Easter Pops

(aka Chocolate Covered Rice Krispie Treats on a Stick)

Ingredients:

*Rice Krispie treats cut into bars 2 x 21/2 or so. You can go bigger or smaller, you get to be the boss here. You can make them from scratch (here’s the recipe) or you can buy the pre-made Rice Krispie treats at the grocery store.

*Melted chocolate (I used CandiQuik)

*Popcicle sticks (I got 150 for $1 at the dollar store)

*Decorations – sprinkles, candies

3 easy steps…

Put the sticks into the RIce Krispie Treats. They will stay better if you dip the tip pf the stick into the melted chocolate before you put them into the treats.

Dip the treats into melted chocolate. I used an extra stick to scrape off the extra chocolate.

Add sprinkles or candies and then put on waxed paper to harden.

I wrapped them individually in little treat bags and added a bow.

How cute and impressive does that look?! No one has to know how easy they were to make. I won’t tell…

HAPPY EASTER!

Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day. As you probably know, I’m all about the holidays. I like to have a reason, any old reason, to take what could be an ordinary day and turn it into a celebration. In my house, there are no little holidays, and St. Patrick’s Day is no exception.

When my kids were really little I tried making a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal of corned beef and cabbage. That did not go over so well. I soon learned if I was going to have some St. Patrick’s Day fun, AND expect my family to eat, I was going to have to try a different approach.  That’s when my green meals began. We’re talking entire meals of green food, here. If you’re going to do it, you may as well go over the top, right?

Over the years, news of my green food shenanigans spread to  my children’s friends who would just happen to be over to visit at dinnertime. Thanks to this green food, for at least one night a year, I get the Cool Mom Award. I couldn’t quit this tradition if I tried. My children won’t let me.

So here is the dinner I’m serving this year: green noodles with green alfredo sauce, green salad with green ranch dressing, green rolls, sliced green kiwis, green jello with green cool whip (not pictured), and green sprite (also not pictured).

The key to success in making a disgustingly green St. Patrick’s Day meal is GREEN FOOD COLORING. Practically any food can be made green, but it works especially well with foods which are light in color.  Just use your imagination. Green food coloring is your best friend on this holiday.

For the green noodles and green alfredo sauce I just boil the noodles in water with a generous amount of green food coloring. As the noodles cook, the green soaks into the pasta. Then, just add some green food coloring to you favorite homemade (or bottled) alfredo sauce.

Stunning, right?!

Add a quick little green salad with green food coloring mixed into the ranch dressing.

A green roll is always a nice touch. You can usually find green bread products in the bakery of your grocery store on St. Patrick’s Day. If you want to take it a step further, mix some green food coloring into some butter to add to the rolls.

Cut some delicious naturally green kiwis.

Now just add some green jello and green whipped topping and mix some green food coloring into any light colored beverage and you’re all set to go. Easy peasy, right? Now go impress your family and friends. I dare you!

Check out my other St. Patrick’s Day meals here and here.

Kate

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to wear green. You don’t want to get pinched!

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There is an old Irish saying that goes something like this…

“There are only two kinds of people in the world, the Irish and those who wish they were.”

My husband and kids fall into the Irish category, and I am but a lowly Irish wannabe.  Perhaps that’s why I go a little over the top with my St. Paddy’s Day celebrations.  Maybe I’m trying to prove to them (and myself) that I deserve to celebrate this holiday just as much as as the real Irish folk.

Well that, and the fact that I love a good reason to torture my family just a little bit once in a while. The torture…an entirely GREEN meal made up of foods that have no business being green. (The photo above is completely un-retouched. That is actually what the plate of food looks like.) Today I’m going to show you the Green Dinner option. On the Menu – green chicken, green mashed potatoes, green rolls with green butter, green jello with green cool whip and green kool aid.

Let me introduce you to your new best friend in this adventure…

Green Food Coloring

Practically any food can be turned green for your St. Patrick’s Day feast.

By far the most disgustingly amazing item on the menu…Green Chicken.

It is just wrong and repulsive and that’s why I love it so much! In the morning I just put some frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot  with a bottle of Italian salad dressing to which I have added green food coloring. By dinnertime the chicken has turned a delightful and delectable  green.

The rest of the food is simple. Just make up the mashed potatoes according to directions on package and add the green food coloring to the water. Same goes for the gravy. The green rolls, I buy from our local grocery store, Maceys. Add a side of green jello and cool whip, and some apple juice with green food coloring or some green kool aid and your green meal is complete.

It also helps the visual effect to serve the food on green paper plates and to have a green tablecloth.

So I say, give it a shot. Try a green meal out on your family this St. Patrick’s Day. It’ll be a meal they won’t soon forget, and by next year (when they forget how hard it was to eat that green chicken) they’ll be begging for more…heehee.

~Kate

Enjoy your Coffee Break!

I can tell Chicago is my kind of town.

St. Patrick’s Day is coming right up and I’m kind of a kook for this holiday. I’m well know ’round these parts for my grossly green St. Patrick’s Day dinners. It’s my own special way of torturing my family and friends, all while under the guise of providing a semi-nutritious, completely green home-cooked meal.

You have two days to get ready to freak out your family and friends with a fun St. Patrick’s Day feast. They’ll  think you’re the COOLEST mom/dad/neighbor/friend around. Trust me.

I’ve got two green meal ideas just for you.

Here’s a green dinner consisting of green chicken (yes it looks as sick as it sounds), green mashed potatoes with green gravy, green roll with green butter, green jello with green cool whip, and green kool aid. (Here’s the story.)

I should warn you this photo is not re-touched. This is really how the food looks. For that extra special green touch, use green paper plates, green napkins and a green tablecloth. You'll feel like your eyes are playing tricks on you.

If a green breakfast is more your style, try out these green pancakes with green syrup, green scrambled eggs, green hash browns and green juice. (Here’s the story.)

Also, just for fun here’s a video…

How to speak with an Irish accent. If you’re going celebrate, you may as well go all out, right?

And finally, are these people for real? Seriously?

Kate

Enjoy!

Valentine’s Day is almost here. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. You’ve probably been stewing over what to do for days.  If you’re still looking for that perfect idea to make that certain special someone feel loved and appreciated, look no more because I have just the thing for you.  Personalized Fortune Cookies! And let me tell you, someone’s gonna be super impressed with this  fun, unique, and easy Valentine’s Day idea.

Personalized Fortune Cookies

It’s surprisingly simple and uses store bought fortune cookies. You just take out the lame-o fortunes that are already inside, and replace them with your own unique messages. It’s a great idea for your spouse, your kids, your significant other, your best friend, or whomever you’d like to make feel special.

How to make personalized fortune cookies

1) Buy a package of pre-made fortune cookies and unwrap cookies. I usually get the La Choy brand.

2) Prepare your messages either by handwriting them on small strips of pretty paper, or by printing them out on a  computer printer and cutting them into small strips (about 1/2″ x 2″ at the largest)

3) Take a damp paper towel (not dripping, just damp) and wrap it around one of the fortune cookies so that it completely covers the cookie. Do this one at a time.

4) Microwave the wrapped cookie for about 15-40 seconds (time will vary, depending on microwave and dampness of the paper towel… experiment with it. I would start with 15 seconds and then increase the time in small increments if necessary.)

5) After microwaving, the cookie will become flexible a for about 20 seconds or so…  QUICKLY  take the paper towel from the cookie. Gently  open up the cookie and remove the old  message,  and put your new message in.  Fold the cookie back up. It will naturally fold back into the original fortune cookie shape.  Then let the cookie sit to cool and harden.

6) If you’d like, you can then dip the cooled fortune cookie half-way into melted chocolate and add fun sprinkles to the chocolate before it hardens. Let cool on waxed paper.

Put personalized fortune cookies in a fun, cute container. It’s a great way to show someone special that you love them.

See, easy peasy and sure to impress. Enjoy your Valentine’s Day.

~Kate…Enjoy your Coffee Break!

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SNOW CREAM

Ingredients:

• Sweetened Condensed Milk

• 1 tsp vanilla

• fresh snow

• Dash of milk
  

Directions:

Mix the sweetened condensed mild and vanilla in a LARGE bowl. Add snow gradually and stir. Keep adding snow and stirring. Add a few dashes of milk and stir. Add more snow until the snow cream is desired consistency.

If you don’t have any sweetened condensed milk on hand and want to avoid a trip to the store, here’s an alternate recipe for snow cream.

SNOW CREAM

◦4 cups of fresh snow
◦1/2  milk (or half and half cream)
◦1/4 cup sugar
◦1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl EXCEPT the snow.  Add the snow gradually and mix thoroughly. Mix until it’s creamy.

ENJOY!

~Kate

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Candy Crackers

(submitted by reader, Karen Smith-Morganti)

INGREDIENTS –

• 2-3 sleeves of Club Crackers (regular or whole wheat, your choice)
• 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 sticks butter
• 3 tbsp. white corn syrup
• 2 tsp good vanilla
• 1 large package fresh Pecans – (chopped or pieces, your choice)

DIRECTIONS –

1. Line jelly roll pan with non-stick foil.  Spray foil with non-stick spray (just in case).   Spread out your crackers evenly, covering the bottom of the jelly roll pan (you may have to break a few crackers here and there).

2. Combine first 3 ingredients (sugar, butter and corn syrup) in sauce pan and bring to a boil.

3. Pull from heat and add vanilla.  Stir.

4. Pour over crackers and spread as evenly as possible.  Quickly sprinkle on pecans.

5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  Don’t over cook. Let cool and break apart.  Store tightly covered.

No need to calorie count or watch fat.  They’re too good for anyone to care!  Besides, it’s December. Calories don’t count in December.

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Gobble ’til You Wobble!

A perfectly acceptable motto for one day of the year, don’t you think?  Well, maybe you could stretch that out to two days, if you have enough leftovers.  But three days?  Don’t try it unless you are expecting a gym membership for Christmas.

The star of every Thanksgiving feast is certainly the turkey.  And probably nothing strikes more fear into a cook than taking that heavy, slimy, pale blob of meat and bones, and turning it into the perfectly golden delicious main dish.  I myself have only cooked one turkey over the years, as that Thanksgiving tradition  has always been left to my mother and mother-in-law.  I’m sure my day is coming.

I  found an amazing website that will take all of the guess work out of preparing your Thanksgiving turkey…

SeriousEats.com

They have everything you could ever want to know about cooking a turkey.

Serious Eats’ Ten Turkey Tips You’ll Be Thankful For

• What Kind of Turkey to Buy
• What Size Turkey to Buy
• Thawing Time
• To Brine or Not to Brine?
• Calculating Cooking Time
• Roast Turkey Recipes
• Non-Roasted Turkey Recipes
• How to Carve a Turkey
• Still need help? Turkey Hotlines
• What to Do with Turkey Leftovers (Yay!)

So those of you attempting to tackle the big bird this year…be brave. With these tips, I’m sure your Turkey Day will be a grand success.

And here’s a little Turkey-day wishbone FYI for you from The World of Pop Culture,sure to make you look like Mr. or Ms. Smarty-pants at the Thanksgiving dinner table discussion.

Apparently the origins of the Thanksgiving tradition of breaking the wishbone date back to 2,400 years ago with the Etruscans who lived on the Italian peninsula.

The Etruscans believed fowl were fortune tellers because the hen announced she would be laying an egg with a squawk and the rooster told of the coming of a new day with his early morning crowing. A circle was drawn in the dirt and divided into twenty wedges that represented the twenty letters in the Etruscan alphabet. A piece of grain would be placed in each wedge. A hen would then be allowed to peck at the grain. As she ate, a scribe would list the letters in order and those letters would be interpreted by the high priests to answer questions.

When one of these chickens was killed, its collarbone was considered sacred and left under the hot sun to dry. Anyone was permitted to stroke an unbroken bone and make a wish, thus, the name wishbone. The Romans took many of the Etruscan customs as their own and since everyone wanted good fortune, they fought over the bones, breaking them.

It is said that the phrases “I need a lucky break” or “I never get a break” come from being the loser in this tug of chicken bone contest.

The English heard of this superstition from the Romans and called their wishbones merrythoughts after the merry or happy wishes that most people desired. When the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in the New World, they brought along the custom of breaking the wishbone. When they discovered the northeastern woods of North America were filled with turkeys, they changed their custom from the chicken bone to the turkey bone.

And remember…

Gobble ’til You Wobble!

~Kate

Enjoy your Coffee Break!

Chocolate Drizzle Apple - with white chocolate and milk chocolate drizzles

One of my family’s favorite fall treats is caramel apples.  We used to make regular old plain caramel apples and love them, until one vacation to Disneyland many years ago.  We discovered  Marceline’s Confectionery candy shop just outside the Disneyland gates.  We had gone to Downtown Disney the night before our adventure into the actual Disneyland park to get a taste of the Disneyland magic and build our excitement for the next morning’s trip into the  park itself. We got some delicious caramel apples from Marceline’s (they slice them and put them in a little boutique looking bag) and sat outside soaking up the sounds and sights and smells of Disneyland in Downtown Disney.  Not that we needed to build the excitement.  Do you remember the “Too excited to sleep” Disney commercial, well that could be my family, as none of us can sleep the night before going to Disneyland.

We’ve made this night-before-caramel-apple-stop a tradition of our every other year Disneyland vacation. So now my family calls these gourmet caramel apples…Disneyland Apples, and now that we’ve figured out how to make them, we can bring a little of the Disney magic into our house any old time of the year.

Here’s how we make our…

GOURMET CARAMEL APPLES

INGREDIENTS

• 8 large Granny Smith or Fuji apples
• wooden craft sticks
• 2 (14 ounce) packages caramels, unwrapped
• 2 tablespoons milk
• milk chocolate chips
• white chocolate chips
• candy for coating

Kate

Enjoy your Coffee Break!

Be sure to check out these other Liz and Kate Halloween ideas:

• Halloween Month: Creepy Eyeball Treats & Monster Mash
• Halloween Month: Witches Hats & Breadstick Broomsticks
• Halloween Month: Disgusting Deviled Egg Eyeballs & Toads in a Blanket
• Disgusting Worm Salad