Tag Archives: yummy

Halloween Yummy

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Every year when October comes and the signs of fall are around, it’s hard not to think of all the yummy goodness that comes along with it. I mean all the sweet treats and fun foods that always seem to kick off at Halloween and take us to Thanksgiving and eventually to Christmas and the New Year! So, as we close in on some spooky good times for the last day of this month, I couldn’t help but notice a couple really cute handmade Halloween-themed treats.

First up, my friend Jenni posted this fabulous picture of some fun Jalapeno poppers she made for a party. How cute are these mummified finger foods?!?!? The eyes are TOO MUCH..really bringing them to life! If you want to try them, I found a great recipe HERE.

 If you want to do something a littler sweeter, check out these super cute Chocolate Marshmallow Pumpkins, crafted by my fellow Mommy and Media Blogger Lauren. Who knew they sold pumpkin marshmallows?!?! And — she added a very sweet touch with the chocolate and sprinkles…super impressive, right?!! I’m sure I could easily eat a handful of these… 🙂

A photo posted by Lauren (@workingmommagic) on

Holiday Mix Nuts Roca Candy

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Every week, Chef Bob of Farm Fresh Supermarkets, makes an appearance on the TV show I host and this week he made his “Holiday Mix Nuts Roca Candy.” Now, I’m not big on nuts, but I know people tend to go “nuts” for this stuff, especially around this time of year! Well, he graciously shared his recipe with me, so now I’m going to share it with you!

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Holiday Mix Nuts Roca Candy

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Cooling time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 lb. Unsalted Butter
2 cups Sugar
2 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup
5 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 Cups Mixed Nuts (Planters Deluxe)
12 oz bag Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 bag of 12 oz bag White Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Chopped Mixed Nuts

Directions:
1. Over Medium heat, melt butter in a large pot.
2. Add corn syrup, water, vanilla and sugar to pot and cook until temp reaches 290 degrees (use a candy thermometer) or until the mixture becomes the color of a brown paper bag (about 15-20 minutes) stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (mixture will rise and bubble quite a bit).
3. Remove from heat and stir in mixed nuts.
4. Pour mixture onto a non-greased cookie sheet with edges.
5. While the nut mixture is cooling, melt the semi sweet chocolate and white chocolate chips separately in a double boiler until all the chips are gone, and chocolate is smooth.
6. Pour the warm semi sweet chocolate over the nut mixture and spread evenly.
7. Use a fork or spoon to drizzle the white chocolate over the dark chocolate.
8. Sprinkle with chopped nuts (Planters is fine), and allow candy to cool completely and chocolate to harden before breaking it apart.

Note: May want to cool in freezer for at least an hour.

If you want to watch the video clip when he made this click HERE

Christmas Tree Cupcakes!

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I decorated these fun Christmas Tree cupcakes on the show – courtesy of Twisted Sisters Cupcakes, and I thought it was such a simple, but yet very cute idea and easy to do. All you need are the cupcake, sugar (ice cream) cones, green icing, white frosting and powdered sugar, sprinkles, mini M&Ms, etc… whatever you want to decorate with on your tree. A small piece of fondant can also be used to cut and add a star as a tree topper!

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First, bake and cool the cupcakes. Then you take your cupcake and cover with white frosting, and sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of the top for a “snow” effect. Then lightly use a butter knife to cover the outside of the cone to be “green.” After that you want to fill the pastry bag (can use ziploc bag) and slowly squeeze out small amount to create the “leaves” on the tree.

When finished, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar to give the tree a dusting of snow, or use sprinkles, mini M&M’s or other small candy to decorate you tree. Then place the tree on the cupcake and there you go! These could make cute centerpieces or edible decor on a table or just be a fun kids holiday craft idea! Enjoy!

Here’s video of the TV segment I did…

Mac n Cheese

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My girl @amarisjones shared this YUMMY photo and recipe for her Mac n Cheese on her social media…so I felt like it was my duty to share it with all of you!!

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk, warm or half n half
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 onion powder
1/4 smoked paprika
1/4 dried chives
Dash hot sauce (to taste)
salt and and fresh cracked black pepper ( to taste) 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Muenster cheese
1/2 cup shredded Gouda cheese
1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 pound macaroni pasta, cooked al dente
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar for topping

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in the warmed milk or (half n half) and bring to a boil, continue to whisk constantly. The mixture will thicken as the heat increases. Continue to stir while adding the dry mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, pepper,onion powder, smoked paprika and hot sauce. Stir in the 3 cheeses (muenster, gouda, asiago). Once melted, pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and add to a 3 quart casserole dish and stir well with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and Cheddar Cheese on top, and bake for 35 minutes. Enjoy!

Do Your Kids a Flavor (Prescription)

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It’s one thing to have a sick child, it’s another to have to figure out a way for them to take and successfully consume prescribed medication…that might not appeal to their tastebuds! When my son came down with an ear infection, our pediatrician gave us a script for an antibiotic that would knock it out, and I was so anxious for him to feel better, but upon first taste…it came right back at me…LITERALLY!

antibioticsSo, then you have to try different things to hopefully get them to keep it down. I tried mixing it with milk, with juice…serving it with food, no luck. After a day of this gagging, crying, whining, etc… and no success getting him to take the multiple daily doses, I called the doctor and asked if there was another alternative to this medicine. At the same time, a Mommy friend of mine mentioned she had seen an ad about getting a flavor added to prescriptions…and I was ready for anything to help get baby feeling better.

Well, we did get another prescription, but this time when I picked it up, I also inquired about getting the flavoring added, and bubble gum it was! Turns out a lot of pharmacies offer this service for an additional fee – I think I paid an extra $2. And — it is safe and there are flavor options!!! It’s called FLAVORx, it is FDA-approved and the flavoring masks any unpleasant tastes that might discourage a child from taking their medicine. From mango to cherry, watermelon and apple…there’s a wide variety of flavors available. All flavors are dye-free (except for vanilla), sugar-free and hypoallergenic. You can also go to their website to spin the “wheel of yuck” and find out which flavor may work best with different medications, turning the “yuck” to “yum.”

The sweetening enhancer is all-natural and doesn’t contain sugar. The flavors also contain neither gluten nor casein, and are safe for diabetics. Needless to say, the “trick” worked and I think he even liked it, as he would actually reach for it when it came time to take it. His ear infection was cured and now I KNOW that medicine doesn’t have to punish a child’s tastebuds!

 

French Toast Made with Baguette

french toast

French Toast Made with Baguette

1 French baguette cut into 2″ slices
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter

Mix all ingredients together, except butter.

In medium skillet, melt butter on low. Place baguette pieces in egg mixture and soak on both sides. Add to skillet and turn to medium-low heat. Let cook for 4 minutes on one side and turn over and cook for another 4 minutes. Keep turning till tops of baguette are golden brown. Garnish with powdered sugar and add syrup of your choice. Enjoy!

This “French Toast Made with Baguette” recipe comes courtesy of Chef Courtney

Pound Cake Recipe

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Pound Cake

8 oz cream cheese
3 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
2 tsp lemon or vanilla extract
2 tsp vanilla, nut & butter extract
6 eggs
3 cups flour

Let cream cheese and butter sit out overnight to soften. Mix cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add sugar one cup at time until blended in mixture. Add extract and blend. Add eggs one at a time and blend into mixture. Add flour 1 cup at time and blend mixture.

Grease bundt pan with butter, pam spray, or Crisco stick. Flour bundt pan.

Bake: preheat over to 325 degrees – do not convection bake this cake.
Please make sure you spray and flour the bundt pan so the cake does not stick.
Add batter (it will be thick) to the bundt pan and place in oven for 90 minutes on 325. Add a baking dish to the over full of water so the cake stays moist.

Once cake is completed, remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Turn cake over on plate to remove from bundt pan.

This “Pound Cake” recipe comes courtesy of Chef Courtney

Valentine’s Day: “One in a Minion”

minion valentine

I just LOVE this uber cute idea for Valentine’s Day!! Twinkies dressed up like Minions to let your “sweetie” know that they’re “One in a Minion!” I actually lifted this photo from a friend of mine, and she got the idea from Pinterest. I wanted to share it here because it’s just too cute. I’ve discovered the whole concept of giving valentines in school has far surpassed the flimsy paper ones we handed out in my day…these days it can’t just be a card, there’s stickers, tattoos, candy, etc… some kind of gift that accompanies the card. I guess the kid’s have bigger mailboxes these days too! LOL! If my kids were a little older and able to consume Twinkies with their peers, I would definitely take stab at making these, and probably eat them all up! And — to think we almost lost the Hostess Twinkie to bankruptcy… <3

 

Baked Honey Rosemary Chicken

HoneyRosemaryChicken
Baked Honey Rosemary Chicken

4 Split Chicken Breasts with ribs
2 cups Brown Rice (Cook Rice in Pot) Box Uncle Bens Original Wild Rice (Do not use 5 minute recipe)
1 tbp Fresh or bottle rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder (granulated)
1/4 cup water
honey

Directions:
Cook Rice – Add 2 cups rice to pot with 4 cups water. Bring to boil, turn heat to low and cover. Let cook for 30 – 35 minutes. Brown rice take a little longer to cook than white rice.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Chicken Breasts – Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add 4 chicken breasts. Season with rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add 1/4 cup water and cover pan tight with foil. Cook for 35 minutes. Uncover pan, drizzle honey over chicken and bake covered for 15 more minutes.

This healthy “Baked Honey Rosemary Chicken” recipe comes courtesy of Chef Courtney