Homemade Mozzarella Sticks

I love Mozzarella Sticks. It's one of those appetizers that if it's on a menu I always debate getting them because they are soooo good! I've seen some recipes on Pinterest for fried mozzarella balls that were baked but after reading some comments the general consensus seemed to be that they ended up flat instead of in balls. So I thought why not try doing a whole mozzarella stick? I also decided that I was going to fry them instead of bake them. Sure, they are not as healthy I guess but I only made two so I felt a little better about it. (I only had 2 mozzarella sticks but I think I may need to make a trip to get some more because they turned out so good!!!)

So here is what you need:
Mozzarella string cheese
FEB for frying (Flour, egg, breadcrumbs - I used a combo of Panko and Italian seasoned)
oil for frying (I used vegetable oil but I would also use peanut oil in my deep fryer)
Sauce for dipping


Directions:
On the stove top fill a skillet part way with oil. Turn it on medium high. I didn't use a thermometer,  I just tested my oil by putting the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil and when it bubbles at the handle it's ready. I also have a deep fryer with peanut oil but these seriously take about 2-3 minutes to fry. That also means that they kept their shape too!

Dip the sticks in the flour and shake off the excess.
Then dip in egg and then into the breadcrumbs. I double dipped in the egg and breadcrumbs to make them extra crunchy.

When they are golden brown on all sides take them out and enjoy! Mine turned out so good and the cheese was oooey gooey just like I wanted them!

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Auntie Ann better watch out! Alexandra and I made some soft pretzels yesterday and they came pretty darn close to tasting just as good as good as the pretzels you get at the mall! I found a recipe where I could use my bread machine to make the dough and I found one via Taste of Home. The dough takes about an hour and a half in the bread machine but the baking time is only 8-10 minutes. (See recipe under pictures). I did most of the work but Alexandra helped dump the ingredients into the bread machine and helped to butter the pretzels before they went into the oven. And her favorite part...eating them! They were SO good fresh out of the oven. My husband loved them!!! (And I did too as it's only the day after we made them and there are none left!)

 This is one of the better looking ones. I started making sticks at the end because it was just easier! 

The recipe is taken from the Taste of Home site

Ingredients: 

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (70° to 80°)

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 quarts water

1/2 cup baking soda

Coarse salt

Directions:

In bread machine pan, place the first four ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons water or flour if needed).

When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into eight balls. Roll each into a 20-in. rope; form into pretzel shape (I also did pretzel sticks - they are easier to stay together!)

In a large saucepan, bring water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzels into boiling water, two at a time; boil for 10-15 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.

Place pretzels on greased baking sheets. Bake at 425° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Spritz or lightly brush with water. Sprinkle with salt. 

Pina Colada Pops

Last week when we were having our 80 degree weather I wanted to make something that would make it feel even more like summer so I decided to make these Pina Colada Pops. I love coconut (and I plan on making some coconut eggs for Easter today!) so I thought these pops would be delicious. And they are. Alexandra loves them too! I got this recipe from All Recipes.

They are super easy to make too, even for my 3 year old helper who loves being in the kitchen.

Ingredients/Supplies:

Blender

Popcicle molds and sticks.  I have two sets of plastic popcicle molds and some push pop ice cream molds as well but you can do the same thing by making your own molds with Dixie cups and popcicle sticks. 

1 can of crused pineapple, with juice

1 banana

1 can of Coconut milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions: 

Open, Dump, and Pour the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Dump into molds and freeze until firm. And there you have it, 5 hours later or so you have a yummy pop for dessert! 

We're in the Kitchen Wednesday: Popcorn in a Brown Paper Bag

Alexandra and I love popcorn! The girl and I ate almost an entire box at a Phillies game before and so I usually always have some of those 100 calorie mini bags around the house. But then I saw that you could pop corn kernels in a brown paper bag and in the microwave which is an added bonus. I like that I can put on just a pinch of salt and maybe a dash of olive oil and you have a healthy snack in just about 2 minutes! 

I found the idea on The Frugal Girls website and decided to give it a try. It is definitely cheaper to make than the bags you buy at the store. 

All you need is:

1/4 cup popcorn kernels

A brown paper lunch bag

any seasonings you want to put on the popcorn (I have tried salt and ranch seasoning so far!)

All we did was measure out the kernels, put them in a paper bag, fold it down, and then place it in the microwave for about 2 minutes (I listened for the pops to be a couple seconds apart so the time could vary on microwaves)

 My Little Helper 

 She measured 1/4 cup of the kernels (and thankfully none fell on the floor because Camden would be all over it!)

 Alexandra was checking out the kernels in the bag

I sprinkled her popcorn with a dash of salt and then for mine I sprinkled some Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning because I have been on a ranch kick lately

I can't wait to try some other flavor combos! 

We're In the Kitchen Wednesday

A lot of blogs I read seem to have "theme" days. Perhaps it is a link up, a day for recipes, a day for crafts, or something else. Currently I don't have anything specific that I post on a certain day but I was thinking about doing "We're In the Kitchen" Wednesdays. I created this blog on a whim because I wanted a separate blog to post activities that I am doing with my preschooler and I thought perhaps I could connect with other moms and share ideas by linking my blog to others. I've had a  family blog for about 3 years, which is linked on my sidebar, and this is where I post family updates such as vacations, activities, milestones and just everyday happenings in our household. It became a way for us to stay in touch with family and friends and in a sense allowed them to watch the kids grow and keep updated even though we are far away from each other.

So I've had this blog now for just under a year and I think I would like to do a theme day on Wednesdays where I will share kid-friendly recipes. I love to cook and be in the kitchen. I'm hoping to teach my kids to cook as well and I hope that they enjoy being in the kitchen as much as I do! Ever since Alex was able to walk I would sit her up on the counter with me as I would make meals and she became my master dumper and stirrer. Now that she is 3 she can do a little bit more (currently I'm trying to teach her to crack and egg) and for Christmas I got her a cute little giraffe whisk, a whale measuring cup, and a scuba diver tablespoon. Now she can use her tools when she helps me. She loves helping me out in the kitchen and I really enjoy teaching her. 

So the first "We're in the Kitchen Wednesday" snack we made was Muddy Buddies. We made these because I had all of the ingredients on hand, they are super easy to make, and they are so yummy! I just followed the recipe over at the Betty Crocker Website. 

So to make Chex Muddy Buddies here is what you do: (I cut my recipe in half from the website - we don't need that many Muddy Buddies around our house! Even the recipe cut in half makes a nice sized snack!)

Ingredients: 

4.5 cups of Chex cereal (I used Giant Brand Rice Chex)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/8 cup butter or margarine

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions: 

Melt Chocolate chips, PB, and butter in the microwave for a minute or so

 Have your sous chef stir the ingredients together once melted (notice the cute giraffe whisk) 

 Once melted add the cereal to the chocolate mixture. Toss and coat the cereal.

 Put the chocolate coated cereal into a gallon plastic bag and add the powdered sugar. Shake the bag (great job for the little ones!)

 Time for a taste test!

 Thumbs up mom! 

And then hide the Muddy Buddies or your 3 year old may eat the whole bag! Although it was a super easy fun treat to make it's not low fat that's for sure! Enjoy! 

Oh So Yummy Pumpkin Muffins

So even though we are doing Apple themed activities this week I wanted to do a few apple snacks. But Little Bug kept wanting to eat apples whole........which is fine.....she loves fruit. This morning after doing our apple snack we were out of apples so I decided to do something with pumpkin instead.

The other evening while browsing around on Pinterest for some fall desserts I came across a recipe for pumpkin muffins using only two ingredients (both of which I had in my pantry) so I decided to give them a try. OH MY GOODNESS they are yummy, and so moist, and best of all - so easy! And I just love easy!

Pumpkin Muffins (recipe found on Sweet Verbena)

So all you need is a yellow cake mix and a 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree. Yep. That's it. Put those two ingredients in a bowl and mix. I used my electric mixer to make sure it was nice and smooth. I also added some pumpkin pie spice because when I tasted the batter it didn't taste "pumpkiny" enough for me. I didn't measure - just sprinkled it in until I found the desired taste. Speaking of taste.................you can taste the batter with no worries about raw egg! You just bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes at 350. So not only are they super yummy but super quick! You better believe that  I had a muffin right out of the oven when it could be handled. 

After having a muffin (or two.......or three........) I decided I was even going to make a cream cheese frosting to put into the middle or on the top of the muffin. No recipe for the frosting. I just mixed some butter, cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and a bit of vanilla until it tasted the way I like it. 

I'm going to hold off on icing the muffins though just in case Chris doesn't want icing on his. I, of course, could eat that icing directly out of the mixing bowl. I may also try to freeze the icing for future use. We'll see what happens. 

Birthday Pancakes

Little Bug had her 3rd birthday last week and I wanted to do something special for her for breakfast. She had her fill of sugar and cake on her birthday and the day after during her playgroup birthday party and family get together so on Monday I thought I'd make her some birthday pancakes. She was very excited and whenever I make her colorful pancakes she cleans the plate and is always asking for more!

Pancake Art

After seeing an awesome blog on pancake art I thought Little Bug would love it too! She definitely did. Now my first pancakes were pretty simple because without looking at a picture I can only draw one thing well- a beach scene. I can draw other things such as animals if I have a picture to look at so maybe next time I'll try something new. I used some shake and pour pancake batter, divided the batter up, colored it, and added the colored batter to some candy squirt bottles. For directions on how to do the pancakes visit the Jenni Price Pancake Art Blog.

This picture was rotated the correct way but for some reason when I add it to my post it is sideways.  So turn your head and you can see the beach scene I made for Little Bug.

 She enjoyed eating them! 

 I cooled off the pan and let Little Bug make some

 I helped her out a bit

 I made some random colorful pancakes as well as a butterfly, ladybug, and snail

I didn't want the extra batter to go to waste! 

Really the possibilities are endless - it all depends on your creativity!