Kid Friendly: CornDog Muffins

• 2 (8.5 ounce) packages cornbread mix
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
• 8 hot dogs, cut in half or pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease muffin tins.
2. Stir together the cornbread mix and the brown sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk in a small bowl until smooth. Fold the eggs and cheese into the dry mixture until moistened. Spoon mixture into muffin tins until 2/3 full. Add 1 hot dog half to each muffin.
3. Bake in a preheated oven 14 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown.

Food Challenge: Kid Friendly

Get out your kid friendly recipes people. Let's share these ideas!

Aleena told me about Octo-dogs....
How freaking adorable is this?? So simple too.

Cut your dogs halfway up to make 8 legs
Boil them to curl the legs

Aleena serves them on a bed of ramen noodles, tinted green to resemble seaweed and puts in a few goldfish crackers for good measure.

A little mustard face completes the fun.


What are your fun kid-friendly recipes???

Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic

If you are anti-goopy-syrupy-marshmallowy-sweet potatoes, you need to try this recipe! They are light and fluffy but crisp on the top and just DEEElicious! I've made this every Thanksgiving for quite awhile and turned Kyle's family from sweet-potato-haters into sweet-potato-lovers.

And sweet potatoes are not just for Thanksgiving - who came up with that idea! I make a big pan a few times a year when I get craving them.

The potatoes:

5 large sweet potatoes (use 1-2 more if you have small ones)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter (3 TBSP is enough really but if you love butter go ahead)

2 eggs beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract (again 1/2 tsp is enough but go with what you love)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup white sugar

2 TBSP heavy cream (you can replace it with 1/2 cup milk if you don't have cream)

The topping:

1/4 cup butter (3 TBSP is enough)

3 TBSP flour (can use up to 1/3 cup, once you mix the topping add more flour if its too wet)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Cook your sweet potatoes either by baking them in the oven or microwaving them. I microwave cause its much faster. Cook until you can stick a fork or butter knife all the way through them. If you microwave, make sure you poke em' first so they don't explode.

Cool them slightly, peel them, then mash.

In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, butter, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, and cream/milk. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender (c'mon who has one of these) or your fingers (I use a butter knife to cut all the wet stuff into the dry) to the consistancy of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Hope y'all enjoy!

Moose Balls

We've been calling these lovely things "Moose Balls" but they are really called Buckeyes. Who cares, cuz they are DE-LISH! It's no use making this recipe with the following measurements though: you at least have to double it - then you can share in dispatch!

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
  
• 6 squares Almond Bark (or 1 cup chocolate chips)
  
• 1tablespoon shortening
  

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners sugar with hands to form a smooth stiff dough.

Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball.

Place on prepared pan, and freeze for 20 minutes.

Melt shortening and chocolate together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.

Remove balls from freezer. Insert a wooden toothpick into a ball, and dip into melted chocolate. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining balls.

Freeze for 30 minutes to set.

Grandma McMullin's Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 Eggs
2-3 large ripe bananas (mashed)
1 cup Evaporated Milk
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp salt or less
Nuts(opt.)

Mix together in bowl, will be a little lumpy.

Grease 2 bread pans, split between the two.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.

Blueberry or Strawberry Torte

This is a favorite at 911 dispatch:
Ingredients:
1 8oz Cream Cheese
2/3 cup butter
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 large can Fruit Pie Filling (Blueberry, Raspberry, Cherry, or Danish Dessert and fresh strawberries)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
2 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (approx. 30 crackers)

First:
melt 2/3 cup butter
Stir in
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar.

Pat tightly into 9x13 pan. (Don't press too hard-or it makes the crust hard to cut)
Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes
Cool crust.

Mix together until smooth:
8 oz cream cheese(softened)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice

Spread over cooled crust.
Spread large can of fruit filling on top.(I wanted Strawberry and they don't make it in a can, so I used Danish Dessert and fresh strawberries. Mix Danish Dessert as to package for pie.

Chill for 4 hours or over night.

Enjoy.

Holiday Toffee

So, April wanted this recipe a while back and I'm just getting around to sharing it. I usually make a TRIPLE batch and use a full sheet pan to cool it in. But this is the recipe for the single batch.

1 Cup sugar
1 Cup butter
3 TBS water
1 tsp vanilla
4 or 5 Hershey bars (or chocolate chips)
chopped nuts (roasted pecans are my fave)

Combine sugar, butter and water in heavy saucepan.
Cook to 300 degrees stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Pull from heat and add vanilla. Stir well.
Once all the bubbles are stirred out, Pour into a buttered 9x9 pan.
Lay the chocolate bars/chips on top and spread evenly as they melt.
While still warm, sprinkle chopped nuts over the top.
Cool thoroughly and break into pieces.



PS - I've made other recipes and the toffee is really hard. This recipe uses water and that adds a nice softness to the candy so you don't visit the dentist for chipped teeth - just cavities.