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Taco Salad In A Bag! – Perfect for camping and kids!

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taco in a bag ingredients This has long been a fun snack/dinner for my kids camping and after school. You can see my Taco Salad recipe HERE for a bigger dish with catalina dressing. Making this for groups, camping or teens is an awesome way to feed a crowd easily. ground beef for tacos First brown some ground beef with taco seasoning. I often have this on hand frozen in my freezer anyway. Next cut up or pull out your toppings, which can include the following:

  • Onions
  • Cheese
  • Sour Cream
  • Salsa
  • Lettuce
  • Tomatos
Whatever you like, and if you are camping can travel easily. My kids like to eat theirs with Doritos, but you can also use Fritos.

Taco in a bag Tucker Now find a kid who will gladly demonstrate how to eat this with perfection! Lucky me I had one walk in the door from school and he was STARVING! Taco in a bag Take the bag and break up the chips a bit. Open the bag. Recipes, new deals on grocery, and supermarket items of the online shopping ads can be even better. Add toppings and meat. Enjoy!

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Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe

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strawberry freezer jam

Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe

It wasn’t until I was in college that I tried freezer jam. Can you believe I had lived my entire life until then without any? Crazy. I would like to take a minute to thank my roommates, it was either Cami, or Chelsea who brought some from home and changed my bagel eating life. This was my staple meal while in school, a plain toasted bagel, with slightly melted plain cream cheese and piled with strawberry freezer jam.

When strawberries are in season you can pick some up for only $.99/lb. This is a great price to pick up extra and make a batch to stick in the freezer.

This is the easiest yummiest most satisfying thing that you can preserve. Take the tops off your strawberries. Toss them into your food processor or a large bowl. Pulse them slowly until they are in small chunks, or mash with a potato masher until smashed. {stick the kids at the table with something to do!}

Don’t over smash them in the food processor. Just small pieces will work!

For every 2 pounds of strawberries mashed, I used 1 1/2 cups sugar and one packet freezer jam fruit pectin.

I got all the supplies from Walmart. I love the nifty little freezer jars they had, they made it easy and the kids could grab then since they are not made of glass.

This is super quick to make, abut 40 minutes and 9 pounds of strawberries later I had this stash to throw into the freezer. Enough to last us for the next few weeks…. just kidding the  next month or so :) It will last up to a year in the freezer or a month or so in the fridge.

If you have not had freezer jam on a bagel with cream cheese, do yourself a favor and make some this summer!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Ingredients

  • 4 cups crushed fresh strawberries
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin
  • 3/4 cup water

Directions

  1. Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.
  2. Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.

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27 Yummy Summer Recipes!

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Summer’s here and it’s time to go adventuring, have fun and throw routine out the window!  It’s also a good time to mixup your dinnertime staples with some new, more summery faire.  Here are some yummy summer recipes that are super kid-friendly and great for inviting over a crowd at the last moment 🙂

27 Yummy Summer Recipes

taco in a bag ingredients

Summer Crowd Pleasers

Taco Salad in a Bag

No Fry Buffalo Wings

Easy Fried Rice

Grilled Mac & Cheese Sandwich Recipe (How fun for using up leftover mac & Cheese!?)

Easy Taco Ring with Croissants

Caribbean Pork Shoulder Roast Recipe

Homemade Hot Pockets

Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

Philly Cheesesteak Melt

Grilled marinated chicken kabobs

Grill Recipes:

Marinated & Grilled Chicken & Shrimp Kabobs

Perfect Pesto Grilled Flank Steak

Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken

Summer Crock Pot Recipes:

Beat the heat and keep your oven off for these!

Crock Pot Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken

Simple Seasoned Chicken Taco Meat

Fiesta Chicken Crockpot Recipe

Pork Ribs in the Crockpot

Crockpot Ribs Coca Cola Style

Seafood:

Lobster Rolls Recipe

Copycat Bonefish Grill Bang-Bang Shrimp Recipe

Southwest Shrimp Skewers Recipe

Snickers Salad with Apples Recipe

Sides

7-Up Biscuits

Broccoli Salad

How to Make a Caesar Salad That You’ll Love

Homemade Bread & Butter Pickles Recipe

Easy Dill Sandwich Spread

Snickers Salad with Apples Recipe

Easy Crockpot Macaroni & Cheese (Great to serve with cookouts!)’

Cherry Pie Filling Fruit Salad

And don’t miss this yummy roundup of all my Easy Summer Desserts!

Key Lime Cake with Cheese Cake Pudding in a Jar Gift!

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Key Lime cheese cake in a jar gift

Here is a very simple and easy Key Lime Cake recipe, that you can turn into a Key Lime Cheese Cake truffle in a jar very easily. If you are not a fan of the lime flavor, remember that you can use ANY jello flavor that you want! You can also adapt this for dietary needs like Sugar Free etc

You will need:

  • Mason Jars
  • 1 Box Jello
  • 1 Box White Cake Mix
  • 1 Box Pudding Mix
  • Key Limes
  • Cool Whip (optional)
  • Graham Crackers (optional)

 

My daughter held up a bag of Key Limes the other day and was making fun of the “baby” limes. After explaining that I had NO idea what a key lime actually was, other than a small lime and promising to Google it when I got home I bought a bag for $1 and took it home!

grating key lime

Key lime pie is one of my most favorite desserts out there! But I have made that a few too many times this year and so I thought I had better try something different…

My sister had just eaten in a cute cafe where they made easy jello cake, and layered it into little mason jars with pudding and cool whip. PERFECT for teacher’s gifts this week!

First thing to do: Make a white cake, just follow the directions on the box. Add 3 T key lime juice and 2 T of the peel grated.

making jello cake lime

While the cake is in the oven, boil 1 1/2 cup water. Add 1 box of your favorite flavor jello. Usually we use strawberry but this time I am using Lime. Stir it up until it is dissolved. When the cake is done baking, pull it out and poke holes all over the top of the cake. Now just pour the liquid over the hot cake, and put it in the fridge to cool down.

* When making a jello cake, all you do at this point is add cool whip to the top and you have an awesome dessert.

assembling cake jars

While the cake is cooling, take your favorite pudding mix and make a bowl. We used cheesecake flavored (my favorite) but you can use any flavor as long as it compliments your cake flavor. Also, have a carton of cool whip handy and some crushed graham crackers.

layers cake in a jar

When your cake is cool, and the pudding is set up, grab some of the smaller 2 cup mason jars. You can find these at Walmart, grocery stores, and even Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Cut chunks of cake and add them to the bottom of the jar. Next add a few spoon full’s of pudding and sprinkle graham crackers on the layers.

cake in a jar layers

To me the graham flavor is a must with key lime, they just have to go together. I suppose you could also add some coconut in as well. Repeat layers until you have reached the top and end with some cool whip.

filled cake in a jar

If I didn’t have to transport these or send them to school with kids 🙂 I would serve them just like this with a little graham cracker sprinkled on top and maybe some toasted coconut. But since they have to make their way to school, I needed a lid!

The girls and I tied matching ribbon around the jars to make them pretty, and added a matching spoon so their teacher’s wouldn’t have to find one! They put them in a white lunch bag and were headed to school this morning!

It would not have mattered what was in the bag, just giving their teacher’s something is what they wanted to do!

key lime Cheesecake in a jar

Remember that you can make these with any flavor and any color. Even a blue raspberry would be cook for a baby shower. They sky is the limit!

Cocoa Puff Cheesecake Minis

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I’ve partnered with Acorn Influence to bring you this post.  All opinions are my own.
cocoapuff cheesecake minis recipe

Some of my sweetest childhood memories happened in the kitchen making treats with mom.  Most of the time we’d be whipping up goodies for a holiday party – but sometimes we’d make something special “just because”.  That’s why I like to get my own kids involved in cooking – it gives us a chance to just be together, talk and make our own little memories.

Recently we had a chance to create a fun recipe of our own with the help of Big G cereals.  In preparation for Dia de los Ninos, we decided to take one of the kids’ favorite cereals (Cocoa Puffs!) and add a twist to our classic cheesecake cups.   The result was DELICIOUS!  While there’s nothing fancy about this recipe – it’s a total kid pleaser 🙂

We picked up a giant family size box at Walmart, which was enough to cover this recipe with tons to spare (although I’m sure in this house it won’t last long…).

cocopuffcheesecakeminis1

Having decided to use the Cocoa Puffs as a crust  – you just need about 2 1/2 cups for this recipe – we poured them in a zipper bag and rolled a heavy glass over them until they were just crumbs.  Then I stirred in a little melted butter and using our fingertips, we pressed the crust into the bottom of the muffin cups.

cheesecakecrust

After baking for a few minutes  – I spooned cheesecake filling (the super-easy kind you make from a box) into the cups and refrigerated for an hour.

This gave us just enough time to tidy up our mess and wash the dishes – my mom always taught me to clean up as you go!  (Plus that way you don’t get stuck doing it all by yourself once everyone eats and runs off)

Icocopuffcheesecakes

After the cheesecake had set up nice and firmly, the kids and I sat at the table with toppings like whipped cream, caramel sauce, chocolate chips, and candies so they could customize their own.

cheesecakesclose
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Coco Puff Cheesecake Minis
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • 2½ Cups of Cocoa Puffs
  • 3 Tablespoons Margarine or Butter, Melted
  • 1 11.1 oz box of easy cheesecake filling mix
  • 1½ Cups Cold Milk
  • Whipped Cream, Chocolate chips, Candy Toppings (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350
  2. Place cupcake liners into a muffin tin
  3. Place Cocoa Puffs into a zippered bag and using a rolling pin or a glass, crush the cereal until you have fine crumbs
  4. Stir together in a bowl with melted butter or margarine
  5. Press the mixture into the bottom of the cupcake liners, about a tbsp per cup.
  6. Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven and let cool
  8. While cooling, prepare no bake cheesecake filling per box instructions
  9. Spoon cheesecake mixture into each cup
  10. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or freeze.
  11. Top with sauce, whipped cream, chocolate chips, candies, if desired.

 

*If you’d like to make a special treat for your kids – check out these Dia de los Ninos Recipe ideas.  For even more fun recipes using General Mills cereals, check out the Dia de los Ninos Pinterest Board!

 

Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe

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Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe

Nothing is more delicious for dessert than this Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.  I love simple dessert recipes, and this one is a great choice for any weeknight dessert, or neighborhood BBQ this summer.  Everyone loves warm fruit with a sweet crust covered in ice cream, and this recipe makes that easy to accomplish.

Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe

Cast iron skillet recipes are always a favorite.  There is just something so fun about cooking in a classic cast iron skillet, especially if you are out camping or doing a fun outdoor BBQ event with friends.  The kids love anything they get to put our favorite Blue Bell ice cream on, and, of course, this wins!

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup of self rising flour

1 cup of milk

1 cup of sugar

4 peaches sliced with pits removed

16 oz. of cream cheese

1/4 cup of powdered sugar

You will start your easy peach cobbler recipe by getting your peaches ready.  Fresh summer peaches are the tastiest, but if you don’t have any in your area, you can always grab a bag of frozen peaches for this dessert.  I don’t recommend using canned peaches as the result isn’t very tasty.

Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe

Next you will blend together your powdered sugar and cream cheese.  You want this to be smooth, so you will likely want to do this in a high quality blender like a Ninja, or with a food processor or hand mixer.  Set that aside and move on to melting the butter in your skillet.  You can do this on the stove top then simply set aside, or could melt the butter in a microwave and pour into the skillet.  I prefer the former so I have one less dish to wash!

Grab a large bowl to mix your flour, milk and sugar together.  Pour this into the skillet then top with part of the peaches.  I suggest using about 3/4 of the peaches on top of the batter.  Next you will pour your cream cheese mixture on top of those peaches and finally top with remaining peaches.

Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe

Pop this into the oven (or over an open flame if out camping), and cook for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Print
Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tbs of butter
  • 1 cup of self-rising flour
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 4 peaches sliced and pits removed
  • 16oz of cream cheese
  • ¼ cup of powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. Slice peaches and remove pits
  2. In a mixer place ¼ cup of powdered sugar and cream cheese blend till smooth and set aside.
  3. Preheat oven to 350.
  4. In a large bowl combine flour, milk and sugar blend until no lumps.
  5. Melt butter in your skillet and pour batter into the skillet then arrange the peaches on top of the batter. Do not Stir.
  6. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top and add a few more peaches to the top.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

We, of course, love having ice cream or whipped cream on top of this easy peach cobbler recipe.  You can easily serve as is.  It’s a perfect dish to serve for a potluck event, neighborhood barbecue or just because!

Check out some of our favorite fruit inspired desserts below!

Hasselback Apples with Pecans

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Lattice Baked Apple Recipe

Key Lime Cake with Cheesecake Pudding

17 Easy Summer Desserts Recipes Kids Will Love!

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Now that the kids are all home for summer – one of the things we like to do for fun is make treats together.

It’s a perfect way to prep for a movie night, a sleepover or a pool party – but you don’t want them to be super difficult and have tons of steps.  Here are 17 EASY Summer Desserts Recipes the kids will love!

  1. Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches
  2. Key Lime Pie Cupcakes
  3. Best Chocolate Malt Recipe
  4. Homemade Magic Shell Recipe
  5. Easy Cowboy Cookies (Great for filling up kids during summer)
  6. Easy Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar
  7. Homemade Orange Creamsicle Recipe
  8. No Bake Strawberry Twinkies Dessert
  9. Simple Berry Cheesecake Trifle
  10. No Bake White Chocolate Peanut Butter Treats
  11. Fruit Pizza Recipe
  12. Homemade Fruit Rollups
  13. Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
  14. Easy Dessert Recipe Chocolate Lasagna
  15. Apple Sandwiches
  16. Easy Marshmallow Pops
  17. Red White & Blue Rice Krispie Treats

Haven’t had your fill yet? Check out more of my Dessert Recipes!

Have a great extra to share? Comment below and I might just test it out in my kitchen!

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

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Homemade Microwave Popcorn?  Sign me up!  We love popcorn and it’s such a great option for a fairly healthy snack.  Like most other things though, I hate feeding my family things with tons of added ingredients and preservatives.  Making homemade popcorn on the stove top isn’t terribly hard and it is delicious but it does take some time.  Since we don’t always have that kind of time and the kids often want to make popcorn themselves, I came up with this great recipe for DIY Microwave Popcorn.

homemade microwave popcorn

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/3 cup Popcorn Kernels
  • 3 tbsp Butter
  • 1 Brown Lunch Bag
  • Salt to taste

diy microwave popcorn suppliesDIRECTIONS:

Place ingredients in bag. Fold top over and place on side in microwave. Cook times vary by microwave, mine took 2 minutes.

diy microwave popcorn in brown paper bag

That’s it!  This seriously could not be simpler to make.  Not to mention, it tastes amazing!  Who needs an expensive popcorn popper when you can make homemade popcorn this easily?!?  You may want to stock up on brown paper bags and popping corn because this is going to become a family favorite.

You can use a butter substitute if you’re looking for a healthier option (although when butter is so much better than so many substitutes).

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Homemade Microwave Popcorn
Author: 
Recipe type: Snack
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2-3
 
Homemade Microwave Popcorn
Ingredients
  • • ⅓ cup Popcorn Kernels
  • • 3 tbsp Butter
  • • 1 Brown Lunch Bag
  • • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Place ingredients in bag. Fold top over and place on side in microwave. Cook times vary by microwave, mine took 2 minutes.
  2. That’s it! This seriously could not be simpler to make. Not to mention, it tastes amazing! Who needs an expensive popcorn popper when you can make homemade popcorn this easily?!?
  3. You can use a butter substitute if you’re looking for a healthier option (although when butter is so much better than so many substitutes).

 

Smoothie Recipes – Berry Nutella Smoothies

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Smoothie Recipes are great for breakfast, dessert, or even to replace a meal.  Berry Nutella Smoothies are so delicious!  While Nutella isn’t necessarily a health food, the berries and bananas are really good for you so you won’t feel guilty about enjoying this yummy beverage!  You could substitute peanut butter or any other nut butter if you’d like.

Berry Nutella Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups frozen mixed berries
  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 1 cup dairy free milk (we like rice milk)
  • 1 cup Nutella
  • additional Nutella for topping
  • Mason Jars or other Cups for serving

Instructions:

Place frozen berries, frozen bananas, milk, and 1 cup of Nutella into your blender.

Blend on medium/high until mixture becomes smooth.

Divide smoothie mixture into mason jars.

Top smoothies with a small amount of Nutella.  I used a piping bag with an extra large star tip to make it pretty.

Serve!

Print
Smoothie Recipes - Berry Nutella Smoothies
Author: 
Recipe type: Breakfast
 
Berry Nutella Smoothies are great for breakfast or dessert
Ingredients
  • 2 cups frozen mixed berries
  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 1 cup dairy free milk (we like rice milk)
  • 1 cup Nutella
  • additional Nutella for topping
Instructions
  1. Place frozen berries, frozen bananas, milk, and 1 cup of Nutella into your blender.
  2. Blend on medium/high until mixture becomes smooth.
  3. Divide smoothie mixture into mason jars.
  4. Top smoothies with a small amount of Nutella. I used a piping bag with an extra large star tip to make it pretty.
  5. Serve!

This smoothie is sweet and filling.  It would even be a great after school snack, especially on some of these Indian Summer afternoons we’re having.

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe that uses Nutella or a nut butter?

 

Gooey S’mores Snack Mix

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S'mores Snack Mix

S’mores are such a favorite treat for all of us.  I think no matter how old you are, you become a kid again when there are s’mores to make and enjoy.  Sometimes you really want all the flavor of a s’more without the fuss of a campfire to roast marshmallows.  This Gooey S’mores Snack is perfect for that craving!

Gooey S’mores Snack Mix

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cup Golden Grahams Cereal
  • 2 cup Chocolate Chips
  • 2 cup Mini Marshmallows
  • Powdered Sugar (optional)

S'mores snack mix ingredients

DIRECTIONS:

Set oven on low broil.

Line a baking sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper.

Spread marshmallows on prepared sheet. Place under broiler just until marshmallows begin to brown.

S'mores snack mix marshmallows

Remove silicone mat or parchment paper immediately from pan and place in freezer for 10-15 minutes.

The marshamallows may still be too sticky for you to handle so you can optionally dust them with powder sugar to reduce stickiness.

Combine marshmallows, chocolate and cereal in bowl 1 handful at a time to mix well.

S’mores aren’t just a treat for camping or sitting by the fire.  This Gooey S’mores Snack Mix is great anytime of year!

Check out this other easy snack recipes:

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