Pina Colada Smoothie - Kid Friendly

There is nothing like laying on the beach with a pina colada in your hand. This however, is far from my reality. Next best thing I guess will be sipping on this pina colada smoothie while trying to block out sounds of screaming and arguing voices of my children. If I focus really really hard I can hear the waves crashing, or is that my temples throbbing?! All joking aside this smoothie is delicious and kid friendly. Feel free to make this an adult only version - just add a little rum!!

This picture came out funny when editing it. It is almost like in a dream or fantasy.

I had to keep it this way...I am on an island, on the beach, drink in hand...

 

 

 

 

Recipe:

 

1/2 cup yogurt (any kind - I used vanilla)

1 cup fresh pineapple

1/8 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I buy it at Whole Foods)

1/4 cup coconut milk

5 or so ice cubes

 

Place all of the ingredients in the blender, blend until smooth and enjoy.

Garnish as desired. Add rum as needed or as the day calls for it.

 

 

 

 

Raspberry With Clementines

This is not by any means a recipe, but I had to share this.

 

I had raspberries that were due to be eaten or tossed and I hate throwing away food. On a whim I poured the raspberries and all of their juices over a clementine I had pealed and separated.

 

 

 

 

The combination of these two fruits together is absolutely delicious. It is perfectly sweet but tart.

This could absolutely be eaten for dessert.



Leftovers - Meatloaf Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I love leftovers! I might sound crazy, but honestly I do. I hate to throw food away and I think food can have more or at least a different flavor the next day.

Not much is better than a grilled cheese...that is until you add in flavorful meat and then everything changes!

I started by making a traditional grilled cheese with some twists.

Butter your bread - I use whole wheat

Lay cheese on one side - I used American cheese (that is all we had, plus I love it)

I then placed fresh basil on the cheese

 

 

Next, I  took my leftover meatloaf from Hide the Veggies Meatloaf, sliced it thin and

placed it on the cheese.

 

Top with more cheese and basil, add the top piece of bread and toast on both sides.

 

This was so good. Next time I think I will add on some marinara sauce or have some on the side to dip the sandwich in.

Heart Polka Dot Cake - Girl Birthday Cake Idea

My "baby" girl is six. My how the time goes by! Shelby could not decide on what she wanted for her cake, so this was a joint effort idea. We took her favorite colors: pink, purple and blue and incorporated them as much as we could in the cake. Pretty simple, but she loved it and that is all that matters to me!

 

 

 

The hearts are chocolates.

I used Wilton's white chocolate melts and colored them to the color I wanted.

 

 

 

 

The cake was a double layer, chocolate and funfetti. I used pink, purple and blue frosting in between the layers.

 

Hide the Veggies - Meatloaf

I don't know about you, but it can be difficult to get vegetables into my children, at least a variety. My daughter Shelby loves red peppers, my son Liam hates them. Liam loves carrots, Shelby hates them. My youngest Ian doesn't eat any vegetables; at least so he thinks!!!

I can up with this recipe not to be sneaky, but to prove a point; you don't know you don't like something if you don't try it.


How to get this into your children's bellies...

 

 

 

Ingredients:

2lbs ground hamburger (can sub ground turkey)

1 small onion

2 medium carrots

1/2 red pepper

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup zucchini (water squeezed out)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1tablespoon Italian seasoning

salt & pepper to taste (I used 1tea salt & 1/2 tea pepper)

 

Now most meatloaf recipes have you combine all the ingredients together, place in a pan, cook and serve. Well, my children would not be impressed with eating vegetables they "don't like!"

Here is how I get around that...hide them!

 

Get out your box and micro-plane graters. Yes, it takes a little muscle but the end result is worth it. Make sure to be careful and watch out for your fingers!

I used the box grater for the carrots & zucchini on the smallest grater side. I used the microplane over a bowl for the red pepper, onion and garlic. I did this to catch all of the juices from the veggies. The juice holds too much flavor and nutrients to just throw away!

 

 

This is how it should look; no clumps. It almost looks  just like baby food.

 

 

 

 

Now mix everything else together and transfer to a loaf pan.

 

 

 

Place in oven at 350 degrees and cook for about 1 hour or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F. I use a meat thermometer to insure proper temp.

 

 

Yum Yum!! This meatloaf is so flavorful and moist from all of the hidden vegetables.

I didn't tell my kids what was in it, even when they asked. I would respond and say it is just like a big burger cooked in a pan. I had to put cheese on Liam's to get him to eat it, but Shelby ate two servings! Yeah!!

Beach - Ocean Birthday Cake

My sister asked me to make her mother-in-law's, Christine, birthday cake. Christine is absolutely crazy about the beach, especially Cape Cod. Living in MA she pretty much lives there all summer long. For her surprise 60th birthday party I made her this cake. She cried when she saw it. I was so proud to part of such a special day!

I made a sheet vanilla and chocolate cake. I stacked them with vanilla butter cream frosting in the middle. This way every piece had some vanilla and chocolate cake.
The shells are candies, not soap.(That is what everyone asked me.) I use a Wilton's candy mold and swirled different color melts to give it a marble look.

For the seaweed I melted white chocolate and put dark green food coloring. It did seize up a bit so I also added a couple teaspoons of Crisco until it was the right consistency. I then placed the chocolate on wax paper until it hardened.

The sand is gram crackers that I crushed.

The sand dunes and tower lighthouse is on are rice krispies.

The lighthouse is a "dust collector" my mom had. The fencing is a bamboo place mat that I bought at a dollar store and then cut to size. The chair was purchased at a party supply store.




American Flag Cake

This cake was made as a "Welcome To the USA" for a close family friend, Maria, who passed her immigration test and is now a US citizen.

It is a double-layer white cake with strawberries in the center. The frosting is a whip cream frosting.

I was so nervous about making a cake for someone besides family, of course I was freaking out and messed up. After delivering the cake I came home and it then hit me that I forgot to put on the 50 stars...hello!

Maria said it was delicious and her family didn't seem to mind; the whole cake was eaten that night!

 

 

 

 

 

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