Fun Food Ideas: Cupcake Shaped Waffle

Have I mentioned how much I love using frozen waffles for fun kids breakfasts???

It was my daughter's birthday and she LOVES cupcakes so I thought I would start her day out with a cupcake shaped breakfast treat using what else....Frozen Waffles!!

Making your waffle cupcake:

• Toast the waffle (unless you are a really ambitious parent using a waffle iron!!)
• Cut the waffle in half
• Angle the half that will be the base of the cupcake
• "Frost" the top of the cupcake with cool whip
• Add some fun sprinkles (it is a birthday breakfast!!!) and put cherry on top!!!

Pink Ribbon Cinnamon Buns

My company does a lot of fundraising events for Race for the Cure (a cause VERY near and dear to my heart) and one event this week was "Bake for a Cure"! Everybody and their sister was signed up for cookies, muffins and cupcakes, so I wanted to contribute something unique but not not too difficult. Here is what I came up with!

Pink Ribbon Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients: 
1 tube of refigerated cinnamon buns & icing
Red Food Dye

Additional Materials: 
Zip Lock sandwich bags
Bamboo spears
Pink Ribbon

Instructions: 

• Unroll the cinnamon bun and cut it in half
• Shape each half into a ribbon
• Place on a greased cookie sheet
• Bake in oven at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes
• Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly

• While ribbons are baking, mix icing in a small bowl with a little red food dye to make it pink
• Put icing in a zip lock bag and cut corner so you can pipe the icing onto the ribbons when they cool a bit (they should still be a little warm) 
• I used a spoon to spread the icing out so it covered the ribbon. 

You can put these out on a platter or "package" them like I did. I put each one on a stick (bamboo spear) and then cut the ziplock part of a sandwich bag off to use as the wrap. Each one was then tied with a pink ribbon as a final touch.

Overall, this was a pretty easy bake sale contribution. It took me about 3 hours to do 4 dozen (bake, ice and then package).

Healthy Kid Friendly Dinners To Go!

Every night this week, we've had a sporting event which means running home from work and running back out the door with a dinner on the go for the kids. I didn't want a week of Happy Meals for the kids, endless PBJs, etc but didn't have time to cook dinner each night either. So, I brainstormed a few dinner on the go ideas that could be made the night before, don't require utensils, can be packaged in a container and are healthier than drive thru options.

 Here are the 3 dinners that I came up with (and they turned out to be kid approved!!). 

Turkey/Cheese Stick/Cherry Tomato Kabob

You could really do any kind of kabob and the kids thought this was a fun way to eat dinner!! The yogurts in tubes are great for on the go eating. I threw in some crackers and fruit to complete it out. I have also switched recently from juice boxes to fruit water - the kids love strawberry water and orange water!

Chicken and Cheese Pita

I love pita bread for on the go dinners because unlike sandwiches, everything stays IN the pita (anyone who has to clean out a car after kids eating can relate!!). I baked some chicken earlier in the week and just sliced it up and put it in the pita with some cheese - we actually had a few minutes before leaving so I warmed them in the microwave for a few seconds, but I think they would be good cold as well.

 

 

Homemade Chicken Nuggets with Homemade Potato Chips

Again, I used the chicken that I baked earlier in the week for the chicken nuggets. I cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, put some olive oil on them and tossed them in a bowl with flavored breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. I baked them at 400 for about 10 minutes since chicken was already cooked.

The homemade baked potato chips are my new favorite lunch item for the kids:

• Thinly slice 2 potatoes
• Toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil and kosher salt (to taste). I also added some Tuscan seasoning for a little "zip"! 
• Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Put potato slices on baking sheet in single layer
• Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes
• Flip the slices that are starting to brown and then watch carefully - they will all start to crisp at various times. Remove them as they are done and set on a plate or baking rack to cool completely.

Non-Lame Playdate: Upcycling Crafts

 I actually did these projects for a Brownie Meeting with an Earth Day theme, but I thought they would also work well for a fun play date.

I love the idea of "Upcycling" - someone's trash can indeed be someone else's treasure!

I found all of these ideas on Pinterest and they turned out to be pretty easy for a group of 8 year olds!!

Project 1: Tin Can Flower Pot/Pencil Holder/Vase

Materials:

Tin cans (I had all different sizes to choose from)

Burlap 

Twine

Ribbon 

Glue or Spray Adhesive (I used the spray adhesive in the interest of time although an aerosol can did not really fit my Earth Day theme!!)

Directions:

• I precut the burlap ahead of time and placed in the tin cans because I had a group of 10 girls and I wanted to make sure I had enough! It also made the process a little smoother to have this part done. 

• Spray the burlap with adhesive. 

• Line up the bottom of the burlap with the base of the tin can and wrap the burlap around the can. 

• Measure a piece of ribbon so it fits around the can. I bought a few ribbons for the girls to choose from so they had some unique looks. I also told them they could place the ribbon where they felt it looked best - secure the ribbon with glue or spray adhesive. 

• Lastly, measure and tie a piece of twine around the ribbon.

You could also collect or have them bring upcycled items to design their new can like buttons, artificial flowers, lace, etc. It is always fun to let them really design their own unique look!!! 

Project 2: Pop Top Bracelet 

Materials:
Pop Tabs (about 12 for each)
Ribbon - One 12 inch piece per bracelet

Directions: 

• Since I did this as a group activity, I found it easiest to make this as a "Ready to Craft" kit. Along with the pop tabs and pre-cut ribbon, I put the instructions into each baggie so that they could do this project again on their own and there are more complicated ways to make these too. 
• Weave the ribbon through the first pop tab and tie a knot, leaving enough ribbon to tie at the end.
• For the rest of the bracelet, we did the simplest bracelet design which is just weaving the ribbon through the pop tab holes - make sure the pop tabs are going in the same direction.
• For the last pop tab, I had the girls tie the end of the ribbon with the remaining ribbon from their first knot. You could also get a simple toggle in the jewelry department.

Project 3: Word search!

If you are doing this for a Girl Scout Troop or school group, I also found this lesson planwhich had some great activities. I printed out the word search and gave it to the girls that finished first so they were occupied while the others finished up. (Any teachers or troop leaders know why this is a very important back up plan!!!).

Department of Energy K-5 Lesson Plans

 

Snack: Edible Bird's Nest  

I thought this was a cute Earth Day themed snack!! I had seen it around Easter time.

Ingredients: 
5 cups Rice Krispies
40 large marshmallows
1/4 cup Margarine
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Yogurt Covered Cranberries (3 per nest)

Directions:

• Spray muffin tins with Pam, set aside
• Melt the butter in a large pot
• Add marshmallows and stir until mixed
• Remove from heat and add the Rice Krispies and chocolate chips, stir until mixed
• Fill muffin tins with mix
• Use a spoon or melon baller to shape each one into a "nest"
• Let cool 
• Once cool, remove "nests" from muffin tin and place on a platter. 
• Add yogurt covered cranberries to each nest

 

 

Easy Crockpot Taco Soup

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! It's been a REALLY cold spring around here so soup seemed to be a more appropriate choice to celebrate the day and this recipe was a huge hit with the whole family!!

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Ingredients: 

1 package Jenny-O Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey

1 jar of garlic and onion marinara sauce

1 can (undrained) diced tomatoes with chilies

1 can (undrained) corn 

1 can black beans

1 can chili beans

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups water

Toppings: 

Cheddar cheese

Fresh Cilantro

Jalapeno Peppers

Tortilla Chips or Salad Strips

Avacado

Directions: 

Brown the ground turkey until no longer pink

Put all ingredients into a crock pot 

Cook on low for 8 hours

Enjoy with a Margarita or Corona!!