Honey wheat sandwich bread creates the perfect vehicle for sandwiches, butter and almost any jam or spread you can imagine. This recipe yields a fluffy, moist loaf that slices so well. Plus it is much tastier and less expensive than its mass-produced grocery store counterparts.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is one of our favorite cereals. I even remember how cool it was when I was a kid and they came in bar form for breakfast or snacks on the go. One weekday morning after pouring everyone’s bowls, I had an epiphany. Why not make my own cereal bars?! I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before. The boys LOVED these. This recipe alone probably won me the coveted ‘Mom of the Year’ award. Include them in lunches for an extra special treat, but be careful because you just might start a cafeteria riot as all the kids vie for a taste.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Bars
Directions
With four boys, you’d think that would mean A LOT of birthday parties.
I used to have visions of perfectly planned out, whimsical themed parties.
As the kids grew, they pretty much let me know I’d lost a marble or two. I’m lucky if the older boys let me comb their hair on their big day.
All totally normal I’m told, but I still don’t have to like it. Do I?
That being said, I’m taking full advantage of the youngest son’s obsessive love of things and getting in as many themed birthday’s as I can before I’m stuck with just super heroes, and then nothing but cake, ice cream, pizza, and presents.
Since he first got it for Christmas, the youngest son has been in love with The ‘War-ax’.
I had flirted with the idea of Toy Story, but as I watch his love of this famous Seuss’ character continue to thrive, logically I knew nothing else would do.
That being said, while I enjoy having a ‘theme’ especially one so close to his little heart, I do have four kids and there’s only so much I can do.
While I wish I had the time, and energy, and let’s be honest… motivation to throw the super elaborate parties some of my friends do where everything is planned out, coordinated, and theme-centric (virtually down to the tp in the bathroom), I just can’t.
Son # 4 walked in, took one look at the few simple treats in store for him, and his face literally lit up. Now, if only I could keep him thinking I’m that cool forever.
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Birthday Party
The Lorax face was made using a pumpkin template that I traced onto construction paper.
The pumpkin template can be found here.
Orange Hawaiian Punch made his ‘body’. I did have to explain that punch, in this instance, is something you drink and not something you do.
The ‘UNLESS’ quote printable can be gotten from A Little Delightful.
The I speak for the trees picture was made using lollipop sticks, a sharpie, sparkly pom poms, and a glue gun.
Since my son absolutely loves The Lorax movie, and it’s adorable cast of characters, I knew I wanted to have some themed goodies to snack on.
We opted for Teddy Grahams (as Barbaloots), Goldfish (representing the Humming Fish), Marshmallows (their most favorite treat), and yellow and orange Reese’s Pieces to represent The Lorax himself.
Also, to note, when setting out snacks at a party, vases, bowls, glasses and jars all make cute serving dishes.
Of course, the youngest son had to have a ‘War-ax’ cake.
Again I used the cut out pumpkin template to ‘trace’ the basic outline with a tooth pick.
The eyes were made using life savers, smarties, and miniature chocolate chips. We also made him his very own Truffula tree forest.
Again, these cupcakes were made using lollipop sticks that I had ‘sharpi-ed’ Truffula bark onto.
Tufts of cotton candy made the ‘wooly’ bits.
While I had seen these cupcakes in several party posts, there was on lesson they all failed to mention that I had to learn the hard way.
Cotton candy melts, especially in a moist atmosphere.
These were what the cupcakes looked like about an hour after being tufted.
Pretty depressing, right?
I felt a brief wave of panic when I checked on them before I went to bed the night before the party and originally discovered their sorry state.
However, I was easily able to re-do the sticks and waited until just before I was ready to serve cake to re-tuft, and they stayed perfectly fluffy up until the moment they were greedily gobbled up.
So, son # 4 thought he was pretty much the luckiest little boy in the whole world when he saw his special cake and cupcakes.
I know this because he told me so himself the next morning when he borrowed one of my rings and proposed to me.
This Spring, and now this Summer, I’ve been taking full advantage of our local farmers market.
Every week they run these amazing specials. In addition to the specials and the low prices on fresh, locally grown, organic produce, they also offer a buyer bonus.
Usually if you spend anywhere between $6-10, you leave with 3-5 lbs of a featured product. For several weeks, that free product was sweet potatoes.
It’s great because I always spend at least $20 stocking up on most of my months worth of produce, and instead of purchasing the sweet potatoes as part of my grocery list, I got them free for buying other things that I needed anyway.
That being said, I had to come up with new ways to use them so they didn’t go bad and so that nobody got tired of them or burnt out on the same side dish. We love homemade chips, and they are a great easy snack.
It dawned on me that the same would probably be true with a sweet potato version.
Instead of just lightly salting them, like I would a regular chip, I opted for a sweet garnish.
You however, are not bound by my choice of toppings and have full creative license to express yourself and impress with your own batch of delicious, homemade Sweet Potato Chips.
Sweet Potato Chips
I love cheesecake, and the fruitier it is, the better. When I saw a recipe guaranteeing all that rich flavor, but with the ease of a cookie, I knew it was something I had to try. I had originally spotted this recipe on Pinterest; however, it took me almost a year to get around to actually making them. When I smelled them baking, I had a moment where I actually began to drool. Just a tiny bit. When I took that first bite, I could have, quite literally, kicked myself for waiting so long to give these a try. Since then, over the past year, I’ve been taking them to events and get-together’s (they’re unbelievably easy and taste spectacular), and so many friends have asked for this recipe that I just couldn’t wait another minute to share!
Blueberry Cheesecake And White Chocolate Chip Cookies
A simple pork chop is marinaded in ranch dressing, coated in a thick Italian bread crumb topping, and baked to crispy perfection. These Crispy, Baked Italian Ranch Pork Chops are a tasty new way to make an easy, family favorite pork chop supper.
