Ladybugs!

Ok so I have been searching for fun/ cute things to do this summer with fruit and came across these oh so stinking cute ladybugs!!! The ones pictured above are baby ladybugs hence their binkies!!!!

Super Super Super easy to make! Tooth picks, strawberries, grapes and mini chocolate chips!!! ADORABLE!!!! I love summer!!!

Bacon-wrapped Prunes

I know this is going to freak some people out. I have made peace with that. However, these little puppies are so good. They are meant to be an appetizer and if you make them and anyone scoffs at you just tell them that they are French. That will explain a lot.

Bacon (cut into strips about 3 inches long)
Prunes
Toothpicks (I like the flat ones)

Wrap each prune with a piece of bacon and secure it with a toothpick. Bake on a cookie cooling rack on a cookie sheet in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes (just until bacon is cooked). The are best served at room temperature.

Seriously, I don't like prunes either, but these are good. Go ahead and mock me. I can take it.

Homemade Granola

I have made this many times, and my kids just love it. I pick out and eat all the toasted walnuts, they're so good! Store in ziplock baggies.

1/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c oil
2/3 c honey
5 c old fashioned oats
¾ c walnuts
1 c shredded coconut
¾ tsp cinnamon
1 c craisins

1. Combine sugar, oil and honey in medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat till sugar is dissolved.
2. Combine oats, walnuts, coconut and cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Pour sugar syrup over top and mix till all coated.
3. Spray large jelly-roll pan with oil. Spread granola evenly over surface.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and gently stir in craisins. Let cool and then store in plastic baggies.
Makes about 2 ½ quarts

Pumpkin Muffins

Well, I am not sure what my favorite spice is, but these muffins are my favorite muffins...and they have a few spices. I ALWAYS double the recipe because we eat them so fast. Now, I have made the "drizzle" for them and it is great, but I usually only do that now if I am giving them away. I like them as a snack (for me or my kids) without the extra sugar. Plus, isn't this a great way to kick of Fall!? It almost makes me forget what comes after Fall...for like 3.7 seconds.

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Orange Drizzle:
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 4 teaspoons orange juice

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 36 mini-muffin cups with vegetable cooking spray.
2. Bring pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon and cloves to a simmer in a medium saucepan until puree thickens enough to start sticking to pan bottom, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn hot puree into a bowl. Whisk in brown sugar and oil, then slowly beat in eggs.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; whisk into pumpkin mixture until just combined.
4. Divide batter among the muffin cups and bake until golden and cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Let stand a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Mix the drizzle ingredients together and drizzle over warm muffins.

Whenever the 29 oz cans of pumpkin go on sale (like last week at Target or usually during the holidays) I stock WAY up.

Sin

This stuff if very addicting! That's probably why it's called Sin. It's SO good though! A lot of you may have tasted it, I've seen it a few times at church parties. This recipe obviously makes a TON so if you just want to make it for your family you might want to 1/4 everything!

Sin

1 large box Golden Graham cereal
1 large box Crispix cereal
1 large pkg coconut
1 lb. silvered almonds
3 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups light Karo syrup

Mix cereals, coconut and almonds in large bowl. Set aside. Melt butter in a pot, add sugar and Karo syrup and bring to a boil. Let boil for 4-5 min. Pour over cereal and mix well. Pour on cookie sheets to let cool. Try not to eat the whole bowl by yourself! :)

Jalapeno Jelly

I'm not a huge spicy fan and I'm not a Jalapeno fan at all, but every Christmas my mom makes this jelly and we eat it with crackers and cream cheese until every last drop is gone! It's delicious and addicting! So try it! I helped her make it last year and was surprised at how easy it was. I always thought jam was hard!

Jalapeno Jelly

1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cups green bell pepper (about four) seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup canned chopped jalapeno chili peppers
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
2 bags liquid pectin
green food coloring
Ritz crackers
Cream cheese

Blend together lemon juice and both kinds of peppers in a blender. Add sugar and vinegar and blend some more until it's mixed. Then in a large pan (this bubbles up high so make sure your pan is big!) boil mixture for 5 min. Then mix in pectin and food coloring (enough to make it green) and pour into jars and seal. Let it set overnight on a counter top.

Now this part is crucial. After it's set up take a Ritz cracker, spread on some cream cheese and then some of this jelly and pop it in your mouth! YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!!!!!!
It does have a kick to it so don't forget the cream cheese!

And I don't actually know how to seal a jar. I just put the tops on and let the jars sit on my counter overnight so the jelly sets up. But then we eat it after that so we never have a real need to seal it! But if anyone knows how to seal a jar feel free to teach us! :)

Won Tons

I thought I better post today since I'll be out of town for awhile. So, here's our favorite "appetizer" - usually we eat it as a meal, with rice and veggies, but they are fun to take as appetizers to any event or potluck.

Directions: buy a package of wonton wrappers (found in the cold part of the produce section - by the pre-made salads). Brown about 1/2-1 lb. sausage. When sausage is cooked, add very finely diced celery, and one egg lightly beaten. Stir it around until the egg is cooked. You can do any combination of wonton filling you want, this is just what we like. Some people do shrimp, or ground pork, and add water chestnuts, grated carrots, or whatever else you think would be good. Once the filling is all done, start wrapping the wontons according to the directions on the back, this is the fun part.... get your whole family helping you or it will take awhile.... but it is WORTH the wait! :)

Here's how I wrap them: (I should have pictures for this, sorry) I turn them so they are diamond shape in front of me, put a little filling in the middle, wet the edges with my finger, with water, fold it up so it makes a triangle. Then wet the edges again and fold the corners into the middle - they end up looking like a little triangular hat.

After you wrap them, you just deep fry them in a little oil until they are crispy and golden brown. Then we serve them with our special won ton sauce:

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
2 Tb. cornstarch or 4 T. flour
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. vinegar
1 c. sugar
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. ketchup

Bring to a simmer, and stir constantly with a whisk until thick and bubbly. Like I said, we eat our wontons with rice, sweet and sour sauce, and veggies.... it is always a special occasion when we make wontons!!!

Tortilla Roll-ups

My mom used to make these. They are super easy and are a yummy snack or can be used as an appetizer at a party!

Tortilla Roll-ups

.

flour tortillas

softened cream cheese

diced green chilies or ham deli slices

.

Spread cream cheese on a tortilla then spread green chilies over. Roll up and slice to create these small circles. OR spread cream cheese on the tortilla and then place a layer of ham slices down and roll up. Both versions are really good! I usually make both. (And this is not my picture but this is how they look when you're done)

Puppy Chow and Candy Bar Cake

Well I'd have to say my favorite kind of buffet would have to be a dessert buffet!
So here are a couple of my favorite treats.

This first one is a great movie treat. My sisters and I make this EVERY time we are all together. It used to be our "Are you Afraid of the Dark" treat growing up. Did anyone else used to watch that show on Nick at Night!? It was a good show! :)

Puppy Chow
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips
6 cups Crispix cereal (Chex will also work)
1 cup powdered sugar (you may need more)
Melt margarine, peanut butter, and choc. chips in the microwave in a large bowl (about a min). Stir until chips are melted. Carefully fold Crispix into the chocolate mixture until all the Crispix are coated. Place the powdered sugar into a brown paper grocery bag. Pour Crispix mixture on top of the powdered sugar in the bag. Shake until all Crispix are covered with powdered sugar.
**I don't use a paper bag. I put the powdered sugar and the mixture into a huge mixing bowl that has a lid and shake it up in there... you just have to be careful not to shake too hard or you'll just have crumbs!


And this next one is what Brian and I both have as our birthday cake! YUM!!!

Candy Bar Cake
Mix the following ingredients together and beat for 3 min.
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups warm water
2 eggs
Pour into greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Cool.
Topping:
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz tub of Cool Whip.
4 crushed Skor or Heath bars (easiest to crush when frozen).
Mix together butter and powdered sugar. Fold into Cool Whip. Spread crushed Skor bars on top.

Spinach Dip

Since we're on the topic of eating our veggies, and using Sour Cream is our weekly ingredient, I thought this was fitting. This is definately a way I eat more veggies, I love making this dip because it is easy, and often I don't even include the spinach - just depends on how fancy I want to be!

What you do:

• buy a packet of Knorr Veggie Soup/Dip mix
• follow the directions on the back
• serve with cut up veggies (I also like to dip toasted baguette bread in this... especially when I add the spinach)

It is a great tasting dip, great with veggies, toasted bread, or even pretzels. Plus it is easy and you don't really need to have anything weird to put in it. I usually always have sour cream and mayo in my fridge, so I love making this dip.

Seasoned Nut Gift Idea

This Christmas I wanted to go beyond cookies and give something different to my Visiting Teaching sisters. I found this cute idea in an old issue of Martha Stewart Kids Magazine (yes I keep crafty magazines too!). The recipes are really good, I can't keep my hands out of the sweet pecans! The recipes are easy enough to make with your kids and would be good to have as a snack at your holiday celebrations too. I am going to bring some to Idaho with me this year.

Spicy Almonds
makes 2 cups

2 C whole blanched almonds
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast until fragrant, 7-8 min. Set aside.
2. Whisk together salt, sugar, and spices in a large bowl; set aside.
3. Bring butter, molasses, and vinegar to a boil in a large skillet over med heat. Add toasted nuts, and stir to evenly coat. Add nut mixture to spice mixture; toss to coast. transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, and spread in a single layer.
4. Return to oven, and toast 4 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheet. Almonds can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

Sweet Pecans
makes 2 cups

2 Cups pecan halves (7.5 oz)
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1. Preheat oven 350*. Spread pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Whisk sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a large bowl; set aside.
3. Bring butter and maple syrup to a boil in a large skillet over med heat. Add toasted nuts; stir to coat evenly. Add nut mixture to sugar mixture; toss to coat. transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, and spread in a single layer; let cool completely. Pecans can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

Cinnasweet Pumpkin Seeds

Ok I got this recipe off of the allrecipes website. We tried it out and I think it would have been really good except the baking time is way too long. They have the seeds cooking for an hour and they were burnt for me. So if you try this out I suggest only cooking the seeds for 30 minutes and then taste them to see if they are done.

Cinnasweet Pumpkin Seeds

INGREDIENTS
4 cups pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar, divided

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the pumpkin seeds, margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; stir to coat the seeds. Spread the seeds in a single layer in a 10x15 inch cookie pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; stir and return to oven for 15 minutes more; remove from oven and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the seeds; stir to coat. Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes before removing again to sprinkle with remaining sugar and stirring. Bake another 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Store leftover seeds in an airtight container.