Kids In The Kitchen Archives - Page 4 of 5

Raspberry Chocolate Cake Recipe

January 25, 2016 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

Love is in the air. It’s so close to Valentine’s Day that I can almost taste the chocolate, actually maybe that’s because we just made (and ate) these insanely amazing Raspberry Chocolate cakes. Either way, we are bursting with love over here.

As a mom of now two beautiful girls, we are finally finding our groove, even though its been a rocky few months as we all adjusted going from a family of three to a family of four. With that, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting into the kitchen with our toddler more and more. She loves helping me cook and bake and even though she may only be 3, I’m utterly always amazed at the amount of things she can solely do if I let her have at it.

Since Vday is right around the corner, I told her we could make some chocolate heart cakes since I had gotten a similar mold to this last year. She woke up the next day and begged to get into the kitchen. Andrew asked for chocolate cake and I thought of adding a raspberry sauce instead of frosting to make it a bit healthier. The result was phenomenal. So good in fact, Andrew suggested I make it again in 2 weeks for his dad’s birthday. I know it was a hit then. Skibbles downed an entire mini cake by herself and kept begging for more “red dip”.

This will definitely be a recipe that we continue to make for lots and lots of future events.

0 from 0 votes

Raspberry Chocolate Cake Recipe

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter softened (not melted!) + more
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cacao powder unsweetened we use this kind
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

For the raspberry sauce

2 cups frozen raspberries
1/8 cup sugar
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter well a heart mold cake pan
In a small bowl, combine flour, cacao, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well combined.
Add in eggs and combine.
Add in vanilla and combine.
Alternate adding in flour mixture and yogurt, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
Pour batter into heart pan and fill 3/4 of the way full on each heart. Tap the pan to release any air bubbles.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
Remove and top with raspberry sauce (recipe below), fudge sauce, whipped cream, chocolate shaving, or any other desired toppings.

For raspberry sauce

Combine all ingredients into a pan over medium low heat. Cook, stirring often, for approximately 7-10 minutes or until raspberries are broken down.
Strain through a mesh sieve to remove seeds.

If you don’t have a heart mold, you can pour the batter into a buttered round cake pan 3/4 of the way full and then use a knife to make it into a heart shape after it’s cooked. It will take a bit longer to cook than recommended above.

Watch it being made:

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.

Fresh Guacamole Recipe // Courtney’s Sweets
The Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe // Momma Lew
Best Banana Crumb Muffins // Baby Loving Mama
Raspberry Chocolate Cake Recipe // We’re Parents
Sofia the First Cookies // Frugal Novice
Alphabet Kids Snacks A is for Ant // Eating Richly
Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
Kid-Friendly Chicken & Broccoli Quesadilla // Step Stool Chef
Brussels Sprouts Chips // Vegging at the Shore
How A 2 Year Old Can Help in the Kitchen // Mom’s Messy Miracles
5 Food Art Ideas for Kids // O’Boy! Organic
Mini Pizza Tacos // Can’t Google Everything

An InLinkz Link-up

Baked Taco Casserole

January 18, 2016 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

This post contains affiliate links

Our entire family loves Mexican and Spanish foods. We have it weekly in our meal plan and I’m always looking for new and creative ways to make it fun for us. Recently, I put together a meal train for my best friend before her son was going in for surgery and another mom made her a casserole that smelled amazeballs. I believe she wrote beef and cheese casserole on the top, but it smelled like tacos, so I knew that I needed to have it.

I asked her for the recipe and she laughed and basically said she threw a bunch of stuff together. I was determined to recreate it and took her list and came up with a plan. The first time I made it, Andrew was blown away. He said that I needed to immediately write it down in our recipe book and that it needed to be put into the rotation. I made it again for a get together we had here and it was a hit by both my mom friends and the kids. I decided that that I must blog it because everyone else needed to know about it too!

I got our Mini Chef into the kitchen for this one with me. It was a great exercise at teaching her all about measurement sizes with making the homemade taco seasoning. I also let her have some control of the cooking process. We haven’t let her do much on the stove yet, but we talked about the heat and making sure she didn’t get to close, especially because we have a gas stove, so there’s an actual fire. She did so well. My mom had given her kid’s sized utensils when she was here last and the little spatula was perfect for this recipe together.

This is definitely in our rotation now and whether you are looking for new dinner inspiration, something insanely easy to put together for your next get togethers (this is perfect for football/sports parties), or just a healthy dish, make sure you pin this so you have it to make too! Looking for a great casserole dish? We love this one!

0 from 0 votes

Baked Taco Casserole

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 cup green pepper diced
1 medium onion diced
5 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp taco seasoning
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 cup plain Greek yogurt can sub sour cream
1 cup salsa
2 cups brown rice cooked
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Tortilla Chips
Optional: Green Onions Cilantro, additional greek yogurt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat for 4 minutes.
Drain any excess grease.
Add in the diced peppers, onions garlic, and taco seasoning. Cook for an additional 4 minutes.
Add in black beans, yogurt, and salsa. Stir to combine. Continue to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes until heated through.
In a 9x13 casserole dish, spread the cooked rice evenly along the bottom of the dish.
Transfer meat mixture and spread evenly on top of the rice.
Top with cheese.
Put into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.
Top with an optional ingredients and serve with tortilla chips.

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

No Bake Oreo Cheesecake // Courtney’s Sweets
Creamy White Chicken Chili // Momma Lew
Cherry Brownie Parfaits // Baby Loving Mama
Baked Taco Casserole // We’re Parents
Berry Sorbet // Frugal Novice
Healthy Football Appetizer Seahawks Fruit Salad // Eating Richly
Heart Shaped Eggs with Bacon Hearts // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
I Love You Cupcake Fondue // Step Stool Chef
Chocolate Dutch Baby // Vegging at the Shore
Meatball Sub Cups // Mom’s Messy Miracles
Best Cookbooks for Children // O’Boy! Organic
Apple Sandwiches and Preschoolers Cook Cookbook Giveaway // Can’t Google Everything

An InLinkz Link-up

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Overnight Oats

January 11, 2016 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

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.

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.

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.

0 from 0 votes

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

Pour all ingredients into a mason jar (or bowl).
Stir until everything is very well combined.
Cover with lid and place in fridge overnight.
Top with crushed graham crackers before serving.
*Optional: if you prefer your overnight oats thinner, add more milk before serving and stir to combine.

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

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

An InLinkz Link-up

3 Bean Chicken Chili

January 4, 2016 by Larisha Campbell 6 Comments

Growing up, my mom was very verbal about things she did and did not like. In turn, that made my sister and I very vocal about the things that we didn’t like either (usually, it was things that she didn’t like, because well, if she wasn’t making them, we didn’t get the chance to try them). Even with that, chili was something that she made often; however, I always refused to eat it. Part of that was because my parents made it with venison and I refused to eat that. Luckily, once I went to college, I started trying new things. It took awhile, but I do love chili now. One of the reasons that I love getting in the kitchen with our Mini Chef is that she’s able to touch, taste, and explore the foods that we are cooking with everyday.

This 3 bean chicken chili is a favorite in our house. For me, I love that it’s so quick and easy. Throw everything in the crockpot and go about your business. I love that Skibbles can truly help with almost every aspect of making this meal with just a little help. Most of all, I love that Andrew actually eats it. We’ve mentioned before that he’s one of the world’s pickiest adults and before making this he refused to eat any type of soup or stew. I’ve gotten him to love this meal and hoping it’s the start of loving more and more soups.

Whenever we make our 3 bean chicken chili, we put it in the crockpot before bed and then turn it on. When we wake up in the morning it’s already done. I love doing it this way because not only is dinner for the day already done, but it allows the flavors to marinate together even longer, making it that much better.

We always serve chili with plain Greek yogurt and cheese on top and have sides of cubed avocado and homemade buttered bread to go alongside it. It’s such a great meal.

4.67 from 3 votes

3 Bean Chicken Chili

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts about 1lb total
1 28 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can cannellini beans
1 can kidney beans
1 cup green peppers diced
1 red onion diced
5 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp cacao powder
salt and pepper to taste
Optional toppings: plain greek yogurt or sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, crackers, bread

Instructions

Put all ingredients into a crockpot (YES, Everything).
Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
Once down, pull out the cooked chicken breasts, and using two forks, shred the chicken.
Put back in crockpot and stir together well.
Serve with optional toppings.
Store leftovers in fridge or freeze.

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

Homemade Maple Yogurt Recipe // Courtney’s Sweets
Jello Play Doh // Momma Lew
Best Baked Oatmeal Recipe with Apples and Pears // Baby Loving Mama
3 Bean Chicken Chili // We’re Parents
Spicy Shredded Beef Quesadillas // Frugal Novice
Easy Salmon Recipe That Kids Will Actually Eat // Eating Richly
Homemade Chicken Nuggets // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
Kid Safety Tips for Kids // Step Stool Chef
Avocado Stuffed Potatoes // Vegging at the Shore
Gingerbread Cookies and Cream Bars // Mom’s Messy Miracles
Applesauce Muffins // O’Boy! Organic
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Snowflakes // Can’t Google Everything

An InLinkz Link-up

Dye Free Mini Red Velvet Cake Recipe

December 21, 2015 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

While Andrew may not be writing as much as we had hoped yet, he is contributing to a lot of the behind the scenes aspects of running the blog. He’s been taking all the food pictures (soon to be all the pictures) and helps with our editorial calendar. When we sat down to discuss what we would write about for our December Mini Chef Mondays’ posts, he immediately said something with Red Velvet Cake. My first thought was EWW, gross. No one here is eating that. He looked at me with utter confusion. He had no idea that I had never tasted red velvet cake before. Once he heard that he said that we must change it immediately. He had a recipe that he had used before to make one a long time ago and I glanced over it.

I immediately cringed and told him we had to figure something else out. Again, he looked at me with utter confusion. ((this is pretty much the story of our relationship…me saying things, him looking confused…we’re working on it)). Anywho, I showed him that the recipe called for two ENTIRE tablespoons of red dye. Dyes are one of the things that we really ty to avoid in our house. Don’t get me wrong, Skibbles has had things with dye in them, but we try to avoid if we can, especially if it’s something that I’m making from scratch at home. So I research my options and had heard about people doing red velvet cakes with beets before. Don’t cringe, but I had never had a beet before either.

SAYY WHATT!?

True story.

So here Skibbles and I were standing in the kitchen, getting ready to make this cake for the first time together. We were planning to make a cake roll. Fast forward and I failed miserably the first time. The cake didn’t come out red once baked and when I tried to peel it off the baking sheet it cracked in like four places. Crap. So I turned to the internet. Why did it turn brown?

Well, this is one reason I love Mini Chef Mondays. I get to teach Skibs things and today’s recipe turned into a science experiment. While she’s only 3, and really has no idea what I’m talking about, it was fun to teach her that things, like beets, have a pH level that needs a lot of acid in order to stay red and not brown. So I figured out a new recipe and VOILA, you have a red velvet cake recipe with no dye.

But wait….this was still supposed to be a cake roll. Obviously it didn’t work out and it was great to start to teach Skibbles about how some times things don’t work out how we plan and we have to adapt what we are doing. Low and behold, we give you Dye Free Mini Red Velvet Cakes.

0 from 0 votes

Dye Free Mini Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

For the Cake

1 1/4 cup Flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp 100% Cacao Cannot be sweetened or special dark
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar divided
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/4 plain greek yogurt
2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup beet puree recipe below
6 strawberries pureed

For the Frosting

4 oz cream cheese softened (*MUST BE SOFTENED)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup homemade whipped topping
3 oz melted white chocolate

Instructions

For the Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15x10 sheet pan very well with butter.
In one bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cacao, and cream of tartar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, milk, yogurt, vinegar, oil, and lemon juice together.
Fold in the beet and strawberry purees.
Evenly spread onto greased sheet pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Cool for 5 minutes.
Using a 2 inch biscuit cutter, cut out circles of cake.

For the Frosting

Combine all ingredients except homemade whipped topping until very well combined. Fold in whipped topping. Spread a small on top of a cake circle and place another cake circle on top. Repeat until you have the desired amount of layers. Then frosting the top and edges if desired.

How to Make Beet Puree

Preheat over to 425 degrees.
Wash off beets, remove stems and placed them on a sheet of foil with edges folded up. Lightly sprinkle with salt.
Roast in oven for 30-45 minutes or until a fork easily pierces through the beet.
Remove beets and let cool long enough until you can handle them. Peel the skin off.
Place in a high powered blender until pureed. (May need to add 1/2 to 2 tbsp of water to get consistent depending on your blender)

*If you’re looking for a round or sheet cake recipe, you will need to double the ingredients above to have enough batter

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

Crispy White Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge // Courtney’s Sweets
Snowman Cheeseball // Momma Lew
Peppermint Almond Bark Recipe with Pretzels // Baby Loving Mama
Dye Free Mini Red Velvet Cake Recipe // We’re Parents
Rice Krispie Treat Presents // Frugal Novice
Tasting Cooking Games for Kids // Eating Richly
Magic Reindeer Food Recipe // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
An Online Cooking School for Kids! // Step Stool Chef
3 Ingredient Apple Fruit Leather // Vegging at the Shore
Baking Cookies with Cookie Monster at Beaches // Mom’s Messy Miracles
6 Must Have Kitchen Tools When Cooking with Kids // O’Boy! Organic
Christmas Cookies for Your Dog! // Can’t Google Everything

An InLinkz Link-up

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Funnel Cake Recipe

December 13, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

There’s things that little girls’ dreams are made of throughout life. Snickerdoodles, cheesecake, and funnel cakes are some of mine. So, naturally, I want my girls’ to have fond memories of them too. Originally, we were supposed to make deep fried cheesecake bites but, in all honesty, we failed miserably at making them yesterday. Such is life and even we bloggers fail sometimes, okay, actually a lot more than any of us would care to admit HA!

Part of us want to do more with our girls in the kitchen is so that they have a hands on learning experience. I love teaching her that even mistakes can happen and that we have to not only move on (to another recipe), but that we also have to try again (we still plan to make our deep fried cheesecake bites at some point).

But for time constraints yesterday, we just moved on and combined my three loves together to make this Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Funnel Cake Recipe.

We went to Sesame Place over the weekend and got a funnel cake while we were there, so where Skibbles figured out that we were making them at home she got super excited. It was so cute. We had a blast making the cheesecake drizzle for the funnel cake recipe too. There may have even been a little bit of a food fight. It’s all the joys of having your kids in the kitchen with you. The best part is that she pretty much did everything by the frying. She made the batter for the funnel cakes, made the cheesecake drizzle and crushed the graham cracker topping. I’m always amazed at how much she can do in the kitchen at 3 since we allow her too.

The funnel cakes came out amazing! I think these are going to go on out list to make with friends at a play date one day. A funnel cake bar! How fun would that be!

Here’s the recipe!

0 from 0 votes

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Funnel Cake Recipe

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

For Funnel Cake

1 large egg
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup plus 1 tbsp whole milk
1 qt vegetable oil for frying
whipped topping optional topping
crushed graham crackers optional topping

Snickerdoodle Mix, divided

1/8 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

For Cheesecake Drizzle

8 oz 1 package cream cheese, softened
8 oz Homemade Whipped Topping
1/3 cup sugar

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, mix together cream cheese and sugar for the Cheesecake Drizzle. Fold in the whipped topping. Put in fridge until funnel cakes are done.
In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar for the snickerdoodle mix, and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat one egg. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, milk, and 1 1/2 tbsp of the snickerdoodle mix.
Whisk together. (Mix should be slightly thicker than a pancake batter, but still thin enough to pour - you may need to add up to 1-2 more tbsp of milk).
Heat oil in a fryer or cast iron skillet over medium until it starts to bubble when water is added to it.
Holding a finger over the spout of a funnel, fill a funnel with a mix and in a circular motion add the batter to the hot oil. When golden brown (1-2 minutes) flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a plate.
Drizzle on cheesecake drizzle , sprinkle with Snickerdoodle mix, and any additional toppings

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

White Hot Chocolate Recipe // Courtney’s Sweets
French Toast Casserole // Momma Lew
Raspberry Coconut Coffee Cake // Baby Loving Mama
Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Funnel Cake Recipe // We’re Parents
Three Ingredient Fudge // Frugal Novice
No Bake Yule Log Cake Recipe // Eating Richly
Rice Krispie Christmas Wreaths // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
Peppermint Popcorn Balls // Step Stool Chef
Pineapple and Zucchini Cupcakes // Vegging at the Shore
Turkey & Hummus Pinwheels // The Shirley Journey
Easy Kid Approved Breakfast Quesadillas // O’Boy! Organic
Christmas Tree Jello // My Mini Adventurer

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas Rice Krispie Treats

December 7, 2015 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

Rice Krispies cereal and Rice Krispie treats are the fluff of my childhood memories. And I’m not talking about the store bought treats. Homemade folks. We made them so often. And who can really forget pouring milk into a bowl of the cereal and listening for the crackling sound. While, we don’t eat a lot of boxed cereal in our house, I will be teaching the girls about both of these things. We got a box to make the Christmas Rice Krispie Treats that I’m going to share with you today, and I poured Skibbles a bowl of cereal and was telling her to listen for the crackles. It was hysterical and I’m not really sure she even knew what in the world I was talking about. Pretty sure in her mind she was like, “Get away from my cereal mom, you’re acting crazy, I don’t want to put this bowl up to my ear.”

But then life got fun. We grabbed the butter, marshmallows and cereal and got to work on the most delicious rice krispie treats recipe you’ll ever have. We made homemade fudge sauce and homemade caramel sauce and grab the sprinkles for an epic day of fun in the kitchen.

Side note: Before we made these, Andrew had never tasted a homemade rice krispie treat. o_O

Since we started our Mini Chef Mondays series, I have watched Skibbles self-esteem and confidence soar. She’s becoming increasing more independent (as if we wasn’t enough already), but she’s also asking to do more and more things, especially while we are in the kitchen, like make her own sandwich or beat the eggs or make her oatmeal for breakfast. I know we are teaching her invaluable life skills. We also learned our first “mistake” making these. Even though we continuously talk about safety no matter what we are cooking, she accidentally touched the pot today for a millisecond. It was a great teaching moment and had her really understand now why I keep emphasizing so much that it’s hot. She was so much more careful afterwards.

Side note: Andrew loves them!

So without futher ado, here’s our delicious recipe, including the fudge sauce and caramel sauce recipes

0 from 0 votes

Christmas Rice Krispie Treats

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

For Rice Krispie Treats

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 10 oz bag of jumbo marshmallows
6 cups rice crispy cereal

For Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup whole milk
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
1 tbsp vanilla

For Fudge Sauce

2/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
9 tbsp butter
pinch salt
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

For Rice Krispie Treats

Melt butter in a large pot over medium low heat.
Add in entire bag of marshmallow and stir until melted.
Add in cereal a cup at a time and combine well.
Scoop out mixture onto a baking sheet and flatten evenly across entire sheet.
Allow to cool.
Cut out Christmas shapes using Christmas cookie cutters.
Dip in homemade fudge sauce or homemade caramel sauce if desired.
(Best if eaten same day as made)

For Caramel or Fudge Sauce

For either sauce, pour all the ingredients into a small sauce pan. Heat over low for 10 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Caramel sauce needs to be dipped, then cooled, then dipped again to show up on treats. After dipping, place treats on wax paper and allow to harden in freezer for 5-10 minutes. If traveling with treats, separate them in layers with wax paper.

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

Christmas Tree Holiday Brownies // Courtney’s Sweets
Applesauce Cinnamon Ornaments // Momma Lew
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls // Baby Loving Mama
Christmas Inspired Rice Krispie Treats // We’re Parents
Creamy & Crunchy Chicken Crescents // Frugal Novice
Asian Pork Belly Bean Soup Recipe // Eating Richly
Grinch Green Hot Chocolate // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
Pizza Burger Sliders // Step Stool Chef
Cheese Blintzes with Strawberry Sauce Like Your Grandmother Made // Vegging at the Shore
Gourmet Potatoes // Mom’s Messy Miracles
Gingerbread Pancakes // O’Boy! Organic
Hanukkah Gelt Cookies! // My Mini Adventurer

An InLinkz Link-up

Sweet Potato Stew

November 30, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post. Affiliate Links contained in this post.

Today they eat. Tomorrow everything is “yucky”. If you are or have been the parent of a toddler, you know this phase very well. It’s a cycle that is on constant repeat like a broken record. Better yet, like Charlie Brown’s teacher, “wah wah wah — wah wah wah wah wah”. This is one of the reasons why I love cooking together with our mini chef. If she makes it, she seems much more interested in at least trying it, although sometimes even then it’s yucky to her. It’s also the reason that no matter what I’m making, nine times out of ten it’s going to have a lot of veggies and protein inside. I’ve literally seen her go a whole day on maybe half a banana and a handful of pretzels. This Sweet Potato Stew, though, she loves. It’s packed full of delicious stuff and it’s perfect this time of year.

Another way I get her to try new things is to read books with her that involve cooking or food. We have found a ton of books at the library about food and cooking and since she’s in awesome reading phase, it’s been great the past few months. We recently received a copy of Mother Bruce, a book about a bear that likes to eat eggs, but his recent eggs ended up hatching! Skibbles thought that was funny. Now Mother Bruce has to think up recipes that don’t have the possibility of hatching. I told Skibbles that there’s no worries with our Sweet Potato Stew hatching.

There is a lot of chopping with this recipe and I do most of that. We’ve been slowly teaching her how to use a knife. (I actually just heard about this product to help kids cut veggies without the fear of them cutting themselves and I plan to try it out). But there’s still so much she can do with this recipe. She clean the potatoes, peels the garlic, puts everything in the food processor and turns that out, and then she throws everything into the pot for it to start cooking. I absolutely love doing this with her.

The final product is a beautiful bowl of stew that is perfect on a chilly day or when you are sick. Packed full of nutrients like vitamin c, calcium, and betacarotene, you will want your toddler’s eating it too.

0 from 0 votes

Sweet Potato Stew

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion
5 cloves garlic
1 green pepper
1 carrot
1 can 15oz black beans
1 can 15oz red kidney beans
3 cups diced sweet potatoes
5 cups bone broth or chicken broth
1 tsp cajun seasoning recipe follows
salt and pepper to taste

For Cajun Seasoning (yields 4 tbsps)

1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne
2 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

Instructions

In a food processor, chop onion, garlic, green pepper, and carrot.
Heat a large pot on medium, add olive oil and heat.
Add vegetables mixture from the food processor and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, not to let the onions or garlic burn.
Add beans, broth, and sweet potatoes, stirring to combine.
Add in cajun seasoning.
Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 45 minutes.
Serve immediately.

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

Teddy Bear English Muffins // Courtney’s Sweets
Mother Bruce Teddy Bear Toast – Mini Chef Mondays// Momma Lew
Cream Cheese Bear Claws // Baby Loving Mama
Sweet Potato Stew // We’re Parents
Mother Bruce’s Lemonade Cake // Frugal Novice
How To Scramble Eggs // Eating Richly
Bear Claw Cookies // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
Pizza Burger Sliders // Step Stool Chef
Deviled Eggs with Capers // Vegging at the Shore
Bacon & Broccoli Mini Quiches // Mom’s Messy Miracles
Ham and Vegetable Quiche Cups // O’Boy! Organic
Teddy Bear Picnic // Can’t Google Everything

An InLinkz Link-up

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

November 16, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Peanut butter for our family is one of those “deadly food sins”. We’re all obsessed! So sense my frustration for the past 5-ish months when I haven’t been able to consume ANY nuts because it was making the baby extremely colicky. Fast forward to the last week or so, and it seems like her virgin gut is starting to be able to handle it much better. Imagine my joy and happiness that I could crack open the peanut butter jar with Skibbles and dig in with her. I know that we had to make something to celebrate and being that November is National Peanut Butter Month, there’s really no other excuse needed. I came up with these Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip cookies and trust me, you MUST make these. The sooner the better really.

Of course, we had out mini chef in the kitchen with us for this one. We actually made these a family affair and it was super fun for all of us. Like with our other Mini Chef Mondays posts, this is a huge opportunity to build fine motor skills and explore sensory play. Skibbles loved rubbing the cookie dough on her hands and watching and it rolled into a ball as she did it. She also thought it was extremely hilarious that if she put her hand into the dry ingredients that her handprint was left behind.

Of course, her favorite part was being able to eat some of the batter. We don’t let her have much, but we do let her enjoy some of the same fun memories that we remember growing up — how can we not, LOOK AT THAT FACE!

These cookies are actually extremely easy. We used our triple chocolate chip cookie recipe and then chilled the dough and froze dollops of peanut butter to place inside. Rolled them back into balls and baked until perfection oozed out of them. It’s really important that you freeze the peanut butter. If you don’t, it will just melt into the cookies and won’t ooze out like you see in our photos.

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Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup butter softened (NOT MELTED)
3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Organic Sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup Cacao Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Peanut Butter we use this one

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degree F.
Scoop out 1 1/2 teaspoons worth of peanut butter onto a baking sheet until you have 24 dollops of peanut butter. Place in freezer until ready to use (let set for at least an hour).
In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt and set to the side.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter with the white and brown sugar until well combined. Add vanilla and combine. Then add eggs, one at a time, and mix until everything is combined well.
Slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture making sure to get all the flour combined together.
Carefully fold in the chocolate chips.
Chill dough in fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll 2-3in balls of dough and the flatten with your hand. Place a dollop of frozen peanut butter inside and then fold edges back up and around the peanut butter, sealing any edges.
Place each ball onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8-12 minutes depending on your oven.

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

Inside Out Healthy Breakfast Smoothie Recipe // Courtney’s Sweets
Cherry Banana Yogurt Smoothie // Baby Loving Mama
Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies // We’re Parents
French Toast Muffins // Frugal Novice
Goat Cheese Stuffed Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Recipe // Eating Richly
Simple Pumpkin Hummus with Pita Chips // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
Baked Apple Pie Bites // Step Stool Chef
Pumpkin Granola // Vegging at the Shore
Apple French Toast Casserole // The Shirley Journey
Apple Pie // O’Boy! Organic
Snicker Doodle Cookies // Can’t Google Everything

An InLinkz Link-up

Sweetly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

November 9, 2015 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

Last week, we excitedly kicked off our new Mini Chef Mondays series. We hope you had a blast learning about the new series that we are going to be doing and all about our Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins. We are having an incredibly amazing time in the kitchen with our own little chef. While I’ve always allowed to her help out, with these posts I’m picking things that are almost entirely for her to make, and she’s loving being the star of the kitchen. I’m also enjoying adding this hands-on experience into our homeschool pre-k routine since she’s a very visual learner. This recipe is all about sensory activities and fine motor experiences.

Her favorite thing to do was pick out all the seeds from inside the pumpkin. I had a really hard time picking just a few photos because she was absolutely adorable through our entire process. I had fun teaching her new adjectives like slimy, slippery, wet, gross and more to build her vocabulary, while she explored. I think her favorite part about making the actual recipe was mixing the seasonings throughout the seeds because her hands got really messy.

If you still have a pumpkin leftover from Halloween that you didn’t carve, I encourage you to go grab it, cut it open, and get into the kitchen with your little ones! Enjoy!

0 from 0 votes

Sweetly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin seeds all the seeds from one large jack o'latern
2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

Open the top of a pumpkin and remove all the seeds.
Separate the stringy part of the pumpkin from the seeds. Rinse to remove any remaining strings and lay in a single layer on a kitchen towel overnight to dry completely.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a bowl, mix all ingredients together.
Spread in a single layer onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes until seeds have a browned color.
Let cool before eating.
Can be stored in an air tight container for 6 months.

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

Stuffing Muffins – Traditional Bread Stuffing Recipe // Courtney’s Sweets
Thanksgiving Cornucopia Snack Mix // Momma Lew
Jello Cranberry Cookies for the Holidays // Baby Loving Mama
Sweetly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds // We’re Parents
Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies // Frugal Novice
Cooking With Kids Daniel Tiger Snack // Eating Richly
Kid Friendly Egg in a Hole // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
Berrylicious French Toast Casserole // Step Stool Chef
Pear Coffee Cake // Vegging at the Shore
Strawberry Glazed Mini Chocolate Donuts // Mom’s Messy Miracles
Pumpkin Parfaits // O’Boy! Organic
The Best Banana Bread Recipe // Can’t Google Everything

An InLinkz Link-up

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Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

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

Sweetly Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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

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