Heath Blonde Brownies

I LOVE these bars.  Yum!

1 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c butter (softened)
1 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag chopped Heath

Cream butter with sugars.  Add vanilla & eggs.  Beat until fluffy.  Add flour, baking powder & salt.  Stir in Heath.  Spread over well greased 9 X 13 baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  When cool, cut into bars.

Strawberry Banana Fruit Salad

I LOVE this fruit salad.

small instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
1 large can of fruit cocktail, drained
1 pint sliced strawberries
8 oz thawed cool whip
1 c mini marshmallows
2 bananas, sliced

mix together pudding and milk
add fruit cocktail & strawberries
fold in cool whip and marshmallows
add bananas just before serving

Italian Kabobs

We do different variations of this.  My girls like it in there lunch as a sandwich alternative.  Pictured here is fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, pepperoni & basil.  It is drizzled with a Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Other variations include cubes of Italian bread, black olives, sausage, peppers.

Minion Lunch

This is not a recipe, but it is a fun lunch for your kiddos.  Pinterest helped me with the banana & Twinkie.  I added a sandwich, minion yogurt, minion cheese crackers & minion graham crackers.  For the sandwich and Twinkie, I put them in bags and drew on the baggie.

Fresh Summer Salad

This is a FAVORITE of my extended family.  I had it at a friend's graduation party & loved it!  I couldn't wait to make it for the next family gathering.  My family was skeptical and thought the combinations sounded weird.  Now it is a frequent request & everyone has a copy of the recipe.  I know there are a lot of versions of this out there, but this is the one that I use.

2 pkg chicken flavored Ramen noodles
1/4 c green onion
4 c shredded cabbage
2 T sesame seeds
1/2 c sunflower seeds
6 T vinegar
2 T sugar
4 T oil

Soak noodles in hot water to soften.  Drain well.

Combine noodles with cabbage, onion, & seeds.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the two seasoning packets, vinegar, sugar, & oil to make a dressing.

Drizzle dressing over noodle mixture & mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Five Cup Salad

I'm back!  Between not having a computer for months, getting our house ready to be put on the market, selling our house, packing the old house, moving, unpacking the new house...I've been busy!  But I am so glad to be back.  AND we still have a little bit of summer left that I can experiment on my family.  Today I had company for lunch and served my PF Chang Lettuce wraps, Five Cup Salad (this post) & Fresh Summer Salad (next post).  I found this on KRAFT's website.

1 c mini marshmallows
1 c shredded coconut (although this was a bit too much coconut...next time I will to 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
1 c sour cream (I used "light")
mandarin oranges (11 oz), drained
pineapple chunks (8.25 oz), undrained (reserving 1 tbls juice)

Whisk together sour cream & reserved pineapple juice.  Gently add coconut, pineapple, & oranges.  Fold in marshmallows.

Cherry Pie Sugar Cookie Bars

This recipe is super simple.  I pinned it quite some time ago knowing that my husband would likely love these.  He did.  Ate an entire row so far, and he's only been home an hour.  They are delicious just the way they are, but I bet warm with some vanilla ice cream would be great too.  The almond extra is what puts them over the edge!  Thank you "Mostly Homemade Mom" for the great recipe.

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
1/2 c butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 tsp almond extract
21 oz can cherry pie filling

Mix egg, butter & sugar cookie mix into thick dough.  Reserve 3/4 c and set aside.  Press remaining dough in greased 9 X 9 pan.  In separate bowl, mix almond extract & pie filling.  Spread over cookie dough.  Crumble remaining dough on top on pie filling.  Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Homemade Dog Treats: Peanut Butter & Bacon

We've been stuck inside for the last few days because of the frigid temps.  What do you do when you are stuck inside for days with the kids AND it happens to be your dogs 7th birthday?  You surf pinterest for homemade dog treat recipes, hoping you have all of the ingredients!

Here is the recipe!  They were easy, with few ingredients.


It made quite a few, so we will either have to freeze some or share with our fellow dog parents.  Now what to do with the rest of our day?  I am going Stir Crazy!

Mary Hafford Sugar Cookies

Mary Hafford was an immigrant from Ireland that settled in Wisconsin in the 1800s.  This is her sugar cookie recipe.  It was so much fun to make these with my inquisitive 7 year old.  We talked about how making these cookies would have been different in the 1800s vs. today.  I found pictures of her house online and shared them with her.  One picture was of the wood burning stove which also sparked some good questions.  Few ingredients, simple & tasty!

(This is half the original amount and still made plenty)
1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter & sugar together.  Add the egg and vanilla.  Gradually add flour and finally baking soda.  Roll into balls, the size of walnuts.  Roll balls into sugar (we used colored).  Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.

Crockpot Tomato Basil Soup

I picked up more hours this fall which means I am not home until at least 3:30pm most days.  With dinner between 5 & 5:30pm, I really need to "keep it simple" this year.  Because of my limited prep time, my crockpot is getting a workout this year!  A coworker pinned this recipe and brought in her leftovers for lunch.  She let me snitch a spoonful.  It was delicious, so I made it later that week.  Although my kids didn't really like it, my husband & I did.

NOTE: This recipe has about 45 minutes of work at the end to finish it, so prepare accordingly.

• 2 (14-ounce each) cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained (I used the garlic & olive oil variety)
• 1 cup finely diced celery (I omitted this)
• 1 cup finely diced carrots (I used matchstick carrots)
• 1 cup finely diced onions
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 (4 tablespoons) butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 

• In crockpot, combine the tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, oregano, basil, broth, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours until the vegetables are tender.
• About 45 minutes before serving, melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is golden, about 3 minutes. 
• Whisking constantly, slowly ladle in 1 cup of the hot soup from the slow cooker. Whisk until smooth and bubbly. Add another cup and stir again until smooth. Add another cup or two and stir until smooth.
• Stir the creamy, hot mixture back into the slow cooker. Add the Parmesan cheese, half-and-half, salt and pepper, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
• Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes until ready to serve. Top with croutons.

Peanut Butter Cup Bars (no baking required!)

So, my husband was leaving at 2pm.  At 10am, he informed me that he needed "a dish to pass".  We didn't have chips & salsa.  I was all out of brownie mix.  I didn't have oatmeal, sweetened condensed milk or caramels, so my go to bar recipes were falling by the wayside.  I offered grapes, but he seemed disappointed in that possibility.  So, I remembered hearing about no bake peanut butter cup bars so decided to "google" it.  I got lucky on the first recipe I tried.  Thank you "Brown Eyed Baker".  And I had all the ingredients on hand!

Here's what you need:

For the peanut butter layer
½ cup unsalted butter
1¾ cups powdered sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
¾ cup graham cracker crumbs

For the chocolate layer
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup milk chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

Line an 8 X 8 with aluminum foil and grease.  (Be sure to leave some foil hanging over the edge for easy removal of the bars later)

For peanut butter layer, melt butter in saucepan or microwave.  (I melted in the microwave in my Pampered Chef Batter Bowl).  When butter is melted, remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar until smooth.  Stir in peanut butter.  Stir in graham crackers.  Spread into pan and smooth out.

Next, for chocolate layer, melt butter in saucepan.  Add chocolate and stir until melted.  I suggest a low heat since chocolate & butter seem to burn easily.

Pour chocolate over peanut butter layer and smooth evenly.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until set.  Remove foil from pan and cut using a pizza cutter (super easy way to cut!).  16 small squares is good since they are pretty rich.  Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Next time, I may try to make individuals in mini muffin tins with mini muffin liners to resemble Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. 

Banana Ice Cream (One Ingredient)

I saw this posted by multiple people on Pinterest.  I tried it out and was amazed that it actually worked!  Here is the site I referenced. 

Bananas, extra ripe (We used 4)

Peel the bananas and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Lay on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.  Freeze for a few hours.

Pop them into a food processor or blender.  (We used a food processor.)  Keep pushing the bananas down with a spatula.  At first, the bananas will just look liked chopped bananas and you will doubt that this will really work.  Just keep scraping down the sides and as you continue, it will get more and more like ice cream.  If you eat it immediately, it will be more like "soft serve"...which is the perfect opportunity to add some mix-ins like chocolate chips or peanut butter (or both).  Pop it in the freezer to eat later and it will be a more traditional, harder ice cream.

Our girls enjoyed it topped with Magic Shell...(tasted like a chocolate covered banana).  YUM!  Such a fun & healthy treat.

Grape Salad

For the 4th of July, we all offered to bring something.  I had a craving for grape salad.  It makes so much that a family gathering was the perfect opportunity to make it.

2 pounds green grapes
2 pounds red grapes
8 ounces cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
8 ounces sour cream (I used light)
1/2 c white sugar
1 tsp vanilla

TOPPING
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c pecan pieces

wash and dry grapes
beat cream cheese, sour cream, white sugar & vanilla with electric mixer
coat grapes with cream cheese mixture and spread in 9 X 13 pan
refridgerate
just before serving, toss brown sugar & pecans and sprinkle over the top of grapes (I don't recommend adding nuts/brown sugar ahead of time...the nuts loose their crunch and the brown sugar dissolves into the cream cheese mixture)

Also, I only added nuts to half because I didn't know if everyone liked nuts.

Guest Post: Keeping It Simple's Kiddos-Elise's Creation

Because Big Sister was having fun in the kitchen creating masterpieces, Little Sister wanted to follow suit.  Apparently Graham Crackers area staple in their recipes...

Graham Crackers (broke into rectangles)
Cool Whip Vanilla Frosting
Aerosol Whip Cream
Cherry Pie Filling
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

First she laid out the graham crackers on a fancy serving platter.
Next, she spread the cool whip vanilla frosting on each graham cracker.
Then she sprayed a dollop of spray whip on each.
She then topped each dollop with a cherry.
Lastly, she drizzled Hershey's Chocolate Syrup on each.

They were actually pretty tasty.  Who doesn't love chocolate with cherries?  They did get pretty soggy pretty quickly, so make right before serving and only make as many as you will eat.

Guest Post: Keeping it Simple's Kiddos-Peyton's Creation

Summer Vacation is here!  My kiddos are both experimenting in the kitchen these days.  My oldest asked if I could feature her on "Keeping It Simple" if it turned out.  She put a lot of thought and research into creating a "s'more bar" that she could do all by herself without following a recipe.  Here is what she came up with.

Graham Crackers (broken into squares)
Jumbo Marshmallows
Chocolate Chips
Milk
Graham Cracker Crumbs

She placed the graham cracker squares in a baking pan.
Then she added a marshmallow to the top of each square.
Put in a 350 degree oven until marshmallows were soft enough to push down (5 to 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, she melted chocolate chips on the stove top with a little bit of milk.
She added the melted chocolate to a baggie and snipped the end off, then piped it onto the crackers.
Lastly, she sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs.

I am not a big s'more fan, but these were definitely edible.  She was so proud of her creation and that it turned out.  An easy snack that you can make with your kiddos...wouldn't these be perfect on a rainy day with blanket tents "camping indoors"?  Or if a backyard campout gets rained out/kids chicken out?

Mini Quiche

I had some leftover pie crust to use up from a cobbler that I made and decided to try mini quiches.  I will definitely be making these again.  This is my go to pie crust.  It is so flaky and easy.

CRUST:

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup warm water

•  EGG MIXTURE:
•  6 eggs
•  1.5 cups milk
• salt and pepper

• FILLING:
• cheese
• mushrooms
• ham
• bacon
• sausage
• etc 

For the crust, mix all ingredients with a fork.  To roll, lay out a piece of wax paper.  Put dough on wax paper.  Cover with second piece of wax paper.  Roll crust between two pieces of paper.  Cut with a glass.  (Should be able to get 12 with a few dough scraps leftover)  Place one pie circle in each of 12 muffin tins sprayed with cooking spray.  (If you want to make it even simpler, you could use store bought crust...but I like this recipe much better than store bought).


Sprinkle crust with cheese of choice, if desired.

Beat eggs with milk, salt, & pepper.  Add fillings to egg mixture if you are making them all the same.  Otherwise, add egg to each muffin tin and top with filling of choice.  (Customized for each family member's liking...or if making for a brunch, provide a variety...lots of possibilities).  I had some egg mixture leftover.  4 eggs & 1 cup of milk may be enough.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until egg is set.

Cherry Crisp (5 ingredients)

My husband sent me a recipe on FB that someone else had posted.  If you know my husband, that is somewhat comical.  So, with his request, I made it...TWICE this week.  So simple, so yummy.

1/2 c butter (I used cold, cut into small pieces)
1 c brown sugar
1 c flour
1 c oatmeal (I used old fashioned once, and quick cook once...I preferred the old fashioned)
1 can cherry pie filling
(vanilla ice cream)

Mix the first four ingredients together, until crumbly.  Press half of the mixture into a pie plate.  Add can of cherry pie filling on top of that.  Crumble remaining mix over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Spoon into bowls while still warm and top with vanilla ice cream. 

Crockpot Pork Tenderloin (only 4 ingredients!)

This pork tenderloin was so easy and so yummy.  My 6 year old, who isn't a big meat fan, had seconds and thirds.

2 pounds of whole pork tenderloin
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of golden mushroom soup
1 can of french onion soup

Place tenderloins in crockpot.  In bowl, whisk together the 3 soups.  Pour over tenderloins.  (DO not add water)

Cook, on low, for 4 to 5 hours.  Remove & slice.  The soups make a delicious gravy over mashed potatoes or buttered noodles.

Andes Brownies

I made these on St. Patrick's Day when we had dinner at our friends' house (the highlighted post is from her & her sister in law's blog, Scrappy Love...check it out!)  I used the Andes Baking Chips as garnish on my "Shamrock Shakes", but because it was only used as garnish, I had about a half bag left over.  So, today, Ellie & I made some delicious brownies!

box mix brownies for 9 X 13 pan (or homemade...but you know me, I "keep it simple")
1/2 tsp mint extract
leftover Andes Baking Chips

Prepare box mix according to directions (adding eggs, oil, water accordingly) and also stir in the mint extract

Bake according to directions

Immediately after the brownies are out of the oven, sprinkle Andes Baking Chips over the top.  Let cool completely so that Baking Chips harden.  Enjoy!

White Pizza Dip

My sister made this last month for a family get together.  It was SOOOOO yummy.  Yesterday I had my "Biggest Loser" results party/potluck, so I made this into a healthy recipe, using whole wheat french bread and fat free cheeses/sour cream.  Those that ate it seemed to enjoy it.  Today, I brought the leftovers to work, and everyone loved it.  Definitely a "make again" recipe.  (I forgot to take a picture, so if you want to know what it looks like, take a peek here.) 


1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream (I used fat free)
1 cup (8 oz.) ricotta cheese (I used fat free)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used fat free)
1/4 cup (1 oz.) chopped pepperoni (I used the mini ones and left them whole)
1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced (I used whole wheat)

Preheat oven to 350°. In shallow 1-quart casserole, combine Lipton Recipe Secrets Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix, sour cream, ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with bread.  (I actually made mine in a mini crockpot instead)