Bake Sale Donation

My daughter (kindergartener) attends a charter school that we just love. Last month they had a bake sale to raise money for new sports and PE equipment and I signed up to donate a cookie platter.

Using this recipe I chose 3 flavors and made up this platter. I was so pleased with the way it turned out that I just had to share.

The bake sale ended up being cancelled, but the elementary director bought it from me and donated the money to the school and just used it for a staff meeting instead. She said the cookies were a delicious hit and to feel free to donate another platter anytime!

In my it's-almost-valentine's-day mood I chose Strawberry, Lemon, and Cherry Chip. (which were all delicious)

I put all the cookies in rows on a clear platter from Dollar Tree, added a package of little plates and napkins...

and tied a big tulle bow around the whole thing.

Turned out great, right? Love it :)

CopyCat Recipe - McDonald's Caramel Apple Parfait

I was on a play date at McDonald's the other day with my girls, and some of my girlfriends from the gym and their kiddos. We go there for the play place when it's too cold to visit the park.

I decided that I would act healthy in front of my friends and I ordered a sort-of-healthy-but-not-really-that-healthy Caramel Apple Parfait for my snack. I'd never had it before and thought it sounded good.

HOLY EXPLOSION OF YUMMINESS IN MY MOUTH!

Can we say "New favorite snack?"

So I looked it up on McDonald's.com for the nutritional info and what was in it... turns out it's just low fat vanilla yogurt with diced red apples and caramel sauce. So simple. So I took home the cup it was in for measurement purposes and bought all the ingredients to make my own at home.

And here it is, incase you need to know how. Simple, easy, yummy, and slightly healthy. At least it only has 180 calories ;-)

You just need low fat vanilla yogurt, any brand, a red apple, any kind, and caramel sauce. Hershey's made that part convenient!

Slice the apple as you normally would and leave out one slice. Cut it into small chunks. Put the apple together and put a rubber band around it. This keeps it from getting brown in the fridge. Learned that little trick on Pinterest. Who knew?

Sprinkle your diced apples on top of the yogurt in your cup. (about 8 oz of yogurt) Drizzle a small amount of caramel sauce on top of it all. (I got a little excited so I put too much. Won't happen again! lol

And there ya have it! One caramel apple parfait, comin' right up!

Bob's Fried Rice

My dad is a pretty good cook, and he is one of those cooks who LOVE to share their recipes and abundant meals with others, which makes him the best kind of cook there is. He also cooks meals for an ARMY so this is a great recipe for a gathering of lots of people, or for a smaller family if you want to freeze a couple bags and have some to pull out and thaw for a later mean without all the fuss of making it. This is one of my husband's favorites of his recipes, as my hubby loves oriental food. So here is my dad's yummy fried rice recipe :)

You will need:

6 green onions diced cross wise in 1/4 in pieces

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1 tbsp minced garlic (equaling about 4-5 cloves)

1 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1/2 small head f cabbage

3 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tbsp sesame seeds

1-2 cups frozen green peas (thawed)

1 tsp powdered ginger

1 sm bag real bacon bits

3-4 eggs

4-6 cups freshly cooked rice (still hot)

Make sure you have all your vegetables chopped and/or prepared before you start cooking.

The cabbage head needs to be cut in half, lain cut side down, and sliced in long strips from top to bottom about 14 inch wide maximum. Cut those in half cross wise.

Scramble up the eggs.

Cook the rice in another pan or rice cooker.

Put the olive oil in your wok and bring it up to high heat. Add in your rice and your teriyaki sauce, and let those simmer together in the wok for a few minutes. Add in your eggs and all veggies, spices and seeds. Fry these up, stirring constantly for several minutes.

Your fried rice is ready to be served! It's that simple. Chopping all the veggies is the hard part.

Herbed Biscuits

Get ready to be excited! This is a healthy biscuit recipe and at the bottom I will be including the nutritional information!

Assuming you follow the sizing directions, you may feel free to enjoy more than one of these yummy dinner biscuits, guilt-free.

You will need:

2 cups white flour

1 tbsp white flour (for your work surface, not to mix with)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp crushed, dried rosemary

1/4 cup margarine

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp original or unsweetened soymilk

Combine all dry ingredients (except 1 tbsp flour) in medium mixing bowl. Mix in margarine with blender till crumbly. If you grab a hand full with your hand, you want it to hold its shape while still, but fall apart when you move your hand a bit.

Add milk, mixing with a fork until moistened. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of flour onto your kneading surface to prepare to roll out your dough. Knead 4-5 minutes and then into a large round 1 inch think sheet.

Cut into 2 in rounds. I used the end of a sippy cup because it's all I had that was round and 2 inches across. You can use whatever, it doesn't really matter, just cover the tip in flour so your dough doesn't stick to it.

Place the dough rounds, sides touching, on a ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. This whole recipe makes about 1 1/2 dozen biscuits.

Serve with your favorite soup or as a side for your favorite dinner dish. These may even add a kick to your Saturday morning breakfast meal as the spices add great flavor, but are not over-powering.

Either way, enjoy!

Nutrition facts:

(per biscuit)

83 calories

2.7 g fat

1 mg cholesterol

122 mg sodium

12 g carbohydrates

.4 g fiber

2.3 g protein