Rainbow Waffles

We always have a great time for the holidays and I love to have fun and celebrate. We had many of our traditional St. Patty's traditions along with a few new ones. My children absolutely loved these and had a great time eating them. Their little pot of gold was sliced bananas! Way fun.

My recipe comes from Betty Crocker herself. It is my favorite go to, never fail nice and fluffy recipe!

WAFFLE RECIPE
Yields: 4 waffles com
INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 TBL spoon baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 egg whites

In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Beat in milk and oil. Add egg yolk mixture to flour mixture all at once. Stir just til combined
but still slightly lumpy.

In a small bowl beat egg whites till stiff peaks. (tips stand straight). Gently fold beaten egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg whites. DO NOT OVER MIX!

Pour 1 to 1 1/4 cups batter onto waffle grid of preheated lightly greased waffle maker. Close lid, do not lift lid until done. use fork to lift out.

Using food coloring tint waffle batter in separate bowls or cups or for easy pouring use Wilton bags or Ziploc bags. Starting with red place in center of waffle grid and as each color out will need more batter. ROY G. BIV
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet

How to make Hawaiian Haystacks

Hawaiian Haystacks! It seems like if you stick a pineapple on it, it's called Hawaiian. LOL, but this is such a wonderful dish. I know my sister in law made it for us many many years ago. Then I haven't had them since. It's been 10 long years since these have graced my palette. Some friends had us over for dinner and this is what she served. I have craved them ever since that night! What was I thinking never to make them. I finally did it and I'm so glad I did! The basic ingredients is chicken, cream of chicken, rice and any topping you wanted to put on it!

Hawaiian Haystacks


Sauce: 2 cans cream of chicken soup 2 cups chopped cooked chicken 1 cup chicken broth Mix and heat. Toppings (in order): Rice chow mein noodles chopped tomatoes chopped celery chopped green,red,and yellow peppers, cheese, pineapple, mandarin oranges, olives, almonds, coconut,etc.

Mix the cream of chicken soup with the chicken broth on medium heat. Add cooked chicken (shredded or chopped).

Place a scoop of rice into each bowl. Spoon one to two ladles full of sauce over the top of each scoop.


Set out toppings in small bowls on the table. Add cheese first, so it will melt, then other toppings, to individual taste. Although it may seem strange to combine pineapple and coconut with savory flavors.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels, aka FLIPZ

I almost flipped when I saw the price of these FLIPZ! It is $6 for a bag less than 11oz.  My little guy insisted he needed this treat and I insisted I could make him as much as his heart desired for $6!
I blogged about these on my family blog here.
Ok, so these things are a no brainer!
1 bag of pretzels,( squares, sticks, whatever)
1 bag of quik melt or melting chocolate.

Heat in double boiler or in microwave. Be sure to consistently stir! and if you microwave be sure to heat for 10 seconds at a time, stirring in between heats. Dip chocolates and lay out on wax paper. You may add sprinkles or colored sugar to top, roll in nuts or coconut flakes.

My Dash absolutely loves DIPS they are pretzels dipped in melted chocolate

SMORE Cupcakes!

I have been on a kick of graham crackers and melted chocolate with marshmellows. The recipe of s'more cookie bars was good but this hit the spot completely! HOLY YUM!! The gooey marshmellow and the decadent chocolate that bursts into your mouth when bitten into along with the slightly charred taste of the seven minute frosting had my eyes rolling to the back of my head. I re-iterate, HOLY YUM!

Graham cracker cupcake batter. Batter recipe that I decided on was taken from
Vanilla Garlic.

Makes 36 cupcakes / 350 F oven
This is the recipe doubled. You may cut in half if you need less.
What You’ll Need...
1 cup of butter, room temperature
2 cup of sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
2 cup of milk
2 cup of flour
3 cups of graham cracker crumbs
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt

What You’ll Do...
1) Beat the butter for about 30 seconds until well creamed.
Add the sugar and mix for 3 minutes using a paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
2) Add the eggs, one at a time,
being sure to beat for 30 seconds for each egg.
3) Place graham crackers in a food processor or in a plastic bag and crush into small crumbs and powder. (We put them in a blender)
4) Sift together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and powder, and salt. Add about 1/4 of the mixture to the butter mixture, then add some of the milk. Continue to add the ingrdients in a dry-wet-dry method, ending with the dry. Continue to mix until just combined.
5) Scoop into cupcake papers and bake for 15-18 minutes in a 350 F oven or until a cake tester comes out clean. Batter will be thick.
The recipe found and taken from here.
Once cooled scoop out a small amount of the center. I used 1/4 of a tsp measuring spoon and scooped out the center.


FILLING
1 12oz bag of semi sweet chocolate chips.
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup hershey syrup
I knew I didn't want to just put a hershey bar or kiss in the center because I wanted the chocolate to always remain in a slightly liquid state. So, I googled choclate ganache and then just made up my own concoction.

Place contents in pot and heat until melted. Fill cupcake center with chocolate filling. (my opinion is the more the better)

FROSTING

Seven Minute frosting. (The perfect billowy marshmellow taste)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

In large metal bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup water, sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Set bowl over pan of simmering water and mix with hand held electric mixer at low speed. Gradually increase speed to high, beating until mixture holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and continue beating until mixture is cool and billowy, about 2 minutes more. Beat in vanilla. (Frosting can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered.)
Use a blow torch to lightly burn the edges to give that perfect campfire toasted taste. I love charred marshmellows so I left mine over the fire just a bit longer.
We did not have a torch. So, I used my gas stove. I inverted each cupcake held with metal tongs over my gas burner and lightly toasted the edges and top of the cupcake.
PERFECTO!!

Halloween Owl

This guy is so cute and easy to make!
Take chocolate moon pies
oreo cookies
miniature mm's. I only had chocolate raisins, so this made the eyes, but the mm's are so much cuter.
I piped left over orange frosting for the nose but you could use candy corn for the nose. I detest candy corn, so I didn't bother buying any.

Open moon pie, seperate oreo cookie and attach cookies to moonpie with melted chocolate or with frosting. Apply mm's for eyes and candy corn for nose or pipe both with frosting.

witches hats

Witches hats

Please take keebler stripe it rich cookies,
hershey kisses
and canned cream cheese frosting. (tint to your favorite halloween color)
Fill frosting into a sandwhich bag, snip the corner. Add frosting to the bottom of the hershey kiss and stick to cookie. Pipe a rim around the hershey kiss, and make a bow. OR you can just pipe a ridge around the kiss. Decorate as you please.

witches broom sticks!

Very easy and simple to make!

Take your favorite cookie recipe. We used snickerdoodles for these.
and use piroutte rolled chocolate wafers. Pepperidge Farms make these or you can use pretzel sticks for the broom. Roll your cookie into a ball and flatten slightly.
Use a fork to make the broom shape.

Spiderweb pizzas!

I love woman's day and this is what I found! Please go here for the professional version.


Ingredients needed:
Jar of speghetti sauce
personal pizzas or english muffins
olives
string cheese


One English muffin and cut in half.

Add speghetti sauce to the top of muffin

Add pepperoni to muffin and sauce

Take string cheese and pull apart very thin strips and make 3 circles in around the muffin. Then add string parallel to the circles and your web is made.


For one spider you will need 3 olives

Take one olive and cut it in half length wise. You now have the body for two seperate spiders.

Take another olive and cut in half to form circles.

Take your third olive and just snip off the tip of the olive on both sides. This is the head of the spider.

GHOSTLY Pancakes

I have always been a huge fan of chocolate chip pancakes and even more so chocolate chip waffles! Being Halloween we decided to make chocolate chip ghosts! YUM YUM GOOD!
Her pancakes look a bit better than mine but I am quite sure mine taste better. But, I do just adore gourmet mom! Check her out.

baked corn dogs!

My family likes corn bread and we like your occassional hot dog as well. This is a simple quick snack or dinner that can be thrown together in minutes.
If you like little corn dog bites you could cut your hot dogs in bite sizes and place them in your pan as well.
I do not have a twinkie pan. Click this link to see a twinkie or canoe pan. Which I would love to have. My family also adore pancake sausages on a stick. This pan would be perfect for that. I am sure I could save myself a ton of money making our own. So, in retrospect the cost for this pan might be worth it for us.
I found this recipe idea here

Ingredients needed.
Jiffy corn bread mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk.
8 hot dogs
oven on 350 degrees and bake for 15 to 20 minutes
*******************************************************************************

this is what I should have done
*******I would divide this mixture evenly into two 9x13 pans and instead of 8 hot dogs use 16 because you have another pan.**************.
This is what I did.
I used three jiffy corn bread mixes, so 3 eggs and 1 cup milk is needed.
Mix ingredients according to directions on box. I used one 9x13 pan and poured the mixture into a greased pan.

Serve with ketchup, chilli or mustard.

Chocolate covered Rice Krispies

These are fun for the kids. You can have them look much cuter. I think I saw these on Martha Stewart's site or Family circle or fun magazine. I was in the check out lane at the grocery store. All that matters is it was not my original idea.


Make your rice krispies according to directions on package. WE make ours in the microwave.

WE use a large glass bowl, one stick butter and one package of large marshmellows.

Place in microwave and cook for 3 minutes or until marshmellows double in volume
use 3/4 of a full box of rice krispy cereal.

Stir and pour out into a lightly buttered pan. You can use cookie cutters to shape your treats or just slice into squares.

IF you are going to make bunny treats.
Place krispies in fridge for 10-15 minutes. Remove from fridge.

Melt chocolate. Using white chocolate also. Tint the white chocolate with food coloring for a pink hue.

Immerse entire front and edges of crispy treat into either the chocolate or white chocolate. Lay on wax paper. Repeat this for all treats.

In a ziploc baggie or in a chocolate funnel add pink frosting and pipe eyes, nose, ears and whiskers.

Last stick a lollipop stick through the bottom. These are sold by wilton and can be found at any cake store or walmart in the baking section.

Chocolate Covered Oreos

This is a quick and oh so yummy way to make a holiday cookie.
We took chocolate and melted it in a glass bowl in increments of 20 seconds and stirred each time until it was a nice smoothe consistency.

If you are going to make lollipop oreo cookies. Skewer your cookie through the middle with your stick and let sit in the refridge for at least 15 minutes. ( A MUST DO STEP)

Then dip cookie completely into melted chocolate. Lay out on waxed paper.

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CUH-RAZY PIZZA or Pizza-Pull-A-parts

I got this recipe off of pilsbury.com. I love that site. My family devoured this and the best part about it, was it was STUPID EASY! I know you should never say the "S" word, but seriously! It is that easy!

PIZZA PULL APARTS

2 tubes Pillsbury big country biscuits
15 oz. jar of pizza quick sauce
2 c. cheese (Mozzarella, cheddar or combination)
Meat: pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, etc.
Toppings: olives, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, etc.

Cut each biscuit into 4 and place in ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan. Place meat on top of biscuits and pour pizza sauce over meat. Put on toppings and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until biscuits are cooked through. Take out pieces with fork.

This is what I did.
Brown you hamburger/turkey meat
pour speghetti sauce, dump 1 can of mushrooms, and dice some olives, green peppers, etc. Mix into your meat sauce.
Cut bisquits into 1/4ths and mix into meat sauce.
Pour out into 9x13 pan
Top with mozzarella cheese and bake in oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until brown.

Cupcakes in a Cone

These are fun and festive and can be made for any occassion. Turn them into soccer balls, or baseballs. They are anti messy! Gotta love that.
CUPCAKES IN A CONE
1 box funfetti cake mix (or your favorite) mix as directed
1 reg. ice cream cone (pkg of 24)
Fill cones to just above the first line of cone and bake 15 to 18 minutes for 350 degrees. Cool and frost.

The special baking container was purchased on line through the jello website. You can just stand these on a cookie sheet in the middle of the pan. Watch your baking times, they may vary.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

A has been begging me to buy FLIPZ. They are $6 for a 11oz, and for a family of 6 we would have them gone before we even made it to the car. The mini pretzels. I knew I could make them cheaper and better. I asked A, to let me try and if he didn't like them I would then buy him a bag. They were a HUGE success! I did 16oz. for $4.
CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZELS
A bag of your favorite pretzels
Any brand melting chocolate
A double broiler, or microwave or stove

Just melt your chocolate. Be careful not to scorch your chocolate. If chocolate is burned it will become grainy and lose that glossy look. It is still edible but visually appealing it is not. The reason is because the cocoa butter or fat has been absorbed too quickly. If you use white chocolate. This has a faster heating point and remember chocolate when melted will hold its shape. Be sure to stir until smoothe.

Melt chocolate in your method of preference. I used the microwave. Heat for 1 minute and then 15 seconds until smoothe and creamy. Stir - each time.

Dip pretzels front and back in melted chocolate. You can use your fingers or fork.
Lay out on wax paper or foil to harden. We love using pretzel sticks and making wands. Dipping the pretzel stick half way into chocolate and rolling into sprinkles, chopped nuts or crushed candy.