Easter Snack Mix

Easter is around the corner and today I'm going to share an easy snack mix with you. 

This snack mix is perfect for Easter egg hunts, playdates or just for fun for the littles! 

Snack mixes are always something fun to make for the holidays. I love all of the Easter themed candy and snacks that are out, they make putting these snack mixes together much more fun and festive. I have one very picky eater in my house and what I love about snack mixes is that chances are she'll find something she will eat in the mix. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups of Chex

1 1/2 cups of stick pretzels

1 cup of cheddar bunny crackers

1 cup of spring M&M's

1 cup of bunny animal cookies

1 cup yogurt raisins

Directions:

Mix ingredients in a bowl and serve!

This recipe makes a large bowl of snack mix. You can either serve it at a party or keep it in a sealed freezer bag and use it as needed. 

For more festive fun, check out our bunny breakfast! 

Easter Bunny Juice Boxes

Last weekend, we put up all of the Easter decoration in our house. At three years old, AG gets really excited about the holidays. Her excitement makes them just that much more fun. The one thing she doesn't quite understand yet is that they're just one day and they're gone as quickly as they're here. She still asks for Christmas decorations or Valentine's Day hearts. Thankfully, when one holiday passes, there is another around the corner. 

I thought it would be fun to kick off the Easter holiday with a little bunny breakfast to get AG excited about the upcoming holiday before we took out all of the decorations. One of the decorations I put together for the breakfast was little bunny juice boxes. They took less than 5 minutes to make and AG absolutely loved them. I think they're pretty cute too! Now, everyday she asks for a bunny juice box. 

Materials: 

1 white pom pom for the tail

1 colored pom pom for the nose

2 pipe cleaners

2 eyes

1 sheet of pink cardstock

1 sheet of white cardstock

juice box

black marker/ pen

Directions: 

1. Remove the straw from the back of the box. 

2. Measure the height of the juice box on the white paper. I measured each side of the juice box across the length of the paper and cut it out. You want it long enough to wrap around the entire box. 

3. I hot glued white paper with a thin line of glue around the juice box. Make sure there isn't excess paper at the bottom, or else the juice box won't stand up. 

4. Once the paper is on and the juice box in white, glue the white pom pom to the back to make a tail. 

5. Next, cut the pipe cleaners to make 6 pieces. You can make these as small or as big as you'd like. When glueing the pipe cleaners, I put a small dot in the center of the juice box and attached the pipe cleaners. Do this for all 6. 

6. Once pipe cleaners are attached, glue the colored pom pom on top to make the nose. 

7. Next, glue on the eyes. 

8. Now it's time to make the ears! I just winged it for these. I used the leftover white paper to make the ears. Once the outside of the ear was cut to the size that worked for the box, I did the same with the pink paper inside. 

9. I glued the pink paper to the white to make the ears. Next, I glued the bottom of the ears and attached them to the back of the juice box. 

That's it! You're kids will think you're the best once you whip these out! 

Cranberry, Apple & Pecan Stuffing

Two years ago, I made this semi-homemade stuffing. It took just under 20 minutes to make and was full of flavor. When I made it the first time, I used fresh cranberries. We thought they were a little tart and opted for dried cranberries the second time. The sweetness of the cranberries combined with the crunch of the apples and nuts dresses up any boxed stuffing mix. The little cook time and delicious flavor will make it a  recipe you come back to time and time again.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups apple juice
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 package Stuffing Mix 6 oz package
• 1 small apple chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries or fresh
• 1/4 cup pecans chopped

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring juice and butter to a boil.
2. Add stuffing mix along with the cranberries and apples, mix lightly.
3. Once fruit is mixed in, remove from heat. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in pecans before serving.

Adapted from Kraft Foods

Turtle Cheeseball

I'm way behind on posting the recipes I've been making these past few months.  Life around here seems to get busier and busier…this blog always seems to fall on the back burner.  

Anyhow, we traveled home to FL for the holidays this past year.  Every year my parents host a Christmas Eve open house.  They've been doing it since we moved to FL over 20 years ago.  Neighbors and friends stop by throughout the night, enjoying food, friends and some delicious drinks.  It's a night I look forward to all year long.  

One of the recipes I added to the sweets menu for the party was a turtle cheese ball.  I found it while going through my appetizer board on Pinterest.  It looked easy enough to prepare ahead of time, wouldn't take up too much space in the already full fridge and how could you go wrong with caramel, chocolate and cream cheese? 

This sweet treat was a hit of the party.  Many guests asked for the recipe.  It was very rich, so you didn't need a lot to satisfy your sweet tooth.  And it was just as good the left over.  My mom has requested this be added to menu again for next year.  Will do, mom! Enjoy. 

Turtle Cheeseball

Courtesy of Shurgary Sweets 

Prep Time: 1 hour

Yield: serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp caramel sauce (found with ice cream toppings)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup Kraft caramel bits 


Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with butter until fully blended. Add caramel sauce and sugar and beat until combined. Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.
2. Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on counter. Drop cheeseball onto plastic wrap and cover cheeseball completely. Once covered, shape into a ball. Refrigerate for one hour.
3. In a bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips, pecans and caramel bits. Unwrap cheeseball and roll into bowl of chocolate chip mixture. Press toppings gently into the cheeseball. Rewrap in plastic wrap (a new piece) and refrigerate until ready to serve.  Once it's on the serving plate, drizzle some additional caramel syrup over it.
   
   
   ENJOY.

Red Velvet Donuts

Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day breakfast? 

You've come to the right place.  

These cake mix donuts are a family favorite and oh so easy to make.  

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Donuts

Ingredients:

1 box of red velvet cake mix

1 cup of milk  (I used almond milk)

2 large eggs

1 stick of butter (melted) 

Icing: 

Confectioners sugar mixed with milk.  I started out with a 1/2 cup of sugar and a tsp of milk.  I added and mixed until I had the consistency I was looking for.  

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease donut pan.  

Mix eggs, butter, milk and cake mix.  

Stir until smooth. 

Pour batter into donut pan (1/3 filled). 

Bake 11-13 minutes.  

Let them cool completely.  

Prepare the icing.  

I dipped some of the donuts and drizzled frosting over the others. 

 After I was done with the frosting, I let them set out for a bit to let it harden.  

Store in an air tight container for 3 days.  I also froze the leftover donuts in a freezer bag.  

10 Minute Halloween Charger

I had a few extra minutes after I cleaned the house last week before the baby woke up.  So, I decided I would cross one of my Halloween crafts off my list.  I picked up black chargers at Hobby Lobby a few months back with the intentions of doing this project.  I used my Cricut to cut the Trick or Treat letters and white polka dots.  Then, I used the back of a paintbrush and orange acrylic paint to do the polka dots.  That is it.  Simple, Quick and Cute if I say so myself! 

Festive Fruit Pizza

Looking for a fun and different dessert this 4th of July?  Look no further!  Try a fruit pizza.  They're easy to make and you get to choose the toppings.  This one was made for Memorial Day  few weeks ago. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
blueberries- about a cup
strawberries- sliced just over a cup
sugar cookie dough
whipped vanilla frosting


Directions:
I used refrigerated sugar cookie dough and pressed it out on a round cookie sheet.  Make it as even as possible so it can cook evenly.  Bake for time directed on package or until crust is cooked.  Let it cool.  Once it's cooled, frost it with the icing.  To top it off, add your choice of fresh fruit.  Transfer to s serving plate and slice just before serving.  I don't recommend adding the fruit too long before serving, the juices will start running and it can become messy.  

White Chocolate Strawberries and Pretzels...July 4th

I saw some cute July 4th creations on Pinterest and decided to recreate them for our party last night.  These two creations were easy to prepare before hand.  All you need is a double boiler and white baking chips.  I melted the baking chips and started with the pretzels.  I dip, twirled and sprinkled.  I laid them on wax paper to dry.  They're as easy as that! Put them in a glass vase for the prefect presentation.  

For the strawberries, I used the remaining white chocolate.  I dipped them and held them up for  a minute to harden a bit.  Then I dipped them into a bowl of blue sprinkles.  After that, I laid them on wax paper to harden.  The key to getting the blue sprinkles to stick is not dipping the strawberry directly into the sprinkles after the white chocolate.  Give it about 20 seconds to harden and then dip.  Enjoy!

Ranch Deviled Eggs

I love me some deviled eggs!  I selfishly add them to every holiday menu and know I'll be the one enjoying them the most.  I may even set some aside before I put them out for the guests/family to enjoy.  This again, was an Easter recipe from Betty Crocker.  We enjoyed the eggs while we were cooking before our pasta course.  I love ranch dip and thought the addition of ranch to the typical deviled eggs recipe was genius! I enjoyed more than I'd like to admit, they were just. that. good.  Please note: I did not add any salt to this recipe and felt it did not need any.  Taste before you add salt.  I also omitted the chives, hubs doesn't like them. 


Ingredients:

12	eggs
3	teaspoons dry ranch dressing mix (from 1-oz envelope)
1/3	cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1	teaspoon Dijon mustard
1	tablespoon chopped chives 1In 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, place eggs in single layer. Add enough water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Heat to boiling. Immediately remove from heat; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water. Place eggs in bowl of ice water; let stand 10 minutes. 2To remove shell, crack it by tapping gently all over; roll between hands to loosen. Peel, starting at large end. 3Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Into medium bowl, slip out yolks; mash with fork. Stir dressing mix, mayonnaise and mustard into yolks. 4Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into egg white halves. Sprinkle with chives. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving