Victoria is back again today with an awesome recipe! This is definitely something I can use… who needs an energy boost more than a momma with a newborn and a two-year-old recovering from surgery?! In case you could use a little boost too, let’s get to the good stuff!

---

 

Hi it’s me again! Today I’m sharing another family favorite recipe that my kids love and helps  give us some fuel to start out our day.

I’m a huge fan of smoothies but not all are created equal. Depending on what you include in yours, some smoothies can have as much sugar (if not more) than a milk shake. But made with some simple ingredients smoothies can also provide a wealth of nutrients and vitamins. I make this Power Smoothie just about every morning and both of my kids (ages 1 and 3) LOVE it! In fact if it’s a morning where I don’t make one my son whines for it. While my kids are pretty good eaters when it comes to vegetables, it’s always a bonus to sneak in some more in creative ways. One of the reasons I have termed this a Power Smoothie is because it contains some power greens, either Kale or Spinach. Let’s be honest Kale is not exactly the easiest green to eat in it’s raw form but it contains so many nutrients that it is an important leafy green to eat. I have found that by blending it in a smoothie you hide the bitter taste among the sweet berries. You can use any greens, I started with spinach and then switched to Kale, to add to your smoothie.

 

This is great paired with some turkey sausage or a bowl of oatmeal for a complete nourishing breakfast.  The ground flax provides essential omega-3 fatty acids and fiber which is good to help balance out the natural sugars from the fruits and helps you to feel full longer. This is a favorite among our family in the morning but I have also made this a few times during the day for lunch or a simple pick me up. I hope you enjoy! Be sure to stop by Creative Home Keeper for me family favorites!

---

 

Thanks Victoria! That sounds delicious! Check out all of Victoria’s awesome content on Creative Home Keeper.

 

 

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

Julie is here today from Our Thrive Life to share a fantastic round up with us.  We used to do “breakfast for dinner” nights and they were some of our favorites when I was younger.  Julie has you covered with some awesome recipes.  Check them out!

My family loves when we have breakfast for dinner! My kids think we’re being silly, breakfast is typically easier and faster to prepare then some of our regular meals and as a bonus it helps stretch our grocery budget. I’m addicted to pinterest and love to find new recipes by searching around my own boards as well as some of my favorite bloggers. {True story: My husband recently told me to stop using my laptop in the kitchen as I cook because traces of flour, etc had made their way into my keyboard… oops! haha} You can check out my two Pinterest accounts here and here. I’ve rounded up 15 of my most favorite breakfast recipes and ideas for you!

I love adding scrambled eggs, fruit salad or yogurt on the side to any of these to make it more of a ‘meal’. Try out a new recipe this month and mix things up. Do you already have breakfast for dinner as part of your meal plan routine? Share your recipes and ideas in the comments too!

Uhh, yeah those snickerdoodle pancakes just got pinned!  Yum!  Thanks for doing all the hard work and hunting down these awesome recipes, Julie!  Check out everything going on over at Our Thrive Life!

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

Subscribe to the While He Was Napping Newsletter for content delivered right to your inbox

Need something fun to do with the kids today.  How about these fun Valentine treats (actually, you could make them whenever…)?  Who doesn’t love rice crispy treats?  They are quick, easy and tasty.  Perfect for kids to help out with.  Gotta love a super simple and pretty basic treat.  I’m sure you’ve seen the rice crispy treats that are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses floating around the last month or so.  Here’s my take on this adorable little treat.

Ingredients:
– 6 cups of crispy rice cereal
– 1 bag of regular-size marshmallows or about 4 1/3 cups mini marshmallows
– 3 Tbsp butter
– almond bark or baker’s dipping chocolate

Directions:
– Melt the butter in a large pot on the stove over medium to medium-high heat.
– Add the marshmallows to the pot and melt.  (So, here’s my confession: I totally ruined the first batch of these.  How do you mess up rice crispy treats, right?  Well, I was using old marshmallows and I think the problem was that they started to burn before they ever melted.  So, I was left with a huge, sticky, charred messy, half-melted glob.  That was lots of fun to scrub off my pot).  Use fresh marshmallows!
– Remove from heat and stir in your crispy rice cereal until it’s evenly coated with the sticky marshmallows.
– Shape into cylindrical pyramids or Hershey Kiss shapes (hmm, look at that, 5th grade geometry at it’s finest).  Allow to stand for 1-2 hours on a sheet of wax paper at room temperature or until solid.  You don’t want them to fall apart when you handle them.

– Melt your almond bark or baker’s dipping chocolate in the microwave as per the package instructions.  Dip each cylindrical pyramid in to the chocolate and coat evenly.  I found using a skewer stabbed through the bottom of the rice crispy seemed to work the best.  Set back on the wax paper and let the chocolate harden.

Those are fun, but this extra step will add the perfect personalized touch I just love.
– Cut a square of aluminium foil that will fit around your “rice kiss me”s.
– Cut a thin strip of paper and write your own little love notes, Valentine message or whatever you want on it.  You could type it up and print it if you’re making a large batch.
– Place one of your strips of paper and a “kiss me” treat in the center of the foil square.  Wrap up like a Kiss with the paper sticking out the top.

Makes approximately 24 two-inch “kiss me” treats/
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

Subscribe to the While He Was Napping Newsletter for content delivered right to your inbox

I actually made a menu about a week and a half ago and we’ve actually stuck to it pretty well since then.  This isn’t such a rare occurrence when I’m not the size of a small walrus; but, lately, we’ve struggled.  And my poor husband has come home from working all day to have to make dinner because I am just so incredibly exhausted.  My justification is that he still sleeps all night long and I toss and turn from side to side every hour.  Ever tried to roll over a beach ball before?  Or tried to roll over with a stack of bricks strapped to your abdomen?  That’s about what it feels like, pinky promise.

Anyway, when I glanced at the clock and realized, “hmmm, 5:30… I should probably make something for dinner” I was thinking something quick and easy.  I took another glance at our menu and it had meals like crock pot roast, Idaho tacos, and yellow rice and chicken.  Whoops.  Missed the roast by like eight hours, Idaho tacos require baked potatoes – definitely not quick, and we’d had rice the two previous nights.  Then “pancakes, eggs and bacon” caught my eye.  Decision made.  Until I couldn’t find anymore pancake batter mix in the cupboard.  So much for easy…  I had to look up a recipe.  I got the basics off allrecipes.com (this is the recipe I worked from), but the tweaks are what really made them super tasty.

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
– 2 tbsp sugar
– 1 tsp salt
– 2 tsp imitation vanilla or 1 tsp of the real stuff (or to taste)
– 2 tsp baking soda
– 1 cup cinnamon chips (found with the chocolate chips at most grocery stores).  You can substitute 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon, but the chips are sweeter and, thus, make a sweeter pancake.
– 2 cups milk

Directions:
– In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt and soda together.
– Add the milk and vanilla.  Mix until batter forms.
– Add the cinnamon chips and fold into the batter.
– On the stove or a griddle, use a medium to medium-low setting (depending on your appliance).  Lightly spread butter in the pan or on the griddle to prevent sticking.
– Use a ladle to spoon batter onto griddle (or into frying pan) in approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inch circles.  Flip with a spatula turner when bubbles begin to form in the batter and the bottom is golden brown – about 6-8 minutes.  Cook until batter has baked all the way through – about another 6-8 minutes.
– Remove from heat and store under a clean kitchen towel or in the griddle’s drawer to keep warm.
– Repeat the last two steps until all the batter has been cooked.  Serve warm.

Servings: Approximately twelve 2 inch pancakes
Store leftovers in airtight container in fridge.

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

Subscribe to the While He Was Napping Newsletter for content delivered right to your inbox

One day last week, Mr Napping came home from work and decided he needed to make cookies.  I was mildly baffled, but who was I to stop him?  Besides, why would I turn down cookies?  These ended up being really, really, really yummy.  Who knew the man could bake too?  How did I get so dang lucky?!  Ready for this?  Your taste buds are gonna water…

– In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth.
– Beat in the eggs one at a time.
– Stir in the milk and vanilla.
– Add the flour, baking soda and salt.  Combine with the sugar mixture until well blended.
– Add in the oats, chips. pecans and coconut until evenly mixed.
– Drop 1″ balls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes.  If you want a little crispier cookie add 1-2 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.  Store in an air-tight container.

Yield about 5 1/2 dozen cookies

 

*We tried cinnamon chips, butterscotch chips and chocolate chips.  The cinnamon were the undisputed favorites.  My second favorites were the chocolate chips, but I could take or leave butterscotch.  Mr Napping liked those ones a lot though.

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.