A Fall Apple treat & Thanks

Today I am Thankful for...

.Bright Red, Crisp Apples.
.I do love a good apple.

.For little hands which are eager to help.

.For bright smiles.

.For joyful hearts.
.For the awe of trying something new.

.For yummy fall snacks.

.For children who giggle with delight.

.I am thankful I am a mom.

What are you Thankful for today?

white chocolate party mix

Ingredients

1. 1 - 14 oz box corn chex
2. 1 - 14 oz box rice chex
3. 1 - 16 oz bag pretzels
   
4. 2 1/2 pounds white chocolate or white almond bark, white chocolate is so much better, but a bit pricey!
   

Mix dry ingredients in a very large bowl.

Melt chocolate and pour over dry ingredients. Stir or mix with your hands until all of the dry ingredients are covered.
Spread out to dry.
Store in an air tight container or zip lock bag.
We normally freeze ours until we are ready to eat it.

Sprout Bean Dip

My husband loves this dip.It was a strange concept to me when we first go married. Sprouts on top of chip dip?
Plain weird!
I have converted though, this is the only way I'll make it now.

Layer in the bottom of a lg pie dish or 8x11 pan
You want a thin layer of each ingredient so every scoop has a taste of it all.

• 1/2 - 3/4 can of refried beans mixed with a few dashes of hot sauce
• 2 - 3 ripe avocado's mashed until smooth, add a little lime juice to prevent browning. One of these works fabulous for this.
  
• approximately 1 cup of sour-cream mixed with 1/2 bag of taco seasoning
• shredded cheese
• diced: onions, chives, tomatoes, olives, & jalapenos
• top with a container of sprouts, chopped with a scissors first to make the dip easier to eat

Chill the dip for at least 12 hours, 24 is better.
Serve with tortilla or corn chips.

Fall Food

I love the smell of pumpkin meshed with cinnamon oozing from my oven. It reminds me of when I was a child. My sister and I were experts at sneaking food from the pan and rearranging the bars, frosting or topping to appear like we didn't. I am sure my mom knew, because I can know tell when my children do the same thing, but she rarely said anything. I hate to admit it, buuuuuut.......
I've done it as an adult too, with my sister as an accomplice.
I guess somethings we never out grow :)

If you are having company and want to make your house smell delicious, try these easy pumpkin bars. I pared them with dense granola bars.

Pumpkin bars

1. Beat:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
  

2: Mix in:

• 15 oz pumpkin
• 2 tsp cinnamon
  

3. Add:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
  

4. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350* for 20 - 25 minutes.

5. Frost with a cream cheese icing*. I drizzled colored icing** over the bars to dress them up.
*Icing: Cream 4 oz cream cheese, 4 oz softened butter, vanilla, 2 - 4 T milk, and enough powdered sugar to make a thick icing. **Warm icing slightly to thin, color then drizzle.

Granola Bars

1. Mix together in a large bowl:

1 cup blended graham crackers
4-5 cups oatmeal (more oatmeal will be drier bars, less oatmeal, sticker bars)
4 1/2 cups rice crispies

2. Set aside above mixture.

3. In a large sauce pan, melt together:

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey

4. Add:

24 oz mini marshmallows

5. Stir, on low heat, until marshmallows melt.

6. Pour liquid mixture over dry mixture and stir well.

7. Mix in:

2 cups raisins or diced dried fruit

1 cup chopped peanuts, optional
1 cup chocolate chips*, optional

8. Press in to a greased jelly roll pan.
* if you mix in the chocolate chips before the mixture cools your chips will melt. I sprinkle them on top and then press the chocolate chips down in so they stick.

On the Go Food Idea's

Need on the go food ideas for your busy back to school schedule?

Try some of these...

Pita's filled with tuna, veggies, eggs, diced chicken, cheese. I have a great whole wheat pita recipe I will share soon.

Wraps filled with nitrate free lunch meat, veggies, cheese, mashed banana and PB,

Banana and PB Bread Wraps flatten a slice of bread with a rolling pin. Spread with banana and PB. Roll up, slice into pinwheels or leave in a log.

Hot Ham and Cheese baked in tinfoil. Stick in a cooler (without other cold items) to keep warm.

Calzones Make ahead, freeze, warm and wrap in foil to keep warm, stick in cooler to keep warm for a longer period of time.

Homemade Lunchables Dice lunch meal, cheese and crackers. Add a treat. Package.
Nuts A mixture is good to add various nutrients to your diet. You can also roast them in your oven with a little olive oil and seasoning of your choice (salt, garlic, pepper, lime, chili powder, cumin...) My boys love Pistachios in the shell, shell spitting contests are fun :)

Red Hot Popcorn

Pop popcorn on the stove top or in a stir crazy popper with red hots and oil. The red hots will melt and coat the kernels when they pop.

Coconut Oil Popcorn Pop popcorn in coconut oil instead of oil or butter. Lightly salt. Yum!

Ranch Pretzels

Ranch is a staple at our house. Ranch Dressing, Ranch Dip & Ranch Powder. My husband and children like Ranch with salad, veggies, pizza, casserole, chicken, chips and salsa, really anything! I have tried and tried to create our own ranch mix, but really, nothing compares to Hidden Valley.
Please, pass on a recipe if you have one!

Ranch is a fun way to jazz up your pretzels.
But beware, they are messy to eat!

Ranch Pretzels
Ingredients:
*Pretzels
I like one bag of regular sticks and one bag of butter flavor sticks
*approx 4T Powder Ranch Mix
*3/4 cup oil
*1/2 tsp salt
*1 tsp garlic powder
*1 - 2 tsp dill weed

Mix pretzels. Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.

Pour oil mixture over pretzels. Stir to coat.

Bake at 250* for 30 - 45 minutes or until they look dry.
Stir every 10 - 15 minutes.

Breakfast

Yip, I am one of those mothers who thinks breakfast is a VERY important meal :) My children must eat it everyday! And at our house donuts and pop tarts don't count, even if they are made from organic sugar, eggs and lard. Do we ever have donuts? Yes, but they are a special treat. I will admit, I do make them drink a Probug or a yogurt before we go to the bakery. I want their 'guts' to be full of good bacteria to fight all that sugar!

So, what do we eat for breakfast? My oldest loves smoothies, my middle child loves oatmeal and my baby loves yogurt, avocados (a great brain food for babies) and bananas. We also have Eggs in a Whole and Whole Wheat Pancakes. I keep a homemade Pancake mix in the freezer so they are a snap to make. So here we go, the 'dump' recipes... and a more exact pancake mix recipe:)

Fruit Smoothie ~ 1 big kid serving
1/2 - 1 cup kefir or 1 Probug
1 raw egg for protein
1 banana, for sweetness and a creamy smoothy
1/2-1 cup frozen blueberries/mixed berries, for anti oxidants
1 T ground flax seed for Omega 3's
Blend away ~ and drink

Oatmeal ~ 1 serving
1/2 cup steel cut or old fashioned oats
1 T ground flax seed
mik to cover
*let soak 2-3 hours or overnight in refrigerator
Mircowave 1 - 1 1/2 minutes or cook on stove top until tender. Add more milk, a little Agave Nectar and cinnamon.

Eggs in a Whole
Tear whole in center of bread. Butter both sides. Put in frying pan, break egg into whole. Cook on med/low. Flip when whites are cooked. Watch carefully if you like runny yellows.

Pancake Mix
7 1/2 Cups Fresh Ground White Whole Wheat
6 T Rumford Baking Powder
6 T Sugar
3 tsp sea salt
2 cups powdered milk
*Mix and store in Freezer
To make pancakes mix:
1 1/4 cup mix
3/4 - 1 1/4 cup water or milk *use more liquid for pancakes, less for waffles
2 T oil or melted butter
1 beaten egg
Optional: cinnamon, blueberries, apple chunks, dried fruit or raisins
*Cook on hot griddle of waffle iron. We use Agave Nectar for syrup.

Our Favorite Granola Bar Recipe

*1/4 - 1/3 cup brown sugar
*2/3 cup natural peanut butter
*2/3 cup agave nectar
*2 T water
*2 tsp vanilla
*2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
*3/4 cup oat flour
*1/4 cup ground flax
*1/4 cup wheat germ
*1/2 cup sunflower seeds, we like honey roasted
*1 - 1 1/2 cups raisins

** Mix brown sugar, agave, peanut butter, water and vanilla until well mixed. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Press into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350* for 15 - 20 minutes. Cool before removing.