Filled Crescent Rolls

Here's another idea i picked up on Pinterest.  I made 3 variations of filled crescent rolls.  All were tasty and given a "thumbs up" by my kids for lunch.  All use Pillsbury Crescent Rolls to make, adding a filling before rolling it up to bake as directed

Variation 1 - cheese filled
Variation 2 - cheese & hot dog
Variation 3 -peanut butter and chocolate chip

I think the possibilities here are endless.

Healthy Class Snack

Last week I was asked to provide a healthy snack as part of my son's class' Valentine's Day party.  I started thinking about what kids enjoy - you have to please the masses you know.  Then I remembered seeing this idea on my friend Taryn's Pinterest.  Cute and perfect really.  At every kid event I've ever been too (and there have been lots over the past 7+ years), goldfish crackers and grapes disappear rather quickly.  My son told me the kids really enjoyed this and his teacher loved the idea.

Here they are, a bowlful of Valentine Butterflies :)

Pizza Biscuits

My 6 year old calls these pizza pucks, my 4 year old just calls them yummy. This is a very easy twist on baking powder biscuits that helps me get a little more meat into my kids diets.

2 Cups Flour
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped pepperoni (I just used one 100 gram pepperoni stick)
1/2 cup grated cheddar
3/4 cup milk

Pre-heat oven to 450*
Mix the dry ingredients together. Use a pastry cutter to add in the margarine until it's really nice a crumbly looking. Add the pepperoni and cheese. Stir in the milk (dough will be quite sticky).
Flour a flat surface and kneed the dough until soft and workable (flour your hands really well too for this). Roll out about 1/2 inch thick. Use a circle cutter (I use one of my kids plastic cups, about 2'' in diameter) to cut out the biscuits. Place on non-stick sprayed sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. This recipe makes about 16 biscuits.

Cajun Bagel Crisps

These were a super tasty find in my Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen book this year (Jean Pare, Company's Coming).  They aren't just for Christmas snacking, they will do well year round.  Easy to make and yummy to snack on.  We munched on these plain, with cream cheese and with cream cheese and smoked salmon.  All good!

2 large bagels (they suggest trying a savory flavour, but we just used plain)

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Cut bagels in half crosswise.  Cut each half into 1/8 (3 mm) half-moon slices.  Arrange in a single layer on greased baking sheets (I just sprayed mine with Pam). 

Combine the next 7 ingredients in a small bowl.  Brush both sides of the bagel slices with the margarine mixture.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake in 400* oven for 10 to 12 minutes until golden.  Cool.  Makes about 2 1/2 dozen crisps.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Just because Oct. 31st has passed does not mean that the time for eating pumpkin is through (esp. you American friends of mine with your Thanksgiving coming up!). Roasted pumpkin seeds are an easy, healthy snack that are so tasty.

Here's what you do:

As you scoop out the 'pumpkin guts', comb through with your fingers to lift the seeds out (they come out pretty easy).  Set them in a bowl of water and allow them to soak to help clean them off.
Rinse the seeds, take off any remaining bits of orange.
Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray (I know we are going to use a little oil later, but this part helps too).
Spread the seeds over the baking sheet.
Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil (don't drench them)
Sprinkle with a little bit of salt.
Bake at 300* for half an hour-45 minutes - check every so often to flip them so they don't catch and burn.
Set the seeds in a bowl lined with paper towel (this will blot off any excess oil)

*I like the basic olive oil and salt, but you can have fun with other seasonings too, like garlic powder, cayenne, season salt, onion powder, or mixed seasonings (Cajun, Tex-Mex etc).

Easy Cinnamon Buns

I got this recipe from Keeper Worthy Recipes, who got it from Ezrapoundcake.  See a good recipe really travels around well.  What makes these great (besides being delicious) is that there is no yeast involved.   They are start to finish less than an hour to do.


Filling:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Mix together in small bowl and set aside.


Biscuit Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
2tbsp packed, brown sugar
2 tsp baking powfer
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp heavy cream (I only used half and half and it worked just fine)

Mix all the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.  Add 1 1/2 cups of the cream and stir until dough is smooth and forms a ball.  Use your hands (floured) to kneed a few times.
On a floured surface, roll dough out until it forms a 9x13 rectangle.  Brush remaining cream over it.  Sprinkle cinnamon mixture over the dough evenly.  From the long side, roll dough into a cylinder.  Slice into 9 equal rounds.  place the rounds cut side down into a n 8 inch square baking dish or pie plate.  Bake 30 minutes at 400*


Icing:
6 tbsp powdered sugar
6 tsp heavy cream

While biscuits are baking, mix the icing together.  Drizzle over top the buns when they come out of the oven.   

Peanut Butter Bars

Warning - these are extremely easy to make and extremely addictive to eat! 

I found this recipe on the side of the PC Brand Honey Nut O's box.  Oh my goodness, I love them.  I probably shouldn't make them again, but I will.  They are very yummy.

3 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cups Honey Nut O's
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Melt the marshmallows, peanut butter and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.   Stir until smooth.  Stir in Vanilla.  Add the cereal, mix well.  Press into a 9 inch square pan.  Shake chocolate chips over top.  Allow to cool (I put mine in the freezer so the chocolate chips wouldn't melt).  Cut into bars.  I am storing this in the fridge as it is pretty warm right now.

Yummy, yummy applesauce

I saw this recipe over at Tried and True Cooking with Heidi last month. She calls it "The Best" Applesauce. It looked wonderful and I figured it had to be better than the apple mush I tried to pass off as applesauce last year. It was! So delicious. I first made it for my boys and one of their friends a couple of weekends ago and made it again by request of my oldest son last week. He loves it. He says it's his favorite snack ever. My youngest loves it too, which is great for Mr. Picky who won't eat much of anything that isn't bread or chocolate.

Here's the recipe:

4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar (she suggested Splenda and that's what I used too)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher if you want chunky sauce, or put in the blender for a smooth sauce. I quite like a smooth sauce, so I used my hand blender and it worked like a charm. Thanks Heidi for this one!

Summer Greek Feast

This picture gives you the complete wrong impression that my son would actually eat all of this wonderful food. He won't. He'll eat the pita chips and hummus. The rest he will point at and say, 'no like this!'. 'sigh' - one day perhaps.
This Greek themed dinner included hummus, tzatziki, Greek Salad (all of which I've posted before), BBQ chicken skewers and pita chips.

BBQ Greek Chicken Skewers

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup Greek Seasoning

Chop the chicken into 1 inch cubes. Toss everything into a bowl, coating all your chicken pieces well with the seasoning. Thread the chicken cubes onto the skewers. BBQ until the meat is cooked through.



Seasoned Pita Chips

This recipe comes from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet and Greta Podleski. (Titled Bewedged)

1 1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used the shaker, not grated, it was fine)
3 6 inch pita rounds (with pockets)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder

Preheat oven to 350*. Crush the dried rosemary with your fingers and combine it with the Parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Set aside. Using a sharp knife or kithen scissors (I used a pizza cutter), cut each pita into 6 equal wedges (I thought these were too big so I cut them into 12). Peel back the layers so you end up with double the wedges. Place the wedges, rough side up, on a large baking sheet. Do not overlap (I ended up using 2 sheets). In another small bowl combine the melted butter and olive oil. Brush the olive oil mixture over all the wedges. Sprinkle wit the cheese/rosemary mixture. Bake on a middle oven rack for about 10 minutes. Watch that they don't burn! Excellent dipped in hummus!

Carmel Popcorn

I love popcorn, I really do. It's my favorite snack. We don't have a Kernels in town here, but when I go up to Moncton, I always stop by and one of the types of popcorn I always get is their carmel buttery one. It's so good. When I made popcorn the other night for the boys, I was in more of a sweet than savory mood, so I looked up a way to make my own carmel corn. I found this recipe from Betty Crocker (one of my standards). I changed it up a bit by added the cashews (also a favorite snack). My husband and his buddy really liked it. I liked it too, but I didn't love it. I guess I've been spoiled by Kernels because they have the candy part down perfectly. The taste of this was good, just the texture of the candy was off (but that may just be me because I in no way gifted at making candy). If anyone has a better recipe, let me know! I'd love to try it :o)

Here's the recipe:

15 cups popped popcorn
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups cashews (I think any nut would be good, pecans, peanuts whatever)

Heat the oven to 200*. Put the popcorn on a large roasting pan (I used my clay baker). In a saucepan heat the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to be bubbly. Continue to cook for 5 minutes without stirring; remove from heat. Stir in the baking soda until foamy (I had wondered what foamy meant, but it really was foamy like shaving cream). Pour mixture over popcorn; toss until evenly coasted. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread out on cooking paper. Cool competely (about 1/2 hour). Cover tightly to store.

Welsh Cakes

I was scrambling for a cookie recipe tonight that I had all the ingredients for (kinda hard to make oatmeal raisin without the oatmeal, or chocolate chip without the chocolate chips). In my fluster of 'oh shoot, now what are we going to make' with my little ones, I remembered this little gems of my childhood. My mom kept these as a staple around our house. They make a great breakfast or snack. They freeze well and they are great to bring camping (or make while you are there).

I made an ammended recipe, so I'll write out both. The first is my mom's original. The second are the ones I made tonight. They were a hit with my youngest especially who kept coming back to me saying, 'more cake'.

2 eggs
6 tbsp milk
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup shortening
1 cup currants
1 cup chocolate chips

or

2 eggs
6 tbsp milk
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup applesauce
2 cups raisins

Beat eggs and milk together. Combine the rest of the ingredients together with the egg and milk mixture. Drop batter onto your pan by the spoonfuls. Fry on a heated griddle (or frying pan over low-medium heat) about 10 minutes on each side. They make a like a tbsp size pancake.