My husband just loves red velvet cake!  It’s his absolute favorite!  To show my love for him, we made him some Red Velvet Whoopie Pies for an early Valentine’s present!  He works on Valentine’s Day this year.  They actually are easier to make than you think!  If you’re not a fan of food coloring, simply leave it out.  My only warning is to make sure you have a tall glass of milk ready to go with it 🙂

Ingredients

2½ cups flour
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, soft, plus 4 tbsp also
¼ cup softened shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. red food color

Icing
4 oz. cream cheese
1.5 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees then line baking sheets with parchment paper

2. In a bowl, sift your flour, then add cocoa, soda and salt together mix with a wire whisk

3. In a separate bowl using an electric mixer or Kitchenaid , mix the butter, shortening and sugar till it looks light and a wee bit fluffy.

4. Add egg, 1 tsp. vanilla and food coloring. Mix until combined.

5. Add flour and milk in two additions, alternating between each until completely combined.

6. Scoop batter about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. You should have about 32 cookies (to make 16 whoopee pies).

7. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and cool for 5 minutes before placing on wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

8. Beat cream cheese and remaining 4 tbsp butter until creamy. Continue to mix on low and slowly adding powdered sugar until combined. Then add remaining 1 tsp. vanilla and mix until just combined.

9. Pipe frosting on half of the cookies and then sandwich them together with the other halves.

Next comes the easiest step!  Share them with the ones you love 🙂

We were challenged to make a Super Bowl recipe that featured Naturally Fresh Lite Ranch, available at Kroger and Publix in the refrigerated section.  Naturally Fresh Lite Ranch is made with Naturally Fresh’s own nonfat buttermilk.  I love that Naturally Fresh uses real, wholesome ingredients in their products.  With no artificial colors, flavors, or MSG, Naturally Fresh is a great choice for my family.

My husband, AKA Daddy Octopus, has been working his magic in our kitchen again to complete this challege.  He had an idea in his head that is perfect for a Super Bowl party and easy to make.  He whipped up a batch of what he refers to as Nacho Poppers.  Easier and better-for-you, they are baked in the oven, not fried.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 package of won-ton wrappers
• 1 egg white
• small bowl of water
• 1/2 cup Naturally Fresh Lite Ranch
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup salsa, in your preferred level of heat.  We used medium.

Directions:

On a won-ton wrapper, put a small amount of cheese and beans in the center.  Put a little water on your finger and run it along the edge of the wrapper.  This helps seal the wrapper when you roll it up.  Fold over the edges and roll up like a mini burrito.

Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Brush with egg whites and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

Next up, make the dip!  Mash 1 avocado in a bowl and then stir in Naturally Fresh Light Ranch and salsa until well blended.

Dip and enjoy at your Super Bowl party!!

Disclosure: This post is part of the blogger program by Naturally Fresh® and The Motherhood, who compensated me for my time and the development of this recipe. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

Giveaway: I have 5 coupons for a FREE Naturally Fresh product.  Leave a comment telling me how you’d use your coupon for your chance to win!  Giveaway ends Feb 15.

Tonight I winged it and made an easy, creamy, and cheesy crockpot chicken.  Try saying that 10 times fast!  Whew!  I started off with some chicken breasts that I had on hand and dumped them in.  Next, sour cream.  Perfect addition to this was curry powder.  My house smelled great!  On a whim, before serving, I tossed in some grated parmesan cheese.  Served over brown rice and with a veggie.  The result?  An incredibly easy and delicious dinner!  My kids approved!

For the okra, we simply sauteed them in butter until they were tender.  Yum!

I’m a huge fan of my crock-pot.  I use it many times a week.  One of my kids’ favorite things for me to make is homemade macaroni and cheese!  Yes, even this can be made in the crock-pot!  What is neat is that you just dump everything into the pot in the morning and it’s ready for lunch!  Or make it early afternoon for dinner.  Done in about 4 hours and you don’t even have to pre-cook the noodles!  How awesome is that!

Simply spray your crock-pot generously with non-stick spray and add in the following Ingredients.  Note, I use a 7 quart crock pot and it comes up a little less than halfway.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb elbow noodles
• 12 oz can of evaporated milk
• 4 cups milk
• 1 stick of butter, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 8 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Add all ingredients into crockpot on low heat and stir well.  After about 30 minutes, stir again.  Let sit on low for a total of 4 hours or until noodles are tender and desired consistency is reached.  Some crock pots may take more or less time.  Stir well before serving.

This is the perfect easy meal to take to a potluck dinner!  Enjoy!

Today we went and visited friends who have a child with a gluten intolerance.  I wanted to make gluten free sausage balls to take with us on our visit.  These sausage balls also work well if you are following the Trim Healthy Mama plan.  These would be an S.

I took a recipe that we usually use and then adjusted it.  Here’s what we did and they turned out fantastic!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• I/2 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 egg
• 8 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 lb sausage

It’s easiest to get in with your hands and mix all ingredients together that way.  If you don’t want to use your hands, consider an electric mixer.  Once well combined, roll into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees.

Remove and let cool on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any grease.  Store in the fridge if not eating immediately.

If gluten is an issue for you, you’ll want to double check all of your ingredients to make sure they are definitely gluten free.

You all know how much I love my crockpot.  I use it several times a week to feed my family.  I have the 7 quart Crockpot.  Last night we had friends over and they were amazed that I had made a lasagna in my crockpot!  I don’t even precook the noodles and I use standard noodles, not the oven-ready kind.  I’m sorry these photos aren’t the best, we dove in before I remembered to get a finished picture.  I’ll have to make it again soon!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lasagna noodles, any brand, uncooked
• 4 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 8 cups shredded mozzerella
• 24 oz cottage cheese

You can pre-cook some ground beef and add it into your sauce, but we typically make ours without meat to keep the cost down.

Directions:

1. Spray your crockpot generously or use a crock pot liner.
2. Spread a light layer of sauce on the bottom.
3. Layer noodles on top of sauce and add a spoon full of sauce on each noodle.  You can break the noodles to get them to fit.  Spread the sauce over each noodle.
4. Add a spoon full of cottage cheese on each noodle and spread out just like the sauce.
5. Add 2 cups of cheese spread out evenly.
6. Repeat all steps 3-4 times, or as crockpot allows room, starting with the sauce layer.
7. Finish with a layer of sauce on top.

Cook on low for 8 hours or until your house smells wonderfully and top is bubbly.

Oh my goodness, y’all!  This is one Chex mix that you will want to make for friends this holiday season!  We put this together the other day and it was a huge hit at my husband’s birthday party!  People couldn’t get enough of this Chex mix!  It’s super simple as well and can be made with just a microwave!  We made some with and some without coconut since my hubby likes it and I don’t!  To see the recipe, click on the image below to enlarge.

You need 3 different types of Chex Cereal to make this recipe, and that’s where Publix comes in handy!  Chex Cereal is on BOGO from 11/20 – 11/26, no coupon required for savings, available at Publix.  Note that different markets may have slightly different BOGO dates.

You can also visit Ready Plan Save to print a $1 off 2 Chex cereal coupons!  For more fun Chex Party Mix recipes, visit their website.

Ingredients needed:

• 2 cups Vanilla Chex™ cereal
• 2 cups Chocolate Chex™ cereal
• 2 cups Cinnamon Chex™ cereal
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

• In large microwaveable bowl, measure cereal. Set aside
• In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, heat butter and chocolate chips on High 1 minute or until almost melted; stir and microwave another 30 seconds or until mixture can be stirred smooth; stir in condensed milk, heat 30 seconds or until boiling; stir in cinnamon.
• Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
• Microwave on High about 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until mixture is glazed.
• Stir in coconut and marshmallows.
• Pour onto waxed-paper lined pan to cool.

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through Platefull Co-Op.

You all know how much I enjoy making fun food and sweets to go along with the holidays. I found this recipe for Indian Corn on the Cob cookies on the Dixie Crystals Kid’s Kitchen website and knew I wanted to make them for my family.  All I needed was cookie and frosting ingredients and Reese’s Pieces.

First, I needed to find a cookie cutter shaped like corn.  I didn’t have any luck finding one under $30!  Crazy, huh?  I decided I’d try to make my own.  It actually worked fairly well.  I had seen on pinterest how you can make your own cookie cutters using the tin from a can of coke.  We are fresh out of cans of soda, so I went for the bottom of an aluminum disposable baking tin.

I carefully cut out the bottom and then cut about 1 2 inch strip.

From there, I formed it around a drawing I had made of a corn.

I didn’t want to use glue on the cookie cutter, so I cut a little tab and tucked the opposite side of the cookie cutter in to close it up.  Now my corn cookie cutter is complete!

I set to work on making the cookie dough first.

Dough Ingredients:

• 4 sticks unsalted butter, very cold
• 2 1/4 cups Dixie Crystals Confectioners Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Using a box grater, move cold butter sticks back and forth over the small “eyes” of grater. (Same procedure as you would grate cheese).

Combine grated butter, powdered sugar, salt and flour in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (or use hand held mixer fitted with beaters) Mix on low speed until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.  I had to get my hands in at this point to get the ingredients to combine.

Place dough in refrigerator until firm enough to roll. About 30-40 minutes or overnight.

On the work surface area where you will be rolling dough, place a cookie sheet filled with ice cubes to chill this area.  This makes the dough easier to work with.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut into desired shapes.

Bake at 350 for 14 minutes or until they are a very light color.  You don’t want them to brown.

Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, soft
• 3 cups sifted Dixie Crystals Confectioners Powdered Sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Using a hand mixer, mix all ingredients together and spread on cooled cookies.

Immediately add the Reese’s Pieces to make it look like corn kernels.  Enjoy!

For more fun recipes and activities, visit Kids Kitchen.

This is a sponsored post, written for Dixie Crystals.

Ready to make some snowy chocolate pinecones?  It’s easier than you think!  These make the perfect edible decoration for holiday parties or even a fun snack for the kids.  So cute and fun!

SNOWY CHOCOLATE PINE CONES

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Chocolate Fiber One Cereal (can also use Chex Chocolate Cereal)
• 6 pretzel rods
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar (+ ¼ cup for dusting on top)

Directions:

Note – click on the pictures to view them in a larger size.

Mix the peanut butter, Nutella, butter and powdered sugar in a bowl.

Take a pretzel rod and mold some of the mixture around it, forming a slight cone shape.

Hold it steady by using the tip of the pretzel as a handle, and start inserting pieces of cereal into the mixture in a symmetrical pattern around the stick. Add more cereal pieces, staggering them as you move upward until you get near the top.

If the pine cone is getting too tall, cut off the top of the pretzel and add more of the mixture to mold over the top so none of the broken pretzel is showing.

Break apart cereal pieces to create smaller scales near the top.

For a “snowy” effect, dust each pine cone with powdered sugar.  Enjoy!