Archives for September 2014

DIY Fall Treats: Tasty Acorns

September 22, 2014 by 1 Comment

Tasty Acorns 1

 I just about had a fit when I started to put this post together because my SD card decided that it wanted to be corrupted and not let me have access to my pictures. But you know what? I showed it who is boss and it eventually gave me my pictures. So you can see the beauty of these adorable little fall treats!

Today is the very last day of summer did you know that? Can you believe that? I sure can! And I’m completely ready for fires and everything cozy. I love fall wardrobes. Everything gets covered up, tucked in, and just more comfortable. Less intense and less need to be in shape.

So you can eat chocolate, right?! Aren’t these acorns just the cutest little fall treats? They are so easy to make and adorable to just set around for a treat. Not to mention that they taste amazing. Anything with a Hershey Kiss on it is going to make your mouth happy.

Tasty Acorns 3

 I made a bunch of these one night and it took me no time at all. Such a fun craft for the kids to enjoy with you. And because it’s so easy you can just let them take over! Just don’t let them eat too many before bed or they may never sleep. Again…

Tasty Acorns 2

 I didn’t put together step by step pictures for you because this one is easy enough. If you have questions please don’t hesitate to ask!

Tasty Acorns
With a few simple ingredients you can make tasty and edible acorns for the fall!
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Ingredients
  1. Hershey Kisses
  2. Mini Vanilla Wafers
  3. Butterscotch Morsels
  4. Chocolate Frosting
Instructions
  1. Begin by placing a teensy bit of frosting in the middle on the bottom of the vanilla wafer. Press the flat side of the Hershey Kiss into the frosting and twist a little to attach it.
  2. On the top of the vanilla wafer, at a very teensy bit of frosting in the middle and press the flat side of a butterscotch morsel to the frosting, twisting a bit to attach.
  3. Set aside and allow the frosting to "crust" a bit which will help them to stay attached.
Notes
  1. I would serve these the same day or at least by the next day you plan to make them. The frosting can make the vanilla wafer begin to get a little soggy. I like when this happens but if you want them to be crisper you will want to serve them soon.
  2. Keep them in an air-tight container until ready to eat.
Pennywise Cook http://www.pennywisecook.com/

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Filed Under: Appetizers and Snacks, Cookies, Crafts, Desserts, Holiday, Kid-Friendly Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Incredibly Easy Cheesecake

September 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment

cheesecake 2

  Overheard almost any night during dinner at my house are these words, “Momma, what’s for desert?”. It’s not a stretch for me to bust out a granola bar or a yogurt and pass something like that off as desert. Hey, I’m not Betty Crocker ok? I really enjoy making desert, but I simply just don’t make it that often. I think I should consider making it more often because if we’re being honest here, it’s such a great bribery tool!

“Moooooooom, I haaaaaaaaate carrots.”

“Well honey, you can eat them or you won’t get any desert.”

BOOM! I immediately feel like a boss. Yeah, desert can do that to a mom. The upper-hand can be yours with a proper desert offering.

Like say this cheesecake? Ok, ok. I must make a confession here. I have only ever made cheesecake the quick and easy way. You know the kind with whipped cream and cream cheese and not real baking involved. It’s good stuff. It’s just not real cheesecake. It doesn’t have that super creamy taste like you get with a real cheesecake.

I do understand that I’m hatin’ on every cheesecake I’ve ever made up until this point, but I’m ok with that.

cheesecake 1

 So this cheesecake here. It’s the real deal. But it’s actually easy to do. Mix some easy ingredients together and letting her go in the oven for a while and you have a foolproof cheesecake. So creamy and yummy that your kids will eat anything you feed them in order to have some of this! Well, most anything. Maybe not brussel sprouts. I have never been able to get any of my kids near those things. 

There are really just 4 ingredients plus your graham cracker crust. You can buy that thing and save some time or whip it up yourself. 

cheesecake

 My daughter was eating her a slice the other night and she requested strawberries on top. Unfortunately I was out, but I had some strawberry jam so we used that. You know what? It worked and it tasted just fine. We work with what we got around here.

I’m still not used to the oven here at our new home and it overcooks things a bit so the top of my cheesecake got a little dark. Keep an eye on yours as well.

Another little side note for you- this recipe made a TON of cheesecake batter and I ended up using the extra for small cheesecake muffins things. Just beware when you’re pouring into the crust. You may not need the entire bowl of batter. 

Be sure to share with me if you make this recipe!

Incredibly Easy Cheesecake
Four ingredients make a simple yet creamy cheesecake!
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Ingredients
  1. Unbaked Graham Cracker Crust
  2. 3 (8 oz) Packages Cream Cheese, softened
  3. 1 c. Sugar
  4. 5 eggs
  5. 1 and 1/2 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Cream the cream cheese and eggs together by adding an egg at a time slowly.
  3. Add sugar and vanilla to that.
  4. Pour into the graham cracker crust.
  5. Bake for 1 hour until the center is set. Let cool completely.
Notes
  1. This recipe made a TON of cheesecake batter and I ended up using the extra for small cheesecake muffins things. Just beware when you're pouring into the crust. You may not need the entire bowl of batter.
Adapted from The Four Ingredient Cookbook
Adapted from The Four Ingredient Cookbook
Pennywise Cook http://www.pennywisecook.com/

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Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Parmesan Peas

September 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Parmesan Peas

 

I’m not exactly sure what it is about peas that makes them seem so unappealing. Did you see what I did there? For most kids I think it may be because they are green. Both of my girls have a strong aversion to green food no matter what it is. So when my oldest came home from school one day and told me that she liked peas, you can just imagine my confusion. 

1. She ate peas. Willingly. Without bribery or threatening. 

2. She ate peas at school of all places. This is also the place that she discovered she likes green beans. (Which I promise are the only two green foods that she likes.) I mean. What are the schools doing to their green foods to make them so enticing? They have new standards for how healthy things have to be so I know it’s not that they are slathering it all in butter. 

3. I gotta come close to making them at least half as good as the school. Woah. What is this world coming to with the statement that I just made?

I came across this recipe for Parmesan Peas and I figured it was worth a shot. If it doesn’t work then I may need to call my daughter’s cafeteria. Again. What weird statements I’m making.

PArmesan Peas1

 

I liked these peas, but I have a feeling that they weren’t as amazing as my daughter is used to. I will be tweaking these a little as I make them more. But for the most part, they are really tasty! The most important tip that I can give is to make sure that you serve them immediately after making. They do not taste the same after they get cold and sit there for a while. Just from my experience anyways. 

Also, be sure to use freshly grated parmesan and not the powered stuff. It works, but is not near as good.

Parmesan Peas
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Ingredients
  1. 16 oz Bag of Frozen Peas or 4 cups Fresh Peas
  2. 1 tbsp Butter
  3. 1/2 cup Freshly grated parmesan cheese
  4. Little squeeze of lemon juice
  5. Dash of pepper
Instructions
  1. Fill a big saucepan 2/3 of the way full and bring to a boil.
  2. Add the peas and cook for 3 minutes if fresh and 1 minute if frozen. This will be your call as to if you think they are ready enough. I like mine to be really tender.
  3. Remove from heat and save a little amount of the cooking water. Drain.
  4. Put them back in the saucepan and add a little of the reserved water. Add the butter. Stir until melted.
  5. Stir in the parmesan cheese and make sure that all the peas get coated.
  6. Squeeze a tad of lemon juice and add a dash of pepper.
  7. Serve immediately!
Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake
Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake
Pennywise Cook http://www.pennywisecook.com/

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Filed Under: Healthy, Kid-Friendly, Sides and Vegetables Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Fun and Easy Crafts With Olives!

September 10, 2014 by 1 Comment

Olive Art

 My oldest has only recently figured out that she likes black olives. It was by mistake that she realized that she did, but I’ll take what I can get. She grabbed a big handful of “grapes” only to come tell me “momma, those aren’t grapes”. Thanks honey for letting me know. I fully expected her to leave them on my plate while saying the everso common “I don’t liiiiiiiike it”. To my surprise, she ate every one of them. Small victories people. Small victories. 

I haven’t done just a lot to foster her new relationship with black olives, but somehow it’s blossomed. She now gets them on her sub sandwiches and even requires them on her pizza. I just grin ear to ear when I hear her telling anyone about her love for olives. My husband can hardly believe it. 

I got to pick up some California Ripe Olives in order to create to super duper cute little characters. I was just thrilled at how easy and adorbs they turned out. But I honestly think that the very best part was eating the creations. There is just something about cheese and olives man. A match made in hors d’oeuvres  heaven. The versatile California Ripe Olive is the ideal ingredient for home chefs and food artists. Not that I consider myself a chef or a food artist even, but they are pretty versatile and are something easy I can add to most meals. 

 Olive Bumble Bees 1

California Ripe Olives are kid-friendly and the perfect option for creating tasty and creative food art for the back to school season. Think about lunch boxes and after school snacks. How cute would it be to put one of these little bumble bees in your kiddos lunch box? Sweet surprise at the lunch table. These may have been my favorite olive creatures.

Olive Penguins

 California Ripe Olives provide a pop of color, texture, and flavor to a variety of dishes—including fun and delicious food art. Like these penguins for instance. Kids won’t even realize that they are eating healthy! These little guys were so easy to make and even tastier to eat! California Ripe Olives are the perfect pantry staple. They are good right out of the can, but mixing it up with little guys like this makes them even more fun.

Olive Spiders

 California Ripe Olives are grown on over 1,000 multigenerational family farms that crisscross the warm inland valleys of California and processed by two family-owned canneries. I love knowing that what I’m feeding my family came from just another family. There’s just some kinda comfort that I get from family-owned companies. Aren’t these little spiders so cute? Perfect for Halloween since it’s just right around the corner!

There is a nifty sweepstakes happening and you’ll want to enter before it’s too late! The California Ripe Olives Back-To-School Sweepstakes runs August 18- September 12th. Follow California Ripe Olives on Facebook, visit the custom tab, and enter once per day for the chance to win an Amazon Kindle Fire HDX!

Want to make the cute little olive art from above? Here’s how:

California Ripe Olives Spiders
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Ingredients
  1. California Ripe Olives
  2. Cream Cheese
  3. Round Crackers
Instructions
  1. Spread a little cream cheese (or dip of your choice) onto a cracker.
  2. Cut an olive in half and place one half on the cream cheese.
  3. Using a knife, cut the other half into 8 small thin pieces.
  4. Place the small pieces around the "body" olive on the cracker.
  5. Tah-dah!
Notes
  1. This one is super easy and they taste amazing! Perfect for Halloween!
Pennywise Cook http://www.pennywisecook.com/
California Ripe Olives Penguins
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Ingredients
  1. California Ripe Olives
  2. 1 Big Carrot, sliced
  3. Cream Cheese
Instructions
  1. Cut a small wedge out of the carrot and set aside.
  2. Cut an olive just to the middle creating a small gap. Fill with cream cheese.
  3. Take your small carrot wedge and poke it into a new olive.
  4. Assemble your penguin but sticking a toothpick first down the olive with the beak (carrot wedge), then through the cream cheese filled olive, and then into the leftover carrot slice.
  5. Tah-dah!
Notes
  1. This one can get kinda messy with the cream cheese involved, but after assembling you can use a paper towel to wipe off the excess cream cheese.
Pennywise Cook http://www.pennywisecook.com/
California Ripe Olives Bumble Bees
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Ingredients
  1. California Ripe Olives
  2. Cheddar Cheese Slices
  3. Provolone Cheese Slices
  4. Cream Cheese
Instructions
  1. Slice your olives into 4-5 sections.
  2. Using a small circular object, cut out circles to place between the olive slices.
  3. Place your cheese circles between the olive slices and then stick a toothpick down the middle to keep it all together.
  4. Using the same circular object, cut out circles from the provolone cheese.
  5. Place a small dab of cream cheese on the back of the top slice.
  6. Stick the provolone circles to the back like wings.
  7. Tah-dah!
Notes
  1. I just used things that I had on-hand to cut out the circles. I believe I used the bottom of a piping tip and it was just the right size.
  2. It doesn't have to be perfect! This is your creation to look however you'd like!
Pennywise Cook http://www.pennywisecook.com/
 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.


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Filed Under: Appetizers and Snacks, Healthy, Kid-Friendly, Sides and Vegetables, Sponsored