30 Day Challenge - Day 13 - Pancake Puffins

In our house we try an do breakfast for dinner maybe once a week.  Easy, yummy & everyone loves it!  For tonight's challenge, I made Pancake Puffins...cross between a pancake & a muffin.  Super simple to make!  The kids ate them up!  Plus they don't all have to be the same, you can add different yummy extras to each one (or let your little one add their favorite items).  So here is how they looked and the recipe will be below.

Here is the recipe for you...

(now I double the batter recipe so we could have extras)

1 cup of pancake mix (Bisquick or Krusteaz)
2/3 cup of water
1/2 cup of syrup

Topping choices:
blueberries
strawberries
banana
sausage
bacon
chocolate chips
pecans
walnuts
etc.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve and enjoy - no syrup required!

30 Day Challenge - Day 12 - Rainbow Pudding Pops

I figured since I missed a day this week, I would do 2 items today for my 30 Day Challenge of trying a new recipe every day for 30 days.  Today I thought I would do a cool treat for the kids.  Again from Pinterest I found this rainbowy cool recipe for Rainbow Pudding Pops.  And they are SUPER easy to make.  So here goes...

First I made the instant Vanilla Pudding and then separated it into 5 separate bowls to add the different colors.  I didn't have standard colors on hand...so we went for the neon colors.  Once we had our colors, we added them to each of the cups evenly.  I didn't have popsicle sticks on hand, so I used baby spoons (thank Owen!) which works just as good.  Once they were ready, we stuck them in the freezer to let them freeze.  Once they are frozen...the kids will be doing some serious enjoying on them.  Will try these again this summer...I think I may have to make myself some chocolate pudding pops for myself.  YUM!

 

30 Day Challenge - Day 11 - Baked Chicken Taquitos

Yesterday while looking for a recipe to make, I realized I missed a day in the process.  My MIL was in town and we met her for dinner...threw off my recipe finding/making.  So I will have to make up that day, maybe today.  =)

When looking for recipes, I try and make something with the ingredients I readily have on hand.  I have found a ton of new recipes on Pinterest, so again this one is from my findings there.  They looked super yummy and I had the ingredients (minus the cilantro - but I don't care for it, so I didn't miss it).

They turned out very yummy and can be made ahead of time and frozen for later consumption...double bonus!  My husband said I can definitely make these again and I think I will!

Here is the recipe.

 BAKED CREAMY CHICKEN TAQUITOS
recipe from: Our Best Bites and Pennies on a Platter

Yield: 12 taquitos

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup green salsa
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp sliced green onions
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
• small flour or corn tortillas
• kosher salt
• cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.

(If you decided to prep this in advance, refrigerate the mixture at this point until ready to continue.)

Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).

Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.

Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone.  Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

**To freeze:  Before baking, flash freeze the taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet then place in a labeled freezer bag and store up to 3 months.  To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes.  (Flash Freeze means freezing the taquitos in a single layer for 15-20 minutes (until hardened) so that when you add them to the freezer bag, they will not all stick together).

Enjoy!

30 Day Challenge - Day 10 - Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE crock pot cooking!  Especially when the kids vie for my time...crock pots are the bomb!  So when I found this recipe on Pinterest a while ago, I knew I had to try it!  Had all the ingredients minus the sesame seeds, but really...we didn't miss them.  This will definitely be an addition to my recipe book for future crock potery.  

Here's the recipe!

• 2.5 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too) - I did 4 breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons diced onion (I did 1/2 a medium onion chopped into small pieces)
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) - adds a nice zip, but nothing the kids noticed
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
• Sesame seeds

Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

30 Day Challenge - Day 9 - Baked Avocado Fries

Well...these didn't turn out the way I had hoped.  Saturday my family and I went to a local Farmer's Market and we happened to pick up 5 avocados while we were there.   Going to make some yummy guacamole!  So I figured I'd try these Avocado Fries with 2 of the avocados.  Split the avocados open to find that they were bad....all but one of the 5 that we bought.  Talk about a total bummer!  I think I should have used the last avocado to make guacamole...cuz these fries didn't taster so yummy....at least to me.  They looked good, but didn't taste so great.  But here is the recipe in case you wanted to try them nonetheless.

Recipe:

 

BAKED AVOCADO FRIES

1/4 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 firm-ripe medium avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-in. wedges

Grated parmesan for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 450.

Coat avocado slices in the four, then egg, then panko. Spread on a cooling rack that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, then place on a cookie sheet.  Spray the top of the wedges with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then bake for about 20 minutes at 450, or until they are golden brown (I turned my oven up to 500 for the last 5 minutes).

30 Day Challenge - Day 8 - Lite Moose Munch

Going for the easy & quick recipe today while Owen naps after a fun outing to the park with the kids.  Just a few ingredients gets you a yummy chocolatey snack.

My kids love popcorn, so I popped some on the stove top (but you can use microwaveable popcorn).  Melted some chocolate chips and then drizzled the chocolate over the popcorn for some Lite Moose Munch.

Recipe...

1 bag of popped microwaveable popcorn (or the equivalent to popping it on the stove top).
1/2 bag of milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips - melted

Pop popping corn according to the package.

In a double boiler (or a small pot and small glass bowl), melt the chocolate chips.

Once the popcorn is popped and the chocolate is melted...drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn on a sheet of wax paper.  Let the chocolate cool and then enjoy!

You can add other things to it like, crushed graham crackers, marshmallows, chopped peanuts or other yummies like that.

 

30 Day Challenge - Day 7 - Mini Frittatas

Well, tonight was supposed to be leftover night...but I just wasn't feeling leftovers.  So I saw this recipe on Pinterest on Mini Frittatas and remember my husband telling me this morning that we had 3 dozen eggs in the fridge in the garage that we needed to use....so needless to say, we are down to 2 dozen eggs left.  I don't know about you and your family, but mine loves breakfast and whenever we can, we love doing a breakfast for dinner.  So tonight's menu included the mini frittatas, hash browns, toast, banana & sausage.

For the mini frittatas, I made 12 up...3 with turkey, 3 with sausage, 3 with ham and 3 with just cheese.  We managed to kill off 6 of them and now we have some fabulous leftover for the morning.  =))

  
Here is the recipe I used.

10 eggs
1/2 C. of half & half
1/2 tsp. of salt

Then you can add whatever mix-ins you'd like...
ham
turkey
sausage
green onions
tomatoes
spinach
cheese
etc...

 Heat your oven to 350º F and coat a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

 Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, and salt in a medium bowl, then evenly distribute the egg mixture among the muffin cups.

 Add about 2 tablespoons of mix-ins to each cup, then sprinkle on a bit of Parmesan cheese, if you like.

Bake the frittatas until they are puffy and the edges are golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. (If necessary, run a butter knife around the edge of each one to loosen them before removing them from the pan.) Makes 12 mini frittatas.

They were very yummy and will definitely make again!

30 Day Challenge - Day 6 - Peanut Butter Cheerio Treats

Since my husband has requested burgers and macaroni salad tonight for dinner...I thought I would do a treat for my recipe for the day.  Got a Cheerio Treat recipe off of Pinterest (love that site!) and modified it since I didn't have one of the ingredients...but you can click here to see the original recipe.  The house smells of lovely peanut butter right now and I can't wait for them to cool off for us to try them.  Here are some pics.

Here is the modified recipe.
 
• 1 small bag of mini marshmallows
• 1 c. creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 c. of butter (melted)
• 6 c. Cheerios (I used Honey Nut Cheerios)

In a large sauce pan, combine melted butter, marshmallows & peanut butter. Melt together over medium heat.

Once completely melted together, remove from heat.

Add Cheerios and mix until all coated.

Drop mixture by spoonful onto waxed paper and allow to cool.

Makes approximately 2 dozen.

 Melting the marshmallows & peanut butter

 All melted together...ready to add the cheerios

 All done and cooling off.

30 Day Challenge - Day 5 - Tater Tot Casserole

Well, my first dinner intentions got thrown out the door when the kids reminded me we were going to go see the Easter Bunny today.  So instead of making a macaroni salad to go with burgers tonight (moved to tomorrow), I am taking a hand at Tater Tot Casserole...another recipe I got off of the most fabulous Pinterest.  It's in the oven as we speak cooking to perfection.  While I wait for it to be done cooking....I will work on getting the recipe typed for me to share.

Recipe for Tater Tot Casserole (originally from this site)
 

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can condensed cream of celery or cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
• 1 16oz package frozen tater tots
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown ground beef. season with salt & pepper.
3. Add chopped onion, cook until tender.
4. In a casserole dish, combine ground beef mixture & cream soup.
5. Top mixture with tater tots.
6. Bake , uncovered, for 30-40 minutes till bubbly and Tots are golden brown.
7. remove from oven & top with cheese, return to oven until melted.
8. Enjoy 

The kids ate it up...we will have this one again.  =)

30 Day Challenge - Day 4 - Yogurt Covered Blueberries

Today I chose a nice healthy snack for my husband who is running 1 mile every day for his 30 Day Challenge (basically so he can't say I am trying to sabotage him with my 30 Day Challenge).  =)

Today I chose Yogurt Covered Blueberries...actually very yummy.  Here's the recipe and pic.

2 Containers of Dannon Oikos Nonfat Greek Yogurt with Honey (in the blue container)
1 container or fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)

I basically dumped the blueberries a little at a time into the yogurt, stirred them around until nicely coated and then laid each one onto a flat tupperwear dish....once the dish was full, I placed into the freezer for 1 hour until the yogurt was frozen.  

Then I placed them into a plastic sandwich baggie to place back into the freezer until we wanted to munch on them.  They are super yummy and really good for you.

 

30 Day Challenge - Day 3 - 7up Chicken & Rice

Day 3 of my 30 Day Challenge to try 30 different new recipes.  Today since I knew we'd be out n about most of the day, I decided to try a new crock pot recipe.  This one is a 7up Chicken & Rice recipe...modified it a little and unfortunately with the kids distracting me, forgot to take a pic, but I will post the link to the site I got the recipe from so you can see what it looks like there.

Here is my modified recipe....

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 4)

10.5 oz. can of cream of chicken soup

12 oz. can of 7UP or lemon lime soda (I used Sprite)

2 c. rice (Minute Rice is best)

1/4 c. of Heavy Cream

1/2 tsp of pepper

1/4 c. of flour to help thicken

Place chicken breasts in the bottom of your slow cooker.  Cover with soup and 7UP.  Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.  Add heavy cream & pepper and cook for 30 more minutes until everything is cooked through.  About 10 mins. before serving, add a little flour to help thicken if needed or to your own desire.  Cook minute rice according to packaging instructions.

Serve chicken mixture over rice and serve with a yummy side dish and the biscuits I made from Day 1's challenge go excellent with it.

Here is the link to the site I got the original recipe from.