Apple Sauce Energy Bars

Combine quick oats, dried fruits, and Mott’s applesauce to make a snack bar they will love

Healthy Kids’ Smoothie

Mix Mott’s Apple-Grape juice, yogurt and berries and watch them drool.  There is nothing like a healthy smoothie on a hot day after school.

The Big Dipper

With Mott’s Healthy Harvest Applesauces combined with yogurt, you get a quick and yummy dip for skewered fruits.  Choose their favorites…apples, grapes, bananas or strawberries!  It’s like their own “fondue”.

Have a recipe you love?   Share it in the comments.

Looking for something cold and smooth on a hot summer’s day?  Always!  I am over the heat already and looking for any relief I can find!

And a smoothie does the trick most days.  I’m easy to please!

1/3 c. vanilla ice cream
1/2 c. Mott’s ™ applesauce
1/4 c. milk
¼ tsp cinnamon.

Put all ingredients into a blender and mixfavorite chilled glass or mug and enjoy!

1. Smoothies are at the top of the list. Whether you make your own with fresh fruit or use a prepared mix these are a healthier option than the milk shakes I grew up with.
2. Salad greens with feta cheese and bacon. Nothing says comfort like bacon and you can spruce up a salad like cool, creamy feta cheese and crisp bacon crumbled.
3. No bake cookies. We all need a sweet treat! Look for options that don’t require you to be in the kitchen for hours. Chocolate Balls and many Oatmeal Cookie varieties may require only a saucepan.
4. Grilled Hot Dogs and Hamburgers. Nothing says comfort like good American foods and you’ll get outdoors while enjoying the smell of the grill. Skip the fries and substitute some grilled veggies!
5. Crockpot Anything. Put your favorite casserole ingredients in the slow cooker, hit the pool and dinner is done when you get home. use my slow cooker all summer long because it is so much easier for families on the go. Then I can add a simple side dish like salad or fruit and I have an easy meal any day of the week.

What does comfort food mean to you and how are you stay cool in the kitchen this summer?

We love the colorful display of the July 4 fireworks.  Well, the fireworks are over so lets add some flair to our snacks! These colorful treats might remind you of sparklers without the sparkle! You’ll have a blast in the kitchen making these no bake, no cook pretzel sticks and your kids will have even more fun because they made them themselves!

What you’ll need:

One bag of long pretzel sticks
1 can white prepared icing
Candy sprinkles in various colors

Start by dipping the pretzel sticks in the icing tub. If you want the icing to cover more of the pretzel, try spooning it out of the container an placing it on a plate. Then instead of dipping the kids can roll it in the icing until they get enough icing for their tastes. Sprinkle with candy in any variety of colors, turning the pretzel while they sprinkle so the sticks become colorful and festive.

You can let the icing harden or eat right away (my personal choice!)   This is a fun treat for any holiday and with no shortage of decorative sprinkles, you can dress up a treat any time of year!

APPLE VINAIGRETTE
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Mott’s ® apple juice
2 whole fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp course ground pepper

Combine vinegar, olive oil, apple juice, basil, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor.
Process until it is smooth. Serve chilled over mixed greens and veggies.

Have a variation or recipe of your own? We’d love to hear about it!

Yes, it seems a little early … but this holiday season seems to be flying by fast. It’s only about a week and a half away and it’s something you should definitely be thinking about. Heck, it’s something you might even need to make once to make sure it’s the dessert for you.

For our Christmas, we try something different — usually chocolate based — every year. One year, it was a peppermint and chocolate cake roll. Another year it was vanilla mousse and strawberry fools.

This year, by request, it’s Chocolate Peppermint Pie. We had it for Sunday dinner at the end of November and it was a raving hit.

Not sure what you are making yet? Here are some fantastic recipes from around the web to help you get thinking and planning:

- Ginger Pear Tarts (vegan) at Vegan Visitor

- Pumpkin Torte at Canary Girl

- Devil’s Food Cake with Peppermint Frosting at Dinner & Dessert

- Grandma’s Coconut Cake at Andrea’s Recipes

- Yule Log at Too Many Chefs

- Banana Cream Pie (gluten free) at Gluten Free Girl and The Chef

The first time I made these cookies, it was completely by accident. I wanted to make something uber-chocolatey for a friend when I was visiting her family. However, I was out of a lot of common baking goods. With a little ingeniuity, and some adjustments, I ended up with these. 

They are rich and moist, with a hearty bit of saltiness from the salt/sugar sprinkle. It’s everything that a good chocolate cookie should be.

Now, if you want to get your cookies perfectly round like these, invest in a cookie scoop. The inexpensive mini-ice cream scoop is perfect for measuring out cookie dough in perfectly formed balls. It’s practically a guarrantee for perfect cookies every time. Yes, it’s one more thing to have in the drawer, but considering how this can really eliminate some of the mess of baking (who hasn’t dropped a cookie dough coated spoon before?), it’s worthwhile of a little drawer real estate.

Coincidentally, my friend liked these so much that she went home and made them herself from my recipe. She and her hubby ranked these among their favorite cookies ever.

What’s your favorite cookie? Share in the comments!

Salted Triple Chocolate Brownie Cookies
yields 3 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chunks
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
extra sugar and sea salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or heavy duty aluminium foil (to make for an easy cleanup).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla and beat on medium until mixture has a light and fluffy appearance.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Pour into mixer bowl and beat on medium. Add chocolate chips, chunks and olive oil and beat until just combined.

Drop by the spoonful onto the prepared baking sheet.

Cook in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until set.

Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with sugar and a bit of sea salt.

Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

With Thanksgiving now behind us and Christmas slowly creeping up, it’s time for many a home cook to start thinking about Christmas cookies. Me? I’ve been baking Christmas cookies since I was old enough to turn on the stove. Some years, I would gift the cookies. Other years, I would bake with friends. These days, I often bake with my kids — and that is a great tradition to have.

And frankly, in a year where so many of us are struggling, cookies are an inexpensive way to say you care in a meaningful way. After all, what isn’t spent moneywise is made-up-for with hard labor baking.

These peanut butter cookies are crisp and peanut butter-y, just like a good peanut butter cookie should be. If you want to gift these though, just make sure that the recipient isn’t allergic to nuts.

Turn in next week for another cookie recipe, ready for gifting.

Peanut Butter Cookies
yields about 3 dozen
adapted ever so slightly from Better Food For Kids

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and granulated sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream together until well-combined and almost fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate.

In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Turn the mixer on low and add the flour mixture slowly (as in one spoon at a time) to the peanut butter mixture, until all the mixtures are fully incorporated.

Using a small ice cream scoop or two tablespoons, drop balls of dough onto a nonstick baking sheet. Use a fork to press down the dough, and create the traditional crosshatch marks. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for one minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

Devour.

Whether you are planning a shindig at your home or heading out to a loved one’s, this recipe is easy, fast and can even be made ahead of time. What more could you ask for on a day when many of us spend hours and hours cooking?

Just be sure that you purchase mini sweet peppers (as opposed to hot peppers), available in bulk at stores like Costco.

And as for giving thanks, I am thankful to have this forum and my family food blog to share dishes like this with you. I am also thankful for my adorable children, who bring joy into my life everyday, a wonderful husband and a supportive family.

What are you thankful for?

Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers
yields 30

30 mini sweet peppers
7 oz feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil (packed down)
1/4 cup fresh rosemary (packed down)
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (the dried ones, not the ones packed in oil)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.

Slice the peppers from stem to tip on one side, leaving the stem intact. Carefully remove the seeds (there aren’t too many).

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the feta, basil, rosemary and sundried tomatoes. Pulse until evenly chopped (the mixture should be very fine).

Use a small spoon to divide the feta mixture among the peppers. Place completed peppers on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until peppers are just starting to soften. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot or cold.

Grand Prize: $500 Target gift card and $50 Mott’s products
Contest ends November 30th.