M&M Chocolate Chippers

Another snow day in northern Illinois. The news is calling this extreme winter weather "Santa's Revenge." Maybe that's why I still feel like making cookies post-December? On this particular day indoors, my daughters and I settled on a variation of what I affectionately call, "Mommy's Super Terrific Chocolate Chip Cookies." The girls thought we needed a little more color to offset the endless white snow, which I just witnessed my littlest one eating from a bucket (let's hope it was white...oh, she dumped out the bucket, bad sign.). So we added colored M&Ms and made them a bit smaller than usual. We ended up with 60 happy little cookies we call M&M Chocolate Chippers.

Homemade Granola in 10 Minutes or Less!

I absolutely LOVE granola. Obsessively. But store-bought granola is expensive, loaded with calories and often loaded with ingredients (some mysterious) that I don't particularly want every single time I eat it. The homemade granola recipes I have come across are great but always time consuming. And the ingredient list is so long I would go broke stocking the pantry! Last night I tried making a low-impact, small-batch amount of granola using just four ingredients and 10 minutes of baking time. The result was complete success!!! Try this....

GRANOLA (low fat and gluten free!)

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1 scant tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together in a bowl using a spoon at first, then your fingers as it will get sticky! Spread out oat mixture onto a small sheet pan, spreading evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, checking on it after 5 to mix it up a bit and to make sure it is not toasting too quickly. Let cool to room temperature where it will crisp up. YUM!

Apple Bread

Apple picking has become one of my family's favorite fall activities. Out to the orchard the rickety wagon takes us. We load up our 1/4 peck bags with as many apples as will fit, always ending up with one or two in our pockets. The sweet scent of fresh apples permeates the kitchen when they're brought home and tenderly placed in bowls and baskets.

But then a tiny fear creeps up...what are we going to do with all of these apples? In my search to answer that question, I came across an old, crude recipe for an apple quick bread. A little tweaking (I said tweaking, not twerking), and this recipe instantly became a favorite.

 

S'mores Ice Cream

Who doesn't love the ooey-gooey goodness of s'mores? Nothing beats the combination of a sticky, too-sweet marshmallow atop smooth milk chocolate, all sandwiched within crispy graham crackers. But what if that campfire favorite was whirled up into one rich S'mores Ice Cream? Now THAT could be good...too good....

Pumpkin Bread: A Little Early to the Party, but Always Welcome

I know I should be gearing up for all the sweet, crisp apples that the lovely month of September promises...but since I haven't been to the orchard yet, and since I do still have some frozen pumpkin stashed away in my freezer from last year, I decided it was okay to permeate the house with the warm smells of hot pumpkin and spice, just for one day. Mmm...pumpkin bread.

Wine Cork Magnets

I am not the magnets-on-the-refrigerator type. But when my first-grader came home with her very first spelling test, I just had to put it on display in the quintessential spot--the fridge! Lacking magnets, I had a sudden inspiration....wine cork magnets! They match the feel of my kitchen and don't look chaotic on my fridge. They are functional and best of all, they were nearly free to make!

Baby Gift - Ribbon Tab Baby Blankie

So my nextdoor neighbor is going to be a grandmother! Her daughter is due to have a baby girl in October. She asked us to come on by for a piece of cake during the baby shower, so my girls and I though we'd whip up a little gift to take over in exchange for the sugary goodness. Here is what we came up with: a Ribbon Tab Baby Blanket. It turned out so cute and was surprisingly easy to make.