Cook | A Quick and Easy Lunch for Kids

Spring is here! (And has been for a little while now.) At our house that typically means that life begins to pick up the pace. When the weather is nice I feel guilty spending the day inside. We have found ourselves at the park, on walks, jogging, bike riding, and hiking the beautiful landscape we live in. Spring also calls for yard work, cleaning and organizing, weddings, graduations, and trips to the local amusement park.

Seriously, I have been finding it difficult to find time to sit down, relax and just breathe. There is always something to be done! I love it- but boy can it be exhausting!

One of the ways I have found to help make the day run smoother is to have quick lunches ready to go. A lot of the time that we decide to go to the park it is a last minute decision. It is typically nearing lunchtime, so of course we have to pack something to take with us. It usually takes twice as long as I think it should. If I have something quick I can grab, then we can get playing quicker and for longer, and then I can also limit the amount of time I have little people at my knees asking if it's time to go yet. :) 

One of the quickest lunches we have are lunchables. Hailey loves to get them from the store, but they can be expensive! Instead of buying them I make my own ahead of time and leave them in the fridge ready to grab and go. Really, it's pretty intuitive, but I have step-by-step pictures for you anyway. :)

Start with a block of cheese, some lunchmeat (I prefer thicker cut meat, it works better) and crackers.

Cut the cheese. (He, he... Not like that! So immature. Cut the cheese... he he...) I cut the block along the long way, so the pieces are short, and then cut those pieces in half. 

If you want to get fancy, to easily cut the meat into circles I have found that my TBSP measuring spoon works great. Press it in and voila- circles! It's ok, you don't have to be fancy, just slice it up into small rectangles. It tastes the same, right?

To avoid being wasteful, I cut up the excess meat left over from cutting circles and save it to put on salads or in eggs.

Bag up the cut meat and cheese and now you have a quick lunch to grab and go.

It makes my kids happy. Making your own little sandwiches is so fun!

Cook: Quick and Easy Pizza Dough

Like most Americans, we love pizza at our house. We enjoy ordering pizza on occasion, but we really love making our own pizza. Ordering out is good, but sometimes homemade pizza just tastes better.

On Monday I shared our fun make-your-own mini pizza lunch. Today I am sharing the pizza dough recipe we use. It is so easy. And it's quick. It doesn't have to rise all day, just two quick 10 minute rises. That's it. That means you don't have to plan way ahead to make pizza. It can be a last minute decision. I like that.

The pizza crust process is pretty simple. Mix your dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes. (Hailey has totally picked up on letting the dough rest. She told me the other day she needed to let whatever she was cooking up in her play kitchen "rest".) Separate the dough into either half (for regular pizzas) or into 8 balls (for mini pizzas). Roll each ball into a circle. It doesn't have to be perfect- it's going to be eaten and then no one will see it.

Place the dough onto your baking sheet/pizza stone. Prick the dough all over with a fork and sprinkle on some Mozzarella cheese.

Par bake those puppies for 5-ish minutes, until the cheese is melted. Make sure you do this so the pizza sauce doesn't make your crust soggy!

After the crust has par baked you can then either top your pizza with goodness and bake it a little longer, or if you aren't going to use the crust immediately, you can wrap it in foil and put it in the freezer.

I love to freeze the par-baked crust. I just started doing this a few months ago. It is so handy! Next time you want to make pizza, pull out your crust, let it thaw at room temperature for a little bit, dress it up with sauce and toppings and bake it like normal. Or, if you're impatient like I was the other day, put the crust in the preheated oven for a minute to thaw it quick!

Ok, now that I've blabbed...moving on to the recipe.
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Pizza Dough
Makes 2 (12") pizzas, or 8 mini pizzas

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups flour

Mozzarella cheese
pizza sauce
pizza toppings

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt, and 2 cups flour. Mix to form a slightly sticky dough. If more flour is needed add up to 1 cup more. 

3. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

4. Separate the dough in half, making two balls (or eight balls for mini pizzas). Using a rolling pin, roll each ball out into a large circle. Let the dough rest for another 10 minutes.

5. Prick the crust all over with a fork. Lightly sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the dough. Par-bake the crust for 5-6 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is close to beginning to brown.

6. Once the crust is par-baked, add toppings and bake it again for another 6-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is lightly brown.

[You can make this recipe in the bread machine. (My recent new best friend.) Add the ingredients into the breadmaker wet then dry. I add the yeast last, just because that is what my breadmaker recommends. Set the dough cycle and let it run.] 

Pizza Sauce

Makes enough for 2 (12") pizzas, or 8 mini pizzas

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. garlic salt

Stir all ingredients together. Spread on par baked pizza crust.
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Kids: Mini Pizzas for Lunch

Are you like me when it comes time for lunch? I never have a plan in mind, leaving me standing staring into the fridge hoping something interesting will jump out at me. Usually I'm left with no ideas, moving me to the pantry to sit and stare. And then back to the fridge. After all of that, we end up eating our same old standbys: PB&J, grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, or a turkey sandwich. 

Somedays you have just got to change it up a bit. Hailey had a friend over for lunch last week, so I actually thought ahead and we made it a special occasion. I gave the girls the opportunity to make their own pizzas.

I par baked some crust ahead of time, gave them some toppings and let them go at it. With a little direction from me. :) 

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Notice my child in the background dumping a massive pile of pineapple on her pizza? There was already twice that hiding under the cheese. I think the entire can of pineapple would have ended up on her pizza had I not stopped her.

Delicious pizza. Doesn't it look so good? I really shouldn't be writing this post with a hungry stomach right now...

Ok, now you tell me, what do you like to eat for lunch at your house?

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In need of a recipe for pizza dough? I'm working up a post with a recipe for later this week. Watch for it! Of course, it makes it easy to watch for my next post if you follow along. :) Add this blog to your reader or add me on bloglovin', and check out what finds I'm pinning on pinterest!

[edit: Click the image below to be taken to the recipe!]

Kids: Edible Apple Igloos

Brains are funny. Funny amazing. It baffles me how much information is stored away for another day. Sometimes we really have no clue that our experiences have been carefully tagged, organized, and tucked away. That is until that tag pops up again and our brain jumps into action, "Look, here! Remember this. Or this..." And then we are shot back into time.

My brain went to work one day when Hailey brought home from preschool a picture of an igloo she had colored. Instant memory: I was sent back to when I was about her same age (four). I have a distinct memory of making igloos out of apples, peanut butter, and marshmallows. I mentioned that to my mom, "I remember making igloos, did we do that?" Baffled, she said, "You remember that!?" Nice work brain. (High five!)

So... what did Hailey and I do? We made igloos!

Here is what you need:

• peanut butter
• marshmallows
• apple
• cutting board
• knife (one for cutting, one for spreading peanut butter)

step 1: Core and cut your apple in half. If you have a handy-dandy apple corer that would be ideal. I don't, so I just cut away the core as best as I could with a knife.

step 2: Spread peanut butter on the outside of the apple.

step 3: Stick marshmallows to the peanut butter all over the apple.

Ta-da! An igloo. Now go eat it!

Linked up at:
We Made That
The Life of Jennifer Dawn
The 36th Avenue

[Recipe] Pineapple Sour Cream Pie

I know I said I was hoping to have pictures (and a tutorial) posted of the pillows I recently made, but I made a mistake. I forgot about Pi Day. (Gasp!)

Seriously? How did I forget!? I have celebrated Pi Day every year since 2004, during my freshman year of college. 9 straight years of Pi Day festivities. Pi Day is one of my absolute favorite holidays. It comes right after Christmas and Thanksgiving (including Canadian Thanksgiving- another tradition that started in college.)

Today is Pi Day! 3.14. (It’s also the birthday of my long time friend, Tiffany. Happy birthday Tiffany!) To celebrate, I want to share with you my favorite pie. Pineapple Sour Cream Pie.



Don’t let the name fool you, it is so good. I’m not a sour cream eater, but I love this pie. Seriously. I make it every Thanksgiving, and for every Pi Day, without fail. Since marrying Kyle, I also make his family’s favorite, Chocolate Pudding Pie. Last year I made individual ones for Kyle’s coworkers. Check it out.

Anyway… On to business.

Pineapple Sour Cream Pie

9” pie crust, baked

filling:
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 beaten egg yolks (make sure to save the whites- you need them for the meringue)

meringue:
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 c. sugar

For the filling: In a saucepan, mix the sugar and flour. Add everything else except the egg yolks. While stirring, let it cook until thick. Once it is thick, add a few spoonfuls of the mixture to the egg yolks and stir. Add the egg yolks to the entire mixture. Cook it a little bit longer. Let the filling cool.

For the meringue: Using an electric mixer with the whisk beaters, beat the first 3 ingredients to soft peaks. Add the sugar and beat until it is completely mixed.

Pour the filling into a baked pie crust. Spread the meringue on top.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.



Enjoy! Happy Pi Day!

(The pillows post is coming next week. I pinky promise!)

Sewn Sandwich Bag Toppers

Kyle and I team teach the 12-13 year olds in Sunday School at church. They are fun kids who love to talk (mostly off topic.) We really like to have fun with them and get to know them. We’ve thrown a few homemade pizza parties at our house recently, which are some work, but totally worth it.

I decided to bring in treats this past Sunday. I made my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to tie them into the lesson somehow, but couldn’t think of anything. So I gave them a quote that went along with the lesson. I decided to put two cookies in a sandwich bag (one for each child), typed up the quote, printed it on cardstock, and sewed it onto the tops of the sandwich bags.

This is such an easy way to jazz up packaging goodies without a lot of money or extra crafty things. I used the same idea for party favors for Hailey’s friends who came to her birthday party. That time I used clear plastic sacks I found in the party aisle at Target.

Sorry the stitching is so hard to see.  I used light blue thread that was already loaded on my machine. And I did this in the evening, so the lighting wasn’t very good. Excuses, excuses. I know… :)

Seriously, this is so fun. I think just because it’s quick, easy, and gives good results. I used InDesign, you can use Word, or whatever program you’re comfortable with. Just make your text area the width of your bag, I think my sandwich bags were about 6 1/4 inches. I made them 4 inches tall, so when it is folded over the top of the bag it is 2 inches on either side. Keep your text on the lower 2 inches (the upper 2 inches will be on the back), and leave about 1/2 inch on the bottom for stitching. Print it out on cardstock, cut it out, fold it in half, insert the top of the sandwich bag all the way into the fold and sew a straight line.

I sewed about 1/4 inch away from the edge.

Voila! Super cute packaged cookies.

[Recipe] Ham and Cheese Puffs

If Hailey were in charge of what we eat for lunch we would eat pb & j sandwiches every day. I’m usually all for it because it’s quick and easy. But, we need some variety. I found a recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Puffs on Pinterest. We tried it out and loved it. I made the recipe another time with ham and cheddar cheese. We liked them even better.

These puffs are fantastic because not only are they easy to make, but they freeze well. I triple or quadruple the recipe, bag them up, and put them in the freezer. When we’re hungry, we pull out however many we want, heat them in the microwave for approximately a minute, and enjoy!

The recipe says to use mini-muffin cups, but I’ve made them with a regular muffin tin as well. They just need to bake longer. I do prefer the mini ones though. There is something extra fun about mini and bite sized.



Ham and Cheese Puffs
adapted from Plain Chicken

3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup whole milk (I use what I have on hand, typically 2%)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup diced ham

Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. 
Add the cheese and ham; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve with ketchup for dipping and enjoy!

[Recipe] Spelling with Pretzels

One day last week I made a specific effort to do something fun and extra special with Hailey. I had Hailey help me make pretzels. They sounded good, and I thought she’d enjoy rolling out the dough. She loves to play with Play-doh. Making pretzels isn’t much different.


To make our pretzel making fun and educational, we spelled out our names with the dough. I remember doing the same thing with my mom as a kid. I loved to help her roll out breadsticks and shape them into letters and shapes. It was so fun to sit down at dinner and find the ones I had made. 

Hailey knows how to spell her name, and she knows how to write some of the letters. I thought this would be a fun way to continue to work on that. As we rolled out the dough, we talked about which letter comes next, and how it’s made. I asked Hailey to tell me what the next step was in our letter making (on the letters she knows how to write) and she helped put the dough in place. It was fun! Hailey especially loved eating each of her letters (we stretched it out over a few days).

When we play with Play-doh, this is often what we do. But this was better, because it’s edible. :)

If you’re interested, here’s the recipe we used.

Pretzels
4 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 c. warm water
3 1/2-4 1/2 c. bread flour (I just used all-purpose and it was fine)
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 c. water
1/2 c. baking soda
kosher salt for sprinkling (we used cinnamon and sugar, and garlic salt and shredded parmesan cheese as toppings)

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Make a well in the center, add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix. Add more flour if dough is too sticky. Knead 3-4 minutes. Cover and let rise until double (approx. 30 minutes). Gently punch down dough. Cut the dough into 12 pieces. Roll each until about 15 inches long and the thickness of your finger. Twist into a pretzel. In a pot, mix water and baking soda. Bring to a boil. Dip each pretzel into boiling soda water for 5 seconds. Place on greased baking sheet, lightly sprinkle with kosher salt and bake for 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees.

[Recipe] A Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe to Solve all My Problems

I have struggled with making chocolate chip cookies the whole nine years I’ve lived in Utah. The high altitude kills me! What’s sad, is that it’s only been in the past year that I’ve realized that the high altitude was to blame. My cookies have always come out flat. They puff up big and then flatten out. I’ve done research, and tried so many things. I’ve started just upping the temperature of the oven and adding extra flour, and that seems to work ok.

But no more! I’ve found the cookie recipe to solve all my problems. And it makes me so happy that I want to share it with you!


I know there are 50 million chocolate chip cookie recipes on the internet. But I really love these cookies. My friend Brittney made some and shared with Hailey and I one day. We ate them at home, and I immediately texted her asking for the recipe. They are nice and crispy, but not crunchy, and they don’t puff up and flatten- they keep their shape. Hallelujah!


Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 c butter
1/2 c shortening
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 bag of milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter, shortening and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs and cream. Sift in baking soda, salt and flour. Mix in chocolate chips. Roll dough into golf ball sized balls and place on cookie sheets usually about 12 fit on a sheet. Bake for 12-16 minutes. Cookies should be browned on top.

Note: I don’t roll them as big, because I’m cheap-o and try to get as many out of the recipe as I can. I’m more about quantity than size. I just use my cookie scoop. If you do that, just bake them 8-10 minutes like normal.

When I last made these, I doubled the recipe and got 5 dozen cookies out of it! I only baked 12 cookies, and then froze the rest.


Now I have 48 cookies waiting in the freezer to be baked. Mmmm… yum!

Happy Halloween! & Eyeball Cake Balls

Yay! Halloween is here!

You know what I love about Halloween? Sugar, candy, goodies, treats… yes, I have a major sweet tooth. But actually, even more than all of that, now that I’m a mom, I totally just love that Hailey gets to dress up and that she’s so excited about it all! I told her yesterday that tomorrow (today) is Halloween. She got so excited. But also so upset when she didn’t get to go trick-or-treating after her nap (not that she took one). She insisted that she would be trick-or-treating after her nap. I know, a whole day- it’s a long wait for a little girl.

I’m not one to go all out for holidays. I just don’t really do much decorating, ever. In high school I used to love it- but these days I’m just not that motivated or interested. But, when I saw this pin on Pinterest to make eyeball cookies, I got really excited.

Instead of using oreos and making cookie eyeballs, I decided to try my hand at cake balls. I’ve eaten many a cake ball before, but never have I actually made any.

They turned out out ok. I haven’t tried one, but I’m positive that they taste delicious. The problem is they lack presentation. As is the case with any baking or cooking I do. Making good looking food and treats is just not my forte. Kyle and I have joked since we were engaged (6 years ago!) that we would someday open a restaurant or café called the Ugly Pie, with the tag line, It may look like crap, but it sure doesn’t taste like it.

Anyone remember the birthday cake I made for myself 3 years ago? Go on, check it out, have yourself a good laugh.

Anyway, I made some eyeball cake balls for Kyle to take into work.  I wish I had put a little more effort into it and made fun apothecary jars and labels and make it all spooky and gross, but… like I said, just not my thing. I do love that the cake itself is red velvet cake, so you bite into it and looks like blood. Now if only there were a way to make them gush a little red liquid when you take a bite… ha! That’d be great.

Yes, I ran out of candy melts, so there are five with no coating. But I’m sure they’ll still get eaten. I know I would!

[Recipe] Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies

Our ward’s Relief Society had an activity tonight based on gifts and our favorite things. We were each provided a gift bag and given the instructions to put one of our favorite things in the bag and we would exchange gifts at the activity.
I struggled to think of something that is my favorite. I know I have plenty, but nothing came. All I could think of was food related! So… food it was. 

Cookies to be exact: Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies. Why these cookies? Because 1) I love chocolate and peanut butter. 2) I enjoy baking, especially cookies. 3) These are my favorite cookies to make- there’s something so fun about rolling balls and then smashing them.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies
[Chocolate Balls]
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. peanut butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
[Peanut Butter Balls]
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 c. sugar, brown sugar, butter and 1/4 c. peanut butter. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Add the flour mixture. Shape the dough into 32 balls. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and 1/2 c. peanut butter. Beat until smooth- knead with your hands if necessary. It will be crumbly. (I added 1-2 tsp. milk to help cream the peanut butter and powdered sugar together. Just don’t add too much, or it will be sticky and won’t roll. If that happens add extra powdered sugar until it is no longer is sticky.) Shape into 32 balls.


To form the cookies, flatten 1 chocolate ball. Place a peanut butter ball on top.


Shape the chocolate ball around the peanut butter center completely covering the filling. Reshape into a ball.


Repeat with the remaining dough.


Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place 2 Tbsp. sugar in a bowl.
Dip the bottom of a drinking glass in sugar and lightly flatten each cookie, redipping in sugar between cookies.


Bake for 8 minutes, or until the cookies are set and slight cracks form on top. Cool on a cookie sheet for 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a rack.


Pour yourself a glass of milk (you’ll want it) and enjoy a cookie, or two, or three…
And don’t forget the best part of cookie making- licking the beater clean!

“COOO-KIE”