October 4: Oatmeal Butterscotch Muffins

Another muffin recipe attempt:  Seth really liked them; Koen ate one, said he liked it, and then wouldn't eat any more; Ty refused to try them, and Brielle seemed to enjoy them...maybe because she was the only one who helped to make them!  Like most oatmeal muffins, these did begin to get crumbly after the first day or two.  We stored them on the counter, so maybe the refrigerator would've worked better in helping these last longer. 

Oatmeal Butterscotch Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips

1. Mix all together in a large bowl.
2. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden.

Recipe taken from http://www.sarahsdeals.net/search/label/Recipes

October 1: Caramel Apples

Unwrapping (and eating) the caramels.

I hadn't made caramel apples in years!  I thought the kids might really enjoy the process and the taste.  After finding a crock-pot "recipe" for the caramel, the kids (including Brielle!) unwrapped 2 bags of caramels, ate a few, and tossed the rest in the crock pot with a 2 tablespoons of water to melt for a few hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes.  I punched some popsicle sticks into the bottom of some apples and let the kids start dipping.  Since it was Saturday, Seth was home and got in on the fun, too!  Unfortunately, despite repeated warnings, Koen got a little of the hot caramel on his hand and was done before he really started.  Be careful with hot caramel!  We let the apples rest on parchment paper and should have left them there.  I moved them to a plastic container, but then we had to wrestle them to unstick them from the plastic.  Don't make the same mistake!

Surprisingly, none of the kids really got too excited about eating the caramel apples.  We did end up slicing them to make it easier for the kids to eat, but they didn't like how chewy and sticky the caramel was.  We ended up sharing most of them with friends, and Seth was able to enjoy the rest on his own. 

Carefully unwrapping...

Dip and roll.



The finished product.



September 12: Chocolate Chip Bars

There are a million chocolate chip bar recipes floating around, but the addition of M&Ms help this one stand out! :)  Ty thought adding the M&Ms was the best part!  This recipe makes a 10x15 pan so you'll have plenty to go around once you cut into them.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Bars

• 2/3 cup oil (I use Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 3 cups brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips in the mixer.
2. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
3. Pour into a greased 10x15 pan.
4. Sprinkle with M&Ms.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes.

July 4: Stained Glass Jello

Need a festive dish to bring to some occasion?  Try Stained Glass Jello!  You can make it with any color/flavor Jello you wish so it'd be perfect for everything from Christmas to the 4th of July!  The boys thought it was "really cool" and while it takes a little time to make, the effort is minimal.

Stained Glass Jello

• 4 boxes (3 oz. each) Jello in different colors (we used 2 boxes of strawberry and 2 boxes of blue raspberry)
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 envelopes unflavored Knox gelatine 
• 6 cups water -- divided

1.   For each flavor of jello, dissolve one box in 1 cup boiling water.  Pour into a square container that is 6-8 inches square and chill at least 3 hours or overnight.  Try to use the same size pan for all four so the blocks come out about the same.  (I just used an 8x8 pan for the red and another 8x8 pan for the blue.)

2.  After chilling the flavors cut them into small blocks.



3.  Carefully mix the blocks in a 9x13 pan.  (If you're not planning on cutting out shapes, try to use a glass pan so everyone will be able to see the beautiful colors.)



Mixing the jello colors.



4.  In a separate bowl, sprinkle 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water.  Let it sit a few minutes and then add 1 1/2 cups boiling water and dissolve. 



5.  Add the can of sweetened condensed milk, stir, and let cool.

6.  Pour cooled milk mixture over the Jello blocks in the 9x13 pan. 



7.  Skim off any small bubbles that are created when you pour the milk over the Jello pieces.  (I forgot to do this and ours still turned out fine.)

8.  Chill at least 3 hours or overnight.

9.  Cut into blocks or shapes (we used stars) and serve.



Cleaning out the jello pans.

Enjoying the finished product.

June 27: Monster Cookies

Per Daddy's request, we made Monster Cookies for our kitchen activity today.  These are a childhood memory for me...we often seemed to have these around.  Maybe it's the M&Ms that make them so appealing, or the peanut butter, or maybe the chocolate chips.  I just can't decide...

I asked the boys why they thought these cookies were called Monster Cookies.  They got wide-eyed and quite for a minute.  "Do you think monsters like to eat them?" I asked.  They quickly decided no. :)  Then I suggested maybe they got their name because the cookies got so monstrous in size, or maybe because they were so monstrous in numbers, but they didn't really care about those explanations. 

Of course, the favorite part of the activity was adding the M&Ms. :)  I told them each cookie needed four M&Ms and to try to use four different colors...good counting and sorting practice!  Ty got a little carried away, though, and often placed 6 M&Ms on one cookie and he really preferred cookies with all the same color M&Ms...I guess that's just a different kind of sorting. 

Monster Cookies

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. light Karo syrup
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 stick oleo
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 4 1/2 cups quick oatmeal
• 6 oz. chocolate chips
• M&Ms

 Mix ingredients (except for M&Ms) in a large bowl.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet.  Top each cookie with 4 M&Ms.  Bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees.  Enjoy!

May 9: Taco Munch and Ty's Seed Munch

It's birthday week over here with a birthday party this past weekend and two birthday parties coming up this next weekend.  Needless to say, we have half of a cake left over and will be making cupcakes for the upcoming festivities.  I did not want to make any more sweet snacks for our kitchen activity today.  I searched and searched for another snack idea that we could easily make with the ingredients we already have at home.  This was tough as I need to do some grocery shopping.  Finally, I landed on Taco Munch from familyfun.com.  It didn't come together quite as planned, but I think it still turned out OK.  For starters, we made a half-batch, we didn't have the Corn Chex so substituted Cheerios, and didn't read the directions 100% accurately so we mixed the Parmesan cheese in with the taco seasoning and butter instead of sprinkling it on, nor did we add the cheddar cheese...yet.

Taco Munch
6 cups popped, unsalted popcorn
3 cups toasted corn cereal squares

1 cup mini-pretzels

2 Tbs. butter, melted

2-3 tsp. dry taco seasoning
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz. cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (we only have shredded cheese so we'll be adding that)

Combine the popcorn, cereal, and pretzels in a large bowl.  Combine butter and taco seasoning in another bowl and drizzle over the popcorn mixture.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and toss to coat.  Store in an airtight container.  Toss with cheddar cheese before serving.  Makes 10 servings.

Since I'm back on my restricted food diet I can't try it, but Ty did.  The first bite was popcorn that had TONS of seasoning on it...he ended up spitting it out.  I was actually surprised he went back for more, but he tried a pretzel and a Cheerio and deemed them OK.

Let's add water!!!

After we finished the Taco Munch was when it got really fun!  I was cleaning up and Ty was eating the left over popcorn when he came across some unpopped seeds.  He found a bowl, put the seeds in, grabbed a spoon and stated mixing them.  Tysen told me he was making Seed Munch!  He decided to add popcorn, pretzels, and the proceeded to the fridge to find more ingredients for his recipe.  I probably should have let him use more food, but not knowing when he would stop I told him he wasn't going to get ingredients from the fridge, so he assured me it was just pretend.  He added pretend brown sugar and pretend cheese to the mix.  Then he asked for water.  I figured that couldn't hurt anything, so he dumped a cup of water in...and we watched the popcorn shrink before our eyes, accompanied by muted fizzing sounds.  And then he noticed the pretzels were getting puffy.  After more mixing, he wanted to heat it up on the stove top, so using our pretend skills again, he made it "hot, hot, hot!"  Naturally, he had to taste it...and thought it was wonderful!  I've included his recipe --I had him retell it to me -- for your enjoyment! :)



Adding the water.



Seed Munch

Mix using 3 spoons.



unpopped popcorn seeds

popcorn

pretzels

pretend brown sugar

pretend cheese

water



Taste test.



Mix with 3 big spoons.  Eat.  Put on top of the stove to make it hot, hot, hot!  Eat again.



Seed Munch after 30 minutes.  Of course,
we had to keep it to show Dad so the pretzels kept
growing and growing.



 P.S.  When Koen got home from school he did try Taco Munch and wasn't impressed, though he did qualify it and say he just doesn't like things mixed up like that.  Once he heard about Seed Munch, though, he had to make his own version. :)



April 4: Chick and Egg Nests

"Laying" the eggs!



Mixing the "nests".



It's Spring Break so Koen is home for the week which means he gets to participate in all the activities again!  In celebration of spring, we made Chick and Egg Nests for our snack.  The boys loved them...even if they didn't eat every part of the final product (Ty liked biting the head of the peep and just eating the eggs).  :)  These were super simple to make and turned out really cute!  We only made a half-batch since we didn't really need 30 of these treats hanging around the house (18 was more than enough!!!)  You could click on the above link to get the recipe, but I'll post it here as well.  Happy Spring!

Chick and Egg Nests

5 Tbs. butter (I always use butter instead of margarine)

6 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows (about 1.5 - 10.5oz bags)

9 cups Cocoa Krispies cereal

90 candy eggs of your choice (we used Whopper eggs)

30 Marshmallows peeps

Lightly spray muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large sauce pan over low heat melt the butter.  Add the mini-marshmallows and stir frequently over low heat until all is melted and mixed.  Remove from heat.  Stir in Cocoa Krispies and mix to coat well.  Immediately, spoon into muffin tins to almost full, but not packed down.  With a greased or wax-paper-covered-thumb press down on center of the Cocoa Krispies treats to form a nest shape.  Allow to cool and set completely -- about 20 minutes.  Place 2-3 eggs in each nest.  Set a marshmallow peep on each nest.  Remove from tins into storage (gallon bags, Tupperware, etc).  Store at room temperature.  Yield:  30 treats.

February 2: Games and Gummi Candy

Today is a snow day over here so both Seth and Koen are home from school!  As the snow and wind swirl outside, the boys and Seth played tag, duck-duck-goose, and some racing PlayStation games.  The boys love their time with their Daddy and their Daddy loves spending time with his boys! 

Koen spotted the candy molds last night and asked to make more gummi candy...a perfect snow-day activity.  We first made this recipe last June and ended up with more than enough grape gummi candies (see post from June 29).  Today, I decided to make a half-recipe using the lemon jello we had in the house.  I didn't get a chance to link to grkids.com where I first saw it (now I can't find it there) or post the recipe last time so I'll include that with this entry.

Gummi Candy
Ingredients:
6 pouches of Knox gelatin
2 boxes (same flavor) of 3 oz. Jello (not sugar free!) 
2/3 cup PLUS half of a 1/3 cup of water

Equipment:
A medium Pyrex measuring cup...ideally with a pour spout  -- be sure it's glass!
A pot large enough to fit the Pyrex cup
Candy Molds (We got our set at Michaels)

Measure the water and pour it into the Pyrex cup.


Stir, stir, stir!



SLOWLY add all the Knox and Jello stirring the mixture thoroughly.  Cover the Pyrex cup and let it set for 10 minutes.  While you're waiting, put some water in the pot and start heating it.  It should be almost boiling when the 10 minutes is up.  Your mixture should look a little gritty.

Carefully place the Pyrex cup into the pot of boiling water.  Stir frequently.  You want to MELT the mixture, NOT boil it!  Constant stirring will help keep it from boiling.   



When the melting is done, it will be totally liquid...thinner than the original mixture, but not watery.  You may get a little foam on the top and that's OK. 

Are they ready to eat yet?

When you're finished melting the mixture, have your molds laid out on the counter and pour the mixture in.  No need to grease the molds, the candy comes out easily.  This is when the Pyrex pouring spout really comes in handy!  Be sure you have a number of molds ready as this mixture makes A TON of candy!!!  (That's why we made a half batch this time.)

Place the filled trays in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to help the candy set (we needed to do this in the summer, not in the winter with a cooler temp in the house).  Pull the candy out of the trays and enjoy!  Store in an air tight container in the fridge. 

January 31: Rice Krispie Treats

It'd been years since I'd made Rice Krispie treats, so I figured it was high-time the kids were introduced to this tasty snack.  Tysen was super excited about all the marshmallows we had to use, but after taking only one bite he claimed he didn't like them.  He did, however, LOVE eating the Rice Krispies! 

This recipe may not be the easiest to make with kids since most of the time is spent melting the butter and marshmallows over the stove top.  Ty really wanted to help, though, and he did a great job keeping away from the heat while still tossing in the marshmallows.  It helped that we shot the marshmallows in the pot like basketballs into a hoop...it was fun and kept us away from the heat.  Once everything was melted, Ty poured the Rice Krispies into the mix and we worked together to stir it.  Then we spread it in a pan and let the treats cool.  While Ty refused to try one, Koen gobbled one up after he got home from school.  I must admit I enjoyed tasting one after such a long time.  :)

Rice Krispies Treats Original
3 Tbs.  butter
1 pkg (10 oz. about 40) regular marshmallows or 4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispies or Cocoa Rice Krispies cereal

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.  Remove from heat.
2. Add Rice Krispies cereal.  Stir until well coated.
3. Using a buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray.  Cut into 2-inch squares when cool.  Best if served the same day.

January 24: Brownie Peanut Butter Cups

This is a recipe I clipped years ago but never made.  I knew the kids would like the idea of candy in their brownies! 

Brownie Peanut Butter Cups
1 (21.5 oz) package Pillsbury Fudge Brownie Mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
18 miniature milk chocolate-covered peanut butter cups

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 18 muffin cups with paper baking cups.  In large bowl, combine brownie mix, water, oil, and egg; beat 50 strokes withs spoon.  Fill lined muffin cups 2/3 full.  Press 1 peanut butter cup into batter in each cup until top edge of candy is even with top of batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until brownie is set.  DO NOT OVERBAKE.  Cool completely. 

This was a great recipe for kids to help with -- everything from dumping things in to mixing it up to adding the candy (not to mention licking the spoons) was easy for them to do.  And of course, they're very excited to EAT these!!!  Yummy!!!

January 10: Protein Snacks

I found this recipe years ago when Food.com was still Recipezaar and have made it many, many times!  It's easy to make, easy to keep, and easy to eat!  The boys LOVE these peanut butter balls -- that's what we call them, though I still prefer my peanut butter ball to be covered in chocolate! :)

As I made this batch with Tysen, I realized that while it is easy for me to make, it's a little trickier for a kid.  The peanut butter and honey are messy, messy, messy!  Not that Ty minded, he really just wanted to eat spoonfuls of peanut butter (I wonder where he got that idea!?!) 

The original recipe says it yields 8 balls, but I usually roll them into 1-inch balls and we get 20 or more each time.  Beware, though, these don't last long!!!

Peanut Butter Balls (previously labeled "Protein Snacks")
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dry milk
1/4 cup sesame seed
1/4 cup honey

Mix all ingredients together and roll into balls.  Chill.  Enjoy!

November 22: Koinonia Granola

Before Seth and I were married over ten years ago, I had asked his mom for some family recipes.  After all this time, I figured it was time to make this one.  I'm not sure why it took me so long since I know Seth and I both enjoy it.  The boys aren't big granola cereal eaters, but I thought with their love of granola bars that I might get them to try it.  Ty was helpful in making it, but neither boy has tried it yet.  Oh well, more for us!  Not only is this great as cereal, but it'd be good with yogurt or even over ice cream!  Enjoy!

Koinonia Granola
Melt in a large pan:

• 1/2 cup oil (I used light olive oil, but realized later I had coconut oil in the house and that would've been good, too)
• 1/2 lb. margarine (I used butter)
• 2 Tbs. molasses
• 1 Tbs. vanilla
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp. salt

When mixed, cool slightly and add:

• 2 lbs. rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I had chopped pecans in the house so that's what we used)
• 2 cups grape nuts
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 lb. coconut
• 1 cup sunflower seeds

Stir thoroughly.  Bake in shallow pans at 225 degrees for 60 minutes, stirring every 12-15 minutes.  After granola has cooled add 1 cup raisins or craisins. 

Yield:  5 quarts

November 15: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Don't you love his new smile?

Growing up, this was my FAVORITE coffee cake to eat!  When I found some sour cream in the fridge that was on the brink of expiring I knew this is what we could make this week...even though I had planned for something else (stay tuned...). 

It worked out well because when I asked Ty if he wanted to help me bake something, he went to the cupboard and pulled out the cinnamon and said, "Use this!"  Good thing the recipe calls for cinnamon! :)

For your tasting pleasure...

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.  Add dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream.  Mix.  Add vanilla.  Mix. 

Filling

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Pour 1/2 of the batter in greased 9x13 pan.  Cover with 1/2 of the filling.  Repeat.  Bake 40 minutes at 325 degrees.

November 1: Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tysen came to me and stated, "I want cookies."  (Isn't he polite?)  I told him we didn't have any cookies, to which he replied, "I want chocolate cookies."  I laughed a little and again told him we didn't have any cookies.  He looked at me and said, "Let's make some," and ran to the kitchen, pulled a chair up to the island, climbed up, and waited for me.  What could I do?  We needed to make some chocolate cookies.

This recipe came from a Weight Watchers meeting years ago, but these don't taste like Weight Watcher cookies!!!  These 2-point cookies are delicious!  The only problem I have with them is the mint, or rather lack of mint.  I LOVE chocolate mint, but this recipe isn't strong enough.  I've even double and tripled the amount of mint with very little luck.  I still have to figure that out.  If you'd like to enjoy some chocolate cookies like Ty, here's the recipe for you.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup light butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp creme de menthe
2 cups flour
2/3 cups cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and creme de menthe in a large bowl.  Add flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; blend in.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Cool 1 minute before removing to a wire rack.  Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

September 27: Pumpkin Muffins (again)

These boys LOVE their pumpkin muffins!!!  When I asked Ty what he wanted to make today, this was his choice!  Interestingly, both boys choose the pumpkin/spice cake over the chocolate.  Whose kids are these anyway? ;)  I guess it is a good choice for the autumn season.

(Side note:  A few days after this I saw pumpkin in our stores in the US again!!!  It's been off the shelves for MONTHS due to last year's freeze.  And while were EXTREMELY grateful to Grandpa and Grandma Davies for being our pumpkin suppliers, we should be OK again.)

I know I've posted the recipe previously, but for the record...

Yummy Muffins

• 1 large can of pumpkin
• 2 boxes of spice, chocolate, or carrot cake mix
• 1/2 cup water

(If you use the smaller can of pumpkin, just halve the recipe)

Mix all ingredients.  Mixture will be lumpy.  Divide into 18 muffin tins/paper liners.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.  Enjoy!

September 20: Applesauce!

Last week's plan was to make some applesauce, but it didn't happen until this week.  I pulled out our apple corer/peeler and a bunch of apples and the adventure began.  Tysen helped me peel/core about five apples and then he was done.  He was fascinated by the machine, but it was a little to difficult for him to operate it on his own. 

We ended up with 24 cups of apples to heat and mash.  Adding the sugar and cinnamon was a learning experience for me since I was winging it.  I think it ended up with too much cinnamon and not enough sugar, but it still tastes fine.  Ironically, Tysen was so excited about making the applesauce, but he wouldn't taste it after I'd finished it.  Oh well...more for me! :)

September 4: "Real" Lemonade

We enjoy drinking lemonade at our house, but I know that the low calorie powdered mixes we use are not particularly healthy with all the fake ingredients.  I decided that we should try making lemonade from scratch so we could enjoy this drink in a healthier fashion. 

Both boys tried to help make the "real lemomade" (that's what Koen calls it).  I don't think either Koen or Tysen had tasted a lemon before so I wanted them to experience that.  Koen tried it, winced and then continued to lick more throughout the process.  Ty smelled it, but would not lick it.  Maybe next time! :) 

It was difficult to squeeze the lemons, though, so they both gave up on that pretty quickly.  In fact, Ty got bored with the whole process and ran off to play, but Koen helped out til the end.  We had to squeeze them by hand since we don't own any kind of hand juicer.  We squeezed seven small lemons to get our one cup of juice...though we may not have needed that many if we had an efficient juicer!?!  Anyway, the boys were so excited about mixing it all together.  Koen loved the end result, and while Ty sipped his, I found his unfinished portion later so I don't think he enjoyed it as much.  We shared tastes of it with Daddy, Grandpa Smits, Grandma Smits, Aunt Lori, and my Aunt Linda who were over to celebrate my mom's birthday.  They all gave us the thumbs up so I would dare say we'll be making this again.  Unfortunately, it didn't make very much, so maybe we'll have to invest in a hand juicer and larger lemons.

Koen adds the sugar...his favorite ingredient!

For your enjoyment (courtesy of Food.com -- formerly Recipezaar.com)
4 cups cold water
ice cubes
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice

Squeeze lemons into a bowl to measure one cup (we strained the seeds out).  Mix lemon juice with cold water and ice cubes in a pitcher.  Add in sugar and mix til dissolved.  Enjoy!

August 29: PB&J bars

Koen had his friend Josiah over to play today!  Of course, Tysen considers Josiah his good friend as well, so he wants to do everything the big boys do, but he's been naughty all day (mainly just not listening) and he was just naughty enough to bother Koen & Josiah.  So I suggested to Ty that we make some bars for our snack later, but Josiah and Koen heard that plan and wanted to help, too. We ALL made the bars and then Ty went back to bugging the other boys. 

These PB&J bars are ones I've been wanting to try for a while.  I found them in Family Fun Magazine (one of my favorites).  I'll include the recipe here in case you'd like to try them.  Koen decided he didn't like them, but he's been on an anti-jelly kick for a while, so who knows.  Ty didn't want a snack after all, Josiah seemed to like them, and I thought they were OK.  When Josiah's mom came to pick him up, she commented that they smelled so good.  Then shared that she had a recipe very similar to this one only the middle was CHOCOLATE instead of jelly.  YUM!  We'll have to try that another day...soon! :) 

PB&J Bars
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups seedless jam
1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped (optional)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease & flour a 9x13 pan.  In a medium-size bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, then set it aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the butter and both sugars until well blended, about 2 minutes.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter.  Beat them until well blended.  Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until a soft dough is formed.

Spread two thirds of the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan, then spread the jam evenly on top.  Scatter small mounds of the remaining dough over the jam layer and sprinkle it with the peanuts.

Bake the dessert until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through, about 45 minutes.  Let the dessert cool before cutting it into squares.  Makes 18 bars.

August 11: Puppy Chow

Puppy chow is such an intriguing (and addictive) snack!  When I was still teaching, a number of students selected this recipe for their demonstration speech, and it was always tasty!  I thought the boys would have fun with this recipe, but as soon as Koen heard the name of it he was out.  He wanted nothing to do with anything called puppy chow, even after I said we could call it "Koen Chow," "Tysen Chow," or "Mommy Chow."  I knew he would regret not making it once he saw everyone else enjoying it (remember the rule:  if you don't make it, you don't eat it).  But he stood by his decision, so Ty and I had a blast mixing it all, licking the spoons, and shaking the bag.  Here's the recipe we used...

Puppy Chow

12 cups of Crispix or Rice Chex (this is more than a box of cereal, so we threw in some open Corn Chex with our Rice Chex)
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter (we just used the microwave).  Pour the melted mixture over the cereal.  Put the powdered sugar in a paper grocery bag.  Add cereal and shake til cereal is coated.  Enjoy!

Of course, in the end, Koen wanted to eat some.  I did let him try a few pieces to assure him that he did, in fact, like Puppy Chow.  Now, though, he'll have to wait for another batch.  And seeing that this first batch is about gone, I'm sure we'll be making Puppy Chow again sooner rather than later. 

Ty inspects his work.

August 5: Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I don't remember if I made these as a child, but I do remember eating them occasionally!  Koen thought these were SO COOL!   He was excited about making these from mixing to decorating.  I couldn't believe he even filled most of the ice cream cones himself -- and he did a great job of it!  I frosted the cupcakes, but Koen decorated every one with great care and intensity!  Tysen slept through most of the process, and when he woke up he was not in the mood to decorate. 

 

The "recipe" is included for your enjoyment:

 

Ice-Cream-Cone Cupcakes (from 365 Games Smart Toddlers Play by Sheila Ellison)

Materials:

• Flat bottomed ice-cream cones
• Cake mix
• Can of frosting
• Cake decorations
• Muffin pan

Yields 12-15 cup cakes

Prepare the cake mix according to directions.  Spoon the batter into the cones until they are 2/3 full.  Place the cones in the muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  When cool, frost and decorate.

Note:  I had purchased our ice cream cones from Aldi (LOVE this place!), and apparently they are smaller than the usual ice cream cone.  We had 12 ice cream cone cupcakes and still had enough batter for 12 regular-sized cupcakes!  I'm not complaining...the smaller size is perfect for the kids!

 

FYI -- We stored the cupcakes upright in a cake saver, and by morning they were falling over!  I don't know if it's because of the humidity or just the moistness of the cake, but the cupcakes started sagging and falling over.  We decided to just lay them on their sides, but then some of the decorations fell off.  Any ideas on how to better store these?