Yogurt Bites

This is an easy, healthy snack when you want a little something like ice cream or a popsicle. You could make this with other fruits as well! I especially like this treat because it helps me get my protein in for the day! 

Yogurt Bites-
1 cup greek yogurt
1 cup chopped small cantaloupe (or any fruit that would blend smooth)
1 -2 tablespoons of honey (depending on how ripe your fruit is)

Just throw it all in the blender and pulse until pureed! When you are done, pour it into small ice cube trays. Use the trays with silicone bottoms so the bites pop out easy. Allow them to freeze for several hours. Run a little warm water on the bottom of the tray to loosen the bites if needed. Dump into a zip bag and store in the freezer! There is only 7 calories in each one. Yields 42.

Peanut Butter Granola

This is so easy! And you know I love all things peanut butter, so this was right up my alley! I love homemade granola! It's so versatile and much cheaper than buying it pre-made. And course you avoid the preservatives and fillers as well! The original recipe didn't make much, so I doubled the recipe. It still didn't make much. not even half of a gallon bag. I will make a double of the double recipe next time!

Peanut Butter Granola:
1/4 cup Peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups oats

Combine honey and peanut butter. Melt for 20 seconds in the microwave. Mix in cinnamon and vanilla and stir well. Add 2 cups of oats. Stir well to coat. Place on greased baking pan and cook at 325 degrees for 7-10 mins. Allow to cool for several hours to harden. Store in zip bag.

Pizza Tater Tot Casserole

This is so simple, so easy and was delicious! We all agreed that this was way better than traditional Tater Tot Casserole! You can add whatever toppings you like- pepperoni, peppers, onions, etc. into the heart of the casserole. I made this one with no toppings, but the next time I will be using pepperonis! This is healthier when made with ground deer (or turkey)! I love having a freezer full of lean deer to cook with! This is why I am always looking for new ground meat recipes.

Pizza Tater Tot Casserole:
1 Jar Pizza Sauce
1 lb. browned ground meat
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 bag of tater tots
Pepperoni, Peppers, Mushrooms... any toppings you like.

Brown meat and drain. Stir in jar of pizza sauce and 1/2 cup grated parmesan. Mix in other pizza favorites; pepperoni, peppers, etc. Spread mixture into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Top with 1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese. Top with tater tots across entire casserole into a single layer. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 mins or until tater tots are crispy!

Valentine Oreos and Marshmallow Pops

I needed to make some cute goodies for Jada's 1st grade class. I browsed Pinterest and came across some cute ideas. I found a great recipe for heart shaped homemade oreos. I have made something similar before (Homemade Oreos) from devil's food cake, and I thought this was just as easy and cute! I wanted to have one more cute little treat though. I remembered making hundreds of marshmallow pops for my sister-in-laws wedding a few years ago, and thought that would be great! I already had candy melts in the closet and only needed to buy a pack of corn skewers. 

Making a million blue marshmallow pops...

Making marshmallow pops is very simple. The kids can help out, and it's a very versatile treat. You can use an array of colors to match almost ANY event! I use the Wilton's candy melts. They come in tons of colors, and are for sale at Walmart, Kroger, Michaels... almost anywhere!

Here is what the bag looks like

 Now, the instructions for melting them are on the bag. Follow the instructions!  A few little tips to help out: 1- NEVER add water! If it's too thick, dilute it with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. 2-If you are mixing to make colors, start with white! Then add in your other colors. And trust me, a little goes a long way! If you need pink, only put 5-6 red in the whole bag of white. 3-If the chocolate starts to harden as you work and no longer seems to be coating as well, pop it back in the microwave! These melts are awesome for making chocolate pops as well. I made owl pops for Kennedy birthday. It was so easy, and made a great thank you gift for our guests. You can buy molds for almost any occasion! I found the owl mold on eBay for less than $2.00

Now, onto the recipes! The first will be for the super cute Valentine Oreos!

Valentine Home-made Oreo's

1 box strawberry cake mix

2 eggs

3/4 cup melted Crisco

*One container of icing will be needed to put in the middle of the hearts.

Mix all ingredients together. The batter will be very thick. You will need to roll out small balls with the dough, so you don't want it soupy. Spray your pan with Pam. Roll two small balls out. Lay them together on the pan, and pinch the bottoms to make a heart shape. Continue rolling our small balls and pinching them together at the bottom until all dough is used. Make sure you end up with an even number. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 mins. Do not cook more than 10 mins. When you pull the pan out of the oven, let it slam hard on the counter to help flatten out the cookies. When the cookies have completely cooled, they are ready to be frosted. Fill a zip bag with frosting of your choice. Cut a small hole in one corner of the bag. Pip icing onto one cookie. Find a cookie similar in size and sandwich the two together. Allow to air dry for an hour before storing in container.

Mix ingredients.

Place 2 small balls on pan and pinch the bottom together.

It should look like this.

Allow cookies to cool completely.

Pipe on icing and sandwich together.

So cute!

Marshmallow Pops:

Large Marshmallows

Wilton's Candy Melts 

Pop sticks (Wilton's Sticks, Popsicle Sticks, Corn Skewer sticks...)

Wax Paper sprayed with Pam

Sprinkles.

Place sticks into marshmallows. Lay out wax paper onto counter and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour sprinkles into a small, shallow bowl. Melt chocolates in microwave according to package. Take marshmallows and dip and turn into chocolate. Only cover half of the marshmallow. Immediately dab the pop into the sprinkles and place onto wax paper to cool. Store in an airtight container or large zipbag.

Place marshmallows on the sticks.

Melt chocolate.

Quickly swirl the sticks in the melted chocolate.

Dip in the sprinkles.

Place on wax paper to cool.

All done!

Chocolate Scotcheroos

Maggie got a Rice Crispy Treat Cookbook for Christmas from her Mema. I kid you not, this child has been begging for me to buy the ingredients to make some of the recipes in it for weeks! So, we picked out one to try and I bought the items we needed to make it. She was so excited when she came home from school! She was dying to make them! They were fairly easy to make and very delicious! This will make a great snack for the 6 hungry monsters that get off the bus everyday after school at my house!

Chocolate Scotcheroos:
6 cups Rice Crispies
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Melt corn syrup and sugar over medium heat. Add in peanut butter. Stir until well mixed. Add in Rice Crispies and stir to coat well. Press into a greased 9x12 dish. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips over low heat. Pour on top of Rice Crispies. Allow time to cool and harden. Makes 24. 
Calorie Count: 260 calories per square

Measuring out the Rice Crispy's

Cooking the corn syrup and sugar.

Add in the peanut butter.

Mix in the Rice Crispy's

Pour in the dish.

Spread out and press down into dish.

Melt chips in microwave or on stove-top.

Pour melted chips on top.

Spread out with spatula.

Allow to cool, cut and enjoy!