August 24, 2015 by Krista

Strawberries and Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

I don’t usually buy pre-made cookie dough because I don’t need cookies to be even easier to make and eat. I just don’t. But, I was at the store the other day with Little J and Baby N getting some things for some other posts and a whole package of cookie dough just jumped into my cart. Out of nowhere. And then Little J saw them and there was no going back without a meltdown because it was lunch time and nap time and we were both ready to be done shopping. I’m not sure who would’ve cried harder if I’d put them back, him or me. And sometimes, you just need a cookie. So, I came home and made chocolate chip cookie cups because regular pre-made cookies aren’t something you can blog about. True story. But also because I fooled myself that if I put strawberries on top, it’s a healthy dessert.

STRAWBERRIES & CHOCOLATE CHIP
COOKIE CUPS

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Strawberries and Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 12 cookie cups

Serving size: 1 cup

Calories: 200

Ingredients

- Cookie dough. You can make your own or use a pre-made package. The package I used made 2 dozen cookies when made according to the directions on the package.
- Fresh strawberries
- Chocolate syrup
- White chocolate morsels (optional)

Instructions

- Lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray (olive oil spray is my go-to choice).
- Take a ball of cookie dough, approximately 1-inch in diameter, and lightly press it into one of the muffin tin cavities. You want a slight indentation in the middle of the cup but don't smash it flat. I used two of the pre-made cookie dough sections in each cup
- Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes, until cookies are golden brown.
- While the cookies bake, slice up the strawberries. You'll want approximately one strawberry for each cookie cup. You can coat the strawberries with a little sugar if you want a sweeter, more syrupy treat. Let set while the cookies finish baking.
- Let the cookies cool when they come out of the oven until they are cool enough to handle. Transfer each cookie cup out of the muffin tin.
- Place a spoonful of sliced strawberries in each cookie cup.
- Top with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and garnish with white chocolate morsels, if desired.

Notes

Cut down on sugar and calories by omitting the white chocolate morsels (10 cal and 1g sugar) and/or chocolate syrup (17 cal and 3g sugar).

I love that these are single serving. I can give my boys one and there are no arguments about “his cookie is bigger than mine!” They each get one and when it’s gone, it’s gone. I love that these can be a great informal after-school snack or dress them up and serve them at a party or formal event. It’s all in the presentation. These are 200 calories (or 210 with the white chocolate garnish), which makes them a nice splurge treat and gives me a little extra incentive to make sure I get my workout in, which is a good thing. They are super simple to make and you could make a lot of them without heavy, back-breaking work or man hours, making them totally doable for large events. Now I’m dying to try some with macadamia nuts, white chocolate chunks and a little coconut…

August 18, 2015 by Krista

Chocolate Chunk Strawberry Banana Muffins to Help Fuel Their Adventures!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FuelTheirAdventures #CollectiveBias

We are in our second week of school here. Big J’s teacher wasted no time in jumping into their routine. My first-grader brought home homework on the first day of school. Like actual math homework, not just the “have your parents read and sign these forms” kind of homework. She mentioned in her Friday Letter that the kids still seem stuck in summer mode. I’m really glad she is getting right into their routine so Big J knows exactly what’s expected from the very beginning, but of course the kids are still in summer mode! There’s barely been seven school days this year. So, while she’s getting the kids back into school gear, I’m trying to do the same in our home. We’ve adopted our own little routine. A very important part of that routine is breakfast time.

Big J is like his momma; he needs his beauty sleep. Some mornings are hard to get him up and going. He is also very, very good at procrastinating. We usually do breakfast first thing and then get dressed. But there are some mornings I know that we will be in a hurry. Those are the mornings we skip the cold cereal and go straight to muffins and a yogurt smoothie, both things that can be eaten with one hand. I tried a new muffin recipe the other day and we have fallen in love with these yummy little treats. I had to hide them because Mr Napping was eating them like candy!

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Chocolate Chunk Strawberry Banana Muffins

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 17 mins

Total time: 37 mins

Serves: 18 muffins

Serving size: 1 muffin

Calories: 173

Fat: 7 grams

These tasty treats combine a strawberry banana fruit blend with a touch of chocolate and are still under 175 calories! Perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast or quick snack!

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
½ cup mashed banana
½ tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
5 ounces Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks Morsels
1 cup diced strawberries
½ cup white chocolate morsels for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Mix the flour, oats and soda in a large mixing bowl.
Add the mashed banana, coconut oil, vanilla, eggs, yogurt and applesauce.
Mix well until evenly combined.
Add the chocolate chunks and strawberries. Mix until evenly combined.
Pour batter into lined muffin cups, filling ¾ of the way full.
Bake for 17-22 minutes are golden brown and spring back to light pressure.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within a week - if you can get them to last that long.

Notes

For less sugar, reduce the chocolate chunks to ½ cup and omit the white chocolate morsels for garnish.

These muffins are super moist, but you still need something to wash it all down with. My favorite is to pair it with a delicious Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies for a quick and delicious breakfast. They are the perfect on-the-go option that helps fuel kids’ adventures all day long. It’s a great way to start the day off with “Only the Good Stuff®”! Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies have no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors and are a good source of calcium and vitamin D. During August, you can find the limited Cotton Candy/Strawberry flavor at select Walmart stores.

Right now, Dannon® Danimals® and Play 60 are having a contest – if you find the “Golden Bongo” bottle (located in specially marked packages) you can win a Play 60 Field Day for your school with NFL pros! Check out the Fuel Up To Play Site for more details. Get more ideas on ways to Fuel Their Adventures to keep your kids going through all their exploring! What are your favorite grab-and-go breakfasts?

August 11, 2015 by Krista

Fiber One Cheesecake Ice Cream Sundaes

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fiber One. All opinions regarding Fiber One Cheesecake and all content in this post are 100% mine.

We started back to school this week. Our schedules are getting fuller and we are going to be busy as ever. Since it’s only the middle of August, we still have very summertime temperatures. We are trying to squeeze a little bit of summer in around our other schedules while the weather is still nice. For me, that means dessert can still be made mostly of ice cream. YUM.

I love ice cream, but it’s not my only favorite dessert. Fiber One has a new sweet little snack out: Cheesecake Bars. That’s right… cheesecake bars. These sweet treats are only 150 calories with 6 grams fat and each bar contain 5 grams of fiber, which is 20% of your daily value of fiber. They are available in strawberry and salted caramel flavors. They are on shelves nationwide at major grocery and retail stores. I couldn’t resist my cheesecake temptation and came up with a super simple, perfect summer dessert.

CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM SUNDAE
with NEW FIBER ONE CHEESECAKE BARS

Ingredients:
– Vanilla Ice Cream
– Fiber One Cheesecake Bar
– Additional toppings (optional)

Directions:
– Chop a Fiber One Cheesecake Bar into small cubes.
– Put approximately 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream into a bowl and top with the cheese cake dices and any other toppings desired. I found 1/2 cup ice cream to 1 cheesecake bar to be a good ratio. Adjust to personal preferences if desired.
– Serve.

Fiber One Cheesecake Bars are the perfect guilt-free take on a decadent dessert and they have the added benefit of fiber. Perfect for snacking when my raging sweet tooth just won’t quit.

July 30th is National Cheesecake Day, but don’t worry if you missed it. Fiber One has decided to dedicate an entire month to the delectable dessert. Fiber One is hosting a Fiber One Cheesecake Appreciation Month Sweepstakes on Facebook through August to help everyone participate in the month-long cheesecake celebration. There will be 1 to 2 winners everyday, plus a grand prize winner. So, what are you waiting for? Unleash your cheesecake craving! Celebrate Fiber One Cheesecake Appreciation Month and use the hashtags #FiberOneCheesecake and #FiberOne #Cheesecake on social media and tag @FiberOne. Don’t forget to enter the Facebook Sweepstakes too!

July 20, 2015 by Krista

Shepherd’s Pie Tinfoil Dinner

We recently went to one of my dad’s family reunions. We have one every year and have ever since I can remember. We used to go to my great-grandpa’s farm and camp out on the property there, but over the past decade and a half we’ve begun exploring other areas around the western US. It’s one of my favorite summer traditions. But it can be hard to feed that many people over several days. Our solution: each of my dad’s siblings and their immediate family members and then his parents and single siblings take a meal (usually we just do breakfast and dinner – BYO (bring your own) for lunches). This year my family had a dinner meal assigned to us. We came up with this Shepherd’s Pie Tinfoil dinner.

SHEPHERD’S PIE TINFOIL DINNER

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Shepherd's Pie Tinfoil Dinner

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 5 servings

An easy tinfoil dinner recipe that is perfect for camping or a quick meal at home.

Ingredients

16 oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables
16 oz shredded frozen hash browns
10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup (you can use a "cream of" substitute if you prefer)
1 lb of ground beef
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
chopped green onions (if desired)
tinfoil

Instructions

Thaw the hash browns so you aren't trying to mix in huge chunks of potatoes. Break up the frozen veggies in the package so they aren't in large chunks either.
While the hash browns and veggies are thawing, cook up the ground beef in a frying pan on the stove. Medium heat until evenly browned, Add seasonings to taste and desire.
Combine the hash browns, the frozen veggies, browned ground beef and the cream of mushroom soup in a large bowl and stir until evenly mixed.
Put a single serving amount of veggie-potato-beef mix in the center of a square of tinfoil. How much you put in there will depend on how much you want to eat. I average about a cup to a cup and a half in each tinfoil square. Mr Napping likes closer to 2 cups in his.
Wrap each tinfoil square up tightly and put it on coals or in the oven. Cook on coals for about 30 mins or in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
Unwrap the foil packet and transfer contents to a plate, if desired.
Sprinkle with cheese and green onions, and serve.
It will be HOT! Be CAREFUL!

Notes

To cook in a crock pot, prepare the packets as directed and then put in the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours. Make dinner even easier!

This recipe is tasty, easy and you can feed a large group with minimal additional prep work. It’s awesome for camping. Throw it all in a tinfoil pouch and into the coals. And it’s a great quick and easy dinner at home. It’s relatively inexpensive, which is a plus in a household of testosterone and hungry boys.

June 29, 2015 by Krista

9 Perfect BBQ Appetizers

Hey! I’m so glad you’re here! Do you love a good BBQ? I do!

BBQ season is here and I am loving it. But, what’s a BBQ with just meat? Mr. Napping would say it’s perfection, but I want a little more variety. BBQ appetizers can make a fantastic meal spectacular.

While grilling is so perfect for not heating the house any hotter than it already is there’s just something awesome about a delicious BBQ appetizer. I’ve got some great recipes that will add that extra taste of summer to your next BBQ.

Whether you are roasting hot dogs and grilling hamburgers, getting a little more fancy with a nice juicy steak or loading up on omega-3 with some tasty fish fillets, pairing your main dish with a killer appetizer will enhance the flavors of that delicious meat.

Pair burgers and hot dogs with astonishingly delicious Pepperoni-stuffed Deviled Eggs, or your steaks with some tasty bread or chips and dip. Get the most out of your efforts and bring the meal to life with some yummy BBQ appetizers.

I’ve got appetizers that will perfect your meal, no matter what you’re making! I’ve got you covered. You can navigate with the links below or click that big yellow NEXT arrow!

Salsas Dips Breads Other Awesome Appetizers