Breakfast Trouble Update

Thank you to everyone who helped out and sent in recipes for our breakfast troubles. In some ways breakfast has gone so much easier this week, and in another way, it's been harder (aka we've found an underlying problem). 

But overall, we've found many benefits to eating a healthier breakfast:

- We've had more energy

- We've felt fuller longer

- We've started adding healthier options to the rest day's snacks and meals

I've been very busy in the kitchen all week. Here are the recipes we've tried:

Giant Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast cookies from tonetiki

Image via tonetiki

Initial thoughts: Oooh, who wouldn't like cookies for breakfast? But after thinking about it some more, I remember back in September we had tried a breakfast cookie. It was a disaster. The cookie was so dense it was hard to eat, and the only thing you could taste was the banana in it. This new recipe had no banana in it, so I decided to give it a try for a mid-morning snack when I had five babysitting kids here; three are very picky, one is sometimes picky, and the other one is too young to be trying them :)

Reviews: Everyone loved them for morning snack! I think the pickiest child had three of them. I had Paige and Nate try them later; Paige liked the cookie but not the raisins, and Nate loved them. They're now his favorite cookie!

Changes made to the recipe: The only thing I changed was I made smaller cookies using my medium cookie scoop; the batch made 2 dozen cookies.

Will I make these again?: Definitely! I made them twice in a week's time.

Breakfast Bars via Noel's Kitchen Tips

Image via Noel's Kitchen Tips

Initial thoughts: They looked really good! Very healthy, but still looked soft and chewy. We already have an oatmeal bar recipe we love, but it's not as healthy as this. The only concern with trying this recipe was the molasses; the kids haven't really had that flavor before, and I didn't know what to expect.

Reviews: Again, Nate loved these! He had a huge one for breakfast for four days in a row this week. Ryan loved them as well; he threw a fit they were all gone on Wednesday, so we made the breakfast cookies again. Paige was iffy on these; she didn't like the dried fruit in them, but said if I did fresh blueberries maybe they'd be okay. Pete, who only eats toast or bagels on school mornings, actually took these to work while they lasted and really enjoyed them! They were dense, but in a satisfying way. The molasses wasn't overpowering at all, and it was just a really good breakfast option.

Changes made to the recipe: Nothing really; I used cranberries only, and no walnuts.

Will I make these again?: Definitely.

Baby Breakfast Quiches from Sara

Image and recipe can be found here

Initial thoughts: Paige LOVES quiche! For the monthly women's prayer breakfasts, Pete's mom always has a breakfast quiche, and Paige just eats it right up.

Reviews: They were a hit on the first day! She ate two of them right up and was very happy with them. I also tried one, and it was pretty good.

Changes made to the recipe: I wasn't sure how much milk to put in, so didn't put too much in. I didn't have any meat for them, so just omitted it. I defrosted some California mix veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots) to use (what we usually have in our quiches), and it worked out really well.

Will I make these again? Yes. I'll add some meat (we just stocked up on sausage!), and probably some more milk. When we reheated them, the were a little dry, so we're hoping more milk will help that.

Walnut-Yogurt Parfaits via whole living

Image via whole living

Initial thoughts: The kids all love fruit and yogurt parfaits, but they eat so much of them and are still so hungry afterwards. I wasn't sure about the Greek yogurt; I'd been hearing a lot about it lately but didn't know much about it. I was concerned about too much sugar (between the fruit and the yogurt), especially first thing in the morning. After doing some research (this article was very helpful), I decided to give the recipe a try!

Reviews: Ryan tried it first; he hated the walnuts. He was expecting peanuts, so wasn't to thrilled about the change. He ate everything else, though, and was satisfied until morning snack time. I gave it a try, and loved it. I've been having a bowl of this every day, either as breakfast, snack, or most of my lunch. The yogurt (we just got the plain Greek yogurt) is much more filling, so we're using less (which is awesome cause it's more expensive). Paige loves this, too, and asks for a double helping of walnuts.

Changes made to the recipe: What I've done this week is peel and separate a mandarin orange into the slices, add a handful of grapes, a sprinkle of chopped walnuts, and a large spoonful of the yogurt to that and mix it up. It's not as pretty as the picture above, but it works! We didn't see the need for the honey on top; even though it's plain yogurt, the sweetness from the fruit balanced it out really nicely. Once our cantaloupe and pineapple are ripe, we'll be eating that in the parfaits as well :)

Would I make this again?: Um, yes. Over and over again.

Butternut Squash Muffins by Jamie Oliver for Parenting magazine (can see picture on link)

Initial thoughts: This might be a great way to use up the butternut squash that's been sitting on my counter all winter long. We like sweet potato and pumpkin in our muffins, why not butternut squash?

Reviews: Very mixed. Nate said they were okay, but ate three of them in one sitting. Later he said they were good, just not as good as the cookies or bars I had made. Ryan liked them, and ate them a couple times this week. Paige picks at them; she also wasn't feeling very well the day I made them, but hasn't wanted them again. One of my babysitting kids, E, loved them and ate five of them (apparently she was really hungry?). I thought they were okay; they'd be better with some butter or cream cheese on them.

Changes made to the recipe: I didn't add the raisins on the top; I had to give them a chance with Paige!

Will I make them again?: Probably, but it won't be my first option. I do have some squash in the freezer to make another double batch of these, and some muffins that are in the freezer on standby for rushed mornings.

We have a bunch of other recipes that we'll be trying this week. I'll let you know how that goes, as well! Feel free to check out my breakfast recipes board on Pinterest for some other ideas!

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Reader Request: Ice Cream Cake Recipe

Morning, everyone :)

I had an idea this week when I had a few requests for Paige's birthday ice cream cake recipe - why don't I try doing a reader request post every week? If there is anything you want to know about me or any topic you'd like me to talk about (such as things I talk about on here, from parenting, marriage, finances, etc.), send an email to mommyapps@gmail.com, message me on Facebook, or leave a comment here!

Every year for my birthday my parents get me a snowman Carvel ice cream cake. It's delicious and all of us love it, so I wasn't too surprised when Paigey asked for an ice cream cake for her birthday. The only problem? They're pricey, and unlike my mom and dad, I don't get a paper to get a coupon for them.

I thought making one didn't seem like it would be too difficult. That's what Pinterest is for, right? There are so many recipes for ice cream cakes that my head was spinning. The recipes varied from super easy to a little bit more difficult. There were Oreo  cakes, Peanut butter cup cakes, plain cakes, sprinkle cakes. Round cakes, rectangle cakes, square cakes,  cupcake cakes. How was a mom to choose the perfect one?

Thankfully Paige had some specific wants for her cake: no chocolate ice cream, and lots of the cookie crunchies in the middle. I was able to narrow down the recipes a little bit, but still nothing seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.

So I decided to make up my own recipe, taking bits and pieces of various recipes, and hoped and prayed it would turn out okay. Paige wasn't too sure when she saw the cake; I think she was expecting a store bought one. She told me later that even though she knows I bake well, she wasn't so sure an ice cream cake would turn out okay. Let's just say she loved every single bite of her cake and says she doesn't want a Carvel cake ever again!

Here's my recipe:

Shawna's Oreo Ice Cream Cake

1.5 quarts cookies and cream ice cream, softened

1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened

25 Oreo-type cookies

6 Oreo-type cookies

Place 25 Oreo cookies into a sealable bag (like a ziploc bag; I also used generic store brand Oreos). Squeeze the air out, and crush with a rolling pin. Don't leave super big chunks, or make it into crumbs. Medium sized chunks taste best.

Put the softened cookies and cream ice cream into a bowl and use an electric mixer on low to medium speed and gently beat the ice cream for 20-30 seconds (I used my KitchenAid mixer). This makes the ice cream a uniform consistency; do not over beat so it's soupy, just soft like soft ice cream. Unfortunately the cookies and cream ice cream does turn gray, but still will taste AMAZING.

Scrape the ice cream into the bottom of a spring form pan (I used a 9 inch round pan), and spread evenly. Sprinkle the Oreo crumbs on top, spreading them around to cover the ice cream evenly, and gently press down to make sure they'll stick to the bottom layer of ice cream.

Mix up the softened vanilla ice cream with a mixer in the same way you did with the cookies and cream ice cream. Spread it on top of the crushed Oreos in your spring form pan, making sure you spread it evenly.

Crush up the remaining 6 Oreos; sprinkle on top of your vanilla ice cream. If you need to put the cake in the freezer while you crush the Oreos, that's okay. My house was pretty cool when I made this, but if it was hotter, it would have needed to be put in the freezer.

Cover the cake pan with aluminum foil, and freeze for a few hours. I made this two days in advance; 6 hours or overnight would probably be best for refreezing the cake.

When you're ready to serve it, put it in the freezer for half an hour to soften it up. Use a knife to run around the cake to loosen it from the pan, then take the ring off of the pan. Cut into wedges, and enjoy!

Ryan and I did find an ice cream cake very similar to this on sale for $18 that I was thinking about buying. I'm glad I didn't; using off brand Oreos and ice cream I spent about $7 and made a cake twice the size of the $18, all at a fraction of the cost! Makes me wonder if this post can count as a Financial Friday post? :)

The thing I love about this recipe is it's easy to change up; you can use various flavors of ice cream, add other toppings like hot fudge on top, or add candy bits to the layers. It's ridiculously easy, and took almost no time to make up. I think I'd like to try it with chocolate chip cookies!

Oh, before I forget, a note on softening the ice cream: one of the recipes I used as inspiration said to soften it in the refrigerator for about half an hour before using. What I found is by the time I got home from buying the ice cream and then swinging by the kids' school quickly, it was the perfect softness for using right then and there. Knowing me, I'd forget it was in the fridge and I'd have soup on my hands, even if I used a timer! I'm sorta absent minded at times like that :)

Do you have a favorite ice cream cake recipe? Do you have a topic or question for me for the next Reader Request post?

Dinnertime Adventures

For the past 2 1/2 weeks, we've been cat sitting for our friends Stephen and Vanessa as they went to Japan for Christmas. Magnus and Lily are frequent visitors to our house, and we love having them here. Their owners just got home, so the cats left today.

As thank you/Christmas gifts, Stephen and Vanessa brought us back fun little things, like origami sets, calligraphy brushes and paper, and tea. We each also got our own set of chopsticks! The kids' ones have trainers on them, and they were so excited, we had to try them out for dinner tonight:

Silly kids with their chopsticks!

Ryan had a hard time; he ended up using a fork.

Paigey was a natural! She only used a spoon for the sauce

Nate went back and forth between chopsticks and a spoon

Pete trying chopsticks for the first time

I was the only one who had used chopsticks before, but it had been years so I was rusty. We did pretty well, considering we tried this new recipe, and the noodles were slippery (I had to substitute elbows for the rotini). It was a yummy and fun dinner!

Have you ever tried chopsticks?

Cupcakes!

My kids love cupcakes. In a very big way.

So naturally for Mother's day Paige wants to make me cupcakes for a special dessert. She whips out her favorite cookbook, finds the recipe she's been begging to try, and she makes them (with Daddy's help, of course!).

I've had good cupcakes, and I've had bad cupcakes. These were GREAT cupcakes!

Fast forward a couple weeks, and Nate's craving cupcakes. He pulls out the recipe, and begs for them. I tell him that I would love to make them for him, and maybe change them up a little bit so they're a different flavor. He's not too sure about it, but he goes along with it, cause hey, Mom's makin cupcakes!

Fast forward to 4:30 that afternoon - Pete has Paige and Nate at piano lessons. I'm frantically trying to figure out what's for dinner when the cupboards are getting bare, the kitchen's a disaster, Ry's underfoot, and baby L is fussing. The last thing I need is to make cupcakes. But I promised, and this Mommy doesn't go back on her promises.

I'm so glad I didn't, cause the finished product was definitely worth it! I put baby L in her high chair with some crackers, gave Ry the job of getting things out of the fridge for me, and got to work.

Here's the recipe for Zoe's vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting, adapted from the cookbook 'C is for Cooking: Recipes from the Street', now entitled:

Mom's Vanilla Cupcakes with Cookies 'n Cream Butter cream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt (I didn't put it in)
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened (used margarine)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c (8 oz) low-fat plain yogurt
1/2 t vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line 18 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well mixed.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in the vanilla. Pour the batter evenly into the lined muffin cups.

Bake until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool completely.

Cookies 'n Cream Butter cream Frosting:
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened
2 1/2 c confectioner's sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 - 1/3 c crushed Oreo cookie crumbs (not sure how much I put in!)
18 mini Oreo cookies

In a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter until it is pale and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar, 1/2 c at a time on low speed, until well blended. Mix in the vanilla. Stir in the crushed Oreos.

Spread the frosting over the cool cupcakes, and place a mini Oreo in the center of each cupcake. Enjoy!!!

Now, I would be lying if I said I followed the ingredients step by step, but I didn't have the time or the patience. I mixed all the wet ingredients together for the cupcakes, then dumped all the dry ones in on top then mixed. I couldn't tell the difference in texture!

The original frosting recipe calls for 4 hulled and cut up strawberries instead of the Oreos, and it makes a wonderfully pink and fruity frosting! It also called for 1/4 c. half and half, but the frosting ran everywhere, so it was more of a very thin glaze. I omitted it for the second try, and I don't think it needed to be in there. Paige also used strawberry yogurt instead of the plain, and it was phenomenal!

I think this recipe is going to become a fast favorite for us, and it really took no more time to make than a boxed mix. We're looking forward to trying other variations, and maybe I'll even get a picture of them before they disappear next time...maybe :)

Indoor s'mores: delicious and easy!

So it's our last night without Pete here. The kids are anxious for what special dessert Mommy has up her sleeve, and I draw a blank. We did sundaes and ice cream sandwiches, but I had no idea what to do next!

Then it hit me - what better dessert to have during Memorial Day weekend than s'mores? Best part? I had all the ingredients in my cupboards!

The only problem is....I don't grill. It's not that I can't grill, it's just that our gas grill is having issues. Pete struggles enough with it, so I'm not about to try to roast marshmallows on it. The problem is easily fixable, but my hubby's not here to fix it. I could use our charcoal grill, but by the time the coals would be perfect, it'd be past the kids' bedtime. So what was a Mommy to do?

Pinterest (and a little thinking on my part) to the rescue!

All week I had been noticing pins on how to make s'mores in your oven. Doesn't need a grill + makes a perfect s'more = genius idea. Only problem being that I didn't want to heat up the house any more, and the kids would be ready for dessert at different times. Didn't quite make sense to use so much propane for one s'more at a time.

Enter our toaster oven! It made our dessert in minutes and didn't heat up the house. It didn't quite toast the marshmallows perfectly on all sides like I prefer, but other than that it was so close to the real thing they disappeared within minutes.

Indoor S'mores

Makes 1 s'more

1 graham cracker, broken into two squares
1 large marshmallow
1 square of a chocolate bar

Place the marshmallow on one of the graham cracker squares and put it on a small baking sheet. Insert the baking sheet into toaster oven; put on lightest setting until top of marshmallow is toasted to your liking.

With a spatula, remove the graham cracker from the baking sheet; be careful, the cracker and marshmallow are hot! Put the chocolate on top of the marshmallow, then top it off with the other graham cracker. I like to wait a couple minutes so the chocolate melts a little before eating, and enjoy!

No toaster oven? Put in a preheated 350 oven for about 5 minutes instead :)

This recipe is Ryan, Paige, and Nate approved, can't you tell?

Have you tried any new recipes lately? I'd love to hear about them!