Tag Archives: Kid Friendly

Dinner, Kid Friendly, Sides

Pepper Muffins

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These make a great side to just about any dish. They are simple to put together, they cook up on no time and they disappear fast ! If you want to zest them up more, try adding some sauteed onions or garlic along with the peppers.

Pepper Muffins
Pepper Muffins

12 servings
118 calories per serving

¼ c chopped green bell pepper
¼ c chopped red bell pepper
¼ c chopped yellow bell pepper
2 T butter
2 c flour
2 T sugar
2 ½ t baking powder
½ t salt
½ t basil flakes
¼ t cayenne pepper
¼ t garlic powder
¼ c egg beaters
1 c skim milk
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute pepper in butter until tender and set aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, basil, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. Mix egg and milk and stir into the dry ingredients until moist then fold in peppers. Spray muffin cups with Pam and fill 2/3 full then cook 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin cups.

Kid Friendly, Summer

Root Beet Float Pops

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These really taste like you are sipping a root beer float – but they also cool you off on a hot summer day.

Root Beet Float Pops
Root Beet Float Pops

6 servings (6 oz. pops)
67 calories per serving

12 oz. diet root beer, very cold (so it foams less)
6 maraschino cherries, stems removed
1 ¼ c lite vanilla ice cream, left out for 10-15 minutes so it gets melty and easy to work with

Pour an inch worth of root beer in each mold spooning off any foam that develops then drop in a cherry. Freeze one hour. Divide ice cream amount molds and freeze for an hour. Add the rest of the root beer spooning off any foam, insert sticks and freeze at least 5 hours.

Dessert, Fruit, Kid Friendly, Summer

Peach Cobbler

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Definitely serve this one warm with some vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream – it’s a great dessert that bakes up quickly and tastes so homey.

Peach Cobbler
Peach Cobbler

8 servings
190 calories per serving

5 c sliced frozen peaches
1/3 c maple syrup
1/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 T MINUTE Tapioca
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 c Bisquick
2 T sugar
¼ – 1/2 c milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix peaches with syrup, brown sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and cook on medium heat until it comes to a boil then pour into 9 inch square baking pan. Stir Bisquick, sugar and milk until soft dough forms then drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto hot fruit. Optionally sprinkle with a little more cinnamon then bake 28 – 30 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Product Reviews

Blondies and Maple Sauce

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The good folks at PlentifulPantry sent me a couple of their dessert mixes to try and here is the second installment….Chidester Farms Blondies with Maple Sauce. The mix makes is sooooo simple to whip up a batch in no time and the blondies were very good – but what made this dessert GREAT is the maple sauce !! IT was rich and sweet without going overboard. It is a perfect sauce – I want to buy it and put in on EVERYTHING 🙂

Blondies and Maple Sauce
Blondies and Maple Sauce

The big box comes with enough ingredients to make 2 batches – 2 batches would fit in a 9×13 baking dish while 1 fits nicely in an 8×8 baking dish. This is as simple as putting together a cake mix – – simple, simple, simple . And the blondies….oh they just melt in your mouth !

Blondies and Maple Sauce mix
Blondies and Maple Sauce mix

As well as the mix, you will need a few ingredients:
¼ c water
1/3 c vegetable oil
2 eggs

1 batch yields 12 servings
250 calories per serving

Just follow the package instructions and then sit by the oven and wait – because you want to dig into these as quick as humanly possible !

Try serving with some lite vanilla ice cream or some whipped topping.

Be sure to visit PlentifulPantry and check out their products – they have a whole bunch of ‘partially prepped’ products that get you out of the kitchen faster without skimping on quality. This is also available this month at Costco – so be sure to get some and put the sauce in your coffee, on your morning cereal, in your granola – and even on the blondies 🙂

Breakfast, Kid Friendly

Orange Cinnamon French Toast

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Sweet honey, orange and cinnamon – a great winning combination. This is a great, easy breakfast prep so it’s great for serving overnight guests.

Orange Cinnamon French Toast
Orange Cinnamon French Toast

6 servings
158 calories per serving

2 T butter, melted
2 T honey
½ t cinnamon
3 eggs
½ c orange juice
1/8 t salt
6 slices bread
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine butter, honey and cinnamon and pour into a 13×9 pan sprayed with Pam. Beat eggs, orange juice, and salt. Dip bread into egg mix and place in pan then bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. The underside will get much more brown so be sure not to over cook. Serve with extra honey.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Product Reviews

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

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The good folks at PlentifulPantry sent me a couple of their dessert mixes to try and here is the first installment….Chidester Farms Key Lime Cheesecake Bars.

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

The big box comes with enough ingredients to make 2 batches – 2 batches would fit in a 9×13 baking dish while 1 fits nicely in an 8×8 baking dish. These are amazingly easy to put together and the results are outstanding – the bars definitely taste completely homemade. I had doubts about a chocolate crust with a citrus dessert, but it was a perfect accompaniment.

As well as the mix, you will need a few ingredients:
1 c hot water
2 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese
6 T butter

1 batch yields 16 servings
120 calories per serving

Just follow the package instructions and in an hour you will have delightfully rich cheesecake bars with just the right amount of lime flavoring.

Be sure to visit PlentifulPantry and check out their products – they have a whole bunch of ‘partially prepped’ products that get you out of the kitchen faster without skimping on quality.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Frozen Grasshoppers

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Always a hit – Always enjoyed – and so very simple to make ! After I cut them up, I wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze in single portions.

Frozen Grasshoppers
Frozen Grasshoppers

16 servings
260 calories per serving

28 Oreo cookies
1 ½ qt. mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened
8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed
1 square grated semi sweet chocolate

Line a 13×9 pan with foil extending the foul over the sides of the pan. Crush 20 cookies (I put them in a zip loc bag and pound with the bottom of a mug – but using a food processor or blender works well too) and sprinkle crumbs into the pan. Spread ice cream over crumbs and then top with cool whip and chocolate then freeze 3 hours. Before serving, let sit out 15 minutes to soften a bit. Serve each piece with ½ a cookie on top.

Drinks, Fruit, Kid Friendly, Summer

Watermelon Water

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This is a great refreshing drink on a hot summer day – prepare it ahead of time and chill well. It also makes a great mixer with vodka or rum. If you don’t have the basil, this whips up fine without it 🙂

Watermelon Water
Watermelon Water

6 servings
68 calories per serving

8 c watermelon chunks
6 large basil leaves
Pinch of sea salt
¼ t white vinegar
1 qt. chilled water

Place the watermelon in a food processor and puree. Bruise the basil leaves and place in the puree with salt and vinegar. Strain through a colander into a pitcher. Stir in water and serve.

You can also not strain it and end up with a more pulpy version.

Save a few chunks for garnishes !

Kid Friendly, Sides

Cheesy Bagel

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I can’t have JUST soup or JUST salad and feel satisfied – I just have to have some carbs with my meal. And a small 100 calorie bagel is the perfect way to go. And to make it feel much more special, I take 2 minutes and toast it up with some garlic and cheese – yummmmmmy !

Cheesy Bagel
Cheesy Bagel

2 servings
127 calories per serving

2 100 calories bagels
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray
½ t garlic powder
½ t oregano flakes
2 T grated parmesan cheese

Spray each bagel with a few spritzes of ICBIB Spray. Sprinkle with garlic powder, oregano and cheese and toast until done.

Italian, Kid Friendly, Lunch

Ham and Cheese Calzone

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This makes a splendid calzone – and at a fraction of the calories of a pizza shop one ! The cheese melts beautifully and the portion size was just perfect. If you’ve never had a calzone before, it’s just pizza dough wrapped around cheese and other goodies – this one has ham, but some people prefer just cheese.

Ham and Cheese Calzone
Ham and Cheese Calzone

4 servings
277 calories per serving

1/3 c fat free ricotta cheese
½ t oregano flakes
½ t parsley flakes
½ t pepper
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t onion powder
¾ c shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
¼ c shredded parmesan cheese
¼ c finely chopped ham
1 10 oz. tube pizza dough
Pam

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray a baking sheet with Pam. Mix ricotta, spices, parmesan. Mozzarella and ham. Unroll the dough and press it into a 10 inch circle or 10×12 rectangle. Spoon the mix onto one half leaving a 1 inch border and then fold the other side over and seal the edges by pinching the dough to secure. Bake 8 minutes then turn over and bake another 6 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool – then cut into 4 servings. Optionally serve with some low fat marinara sauce for dipping.

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