Oh boy, it has been awhile since I last posted. It’s almost embarrassing. I don’t even think I’ve mentioned that baby #2 is on the way, and sooner than later I might add! We’ll have a 2-year old little man at the end of the month as well as a little girl in October. That’s a frightening, but amazing, thought!
Little man has been keeping me extra busy with all his energy recently. I feel like his energy is increasing as mine is decreasing…that just doesn’t add up! Anything to keep him occupied and happy for even a few minutes is well worth it. These toddler cookies are the *perfect* last minute, mommy-needs-a-break-from-running-around activity. I love to bake, and little man loves to help and eat…PLUS, the cookies contain ingredients I usually have on hand and are toddler-approved.
You can see in the pictures that he actually CAN help make them since they’re so easy. Also, since there aren’t any eggs in the recipe, he’s totally fine licking his fingers, or eating spoonfuls right out of the bowl. I’m actually pretty sure that every time (in the many times we’ve made these), about half of the “dough” has been eaten straight from the bowl. So if the recipe actually makes more cookies than what I say it does, there’s a good chance that’s why! I have to admit that even though these are for the toddler age group, I do my fair share of eating these as well. The 2 of us could pretty much finish off a batch of these cookies in one sitting. Usually that thought would deserve gasps and head-shaking but there’s really not much to be ashamed of in this case considering what’s in them. I’m serious! I would even willingly give these to the little one for breakfast.
5-Ingredient Toddler Oatmeal Cookies
2018-08-10 08:59:49
Yields 9
Simple, healthy, and delicious oatmeal cookie for toddlers
Mix together all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Scoop heaping tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. The recipe usually makes about 9 to 10 cookies, depending on how big you want them. Flatten and shape slightly (since they will not change shape at all while baking).
Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the tops are no longer shiny and they feel dry to the touch.
Let cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.
Enjoy once cooled, or they will keep for a day or two in an airtight container.
Notes
These are wonderful for toddlers and kids, but please check with your doctor before giving honey to your infant or baby!
By Steph | Flavor From Scratch
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
Oh. Man. I CANNOT wait to tell you about these Christmas morning cinnamon rolls! I am so excited that we will, in fact, be having these Christmas morning! It’s like a present to me. I’ll have to remember to write myself a thank you card…
This is our first Christmas as a family of 3 and Travis and I decided this year we needed to start some traditions of our own. First of all, we are traveling A LOT over the holidays. Or at least it feels like that. I’m pretty sure it just seems like we’re traveling more than we are because we need to pack a truckload of stuff with us now that we have a little one. Either way, we made it a point to actually be at HOME for Christmas day. I don’t think we’ve ever actually been home for Christmas day as a couple so this will be fun!
Another new tradition is apparently shopping online because we have no time to shop anymore. I’m starting to feel old because I know I’m totally late to this online shopping thing. BUT, with a baby, online shopping is the best thing since sliced bread.
However, as Travis and I discussed traditions we pretty much focused most of our attention on food. Doesn’t it always go that direction?? Isn’t it wonderful?? As I thought about past family holidays, I remember the decorations and presents and snow and fun that we had. None of that was lost to me, but what I remember most is gathering around the table with family and enjoying a meal full of love and traditions. So this was like a BIG deal to come up with our own family traditions.
Some of my most cherished holiday memories come back to baking with my grandmas, mom, and sister. Luckily, my family will be doing a little baking when we visit them so that tradition lives on! I still needed to do a little baking of my own though! That’s where these rolls come in. These cinnamon rolls are actually my grandma’s yeast dough recipe (passed down to her from her mom) that we usually would use to make bobalki (another amazing concoction for another day) and poppy seed rolls (like cinnamon rolls, but with poppy seed filling).
All you Slovak or Polish folks know what I’m talking about when I refer to poppy seed in terms of sweet treats. Most people think of the gross dry poppy seeds they find on bagels. No. Just no. This poppy seed filling I refer to is sticky and sweet and delicious. I think they take the poppy seed and engulf it in a tub of sugar and corn syrup and it comes out magical. So when you make these cinnamon rolls, I dare you to replace the filling with just a can of Solo poppy seed filling. I’m salivating thinking about it. *Warning, it may take some time to fully enjoy the amazing goodness of poppy seed filling if you haven’t grown up with it. Travis is not quite there yet…My brother-in-law is finally in love with it, but he has a few years on Travis in the poppy seed tradition.
Travis agreed that we can make poppy seed rolls as part of our usual tradition on Christmas. However, since we were just figuring things out we landed on the cinnamon roll version for this year. And it’s hard to complain when you land on something so delicious. So I’ll share some of my poppy seed creations later. But for now, enjoy these cinnamon rolls! They will surely help make my Christmas morning so, so wonderful!
*Update: After making these again for Christmas, I changed the baking temperature to 350 F from 375 F. This slightly increases the baking time, but I think it helps them to cook more evenly instead of browning too quickly on top. Oh, and I might have doubled the icing recipe…because you can’t have enough 🙂
Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls
2016-12-14 11:43:22
Yields 24
Gooey and sweet cinnamon roll treat perfect for special occasions!
Scald the milk in a sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the vegetable shortening until melted. Stir in the sugar and salt. Set aside to cool to lukewarm (about 10 minutes).
While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water in a large bowl. Let the yeast sit about 5-10 minutes (until the milk mixture is cooled).
Add the milk mixture and eggs to the yeast mixture. Add in 3 1/2 cups of the flour and mix well. Add the remaining 3 cups of flour and knead until the mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.
Cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
Grease two 9" round cake pans.
Combine brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling.
Divide the dough into 2 and roll one of the halves out on a well floured surface until it is 12x18 inches. Brush a thin layer of melted butter over the dough and sprinkle on half of the filling.
Roll the dough, so you end up with a log 18 inches long. Cut into 12 pieces. Place pieces in cake pan, with a little space around each roll so it can rise again.
Repeat with the second batch.
Let the rolls rise about another hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Combine icing ingredients. Once the rolls are slightly cooled (about 15 minutes), you can drizzle the icing on the rolls.
Notes
To help the dough rise (especially when it's cold), I turn my oven on to the lowest temperature for about 5 minutes then turn the oven off. Then I put my dough in the oven to rise. Make sure to take it out before you preheat the oven to bake!!
You can freeze the rolls once they are cooled but before you put the icing on. To do this, remove the rolls from the pan after they are cooled and wrap in plastic wrap (I also wrap with aluminum foil after the plastic). To serve, defrost in the refrigerator and top with icing. If you want them warm, you can reheat them in the microwave or in the oven prior to topping with icing.
Rolls are best eaten fresh, but can last a couple of days (but they really won't make it that long!).
By Flavor From Scratch
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
Summer is so close I can almost taste it. I say this as an occupational therapist in the schools where I think everyone can use a break, myself included (Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. But if you work with kids all day I’m sure you understand). I also say this as a food lover starting to notice a larger variety of fresh fruits and vegetables coming back into the stores. I just ate corn on the cob yesterday that was a burst of summer goodness in my mouth. I realize that corn really isn’t in season in Michigan right now and I have no idea where it came from (isn’t that horrible??) but it was still delicious. Ask me again in a few months and I’ll probably realize the corn we ate yesterday was not very good. It’s just been so long since my last fresh corn I’m pretty sure I forget these things.
As fruits and vegetables start to get into season, and get a lot cheaper because of that, I’ll be sure to be using lots of them in my cooking and baking. While it’s kind of still transitioning into that summer harvest season, this is a great recipe to try! It uses frozen blueberries, but still tastes oh so fresh. It’s like a blueberry crumble/bar/pie/amazing-thing-you-must-try. Don’t pass this one up.
You can eat these bars 2 ways. So versatile! You’re welcome. Option 1 would be to follow the instructions and let these bars cool (maybe even refrigerate) before serving. This makes it more like something that you can use your hands to pick up and eat. This would be a very civilized way to eat these blueberry oat bars.
Another way (option 2) to eat these is as follows:
Wait impatiently by the oven while the bars cook, slowly realizing that the smell is becoming so wonderful it’s hard to stand.
Once the timer finally goes off, briskly take them out to admire your creation.
Wait about 1 minute, following the directions to let the bars cool completely.
Decide that it’s ridiculous to even try waiting.
Place an entire carton of ice cream or whipped cream on top, find your very best friends, and quickly eat the entire pan.
Reflect about what just happened and decide that you did the right thing.
Option 2 is the more likely scenario once you smell the bars coming out of the oven and see how bubbly and golden brown and perfect they are. Maybe you’re a better person than me but I dare you not to at least think about option number 2. Just saying.
Blueberry Oat Bars
2016-05-04 12:38:06
Serves 8
Crumbly blueberry bar perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8x8" pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment. I lined the bottom and up 2 sides of the pan so that I could use the parchment to pull the bars out of the pan. Spray the parchment with more cooking spray.
Crust/Crumble Directions
Combine crust/crumble ingredients in a bowl until they form a crumble mixture.
Set 1 cup of crumble aside for the topping.
Press the remainder of the mixture into the bottom of the lined pan, making sure it is evenly pressed.
Blueberry Filling Directions
Toss all blueberry filling ingredients together in a large bowl.
Evenly distribute over the uncooked crust.
Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup of crumble mixture over the top of the blueberries.
Bake 55 minutes, or until edges start to set and the crumble is starting to turn golden.
Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. If you want the bars to set more, place in the refrigerator once cooled for an additional 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Store in the refrigerator or in an airtight container.
I have left you without a new recipe for so long and for that I am sorry. I’m sure it will make you feel better to know there was a good reason behind this deprivation. At least my husband and I think it’s a good reason…We’re expecting! We’ve had a crazy month of traveling to see family and friends and sharing the wonderful news. We’ve gotten a lot of stories about past pregnancies and babies, dirty diapers, and late nights. Some of it sounds awesome and other parts I’m just pretending I didn’t hear. Ignorance is bliss in some cases. I’m not sure anything will prepare us for what’s to come but we have amazing support from our loved ones and that sure that helps!
So on top of all that exciting craziness along with the normal day to day craziness of work, I have been lacking in the new recipe department. I have to say my mind is elsewhere. There’s really no other excuse. So I’m going to try to focus back in and share a scrumptious recipe with you all! Okay, go…
I got this idea from my sister-in-law when we went to go visit her over the holidays. She had breakfast burritos all ready and frozen in the freezer so that when we all decided we were hungry she would be able to feed us something delicious fairly quickly. Really smart, right? It’s so hard to have guests over and this is a simple way to be prepared before anyone even steps foot in the door.
It’s really a rather simple recipe that uses fresh veggies and yummy ingredients. You can of course put whatever floats your boat into this instead of the veggies and ingredients I used. You can easily use ground sausage instead of turkey and skip some of the dried herbs. I wanted make my own flavor mix so I stuck with the ground turkey. I thought about putting beans in this recipe, but with everything else it was already about packed. You could also easily replace the turkey with beans to make it vegetarian.
Just thinking about all these ideas makes me want to make another variation of these breakfast treats! There are just so many options…it blows my mind. If you come up with your own delicious variation, comment below with what you used!
Breakfast Burrito
2016-03-12 09:12:55
Yields 8
Delicious turkey, egg, and veggie breakfast burrito. Easy to put together and easy to prepare when you're on the go!
Brown ground turkey in a large saute pan over medium heat. Drain the excess fat and remove ground turkey from pan. Set aside.
In the same pan, saute the onion, bell pepper, and herbs (thyme, sage, red pepper flakes, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper) over medium heat until tender, about 5-8 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
Whisk together eggs, water, and salt and pepper (to taste). Add to pan with onion and bell pepper mixture. Stir while cooking over low heat until mostly cooked through. The eggs should look mostly cooked but still moist.
Add the spinach leaves and cook over low until wilted. Stir in turkey to mixture until combined. Remove from heat.
Place burrito wrap on square of aluminum foil just larger than the burrito. Fill burrito with 1/8 or 1/10 of the mixture (depending on how many wraps you have). Top with cheese.
Roll as you would a burrito and wrap with the foil.
If you want to eat immediately, place in an oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and everything is warm.
If you decide to freeze the burritos, defrost overnight in the refrigerator and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.
Notes
Don't try to overfill the burritos because they will break if you put too much goodness into them!
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
It’s not Christmas yet. In fact, it’s not even Thanksgiving. However, it snowed so much yesterday in Michigan that it sure feels more like Christmas than Thanksgiving. I’m talking multiple inches of snow, not just a dusting. Yes, I’m from the Midwest and am used to snow. No, we don’t usually get that much here this early.
Since it feels and looks like Christmas, I think it’s okay for me to talk about Christmas. **But for the record, I’m not a fan of the whole Christmas decoration thing immediately after Halloween**. Too soon. Too soon.
Every Christmas Eve my extended family usually gathers together for dinner and fun. We tend to make and bring WAY too many cookies as a group to this celebration. We always end up with WAY too many leftover cookies that most of us cannot eat. However, I’m pretty sure my husband is a cookie eating machine at Christmas time so he helps the situation slightly.
Anyways, to help with the cookie overload, a few years back my mom started making mini loaves of bread for everyone to take home instead of sending them home with extra cookies. Not only delicious, but they are also perfect for a Christmas morning breakfast or brunch! When I asked my mom for the banana bread recipe she uses, she couldn’t find it!! Panic!! It’s possible she is hiding her recipe so she’s the only one that can make it but I’m pretty sure she probably just left the recipe with her mini loaf pans somewhere in the Christmas boxes. She’ll probably call me in a week with her recipe.
Regardless of whether this is THE banana bread recipe or not, this is sure to make your stomach happy. The cinnamon sugar coating on the pan is GENIUS! So much better than a flour coating. I made mine as full loaf pans but you can also reduce the cooking time to make smaller pans! Wrap them up and hand them out at Christmas. Everyone will love it!
Spray 2 loaf pans (mine were 9" x 5") with cooking spray. Mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Dust the loaf pans with the cinnamon and sugar mixture, making sure to cover the bottom and sides.
Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the eggs, bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda until just incorporated.
Divide batter into the 2 loaf pans. *Optional: sprinkle a little white sugar on top to give a slight crunch to the top.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf.
Remove bread from loaf pans and let cool on wire rack. To store, wrap in aluminum foil.
Notes
I froze one of my loafs because they are so large. They freeze and thaw very well! You can also make this recipe with 4 smaller loaf pans (7" x 3"). If you use smaller pans, adjust the baking time to about an hour, then check with a toothpick to see if they are done.
Oh boy, it has been awhile since I last posted. It’s almost embarrassing. I don’t even think I’ve mentioned that baby #2 is on the way, and sooner than later I might add! We’ll have a 2-year old little man at the end of the month as well as a little girl in October. That’s a frightening, but amazing, thought!
Little man has been keeping me extra busy with all his energy recently. I feel like his energy is increasing as mine is decreasing…that just doesn’t add up! Anything to keep him occupied and happy for even a few minutes is well worth it. These toddler cookies are the *perfect* last minute, mommy-needs-a-break-from-running-around activity. I love to bake, and little man loves to help and eat…PLUS, the cookies contain ingredients I usually have on hand and are toddler-approved.
You can see in the pictures that he actually CAN help make them since they’re so easy. Also, since there aren’t any eggs in the recipe, he’s totally fine licking his fingers, or eating spoonfuls right out of the bowl. I’m actually pretty sure that every time (in the many times we’ve made these), about half of the “dough” has been eaten straight from the bowl. So if the recipe actually makes more cookies than what I say it does, there’s a good chance that’s why!
I have to admit that even though these are for the toddler age group, I do my fair share of eating these as well. The 2 of us could pretty much finish off a batch of these cookies in one sitting. Usually that thought would deserve gasps and head-shaking but there’s really not much to be ashamed of in this case considering what’s in them. I’m serious! I would even willingly give these to the little one for breakfast.
