Cold & Flu Popsicles with Strawberries, Kale and Thyme

We have been a hot mess of sickness in my home for these past few weeks, and my little sous chef was the last one to get it.  Since all of our weekend plans were shot, I had a little extra time to play in the kitchen.  I wanted to give my baby some relief from her symptoms, so I came up with these cold and flu popsicles.  She thought they were delicious!  I, however, loved them because of the cold and flu fighting ingredients that were used.  Just one cup of strawberries provides you with 160 percent of your daily vitamin C needs.  Kale is loaded with antioxidant vitamins and helps strengthen the immune system.  Thyme is a natural expectorant, so it will help coughs to be more productive.  Lemon is also rich in vitamin C and helps to boost your immune system.  Honey soothes a sore throat and loosens congestion.  Cayenne aids in loosening congestion and clearing your sinus passages.  While studies have not proven whether or not cinnamon helps reduce inflammation and has antioxidant effects, it sure does make these popsicles taste good!  As for the sugar, use your own judgment.  If I was making these for myself, I would have eliminated it completely.  However, strawberries aren't in season right now, so mine weren't very sweet to begin with.  Finally, the popsicles themselves will help to prevent dehydration.  

5 Minute, 5 Ingredient Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake

Baby, it's cold outside!  I don't know about where you live, but it was 0 degrees this morning in Pennsylvania!  Even schools were calling off because of the cold.  I decided to treat myself for braving the bitter cold weather today, so I made this warm chocolate cake... in  a mug, in the microwave, in 5 minutes.  Talk about instant gratification!  It's rich, delicious, incredibly easy to make, and takes just 5 ingredients.  Give it a try - you won't be disappointed!  

Creepy Witch Finger Pizza Rolls

Take a bite out of these creepy-but-tasty witch finger treats for Halloween!  They are an easy and fun activity to do with the kids.  As one reader put it, "they look totally gross!"  That's the point, people!

Note:  You can substitute the shredded mozzarella with string cheese.  Remember to shape your dough "fingers" thinner than you want them to turn out because the pizza dough will expand in the oven.  If you would prefer to not use food coloring, you can simply leave it out and serve "Finger Pizza Rolls" instead.  

Pop Tarts with Homemade Strawberry Jam & Vanilla Glaze

Brace yourself!  These pop tarts are made with homemade strawberry jam and slathered in a delicious vanilla glaze.  Wrap that sweet strawberry jam in a buttery, flaky pie crust and you have amazing pop tarts that annihilate the store-bought competition.  They can be enjoyed fresh out of the oven or after they have cooled (my favorite way to have them).  Either way, they are so good - you will not be disappointed!  

Notes:  If you would like to make your own pie crust, check out my how-to on the perfect flaky pie crust with step-by-step pictures.  When making the strawberry jam, take care that you stir the mixture frequently to avoid burning it.  The pop tarts can be stored at room temperature for up to two days in an airtight container or they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.  

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars

I've had an incredibly busy last couple of weeks and have had very little time for cooking let alone blogging.  Finding myself in a break from the action, I decided to make some cereal bars for my daughter as a special treat.  These are so good!  My little sous chef absolutely loves them.  After devouring 3 bars  more than I care to admit, I'll have to be careful not to overindulge the next time but these are definitely going in my treat rotation list!  

Easy Oven-Dried Strawberry Leather Slices

It's strawberry season!  If you find yourself with an overabundance of strawberries as we have, consider drying them.  When you dry fresh fruit, most of the nutritional value is retained and it lasts weeks longer than if it was fresh.  Dried strawberries make a delicious snack on their own and they also are a great complement to cereal, granola and yogurt.  These are wonderfully sweet, delightfully chewy and slightly sticky... think Craisins.  The addition of tarragon gives the strawberries an extra  dimension of flavor but they are just as good without it.

Homemade Strawberry Fruit Snacks

Here is a homemade, healthier alternative to those store-bought "fruit" snacks.  They are easy and a lot of fun to make, especially with kids.  The texture is different than your traditional fruit snack.  They are firm but have a more sponge-like consistency.  Try experimenting with a variety of your favorite berries!  Depending on the sweetness of the strawberries themselves, you may or may not want to add the optional confectioners' sugar.  Just be sure to taste the strawberry mixture before placing it in the refrigerator to set.  

Witch's Broomstick Halloween Cheese & Pretzel Snacks

I don't know about you but I cringe at the thought of the amount of candy that will be presented to my daughter come Halloween night and how quickly she will beg me to devour it all.  In search of something with a little less sugar, I came across these cute little broomsticks.  They are fast and easy and I love how they don't involve candy!    

Ingredients:
Yields 12
Recipe by CocinandoconCatMan.com

• 6 string cheese sticks
• 12 pretzel sticks
• Chives

Directions:

Cut each string cheese stick in half.  Carefully press a pretzel stick into the uncut side of each cheese stick about 1/2 inch deep.

Make the bristles.  Using sharp scissors, cut thin slices that are about 1 inch in length.

Gently tie a chive around the top portion of the string cheese and snip off the long ends.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Turkey Treats

In an effort to stray from my usual "Oreo Turkey Treats" and "Candy Pilgrim Hats" as treats for the kids on Thanksgiving, I came up with these cute little chocolate covered strawberry turkey treats!  Only five ingredients paired with a little bit of patience and you will have cute, delicious turkey treats that your guests will gobble up!  

As a side note, I know it's a tad early to start posting Thanksgiving recipes.  Honestly, my mind has been in Thanksgiving mode for quite some time now mainly because I have been working with Food.com on Thanksgiving recipe posts since August.  

Homemade Fish Sticks

My family loves these crispy fish sticks.  They are very easy to make and are ready within 15 minutes!  I have included instructions below on how to bake them in the oven or fry them in a pan.  Either way, they are super delicious and much better for you than the processed stuff from a box!  I served these with a side of steamed broccoli hand picked yesterday from the garden.

Fruit Loop Crispy Treats

With her little nose pressed to the window, my daughter waved goodbye and blew kisses to me before the bus left for school today.  I always miss her while she is at school but I found myself missing her much more than usual, so I decided that I would surprise her with a fun treat.  I came across a "Trix Krispies" recipe on Cravings of a Lunatic that I have been wanting to try, so I pulled out my Rice Krispie treat recipe and used Fruit Loops instead.  Once my daughter returned from school, we got started immediately.  She giggled with delight when she saw the final product.  These are a bright and colorful treat that the kids will love!

Bird's Nest Treats for Easter/Spring

I don't know about you, but I have had Easter food on my mind for quite some time now.  While browsing Pinterest, I came across an adorable treat idea for kids from The Pastry Affair.  These are incredibly quick and easy to make and the neighborhood kids raved over them!  You can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter!  I would personally prefer using pretzels in place of the chow mein noodles because they aren't as crunchy and would add a saltiness to the sweetness but the chow mein noodles look more like twigs than pretzels do.  

"Little Chef" Birthday Party

My daughter, Madelyn, officially turns 7 years old tomorrow, November 22nd.  My, how fast they grow!  It seems like just yesterday I was planning her 6th Hello Kitty birthday party.  This year, we decided on a little chef birthday theme.  

I made the invitations to look like little chef hats out of felt.  In it, I included an index card that read the details of the party like a recipe.

We made vanilla cupcakes from scratch and personal pizzas.  As expected, it was a little messy but proved to be a really fun time!  Here is a brief rundown of the party.  

When each child arrived, I led them to a table with their own apron and chef hat.  

The children were encouraged to decorate their hat and apron with fabric markers while waiting for the other children to arrive.  

During the party, I played a playlist of songs that were mostly about food:

1. Le Festin (Ratatouille soundtrack)
2. The Coffee Song (Frank Sinatra)
3. A Bushel and Peck (Julie and Julia soundtrack)
4. All that Meat and No Potatoes (Fats Waller)
5. Juila's Theme (Julie and Julia soundtrack)
6. Beans and Cornbread (Louis Jordan & The Tympany Five)
7. Ham 'N' Eggs (A Tribe Called Quest)
8. Tea for Two (Ella Fitzgerald)
9. Yes, We Have no Bananas (Louis Prima)
10. That's Amore (Dean Martin)
11. Special Order (Ratatouille soundtrack)
12. The Pasta Song (John Riggio)
13. Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast)

Once they were all done decorating, they put on their aprons and hats and headed over to the "cupcake station", where they would make vanilla cupcakes from scratch.  Before starting, I asked the children, "What is the first thing you do before you start cooking?"  Two of the young chefs knew the answer, which, of course, was... wash your hands!  We then went through each of the ingredients on the recipe card to make sure they were all laid out and measured properly.  We discovered, by design, that the milk was missing!  Each child took a turn carrying out the recipe directions.  I taught them little techniques and tricks along the way, like how to level out flour, how to get egg shell out easily, etc.  They were amazed how the batter's texture and color would change with the addition of each ingredient.

After we finished making the batter, we put the cupcakes in the oven and got to work on our personal pizzas. Each child was given a small ball of pizza dough on a piece of parchment paper that had their name written on it.  They rolled out the dough with their own rolling pins into whatever shapes and sizes they wanted.

I then placed out a muffin pan filled with pizza toppings in each well and they were encouraged to decorate their pizzas using as many of the toppings as they wanted.

Some of the children preferred plain cheese and others got really creative!

By the time they were done decorating their pizzas, I had enough time to remove the cupcakes to cool and up the oven temperature for the pizzas.  I then placed the pizzas in the oven and they played the pin the cherry on the cupcake followed by spaghetti, spaghetti, meatball! (duck, duck, goose).  The pizzas were done cooking, so we took a break and ate them along with snacks and pink lemonade.

Next, it was time to decorate their homemade cupcakes.  I think licking the frosting was their favorite part!

We then sang happy birthday.  The birthday girl made a wish and blew out the candle on her very own cupcake.

The kids got a kick out of playing hot potato with an actual hot potato.  We then did a pinata and they used their chef hats to hold the candy that fell out.  Gifts were opened and family and friends were thanked for both their presents and their presence.   

I handed out to each child a gift bag.  Inside of a mixing bowl, I placed a personalized recipe book that included the recipes we cooked at the party along with blank recipe cards for the future, an oven mitt, a wooden spoon, their personalized chef hat and apron, and a rolling pin.

We had a great time!  I highly recommend this party theme for those of you with children who are interested in cooking and/or baking.  Children of all ages love getting their hands into ingredients and making stuff with them.  Some other food ideas for a chef party could be homemade soft pretzels (children could make shapes out of them), salad on a stick, cookies, meatballs, tacos and fruit kabobs.  There are so many options!

Autumn Acorn Treats

This is an autumn-themed breakfast idea that you can easily assemble with your children.  I used some of my daughter's leftover Halloween candy for these.  Your kids will enjoy eating them just as much as they will creating them!

Candy Pilgrim Hats and Oreo Turkey Treats

Looking for ways to use up all that Halloween candy?  I know I am!  Here are two Thanksgiving-themed treats you can assemble from your leftover Halloween candy.  These would be perfect for before or after your Thanksgiving meal!

Mummy Cupcakes

My daughter's fall classroom party is today and I decided to make some cute little mummy cupcakes for the class.  They were so easy and so adorable!  The kids loved them!

Ingredients:

• 1 box chocolate cake mix
• 1 (16 oz) container white frosting 
• Butterscotch chips 
• Black gel

Directions:

Bake cupcakes per box instructions.  Allow them to cool completely before decorating.  

Press two butterscotch chips upside down into each cupcakes (eyes).  Place a small dot of black gel in the center of each butterscotch chip.

Using Wilton icing tip #104, ice straight lines vertically, horizontally and diagonally, leaving some of the chocolate cupcake exposed around the eyes.  

Enjoy!

Witch's Broomstick Lollipops

I haven't posted in a while because my family was enjoying our last vacation of the year in North Carolina.  We had a wonderful time but I sure am happy to be back in the swing of things.  

I am going to turn my focus on Halloween treats for the next few posts.  The first one I wanted to share is a quick, easy and tasty Halloween snack that your children will love.  

School Lunch: Sandwich Kabobs

Maybe it's just me, but everything tastes better when it's on a stick.  Why not turn a boring sandwich into something fun for the kids?!  These are great because you can create all types of sandwiches.  Some other good additions to the sandwich on a stick are grape tomatoes or olives.  Spread some peanut butter on the bread and alternate with grapes for a fun spin on the classic PB&J.  Or, skip the sandwich idea and make Fruit kabobs instead.  Just remember to cut the pointy edges of the wooden skewers off.  You wouldn't want to send your kids to school with a weapon!

Mini Snickers Cups ... with Balloons!

 One Year Ago:  Celeste's Chili

We had a fun day relaxing by the pool in the hot sun and our bellies were full from dinner.  My husband and I craved something chocolatey as a dessert.  Months ago, I remembered seeing how Bakerella made pudding cups from the book, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Treats for Kids by Jill O’Connor.  Basically, you coat the bottom of balloons with chocolate, allow the chocolate to set and then pop the balloons.  How fun is that?!  You are left with an edible chocolate bowl to use however you would like.  I pulled out some chocolate chips and decided to make a snickers-like candy from whatever I could find in my pantry. These turned out amazing and your kids will thoroughly enjoy making them, especially the popping the balloons part.

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs

One Year Ago:  Peanut Butter Fudge Puddles

I spent all day Saturday preparing food from homemade ice cream to potato salad for two picnics.  Fruit kabobs are a perfect side because they are naturally delicious, healthy, colorful and very fun for the kids.  Be sure to clip off the sharp ends of the wooden skewers for the younger ones!

Happy Fourth of July!