Cookie Salad

Last night I thought I had a church function to attend.  I was supposed to bring both a salad and the recipe for it.  I wanted to bring a strawberry spinach salad, but the store was out of (affordable) spinach.  My second choice was cookie salad.  (Yum!)  I didn't like the fruit that the original recipe called for (Mandarin oranges and pineapple).  Not with delicious fudge striped cookies anyway.  In typical Angie fashion, I used the original recipe as a guideline and made up my own. 

Remember how I said I thought I had a function to go to?  Well....turns out I was a week early. Oops. My family ate my salad for dessert instead. Love all around for the cookie salad.

Cookie Salad
1 lg pkg vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
8 oz cool whip
1 apple, cut in chunks
1 banana, sliced
Strawberries, sliced
1 pkg fudge striped cookies

Mix pudding and milk. Let it set in the fridge for 5 minutes.  Fold in cool whip. Add fruit.  Just before serving crumble cookies and mix those in as well.

Enjoy!

Popcorn and other snacks

I love popcorn.  Especially buttered popcorn. Movie theater buttered.  And since that's only just a few teeny tiny calories, I can eat all the time.  Right.  I wish!  Luckily, last year I was introduced to nutritional yeast flakes. What the?  No, it's not the yeast you use to make in breads.  It's actually a yeast some vegetarians use as a butter/cheese substitute.  You can buy at Winco, and I've heard you can get it at Sunflower Market as well.  Here's a simple recipe for you:

Oil popcorn popper (like the stove top kind or there are electric ones)
large bowl

3/4 c. popcorn
1/4 c. canola (or EVOO) oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes (remember NOT baking yeast)

Pop your corn. Dump into bowl.  Sprinkle with sea salt and nutr. yeast flakes.  Gently toss. Eat. 

I know. Simple.  Delicious.

Other healthy snacks I'm enjoying:



Ann's House Soy Energy Blend

 Jeff and I found this 2 lb baby at Costco last night for $7.99.  Soy nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.  We opened it before we left the parking lot and munched it the entire way home.  Yum!

And lastly, the ever popular kindergarten snack: Ants on a log.  Celery, peanut butter, and raisins.  It's a staple snack 'round these parts.

What are you snacking on?

French Bread

Jeff's gone for the week.  I have 3 hungry kiddos to kept fed, but 3 kiddos who don't necessarily like what I fix for dinner when dad's around.  So, Friday I raided my local Small-Mart (walmart's grocery-only store) and their entire frozen food section.  (I very nearly took a picture of my shopping cart for a "what-not-to-eat" post ;)  One of the things I grabbed was a bag of meatballs.  I figured the kids love them and I could do a number of things with them that I would enjoy and that the kids would still eat.  Meatballs were sounding mighty good today and so was some fresh bread.  I decied that a spaghetti and meatball dinner would hit the spot.  But for it to be a real spaghetti dinner, there must be a green salad with ranch and french bread.  I called my mom and found out it is surprisingly easy to make a loaf of french bread.  Here's her super easy recipe:

French Bread
1/2 cup warm water

2 T. yeast

2 c. hot water

3 T. sugar

1/3 c. oil

6 c. unsifted flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water.  Combine remaining ingredients (use only 3 c. of flour to start with).  Add yeast mixture.  Stir with heavy spoon (well-blended).  Let dough rest for 10 minutes and then beat down.  Repeat this step for a total of 5 times (about 50 minutes).  Turn out on to floured surface.  Knead just enough to cover dough with flour.  Divide into 2 pieces.  Roll out 1st section with rolling pin into a rectangle.  Start on one side and roll (as you would for cinnamon rolls).  Transfer loaf to greased pan, seam side down, and tuck ends under.  Repeat with 2nd section of dough.  Let raise for 30 minutes. Cut 3 slashes across the top of each loaf (careful to not deflate your dough).  Beat 1 egg and brush across the tops for a shiny, crusty top.  Bake at 400 degrees on the middle rack for 30 minutes.

This was SUCH an easy recipe.  We may be having fresh bread at our home more often now!

Golden Cream Soup

I just searched my archives to send this recipe to a friend, and realized I've never posted it here! (at least not that I could find) This is my favorites soup-warm, creamy and best of all cheesy. If I have posted this before, sorry.


Golden Cream Soup


3 c. cubed potatoes
2-3 c. water (don’t boil dry)
½ c. celery slices
½ c. carrot slices
¼ c. chopped onion
1 tsp. Parsley flakes dash of pepper
½ tsp salt
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 ½ c. milk
2 T. flour
½ lb Velveeta cheese

Combine potatoes, water, celery, carrots, onion, parsley, salt and bouillon cube. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes, adding water as necessary. Add milk to flour a little at a time to keep from getting lumpy. Add to veggies. Stir until thickens. (Not real thick.) Add cheese. Stir to melt.

It goes really well with this cornbread. Happy Fall!

Desserts wanted!!

It's fast Sunday. I'm sitting home with a 2-year-old who has a runny nose instead of going to church with the rest of my family. The only thing I can think about is I WANT DESSERT!!! We have no traditional desserts for a Sunday evening or even favorites (unless you count chocolate chip cookies-which is Jeff's fav not mine). So, I'm wondering-does your family have a favorite dessert to make and what is it??? Let me know and I'll quiz my family to see if they have any favorites that I'm unaware of. Oh and I'd love any new dessert recipes you have to share! (Email me or leave a note in the post section.) Thanks!!

"best cooker ever!"

Is what mckay told me I am over lunch today. What did I make him that made me so deserving of this high praise? This simple, easy, kid-friendly lunch:

Tortilla chips
orange slices
chocolate milk

and the 1st place selection??

ham and cheese roll-ups

Here's the recipe:

2 slices of ham
2 slices of cheese

Lay the cheese at the edge of the ham and roll the ham up. Repeat with second piece of ham and cheese. Serves 1.

Seriously. The things impress kids!

Smoothies

My cousin has started her own cooking blog and shared these favorite smoothie recipes. Trust me. Try these once and you'll never need to pay $5 for a smoothie again! For me, I'm on a constant search for something that sounds appealing for breakfast and these hit the spot. The only thing I do differently is toss in a handful of spinach for some extra vitamins. Sound gross?? It's not. I can't tell it's there and even better when I use mixed berries my kids have no clue they're getting their leafy greens! Gotta love hidden veggies. The basic recipe goes as follows:

2 c. ice
1 1/4 c. guava nectar (available at walmart for about $1.50 and lasts a while)
1/2 c. vanilla or strawberry yogurt
1 packet vanilla flavored carnation instant breakfast
1 banana
1 c. frozen fruit
*1 big handful of spinach

Blend 1st 4 ingredients till smooth. Add banana and spinach and blend. Finally toss in your yummy fruit and blend till smooth once more. (Are my instructions feeling a bit repetitive?) Serves 4.

*If using fruit other than dark berries, be sure to inform your kids that it is "Shrek's Swamp Sludge" or other gross concoction to ensure they drink it. ;)

I've also used Popsicle molds to freeze smoothies for a fast, easy on-the-go breakfast/snack.

For some great combinations visit Kinikini Kuisine.