Preschool Snack - Part 2

After pretzels and apples on Monday, and S'mores Trail Mix on Wednesday, we decided to make dirt dessert pudding cups for preschool snack on Friday. This was another easy one to make and Linds and Luke helped throughout the entire process. The end result was delicious and after we set aside enough for her class, there were three left. I thought this was perfect since the boy doesn't really do desserts (especially one this juvenile!)...but lo and behold, when I pulled them out last night for dessert, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "oh, YES, I love dirt dessert!" Needless to say, I shared half of my pudding cup with my grateful husband :) Lucky for us, too, there were four sent home from school today - so we each got our own tonight.

We garnished ours with a single gummy worm on top (mostly because I managed to eat the rest of the gummy worms over the course of the week we had them in the house and didn't have any extras to mix in with the batter - totally the baby's fault?!). The pudding cups taste much better after sitting overnight in the fridge, but can always be eaten pretty much immediately after making, too.

Dirt Dessert
Ingredients
1 (3.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding
2 cups cold milk
1 (8 oz) tub whipped topping
15 Oreo cookies finely crushed
Gummy worms

Directions

1. Beat pudding mix and milk in a large bowl with wire whisk for 2 minutes.
2. Let stand 5 minutes.
3. Mix in whipped topping and 1/2 cup of cookie crumbs.
4. Spoon into ten 6 or 7 oz cups and top with remaining crumbs.
5. Refrigerate for an hour and top with gummy worms before serving.

Our doubled batch for her class:

Preschool Snack - Part 1

Lindsay was in charge of snacks for her preschool class this week and we decided to go a little creative with them. I always feel bad - since her birthday is right at Christmas, she usually gets to bring her birthday treat on the same day of the holiday party. Everyone's already filling up on cookies and fudge and all that other holiday goodness, that cake and cupcakes are an afterthought. The fact that "mom guilt" over the pending arrival of our third is settling in doesn't help either. I know when this little guy is born that dividing my attention three ways is going to be tough, so I'm trying to do extra special things with Linds and Luke now just to leave them with happy thoughts before my mind (and time) goes.

So, anyways, we decided to do some theme snacks and the letter they were learning this week was "P." On Monday we brought in individual bags of pretzels and apple slices - big hits with 5 year olds! And on Wednesday, we decided to make a trail mix snack that we've been excited to try - s'mores trail mix. Didn't quite fit in with the theme, but it was probably one of the tastiest treats I've snacked on that a 5 year old would enjoy, too. It was super easy to make - in fact, both of the kids made it for the most part. All they had to do was dump the bags/boxes of stuff into a big bowl and mix it up.

S'Mores Trail Mix
Ingredients
1 box of Golden Grahams
1 bag of miniature marshmallows
1 bag of chocolate chips (I used the Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips - better than Hershey's and I'm a Hershey native!)
1 cup of peanuts (optional - we couldn't add them because of school rules)

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Try not to eat the entire thing yourself before serving ;-)

Veggie Pizza

I was looking to make a veggie pizza for a family gathering this weekend and dug out this recipe - I forgot I had it and I remember enjoying it when it was served at a party we threw awhile ago. Wanted to post it before I forgot where I stored it ;-) The original called for 2 packages of crescent rolls, but I have a TON of the "sauce" spread left, so I increased it to 3 and it possibly could be 4 depending on how heavy you like the "sauce." I don't care for it to be too thick, so I may try 4 next time. Enjoy!

Veggie Pizza
Ingredients
3 (8oz) pkgs refrigerated crescent rolls
2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (1oz) pkg dry ranch-style dressing mix
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Roll out the crescent roll dough onto a 9x13 inch baking sheet and pinch together edges to form the pizza crust.
3. Bake crust for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Once finished cooking, remove crust from oven and let cool 15 mins without removing it from baking sheet.
4. In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayo and dry ranch dressing. Spread mixture over the cooled crust. Arrange broccoli, tomato, green pepper, cauliflower, carrots and cheddar cheese over the cream cheese layer. Chill for one hour, slice and serve.

Three-Day!!!

Please forgive me if you’ve read about this ad nauseum on Facebook, or if you’ve heard me go on about it otherwise, but I am officially registered to do the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk for breast cancer in October! It’s 60 miles in three days and all of the proceeds generated go toward global breast cancer research and local community outreach (screening, educating, treating, etc.). It’s an unbelievably worthy cause, with more than a quarter-million women being diagnosed EVERY YEAR. I’ll be walking with a team of more than a dozen women under the team name, “Girls Need Cleavage” (GNC) – because really, we do!

I’ll be doing many different fundraisers throughout the next 8 months to meet my goal of $2,300. While you all have the opportunity to donate to me directly if you are interested, there will also be some opportunities that can be mutually beneficial. My first fundraiser – the one I’m sharing with you about now – is through Tastefully Simple (you know – those delicious dips, breads, and dessert mixes). A friend of mine is a consultant and has offered to donate all of her profits of sales to our team. So, all you need to do is put together an order of any size and you’ll get the great treats of your choice, and I’ll get some help in raising funds. This first leg of the fundraiser will run through the end of February and since the sales ship directly to you, there’s no need for you to be local. And yes, I know this may seem pretty far in advance, but with Baby #3 on his way in just about 3 ½ months, I want to get a leg up on fundraising!

If you'd like to make a purchase, here are the instructions:
Go to www.tastefullysimple.com/web/smassey3, click on "Shop Our Products", and select "G.N.C." (first name) "3 Day Walk" (last name) as your "Host/Event" at checkout. Your order will ship right to your door, you'll receive it within 7-10 days.

If you have questions or need assistance with ordering, feel free to contact Sharon Massey, Sr. Consultant, at 610-357-3007 or srmassey@verizon.net. Want to see a catalog? Just contact her with your address and she'll mail one to you.

Alfredo Sauce

Today is day six of my unintentional meat strike. It started on Tuesday when I saw a photo of mechanically separated chicken (that at first looked deliciously like raspberry soft serve ice cream, but I later realized totally was NOT)...and since, the thought of any kind of meat makes my stomach turn. I'm really hoping this is a pregnancy thing because I love buffalo chicken dip, fresh grilled burgers, fettuccine carbonara, and all sorts of other meaty dishes. But, for now, I'm sticking to fish and veggies. It's making for a monstrous inconvenience as far as meals - making one thing for myself, another for the boy and Linds who want "real" food, and Luke not eating anything but mac-n-cheese or some sort of PB and [fill in the blank].

Anyhoo, I decided to do a big pot of alfredo pasta tonight and make things simple. I hadn't tried this exact recipe before, but it's a pretty basic alfredo recipe, so I knew it would be fine. The original calls for heavy cream, which I don't keep on hand just because of the ridiculous amount of calories, cholesterol and saturated fat contents, so I use a 1% millk/flour roux. I saved 700 calories in the dish AND it tastes just as delicious!

Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package pasta of your choice
1 cup milk
1 T flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
A few shakes of parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, combine milk, flour and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally; be careful not to bring mixture to a boil. Stir in Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic powder. 
3. Toss with cooked pasta and serve immediately.

Burritos w/ Marinated Beef

Wednesday was burrito night! I had a pound of flank steak sitting in the freezer and before I started my unintentional meat strike (see the Alfredo Sauce post for more about that one), I was hungry for beef burritos. I mixed the marinade and let the beef sit in it for about 12 hours, and then cooked it and the juices in the crockpot all day. It shred easily and was nice and juicy in time for dinner. My burritos wound up being black bean burritos, but nonetheless delicious.

I recommend this beef marinade - definitely tasty according to Scott and Linds!

Marinated Flank Steak
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pounds flank steak

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, and ground black pepper. 
2. Place meat in a shallow glass dish. Pour marinade over the steak, turning meat to coat thoroughly. Cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours.