American Toast

 Sadie and I LOVE French Toast.  One day Kevin made up an express way to make it for the kids and Sadie just LOVED it.  It is perfect when you don't have the time for the real deal.

Sadie has requested for me to put it on my blog.  "I hope people look at your blog Mom."

She is so excited to share this recipe with you.

1st: Toast your bread to your liking.

 2nd:  Butter one side.

3rd: Lightly brush Olive Oil on the other side. (the one without butter on it)

This will help the syrup not soak into the bread.

My favorite Syrup.  I have a hard time finding it. 

It is yummy and low calorie!

100 calories every 1/4 cup

Compared to 210 calories every 1/4 cup

My husband likes it too.  Which is saying a lot.  

You know how men don't like low calorie, fat free anything.  

Not with this syrup.  Trust.  

 Cut and Serve.  

Sadie's favorite way for French Toast.

Which she has named American Toast.

"We" hope you like it!

Dipped Oreos...yum yum!!

I saw these yummy dipped Oreos at Make It Do and thought they would make great and easy holiday treats for my kids school friends.  

The dipping process was a little messy so I dipped while the kids sprinkled. 

The white chocolate ones look pretty but these milk chocolate ones taste divine! 

Especially because we used these yummy mint Oreos.

The  dipped Oreos were not as time consuming as these Santas we made a few years ago.  

But the Santas were still cute.  

Santa Cookies

I found these cute free printable tags here, printed them off and had the kids sign the back.

Fun, quick and easy.

It made for two great advent days.  

Make the cookies one day and package & deliver them the next. :)

My kids loved it! 

Corn and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

First off, I want to thank all you kind readers and friends for offering some great advice and support on my last post.  You are the best!!  

Things are going much better and I will keep you posted on the outcome.  I'm more emotionally prepared this time. ;)

Since starting my new diet of No sugar, No dairy, No yeast, I have discovered some new and healthy ways to cook and eat.  One of my new favorites was introduced to me from my neighbor friend Kathryn, who is always so kind to share her delicious healthy dishes.

Quinoa

pronounced keen-wah

I felt like I was speaking a different language when I would say Quinoa.  

It has been so fascinating to learn about Quinoa.  It is a grain (well not really but it is most grain like) from a plant in South America.  It's high in amino acids, a great source of fiber and complex carbs and packed with protein.  

I like to relate it to couscous or "rice balls" as my kids like to call it.  Which we LOVE.  It's soft, fluffy and can be added as a side dish, in place of other grains or mixed together with salads or rice, it seems to have endless possibilities.  You can buy it at most grocery stores.  I bought a big bag from Costco.

Here is my favorite recipe using quinoa.

Corn and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

adapted from epicurious 

• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar ( I don't add sugar in mine)
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can corn, drained
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 avocado diced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

Cook as directed on package.  

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

This is so yummy!  I make it at the start of the week and it is great for lunch or a side dish to dinner.

I even saw a recipe for a quinoa salad using mango's.

Yum.

Have you ever cooked with quinoa?  What's your favorite recipe?  

Snack Plate

Snack Plate

I was on Kami's blog a few weeks ago and stumbled upon this great idea.  I can't find the link for the life of me.  It was linked somewhere through her Bento post.

 It seems from the time my kids walk in the door from school to dinner time, they are starving and graze on everything in the snack cupboard.  Granola bar after granola bar until they are all gone.  Then, when I'm cooking dinner I'm all stressed because they are chomping at the bit to be fed.  Ahhhhh!

So the snack plate has saved me.  I use a section tray plate for each kid and put a bunch of little snacks on there.  I use a toothpick at any chance.  This is an easy way to make sure I offer some healthy choices to the kids.  Ham, cheese squares, grapes, apples, crackers, a cookie, even Ritz crackers with PB & J (yum).  The kids DEVOUR everything on that plate and are very satisfied til dinner. :) They beg for the snack plate when they get home.  They love it!  On days when we are on the go after school and I make them grab an apple or so, they whine for the snack plate.  I can throw it together really fast or even make it before they get home. 

Thank you to all the bloggers out there!  You have really helped make my life simpler with all your great ideas!

Park City

 The first weekend of October we went to Park City and stayed in my MIL's timeshare.  It was so nice to get away as a little family and watch General Conference.  The condo had just been remodeled and had two big flat screen T.V's.     

It was so nice to be taken away from our normal weekend duties.  We were able to focus on each other and spend great quality time together.  

While grocery shopping there I found Pick- UP Sticks. It brought back so many memories from my childhood.  I love finding things like this to introduce to my kids.   

They loved it and so did I!  It was the weekend favorite game.

Growing up, my mom used to make these yummy Carmel Pull Aparts for General Conference weekend.  This was the first time I've made them for my family.   They LOVED it! 

(I halved the recipe and only put nuts on half)  

Caramel Pull-Aparts

48 frozen Rhodes rolls

2 cups chopped pecans

1 cup butter, divided

1 1/2 cup brown sugar, divided 

1 package butterscotch pudding

Cinnamon

Grease two bundt pans. Sprinkle 1 cup chopped pecans in bottom of each pan. Add 24 frozen Rhodes rolls to each pan, laying the rolls in a circle. Divide 1 package of butterscotch pudding between pans and sprinkle over rolls. Melt 1/2 cup butter and mix in 3/4 cups brown sugar. Pour butter mixture over pudding; repeat step with second pan. Sprinkle each pan with cinnamon.

Cover pans with a damp paper towel and allow to rise overnight. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Invert pans onto plate and serve.  

 I printed off these cute packets for the kids to color during conference.  I found them at Sugardoodle.net.  (Love that website!)

It kept them entertained and quiet for a good hour, possibly more!  My kids love to color and create!

After conference we went for a little nature walk.

Sadie kills me with this headband.  She is way into them.  This one is from her Halloween costume that she wants to wear daily!

 Gotta copy my big sister at everything!

 Sadie is into a piece of hair hanging out.  She must think it is a bang.  Ha Ha Ha.  You have got to see her school pic.  I'll have to scan it in.  

I had a great idea to put MaryJane in the Bjorn since frankie was in the stroller. She did not want to get in it.  But once we got her in, she didn't want to get out. 

 Kevin learned quickly that the Bjorn is not so comfortable on the back.  So we reversed it and Sadie wanted on too.  This whole combo didn't last long though.  I was afraid MaryJane would fall out.  

She was not happy to end her ride.  

Nap time feeding time.

This was just after my frazzled 2 hour shopping experience at the outlets.   Kevin was nice to take all the kids while I got a little 'me' time on our family weekend.  I needed a few clothing items and a black skirt.   I'll spare you the long story but it ended with me having a decision making melt down at the sales counter.  The sales girl listened to me rattle about having to make decisions in such little time with my family in the car (ready to go swimming) while trying to decide if I really wanted this cute black skirt.  Pressure, pressure, pressure!  She talked me into it.  I know she thought I was nuts! 

 I grabbed my purchases and ran.  

One problem,  I had just bought a black skirt at the previous store and was now on my way to the pool.  

Thankfully, after taking them both home to decide,  my friend who lives in Park City returned one for me.  Thanks JuJu! 

See what I mean?  I'm frazzled.  

Need less to say, it was a great weekend!  We all had such a good time together!

   

Strawberry Jam

Why hasn't anyone reminded me how easy it is to make freezer jam?

It's been 7 years since I've made it and I can't figure out why I haven't done it since.

I'm just going to give you a little idea of how easy it really is.

Fill the cute little 8 oz. jars,

And voila!  You've got freezer jam!

I honestly think I spent more time taking pictures of these cute little red jars in my aqua kitchen 

than I did actually making the jam.  

I bought 1 container of strawberries at Costco, and made two batches using 2 boxes of Sure-Jel for the pectin. A total of 12 jars.  I even had left over strawberries to eat.  

Yum. 

Quick and Easy Breadsticks!

A few weeks ago, I found myself the BEST and QUICK breadsticks here.  You can't go wrong with these!  A dream for any carb lover! ;)  I've always wanted a quick recipe because every time I make a soup that would be great with breadsticks, by the time I think of it, I don't have enough time to let them rise an hour.....NOT ANYMORE!  I can't wait to share the 6 ingredients!

Ingredients: 

2 1/4 c. Warm Water

2 T. Yeast

3 T. Sugar

Mix and let dissolve

1 T. Salt 

2 T. Oil

4-5 cups Flour (I'd like to try half whole wheat and half white flour)

Combine with yeast mixture

Bake @ 400 for 10 min.

Press into a greased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet)

This batch fits in a regular sized pan but I like to freeze half of it for later and use my favorite quarter sized pan

which makes about 12 breadsticks.

Cut dough in pan using a knife or pizza cutter and brush with melted butter, garlic salt, parmesan cheese and dry parsley.  Or use my favorite from Costco:

I wait to turn on the oven til after I have prepared them so they can rise just a bit while the oven is warming.  But not necessary.  

Bake and enjoy nice fluffy Breadsticks!

You won't be disappointed!  They get devoured!  I'd like to try them with cinnamon and sugar too. Mmmmmm. Bad girl.  

A Sweet and Easy Treat...

My friend Jessica introduced us to this yummy sticky popcorn!  We love it for family movie night!  It is soooooo good that I couldn't resist sharing the yumminess!

1 bag popped microwave popcorn 

1 cube butter - melted in saucepan

1/2c. brown sugar

2 Cups mini marshmallows

Melt butter, sugar and marshmallows in sauce pan and pour over popcorn.  

Tip:  go through the popcorn and get out all the unpopped kernels before pouring the mixture on.

Enjoy!

Cole's Last Day of Kindergarten...

ended much more differently than I expected...

Rex, Peter, Cole and Mrs. Barrett

Cole, Sasha, Annebelle.

After school ended, the kids got to take home their report cards and new teacher assignments for the next year.  Well, after these little pictures were taken with his friends, We found out that Cole will be in a GREAT class next year with a fabulous teacher (which I'm so excited about).  The big bummer news for Cole is that Sasha will be in a different class with his best friend Peter next year.  He was SO sad.  He couldn't understand it.  He cried all the way home. :(  I felt so bad for him.  He just kept saying "it's not fair!"  But we talked it out and he is handling a little bit better now.

I wanted to cheer him up on his last day so we decided to try and make some doughnuts.  My first try!  They were so yummy!  A definite repeat!

But for the life of me, I can not find the link to where I got the recipe!!!  Online somewhere.

I'd like to try this one too.

After making doughnuts, Cole rode his bike on the street in his Apron.  And Dad brought home his friends 4 wheeler to get it tuned up to take on our trip to Fish Lake. 

Cole being so serious trying to drive the ATV for his first time.  

I think his day was saved!  Unlimited doughnuts and riding the 4 wheeler, how can you beat that?

BIG Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

My friend Marilee gave me this recipe a few years ago and I had forgotten how good they are!  She sent me home with a few the other day and now I'm finding myself craving these yummy cookies all the time!  So I HAD to make some to satisfy the craving!  Luckily I gave most of them away.  They are the perfect little Thank You/Thinking of you gift!  And soooo yummy, you must try them!

Big Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

CREAM TOGETHER

1/2 cup Margarine

1/2 cup Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup White Sugar

In a separate bowl mix:

2 eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

Tip: Mixing Vanilla and Eggs together in a separate bowl will bring 

out the Vanilla flavor more in the cookie.

Add Eggs and Vanilla to the Sugar/Butter mix.

In a separate bowl mix:

2 cups Oats

2 1/2 cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Bag of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 Bag of Milk Chocolate Chips

Mix all together

Use 1/4 cup of cookie dough for one cookie

Bake @ 350

13-14 min.

Let cool on pan for 2-3 min.

Makes about 24 cookies

Thanks Mar for always sharing your yummy recipes!  I can't wait to try these.

The Secret is in the Sauce!

Last week was quite the week!  Kevin was home sick all week(with influenza).  Thanks flu shot for working so well!  And family came in town over the weekend!  I was sad when I realized the lack of photos I had taken while they were here.  Oh well, at least we have memories!  

While they were here one night, we made some yummy pizza!  We used one of our favorite sauces that we made from my Favorite cookbook!  Which you can buy at Make a Wish Foundation.  You MUST try this sauce!  It has a little bit of sweetness to it.  

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (16-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, stir in seasonings and simmer about 10 minutes.  Makes enough for 1 large or 2 small pizzas.

For the crust we just used one of those Pillsbury Pizza Crusts.  Cole LOVED the fact that it was square!  I have a crust recipe but never think to make it in time to let it rise one hour.  Do you have a yummy, fast pizza crust recipe? Do share!

Thanks for hanging out Mike and Chantel!  It was great to see you guys!

Santa Cookies

Cole and Sadie wanted to make cookies to take to their friends for Christmas.  I saw these cookies at a holiday party in my mom's ward and just thought they were so cute!  Obviously too late to make these this year.  But hey, there's always next year!

What you'll need:

Nutter Butter Cookies

White Almond Bark

Wilton Red Candy Melt Chips

Coconut

Marshmallows

Mini Chocolate Chips

Red Hots

Just take a Nutter Butter cookie and dip half way into melted white almond bark.

Sprinkle with coconut and let dry.  

Then dip other end in almond bark just a quarter of the way and let dry.

Then dip top part in the melted red candy melts leaving a little white showing and add a marshmallow on the cap and let dry.

Finnish with mini chocolate chips for the eyes and a red hot candy for the nose using the almond bark as glue.  

Almost too cute to eat!

Cookie Jar

This Holiday season has been filled will spending some fun quality time with my kids.  Thanks to the Advent!  Playing games, reading stories, dancing to holiday music, baking and lots more.

Nana brought us this cute cookie jar that we just HAD to fill with yummy cookies!  Sadie requested chocolate!  That's my girl!

I love the idea of having a cookie jar on the counter with homemade cookies in it ALL the time!  The only problem with that is me.  Don't know how much my waistline would benefit from that. 

I found this recipe from allrecipes.com and the cookies were DELICIOUS!!

A definite repeat!  Yum! Yum! Yum!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 11 min.

And we finished off the afternoon with

ShRiNkY dInKs!

We had so much fun with these!  Cole even made his school teacher her Birthday card on one. I wish I took a pic.  It was so cute!  A mini Birthday card!  She loved it! 

Sadie really impressed me with her skills of drawing a princess!

Thanks Nana for the fun Cookie Jar!