Roasted chickpeas

kids, snacks 18 Comments

This recipe has kind of made the rounds on the internet but I hadn’t gotten a chance to try it until this week. I followed Steamy Kitchen’s version because she’s never steered me wrong.

Roasted chickpeas

Ingredients
  • One can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
  • Olive oil — about 2 Tbsp, but you’re drizzling it on so that’s approximate
  • Salt and cinnamon (or whatever spices sound good to you; see below)

Instructions

  1. Drain the beans and let them sit on a paper towel lined cookie sheet to dry while your oven preheats to 400F
  2. Discard the paper towels, then drizzle on olive oil, shaking the beans around so they’re well coated
  3. Sprinkle with salt (I find they needed a pretty good amount), then roast in the oven until they’re crunchy — around 40-45 minutes
  4. Remove the tray from the oven and shake on whatever spices you chose; I used cinnamon, but I hear cajun spices are good too

Once they’re cool enough to handle, go crazy! I like them warm or cooled; store at room temp.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! 🙂

I get a lot of my recipes off the internet, AND my kids help me in the kitchen; this makes my iPad and my Pong case a perfect kitchen setup for me. I actually approached Pong myself about this giveaway because I’m such a fan of their products; I’ve been using one of their iPhone cases forever. They explain the features of this case better than I could (can you say decreased radiation, increased singnal?) so be sure to check out the info about it.

Because of their awesomeness, Pong sent an iPad case for me, and they’re giving one to one of you! All you have to do is comment here before Sunday July 15 at midnight central time and tell me: what’s your favorite source for recipes? I’ll select a winner via random.org, and Pong will send the iPad case directly to you; you’ll just need to let me know if you want the Wi-Fi only or the Wi-Fi + 4G Case.

And go!

We have a winner!

 

Comment #2 is from Nashville’s own Erin of Erin’s Food Files. Congrats! Just email me your address and what kind of iPad you have and Pong will have your new case on the way!

S’mores pops

dessert, kids 1 Comment

 

It’s summer! I don’t know about the rest of y’all but we’re already kind of sweltering in Nashville. Baby Peanut is rocking a heat rash on her neck and thinks that cold bananas are the best thing ever right now. Kiddo is all about “cold water with LOTS of ice cubes!” I may or may not be sneaking my feet into the wading pool in the back yard.

In the midst of all this heat, the folks at Aldi sent me a summer care package: graham crackers, marshmallows, cute sprinkles and a chocolate bar. S’mores! I love s’mores. However, since it’s hot outside (have I mentioned it’s hot?), by the time the package hit my front porch the chocolate was rather melty, so traditional s’mores would be hard.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

I thought about what else I could do that would be yummy, and I came up with these: s’mores pops. I’m pretty sure I’m not the first person to invent these, but since I totally thought of them one night I’m not going to google them and see how many other people came up with them before I did. 😉

You need these in your life!

S’mores pops

Ingredients

  • 4 graham crackers
  • 1 large chocolate bar
  • 1 bag large marshmallows
  • Sprinkles, optional but totally fun
  • Popsicle sticks, skewers or craft sticks
  • Wax paper lined cookie sheets or trays

Instructions

  1. Melt or temper the chocolate. I used this method for tempering. I’m honestly not sure if the chocolate really needed to be tempered or just melted in the microwave; tempering seemed like a good idea and not hard so I went with it
  2. Crush the graham crackers in a food processor or in a zip top bag with a rolling pin, then put the crumbs in a bowl
  3. Skewer the marshmallows, then dip in the chocolate. Let it drip a little bit, then dip in graham crackers and sprinkles in whatever method and order you like — go crazy, have fun! — then set them on the wax paper to let them cool

 

See how easy this is? If grown-ups do the melting part, kids can absolutely step in and make their own creations with different sprinkles and combinations. Make some and show me what you’ve come up with!

Peanut Butter Krispy Treats

dessert, kids 6 Comments

We’re gearing up for the 4th of July! It’s especially fun this year because — get this — Kiddo has all kinds of foods that he likes now! He keeps trying something new and saying, “I CAN’T BELIEVE I’VE BEEN MISSING OUT ON THIS!” Top of that list? Peanut butter. He would now eat it all day every day if I let him, so he was excited to be my official taste tester for these little treats which I adapted from Momadvice.com. Verdict: thumbs up!

Peanut Butter Krispy Treats

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups rice krispies*
  • sprinkles, if you so desire

Instructions

  1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add in sugar and honey, stirring together; bring to a boil then remove the pan from the heat
  2. Stir in the peanut butter, cinnamon and salt till peanut butter is melted and everything is thoroughly combined
  3. Add in cereal and stir to coat
  4. Press into ungreased silicone muffin pans (Mickey Mouse optional) or greased square 8″ pan, press firmly, top with sprinkles and wait for treats to cool

Notes

I think you could pretty much make this with whatever cereal floats your boat, but the peanut butter sauce is so sweet that I wouldn’t pick a very sugary cereal — might be sugar overkill.

Fruit Tea

drinks 10 Comments

This is another one of those scribbled-on-a-piece-of-paper recipes. With a predicted high in Nashville of 96 degrees on Sunday, you’re gonna want to scribble it down as well — trust me.

Fruit Tea

Ingredients

  • Two quart-size (I use the family size Luzianne bags)
  • 1 1/2 quarts boiling water
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 can (48 ounces) pineapple juice
  • 1 can (12 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate
  • 1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate

Instructions

  1. Brew the tea bags and cinnamon stick in the boiling water for 15 minutes
  2. Remove and discard the tea bags and cinnamon stick; stir in sugar till it dissolves, then stir in remaining ingredients
  3. Serve with plenty of ice and enjoy!

Peanut butter maple syrup

breakfast, dessert, kids 8 Comments

I was looking for a way to get a little extra protein on our Saturday morning waffles. I mean because everyone needs to have enough fuel to get through till creamy jalapeno ranch chicken tacos at Chuy’s.

Just me?

Anyhoo!

I Googled a couple recipes for peanut butter syrup and they all seemed essentially the same and insanely easy.

Peanut butter maple syrup

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Add both ingredients to saucepan and heat on medium heat, whisking occasionally (more often as it gets warmer), until heated and well combined

That’s it! One step, and it’s SO good, and SO filling. Half a waffle with this drizzled on and I was good to go till salsa time.

Enjoy!