ingredients:
8 cups rice Chex cereal
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 stick salted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar

Add the dry cereal to a large microwave safe bowl. In a saucepan, melt together the corn syrup, butter and brown sugar until smooth. Pour over the cereal and gently fold until everything is coated. Then place the entire bowl in the microwave and heat for one minute. Remove the bowl and stir. Continue this process for another 4 minutes (stirring after every minute). (Be careful not to lick the spoon because it will be hot, however I do understand that the struggle is real). Once the cereal is hot and you can smell the cooked butter, spread onto wax paper to cool. Once cooled the cereal well gently break up. Place in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Lila and Colston

My home studio has been filled with lots of little baby love! 

Warm Apple Crisp

Nothing says fall like a warm and gooey apple crisp!

Oh wait... Its spring!

But really, is there ever a bad time to enjoy an apple crisp. I love everything about apples. Fresh, baked, in dumplings, applesauce. There is something so inviting about the sweet cinnamon smell of a fresh baked crisp. We are HUGE oatmeal lovers so fortunately for me, I always have a large container on hand. That makes it easy for days like this when we want a nice dessert, but don't want to spend our afternoon at the local grocery store. Owen went through a bit of an apple obsession. Thankfully, he's come down from his need to constantly have one, but we like to keep a few on hand. Costco has great prices on bulk apples, so we always grab a bag when we're there.

This recipe came together super fast! A quick 30 minute bake and its ready for indulging. (Excuse me while I wipe the crumbs from my lip.)

Ingredients:

For the crumb topping:
1/2 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chilled butter, cubed

For the apples:
2 large baking apples
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp skim milk
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
dash of salt

Start by peeling, coring and slicing your apples. Place on the bottom of a prepared 8x8 baking dish. Set aside. Put together the crumb topping but mixing together all the ingredients except the butter. Cut the cold butter into the mixture with a fork, until a crumble forms. Set aside. Mix together the flour, lemon juice, skim milk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Add the water to thin out the batter. Pour the batter over the apples and coat them gently. Evenly place the crumble on top. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Pampered Chef Brownie Pan

I can't believe that it's taken me this long to order one of these bad boys! And, while you can do so much more with it far beyond baking delicious brownies, I couldn't help but start with the classic. I LOVE edge pieces! Most importantly, I LOVE corners! I might have eaten 2 (or 5) of these tonight. So delicious!

I used my Better than Box brownie recipe. They come together in about 10 minutes and this awesome brownie pan reduced my cooking time by 10 minutes. For the brownies, I used salted butter and removed the excess salt from the recipe. I also used 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips. They melted into the batter and gave these brownies a decadent chocolate flavor!

I am thrilled with my new purchase and absolutely can't wait to use it for baking my favorite food, lasagna!! I'll be sure to report back! Stop by friend Amy's Pampered Chef page if you're interested in ordering this kitchen resolution or to check out all of their other useful kitchen tools!

 Amy's page is here!

http://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/luvsbaking

{Hour By Hour}

I was privileged enough to participate in an {Hour By Hour} project with Jessica Byrum Photography! I'm thrilled with the results and feel much better about taking my camera with me EVERYWHERE! Get out there and be inspired!

Lemon Buddies

If you love lemon and Chex mix anything then this is 100% the recipe for you! My family loves to make "extra" muddy buddies, and this is a killer twist on that old time favorite. This easy to throw together dessert will make the perfect accompany for a spring picnic. Light and fresh, yet simply sweet, I can say with confidence that you won't have any left over for yourself. I can't wait to make this for my next play date. I'm sure all the mamas and kiddos will appreciate it.

Ingredients:
(Adapted from Chex)

1/4 cup light butter
1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3-4 tsp fresh lemon zest
9 cups rice Chex
2 cups powdered sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, lemon and zest. Once melted, stir in the white chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Meanwhile, measure out the cereal into a large bowl. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal and coat gently. Add the powdered sugar to the bottom of gallon sized ziplock bag. Dump the cereal over the powdered sugar, seal the bag and shake it! And shake it some more! Once everything is coated spread onto a sheet of wax paper to cool. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

PB & J Oatmeal Bars

Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches are literally a staple in our home. Owen only eats, maybe, 10 things and a pb&j comes in around number 3 on his list. I've been making jelly filled oatmeal bars for years. One, because I love Nutri-grain bars and these are pretty close to them. Two, because I love all things oatmeal. And three, because these may go down as the world's easiest grab and go treats to make! However, I've never thought to add peanut butter until now and I can honestly say we won't be going backwards!

The beauty of these sweet treats is they are perfect on the run. I vacuumed sealed them with my Food Saver beautifully so they will be shelf stable for a while. (This was only after the kids and I consumed more than "a few".)  These are perfect for a brunch get together, or wrapped up and delivered to the neighbors!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter (only slightly softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
dash of salt
1 cup strawberry preserves (you may need up to 1/2 cup more)

With a mixer, cream together the peanut butter and butter. Add in the flour, oats and salt and mix with a higher setting to combine everything evenly (I had to scrape down the sides of my bowl once or twice). Mix in the brown sugar. In the bottom of a 13x9 inch prepared baking dish, press down half the oatmeal mixture until firmly packed. Top with the jelly and spread into an even layer. It does help if the jelly is room temperature! Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture and again firmly pack it down. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Let them cool completely to firm up before cutting! Enjoy!

Snow Days

Waffles to start out our morning...

Then it was time to make lunch...

Oh wait the door bell!...

BLT's and Kiwis...

Our beautiful new Kitchen Aid...

Here mom let me clean up before my nap....

It only makes sense to test out the newest appliance...

But, that was a bust...

Time to shovel...

Searching for long lost M&M's...