We're Parents

Pina Colada Smoothie

by 1 Comment

pina colada smoothie recipe

Summer time, for me, has always meant that I can run on less and less food. It’s just too hot or I’m too occupied to eat. I’ve found that is similarly true for my toddler (the baby is just a constant garbage disposal always). However, she’s a growing toddler, and I know the importance of making sure that she’s getting the proper nutrition to support her growing body. I have found that I am able to put almost anything in a smoothie for her and she will drink it up, no matter the time of day, what we are doing, or how hot it is outside.  Put extra ice in it and she thinks it’s ice cream. And I don’t even feel bad for letting her think that. We also loves putting them into ice pops molds and making deliciously healthy ice pops too.

pina colada smoothie mini chef mondays

This pina colada smoothie recipe is actually Andrew’s recipe that he came up with on the fly and it was so good that we all gobbled it up and he had to make another one.  This time, we let our mini chef help make it and decided that we must share it with all of you ASAP. We actually rearranged our recipe schedule just so we could share this with you guys today.  We hope you enjoy!

0 from 0 votes
Print
Pina Colada Smoothie
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple
  • 1 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut flakes
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp honey
Instructions
  1. Throw all ingredients into your blender and blend until smoothie.
  2. Add desired amount of ice if needed and blend again.
  3. Serve!

pina colada smoothie

Mini Chef Mondays Team

I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays along with 8 fabulous bloggers! Read how Mini Chef Mondays started, plus how to link up!
Join our facebook group to find even more recipes and share recipes too!

Join the Mini Chef Mondays newsletter to get the latest recipes delivered to your email each week! Don’t worry, we will only use your email for Mini Chef Mondays recipes, pinky promise!

Get featured and follow us too!
  • Pinterest: Each post/recipe linked up will be added to our Mini Chef Mondays board
  • Instagram: Use our hashtag #MiniChefMondays so we can repost your mini chef
  • Twitter: We retweet every post with #MiniChefMondays

Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts as well!

  1. The Best Ice Cream Sundae // Courtney’s Sweets
  2. Finding Dory Inspired Food Art // Momma Lew
  3. Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade // Finding Zest
  4. Pina Colada Smoothie // We’re Parents
  5. 15 Edible Father’s Day Gifts the Dad Will Love // Eating Richly Even When You’re Broke
  6. Chocolate Brownie Peanut Butter Parfait // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
  7. Simple Carrot Cherry Salad // Vegging at the Shore
  8. Easy and Healthy Homemade Jello // O’Boy! Organic
  9. Homemade Ravioli // My Mini Adventurer


Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie Bowl

by Leave a Comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MySmoothie #CollectiveBias

Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jelly Smoothie Bowl

When smoothie bowls became all the rage, I’ll admit, I didn’t get it. Who wanted to add another step when you can just stick the straw in the cup and start drinking.  But I took one for the team and tried it out anyway.  What I found is that it made not only a delicious breakfast option, but it also make for a sweet late night treat that you could feel great about. Most importantly though, my toddler, Skibbles, thought these things were amazing and I found a way to get more fruits and veggies into her.  Even the baby loves these. I like to imagine them as being ice cream since they are thicker than a smoothie, and then what I add on top is essentially my ice cream toppings, so the possibilities are endless.

We’re sharing today our girls’ favorite smoothie bowl – a Peanut Butter and Jelly smoothie bowl.  I feel like PB&J is the epitome of childhood. I know that Andrew and I both enjoy eating sandwiches still, but we both feel better about the ingredients when making a healthy smoothie bowl instead of the bread and sugary jelly.  What’s great about this is that we use strawberries for the “jelly” aspect which makes it pink and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from having a toddler is that she will eat anything pink.

how to make peanut butter and jelly smoothie bowl

I was excited to try out JIF’s new Peanut Powder and Dannon’s new Oikos Triple Zero Vanilla Greek Yogurt for this recipe as well. The JIF Peanut Powder is literally just peanuts, nothing else added, which, as a mom, I was insanely excited about. It also has 85% less fat than traditional store bought peanut butters, making this even better for you. The Dannon Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt has 0 fat, 0 added sugar and 0 artificial sweeteners, plus 15g of protein for every 5.3oz. While is does not mean it’s a low calorie food, it is quite possibly the perfect protein snack™!

JIF PB Powder smoothie Bowl

We started by chopping up our peanuts and thinly slicing our strawberries to go on top of the smoothie bowl.

jif pb powder smoothie recipe

Next, we blended all our ingredients into our blender. If you are looking for a new blender, check out this Oster® Blend-N-Go® MyBlend®! Just Fill, Blend & GO!

BLSTPB-GWH My Blend Grey

Once blended, we poured that into our bowl.

how to make a smoothie bowl

The thick and delicious blended smoothie is the base for your smoothie bowl.

how to make pbj smoothie bowl recipe

Then it’s time to add your toppings.  When making smoothie bowls, the toppings possibilities are endless, but I really love trying to enhance our protein components going into here.

pbj smoothie bowl

So we used the chopped peanuts, chia seeds, and then the sliced fresh strawberries.

pbj smoothie bowl recipe

We topped it with more peanut butter powder to make that flavor really shine through.

peanut butter bowl recipe

The end result is simply to die for.  Anytime we make this one, Skibbles wakes up the next day and asks for it again.  Of course, we keep making it because why wouldn’t I want her to have all this healthy and deliciousness going into her growing body!  Yum!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie Bowl

5 from 1 vote
Print
Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie Bowl
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
Smoothie Bowl Base
  • 2 Frozen Bananas
  • 12 frozen strawberries
  • 3 tbsp JIF Peanut Butter powder
  • 1 cup Dannon Oikos Triple Zero Vanilla Greek Yogurt
Toppings for Smoothie Bowl
  • 2 fresh strawberries thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup peanuts roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tsp JIF Peanut Butter Powder
Instructions
  1. In a blender, combine the 4 base ingredients very well.
  2. Pour that into a bowl.
  3. On the top sprinkle the chopped peanuts and chia seeds.
  4. Add the fresh, sliced strawberries
  5. Using a small mesh sieve, sprinkle the JIF Peanut Butter Powder.
  6. Enjoy!

Right now you can get $1.50 cash back on the combination of Jif Peanut Powder and Oikos (Vanilla) Triple Zero Greek Yogurt OR$1.50 cash back on the combination of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter and Dannon Vanilla Yogurt when using this Ibotta Offer when you shop at Wal-mart.

jif peanut butter powder

Bacon Egg and Cheese Pretzel Bites

by 7 Comments

bacon egg and cheese pretzel bites

Growing up, the only thing I really knew about the Amish was that they had long beards, wore funny hats, and drove around in a horse and buggy. When we moved to New Jersey, I learned that we only lived less than 2 hours from Lancaster, PA. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown fond of the Amish culture and goods they produce. Amazing quality pretty much sums up everything.

I learned shortly after moving to New Jersey that there was an Amish farmers market 15 minutes away. The first time walking in was quite overwhelming. There were so many amazing things to see.  I continue to frequent there often – quite honestly for the doughnuts. Ohhhh the doughnuts.

But for Skibbles, our toddler, it’s for the pretzels. As soon as we pull into the parking lot she screams “we at the pretzel place”. I always save getting the pretzel to the end so she has something to look forward too. And being quite honest, you can’t blame the girl. They are better than any other pretzel ever.  Soft and chewy, perfect amount of salt and butter, and some are even stuffed. Say What!?

mini chef mondays soft pretzel recipe

The first time I realized they had stuffed pretzels, I had to try one. There’s pepperoni and cheese, ham, egg, and cheese, and bacon, egg, and cheese.  OMGGGGG.  They are amazing. But they are also $3 per pretzel log. With us now on a pretty strict budget, it’s not something we can do often. So I decided we needed to make them ourselves. I told Skibbles that we were going to make them and she was so excited. We went with mini pretzel bites instead of a big log so they were easier for her little hands and more probably so I didn’t feel bad for eating 12 pretzel bites! HA!

MMMMM. Heaven. Bacon egg and cheese pretzel. #amishA photo posted by Larisha (@wereparents) on

I’ll admit that this is one of the more difficult recipes we’ve done for Mini Chef Mondays, however if you have an older child, it wouldn’t be. There’s still a ton of stuff that Skibbles was able to do herself. Mixing the dough together, separating the pieces out, sprinkling salt, and brushing on the butter were all super easy for her to do.  Stuffing them was more difficult, but we made it work! The part she loved the most was eating them though and who can blame her. bacon egg and cheese pretzel bites mini chef mondays

The end result was phenomenal.  So close to the original.

making pretzel bites mini chef mondays finished bacon egg and cheese pretzel recipe

0 from 0 votes
Print
Bacon Egg and Cheese Pretzel Bites

These Bacon Egg & Cheese Soft Pretzel Bites are stuffed to perfection!  They are a great recipe to get kids in the kitchen to help with! Great after school snack idea or breakfast on the go! 

Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cup warm water + 1 tsp divided
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 1/4 tsp yeast
  • 4 1/2 cups flour divided
  • 6 tbsp melted butter divided
  • 1 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
  • 7 large eggs scrambled
  • 2 cups cheese we used 1/2 mozzarella and 1/2 cheddar
  • 10 cups water
  • 1/2 cup baking soda
  • 1 egg yolk beaten
  • pretzel salt or coarse salt
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, add warm water, brown sugar, and salt. Stir to combine.
  2. Sprinkle yeast over top of water mixture and let sit for 5 minutes.
  3. In another large bowl, add 4 cups flour, 3 tbsp melted butter, and yeast mixture.
  4. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine.
  5. Using the remaining 1/2 cup flour, lightly flour a workspace, roll out dough and knead in remaining flour.
  6. Knead for 5 minutes.
  7. *Note: If using a stand mixer, add all the flour together at once and knead in mixer for 5 minutes.
  8. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and tightly cover with plastic wrap.
  9. Refrigerate overnight (minimum of 8 hours).
  10. Remove from fridge and place chilled dough on a lightly oiled surface.
  11. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces.
  12. Take one piece and roll out into a 6 inch log.
  13. Cut log into 6 even pieces.
  14. Repeat with remaining 7 pieces to end with a total of 48 small pieces.
  15. Roll out a piece into a circle about 4 inches wide and layer with egg, bacon, and cheese (about 1 tsp of each).
  16. Seal the edges of each well.
  17. Repeat with remaining 47 pieces.
  18. In a large pot, boil 10 cups of water.
  19. Once boiling, add baking soda.
  20. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  21. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  22. Gently add bites to boiling water, careful not to overcrowd.
  23. Let boil for 30 seconds and carefully remove to parchment lined baking sheet.
  24. Mix egg yolk with 1 tsp water.
  25. Brush yolk mixture on top of pretzels.
  26. Sprinkle with coarse salt (lightly as the bacon will add a layer of salt).
  27. Bake for 10-12 minutes until a deep golden brown color.
  28. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.
  29. Wait until cooled to eat.
  30. If any remain (unlikely), you can keep in fridge for 3 days or freeze and thaw as needed.

Products to make this recipe easier to make:

mini chef monday bloggers

I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays along with 10 fabulous bloggers! Read how Mini Chef Mondays started, plus how to link up!
Join our facebook group to find even more recipes and share recipes too!

Get featured and follow us too!
  • Pinterest: Each post/recipe linked up will be added to our Mini Chef Mondays board
  • Instagram: Use our hashtag #MiniChefMondays so we can repost your mini chef
  • Twitter: We retweet every post with #MiniChefMondays

Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts as well!

  1. Frozen Yogurt Fruit Bark Recipe // Courtney’s Sweets
  2. Ham & Egg Cups // Momma Lew
  3. Yogurt Dipped Frozen Banana on a Stick // Baby Loving Mama
  4. Bacon Egg and Cheese Pretzel Bites // We’re Parents
  5. Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Covered Pretzels // Frugal Novice
  6. Tips for Planting a Kids Vegetable Garden // Eating Richly Even When You’re Broke
  7. Pastelillos de Carne (Puerto Rican Meat Turnovers) // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
  8. 18 Mother-Child Bonding Activities // Step Stool Chef
  9. Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bites // Vegging at the Shore
  10. Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteaks // O’Boy! Organic
  11. Chocolate Milk Mini Fudge Pops // Can’t Google Everything


Raspberry Sticky Buns Recipe

by 7 Comments

raspberry sticky buns

I can’t really tell you much of what I learned about kitchen basics growing up besides baking Christmas cookies.  It’s not something that I can really recall learning about.  Most things that we had came out of a box or can and while I don’t hold any grudges about not learning things, I do wish that I would have experienced more and been able to expand on my passion of learning new recipes, how to make different things, and try new foods.  These are the reasons that I love doing Mini Chef Mondays and getting into the kitchen with our girls. I want them to have the basic knowledge of how to make things from scratch.

One of those things is working with dough.  I remember in college, I kept wanting to try to make pizza dough or cinnamon rolls, but I was always terrified and ended up just buying canned rolls or frozen dough to make what I wanted.  Finally, after years of procrastinating, I finally tried it three or four years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. It was much easier than I had ever imagined.  Now I do something with homemade dough almost weekly.

mini chef mondays making sticky buns

I wanted to get Skibs into the kitchen to learn more about dough and came up with this homemade Raspberry Sticky Buns recipe.  Doesn’t this video make you just want them RIGHT NOW!?

It provides a great sensory lesson for kids as they learn about kneading dough.  Since this is a sweet dough, I had to pay extra attention to her because she kept trying to sneak in pieces of dough as we were working on it. I can’t blame her there though! The only real trick to working on dough is making sure you have good yeast that will activate and not overworking the dough.

homemade raspberry sticky buns recipe

We enjoyed this recipe so much and it make a great breakfast for Valentine’s Day or Christmas.  The kids will devour it up. Andrew and I definitely enjoyed our fair share as well.

The hardest part for Skibs was waiting while the dough had to rise.  It was a great lesson on the scientific reasoning behind how yeast makes food rise. 
mini chef mondays sticky buns

Here’s the recipe for you!

0 from 0 votes
Print
Raspberry Sticky Buns Recipe
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
For dough
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
  • 2 1/4 tsp yeast one package
  • 5 1/2 cup all purpose flour divided
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
For filling
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter one stick, melted
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp cinnamon
Caramel Pecan Glaze
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter one stick
  • 2 1/2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
Additional
  • Extra butter for greasing pans
  • Raspberry sauce recipe
Instructions
For dough
  1. In a saucepan, add the milk, sugar, and butter and warm until butter melted. DO NOT BOIL. Turn off burner and pour milk mixture into a large bowl and allow to cool until lukewarm.
  2. Once cool, sprinkle yeast across the top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the first 5 cups of flour one cup at a time and gently combine between each cup.
  4. Lightly grease a new bowl and place dough ball inside. Cover will a towel and let rise in a draft free place for one hour.
  5. After the hour, on a lightly floured surface, add in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Knead just until well combined.
To prepare the rolls
  1. Divide the dough ball into two equal pieces.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, take one of the dough pieces and roll out dough into a large rectangle, approximately 1/4 inch high.
  3. Brush on half the melted butter, half the brown sugar, and 2 tbsp of the cinnamon.
  4. Starting on the long side, roll up and cut into 2 inch pieces. You should get approximately 10 rolls.
  5. Repeat with second dough ball and remaining butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
For the caramel pecan glaze
  1. In a saucepan add brown sugar, butter, heavy cream and vanilla and heat until butter has melted.
  2. Set aside.
To assemble sticky buns
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Using additional butter, well grease two 9 inch cake pans well. (do not skimp here, it needs to be very well buttered)
  3. Pour half the caramel mixture into each pan.
  4. Sprinkle half the chopped pecans across the caramel of each pan.
  5. Arrange sliced rolls in each pan. (There will be a little space between the rolls)
  6. Allow the sticky buns to rise for 20 minutes.
  7. Then place them in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
  8. When done, carefully (They will be very hot) invert the pan onto a plate or cake pedestal.
  9. Make the raspberry sauce and drizzle across the top before serving.
  10. We made additional caramel sauce and drizzled that across the top as well.

raspberry sticky buns recipe

mcmhslogo

I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays along with 11 fabulous bloggers! Read how Mini Chef Mondays started and how to link up!

Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts as well. We would love it if you would share your Mini Chef posts with us each week, too! Follow along socially and join in on the fun by using our hashtag #MiniChefMondays to share creations your mini chef created in the kitchen. Additionally, if you have a kid-friendly recipe that kids can easily recreate, link up! Don’t have a blog? Share the URL of your instagram photo in our linky below.

  1. Parmesan Chicken Nugget Dip // Courtney’s Sweets
  2. Picnic Perfect Banana Pudding // Momma Lew
  3. Refreshing Blueberry Fruit Smoothie // Baby Loving Mama
  4. Raspberry Sticky Buns Recipe // We’re Parents
  5. Macarons: Step by Step // Frugal Novice
  6. Butternut Squash Latke Recipe // Eating Richly Even When You’re Broke
  7. Balloon Chocolate Bowls with Fresh Berries // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
  8. Pull Apart BBQ Chicken Sliders // Step Stool Chef
  9. Mexican Mini Lasagnas // Vegging at the Shore
  10. Color Your Own Cookies // Mom’s Messy Miracles
  11. Mixed Fruit Challah Bread // O’Boy! Organic
  12. Carter’s Apple Crumble // Can’t Google Everything


Peanut Butter Cheesecake Overnight Oats

by 2 Comments

peanut butter cheesecake overnight oats recipe

You can’t tell me that your mouth didn’t drool a little bit when you read this title, right?

This is one of the most simple, most delicious breakfast meals that we’ve ever created. Andrew has been loving overnight oats for a long time now and if you’ve been following our blog you know about our obsession with cheesecake.  It’s so simple to make them and we love having breakfast already ready in the morning.  Andrew and I are both lucky that we have a toddler that *knock on wood* isn’t picky so far, so even she loves to eat these, even though she was super confused when we first told her they were overnight oats. She said “this not oatmeal mama”.  On the other hand, I, had a huge time tackling wanting to try these. I’m a big texture person when it comes to food, so they fact that it was cold and could be potentially soggy, completely turned me off.  Luckily, Andrew was constantly persistent until I tried them and even I love overnight oats now.

peanut butter cheesecake overnight oats recipe

This Peanut Butter Cheesecake Overnight Oats recipe though will knock you off your socks.  It has a whopping 19.5g of protein per recipe, added in with the nutritional benefits of chia seeds, and eating a healthy breakfast and this one has your day starting off right.

mini chef mondays cheesecake overnight oats

One of my favorite things is that Skibbles can completely make this recipe all on her own. I’m really just there to guide her on how much of each ingredients to put into the jar.  So, if you’ve been looking for a recipe on getting your own Mini Chef into the kitchen with you, this is the perfect place to start.

cheesecake overnight oats mini chef mondays

peanut butter cheesecake overnight oats

0 from 0 votes
Print
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Overnight Oats
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese softened (can be warmed in microwave for 15 seconds)
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp raw honey
  • 1/2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Crushed graham crackers
Instructions
  1. Pour all ingredients into a mason jar (or bowl).
  2. Stir until everything is very well combined.
  3. Cover with lid and place in fridge overnight.
  4. Top with crushed graham crackers before serving.
  5. *Optional: if you prefer your overnight oats thinner, add more milk before serving and stir to combine.

mcmhslogo

I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays along with 11 fabulous bloggers!

Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts as well. We would love it if you would share your Mini Chef posts with us each week, too! Follow along socially and join in on the fun by using our hashtag #MiniChefMondays to share creations your mini chef created in the kitchen. Additionally, if you have a kid-friendly recipe that kids can easily recreate link up! Don’t have a blog? Share the URL of your instagram photo in our linky below.

  1. Easy Fruit Salad Recipe for Valentine’s Day // Courtney’s Sweets
  2. Red Velvet Waffles // Momma Lew
  3. Homemade Cherry Banana Ice Cream // Baby Loving Mama
  4. Peanut Butter Cheesecake Overnight Oats // We’re Parents
  5. Chocolate & Sprinkle Coated Shortbread Cookies // Frugal Novice
  6. Best Lactation Cookies Recipe // Eating Richly
  7. Brown Bag Microwave Popcorn // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
  8. Chicken & Broccolli Quesadilla // Step Stool Chef
  9. Farro with Roasted Vegetables // Vegging at the Shore
  10. Chocolate Strawberry Puppy Chow // Mom’s Messy Miracles
  11. Healthy Ambrosia Salad // O’Boy! Organic
  12. Cinnamon Sugar Dessert Preussens // Can’t Google Everything


Banana Bread Pancakes Recipe with Caramelized Walnut Syrup

by 2 Comments

banana bread pancakes caramelized walnut syrup recipe

This is a sponsored post with California Walnuts and ModernMom

I have these fond memories of going up to one of my aunt’s houses and there was always this bowl of whole walnuts sitting beside her favorite chair.  It was there that I learned how to crack walnuts and where I know my love for them came from.  I love adding California walnuts to so many dishes, but these Banana Bread Pancakes with a Caramelized Walnut Syrup will literally leave your mouth craving…no, begging…you for more. Walnuts have the ability to seamlessly incorporate into dishes adding both texture, taste, flavor, and depth.  I promise you that these protein packed pancakes will leave you full for a long time making them the perfect breakfast recipe for Thanksgiving morning.  Eat this in the morning and you’ll stay full until the turkey is ready (almost).

banana bread pancakes recipe batter

This batter is SO Thick!  I mean you almost think it’s a bread recipe, which I guess it could be– But it makes these Banana Bread pancakes so thick and fluffy.  They are seriously to die for.  Because of the thickness it’s important that you cook them at a lower than normal temperature for pancakes because you need the inside to get done without burning the outside. We made these a few times by blending the walnuts into the batter making them a powder, but they are definitely much better whole and folded in here.  This recipe is packed full of amazing nutrition. California Walnuts are actually the only nut that provides a significant amount of plant based omega-3 fatty acids (2.5 grams per serving) and just one ounce has 4 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.

I love making and feeding these to Skibbles because she will gobble them up quickly and I know she’s getting so much amazing nutrition from them.  They also keep her fuller longer so she doesn’t keep constantly asking me for snacks.  Like me, she has a fond love of walnuts though and will ask to snack on them so they don’t last long around our house. It is recommended that you keep California walnuts fresh by keeping them cold.  Store them in the freezer if you’ll have them for more than a month in an air-tight container, away from foods with strong odors.

Random fact: 99% of walnuts in the USA come from California and they are the oldest known tree food, dating back to 10,000 B.C.

caramelized walnut topping banana bread pancakes

Pancakes are a serious staple in our household and these have quickly become our favorite, especially for Andrew.  He loves making and eating them before the gym.  I mentioned to him that we should make these for Thanksgiving breakfast to keep us full while we travel and he said that was such a genius idea. My second genius idea was creating this caramelized walnut syrup. We LOVEEE candied walnuts on top of ice cream or pies, but I never thought about doing it for pancakes.  I don’t think I can ever go back to eating them a different way now.

banana bread pancakes recipe

Every bite will having you craving more and more so run out – grab a bag of California walnuts and the other ingredients you don’t have on hand and prepare to have these for Thanksgiving breakfast!  YUM!

banana bread pancakes recipe bite

0 from 0 votes
Print
Banana Bread Pancakes Recipe with Caramelized Walnut Syrup
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 Cup rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp flaxseed
  • 1 Tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 Tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 Tsp Baking powder
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 Cup cottage cheese
  • 1 Cup vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 6 egg whites
  • 2 banana
  • 2 Tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2/3 Cup walnut pieces
  • coconut oil
For the Caramelized Walnut Syrup
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup California walnut pieces
Instructions
  1. To a blender, add oats, flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder. Blend well.
  2. Then add milk, cottage cheese, vanilla Greek yogurt, egg whites, bananas, and vanilla extract. Blend well.
  3. Pour into a large bowl and fold in walnut pieces.
  4. Heat tbsp coconut oil in non-stick skillet over low heat.
  5. Pour 2/3 cup batter into skillet.
  6. Wait 2-3 minutes, then flip. Cook another 2-3 minutes or until center is cooked.
  7. Continue making the pancakes with the remaining batter.
For the Caramelized Walnut Syrup
  1. Add everything but walnuts and heat over medium, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
  2. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
  3. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until syrup begins to thicken, about 15 minutes. Stir in walnuts and cook for 5 more minutes.
  4. Store any leftovers in the fridge in air tight container and heat in microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time to unharden.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

by 6 Comments

pumpkin muffins

Yesterday, we excitedly announced, a new website design, new logo, and the biggest excitement of all, that Andrew is officially joining us as a writer on the blog.  We are so thrilled to actually make this a family venture and can’t wait to see where in the world the blog takes us now.   Not to be overlooked, but today we are equally giddy to announce a new series on our blog – Mini Chef Mondays.  Each Monday we will be sharing a recipe or how to “in the kitchen” that we’ve done with our mini chef.  If Skibbles isn’t doing some type of art project, you can usually find her exploring in the kitchen.  I know it’s one reason that we’ve gotten her to eat and enjoy so many foods and we think sharing our tips and tricks with you here will hopefully get your kids eating and trying new things.

mini chef mondays muffins

One of my favorite things about getting Skibbles into the kitchen is that I can make it a learning experience. We inadvertently end up teaching our kids so much with hands on learning and watching her grow, learn, and explore gives me so much purpose.  We work on math, problem solving, fine motor skills, and so much more. There’s not much she can’t do (sans any stove or even yet), even though we are still adamantly working on cracking eggs together.

I credit letting her help me cook with her love of trying everything that we make.  Now, don’t get me wrong…there’s PLENTY of things she will look at sideways and hesitate to try, but 99% of the time she will try something.  She’ll quickly share her honesty with you if she thinks something is “eww, yucky” or if it’s “mmm, it’s dewicious (delicious)”.

One of the biggest obstacles for me in allowing her to help, is getting over my OCD about messes and trying to get my cooking space tidy.  The joy and smile on her face as she helps makes it worth it time and time again though.

mini chef mondays

We had a blast baking these chocolate chip pumpkin muffins together.  I made it a learning experience by having her count the chocolate chip as she was putting them on the top.  The only thing she didn’t help with in this recipe was putting them in/taking them out of the oven, otherwise she was involved in all steps. She showed her appreciation by devouring a ton of them afterwards.

This batter is thick enough that the chocolate chips won’t fall to the bottom, but I still love putting extras on top.  You have the option to just mix them all into the batter if you choose.  If you prefer no chocolate, these muffins are still great without them, but trust me they are better with them.  One of the things I love about this chocolate chip pumpkin muffin recipe is that there is no processed white sugar or oil added into the recipe, yet they are still moist and uber-delicious.

0 from 0 votes
Print
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 1 cup honey
  • 2 cups pumpkin puree or one 15oz can
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips divided
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Grease muffin tins with coconut oil or use liners.
  3. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and applesauce until smooth.
  5. Slowly, combine the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until well combined.
  6. Fold in one cup of chocolate chips.
  7. Add mixture to muffin tins until each is 3/4 of the way full.
  8. Take remaining chocolate chips and evenly divide amongst each muffin and add to the top of the mixture.
  9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (mini muffins will cook in approximately 15 minutes, jumbo muffins take approximately 30 minutes)
  10. Let cool for 10 minutes then use a butter knife to release sides and remove to a wire cooling rack.

bloggers-headshots-mini-chef-mondays

I am hosting Mini Chef Mondays along with 10 fabulous bloggers!

Be sure to check out each of their Mini Chef posts as well. We would love it if you would share your Mini Chef posts with us each week, too! Follow along socially and join in on the fun by using our hashtag #MiniChefMondays to share creations your mini chef created in the kitchen. Don’t have a blog? Share the URL of your instagram photo in our linky below. 🙂

10 Overnight Oats Recipes + #CanItFoward Day

by 2 Comments

overnight oats

Hi, My name’s Larisha and I’m a canning newb.

Growing up my mom would can tomatoes, but I never paid attention on how to actually do it.  I remember when I was younger, going to my great-grandmother’s house and walking into the cellar and there were shelves and shelves of canned foods.  Anything from peaches and pears to pickles, homemade sauces and jellies, and so much more.  Now, at 29, I’m kicking myself for not learning earlier.  Does the desire to start canning mean I’m officially an adult? Either way, the fact remains that while I haven’t canned by myself yet, I do still use Ball Canning jars for many other things.  I do make my own homemade sauces and I put them in the jars and keep them in the fridge.  We also use them to drink out of, I make gifts with them, and my new favorite thing is to make overnight oats.

Since having our second child 7 weeks ago, I have been looking for easy recipes to make ahead of time for Andrew to grab and go so he’s still eating breakfast in the mornings since I’m unable to always make food anymore.  He brought up that his mom used to make refrigerated oatmeal overnight and it was ready in the morning.  This concept was new to me, so off to Pinterest I went. I was shocked to see the amazingly delicious ideas that were being shared and how easy it is to just throw the ingredients into our Ball jars and off we go.  I’ve listed below 10 incredibly mouthwatering Overnight Oat ideas for you to try.

While you decide which one you want to try tonight for breakfast tomorrow, I’d love for you to check out the live webcast on Saturday 8/1/2015 from 11am-4pm EST.  You can watch it right here!  The black box below will go live with the webcast at 11am.  It will also be broadcast at FreshPreserving.com, where you can find loads of information about Ball Canning jars, how to can, purchase products, and get delicious recipes. During the webcast there will also be a celebrity mason jar auction and you can follow along on social media with #CanItForward and submit your own questions to be answered during the podcast.


I’m super excited that my friend Stephanie is going to teach me how to can, so continue to stay tuned for updates here on there.  And in the mean time you go read her canning tips here.

Do you can?  What’s your favorite thing?  Let me know in the comments below! 

Blueberry Cheesecake Pancake Recipe

by 3 Comments

blueberry cheesecake pancake recipe

Pancakes are one of my top favorite breakfast meals.  Growing up my mom only used boxed mix, so it wasn’t until I started making my own from scratch pancake recipe that I really knew what I had been missing out on previously.  Luckily, over the years, I’ve worked to perfect my pancake recipe to perfection and now I get to play around with them.  With today being National Blueberry Pancake Day, I thought what better than to share this incredible Blueberry Cheesecake Pancake Recipe with you.

Hold on.  I know what you may be thinking if you are new here.  Did I just say a cheesecake pancake recipe?  Why yes, yes I did.

A few years ago Andrew tried out cheesecake pancakes at IHOP and asked me to please figure out how to make my own cheesecake recipe with pancakes.  So, I did.  Since then, we’ve made both strawberry cheesecake pancakes and pumpkin cheesecake pancakes.  So it was time to turn my love of cheesecake and blueberries into an amazing pancake recipe and that’s what I’m sharing here with you.  Don’t think this is hard, it can be incredibly easy.

homemade blueberry cheesecake Pancakes

We actually went a little overboard with this pancake recipe.  Typically, when we make cheesecake pancakes, we just buy a store bought frozen one; however, I’ve been having a hard time finding one in the store that didn’t have a sour cream topping.  We’ve tried this before and we didn’t care for the taste in our pancake recipe, so I was left with only one option — make the cheesecake myself.  I’ve only made no bake cheesecakes before so I was super nervous!  Luckily, our cheesecake recipe worked like a charm and it was the perfect cheesecake! And tasted so much better in our pancake recipe than any store bought one!

homemade cheesecake recipe

We hope you try this out for yourself and love it as much as we do!

0 from 0 votes
Print
Blueberry Cheesecake Pancake Recipe
Author: Larisha Campbell
Ingredients
  • 1 1/4 cups Organic All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 cup organic sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk organic/grass fed preferred
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 2 cups chopped frozen cheesecake
  • Homemade Whipping Topping Recipe
  • Homemade Blueberry Syrup optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place oven safe dish inside to hold finished pancakes.
  2. In a smaller bowl, add the 2 eggs whites. Beat with a whisk until stiff peaks form (5-7 minutes). In a large bowl combine, flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix lightly to combine.
  3. Add the buttermilk and coconut oil to the mixture and stir just until combined. Add in the stiff egg whites and fold into mixture. *Do Not over mix in egg whites. Fold in chopped cheesecake and blueberries.
  4. Heat a medium skillet with some coconut oil over medium low heat. Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of pancake batter at a time to your skillet. Wait until bubbles begin to form, then flip. Cook another 2-3 minutes and remove to warmed plate in oven. Repeat until you have no more pancake batter left. Top with Homemade Whipped Topping and Blueberry Syrup! Eat and enjoy.

signature button

 

What type of cheesecake pancake recipe do you think we should try next? Comment below to let us know!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

by Leave a Comment

*Disclosure: Affiliate links may be contained in this post. We receive a small commission for purchases and thank you for helping us continue to run our site.

 
apple cinnamon pancakes

We love pancakes.  LOVE them.  And I’m not talking about pancakes from a box, but homemade pancakes.  And I’ll admit…I’m currently obsessed with these apple cinnamon pancakes. About 3 years ago I started making pancakes from scratch and I’ve never bought a box since then.  They are so stinkin’ easy to make and it’s great knowing exactly what ingredients are going into our food.  A friend of mine a few months ago told me that she put apples and cinnamon into her pancakes and I tried it one day.  Instantly, I was hooked.  I love the idea of a whole fruit going directly into the pancakes and it makes them taste amazing.  Skibbles gobbles them up very quickly.  One day she even ate 5 of the silver dollar sized ones.  For a toddler that doesn’t each much, this was huge!

The real test was when I first gave these apple cinnamon pancakes to Andrew and he said he loved them.  He typically only wants me to make our Strawberry Cheesecake pancakes, so I knew I hit the jackpot when I got both him and Skibbles on board with these.

You must try them for yourself!

Ingredients: 
1 1/4 cups Organic All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon 
1/4 cup organic sugar
1 1/4 cups milk (organic/grass fed preferred)
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 whole apple, peeled, cored, and shredded
Homemade Whipping Topping – Get recipe HERE

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place oven safe dish inside to hold finished pancakes.
In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients and lightly stir around.  The add in the wet ingredients.  Using a whisk, add the remaining ingredients and stir just until well combined.  Heat a medium skillet with some coconut oil over medium low heat.  Add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of pancake batter at a time to your skillet. Wait until bubbles begin to form, then flip.  Cook another 2-3 minutes and remove to warmed plate in oven.  Repeat until you have no more pancake batter left.  Eat and enjoy.  For silver dollar pancakes, use a tablespoon of batter for each pancake. 

 

What is your favorite type of pancake?


 photo Signature1copy_zps8199a4b3.gif


VIEW OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Even More Recent Posts

We’re Parents is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com