Twirls 'n Curls

  " Surprise! They're good for you!"   I remember hearing that tag line in a cereal commercial as a child and wondering, " It tastes good AND it's good for me? No way. "  It wasn't relevant to me then, but now that I have kids of my own, I find myself pondering that same question again, What can I feed my kids that's actually healthy and tastes good? This winter, I've intentionally let the candy jar and the snack cabinet run low, determined to buy fewer ready-made snacks in favor of healthier alternatives (some great kid snack ideas here !)   Now don't get me wrong, I'm not against occasional treats at all! I love to bake and come up with all kinds of goodies. But for the sake of our budget, and our waistlines, my little helpers and I have been experimenting in the kitchen a little by modifying some recipes we already have. Here is what we've been noshing on for snacks this past week, my favorite cranberry muffins with a ...

Happy Independence Day! The holiday has just officially started, but we've been celebrating all week!   I found some great 4th of July printables here , the girls had fun with this paint by number. Today we will be learning more about Independence Day w/some of her other papers. They also painted a bunch of coloring sheets from this site. I'm so glad creative people share their resources!  The girls did a great job singing "This Land is Your Land" and "My Country Tis of Thee" in our church's patriotic program... And I promised them they could dye their hair blue after the program - I just couldn't let them sing in front of the church w/blue hair, call me old-fashioned... :) Then we came home and made red, white, and blue firecracker cupcakes.  The original recipe is super easy from my friend here , and her cupcakes always look so perfect!  You have to check them out. My girls had so much fun, layering the differen...

I've loved all the Sneaky Chef recipes I've tried so far, even though my family knows about all the extra veggies I put in.  But the other day, I went a little too far. The recipe for Chicken Nuggets called for dipping chicken bits into spinach puree, then into bread crumbs. Well, I didn't think enough spinach was getting on there, so I kept dipping. Over. And over. It took forever. And the chicken nuggets came out very... green . (I'll spare you the picture. It was that bad !) As soon as Tom got home, I warned him that dinner would be "different," and to p-l-e-a-s-e go along with it. Amazingly, he did. The kids seemed to like them too, since they love spinach, but they definitely won't become a family favorite.  In fact, our after-dinner conversation went something like this: Me: "So what did you think?" Hannah: "These are ok, but I thought chicken nuggets came in dinosaur shapes! Those are sooo good. My friend's mom makes those...

My girls l-o-v-e helping me in the kitchen, and you can see why:  Good to the last drop! I had to hop in on this fun recipe hop with my friend Jocelyn , check out her delicious recipes every Tuesday!  Anyway, this no-bake dessert is a favorite of ours, especially when it's too hot to turn on the oven: Frozen Mocha Pie Crust: 1 c. graham cracker crumbs 1/4 c. sugar 1/4 c. cocoa 1/4 c. melted butter Combine and press in pan. Filling: Mix 2 T. instant coffee and 2 t. boiling water.  Add 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 c. chocolate syrup.  Fold mixture into 1 pint whipped whipping cream.  Freeze. * Note: This calls for 1 pint (2 cups) whipping cream, which equals about 4 cups when whipped. 

It's the start of a brand new week!  Here are a few random tidbits from our lives lately: (1)  I am so, so excited!  Up until today , both sets of grandparents have lived in the Midwest, and the girls only got to see them once or twice a year.  But my in-laws are on my way to their new house (about 30 min from us) right now with the moving van!  This is one of those things I've prayed about for a long time for my girls but never actually thought would happen...Thanks, God!! (2)   Logic to a three year old:  Me:  Why are you out of bed? Hannah:  I have to go pooootttty! Me:  Ok, why were you playing in the bathtub? Hannah:  Because I'm thiiiirrrrsssttttyyyy!! Me:  Go to bed.  Now. (3) Someone gave us two miniature tea sets that my girls absolutely love.  The cups hold about a tablespoon of tea.  What is it with little girls and little, tiny toys??  Littlest Pet Shops, Polly Pockets...I guess...

Linkin' up with my friend Jocelyn for a " Tempt Us Tuesday " recipe swap.  Only I'm trying not to bake so many sweets because I find that's how I wind up eating them - does anyone else have that problem?  ...so here's a great main dish that always seems to go over well. We have people over, like, all the time.  At least several times a week I find myself staring at my recipe books, thinking, "What did I make last time this family came for dinner?"  Or worse..."Does everyone in town talk about the fact that I almost always make lasagna the first time we have someone over?"  Silly, and vain, I know, but that's how my mind works.  I even used to have a book listing what I made whenever we had people over, but then I lost the book...anyhow, this yummy Mexican Lasagna is a nice change, and not quite so rich as its Italian counterpart:  Mexican Lasagna 10-12 tortillas 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef 1 1/2 t. cumin 1 T. chili powder 1/4 t....

Linsey peeled her first apple for this pie! I love having help in the kitchen. This one only took about 45 minutes too. The second apple only took about 15 minutes :) I joined a recipe hop with my friend today. I have NO luck with roll out pie crusts. Zero. Zilch. They fall apart, they don't fit, whatever. But this "No Roll Pie Crust" has become my best friend. I got the recipe for it from my husband's grandma, and it's a cinch to make. (You can use a regular crust too, if you're talented). The apple pie is so yummy, we went to a u-pick farm in Tehachapi last week, so we used those apples. No Roll Pie Crust 1 1/2 c. flour 1 T. sugar 1/2 t. salt 1/2 c oil 3 T milk Mix with a fork until well blended. Put in pie pan and push up sides of the pan to form a nice edge, then fill in the bottom. Prick crust. If desired, bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes before filling. Then we made the apple pie filling: 1/3-2/3 c. sugar 1/4 c flour 1/2 t ground cinnamon 1/2 t...