Recipes, DIY, Crafts, and More!
We hope that you enjoyed Pennywise Kids’ first video last week! We’re back with another and even more excited about this one.
Chocolate.
Marshmallow.
Mousse.
Need I say more? This mousse tastes very similar to Jason’s Deli’s chocolate mousse that you find on the salad bar. One of my favorite parts of going there.
It’s easy to make so the kids can help. And I love how light and fluffy it is. A great summer treat!
 |
There’s a new chef in town! And she’s a kid!
Chef Addie will be joining me in sharing some fun and fabulous Pennywise recipes. We’re calling it Pennywise Kids!
Watch the very FIRST Pennywise Kids video below! The recipe from the video is also below.
|
|
The following is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Better Bakery. It is 100% my own opinion.
Well happy New Year to you! I am not used to this 2016 yet. It feels futuristic to write 2016. Am I the only one? So weird with that 6 there.
Did you make any resolutions? I made a few. To lose weight is one. Not that original, eh? I’ve got more, like to get my youngest to eat anything more veggies. Picky McPickerson she is.
What do you do when your daughter won’t eat her veggies? Throw CHEESE on it!
Cauliflower is already one of my go-to veggies because of the mild flavor and tenderness. But with cheese? I mean. Yaaaassss! And I love that you can grab them in the frozen food aisle and they are ready to prepare. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
This cauliflower is bound to turn Picky McPickerson into Veggie McVeggieson. You want to know how cheesy it is? My daughters thought it was Mac & Cheese!
Did you happen to catch that super tasty looking stuffed sandwich there in the front? Of course you did. It’s pretty magnificent. Oh. My. Goodness. This is something new I found that has quickly become a family fave- Better Bakery Artisan Melts.
The bread on the outside looks like a pretzel and even sorta tastes like a pretzel, but it’s artisan bread. Heaven on a plate and the ultimate main dish to the Cheesy Cauliflower side. My favorite kind of Better Bakery Artisan Melt was the Chicken & Bacon Club. It is so good! I was pretty impressed at how closely the sandwich matched the picture on the box. That just doesn’t happen with some products.
These handcrafted artisan melts are made by bakers who are committed to the Better Bakery art and want to make better food. How nice that? They truly love what they do and make a quality product that reflects that!
The Cheese & Pepperoni Pizza kind was also tasty! They are a great quick and easy lunch or dinner idea when you’re in a hurry.
You can pick them up in the freezer section of your grocery store. I found them at Walmart! Better Bakery stands by it’s promise of “Always Handcrafted” with each sandwich hand cut, rolled, topped, and picked.
You can get a coupon for $1.50 off 1 Better Bakery Artisan Melts and locate a retailer near you, here!
To make those, it’s as easy as popping them into the oven or microwave. The recipe for the Cheesy Cauliflower is below! Here’s to the new year with successful resolutions!
|
|
Long time now see, eh? Only since February. That’s not too long is it? Nah. We’re all busy folks.
How have you been? That’s good to hear.
I’ve been doing well. Just a teensie bit busy, but good. I have been thinking about you and how I have left you hanging for months without a recipe. Then today, I whipped up something that I thought was worth sharing.
And here we are!
These, ladies and gentlemen, are Birthday Cake Crispy Treats. Made with all the same ingredients regular crispy treats are, except cake mix is added.
And sprinkles.
They are incredibly simple, uber tasty, and contain enough sugar to send you to the moon.
My 4 year old helped me in the kitchen to make these today. She is a great spoon-licker! And I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I am too.
|
|
I’m a pretty big fan of granola. Are you?
I bet you didn’t know that nothing says Happy Valentine’s Day more than granola.
It’s true.
When you make these Valentine’s Day Granola Cookies, it’s like a big old gigantic bear hug of Valentine’s Day goodness. For one because you can make them into cute and adorable little hearts. And for two because you’ll make them healthier for your favorite Valentine.
These tasty cookies are made using better for you ingredients, so you can feel good about making these for your Valentine.
I recently read a research study that showed that corn oil is better at lowering cholesterol than extra virgin olive oil! You learn something new every day!
I like to use Mazola® Corn Oil because it has a neutral flavor and lets the other flavors in my cooking and baking stand out. Mazola® Corn Oil made a great addition to the granola cookies that I made. I’ve also used to it to make breaded chicken and stir-fry.
I have a special tip for you. Happy Valentine’s Day from me. I love you. Yes, I do! I can’t take all the credit for it. I saw this on Rachael Ray recently and thought it was genius so I had to share.
Sticky stuff like honey is so hard to measure out and then get out of the measuring cup. You lose some as you pour it out because it sticks. I never feel like I get all the honey out. Here’s a tip:
Genius, right? LIFE-changing!
The Mazola® Corn Oil does a great job holding all my wet ingredients together. The egg whites and honey kinda want to go off and do their own gloppy goo mess, but the oil man. It keeps the harmony.
I will not lie to you, Valentine. I did eat from this very spoon.
Here is yet another genius idea. I KNOW! I really, really love you.
Put a cookie cutter on parchment paper (that’s on a cookie sheet). Spray it with a taddy bit of cooking spray to keep from sticking. Then spoon in your granola and pat down. Remove your cookie cutter and you have your heart-shaped cookie.
I was so happy with how they turned out. I was going for a cookie-like texture and not a granola bar and this was exactly what I got!
I’ll be making these often. I love how versatile they are. You can add in raisins or nuts or whatever you’d like. I added a few chocolate chips to these and red sprinkles on top to be festive. You can certainly leave them out to keep them better for you.
Check out more research facts about the benefits of Corn Oil and be sure to check out Mazola®, too!
|
|
When my hubby and I were dating, he wouldn’t eat anything but cheeseburgers.
True story.
Date nights with candlelit quarterpounders? Pretty much. He didn’t like anything green, and he especially didn’t like anything foreign.
That is, until you sit him down at a place called Benihana and feed him fried rice. It’s the one thing “foreign” that I could always count on him to eat.
Thankfully he has outgrown most of his picky pants stage and likes to eat a variety of things. But that fried rice is still the only thing he’ll order at a Thai, Chinese, or Japanese place.
I started making this rice soon after we got married for two specific reasons. I just remembered another, so there’s really three.
1) It’s easy. It’s not something you have to think too much about. Just throw it all together in a skillet and boom!
2) It’s really quick. No need to slave over the stove all night.
3) Hubby eats it. Reason enough for me!
This is the perfect meal or side dish to make with leftover rice. It’s best when the rice has been refrigerated and is cold. I have been known to make rice the night before just for this meal.
It really confuses my family.
And then they understand when we have this meal the next night!
I make this with whatever frozen veggies that I can find on sale. Fresh veggies? Of course you can use them, too! It’s such a versatile and easy thing. You can’t mess it up. The variety that I got had sugar snap peas, green beans, red peppers, celery, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, and onions in it.
Slap an egg in there with your cold rice and add some soy and teriyaki sauce and you have got a really tasty dish.
Here’s the way that I make it, but remember that you can add or take away whatever you’d like.
|
|
The weekend is over.
How do you like that reality? I don’t like it at all. Seems as though I find myself saying almost every single Sunday evening, that I don’t know where the weekend went. It’s gone in a vapor. Such is life I suppose.
So why not make some brownies to make life more enjoyable?
Warm, gooey, chocolatey brownies. Yes, I think that would make a great Sunday evening pick me up.
Oh, what’s that you say? You’re trying to eat healthier? I got you covered…
These brownies have a secret ingredient that I makes them healthy. Something that some like and some don’t.
And believe me, if you’re the person that doesn’t like this ingredient, it won’t matter.
I promise.
You see, these brownies are made with zucchini. Yep, that green, tender, cucumber look-alike stuff. You won’t be able to tell that it’s in them.
I’m not sure that anyone would ever request that big measuring cup of green goo to be placed into their brownies. If you don’t tell them, they won’t even know.
I did just that. I made these for my family. They gobbled them up with their normal brownie enthusiasm.
“Mmmmm I love brownies.”
“These are so good!”
Then after they’ve had their fill, I break the news out on them like a spider monkey.
“You just ate zucchini and you didn’t know it!”
{insert evil veggie sneaking laugh there}
So you see, you have just became a zucchini ninja. Turning dessert time in vegetable time.
With the quickness. There are only 3 ingredients in the brownies which makes them extra easy and extra quick.
A box of brownie mix. A cup of that green goo, which is just pureed zucchini. And a 3rd cup of milk (any kind you’d like).
Ninja. Yep.
|
|
When I think of Thanksgiving, the very first thought that comes to mind is FOOD. I think that’s what most people think of. I mean that’s what it was all about back in the day. The Pilgrims and the Indians shared a meal together to show their thanks for helping them to survive once they arrived in America. They gathered around FOOD.
Food is almost always the centerpiece. Birthdays (cake), Christmas (cookies and Ham), showers (finger foods), potlucks (things covered in butter or cheese), etc. You get the idea. We are a culture that is built around enjoying our food.
As a mom now, I also see the other part of it. It’s also about the time that you put into it all. Blood, sweat, and turkey tears at Thanksgiving!
Luckily, I have a recipe for you today that might just present an alternative to the usual Thanksgiving all-day affair. It’s not your everyday, full-blown turkey extravaganza, but it’s pretty and would make a great meal if you’re having people over around the holidays. And if you’re not in the mood for spending hours in the kitchen on a normally very busy day, this might be right up your alley too!
Turkey and dressing go hand in hand. Why not snuggle them up close together? (For the record, this is actually a picture of ham and dressing) Prepare your dressing according to the package or recipe and then lay out sliced turkey (or ham). Plop your dressing right down in the middle. They’re going to warm up real nice together in the oven…
It’s time to cuddle y’all! Tightly roll inward trying to keep that dressing from falling out the sides. If it falls out, just stuff that dressing right back into the sides.
We had some leftover dressing, so I just sprinkled it all over the top. I have turkey on the left here and ham on the right. I normally make this with turkey, but I had a request from the hubs to try it with ham.
Using your favorite turkey gravy (yes you can just make it too!), pour it ALL over the top of your rolls. Oh my goodness, this is when it gets sooooo tasty!
This is what it looks like right before you pop it into the oven.
Turkey…
Dressing…
Gravy…
…all in one yummy delicious place.
It’s a beautiful presentation and worthy of company. I make it for my family and every time I say I need to have somebody over so I can make this for them!
I haven’t tried yet, but I think it would be yummy to add in some cranberry sauce to a few. What gorgeous color that would add to the dish!
Make this yourself and let me know what you think!
|
|
When I was young, our neighbor had an apple tree in their yard. I remember first finding out that the tree had apples on it. I ran over there and picked me one and took a big bite out of it. And then I realized…this was no regular apple tree. It was a tree of crab apples. Have you ever had a crab apple? They are not so good. Very sour, hard, and give you a sore tummy.
Now regular apples, I love. I’m more of a green apple eater than red, but I’ll eat whatever I can get. And I adore dips for my apples. Just a big dollop of peanut butter and a juicy slice of apple can make my day.
Fall is the season when apples are ready for harvest. Though I find them just as juicy and fresh anytime of year at the grocery store. And they don’t seem to vary too much in price, which is nice.
I’ve got a dip for you today that you’re going to love. After we ran out of apples, we used our fingers to scrape the rest of the dip off the bowl. It’s so good.
This dip is very similar to 2-Ingredient Fruit Dip, but the ingredients are a little different.
It’s a simple mixture of cream cheese (you know its going to be good), brown sugar, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Yeah, that sour cream gives it a creaminess. Love it.
I love this dip for get togethers. It would be really great to buy a bunch of different types of apples, slice them, and put them on a platter with this dip in the middle. You would have so many colors!
Just make sure that you don’t get any crab apples.
Oh yeah and, you don’t just have to eat this with apples. It’s amazing with any fruit! The recipe was originally called “Caramel Fruit Dip”, so I was going to pair it with apples thinking, you know, apples and caramel are wonderful together. After eating it, it does not have that caramel taste I was expecting. But it is still a wonderful partner for apples!
|
|
![veggie-tales-event2[1] copy](http://www.pennywisecook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/veggie-tales-event21-copy.jpg)
I cook with them quite often, but I must admit that I’ve never dressed like one. If the “you are what you eat” thing were true, I would most definitely be an edamame bean.
Or a cob of corn.
Or broccoli.
Honestly, I would probably be a new breed of veggie. Like a tomcobbrocame. This would be pronounced: Tom-cob-broc-ah-may. I’m so good at this that I could start a new language. Veggie language! YES!
Let’s move on shall we?
I know you guys are always looking for a good deal and also for a FREEBIE so I wanted to share this awesome contest happening through Family Christian stores! This may take some creativity so put your thinking caps on.
We are huge VeggieTales fans around here. I have been since I was young. I sound like an old fart referring to when I was young, don’t I? I’ve been a fan for a long time, but not too long if you know what I mean. ANYWHO! Family Christian is proud to announce their Dress Like A Veggie Event at ALL of their locations!
Here are the details:
When: Friday, October 31st 2014
Where: At ALL Family Christian Stores (find a location near you)
What to do: Dress like a veggie, take a photo in-store, post it to their Twitter and/or Instagram using the hastag #FCVeggies and tagging @FamilyChristian
The grand prize winner will receive a $250 gift card to Family Christian. FIVE runner ups will receive $50 appreciation certificates.
Your child does NOT have to dress like a VeggieTales veggie, just any veggie to qualify. You must have at least ONE child dressed up to enter the contest.
And ALL children that stop by during the Dress Like A Veggie Event will receive small goodies!
You can find some great costume inspiration on this Pinterest board. I know you guys are creative so see what you can come up with! This is so exciting, I know my girls are going to be stoked.
They’ve always wanted to dress up like a cucumber you know…they just never knew it.
This post is written by me on behalf of myself and Family Christian Stores. All opinions expressed are 100% mine.
|
|
