#2,786: No-Bake Granola Bars

OMG I am warning you, do NOT make these granola bars!  If you do, I'm telling you, you just might regret it because these are addicting!  I can whip up a batch of these pretty quickly, the hardest part is letting the mixture cool a little bit before you add the baking M and M's otherwise, they are going to melt.  It doesn't change the flavor at all, but it will change the appearance for sure.  I made these in an 8x8 pan and then cut it into 10 pieces.  The second time I made these (yep, there was a second time already!), I cut each of the 10 pieces in half and popped those babies in the freezer.  That slowed us down a little bit!  My kids love these as an after school snack, and as a dessert in their lunches.  Everyone in our house give these 2 thumbs up!

The original recipe called for Crispy M and M's, but I wasn't about to waste take my time chopping those up, so I just used baking mini ones instead.  

1 cup crispy rice cereal

½ cup old-fashioned oats

½ cup vanilla protein powder (I didn't have any so I ground up oats and used 1/2 c of those instead!)

¼ cup coarsely chopped M&M’s Crispy, plus additional for topping (I used baking mini ones...see note above)

3 tablespoons chia seeds

½ cup peanut butter softened

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Place all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Place remaining ingredients in a small bowl and heat in microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until softened. Stir, stir, stir until the ingredients are completely combined and smooth.

Pour peanut butter mixture over dry ingredients and stir until all of the dry ingredients are coated.

(I skipped this step and used a foil square cake pan.  I sprayed with a little non-stick spray and these popped right out) Line a square baking pan with wax paper or parchment paper and use the back of a large spoon or spatula to press the mixture into the pan. Really press the mixture down firmly so that the bars hold together properly. Decorate/top with additional M and M's if desired.  Refrigerate until firm (at least a couple of hours, or overnight). Cut into bars or squares.  Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

#1,823: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (Flour and Sugar free)

So we just came off a week of no sugar in our house.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be with my crew.  What it did do though, was make my kids realize that there is sugar in a lot of foods that they like.  So now that we are technically done with our 1 week challenge, I still want to minimize the amount of sugar they are consuming, especially as I get ready to send them back to school (and school lunches) soon.  I'm trying to find different sides and snacks that they will enjoy but not have any (or very minimal) sugar in it.  I found this recipe and it looked quick and easy, so I decided to give it a try.  These are ok, but I was the only one who really enjoyed them at all.  The kids were not fans at all sadly.  I'll keep trying to find something they will eat though!  

2 eggs

1/4 cup olive oil (I used coconut oil) 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia (I omitted)

1 tablespoon powdered stevia (I used 3 packets) 

pinch salt

4 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened (I used 2 tbsp because that's all I had left)

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup sugar free chocolate chips like the brand Lily's (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk eggs, oil, vanilla extract and vanilla stevia together.  Whisk in powdered stevia and salt until absorbed and no clumps.

Add in cocoa powder and whisk until thoroughly combined.  Stir in rolled oats and chocolate chips until all the oats are coated with the chocolate mixture.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Using a small cookie scooper, scoop cookie batter onto lined baking sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes until slightly hardened to touch.

Let cool 10-15 minutes before removing from pan.

#1,624: Five Minute Granola Bars

Don't make these....I'm warning you if you make these you just might try to eat the whole pan.  These are fantastic!!  I let the kids each have one for lunch and only 2 of them enjoyed it, but I think these are really, really good.  I packed these up in freezer bags and will let Allison take these in her lunch instead of a sandwich.  This is a great recipe to make ahead of time and freeze.  

2 cups quick or rolled oats
1 1/4 cup peanut butter or sunbutter (I used a whole jar of sunbutter)
1/2 cup pepitas or sunflower seeds (I omitted)
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt

In a food processor, combine the oats, peanut butter, pepitas, salt and maple syrup (or honey). Then add in the chips and pulse a few times to get them evenly mixed in.

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Leave enough paper to come out the sides.

Press the mixture down well into the 8x8 pan. You really want to pack it so the bars hold together.

Place the pan in the fridge to set. Should take 30 minutes.

Once set, pull the whole thing out of the pan by the extra ends of parchment paper. Use a pizza cutter to cut them into bars or squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. They should last a couple weeks. 

#1,606: Pizza Buns

This recipe was actually supposed to be a little more complicated made with freshly made pizza dough, but who has time for that?!?!  So to get this recipe on the table a little (or a lot) faster, I bought the tube of pizza dough at the grocery store.  Yes, I know that this makes this less healthy and more processed, but sometimes, I just have to get dinner on the table and kids fed much quicker than making my own dough.

So...I rolled out the tube pizza dough, and cut it into 10 rectangles (pieces).  Then I added the remaining ingredients and rolled it all up.  I placed it on a lightly greased cookie sheet (with the seam side down), brushed the tops with a little olive oil and sprinkled on some parmesan cheese and popped it in the oven.  I baked in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  My family devoured these and asked me to make them again the next day.  Success!  I think my girls would love these in their lunches too!!

Here are the instructions for the homemade dough recipe.  If you plan on using store bought dough…skip down in the instruction a little.

Homemade Dough:
1½ cups warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
½ tsp salt
3-4½ cups flour

In a bowl combine water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for about 10 minutes.  Add salt. Stir. Add half your flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour until dough pulls away from edges of the bowl when mixing and it isn’t sticky.  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until double in size. Remove dough from bowl. Separate into three equal parts.

Prepare your pizza ingredients (sausage, cheese, pizza sauce, veggies, etc.)

Take one portion of the dough and roll out on a lightly greased or floured surface. Roll dough into a long skinny rectangle as you would for cinnamon rolls. Once your dough is rolled, you can begin layering your pizza ingredients starting with the sauce. Spread sauce over the dough leaving the very edge of one of the long sides of the rectangle free from sauce so the edge will seal when rolled up. Layer meat, cheese and any other pizza toppings you’d like.

After all your pizza toppings have been added, begin rolling up the dough starting at the long side of the rectangle where the sauce is all the way to the edge – you want to leave that sauce free edge to be rolled up last. Roll all the way up and then pinch the edges to seal. 

Place rolls in a greased baking dish.  Cover and allow buns to rise 30 minutes. Bake in the oven at 350 for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Back to School Idea: Grab-and-Go Lunches for Kids

If you have kids going back to school and pack school lunches, my guess is that you've seen different photos/pins on Pinterest showing how to make "grab-and-go" lunch containers for your kids to help pack their lunch.  My oldest is now going into 3rd grade.  The last two years I've been letting her (and now her younger sister) get hot lunch about 80% of the time because it's so much easier for me in the morning and to not have to worry about one more thing.  This summer though I really have been trying to stress to the girls the importance of making healthy food choices and we are trying to make more healthy/organic choices at home too.  As you can see from this blog, I like (no LOVE) making my kids different recipes and food choices, including for their lunches.  However, although I love making these for them, they aren't always the fastest way for me to get their lunches packed/unpacked and get us all out the door quickly.  So I decided that we are going to do 2 things different this first month to see if these changes will work for our family.

1.  The kids are only allowed to choose 3 of their favorite hot lunches to eat at school for August and September and the other days are going to be cold lunches from home.  This allows my girls to still eat some of their more favorite school lunches but forces them to really think about what they want to commit to.  :) (I still can't get over that Allison's favorite lunch is the rib sandwich?!?!?!!?)

2.  I will make their main item, but they are responsible for choosing the remaining ingredients and items needed for their lunch.

We are a "PackIt" lunchbox family mainly because I like that it keeps their items cold without having to deal with ice packs.  And I know that their dairy products are not going to spoil before their lunch time.  

We had to do some rearranging of our cabinets to get all of these containers in one place, but hopefully this will work for us.

The girls are responsible for taking:
1 water bottle (yes we use disposable mini ones b/c I was tired of reusable ones leaking)
Napkin, spoon, fork (if needed)
Plus they can choose ONE item from each of the tubs:
1 Dairy (kept in fridge: includes cheese (different kinds), laughing cow wedges, Greek yogurt tubes, etc.)
1 Fruit (can be fresh (in fridge) or non-perishable such as fruit pouches, applesauce, fruit cups, etc.)
1 Chip or Side: (organic granola bars, freeze dried fruit/veggies, crackers, bag of chips (on occasion), etc. 

1 Dessert/Treat (fruit leather, fruit bars, chocolate covered raisins, fruit snacks, etc.)

I have super high hopes for this plan....here's hoping it works and makes this school year a little easier, less stressful, and a lot more healthy!

#1,594: Nacho Meatballs

I could not believe how crazy my kids went for this recipe!  My husband liked them (yeah!  He doesn't like cheese so this was a win since I got cheese AND salsa past him!) but the kids LOVED them.  Like couldn't eat them fast enough, loved them.  I am planning on making these again later in the week and will hopefully double the recipe so they can take some leftovers in their lunches as well.  Huge win with this recipe for us!!

1lb. ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 egg
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp salsa
1 Tbsp pickled jalapenos, chopped (I omitted)

For the Topping: (I omitted for my crew and just offered salsa and sour cream to dip in)
1/4 cup prepared salsa (sugar free)
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
16 pickled jalapeno slices 
2 Tbsp sour cream

Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly, Form into 16 meatballs. Saute in a large nonstick pan until golden brown and cooked through - about 3 - 4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.  (I baked mine in a 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes).

To Serve (I skipped this step):

Arrange the meatballs on an ovenproof dish. Top with about 1 tsp salsa, and 1 tsp shredded cheddar each. Place under the broiler for about one minute or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven, top each meatball with a dab of sour cream and a slice of pickled jalapeno.

#1,589: Power Packed Fruit and Veggie Muffin

One of my kids (Allison, age 8) happened to see this recipe printed out before I made it.  She was very hesitant to try these once she read the title of this recipe.  LOL  My other 2 kids however were trying to eat the muffin batter uncooked out of the bowl!  Needless to say, my kids (all 3) loved these.  They were BEGGING for a second one and think I'm an amazing baker.  Seriously, of all the things I've made for them, especially recently, THIS is the recipe they are amazed at?!?!  Whatever, I'll take it.  Next time I'll probably use all whole wheat flour and will probably add another jar of the broccoli/zucchini puree to make them a tad more moist.  These are slightly dense but as long as my kids are eating them, I don't care!!

Oh and in case you can't tell, I made these in my Pampered Chef square brownie/muffin pans....hence the square shape.  I swear I probably won't ever use a regular muffin tin/pan again so expect to see lots of square baked goods!

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour

I also added about 1/8 c of wheat bran
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup broccoli florets, steamed (I was lazy and used 2 jars of organic broccoli and zucchini baby food)
1 medium zucchini (I omitted…see above)
1 1/2 medium carrot
1/2 medium apple (I omitted)
1 medium banana
1/8 cup apple juice (I omitted)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium size bowl, mix together flours, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a mixer or another bowl, mix the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Beat well.

In a food processor or blender, combine steamed broccoli, zucchini, (or in my case the 2 jars of organic baby food) apple, banana, apple juice, and applesauce.  Pulse until thoroughly mixed.

Shred or finely grate the carrots (I threw mine in the food processor!). 

Combine the fruit and veggie puree, carrots (unless you already added them with the puree), and yogurt, into the wet ingredient mixture (sugar/butter/eggs) and beat until mixed.

Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined and wet.

In a muffin tin, place muffin papers or spray with cooking spray.  Scoop the mixture into a prepared muffin pan.  Fill each spot about 3/4 of the way full.

For mini muffins: Bake in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes for mini-muffins.

For regular size muffins: Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.

Bake until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean or they bounce back when you touch them with your finger.

These freeze great! Put them in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.  

#1,587: Veggie Packed Pizza Rolls

I took the 5-Minute No Cook Pizza Sauce recipe that I just posted and used it as the base for this veggie packed pizza sauce recipe.  You can use any pizza sauce (homemade or store bought) that you have on hand and make it healthier by adding more veggies to it.  I whipped this up in about 10 minutes and my husband knows something is up with this recipe but can't figure out what I've done to his beloved pizza!  (If I ask him to try a recipe chances are there is something in it he isn't going to like...and he's right!).

Anyhow, you can totally adapt this recipe to whatever veggies you have on hand.  I used green bell peppers, mushrooms (which my husband thinks he's allergic to...obviously he's not), carrots, zucchini and kale.  Shhh...don't tell my hubby or kids!  I sauteed the veggies in a tiny bit of olive oil to cook/soften them and then added it to my blender.  Once pureed as much as I could get it, I added my homemade pizza sauce and pureed it again.  The kids (and my husband!) loved these.  It was so simple to make and is such a healthier option for them.  

I'll post the original recipe below which actually tells you to make a homemade pizza crust.  I didn't have time for that.  I intended to buy the pizza dough you get in a can and just rolls out (super bad for us I know!) but found mini ones instead.  So I just rolled out the mini crusts (from the pop open can) as much as I could, spread the sauce on it, added some cooked veggie sausage, and mozzarella and then rolled them up. I then put them in my square brownie/muffin pan.  I sprayed the tops with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkled on some Parmesan cheese.  I baked at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes or until the dough was golden brown.  SOOOO simple.  

Original Recipe Instructions: 

1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
2 cups of chopped veggies (spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (can use more if you like it cheesy)

Crust:

2 cups flour (I use whole wheat, but you can do 1/2 wheat and 1/2 all-purpose)
2 1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup very warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the warm water and the oil and add to the dry ingredients. Mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.

Place dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to rest for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free place.  Dough should almost double in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Chop veggies and saute for 3-4 minutes or until slightly tender.  Blend in a high powered blender with marinara sauce.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured work surface.  Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a ½-inch thick rectangle, about 12 by 10 inches. Begin by spreading about 1 cup of sauce over the dough, leaving a ½-inch boarder around the edges.  If it seems like it needs more, then add 1 or 2 Tbsp at a time.   Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Begin rolling the dough until you have one large roll.  Slice into 8-12 slices and place in a greased muffin tin.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown and cooked through the middle.

#1,584: Healthy (and Kid Approved) Breakfast Cookies

My kids went bananas over these healthy breakfast cookies!  They absolutely loved them!  I got about 2 1/2 dozen big cookies from this recipe, so we stuck a whole bunch of these in the freezer so we have them when school starts in a few weeks.  They were really easy to make, but the dough is really sticky.  These don't spread out as they bake and you are suppose to flatten them a bit with the back of a spoon, but it kept sticking to the spoon.  So after every 2 cookies, I sprayed the bottom of a glass with non-stick spray and that really helped to flatten them with minimal sticking. 

I decided to replace the raisins with chocolate chips so my kids would enjoy these more (a little less healthy, but still overall healthy).  I will definitely be making these again!!  I will also be putting these in the kids lunchboxes!  

1 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used 1 cup, but next time will cut down the amount of sugar even more)
2 cups quick oats
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves (I used nutmeg)
1/3 cup ground flax (I used hemp hearts)
1/3 cup ground almonds (I used chia seeds)
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup water
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup golden raisins (I used ½ cup chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl mix together sugar, oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cloves, flax, almonds and wheat germ.

Make a well in the center and add canola oil, applesauce, water, eggs and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Stir in raisins (chocolate chips in my case).

Scoop out golf ball sized cookies onto cookie sheets. Flatten with the back of a spoon. These cookies do not spread when baked.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove to a cooling rack, and let cool completely.  

#1,583: Banana Bread Waffles

One thing everyone in my family enjoys is waffles.  Especially the ones we make in our waffle maker, but we usually use the boxed mix, and just add oil and water.  I wanted to make something a little healthier for them and came across this recipe for banana bread waffles.  This looked SO simple, so I quickly whipped them up for the kids for breakfast this morning.  

This recipe literally took me less than 30 minutes from start to finish and my kids loved these!  I made extra and we are going to add these to our "lunchbox list" (healthier items to add to the kids lunchboxes!  These with fruit, yogurt and turkey sausage...healthy lunchbox idea!).  

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

I also added 1/4 c wheat bran

3/4 cup sugar (I used about 1/3 cup)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

1 cup smashed banana (2 to 3 small bananas)

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Preheat a waffle iron to medium heat. Whisk together the flour, wheat bran, sugar, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

(I put this in a large bowl and used my electric beaters to really incorporate this and mash up those bananas) Whisk together the banana, oil, sour cream, vanilla and eggs in another bowl. Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just combined (it's ok if there are lumps).

Lightly spray the top and bottom of the waffle iron with oil or non-stick spray. Fill each section about three-quarters of the way full (there should still be some waffle iron showing). Close and cook until the waffles are golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. 

Dust with confectioners' sugar if you'd like.

Original Cook's Note: Freeze the waffles in resealable plastic bags for up to 1 month. Reheat in a toaster oven or 300 degree F oven until warmed through and crisp.

#1,582: Pizza-Dilla (Super fast and simple pizza quesadillas)

This is by no means a unique or complicated recipe...and one that I honestly could have come up with myself.  But, it's only fair to give credit, when it is due.  The last 2 years I've let the kids get hot lunch 95% of the time because it's so much easier for me for them to eat hot lunch and not have to deal with making lunches, remembering lunchboxes, or cleaning more containers each day.  BUT in an effort to be healthier, I know that my girls need to be bringing lunches to school instead of eating the highly processed, sugar and sodium laden school lunches.  I feed my students the same lunch that my own children are eating and I know two things: they are not healthy and a lot gets wasted.  So I went in search of healthier options and ideas to make for the girls starting in the next few weeks. 

One thing my kids do like, and is SO simple are quesadillas.  We make them often and in fact, I'm on my second quesadilla maker!  ; )  Last week I met up with my cousin, Alisa and she turned me on to these fresh (only 5 ingredient!) tortillas.  I was so excited to get these for my family and try them out.  I didn't tell them that we were using "new" tortillas and they had no idea these were any different than ones that we traditionally buy.  These are SOOOO good.  I will definitely be buying these again and again.  You have to pre-cook them, but I just pulled out my electric griddle and they were done in no time!  (They literally take 30 seconds per side.  Then I filled them with some pizza sauce and cheese and popped them in my quesadilla maker.  Simple and much healthier than what they would be getting at school.  

Only one of my kids loves pepperoni and none are veggie pizza eaters, but I do think I'm going to get the veggie sausage and add that next time for some added protein.  

The recipe below basically tells you to make a cheese and pepperoni quesadilla and then dip in marinara sauce.  That's fine...but I put pizza sauce and cheese inside the tortillas and they didn't need the dipping sauce then.  

Pizza-Dilla

1 tablespoon canola oil (I omitted)
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas (I used the ones pictured above)
6 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 ounce turkey pepperoni (I omitted this time)
1 cup marinara or pizza sauce

I put this in my quesadilla maker so I did as follows:
Spread pizza sauce on one side of a tortilla.  Sprinkle on cheese and any desired pizza toppings.  Top with another tortilla.  Place in quesadilla maker and bake until browned.  

If following the original directions: 

Preheat oven to 400°.  Brush canola oil over a jelly-roll pan, and top with tortillas. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons cheese over each tortilla, and divide the pepperoni among tortillas. Top each with 3 tablespoons cheese. Bake at 400° for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and carefully fold each tortilla in half. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until browned and crisp, turning after 5 minutes. Serve with marinara.

#1,575: Breakfast Egg and Sausage Cupcakes

I was really unsure about this recipe and my kids immediately told me they didn't like it, even before they tried it.  Then they actually tried it and all 3 LOVED it.  YES!  Plus...I used soy veggie sausage in place of turkey sausage and they had no idea!  My kids are not egg eaters at all so I was thrilled that they not only loved these, they asked me to make them again tomorrow.  The photo above shows 2 of the cups with the tops on, but I pulled the top wonton off the bottom egg cup so you could get a better idea of what it looks like on the inside. 

If you use a traditional muffin tin yours will be circular, but I used my Pampered Chef square brownie pan and they came out in squares.  Such an easy recipe and it was really, really good!!

Update: Okay I went back to the original recipe and I actually made these wrong...I was supposed to put a second layer of egg/sausage but this would have totally overfilled my pan.  Make these however you want...the flavor/taste won't change!  And I've made them both ways and my kids prefer them as a single layer without a top.  I made a batch of these and stuck them in the fridge for the kids to try as something I can put in their lunchbox when school starts and they all enjoyed them cold/cool too.  Yeah, another healthy lunchbox idea!!

Makes 8 egg and sausage cups (either double layer or with one as a top) or 16 single layer cups:

4 Turkey sausage patties (I used soy veggie sausage)
Mild Cheddar cheese, shredded
4 eggs
16 Wonton wrappers

Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly mist the cups in a muffin tin with the cooking spray.

Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the sprayed cups.

Scramble the eggs.  Add the cooked sausage, chopped into little pieces.  Add a couple of spoonfuls of the egg and sausage mixture into each cup.  Add a pinch of the shredded cheese on top of that.

Now press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

#646: Pumpkin Poppers

It doesn't have to be fall for me to use pumpkin in a recipe.  I love pumpkin.  So I figured this would be an excellent recipe to make (and try out on) for the girls for lunches this week. 

First of all, Allison and I enjoyed these still warm right out of the oven.  But I also froze most of them and stuck one (left to thaw) in their lunchbox today and both girls devoured it right away.  These are definitely a keeper in our house and a great way to get them to eat a veggie!

AND I'm more excited that I made these healthier by NOT dipping them in butter and sugar like the recipe calls for.  Saved us a lot of butter fat/calories.  I did put some cinnamon and sugar in a Ziploc bag and put the mini muffins in the sugar mixture when they were still hot.  It soaked up a little bit of the sugar but not nearly as much as if it was soaked in butter first. 

Also, instead of the nutmeg, allspice and ground clove, I used about 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice instead.

Muffin/Popper
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 c pumpkin (pure, not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 c milk

For coating
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2/3 c sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 and spray your muffin pans.  Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. 

In another bowl, mix together the oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined. 
Fill your mini muffin tins until almost full.  Bake 10-12 minutes.

While they are baking, melt butter in a small bowl and combine sugar and cinnamon in a Ziploc bag.  Let the poppers cool for a few minutes before rolling them in the melted butter and them dipping them into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

#645: 5 Ingredient Granola Bars

This recipe came in the mail this week in a flyer for Kroger.  Once I saw the words "5 Ingredients" and the picture of these I was hooked and planned to make these for the girls right away. 

These were super, super easy to make.  You basically just mix everything in a bowl, press into a 9x13 pan and bake.  The girls and I LOVED these.  I froze most of them so I can just pull out one bar at a time for Allison to eat in her lunchbox. 

Next time I'll make these with mini M and M's...I just couldn't find them at the store this week.

2 c quick cooking oats (I used steel cut)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c honey
1/2 c peanut butter or 1 stick butter, softened (I used peanut butter)
3/4 c of any desired add-in (ideas include: MandM's, mini chocolate chips, raisins, Craisins, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  (Line a 9x13 pan with foil so you can easily pull these out of the pan and cut).  Spray with cooking spray.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Press into prepared pan and bad for 18 minutes or until light golden brown. 

Cool 5 minutes, cut into rectangles and then cool completely before serving.  (Or eat warm right out of the pan like I did...still delicious!)  Store in an air tight container.  Makes 18 bars. 

#609: Peanut Butter and Banana Crescents

I made these tonight for the girls to eat for lunch this week.  It was super, super easy to prepare and requires very minimal ingredients.  My kids don't like nuts/seeds, so I omitted the sunflower seeds and egg. 

I tried this right out of the oven, nice and warm with the peanut butter still runny.  That was fantastic.  FANTASTIC.  I loved it.  Then I tried the other half of one after it had been in the fridge for several hours (which is how the girls will eat it for lunch).  That too is yummy...not as good as when it's still warm, but pretty darn close in my opinion!

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 medium banana, sliced (1 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon roasted salted sunflower nuts or sesame seed

Separate or cut dough into 4 long rectangles (if using crescent rolls, press perforations to seal). Cut each rectangle in half; press into 3 1/2-inch squares.

Spoon peanut butter in center of each square; top with 2-3 banana slices. Fold dough over filling; press edges with fork to seal. Brush with egg; sprinkle with sunflower nuts.

Bake at 375°F 12 to 16 minutes.

#607: Nutella Sushi

No this is not actual sushi.  My brother was a little concerned when I told him what my nephew was eating.  :)  The peanut butter and jelly sushi I made for the kids a few weeks ago were such a huge hit, I decided to make it again for them but this time use Nutella instead.  (Who cannot resist chocolate and hazelnut spread!?!?!)  These do not photo well (at least mine didn't) so I use the next best picture...the kids eating them!  (Chloe and my nephew).  I think you can tell by looking at this photo, they enjoyed it.  I think I made 7 sandwiches for the 3 kids. 

Sandwich bread
Nutella
Cut off the crust of the bread.  Use a rolling pin to flatten out the bread.  Spread Nutella all over one side of the bread.  Starting on one end, roll up the bread tightly like you would sushi.  Cut each roll into 4 or 5 pieces. 

#578: Sweet Cinnamon Pizza Rolls

I found this recipe on Weelicious and decided to make them for the girls to eat for lunch (another future lunch box meal hopefully??).  They were really easy to make, except I can NEVER get my pizza dough to roll out as big as a recipe calls for. 

The recipe also says to cut the pizza log into 20 mini bites.  I thought the dough was huge, so I cut it in half and then rolled it up into 2 logs, getting 30 pizza rolls out of it. 

It also says to cook at 450 degrees.  My first batch were pretty much burnt on the bottom and still raw on the top at that temperature!  I turned the oven down to 395 degrees and baked the rest of the time.  These are good served warm.  If you let them sit on the counter or in the fridge they get super chewy.  The girls only liked them right after they came out of the oven. 

16 Oz Pizza Dough
3/4 Cup Whipped Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp Honey
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 ½ Cups Chopped Dried Fruit (I used raisins and Craisins)

Preheat oven to 450° F.  Roll out pizza dough into a 10 x 20-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.
In a bowl mix the cream cheese, honey and cinnamon.  Spread cream cheese mixture in an even layer across surface of dough.  Sprinkle with dried fruit (and nuts, if desired).

Beginning at the 20-inch side roll up into a cylinder and then cut into 2-inch thick discs (rolls).  Place rolls in greased muffins cups or on a greased baking sheet and pat down slightly.  Bake for 20 minutes, allow to cool slightly and serve.

#575: Strawberry and Cream Cheese Sandwiches

Oh this is yummy.  This is a nice change of pace from a typical lunch sandwich.  These will be great in Allison's lunch box in the fall.  These are nice and sweet.  I loved it...and so did the girls!

I actually served this to them as a closed sandwich, but for photo purposes, I took the top off.

The recipe below serves 1.

1 tablespoon whipped cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon honey

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest (I omitted because I forgot to get the oranges)

2 slices very thin whole-wheat sandwich bread (I used wheat sandwich thins)

2 medium strawberries, sliced thin

Combine cream cheese, honey and orange zest in a bowl. Spread bread with the cheese mixture. Place sliced strawberries on 1 piece of bread, top with the other.