Kids in the Kitchen: Apple Cartwheels

We've been having fun finding healthy(er) alternatives for school snacks and thought we'd share this one with you today for Kids In The Kitchen. We found the original recipe somewhere on the internet and can't re-find it, so this is our "version from memory," which is slightly terrifying if you're familiar at all with my memory.

We're calling them "Apple Cartwheels" and all you need are:

Apples (we made 2)
Peanut Butter
Honey
Chocolate chips

First we mixed some peanut butter (about 1/4 cup), some honey (not measuring is the way to go!) and some chocolate chips (somehow we missed a picture of adding the handful of chocolate chips.)


After all of the "stuffing" is mixed, we cored out our apples. Mommy did this part and didn't do it very well.
Now it's time to stuff the apples with the filling.
I think next time we make these we'll use a piping bag to fill them!

Put the apples in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the peanut butter can harden a little.

Once the peanut butter mixture is good and set, slice the apples into rings (Mommy also did this part, also not very well.) I brushed the rings with a sugar syrup in hopes of keeping them from browning too much.

They looked yummy, but we're waiting for a final verdict from the munchkin when she gets home from school!

Frozen Banana Treats

We've been busy looking for snacks for the kids since we've eliminated most sugary, pre-made snacks from our house. My kids are big fruit eaters, so these frozen banana treats seemed like the perfect choice (sorry about the bananas again, Sherry!)

You simply need:

Bananas
yogurt
nuts

Slice up the bananas. This is easy for the older kiddos to do with a butter knife, but mommy did it this time. No one ever takes pictures of me cooking. Hmmm.

Take the banana pieces one at a time and dip them in the yogurt. Any flavor would work, but we used raspberry yogurt. If your kiddos like getting messy, they will LOVE this. Kaitlin, on the other hand, asked to wash her hands in between each slice.

After dipping in yogurt, dip the banana in the nuts. The original recipe we found called for cheerios, but I wasn't sure how I felt about frozen cheerios. I think mini-chocolate chips or coconut flakes would also be a yummy option!

We place our yogurt dipped banana slices on a wax-paper covered baking sheet and then placed the baking sheet in the freezer for about an hour. Here's what the finished product looked like!

Kaitlin thought they were super yummy, but D.J. wasn't a big fan. I had made a few without the nuts and he LOVED those, so next time I'll have to choose a different topping for him. We probably put too many nuts on them. Just sprinkling the top with nuts would have been sufficient. They kind of tasted like little bites of raspberry banana ice cream. Yum! I actually ate some for breakfast today!

Don't forget to visit Me and Lu for some great school snack ideas for the kiddos!

Kids in the Kitchen Breakfast Sundaes

In honor of our attempts to eat a little better and cut out the artificial sugars for D.J., our Kids in the Kitchen post for today is Breakfast Sundaes (although they're good enough to eat anytime!)

You only need the following:

Bananas

Yogurt

Cut fruit

Cereal or granola topping

First order of business is to cut the bananas...

...then add the yogurt!

Next, add the fruit toppings...

**Please excuse the poorly cloned in cluster of blueberries at my daughter's bosom. The child kept losing her nightgown, and I wanted to insure that this picture would not come back to haunt her if she ever chooses to run for Miss America or the President.

...and a little bit of cereal for a nutty crunch (we used Grape Nuts).

What a yummy breakfast...

...and fun to eat, too!

Kids in the Kitchen - Pita Pizzas

The whole family got in on our Kids In The Kitchen project this week - even daddy! Pizza has become my 2-year-olds favorite food, and I love the healthier option that Pita Pizzas give us. As an added bonus, they're fun for the kids to make!

**I apologize for my consistently crummy pictures for my KITK posts. Remind me to never again purchase a house with only north and south facing windows in the main living areas. Grrr.**

All you need for Pita Pizzas is:

Pitas
Tomato sauce or Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Favorite pizza toppings

First the kids spread the tomato sauce on their pitas. We added some italian seasonings on top since we weren't using pizza sauce.

Next you pile on the cheese. You have to give extra cheese because, inevitably, little people will sneak it to eat when they think you're not looking.

All that's left is to add the toppings and the prep work is done. We were using tomatoes, bell pepper and pepperoni, but anything will work! This is also a sneaky way to get the kiddos to eat some extra veggies. Kaitlin VOLUNTARILY ate bell peppers - and then asked for more!

All of our pizzas are ready to go into the oven. See the pizzas all decorated with pepperoni in a circle? Yeah, those are Doug's. Told you he got into it!

We placed the pizzas in a 350 degree oven for about five minutes. Voila!

The kids like me to cut their little tiny pizzas just like a real pizza. Perfect size for little fingers!

Added bonus? This entire meal cost about $6 and we have enough left over ingredients to go another round at lunch with the kids some time this week!

Kids in the Kitchen Quesadillas

My kiddos love these super simple quesadillas - and from start to finish it's about a three minute process. Talk about a quick meal!

All you need is:

Tortillas
Refried bean

Shredded cheese

First step is to spread the beans on half of the tortilla. This is an opportune time to teach your children the "Magical Fruit" song.

Next, place the tortilla onto a hot skillet and sprinkle it generously with cheese. Trust me, it's much easier to put the cheese on AFTER it's already in the skillet. I'm an expert at cheese.

After the cheese is on, fold the tortilla in half and fry it up! We love our saturated fats here (hahahah) so we put a little butter on the outside of our tortillas to fry them up, but you can also just spray your pay with a little cooking spray.

Don't worry, I fried it up for the kids. I demonstrated to Kaitlin how dangerous it could be by scalding my pinky on the edge of the skillet. Ouch. I refrained for posting a picture of the blister. You're welcome.

Kaitlin and D.J. like their quesadillas cut pizza style. When they were younger, I used to cut them in strips. Much easier for little fingers to pick up!

Kaitlin likes to dip hers in sour cream. Yum.

We like to make this a more filling family meal by sauteing up bell peppers, onions and mushrooms and putting them in before putting the cheese in!

Patriotic Goodness

Shame on me for not having posted anything in-between my two Kids In the Kitchen contributions. If I don't get caught up on my blogging, you're going to start assuming that all I ever do is cook with the kids. Wait, yes, keep thinking that.

This week the kids and I made a festive red, white and blue trifle. It's super quick, super easy and super yummy!

Here's the ingredients you'll need:

1 box vanilla instant pudding (ours called for milk)
1 pound cake
strawberries

blueberries

whipped cream

The original recipe calls for Lady Fingers instead of cake but, um, we like cake.

Once again, please ignore the plethora of off-brands. I can't help myself. *we did not use both containers of whipped cream.

First we made the pudding and set it aside in the fridge while we prepared the rest of the ingredients.

Ignore D.J. in the background as he scrapes his fingers along the top of the cake and then licks them off. Yeah, Sherry, notice I post this AFTER I let you guys eat it! Teehee. It's a hazard of cooking with kids and you must be prepared for it. Hey, at least I don't let the dog help.

Next Kait helped cut up the cake into bite size pieces. This is where we lost D.J. as he was more interested in eating bites of cake than participating.

Next we washed the berries and cut the strawberries. This was my task, but the kids helped by tasting for me. So helpful.

We added a tablespoon or so of lemon juice and some sugar to the strawberries. Helps keep them firmer and fresher.

Now we layer the ingredients: cake on the bottom, then some berries and half of the pudding.

Yes, that is a cheap $3 Wal-Mart vase that we're layering our trifle into =)

Repeat the process with more cake, then berries and the last of the pudding.

Top your layers of yum with some whipped cream and strawberries.

See, a summertime masterpiece of deliciousness!

*Sherry, I hope I'm doing the button right!