Super Smoothie Popsicles

What to do with leftover Super Smoothie?  I had a "Duh!" moment this morning as I bemoaned tossing such a wonderful thing.  Popsicles!  You've never met a more health-full popsicle in your life!

(Super smoothies for us include frozen fresh spinach, frozen blueberries and/or strawberries, 1/2 avocado, blueberry or strawberry Greek yogurt, banana, and milk.)

Please forgive the cracked trays.  The popsicles *might* be hard to get out sometimes...

Kid approved!

A Homemade Friday

What better to do on a really rainy Friday than try out some homemade stuff -- with all on hand ingredients (because who wants to go to the store with three kids in the rain...not that I could go anywhere since the van won't start...)?  :-)

Cheese Crackers

I followed/doubled the recipe.  The only changes I made were to add more water until a good dough formed, and I sprinkled a little natural salt on top before baking.  As a tip, cut parchment paper to the size of your baking sheet.  Roll out the dough to 1/8" thick along your parchment rectangle.  Use a pizza cutter to trim the edges straight and then slice it super quick into as big or little squares as you want!  Prick with fork if desired.  Pick up parchment and plop on baking sheet!  Verdict:  Eden and I really like them.  Elijah's on the fence.  Judah wouldn't even finish one.  They do have a bit of a "flour-y" taste to them, but a nice cheese taste (I used Open Nature medium cheddar).  Perhaps a sharp cheddar would make the cheese flavor pop even more!  And a hint of basil?

Snack Cookies (because we can't figure out what to call them...)

Can you call them "animal cookies" if you don't use animal shapes?  I can't.  I'm too technical.  These, along with the cheese crackers, were super easy!  They taste pretty much like a non-dressed up oatmeal cookie (before you add spices, mix-ins).  After being stored in a container, they are pretty soft rather than cracker like.  A little too easy to eat, if you ask me.  ;-)  They also have a bit of a flour taste.  Next time, I will totally add cinnamon to them!  I followed/doubled the recipe exactly this time.  First tip, if you don't have a food processor, use your blender to pulse up the oatmeal and then mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter.  Second tip, clean your counter, flour it, and roll out all the dough at once.  Use little cookie cutters (if you want to add an hour or more to your prep time) or get that bad boy pizza cutter out and roll away!  They WILL be squares next time.  Shapes will be a treat on occasion!  Whew!

Hand Sanitizer

Does anyone else have a child who has a fetish for "being like mommy" and filling the soap dispensers with water?  The most recent casualty was a bottle of hand sanitizer.  I figured, surely, someone somewhere has made homemade hand sanitizer.  I mean, if it has alcohol, it kills germs, right?  So I found a super simple "recipe" - equal parts real aloe and ~90% rubbing alcohol.  I added 15 drops sweet orange essential oil and a few drops tea tree oil.  Shake it up, shake it up, until it gels together.  It's PERFECT!  My hands were so soft after I used it and not one lick of "medicinal" smell!  I just need affirmation that since half of it is alcohol, it gets the job done.  :-)

Simple Goodness: The Potato Chip

If you're like me, you love crunchin' and munchin' on things.  I've always liked corner brownies, the crusties of fresh baked cake, the charred bits of grilled meat...and, of course, chips.  Now, I want you to take a good long look at that delicious chip to the left.  Looks gourmet, huh?  The expensive kind of potato chip that's thick and beefy with a good "real potato" flavor and a touch of salt.  You know the kind I'm talking about?

Yeah.  It just came out of my microwave.  And it's tasty-schmasty!

My mom and I were just talking yesterday about how people occasionally ask the question "Do you like to cook?"  I never really know how to answer, honestly.  I cook because I have to.  It's not like I'm chomping at the bit to get myself in the kitchen, stand for an hour or more (oh, my aching back!), and make a huge mess that I'm going to have to clean up.  No, that's not me.  What I DO like is making people happy.  And food is a great way to please people.  I also realized that it's not the cooking I love.  It's the creating.  Which is probably why I have the most fun with desserts.  Well, for that reason and also my sweet tooth.  ;-)

I get daily emails from Allrecipes to feed the creativity and variety in my meal management life.  Today's email contained a recipe for potato chips.  I was pretty skeptical.  I don't even usually eat plain potato chips.  But I figured, I had a potato and the time (must be a blue moon).  So I tried it!  And it worked beautifully!!!

Pros: no factory added ingredients, full control over seasoning flavors and amounts, gourmet for cheap, improvement on knife skills (if you don't have a mandolin), no bag to keep eating and eating from, and "rich" enough to where you can't really eat a lot.  And just plain good nutrients from potatoes and olive oil!

Cons: uh...time spent slicing a potato?  I'd say the health pay-off and price for homemade chips is well worth the couple minutes of slicing.  Oh, another con could be how FAST they go -- my boys had the first batch eaten before the next one was finished!

Homemade Potato Chips
adapted from Allrecipes

Russet potato(es)
Olive Oil
Salt and/or other seasonings (optional)
Parchment Paper

Thinly slice potato(es), peeled or not.  Place in a bowl; drizzle with a touch of olive oil and gently toss to coat. Cut a big circle of parchment paper to fit your microwave turntable.  Place a single layer of potato slices on parchment paper being careful that they do not touch.  Microwave anywhere from 3-6 minutes depending on the thickness of the slices.  Check the potatoes OFTEN after 2 minutes.  You will see them start to brown; and once it starts, it goes fast.  So be sure to not overcook them.  Slide chips from parchment into a bowl and season as desired.

*The thicker you slice them, the more "gourmet" they seem.  The thinner you slice them, the more they will be like Lays.  Both are tasty!
*If you do not have parchment paper, the original recipe said to olive oil a plate.  That was not quite as easy/successful for several of the reviews I read...and then you have a dirty plate.

Found: Granola Bars @ Home!

A while back, I tried Dining on a Dime's granola bars recipe.  It seriously tasted like a cookie (a very good cookie).  And I don't really prefer that my kids, who love granola bars, think they're eating cookies all the time!  I stumbled across a friend's Facebook post of a granola bar recipe she found.  I tried it last night.  It was SO easy and incredibly scrumptious -- in a granola bar kind of way!  They even look like real granola bars!  The recipe seems to be easily altered to suit your tastes.  This is beneficial, especially because our church has to be a nut-free zone due to a few kiddos with severe allergies.  So, just leave out the peanut butter or use soy butter as my friend did!  This recipe is also great because 1) you know what's going into your food and 2) it's economical.

More for the Munching: Make Your Own Granola Bars

My first batch, I did not use wheat germ (because that's not a staple for us).  Instead, I had saved the "cereal dust" from vanilla mini-wheats to use.  I also used cranberries and mini-chocolate chips.  I put whole almonds in a small portion of the granola mix for the "adult" bars.  :-)

Number one tip?  Make sure you have a BIG bowl!  Thank you, Nonie, for my special red bowl!  It's been a lifesaver!  <3