• Chocolate & Peanut Butter Banana Bites

    Awhile ago I got some bananas on clearance and had an event coming up so I decided to try a variant of a recipe that I had seen somewhere months ago.  It was pretty easy to do and tasted delicious.  The girls loved putting these together and enjoyed eating the frozen delicious bananas too!

    Chocolate & Peanut Butter Banana Bites

    Bananas cut and ready to be dipped

    1 cup of milk and white chocolate swirls with 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter

    Melted chocolate and peanut butter is ready to have the bananas dipped into it.

    Once the bananas are dipped into the chocolate and peanut butter put them in a single layer in a pan and put into the freezer until they are completely frozen.  After they are frozen you can transfer them into a ziplock bag.  Pull them out immediately before you serve them (if you keep them out too long they will start to melt).

  • Sweet Surprise Gifts from My Handsome Man!

    Little gift from my handsome man in the medicine cabinet!

    I love it when my sweet man leaves surprise goodies for me.  Here are some of the fun ones he left me when he went on a trip earlier this year.  Thankful for an amazing husband who loves me and is very thoughtful.  Love you Jake!

    Love notes across the floor from from my man!

    Some sweets from my sweetheart hidden in my closet!

    Yes, he even left powdered donuts on the shower nozzles, ha!

    Seed packets left in the kitchen cupboard with the coffee mugs

    Yes, even seed packets on my laptop!  So sweet!

    Seed packet on the deep freezer too!

  • Family Celebrations: Valentine’s Day

    We had a blast celebrating Valentine’s Day together as a family.  The day was so packed full of fun that I didn’t have time yesterday to post what we were up to so I am doing it today!  Here are little snip-its of our family celebrations!

    Brina and Karlie's Valentine Breakfast Goodies

    While Brina and Karlie were getting dressed for school we set out a little box of sweethearts and heart necklaces for them to enjoy.  They ate heart shape blueberry pancakes and saved their candy until after school.  Although they did wear their heart necklaces ALL day!

    Special Valentine's Surprise on my Steering Wheel!

    Jake went with the girls to pick out something special for me.  They left these little goodies on my steering wheel.  When I got into the van to drive Brina and Karlie to school I noticed my Valentine’s surprise.  They picked out a flower, kitten candy and a Valentine’s Day card.  They each wrote their names and drew me a picture.  In my card I had a heart family of four, so cute!

    Valentine's Day Gifts

    Daddy and the girls each received a package of “Nerf Darts” for Valentine’s Day.  Now when we have our little nerf wars we won’t be knocking each other over to get a dart, hopefully.  Karlie was so excited she hugged the package, spun around, and ran out of the room (to get her nerf gun, of course).  Brina had her nerf gun loaded first and Mom was the primary target since I was cooking and couldn’t defend myself, don’t worry I got them back!

    Expression of "love"!

    I had a package of Starbursts so I spelled the word “Love” on the table.  The girls thought this was so neat.  They were excited that they could read the word and could barely wait for Daddy to come home so they could eat the word!

    "I Love You" Balloon

    I picked up an “I Love You” balloon at Dollar Tree for $1.  The girls thought this “ape” was so adorable and managed to drag it almost everywhere they went for the rest of the night!

    Brina celebrating Valentine's Day with her class!

    I was able to help with the girls Valentine’s Day party.  The kids had a lot of yummy treats to celebrate the day.  Brina was so excited to have me come spend time with her in the classroom.

    Karlie enjoying chips during thier Valentine Party!

    Karlie ate all the non-sweet goodies first, including a yogurt and Doritos, as you can see from her orange mouth she really enjoyed the chips.  She was telling all her classmates that I was her Mom and that they should wish me “Happy Valentine’s Day”!

    Homemade heart shape Valentine's Day white pie pizza!

    I made homemade heart shape white pie pizza with mushrooms and olives on top for supper!  The girls thought it was funny the pizza was a heart and the slices were different shapes from “normal” pizza.  It was a fun and easy way to spread the Valentine cheer!

    Minor casualty, nerf dart was shot into the oven!

    I was pulling the pizza out of the oven in the middle of a nerf dart storm and this little guy didn’t survive.  It managed to hit the hot oven, when I went to pull it off the dart tore.  The girls were sad that a dart was broken but it gave me an opportunity to demonstrate why they shouldn’t be aiming in my direction while cooking!

    It was a super fun day with the family.  Having children have makes the Holidays even more of a special treat, they get excited about celebrating.  I am thankful everyday for my family and the memories we create together.

  • Recipe: Snow Ball Ice Cream

    Vanilla Snow Ball Ice Cream!

    The girls woke us up at 6:30 this morning and announced that it had snowed outside.  We knew they would not be going to school because we received the phone call the night before letting us know that the school was closed.  It is bright and beautiful outside today.  I dug up another great Snow Ice Cream recipe that I enjoy.   This recipe uses milk instead of sweeten condensed milk like our Snow Ice Cream recipe.  We do not get a lot of snow in South Carolina so when it happens we have extra special treats.  We had over 6 inches already today and we have been having a blast playing in the snow.  I am not sure if the kids or the dog are more excited by the snow adventures!

    Snow Ball Ice Cream

    • 12 to 14 cups of Clean Snow
    • 1 package instant pudding (we usually do Vanilla or Chocolate depending on what’s in the pantry)
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla
    • 2 cups cold Milk
    • 1 cup Sugar

    Mix the pudding, sugar, and vanilla together.  Add the 12 to 14 cups of snow.  Stir until evenly mixed.  Top with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, or whatever your family enjoys.

    Today we did vanilla pudding because it is what we had in the pantry.  A couple added chocolate to their ice cream and of course everyone had to have sprinkles!

    *The picture above is prior to us adding sprinkles to the ice cream!

  • Recipe: Snow Ice Cream

    We have lived in South Carolina for over 14 years and have never had it snow on Christmas Day so it was an extra special gift yesterday!  Today we have been busy building a snowman, making snow angels, throwing snow balls outside before the snow melts.  The girls and Skipper (our dog) have been enjoying it.  One of the things we always like to make when it snows is Snow Ice Cream.  Some years it doesn’t snow in SC so when it happens once or twice a year we love it!

    Snow Ice Cream

    • 8 to 10 cups of clean Snow
    • 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
    • (optional) 1/2 cup Chocolate Syrup
    • (optional) Sprinkles

    Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together.  When completely mixed serve immediately.  It melts pretty quickly.  In our family we have some that enjoy vanilla and others enjoy chocolate so we do a mix of both depending on the individuals preference.  Today some people chose vanilla with chocolate syrup and hugs & kisses sprinkles while others chose chocolate.  Enjoy!

  • Recipe: Oreo Truffles

    I picked up all the ingredients to make this on our Christmas Baking day, however, I didn’t have enough time to make it on Saturday.  Since I had all the ingredients made this for another Holiday event.  I picked up this recipe by Kraft at the grocery store and it is delicious!

    Oreo Truffles

    • 1 package (8 ounces) Cream Cheese, softened
    • 1 package (approximately 1 pound) Oreo Cookies (or other chocolate sandwich cookie), finely crushed (about 4 1/4 cups)
    • 2 – 8 ounce packages (8 squares each) Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted (you can use 1 Semi-Sweet and 1 White Chocolate if you prefer more variety)

    1.  Mix cream cheese and 3 cups of cookie crumbs until well blended.

    2.  Shape into 48 (1 inch) balls.  Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper.  Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

    3.  Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

    Photo courtesy of Kraft.

  • Family Recipe: Chocolate Crackle Top Cookies

    I remember Mom making these cookies as a kid.  There are many variations to the Chocolate Crackle Top cookies but below is my Mom’s recipe.  I was hoping to make these during our Christmas Baking day to share with our neighbors, I am making them for another Holidays event with with family and friends.

    Chocolate Crackle Top Cookies

    • 7 ounces Bittersweet or Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped into small pieces
    • 7 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
    • 1/2 cup Sugar
    • 3 Eggs
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
    • 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
    • Pinch of Salt
    • 1 1/2 cups Confectioners’ Sugar, for coating

    1.  Grease a large baking sheets.  In a saucepan melt chocolate and butter over low heat until smooth, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla.

    2.  Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  Gradually stir into the chocolate mixture in batches to make a soft dough.  Cover dough in the plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour, until the dough is firm enough to hold its shape.

    3.  Preheat oven to 325°  F.  Place the confectioners’ sugar in a bowl.  Form the dough into a small balls.

    4.  Drop the balls, one at a time into the confectioners’ sugar and roll until well coated.  Remove each ball with a slotted spoon and tap the spoon against the bowl to remove extra sugar.  Place the balls on the baking sheets about 1 1/2 apart.

    5.  Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the top of  each feels slightly firm when touched.  Let set for 2 minutes.  Transfer to cooling racks and allow them to cool completely.

    Makes about 20 cookies.  I am looking forward to making these for the Holidays.  Hope the girls enjoy them as much as I did when I was a kid.

    Picture compliments of Allrecipes

  • Recipe: Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, & Snowflakes

    We were getting tired by the time we got to making the Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, and Snowflakes on our Christmas Baking Day.  Despite being tired these turned out pretty well.  Brina was determined to “help” us make them which slowed down the process but we got enough to share with our neighbors.  The purple didn’t set right and the blue got a drop of water in it so it was done within a matter of minutes but we had plenty of the red, yellow, white and brown colors to make it look festival.  We added crushed candy canes for a minty flavor and a Holiday flair.  The neat part about these is the kids can pitch in and help.  They enjoy making special candies for others as well, however, I do not recommend starting around 9:30 in the evening after baking for several hours.

    Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, and Snowflakes

    • White Chocolate
    • Milk Chocolate
    • Mix of Colored Chocolates
    • Candy Molds – we had Flower Pretzel Sticks, Snowmen, and Snowflakes

    Melt the chocolates over a double boiler or slowly in the microwave (microwave for 15 seconds, stir, microwave for 15 seconds, stir) because they can burn easily.  Use the molds you have chosen to place the chocolates into.  You can paint the chocolate into the mold using a toothpick then fill in the reminding amount with a solid color.  When doing the pretzel molds paint the flowers, fill with solid color, then roll the pretzel stick to coat.  We stick the chocolates into a pan of warm water on a griddle to keep the chocolates melted while decorating, just make sure to not get any water in the chocolates at it will ruin the entire bowl.  Once the tray is complete freeze for about 10 minutes, turn the mold over and the items should pop out quickly.  Repeat the steps as many times as you like or until you run out of chocolates.

  • Recipe: Super Chocolate Cookies

    We made these delicious Super Chocolate Cookies during our Saturday Christmas Baking Day .  This recipe was from Favorite Brand Name: Cooking for Kids, Kids’ Party Food.  The recipe has a delightful mix of chocolate, peanut, raisins, and crunch.    Our girls enjoyed them for their taste and color.  I doubled the recipe and it was a huge batch, probably around 60 cookies.  Our family, friends and neighbors all got several of these cookies to enjoy.  The recipe below is for the regular amount if you want more like I did for sharing than just double it.

    Super Chocolate Cookies

    • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
    • 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
    • 1 1/3 cups packed Brown Sugar
    • 1/2 cup Butter, softened
    • 1/2 cup Shortening
    • 2 Eggs
    • 2 teaspoons Vanilla
    • 1 cup Candy Coated Chocolate Pieces (M&Ms)
    • 1 cup Raisins
    • 3/4 cup salted Peanuts, coarsely chopped (I did not chop the peanuts and it turned out well)

    1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

    2.  Beat brown sugar, butter, and shortening in large bowl turn on electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended.  Stir in candy pieces, raisins, and peanuts.

    3.  Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.  Flatten slightly with fingertips.  Bake cookies 13 to 15 minutes or until almost set.  Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets.  Transfer to wire racks.  Cool completely.

    Makes about 20 (4 inch) cookies.  Our cookies were slightly smaller and we made a double batch so we had closer to 60 cookies.