I got this idea from chatting with Kellie, from Chicks With Kidz, she had a great idea/suggestion to include my kiddos in making our own variations of trail mix.  We eat granola regularly for breakfast, but I have always been the one mixing it up!  With her encouragement my one year old now has a way to “help mommy” cook breakfast!  Thanks Kellie!  We are always looking for ways to include our kids in household chores and activities!
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How to make your own Granola Mix:
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Grab handfuls of any or all of …

My son loves being a helper and was thrilled when he got to make lunch for us today! We are eating pancakes – yummy! How fun is it to mix breakfast with learning our letters! We have a set of cookie cutters that are in the shapes of capital letters (thanks Laney). Here is a tip that we use to decrease the likelihood of massive pancake batter spills while using cookie cutters to make pancakes in particular shapes, maybe it will help you!
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We used a dry …

Today’s Fantastic Friday shout-outs all have one splendid theme, “dessert”. I have a massive sweet tooth and am seriously itching to try making my very own thin mint cookies (why does Valentines Day mean Girl Scout Cookies in my mind?), these melt-in-your mouth mini-cheesecake cookies, homemade cream soda-pop, and fudgy molten chocolate cake. I am exploding in anticipation! Alas, I’m snowed in… I sense a grocery trip in my future. Till then, check out these “Fantastic Friday” posts… and if you have any sites to share …

Please tell me we aren’t the only family to get in a rut during meal times. We tend to eat the same 5 or 6 lunches! They say variety is the spice of life and while I can’t seem to manage to think of something new for lunch, we do have new ways to entice our kiddos to eat! Yeah for cookie cutters! They make grilled cheese or even peanut butter and jelly interesting!

This is really good. When I was little, my Mom used to shop at Randalls. They always had this big kettle of clam chowder out in front of the seafood shop with little plastic cups for samples. I loved the fresh clam chowder. But I have never been able to enjoy the canned version, it tastes “tinny” to me. This was awesome, super awesome. I plan to always have some on hand.
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Jenn’s Super Easy New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2 …

Every Friday we offer awards to what we think are a few of the most fantastic posts or interesting news we have found online or have been submitted to us.  Feel free to join in on the fun and find your own fantastic posts and blogs to feature!  We have a linky and a button award for you to share.     This week’s “shout-outs” go to DIY Crowns, Instructions on how to make your own gummi Lego Candy, some templates for making letter puzzles and the cheapest odor eliminator I’ve ever …

My kids love granola bars and I love having them eat healthy breakfasts and snacks! These are great for those “on-the-run” mornings!  The oatmeal makes them feel full, the dried fruit makes my fruit-loving little man happy and the flaxseed adds brain-friendly fats.  These granola bars will keep for a week or so, but for longer shelf-life, freeze them!
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Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats (grind 1 c up in the blender or food processor for more consistent texture)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup …

These rainbow cupcakes are a huge hit with preschoolers and kids of all ages!  They look fancy, but are super easy to re-create.  Try it yourself with these easy steps:
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What you’ll need:

Gel Food Dye
Toothpick
Decorating Icing Bag (or a freezer ziplock baggie)
Wilton Tip adapter (optional)

If you are going to use a tip adapter, put that into the icing bag first.  Make sure it is lodged securely into the bag.  Then pick out your colors and make several lines of food coloring inside your bag.  I use a toothpick and try to …

If your kids are anything like mine, encouraging them to eat their vegetables is not the easiest of things to do, really, convincing my hubby to eat greenery can be a challenge.   Here are some of the ways I have hidden vegetables into fairly common, kid-friendly meals.  Do you have any ways that you have encouraged your kids to eat more variety!  I’d love to hear them!
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Spaghetti Sauce:
I love spaghetti sauce.  It has such a strong flavor you can hide almost anything in it!  We have hidden squash, spinach, peas, …

These are so yummy and easy to make! I love, LOVE, chocolate covered espresso beans – but the few times I’ve made them in the past I’ve just made a massive mess.  Lets just say my lumps of beans were not very appetizing.  Thanks to Mandy from The Trenches of Motherhood, I found a really easy way to make chocolate covered coffee beans!
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In Mandy’s own words (reprinted with her permission):

I used to drink coffee in my late teens when it was the “cool” thing to do. But not anymore. …