3 Creative Snacktime Cracker Toppings

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #StackItUp #CollectiveBias

Nothing sounds more boring to me than eating the same thing day in and day out. I need variety, especially when it comes to my food. 

Instead of eating plain crackers for a snack (although, to be honest, my kids are thrilled with plain crackers), I thought I'd try out some creative add-ons to make snack time a little more interesting at our house. The kids had fun playing around with different toppings, and they all turned out so yummy!

We started with RITZ Original Fresh Stacks that I picked up at Walmart earlier this week, as well as Peter Pan Simply Ground Peanut Butter (which I love, btw, and used in an awesome peanut butter bar recipe HERE). Love that the RITZ Original Fresh Stacks make it easier to take snacks on the go -- I can just toss a small sleeve in my purse and be set for the day without having to package up individual baggies for the kids. Anything that speeds our mornings up a bit is a plus for me. You can also find RITZ Fresh Stacks Ultimate Butter for a limited time!

For our cracker snack setup, I laid out a variety of  topping options:

- sharp cheddar cheese slices
- sliced green apple
- cream cheese
- diced bell peppers
- peanut butter
- marshmallow fluff
- chocolate chips

The crowd favorite, hands down, was a peanut butter s'more cracker. First, a layer of peanut butter over a cracker. Then a layer of marshmallow fluff (one child preferred it with the fluff, and one with just the peanut butter). Sprinkle with chocolate chips. The salty cracker plus sweet toppings make an awesome treat, and I love the texture of this peanut butter. So good!

We also really liked topping the crackers with a slice of cheddar and a thin slice of Granny Smith apple. For some reason, cheese and apples together always seems fancy to me. 

I was a bit unsure of the cream cheese and pepper topping idea . . . but it was awesome. My favorite of the bunch, which I was surprised by. You'll have to try this out at home. Really good. 

If you want to try out your own delicious cracker topping snack setup, grab your ingredients next time you're at Walmart! You'll find the RITZ Original in the cracker aisle.

What's your favorite way to top a RITZ Original cracker?

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a very devoted lover of all things peanut butter . . . with the exception of peanut butter cookies. In my experience, they're usually dry and crumbly with this awful greasy stickiness about them . . . basically, just not at all what I want from a cookie.

But I have in my baking arsenal precisely two peanut butter cookie recipes that I love (so far). One recipe comes from my aunt Miriam -- a moist, chewy cookie half dipped in chocolate. They are adorable, fun to make, and wonderful in every way, and you can find the recipe for those cookies HERE.

The second is the recipe I'm posting today. I rediscovered it recently in the recipe binder I've been slowly adding to for years. Only recipes I really, really, really love make their way into the binder. The bad news about The Binder is that sometimes the older recipes are forgotten and overshadowed by newer arrivals. The good news about The Binder is that I get to rediscover them with full faith that they will be delicious (they wouldn't have made it into the binder otherwise).

These cookies are so delicious. Moist and chewy with plenty of peanut butter flavor without getting that sticky, greasy feel that peanut butter cookies sometimes have.

Originally, the recipe called for a big dose of peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. I'm sure that's how I must have made it in the past, and I'm sure it was fantastic that way or I wouldn't have saved the recipe. This time, though, I happened to notice these bad boys in the grocery store and used them instead. Delightfulls indeed.

This post is NOT sponsored or affiliated with Toll House or Delightfulls AT ALL, by the way. I just thought these little morsels looked awesome, and that they'd be a perfect addition to peanut butter cookies. I definitely recommend them for these cookies!

My only regret with this recipe is that it doesn't make many cookies -- I ended up with two dozen. And we are big cookie fans, so they sure didn't last long. Next time, I'll be doubling the recipe.

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bag Delightfulls chocolate/peanut butter morsels (OR 1 cup peanut butter chips and 1 cup milk chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and peanut butter until smooth and creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture and beat well. Stir in chips, and drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown around edges. Let cool for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Darcy happened to wake up from her nap right as these were cooling, and was super chipper and excited to model for me. Sugar and spice, etc etc.

Super Easy Minions Movie Night

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MinionsMovieNight #CollectiveBias

Forrest absolutely loved seeing Minions in theaters when it came out, and he hasn't stopped talking about it since. He begs for every minion toy he sees, and has asked over and over when the movie will come out so we can buy it. I couldn't resist for long--I didn't get to see it with him in theaters, and I've been so excited to watch it after seeing how much he loves it, so I picked it up recently for us to watch together. And I thought it would be fun to invite a few of the kids' friends over for an awesome Minions movie night! They had such a blast together, eating yummy snacks and watching their new favorite movie with their buddies.

Today I want to show you a super simple party you can easily recreate at home to celebrate the release of Minions © 2015 Universal Studios. All rights reserved. I think I spent about 30 minutes getting everything ready for our little movie night, and the kids had such a great time watching one of their favorite movies with their friends. You seriously can't beat a fast, simple party--quick decorations, easy food, and the kids having a fantastic time watching a great movie with buddies!

Super easy setup, but it looks so fun, right? I started by clearing off a small entry table and draping a yellow plastic tablecloth over it and tacking it up against the wall. You can find these disposable plastic tablecloths in lots of colors at the dollar store, and they make the perfect party backdrop because they're so inexpensive and make a great colorful background. Yellow and blue balloons are perfect for representing the minions and their signature colors, and I tossed some blue paper confetti over the tablecloth for a little extra color.

I wanted the food spread to be simple and easy to prepare, and also relatively healthy for the kids to snack on while they enjoyed the movie. I set out plates full of sliced fruit as well as 2 yummy dips for the kids to dunk their fruit in.

To keep with the blue and yellow theme inspired by Illumination Entertainment's Minions, I made two yummy fruit dips: Pineapple Vanilla and Blueberry Marshmallow. Oh man, they were good, and so perfect to go along with the movie since they kept with the yellow and blue colors! You can find the recipes at the bottom of this post.

I also set out wooden skewers so the kids could make fruit kebabs to dip. Forrest stuck to a strict grape theme when making his kebabs. (Notice that there are little girls' hands reaching in from both sides of the frame. Ha! Hungry little cuties.)

I made really easy blue popcorn by simply popping a bag of popcorn, placing it in a big bowl, melting a bag of blue candy melts, and stirring it into the popcorn. So easy, and so festive and fun for a minions party! I also set out pretzels and blue raspberry juice with yellow straws.

They snacked on the food spread while watching the movie, and then we played a quick game of 'pin the goggles on the minion' when the movie ended. I cut the minion shape out of yellow posterboard, and made overalls out of blue construction paper. Easy and fast!

They also got a kick out of seeing themselves in homemade goggles inspired by the minions. I cut them out of black construction paper and taped them onto a wooden skewer for a photobooth type of prop, and they thought it was hilarious to wear goggles like the minions. "Say bee-do!"
 

Now, for those delicious fruit dip recipes!

Pineapple Vanilla Fruit Dip
adapted from Mandy's Recipe Box

8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 (3.4 ounce) box vanilla flavored instant pudding
16 ounce can crushed pineapple with juice
8 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed

Beat cream cheese with electric beaters in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Beat in the pudding mix and pineapple; stir until smooth. If you want a more intense yellow color, add a few drops of yellow food coloring. Gently fold in the whipped topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Blueberry Marshmallow Fruit Dip
adapted from My Sweet Sanity

7 ounce jar marshmallow fluff
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

Beat cream cheese with electric beaters until smooth and creamy. Beat in the marshmallow fluff and blueberries until thoroughly combined. Gently fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Make sure to visit the Minions website to see where you can purchase your copy, as well as some special offers from retailers! Have you seen Minions yet? What was your favorite part?

I'm not going to say these are the best pumpkin muffins

. . . but I will say they are good ones.

Don't tell me you're not tired of bloggers peddling everything they do/make/create as The Best _________! The Perfect __________! The Only _________! 

Honestly. Unless there has been meticulous research and taste-testing and documentation of each and every possible muffin variation, then how about just titling that post My Favorite Pumpkin Muffins instead of The Greatest and Most Magnificent Pumpkin Muffins In The Universe!!?

And for that reason, I will not try to tell you these are the best pumpkin muffins. I have no idea if they are the best pumpkin muffins. What I do know is that I have come back to this recipe dozens of times. I love them, and my family loves them. They are moist and flavorful. They taste like pure autumnal glory, fresh from the oven and slathered in butter. 

As written, this recipe produces 3 dozen muffins. They freeze beautifully--I always leave some out to eat right away, and put the rest in the freezer for later. If you'd like, feel free to mix in a cup or so of chocolate chips or raisins for some variety--I've tried both and loved it!

Also, you're better off not using any type of muffin liner in your muffin tin. There isn't a lot of fat in these muffins, and you're likely to peel half the muffin away when you try to take the liner off. Just spray the pan and plop the batter right in.

Pumpkin Muffins

adapted from All Recipes

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (if you're feeling healthy, swap out half of this amount for whole wheat flour!)

3 cups white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

6 eggs

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your muffin tin.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and whisk thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together, stirring just until moistened.

Fill muffin tins 2/3rds full, and place in prepared oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until muffins test done. Don't overbake!

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Bars (with free 'fall' leaf cut file!)

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SpreadTheMagic#CollectiveBias

The good news: we have quite a bit of Halloween candy hanging out in our pantry right now. 

The bad news: all the good stuff is long gone and we're left only with the varieties no one wants to finish off. I'm looking at you, candy corn. Candy corn an embarrassment to other self-respecting candies. I hated it passionately until a college roommate taught me to mix it with salted peanuts . . . suddenly, it was transformed into something entirely different. I gained a new respect for candy corn that day. It is abominable on its own, but can actually be pretty great mixed with peanuts.

If you have leftover candy corn that you don't know what to do with, here's the solution. Turn those awful little candies into some of the yummiest peanut butter bars you've ever tasted--delicious, rich, quick, and easy. And yes, it's hard to believe, but there really is candy corn hiding in there. 

Yep, only 3 ingredients necessary for these yummy bars. You don't even have to turn on your oven, and you'll spend all of 5 minutes getting this ready. (Although, fair warning, you do have to let it cool and harden before you can dig in.)

The best part is, they taste unbelievably similar to some of my favorite chocolate and peanut butter candies. So even though all the best Halloween candy is long gone, its spirit lives on in these bars.

Our 3 ingredient line up for these bars: candy corn (which we'll melt down into a gooey and delectable concoction), chocolate chips for a creamy top layer, and Peter Pan's NEW Simply Ground peanut butter, which I picked up last week at Walmart. 

Now, I have a long-running love affair with peanut butter. I descend from a proud family tradition of experimenting with every nut butter we can find, fighting over who would get the last peanut butter candy, occasionally making our own nut butters at home, and eating it all straight from the jar with a spoon. And this new peanut butter? Well, color me impressed. 

Because creamy peanut butter? Great. Can't get enough. Crunchy peanut butter? Awesome. But I'm not sure I've ever before had a store bought peanut butter living in that perfect middle ground between creamy and crunchy, with a wonderful freshly-ground texture that isn't too crunchy nor too smooth. And it's absolutely perfect for these bars--I've experimented with both creamy and crunchy when making this recipe in the past, and while they've always turned out yummy, neither has offered quite the texture that I wanted. The Simply Ground gives the bars just enough texture and crunch (and without having to stir it in the jar--I hate doing that). Just take a look at it.

See what I'm saying? Love it.

Anyway. Back to the bars. 

You'll microwave a bowl of candy corn, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until it's melted and smooth. Don't overheat it! 

Then stir in the peanut butter until smooth. You'll want to work quickly, as the melted candy corn will start to harden back up quickly as it cools.

Spread it into a 9x9" square pan, lined with foil and lightly sprayed with nonstick spray. I find it easiest to lightly spray my hands and just use my fingers to press and spread it into the pan.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, and spread it over the top of the bars.

Pop it in the fridge to cool. When the chocolate has hardened, use the foil to remove the bars from the pan, peel the foil away and toss it out, then cut into pieces.

I had to get some of this goodness out of the house ASAP, so I packaged some up to deliver to neighbors. I love the festive fall orange color of the bars, so I echoed that with an orange fall leaf gift tag, wrapped around each package with twine.

I love how easy it is to package up a cute tasty gift for neighbors. I designed the tag in Silhouette Studio, and cut them out with my Silhouette. If you'd like to make these tags yourself, you can download the cut file for your personal use and enjoyment HERE! 

1. Just cut the design with your Silhouette and remove the letters.

2. Place some bars in a bag, and wrap the top shut with twine. 

3. Punch a hole in the top of the leaves (I realized too late I could have had the Silhouette cut the hole for me--d'oh!), and thread a leaf onto the twine, then tie off in a knot.

So simple, but so cute!

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup candy corn
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Line a 9x9" square pan with foil, and spray lightly with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a medium-size microwave-safe bowl, melt candy corn in the microwave, removing to stir every 30 seconds. Don't overheat the candy corn--heat it just until melted. Add peanut butter and stir to combine. If you're having a hard time mixing it in thoroughly, heat the peanut butter and candy corn combo in the microwave for a few more seconds to loosen it up.

Pour candy corn and peanut butter mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly. It's quite thick and sticky, so this could be a bit tricky, but the easiest way to handle it is to spray your hands with nonstick spray and then press it into place.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly over bars. Refrigerate bars about 1 hour or until hardened. Remove from pan, remove foil, and cut into pieces.

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And more good news: if you want to try out new Simply Ground peanut butter, you can grab a digital coupon HERE to save some money on your purchase! You can find it at Walmart in the aisle with peanut butter and other condiments.

(Cute little shopping buddy not available for purchase.)

What peanut butter flavor fits your personality? Take this quiz to find out!

Inside Out Inspired White Chocolate Popcorn

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutMovieNight #CollectiveBias

I've been excited about seeing Inside Out ever since seeing the first previews for it, but the sad truth is, I could count on one hand the number of movies I've seen in a theater since having kids (seriously!). So we've been counting down until its release day, and as you can imagine, Forrest has been super excited about it, too. I decided that the occasion called for a special movie night treat, inspired by the characters of Inside Out.

Forrest was lucky--he actually got to see the movie in theaters, a rare treat for him. He did some modeling for my sister's shop over the summer, and she gave him the choice of accepting payment either in cash, or in a special date with her. I'll give you one guess what he chose.

He couldn't pass up the opportunity to go on a date with his "vewwy favowite" Aunt Bekah, and requested that they go see Inside Out together. My sister texted me this picture from the theater, and I thought it was precious. (I believe he's mimicking Disgust with that pose?) And he hasn't stopped talking about the movie since then.

Needless to say, he was very eager to see it at home, and was thrilled when I told him I'd buy us a copy of Inside Out at Target. And was even more thrilled when we got to the store and I promised to pick up everything I'd need to make a special treat for us to snack on while we watched the movie together. I love the vibrant colors of the characters in the movie, so I thought an Inside Out snack ought to bring in those colors. I went with a delicious salty and sweet white chocolate popcorn, studded with chocolate candy in the characters' colors. It's fast and easy to make, and so good!

All you'll need is popcorn, white chocolate chips, and colorful chocolate candy. Pop up two bags of microwave popcorn, empty it into a big bowl (make sure to remove any unpopped kernels!), and melt the white chocolate in another bowl (along with a spoonful of shortening to thin it out and make it easier to stir).

Then you'll just pour the chocolate over the popcorn and stir until it's evenly coated, tossing in the candies as you go. Spread it out on a large baking sheet and let it cool and harden up. An optional addition at this point is a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, if you are like me and can't resist a sweet and salty combination.

Once the chocolate has cooled, gently break it apart and enjoy.

White Chocolate Popcorn with Colorful Candies

2 bags microwave popcorn, popped (avoid ultra-buttery flavors)
1 bag white chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup colorful chocolate candies
1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt (optional)

Empty the popped popcorn into a large bowl. Place white chocolate chips in a separate microwave-safe bowl and melt in microwave, removing to stir every 30 seconds, until it is nearly melted. Add shortening and microwave a few seconds more to melt completely, then stir thoroughly to combine.

Pour chocolate over popcorn and gently stir to evenly coat the popcorn. Add the candies and stir to distribute. Spread popcorn onto a large baking sheet lightly sprayed with nonstick spray, and allow it to cool and harden. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt while the chocolate is still wet for an awesome sweet and salty flavor.

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Make sure to head to Target to pick up your copy of Inside Out for a fun at-home movie night! And I think you should know that the Inside Out DVD and Blu-Rays at Target include 20 minutes of exclusive bonus content and deleted scenes--awesome, right?

What's your favorite movie night snack?

Summer Field Day Party Inspiration

This post is sponsored by JELL-O brand.

We’re hitting that end-of-summer slump--I’m not the only one who starts feeling a bit sick of summer as we slog into August, am I? Daydreaming about bulky sweaters and crunchy leaves and pumpkin-flavored everything? When I was a kid, this is the point at which I started counting down the days to the start of a new school year. (Yeah, I was that child who got crazy excited for school to begin.)

To help beat the summer slump, I thought I’d throw a little outdoor party for my family and some of my kids’ friends. In this heat, nothing sounds better than some silly outdoor water games and chilly treats enjoyed with friends and family.

Image credits, clockwise from top left: Kraft Recipes, Posh Sitting, Our Life is Beautiful, A Travel Abroad, and Redtri

1. I’ve been curious to try these frozen grapes for many summers now and have never gotten around to it, but I think this get-together might be the occasion. The grapes are dusted with JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin powder, then frozen for a sweet and tangy treat. Sounds perfectly refreshing for a hot summer afternoon.

2. Water, and plenty of it, is going to be a necessity. Trying to decide whether water balloons and preschoolers will be a recipe for magical summer fun, or just tears and tantrums?

3. I love the simple star backdrop at this party. It would be simple to pull together, but looks so festive and fun.

4. If I’ve learned one thing from throwing kids’ gatherings, it’s that they don’t want to stop the fun for a sit-down meal. Easy finger foods are essential, like mini-sandwiches that they can pick up and eat without sitting down or using utensils.

5. This game is such a summer classic, and I can remember playing it over and over. Remember the cup and bucket game? Trying to transfer water from one bucket to another without slopping it all over the grass along the way? I have a pretty good guess that my kids will think this game is fantastic.

I’m excited to get our field day party ready! Head over to Krystal’s Kitsch to see her summer gathering ideas, too.

Thanks to JELL-O brand for allowing me to partner with them to plan our family field day summer party! I had a blast. Already planning to try this at home with your little ones? I’d love to hear how it goes in the comments below. For more inspiration visit: http://jello.com

Graham Cracker Coconut Bars

This post is sponsored by Honey Maid.

I have a large extended family, and it’s an extremely rare day that we all end up in the same place at the same time. So it was fantastic to be able to catch up with my grandma, as well as aunts, uncles, and cousins that I haven’t seen in years, at a family picnic last week. 

One of the treats that my aunt made for our get-together was these Graham Cracker Coconut Bars. I can remember my mom making these for me and my siblings when we were kids, then making them myself from the recipe in our family cookbook. I’ve brought them to parties and picnics and baby showers for friends, and I always get a request for the recipe (which I hope isn’t a family secret, since I’ve been handing it out all these years).

And I have to say, there was something special about eating a traditional family dessert while surrounded by family members at our picnic recently. We’ve all changed over the years in countless ways, but this one dessert has been a constant. I’ve been eating it--and now making it--for my entire life. I can remember sitting at the kitchen table as a little kid to eat these bars, and now I’m serving them to my own kids. So many awesome family connections and memories involved with one simple food.

They make the perfect picnic food since they’re so easy to make ahead, transport, and eat without any utensils. If you have a 4th of July family picnic coming up, go ahead and make these delicious bars. You will be so glad you did.

To start, I like to line my baking sheet with lightly sprayed foil first to make cleanup easier. Then lay out full graham crackers to cover the pan.

You’ll make an amazing coconut, nut, and caramel filling in about 5 minutes on the stovetop, then pour it over the graham crackers.

And spread to cover them completely.

Another layer of graham crackers covers the filling.

And finally, a layer of homemade frosting finishes them off. They’re delicious right away, but infinitely better after they’ve had time to sit. If I’m bringing these bars to a get-together, I always try and make them a few hours ahead of time, or even the day before.

They make the perfect picnic treat, so if you’re looking for a dessert to bring to your 4th of July family party, look no further. This is the one.

Graham Cracker Coconut Bars

recipe slightly adapted from my aunt Miriam in our family cookbook

For bars:

1 cup butter

½ cup milk

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

1 cup chopped walnuts (divided--I like to reserve some for topping)

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 sleeves whole graham crackers

For frosting:

⅓ cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

1-2 tablespoons milk

Prepare a baking sheet by lining with foil and spraying lightly with nonstick spray. Cover the bottom of the baking sheet with whole graham crackers.

In a medium bowl over medium heat, combine butter, milk, brown sugar, and egg. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 2 minutes. Add coconut, ⅔ cup nuts, and graham cracker crumbs, and stir to combine.

Pour coconut mixture over graham crackers in pan, and spread evenly to cover the crackers. Top with remaining graham cracker sheets to cover the filling.

In a medium bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add milk as necessary to make a smooth, spreadable consistency. Spread frosting over bars, and top with reserved nuts. Let sit for several hours or overnight before cutting and serving.

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I love making and sharing these bars with my family, and hopefully you’ll love sharing them with your family this July 4th!

No matter how things change, what makes us wholesome never will. Honey Maid provides wholesome snacks for every wholesome family.