Totally patting myself on the back for that post title...gotta love a little Will Smith reference.

Can you get the song out of your head yet?  Me either.


Now that the twins are old enough to safely be in the kitchen with me, I let them help me as much as possible.  We use kid friendly knives (I found this great plastic pizza roller which works perfectly for helping slice peppers and lettuce) and let them measure with cups and spoons.  Great learning experience too!

(I guess I should say Olivia helps me, Maddie gets bored about 2 minutes into the project and magically returns when there is a spoon to lick or a hot ooey gooey cookie to taste.)

A perfect kid friendly snack is JELL-O!  Our go-to dessert is banana pudding with Cool Whip on top. 

Since our house is fully decorated with spooky Halloween decorations, I decided it's time to make some tasty snacks.  The girls' preschool is peanut free, so JELL-O treats are perfect to bring for a treat.

We started with a simple JELL-O Halloween molds, which even I was excited about.  Something about JELL-O brings out the kid in everyone.  Obviously, the kids can't pour the boiling water, but they helped stir!  The only hard part is waiting 3 hours for them to set!

CONFESSION #1: We ended up making these after dinner, so we had JIGGLERS for breakfast the next day.  Totally got "Cool Mom" points for the day.  Whew!

Can you tell Gabby was "brushing" Maddie's hair in her salon?

Once we mastered the JIGGLERS, we were on to our next project.  We saw an awesome MMMMonster recipe on the JELL-O website that we HAD to try. 

Aren't those MMMMonsters adorable?

Since we had Orange and Lime flavors, we decided to make pumpkins.  Note for parents: this project is more for older kiddos.  The girls helped me pour the layers of JELL-O, but the pumpkins didn't quite turn out for us (toddlers don't have much patience to wait for each layer to set).  Next time, I'll make them alone.  Our plan was to make faces on them, like shown above.

CONFESSION #2: While making these in the little shot glasses, I was totally trying to figure out how to make these into adult JELL-O shots.  Hehe. 

The JELL-O website has so many cute ideas! 

I really want to try these spooky spiders!

We love Monsters Inc!

The girls' preschool party isn't for a few weeks and we have so many spooky ideas now!

What do you like to make with JELL-O?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

New post on Recipe4Living: Apple Pumpkin Bread!

Slow cooker "Caramel" (really it's dulce de leche)

Have you seen than Pin going around Pinterest with the slow cooker "caramel"? It's legit.  I made some apple cider caramel to drizzle on this bread recipe and it is drool worthy!  Good thing this bread is healthified! Best part: the caramel lasts for a while in the fridge, so once you make it, you'll have it for the whole season!  I would put it on apple pie, ice cream...a spoon.

Head on over to Recipe4Living to see my new recipe.  This is one you won't want to miss!  The bread flavors are inspired by doughnuts that I used to get growing up at a local cider mill here in Michigan: The Country Mill. 

Apple Pumpkin Bread: after baking, you roll it in a pumpkin spice/sugar mixure.

I hope you enjoy your weekend!  We're headed to Chicago for the night!

Mmmm Monday: Corn & potato chowder

It's no secret, I love Rachael Ray.  Her magazine is my favorite monthly read.  I don't have time to watch her show every day anymore, but this recipe is an old 30 Minute Meals favorite.  We've been making it for the past couple of years and it's one of our go-to fall recipes.

Most chowders are mostly cream and super thick.  Don't get me wrong, those are amazing, but I love how this recipe has so many great veggies in it.  Veggies totally cancel out bacon, right?

In the past, I have made a few changes while making it (turkey bacon, instead of regular...etc), but in the end I always go back to the regular recipe.  You have to be able to indulge a little.

Corn & Potato Chowder 

Recipe from Rachael Ray

Ingredients

• 1 tbl EVOO
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1.5 cups of frozen corn, or 4 cobs (fresh tastes great, but frozen is MUCH easier!)
• 1 medium or 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 pound red potatoes, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 tea paprika
• Salt & pepper
• 3 tbl flour
• 1 quart (4 cups) chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• I use skim milk and thicken with a bit of corn starch
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• A few dashes hot sauce, to taste
• Oyster crackers or Goldfish

Let's make some chowda!

1. Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with EVOO. Add bacon to hot oil and cook until crisp at edges. 
2. Add onions, corn, zucchini, potatoes and bell pepper as you get them chopped. Also add to the soup pot the bay leaf, thyme sprigs, paprika, and salt and pepper, to taste. 
3. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes to begin to soften the vegetables. 
4. Sprinkle flour into the pot, stir and cook 1 minute. 
5. Stir in the stock and let it come up to a bubble and thicken up a bit. 
6. Then stir in cream, parsley and hot sauce, to taste, and simmer 5 minutes. 
7. Season the soup with salt and pepper
8. Serve with crackers! 

When I make this recipe, I usually serve the hot sauce on the side.  This is a great one for the whole family. Surprisingly, Gabby is the biggest fan!

Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite Rachael Ray recipe?  We have quite a few!

MYO "Skinny" Drinks: Apple Cider Martini

Being clumsy, I don't even try to use martini glasses anymore!

You may have noticed, I am addicted to Crystal Light mocktails.   I love how they are sugar free and they make really great drinks!  The margarita is by far my favorite, but this new addition is way up there.

I've had the Appletini packets for a while now.  Since I'm not a huge fan of Appletinis, they have just been sitting in the basement.  The sweet apple taste gives me flashbacks of bad Pucker shots taken in college.

Somehow, last weekend I got the idea to turn the Appletini into a more cider-like martini.  I guess I should call it more of a drink, since I steer clear of martini glasses....way too clumsy for stems!

Talking with some friends about our favorite place in Madison, The Vintage, I remembered they had these amazing apple pie shots. Voila!  My idea popped into my head. 

Here's what you need:

• Rum, any type.  We used dark.
• Crystal Light Appletini mix, Crystal Light Cranberry Apple
• When you make the mix, just use 3 cups of water. Keep them in separate pitchers though!  I get those half pitchers, they are perfect for this!
• Diet Vernors (Never heard of it?  You must not be from MI!...use Diet 7up instead)
• Cinnamon

Mix it up! (Makes one drink)

• In an iced glass add:
• 1 shot rum (or more...)
• 1/4 cup appletini mix
• 1/8 cup Cran-Apple mix
• Dash cinnamon
• Splash of Vernors

SO easy!  I made a pitcher last weekend and added sliced apples to it.  It really tastes like cider.  Mmm Mmm!

Have you tried the Crystal Light Mocktails yet?  I really need to be a spokesperson...I am addicted for sure!

Fall favorite: Apple pork chops

I love, love, LOVE fall.  Cider mills and comfy sweaters are the best!  Favorite part? The food!  Who doesn't love comfort food!?

My mom used to make these pork chops growing up and this was one of the first recipes I had to steal for my own kitchen.  There are a lot of pork and apple recipes out there, but this one is by far my favorite.  The apple cider vinegar gives it a great, unique flavor. 

Try it out!

Ingredients

• 1 lb of pork chops, pounded to 1/4-1/2 inch thick
• I tend to keep them thicker, they reheat better

• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 2 Granny smith apples, cored and sliced
• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• I never have this on hand.  I use any milk or even almond milk I have on hand.

Let's get cookin'! 

1. Season chops with salt and pepper, then shake in the flour.
2.  In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add chops and brown 3-5 minutes until mostly cooked.  Remove from skillet.
3. Add vinegar, sugar and apple juice to the pan and dissolve sugar.  Add apples.  Poach apples in liquid until they are cooked and sauce is syrupy (about 8-10 minutes).
4. Add whipping cream and stir, then return chips to pan.  Cook for 2-3 minutes and let sauce thicken.
•  If sauce is still thin, add a bit of corn starch

I make this with a side of boiled baby red potatoes and a veggie.  Quick and easy meal!