Peanut Butter Balls

Super yummy and easy to make. Great to toss into kids lunch boxes for a extra treat.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 c. Honey
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
3 cups Crispy Rice Cereal

Combine all Ingredient's together. Mold into balls and place on wax paper onto a cookie sheet in fridge. Chill in fridge. And try not to pop them all in your mouth. Once chilled you can coat with melted chocolate for extra deliciousness. As much as a like chocolate I love these plain.

XOXO-

Lovin It Thursday: 100 Calorie Popcorn







 

I am in Love with the 100 Calorie Smart Pop! Popcorn from Orville Redenbacher's. After having my second baby six months ago I have been trying to find snacks that I love and won't put on the pounds. When I want a snack I usually gravitate towards salty treats...like chips. Popcorn is one of my favorite treats and this is way better than chips.  I can actually eat this without any guilt, knowing that it's only a measly 100 calorie's that I am consuming. The mini bags are pretty big bags. It's really enough for me to eat in one sitting.

Foody Friday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

 Yesterday it snowed where I am so we still need something warm to eat. Luckily I still had some of my Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. Every year I make a huge batch of Chicken Noodle soup and freeze for the whole winter. It gets us though the cold season and it's really easy to pull out of the freezer and unthaw. My family loves it. It's so good the you've got to pace yourself so that it lasts a while. My recipe includes:

2 packages bow tie pasta

(you can use any kind of small pasta that you like)

4 large stalks of celery

6 carrots less if you don't like a lot

(I love carrots, so I always put more)

5 cans chicken broth

(you can always add water if you need more)

Seasonings

Onions, if you want

(my family doesn't eat onions)

First cut the Carrots, Celery and Onions and brown them in a pan. They taste much better if you brown them and it makes them extra soft. If you like harder vegetables then brown them slightly. As you are browning the veggies you then boil the Pasta in a large pan in the Chicken Broth.  just until the noodles are still hard you add the vegetables and the Seasonings. I used equal parts of these seasonings(about 1/4 cup) poultry seasoning, rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme, savory and 2 Tablespoons of salt and pepper. Keep tasting the broth until you like it. Cook all ingredients together just until noodles are al dente. Take them off the heat immediately and scoop them into freezer proof containers. And there you go. Enjoy.



Foody Friday: Peanut Butter Balls & Yummy Healthy Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Balls

Mix 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 5 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla in a large bowl. Knead mixture until smooth, adding up to 1/2 cup more powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking. Roll dough into 1" balls and set on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet; chill 1 hour. Line 2 more cookie sheets with wax paper; set aside. Place sprinkles in shallow bowls. Microwave 1 1/2 cups light cocoa candy melts, stirring every 15 seconds, until smooth. Drop the balls 5 at a time in the melted chocolate to coat. Remove balls with fork, allowing excess chocolate to drip off. Roll balls in sprinkles to coat. Place on the lined cookie sheets. Repeat with the remaining balls, then chill until chocolate is set. Makes about 40 peanut-butter balls.

(recipe from February 2011, Parents magazine)

AND

Yummy Healthy Cupcakes

Mix two boxes of devil's food cake, cake mix. And one small can of Pumpkin pie filling. (it will not taste like pumpkin) Slowly mix together until all Incorporated. It will be very thick, fudge like. Fill the prelined cupcake pan all the way full. The mix will not expand a lot. Bake until toothpick inserted comes clean. About 30 minutes. If making a cake, about 1 1/2 hours. Frost with whatever frosting you would like. I used Pillsbury Whipped Supreme vanilla and added a couple drops of red food coloring to make pink. (My daughter, Cheryl's favorite color)

Enjoy these yummy treats for Valentine's Day.