Fun tropical snack

Apple "Cookies"

Apple "cookies". Just slice an apple and top with nut butter, chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts!

Instant Oatmeal ala-home

Instant Oatmeal ala-Home
Amy (amylz)

3 cups Quick-Cooking Oats
Salt
Small sized Zip Baggies 

Put 1/2 cup oats in a blender and blend on high until powdery. Set aside in a small bowl, and repeat procedure with an additional 1/2 cup oats. If you're using a food processor, you can do the 1 cup of oats in one batch. Put the following ingredients into each zip baggie: 1/4 cup un-powdered oats, 2 Tbsp. powdered oats, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Store in an airtight container.

To serve: Empty packet into a bowl. Add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir and let stand for 2 minutes. For thicker oatmeal, use less water - for thinner oatmeal, use more water.

Variations:
Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal- To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp. chopped dried apples.

Sweetened Oatmeal- To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar or 1 packet 'Equal' artificial sweetener.

Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Oatmeal - To each packet add 1 Tbsp. brown sugar & 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Oatmeal w/Raisins & Brown Sugar - To each packet add 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. raisins.

Health Nut Oatmeal - To each packet add 2 Tbsp. any kind of wheat germ

Fruit & Cream Oatmeal - To each packet add 1 Tbsp. non-dairy coffee creamer and 2 Tbsp. dried fruit

Fun Fruit Oatmeal - To each packet, add 6 or 7 pieces of 'fruit snack' type dehydrated fruit.

Confetti Oatmeal - To each packet, add 1 tsp. decorative cake/cookie sprinkles.

S'More Oatmeal - add 6 miniature marshmallows and 1 Tbsp. Milk Chocolate Chips to each packet.

Cookies n Cream Oatmeal - add 1 crushed Oreo cookie and 1 Tbsp. non-dairy coffee creamer to each packet.

Exploding Oatmeal - add 1 tsp. sugar, and 1/2 tsp. 'Pop Rocks' candy to each packet. This one is fun for celebration days, such as birthdays.

Bart-man Oatmeal - add 2 Tbsp. 'Butterfinger B.B's' candies to each packet.

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Peanut Butter Granola Bars

I made some for the first time last week, the recipe came from a post here on bbc, can't remember exactly which one though. Anyways, my kids are picky and they loved these. I have made 2 batches, and am making more today. It is 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 a cup brown sugar, heat in a sauce pan until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and quickly add 1/2 cup peanut butter, blend well. In a mixing bowl, add two cups quick oats, and 2 cups rice krispies. Pour honey mixture in and mix well. Add any add ins, I do chocolate chips and coconut, you can do whatever you like. Press firmly into a 9 x 13 pan (I lined mine with foil and oiled it) and refridgerate until firm. I waited about 2 hours. Cut into 24 bars. My kids couldn't get emough. I had to hide them.

Honey Nut Crunch Parfait

- Cooking with My Kid - http://www.cookingwithmykid.com -

Honey Nut Crunch Parfait

Honey Nut Crunch Parfait
Prep Time: 5 mins
Ingredients:
1 ripe pear, sliced
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon slivered almonds
Handful Honey Nut Cheerios
Honey for drizzling
Scoop yogurt into a bowl. Arrange pear slices and sprinkle almonds and Cheerios atop the yogurt. Drizzle with honey and enjoy!
Makes 1 serving.

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Pack Peanut Butter Protein Balls 

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

½ cup nonfat dry milk powder

½ cup raisins

¼ cup honey

Graham cracker crumbs 

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the graham cracker crumbs. Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll in the crumbs and refrigerate.

Yield: 24 balls. 

Source: Deborah Griggs, in Disney FamilyFun Magazine

Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Food/2011/08/23/At-menu.html#ayy32Uu6T5CX4CyH.99 

Skinny Elvis Sandwiches

Skinny Elvis Sandwiches

8 slices whole wheat bread 

½ cup almond butter (creamy or crunchy)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 pint fresh strawberries, cleaned and sliced

1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine OR cooking spray

Place a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. If not using butter or margarine, spray pan with cooking spray.

Slather four slices of bread with 2 tablespoons of almond butter each and sprinkle with several dashes of ground cinnamon. Layer strawberries on top of almond butter and top sandwich with an additional slice of bread.

If using butter or margarine, lightly brush both sides of the sandwich with the melted butter or margarine using a pastry brush and then place sandwich in the heated skillet.

Grill for several minutes on each side, until bread is golden brown and almond butter is melted.

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Source: Adapted from Peas and Thank You, by Sara Matheny

Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Food/2011/08/23/At-menu.html#ayy32Uu6T5CX4CyH.99 

Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies

Carbo's Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies
1 can black beans, -drained (15oz)
1 egg
3 tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup Nutella
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chocolate chips (for the top of the brownie)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on until all ingredients are well blended
Use and 8 by 8 glass baking dish, prepared by spraying with a non stick spray
Top with chocolate chips
Bake for 25 minutes
It is done when the center can be toothpick tested and comes out clean
Remove from oven and let rest for 25 minutes

Snickers Dip

~SNICKERS DIP~

1 -2 blocks of cream cheese, 8 oz softened
8 oz. container of cool whip
¼ cup brown sugar
4 regular sized Snickers bars, cut into small pieces with the Crinkle Cutter

This is super simple to make.... Just mix the cream cheese, cool whip, and brown sugar together and then add in the Snickers bar pieces. Serve with vanilla wafers, strawberries, graham crackers, etc.

Brownie Batter Pancakes

averyhappymama · Pass a Note! 
Posted 3 hours ago

Occasionally I'll get chocolate cravings. I'll want to make some homemade brownies or a nice moist chocolate cake. Usually I avoid that and just take a bite of dark chocolate instead. But when I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to try them. So yesterday the family enjoyed Brownie Batter Pancakes for breakfast. What a treat! Since the recipe has no egg I was able to let my 4 year old lick the spoon guilt-free. I also made sure to cook some protein on the side. The pancakes had a nice texture. We ate ours without syrup, and just sprinkled on a bit of powdered sugar for color. Oh, I also had to increase the recipe because it makes so little. I'm writing it as found online though.

Brownie Batter Pancakes

averyhappymama via Chocolate Covered Katie blog

(Makes 6-8 silver-dollar pancakes)

• 1/4 cup spelt flour (or all-purpose or Bob’s gluten-free)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa or dutch cocoa (You can sub regular cocoa, but I haven’t tried it in this recipe and therefore can’t personally vouch for the taste)
• 1 and 1/2 packets nunaturals stevia or 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar (you can use less if you’re planning to top with syrup and don’t want the actual pancakes to taste sweet.)
• 1/16 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp applesauce or oil (Personally, I use 1 tbsp oil and 1/2 tbsp applesauce. I don’t like the taste of fat-free pancakes.)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 5 and 1/2 tbsp milk of choice

Mix dry ingredients very well, then add wet. Make pancakes!

There are only 130 calories in this entire recipe. If you want a more substantial breakfast, feel free to make a bigger serving and/or go crazy with the toppings!!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup
(Jennifer)

1-2 T. canola or olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (or may use garlic powder to taste)
1 onion, diced
2 celery ribs, chopped
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 medium potato, diced (optional)
8 C. low sodium chicken stock (or just use water and about 1 T. chicken base or bullion)
6 oz. homestyle noodles (dry, found in the pasta section of the store)
1 C. frozen peas
12 oz. canned chicken (or use leftover cooked chicken or turkey if you have it)
1 t. poultry seasoning (or to taste)
fresh ground pepper and salt to taste

In a large stock pot, saute onion, celery and garlic in oil till they are soft.  Add carrots and potato if desired and satue a couple minutes.  Add chicken stock (if you preheat this while the veggies are cooking it saves time) and bring to a boil.   Add peas, poultry seasoning and pepper.   If your noodles take more than 10 minutes to cook (the ones I buy need about 20 - the label will tell you) add the noodles immediately, if they only need 8-10 minutes, simmer veggies for 10-15 minutes before adding noodles.    Just before soup is done, add canned chicken, and stir well.   (total simmer time about 20-25  minutes)

Rustica

Rustica - So this is just your basic pasta dish jazzed up a bit.  My kids loved it!  The recipe is written for one serving so I cooked a whole box of rotini and then did about 3 cloves of garlic and a giant handful of parsley that I chopped.  I think this would be good with whole wheat pasta as well.

Rustica  Amy - amylz
All Recipes Yields: 1 servings

3/4 cup rotini pasta
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh  parsley
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; add the rotini and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic in the hot oil until it begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes; stir in the parsley and cook another 30 seconds; remove from heat immediately and spoon over the drained pasta; season with salt and pepper. Top with Parmesan cheese. 

Zucchini Bites

OP was irelandtwins

I made these zucchini bites/tots that were posted on the wfd thread Tuesday. These were super easy and tasty. I think I'll cut back on the salt that I used next time and all I had was grated parm and some mozzarella. I think they would be good with a cheddar or even a little pepper jack. My little man (22 mos) LOVED these and ate like 5 of them. Good way to use up zucchini and get kids to eat veggies!

Zucchini Bites

Recipe adapted: The Naptime Chef

yields: 12 mini muffins

1 cups zucchini, grated
1 egg
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup cheese (cheddar or Parmesan work the best)
1/4 cup bread crumbs - I used Italian style
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a mini-muffin tin with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. Grate the zucchini and then place in a dish towel to squeeze out the excess water- like when using frozen spinach; if you skip this part, the middle of the zucchini tots will be really soggy while the outside gets crispy and no one wants that.
3. In a bowl combine, the egg, onion, cheese, bread crumbs, zucchini, salt and pepper.
4. Using a spoon or a cookie scoop, fill the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the top is browned and set.

Pretzel Jello

Pretzel Jello
mbcraven

2 c. pretzels crushed
3/4 c. melted butter
3 T. sugar

Mix these and spread in a 9x13 dish. Bake ifor 8 min @400. Let cool.

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
2 c. cool whip
1/2 c. sugar

Mix these and spread over pretzels

6 oz. package strawberry jello
2 10 oz. packages of frozen strawberries
2 c. boiling water

Dissolve jello in water and add strawberries. Pour over cream cheese layer and refrigerate!

Stovetop Mac-N-Cheese

Stovetop Mac-N-Cheese

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 6 ounces evaporated milk
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

Directions

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

Cinnamon Chips with Fruit Salsa, Sweet Sour Cream and Sweet Guacamole

From Babycenter:

I made this for my 2yr olds birthday...

I cut tortilla's into 8 triangles, put them on a cookie sheet, brushed them with butter or sprayed with pam, sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar mix, baked at 400f until golden brown.

Fruit salsa was diced up, strawberries, mangos, pineapple, blueberries, papaya, orange, apple... squeeze of lime juice, ribbons of fresh mint and basil.

Sweet Guacamole... coarsely mashed avocado, diced up strawberries, halved blueberries, splash of half & half cream, sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Sweet sour cream... whipped cream, creamed cream cheese, sour cream and powdered sugar... folded together.

Perfect Lemonade

Posted by Heather (inflamed) from 
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_lemonade/http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_lemonade/

1c sugar (reduce to 3/4)
1c water

1c lemon juice 
4-5c water to dilute

- heat 1c water and sugar til dissolved. Add in lemon juice and water to taste. Chill. 

Cherry Chocolate Coconut Granola

CHERRY CHOCOLATE COCONUT GRANOLA

INGREDIENTS

2 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
2/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
6 cups old fashioned rolled oats
6 tbsp. canola oil
1 cup honey
¼ cup ground flaxseed (optional)
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
2 cups dried cherries
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 325Ëš F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the coconut to the pan in an even layer and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and toasted. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add the chopped walnuts and almonds. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the oats and canola oil and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the oats are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.

• Transfer the oat mixture to a large bowl and stir in the honey, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, and salt. Spread out onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake, stirring every few minutes, until the granola is light golden brown, about 15 minutes.

• Stir in the toasted coconut and dried cherries. Move the granola to one side of the baking sheet and press gently into a thick slab. Let cool to room temperature. Break the dried and cooled granola into small clusters, mix in the chopped chocolate, and store in an airtight container.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

BoulderMtnMom · Pass a Note!
Posted 20 hours ago

I cut the chicken breast up and dip it in honey mustard. I dredge it in a mixture of 3 parts panko bread crumbs to one part kraft parmesan cheese. I spray the cookie sheet and the chicken with Pam and bake at 325 until it is golden brown, flipping once.

my kids love it AND it is super healthy.

Healthy Blobs

Healthy blobs
Amy (amylz)

Mix 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk, 3 cups crushed flake cereal, and 2 tablespoons honey. Form into blobs (should make 10). Wrap each blob in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Grab a couple with a travel cup of skim milk and go!