Puppy Chow - A Christmas Snack Tradition

In yesterday's post I told you about our Advent calendar tradition. Well, one of the food-related doors we opened had a card for puppy chow. Have you had puppy chow? I'm sure just about everyone has. Have you made it? If not, the purpose of this post is to show you how easy it is. I'm pretty sure the recipe is quite standard but I've given it below in the event you don't feel like googling it.

Here's what you need:
9 cups - Crispix cereal
1 cup - chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate, not semi sweet)
1/2 cup - peanut butter
1 1/2 cups - powdered sugar

Don't you just love my festive measuring cups!? I do. Mom got them for me for holiday baking - thanks Mom!

Anyway, get a big pot - one that has high walls so you don't make a huge mess when you stir the cereal around - and melt the chocolate chips. Then add the peanut butter and stir until combined. Next, pour in the cereal and gently fold/stir until all the cereal is coated.

Get a big plastic bag, like a gallon bag or I just use a clean plastic shopping sack, and pour the powdered sugar in it. Then dump all the cereal in the bag, twist the top and give it a good several shakes, spins and rolls. Open it up and grab a couple warm little treats and eat them up. They are great with a glass of milk.

That's it! Once it's cooled, store in an airtight container our separate into little baggies and give as gifts.

CrazyJoy =

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Sorry this is late. I've been in and out, enjoying a few Black Friday traditions, eating, decorating and even grabbed a quick nap. It's been a great couple of days!

Anna posted the new crazyjoy challenge word earlier today so I hoped you checked it out. If not, here you go.



I'll see you Monday where I'll post my photo for the challenge.

Until then, here are some new photos over the last few days...






The collages were made with the diptic app using instagram photos from my phone library. I guess I should mention that I'm a little obsessed with Instagram (free) and Diptic (only 99 cents).

$6 Well Spent

I'm not a big sweets-for-breakfast kind of gal. I prefer sausage gravy over homemade biscuits. However, I do enjoy a homemade pancake or waffle from time to time.

We make pancakes every now and then but have never been able to make waffles because we don't have a waffle iron...until now!



Let me first say that I know you can get waffle irons just about anywhere but I'm a little particular about my waffles. I don't like the Belgium waffles. I like the old, thin waffles with the little squares. It's what I was raised on and you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find an iron that makes these now! I've been on the hunt for about a year.

This past weekend we hit up the flea market only to find there was no flea market that day. We decided to stop in a little flea-market-type-store on the way home and found this beauty for $6!! I was a little skeptical about it actually working properly but figured what's the big loss if it doesn't?



After we cleaned that sucker up we were pleased to find out it works just fine.



I only makes two waffles at a time and takes about 9 minutes per 2 waffles but at least it cooks evenly!







Sweet P approved of our waffles too!

Natural Snack

Here's a quick, all natural little snack we've been munching on around our house that I thought you might enjoy.  They're no-bake, all natural energy balls/bites.

I first saw them on Krista's blog where she talked about how delicious they were. I pinned her pin to my pinterest board and finally made them myself, you can find the original recipe at Food Doodles.

I stayed close to the recipe but a few slight changes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup finely shredded coconut
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup ground walnuts
1/4 cup chopped, dried mixed fruit (cranberry, blueberry, strawberry)
about a teaspoon sea salt

***UPDATED: I have been roughly chopping up some milk chocolate chips and love that addition. It's not so natural but it's really good!***

You mix the peanut butter and honey together, then mix in the rest of your ingredients.



Refrigerate for at least 30 min. and roll into little bite-sized balls - I got 30 out of them. I stuck them on some wax paper in a tupperware dish in the fridge and they lasted about 5 days.



I'll be making a new batch tomorrow and trying the frozen version, Heidi, mentioned.

Oktoberfest Feasting

As I've mentioned, Oktoberfest was this past weekend here in T-town. The plan was to save money by going during the free-admission time and not eating anything while we were there because we had a German feast to come home to. Such was the plan anyway. We made it inside the gates with seconds, and I mean seconds, to spare. We didn't plan on the traffic and had to run for the gates. Sweet P and I made it through, then Eric and then the ticket-takers started moving out saying time was up and everyone needed a ticket. My mom held her phone up with the time showing there was still one minute to go as she pushed on through. They ended up letting her through - along with a drove of others!

It was a fun start to the event. We walked from tent to tent, hearing various sounds of music and cheering and smelling all kinds of tempting treats.



We hadn't been there 20 minutes before the beer (the husband's beverage), potato pancake and Ludgar's Bavarian cream cheese cake had been purchased.



With full bellies it was time to work a little of those calories off with a little chicken dancing. Sweet P once again wooed the crowds and had everyone around her clapping and smiling.



It was a good time. I think I need one of those German hats for me and Sweet P next year.

The rest of the weekend was filled with family, a lot of football watching and more German feasting. Last week I mentioned a few recipes I wanted to try and I made all but one. I also added one I didn't mention so here's the reviews...

First up, the Wiener Schnitzel and German potato salad.



I tried this chicken schnitzel recipe but used tenderized-boneless pork chops for the meat. The husband said it was the best schnitzel he's ever eaten and that it reminded him of the one he would order as a kid at Ursula's (Tulsa restaurant no longer in business). I thought it turned out pretty good.

Then there's the German potato salad recipe that I mentioned last week. Again, the husband loved it and said it was the best potato salad I've ever made. Personally, I prefer a cold, smashed potato salad but it went well with the dinner.

Next up is the recipe for apple strudel I also mentioned last week.



After I converted everything in her recipe, I decided to use puff pastry instead of phyllo dough. I like puff pastry, it's easy and I'll use the leftovers. Plus, I didn't feel like taking the time to do the whole buttering the 4-5 layers or phyllo. I'm lazy.



The puff pastry ended up working out really well and the strudel was amazing. Really folks, delicious. I used honeycrisp apples inside and topped the strudel with some icing to really take it over the edge in the healthy department.

And, last up, I tried this recipe for homemade pretzels.



They were a huge hit. I read a lot of the comments on the recipe and ended up going with 4 cups of flour and using my kitchenaid with the hook attachment to knead the dough. That thing made this recipe SO easy. The pretzels smelled amazing and were perfect right out of the oven.

The recipe calls for sugar but the husband didn't care for the sweetness of the dough. I didn't mind but will probably use less next time I make them. They were also really good covered sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and coated with melted butter. Such a great treat.

After all the German food cooking and eating I have determined that the German folk aren't too concerned with calories and I'm happy Oktoberfest only rolls around once a year.

That Explains It

I'm assuming the post yesterday will answer a few questions as to my lack of presence here. A good friend called and asked if I was ok because I hadn't been posting so I decided I better clear it up here.

Yes, we are expecting another little one. Due date is set for April 1. Seriously, I'm not foolin' (get it, due date on April Fool's, yes I'm a nerd).

That means I'm close to 10 weeks along. It's a bit early than I wanted to share the news but the husband has been telling pretty much everyone - including strangers - so I caved and decided to share the news here too.



I haven't been feeling the greatest and I've been extremely tired. Like, I wake up and feel like I need a nap and have been falling asleep on the couch just after we put P down to bed (8pm). I don't really have a routine when it comes to writing this thing. Sometimes I write in the morning (when I was doing Insanity and up before the rest of the house - clearly I'm no longer doing that crazy workout) sometimes I write when P's down for her naps. She still takes two naps a day and I've been trying to nap when she does but I just can't fall asleep during the day. And, other times I write at night, but seeing how I'm falling asleep at 8 or 9 I just had the energy or desire to do it.



As you guys know, I really like food, however, I have been feeling nauseous all the time and just cooking food makes me want to puke. Too much for ya in the morning? Sorry, but seriously, the other night I was cooking ground turkey and almost had to stop and leave the house all together. The stench permeated the house and I didn't think the stink would ever go away. Needless to say, I didn't eat that meal and I certainly didn't have the stomach to stand near it to take a picture!

However, if I don't have to cook it, food isn't so bad. Bring on the donuts and ice cream.

All that to say there probably won't be many food posts for a bit. And since food is something I talk about a lot here, that probably means I won't be posting as often.

So, there you have it, I'm pregnant and preparing for a new little one. Ohhh, I am so excited about holding a teeny-tiny, sweet-baby-smelling little one.

Anyway, happy Wednesday and thank you for all the sweet comments yesterday!

Failed Attempts

Confession time.

I took all of last week (and the start of this week) off from my Insanity workouts. The alarm continued to go off but I just turned it off and slept instead.

I planned on getting up at 5:30 this morning to do that cardio thing but sheesh, 5:30 is so early. I hit the snooze again. Maybe I'll try to fit it in this afternoon sometime.

That's not my only failure today. I tried making this recipe, courtesy Pioneer Woman and it just didn't turn out.

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Lesley on Pinterest

That's the photo from her recipe I found via pinterest. Iced coffees are one of my favorite things so I was a little giddy when I saw this recipe. I started the steeping process yesterday then went to strain the grounds but my version just looked like really strong tea. It was not what I had expected.

Now I need a new recipe unless there's someone out there that knows the trick to P-dub's. If you have a great recipe for iced coffees, please send it my way.

Coupon - Why Yes

Do you remember my previous post about Sonic's new premium hot dogs?

Well, imagine my excitement when I got this coupon in the mail!

I can now say, sadly, that I have tried all four of their new hot dogs.

The last two on the list were the All-American dog. (not my fave)

And the chili cheese dog. (pretty good but not as good as the chicago dog)

And the best part of the chili cheese dog is having tots to dip in the stuff the falls out!

Okay, now back to healthy eating.

Oh wait, after these are gone. Thanks dad!

Which makes me think of a saying from one of my favorite shows, Biggest Loser...

I added the donut part, obviously!

Happy Hump Day!

How to Survive an Oklahoma Blizzard

Cook, take pictures of it and eat. A lot

I don't want to talk about this snow issue any more but I think I may be starting to lose my mind! I've been stuck inside my house for what seems like weeks but has only been 4 days. 14" of snow doesn't melt very fast. And, we're supposed to get more!

So I have been entertaining myself with a little baking and a lot of eating.



My mom told me about a WW recipe that uses won-ton wrappers as a crust and a muffin pan for mini quiches. Well, I didn't have any wrappers or the recipe so I made up my own version.

I made these before the snow hit using leftovers we had in the fridge. 

• 1/4 C cooked sausage
• 1/4 C chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 a yellow pepper - chopped
• 4 sliced green onions
• a handful of mixed cheddar cheese 
• 5 eggs - slightly beaten
• a little cream 
• and some salft and pepper

I sauteed the onions, mushrooms and peppers.


Then added the sausage and cheese to the cooked veggies.


Mixed in the eggs, a little cream and some salt and pepper.


Cooked them at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or so. And bada-bing. A complete breakfast in a muffin!



Two nights ago we ordered a Ken's Style Pizza from Mazzio's. It was AMAZING. I highly recommend.


And last night I got my sister's top secret chocolate chip cookie recipe and made my husband his favorite treat while he was at work.



Not such a good idea. Me, bored and alone with a giant plate of cookies.

Did I mention I like to snack when I'm bored!

Not the best answer to beating the boredom but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Face Mug = Awesome!

image from holycool.net

I saw this on holycool.net and cracked up. It also made me realize it's almost the second month into a new year and I have yet to eat a donut this year!

I know, hard to believe. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I was aware of my lack of tasty pastry eating, I started craving donuts!?

Figures, but now I kind of feel like seeing how long I can go without one.


And this is for Sweet P's aunt! (sorry her face is blurry, I was focused on the shirt)

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Starbucks Carmel Brulee Latte

Really, need I say more?

Another reason to love this time of year = Startbuck's Carmel Brulee Latte.

It goes great with a day of Christmas shopping or just sitting on the couch!

A Teaser of What's To Come!

 

What could this be???

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Since I've been working in the office on Thursdays and have had family watch P, Wednesday has become a baking day. I've been trying to make little treats for the person watching my girl, a small thank you.

This week was chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and oatmeal cream pies.

I used this recipe from Everyday Food for the cookies (minus the what germ because I rarely have it) and this recipe (using pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon) for the cream filling. After making them, I should have gone with a chewier cookie. These were a little crispy. Oh well, they were still good!

Dry ingredients


Buttery goodness


Adding the eggs and vanilla


Adding the dry to the buttery goodness


Then the chocolate chips


Little dough balls


Making the cream filling


Mini Oatmeal Cream Pie rady to eat!!