Peanut Butter and Nutella Puppy Chow

This puppy chow is not for your fur legged friend...it's the kind that you put in a bowl, sit by the glow of the Christmas tree light and savor each sweet crunchy bite slowly as you relish in the peace and quiet since your kiddos are snoring softly in their beds. Oh wait, sorry that just might be me??? Anyway, this thing is absolutely amazing!!! I had never made it before so I went to my go to place and I pinned a few recipes on Pinterest, but truthfully there's a basic recipe on the back of the box, but you know me, I don't really follow recipes all that well. This could mean a great big flop or sweet success. The first recipe I made was using peanut butter. I'm not a huge peanut butter fan, but I must admit it was pretty yummy. The Nutella recipe is at the bottom. Here's my version:

PEANUT BUTTER PUPPY CHOW

Gather it:

6 cups of Rice Chex

~ 1 cup of powdered sugar

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 large spoonfuls of peanut butter

1 tsp of vanilla

~ 1 Tbsp of coconut oil (you can probably also use vegetable oil or butter)

Make it:

1. Place chocolate chips, peanut butter, vanilla, and coconut oil in a small bowl or even in a glass measuring cup. Melt together in 30 second increments and stirring in between. Mine took about 1 minute. 

2. Place Rice Chex in a large Ziploc bag or a large plastic container with a lid (I chose the latter) and pour melted chocolate mixture over the Chex. Shake it around until all the Chex is covered with the chocolate mixture. No matter what you do, don't melt the chocolate in a large bowl and then dump the Chex into the bowl and mix together...it will cause a lumpy Puppy Chow. How do I know this??? Because that's how my first batch came out. I tried to save a step and not have to wash 1 extra bowl. Unfortunately the kids teachers received lumpy Peanut Butter Puppy Chow, but the Nutella Puppy Chow that it was mixed out turned out perfectly. 

3. Pour half of the powdered sugar into the mixture and shake. Add more as needed until the Chex is coated with the powdered sugar.

NUTELLA PUPPY CHOW

Gather it:

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup Nutella

Everything is the same as above except NO peanut butter 

Make it: 

Same directions as above!

And that's it...now I dare you to not eat it all at once!!!

A basket full of Puppy Chow and a gift car for all EIGHT of the kid's teachers. I had a slight freak out moment when I realized I had 8 teachers to buy for. Parker has 1 speech teacher (his teacher's aide is no longer with them otherwise it would have been 9), 2 morning teachers at his preschool and 2 in the afternoon. Avery has 2 morning teachers and 1 afternoon teacher. 

A gift was also sent out in the mail...

Bananas with Honey & Cinnamon

So I was browsing Pinterest and found a yummy looking snack. I had actually pinned this ages ago and had forgotten about it. Well I was hungry and craving something sweet...I had all the ingredients and it was super easy so I decided to make it. This was so easy and yummy. I don't count points, calories, or anything like that, but this has to be so much healthier than the M&M ice cream sandwich that I was really craving last night...and I maybe pouted a little bit when Kevin told me that they were all gone.

Gather it:
1 ripe banana
sprinkle of ground cinnamon
drizzle of honey (ok, ok I LOVE honey so I used a little more than a drizzle)

Make it:
1. Peel and chop banana into little circles.

2. Drizzle (or pour in my case) honey over bananas and sprinkle with cinnamon.

3. Scarf it down...and try not to think too much about "making" a second dessert b/c you know that your daughter will want a banana for breakfast tomorrow morning.

I clicked on the link, but it took me to a page that wasn't related to the recipe so I can't give due credit...sorry!!! 

Homemade Donuts

OH.MY.GAH!!! You HAVE TO make these! These donuts are so easy to make (duh, of course...otherwise I wouldn't be making them!) and they are always a big hit. This "recipe" came from a friend of a friend. We used to make it all the time, but haven't made it in years. I know my friend, Sara, is probably drooling while reading this and will likely make this soon now that I've mentioned it ;) lol Don't forget to invite me over!

Gather it:
1 can of refrigerated biscuits
vegetable oil
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (you will not use it all)

Make it:
1. Pour vegetable oil in a deep wide pan (not a skillet or a pot) and heat over low/medium heat. I didn't use that much oil - just enough to "fry" one side of the donut. Maybe 1/4 of a cup??? You can def use a pot and deep fry it (this was how I used to do it, but I hate using that much oil), however, I found it easier to use a wide pan. If using a pot, increase the temp to medium/high heat.

the pan I used...

2. Meanwhile, cut each biscuit into thirds. Roll into sticks, twists, circles, etc. You may have to "re-stretch" them out before placing in the oil.

3. Gently place each biscuit into oil (do not drop as it may splatter everywhere). Watch it carefully as it may burn and def watch out for splattering oil. Flip the donut to the other side with tongs once it has turned golden brown. I was only able to cook about 4 at a time b/c the donuts cooked pretty fast and had to be turned over by the time I got to the 4th one. 

*** My first batch burnt a little bit b/c I had it on medium/high heat - the temp I normally have it on, but that was when I used to use a pot with a lot more oil. Shallow pan with not much oil means the oil gets super hot and cooking time is next to nothing. I turned the heat down to low/medium and waited a few minutes for the temp to adjust - this worked out perfectly for the rest of the donuts. ***

my burnt first batch of donuts - they weren't completely burnt, just not the pretty golden brown color I was looking for

pretty golden brown donuts

4. Place donuts on a paper towel lined plate (I use a double layer of paper towel) to absorb excess oil.

5. Pour condensed milk in a small bowl for dipping...or you can pour over donuts. I prefer to dip :) Serve immediately.

Avery ate ALL of her dinner (strawberries and chicken and dumplings - I added fresh baby spinach to the recipe and it was a yummy addition)

Parker couldn't believe Avery was eating a donut so he made the choice to eat his dinner

Excited to get a donut! It's rare that we have dessert so this was def a special treat!

"Hello, Nana, Lola? I eat my dinner and I eat my donut!"

PURE DELICIOUSNESS!!! 

Parker LOVED these donuts! Avery ate hers plain and Parker started eating his plain until I convinced him to dip it in the sweetened condensed milk. He's not a huge dipping fan b/c I've never given him dips (ketchup, ranch, etc) before. His response once he tried it: "Mmm...taste like chocolate! Mmm...taste like ice cream!". He was making a sticky mess trailing from the bowl to his mouth so I taught him to dip and wipe the donut on the side of the bowl. After I showed him this I started to hear him mutter: "dip dip, wipe". lol  Parker actually "stole" a plain donut while Kevin and I were getting Avery ready for bed. He comes into her room laughing and gave himself away. Crazy kiddo! 

FYI: this will make a lot of donuts so if you're only making this for 1-2 people, you might one to place the rest of your uncooked biscuits in a ziplock bag to be used...oh I don't know...the next night for more donuts??? Also, you can also use cinnamon, sugar, powdered sugar, chopped up peanuts, chocolate icing for your topping. Sara and I have done it all...do whatever floats your boat. I like the plain ol' sweetened condensed milk. Enjoy this yummy and easy dessert!