Chantilly Whipped Cream

If you have ever had the desserts at Flemings Steakhouse, then you have probably had the yummy goodness that is the Flemings whipped cream.  They serve it in a bowl next to the dessert so that you can scoop the desired amount of cream onto your dessert.  My husband and I usually divide up the whipped cream equally among our plates, and then eat it all with a spoon (oh and if we have room we eat the dessert!) 

This Chantilly Whipped Cream recipe tastes JUST like the whipped cream that Flemings serves!!  This is delicious with just about any dessert, or eaten by itself with a spoon...

Cookies 'n Cream Freezer Cake

This is a very simple dessert that can be whipped up in matter of moments and put in the freezer until you need it.  Depending on the size of the platter you have, you can make this cake as big or as small as you want to.  My 3-year old was helping me make this, and of course, for every cookie she placed on the dish, she thought she should get to place a cookie in her mouth too!    Let me just warn you, once you make this cake, there is no going back!!  Who knew that something so easy to make could end up being so delicious?!!
  

You will only need 2 ingredients to make this cake:

Crock Pot Peach Cobbler

Okay, oh my is this a tasty treat!  After my mother made us the most delicious peach pie a few weeks ago, we have all been seriously craving it!  After realizing that if I tried making the pie, it probably wouldn't even taste half as good as my mom's did, I came up with this yummy, simple crock pot version of it!  Plus, it is still way to hot to even come close to thinking about turning on the oven, so the crock pot is a great alternative!  We also had a ton of peaches to use up so this was just perfect!  (Hey, it is still peach season for a little while longer!!)

So... back to the cobbler...  My absolute favorite part of a pie/cobbler is the ooey, gooey, buttery crust (sorry, peaches!)  If you are like me and love the crust the best, you will absolutely LOVE this recipe! If you love the peaches or ice cream the best, don't worry, you will love this too!  My three year-old daughter (who helped make this) actually asked for a bowl of cobbler JUST so she could get some ice cream!  And our almost 1-year old just loves the peaches!  See... all-around crowd pleaser!!  Enjoy!!!

Crock Pot Peach Cobbler Recipe

Prep Time: 5 min          
Cooking Time: 3 hrs
Servings: 8-10
 

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups sliced peaches (fresh, canned, or frozen)
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup baking mix
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions  

1. Add peaches to crock pot.  Sprinkle peaches with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together baking mix, oats, brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.  
3. Add melted butter to mixture and stir.
4. Pour mixture over peaches and spread to evenly cover the peaches.  
5. Drizzle vanilla over mixture.  Sprinkle with sugar.
6. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
7. Top with large scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread

Yuummm!!!  This is my new obsession -- Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread!!!  This makes a great breakfast, lunch, and (midnight) snack!  If you are looking for something a little sweet after putting the kids to bed, make a double batch of this to have on hand in your freezer!  Skip the twinkies and fruit roll ups in your kids' (or husband's) lunch boxes and pack them a piece of this!  They will definitely thank you! 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon (1 packet) yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)

Directions  

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, salt, and cinnamon.
2. In a small bowl, combine yeast, honey, vanilla, butter, and water.  Mix until yeast is dissolved.  Let sit until mixture begins to foam up.
3. Add yeast mixture to flour mixture and stir.  Add chocolate chips.  Knead mixture for 5 minutes.  
4. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a towel.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (Around 45 minutes)
5. Place dough into a greased loaf pan (I use 9x5)
6. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  (To bake in the Crock Pot, follow these directions, starting at #2)

To Freeze as Baked Bread: 
After bread is completely cooled, place in freezer bag and stick in freezer for up to 6 weeks.  You can also cut bread into slices, wrap in plastic wrap, and put slices into a freezer bag for serving size frozen portions.

To Thaw Frozen Baked Bread:
Remove bread from freezer the night before you want to use it.  For individual slices, remove 1 hour before needed, or remove immediately and microwave for 30 seconds.

To Freeze as Dough:

Wrap dough ball in plastic wrap.  Place in freezer bag and store in freezer for up to 6 weeks. 

To Bake Previously Frozen Dough:

Remove dough from freezer and thaw at room temperature for 4 hours before baking.

{No Bake} Chocolate Buttercup Bars

This is one of our very favorite desserts!  It is quick, easy, simple, and No Bake!!  So delicious!!!  The only bad thing is that they are usually all gone within a couple of hours!  They literally just melt in your mouth!

Chocolate Buttercup Bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 4 whole graham crackers, crushed (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions  

1. In a medium bowl, stir together butter, crackers, sugar, and peanut butter.
2. Spread mixture evenly onto the bottom of an 8x8 casserole dish and press down using a spoon.
3. Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together in the microwave until melted completely. (Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir.  Microwave for another 30 seconds if needed).
4. Pour chocolate mixture over cracker mixture and spread evenly.
5. Refrigerate for 1 hour to harden before serving.

(Servings: 9)*


* To make extra thick Chocolate Buttercup Bars, double the ingredients, but still use an 8x8 casserole dish!  (Warning: This will result in extra thick, extra rich, and extra delicious Chocolate Buttercup Bars!!)

Yummy Flag Snacks

Like most of our projects, this one started out by rummaging through our pantry and fridge.  Using stuff you already have at home is great for several reasons:

1. You can use up any food that needs to be used or may be expiring soon.
2. You don't have to get your kids loaded in/out of the car!
3. You can stretch your (and your kids') creativity.
4. You don't have to get your kids loaded in/out of the car!!!

So with what we had on hand, and trying to keep with a 4th of July theme, we came up with these Yummy Flag Snacks!  They are super easy to make!  And did I mention they are delicious too!

Yummy Flag Snacks

You will need:

• Graham crackers
• Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
• Blueberries
• Raspberries, sliced in half

To make:

1.  Spread graham cracker with yogurt.
2. Arrange blueberries in top left corner of cracker to for the "stars" area.
3. Line up raspberry halves on cracker to form the "stripes."
4. Enjoy!

For another delicious (and healthy) 4th of July snack, try these Patriotic Popsicles!

Do you have any favorite 4th of July snacks or dishes you will be making?

Homemade Patriotic Popsicles

This morning we were trying to come up with a fun 4th of July activity that we could do at home inexpensively with things we already had in the house.  Our watermelon popsicles and pear yogurt pops have been disappearing quickly, and we had some fruit in the refrigerator to use up, so we decided to make these patriotic popsicles! 

While it sounded like a great idea at the time, the assembly was a little challenging!  The raspberries and blueberries were really messy and they stain very easily, so we ended up pouring each mixture into a glass with a spout and then pouring each mixture in that way.  I would definitely recommend a funnel to make this a little less messy.  In the end, they turned out good, and we have some fun snacks to eat on the 4th of July (if they last that long)! 

Patriotic Popsicles

You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups  fresh raspberries*
• 1 1/2 cups applesauce*
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries*

            * If using frozen, thaw to room temperature

To Make:

1. Puree raspberries in food processor or blender.  Fill each popsicle mold one-third of the way full with raspberry puree.
2. Pour applesauce on top of raspberry puree and fill until two-thirds of the way full. 
3. Puree blueberries in food processor or blender.  Pour blueberry puree on top of applesauce and fill until full.
4. Freeze for at least 4 hours.

Note: If you don't have popsicle molds you could use plastic cups with popsicle sticks.  Or fill ice cube trays with each flavor and add to water for flavor.

(Servings: 6)

1-Ingredient Peach Ice Cream Recipe

Peaches are definitely one of the summer's yummiest fruits!  We look forward to enjoying this delicious food in any form!  If you are looking for a quick and healthy recipe for a refreshing summer treat, whip up a fresh batch of this homemade 1-ingredient peach ice cream!!  This recipe is extremely easy and takes about a minute to make, and is a delicious way to keep cool this summer!

1-Ingredient Peach Ice Cream

You will need:

• 1 cup frozen peaches

To Make:

1. Add peaches to blender or food processor and mix until smooth.
2. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

Super Yummy and Healthy (Shhh!) Shake Recipe

During the summer months, nothing sounds more refreshing than a nice cold shake!  This shake is a healthy way to enjoy a refreshing drink without the added calories of ice cream.  Pureed bananas take the place of ice cream for a healthy alternative!  Also, the spinach adds tons of nutrients and you can't even taste it!! We use the Vitamix Pro 200 Blender for these, but a regular blender works too!

  Super Yummy and Healthy (Shhh!) Shake 

Ingredients

• 2 cups chocolate almond milk
• 2 frozen bananas*
• 1 handful baby spinach, washed
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

* The best way to freeze bananas is to peel them, break them in half or thirds, and put them in a freezer bag.  This way if you have bananas that are about to go bad, or if your child only eats half of a banana for breakfast, you can just keep adding bananas to the bag and freezing. 

Directions  

1. Add all ingredients to a blender or Vitamix.
2. Mix and enjoy!

(Servings: 2)

Homemade Popsicle Recipes

As I mentioned yesterday, one of our fun things to do to keep busy was making homemade popsicles.  We had some watermelon to use up, as well as some Yo Baby Meals - Pear and Green Bean. (This is the only way we can get our child to eat her veggies!)  We ended up making two different flavors of popsicles -- Watermelon and Pear Yogurt Pops!

Homemade Watermelon Popsicles

You will need:

• Watermelon 

To Make:

1. Slice desired amount of watermelon and remove seeds.  
2. Add to blender or food processor and puree.
3. Fill popsicle molds with mixture and freeze for at least 4 hours.  

Note: If you don't have popsicle molds you could use plastic cups with popsicle sticks.  Or for a fun alternative, freeze mixture in ice cube trays and add frozen watermelon cubes to water for a refreshing drink!

 

 Homemade Pear Yogurt Pops

You will need:

• 1- 15 oz Canned Pear Halves (2 pears if using fresh)
• 1- 4oz Yogurt (we used Pear and Green Beans Yo Baby Meals organic yogurt)
• 2 tablespoons water

To Make:

1.  Add all ingredients to blender or food processor and puree.
2. Fill popsicle molds with mixture and freeze for at least 4 hours. 
3. Smile -- Your kids are eating their vegetables :)

Does anyone have any favorite homemade popsicle recipes?  Please share in the comments!