Berry Wash - Making Berries Last Longer

We love berries. Love them. One of the best parts of summer! And this year the kids have started going berry picking which adds to the fun. When they are fresh and in season, we have them at our house. I did some research on ways to help the berries stay or last longer without freezing them. This seemed like the easiest and quickest option. And it worked! Bonus!

All you need:

Vinegar

Berries

A Place to wash them

I cleaned the small part of our sink really well. Then filled it with 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water and put the berries in the water. I was concerned it would change the taste of the berries but it was so diluted, it didn't change the taste at all. I kept them in the water for less than 5 minutes, removed them and put them in a bowl in the fridge. They lasted for well over a week and kept up their shape. Definitely worth the little extra effort!

Artichoke Jalapeno Dip with a Twist

This is probably the easiest recipe in the world. I don't even think I can call it a recipe. Maybe a blend. My friend Vanessa had this dip at a party years ago and my husband and I fell in love with it. We make it for all of our parties, BBQ's, everything now. And EVERYONE loves it. We even get requests to bring "that awesome dip you guys make". So are you ready for it???

Mix (stir together) equal parts Artichoke Jalapeno dip (our favorite for this "blend" is the Costco version but you can find this at any grocery store) and Non Fat Plain Greek yogurt. If we are making it for a large group of people we will use about half of each container. And then adjust accordingly for smaller groups.

We always serve it with tortilla chips and a crusty bread for dipping. Yum!

Happy Dipping!

Quick Tips - The Perfect Smoothie

Our kids are on a huge smoothie kick. And I love it. They get a ton of fruits and Greek yogurt. I am going to start adding kale and spinach too. Great start to the day! With as many smoothies as we have been making I was started to get frustrated with the frozen berries and fruit were not being blended. I talked with our nanny Bobbie and she told me how to fix it . . .

Put the liquids in the blender first! This seems so obvious but I always did it the opposite way. Now I add the juice and then the yogurt.

Then I add the frozen fruit and bananas or other fresh fruit.

Blend away! Tada! Smooth, delicious drink.

Happy Blending!

Home Made Granola Bars - YUM!

I saw this recipe on Pinterest last week and it instantly took me back to the child hood days of Quaker Granola bars. Don't they look just like them? I was immediately interested because of how easy the recipe sounded and looked! Here is the link to the recipe I tried initially. I have since tweaked it and love the results!

Here is the initial recipe:
No-Bake Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
adapted from Rachael Ray
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oats {not rolled oats!}
1 cup crispy rice cereal
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Directions:
In a large bowl, stir oats and rice cereal together. Set aside. In a small pot, melt butter, honey and brown sugar together over medium high heat until it comes to a bubble. Reduce the heat and cook 2 minutes. Pour in vanilla and stir. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well to moisten all ingredients. Pour into lightly greased small jelly roll pan {about 12x8x1} and press out to be about 3/4 inch in thickness. {If your pan isn’t small enough, pack the mixture into one side. You really want to press them down so they stick together.} Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press down lightly. Cool on a counter top to room temperature for two hours or until the chocolate chips are set before cutting into bars. Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

The first night I made these last week I stuck to the recipe exactly. And the bars were so good. But they didn't hold together very well. I ended up putting them in the fridge and they held together nicely and didn't get too hard at all. My kids loved them!

I made the bars again tonight and did a double batch this time. The single recipe just doesn't make a very large quantity. I completely forgot to add the vanilla, I even had it on the counter and still forgot. And I added a half cup of peanut butter to the butter, brown sugar and honey. The bars held together so much better and they were delicious. Our little guy did not want to stop eating them!

This recipe to so easy to alter and I think we will try lots of variations. I have two friends who have made different variations in the last week. Lisa didn't use honey because she was making it baby friendly for her little one. She used Trader Joe's mango butter instead and she substituted yogurt covered raisins for the chocolate chips. Another friend eliminated the butter completely and used peanut butter instead and added craisins on top. Both turned out great!

Happy No Baking! :)

Easter Bark

I love easy recipes. Recipes that I almost cannot call a recipe because they have so few ingredients. Yes. Those are the ones I love! I thought this bark was adorable and festive. So easy to make. The kids think it is neat because of the bright colors and if you made a double batch you could break it into pieces, put it in a pretty glass bowl and have it on the table as a focal point for your Easter party.

I used these jelly beans. If I make it again I will use smaller, more vibrant colored jelly beans.

Click here for the recipe from Nestle. 

Crock Pot Tortilla Soup

A few months ago I found a recipe for tortilla soup on Pinterest and we tried it and it was OK. Not great. We have made the soup 4 different times now and each time my husband (he is the cook in our house) has tweaked the recipe, added and subtracted ingredients and basically made it his version of tortilla soup. We finally have a winner. He and I both love it and the twins thought it was great. Our daughter even told us the soup was delicious! And the best part . . .  you put it in the crock pot in the morning and do not touch it until dinner time. Tasty and easy - bonus!

Ingredients:

1 onion diced (no red)

1 red pepper diced

1 jalapeno diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 can black beans rinsed

1 can corn (not rinsed)

1 can tomato sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup - we used Campbell's

1 can cheddar cheese - we used Campbell's (this makes all the difference)

1 teaspoon chili powder

I teaspoon cumin

32 ounces chicken broth

1/2 cup corn flour/meal

2 chicken breasts

Put all ingredients in the crock pot, turn it on low and let it go all day. We garnished with green onion, cilantro and shredded cheese.

Another trick to save even more time - double the amount of chopped/minced items and freeze half to use later. You can throw in the frozen contents, add everything else and start the crock pot just the same.

Happy Soup Time!

Taco Soup - Quick and Easy!

I love Mexican food. And this soup is no exception. This recipe is a staple in our home. We usually make this once a week. It makes a lot and the leftovers the next day are just as good as the first round. We can put this together in under 5 minutes prep time and it is done on the stove within 15 minutes. We have made it for lots of friends and family and it is always a hit. Wait until you see how SIMPLE it is!

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can corn
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can enchilada sauce (optional)
• 1 small can diced green chili's
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 packet of ranch dressing seasoning

Directions:

Put all canned ingredients in a large pot. Do not drain, add the entire contents of the can in the pot. Add 1 can of water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it is at a boil, add taco and ranch seasoning packets. Let simmer 10 minutes.

Garnish with your favorites. Some ideas - light sour cream, shredded cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, diced green onion or chopped tomato. For a more hearty soup you can also add ground beef or turkey or shredded chicken. And you can substitute any type of beans. We just prefer the black and pinto beans at our house.

Hope the soup keeps you warm. Happy cooking!

Attempting to Duplicate the TJ Pretzel Slims

These are my favorite new Trader Joe's item. They are fabulous! I think this is the first year they have had these. It is WAY to easy to eat a lot of these. After we had finished two bags at our house and it was still early December, I decided I would attempt to make my own version.

I bought the three ingredients - deli style thin pretzels, peppermint and white chocolate chips.

I melted the chocolate in the microwave, dipped both sides of the pretzel in the chocolate and then sprinkled with crushed peppermint.

Mine didn't look as pretty as theirs but they tasted pretty similar. And they were easy to make!

Happy Baking!

Reindeer Chex Mix

Another easy and delicious treat. I don't know about you but holidays are synonymous with Chex Mix for me. I cannot think of a Christmas season that went by without having Chex Mix. I really enjoy the traditional mix but I also wanted to try some of the new fun mixes. This is simple, quick and it makes a lot.

Ingredients needed:

6 cups Corn Chex

1 bag white chocolate chips

1 box of peppermint candy canes crushed (place unwrapped canes in a plastic bag, seal and tap with a metal spoon - easy, tidy candy cane crushing!)

Melt white chocolate. I melted mine in the microwave. You can also do it on the stove in a double broiler.

Pour the melted white chocolate and half of the crushed candy cane over the cereal. Mix until completely covered.

Spread out on a cookie sheet or wax paper on a flat surface. Sprinkle the rest of the crushed candy cane over the mix.

Wait until it hardens (you can put it in the fridge if you are in a hurry). Break into pieces and you are done!

Great for neighbor gifts. Put the mix in cute to go boxes and tie with a bow. Or perfect to have in easy to reach bowls at a holiday party. People will devour it!

Happy Baking!

Elf Kisses

These are SO simple. The most time consuming part of the entire recipe (if you can call it that) is unwrapping the Hershey Kisses. My kind of recipe.

Unwrap an entire package of Hershey Kisses. I chose the white chocolate mint flavored. Any of the solid kisses will work.

M&M's. Any of the flavors work as long as they are the plain M&M's, not the peanut or almond varieties.

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Place the kisses on top of the mini pretzel twists.

Put in the oven for three minutes.

TIP - put your cookie sheet on the top rack. This worked the best.

Press an M&M into each kiss right as it comes out of the oven.

TIP - Put the entire cookie sheet in the fridge to cool as soon as your M&M's are pressed into the kiss.

Ta Da! You are done. They are perfect bite size treats. Place them in a festive bowl for people to grab at any holiday gathering.

Happy Baking!

White Chocolate and Friends - A Great Mix!

My fabulous friend Alissa came over for a fun night of chatting and baking. We went on a blitz and made four different types of holiday treats! All are simple to make and tasty. We made these to package up for neighbor gifts but they would be perfect to throw together for a cookie exchange party or any holiday gathering you may have at your home.

Theme of the night - white chocolate and peppermint! Yum!

All of the supplies. Candy canes, tons of white chocolate and almond bark, sprinkles, pretzel sticks, Peppermint Jo Jo's and red hots.

I found these adorable aprons at Crate and Barrel.

Let the crushing begin. We used a heavy duty gallon size zip lock bag and tapped on the candy canes with the back of a metal spoon. They crushed very easily. And by using the heavy duty bag you don't have any pieces poking through the plastic.

Fresh crushed peppermint. Pretty and it smells good! Each recipe we were making used peppermint as one of the main ingredients. We needed a lot of peppermint!

I went to six different stores looking for peppermint sticks and couldn't find them anywhere. My husband suggested I cut off the cane part and cover that end in the chocolate and no one would know. Brilliant! (He was probably tired of driving all over town with me looking for peppermint sticks and was desperate for an idea!)

We scored the cane with a knife and then broke the pieces in two with our hands. Once you score the cane, it snaps apart very easily.

First recipe: White chocolate dipped peppermint sticks with white sprinkles. We melted the chocolate in the microwave and it melted so much better than using the double broiler we tried at first. We just dipped the canes in the chocolate and sprinkled with the white dots. I found these sprinkles at Michael's. They were pretty difficult to find.

Perfect hot cocoa stir stick!

Next up was the white chocolate dipped pretzel sticks. We dipped the sticks in melted chocolate and then sprinkled with a variety of different festive sprinkles. We laid them out on wax paper and it was perfect once they cooled to easily peel them off the paper.

Peppermint Jo Jo's Dipped in White Chocolate and Crushed Candy Cane - My favorite recipe of the night. I got these cookies at Trader Joe's. They have them each year and they are delicious right out of the box. But I love to dip half of them in white chocolate and then roll them in crushed candy cane. They are delicious and look adorable packaged up with a red bow. Once I get my goodies packaged I will add more pictures. YUM!

Last but not least - Peppermint bark in the shape of Christmas trees. I used a Christmas tree mold and we poured in the melted chocolate mixed with peppermint. We waited for them to chill and then popped them out of the molds. Perfect little trees.

All of the goodies!

Baking holiday treats is always fun but doing it with a friend makes it that much sweeter!

Happy Baking!

Easy Potpourri Recipe

This is an easy, simple way to make your house smell amazing during the holidays (or anytime of the year). Great for a subtle aroma during holiday parties or gatherings.

Mix the following together in a large pot:

- fresh cranberries

- two oranges sliced in wedges

- cinnamon sticks

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- add enough water to cover all items

Put on low heat and enjoy!