We had so much fun playing around with different ways to decorate our “snowman.” We ended up going the tropical route and served him on a plate with brown sugar “sand,” a tropical drink umbrella, a beach ball, and a sand dollar. How will you theme your snowman?
Tropical (or not) Snowman Cheese Ball
Servings 10
Ingredients
- 2 8 oz packages cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1/4 cup chives snipped
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan
- 10 peppercorns
- 1 piece red licorice
- 3 pieces dried cherries
- 2 wafer sticks or pretzel sticks
- 1 carrot very tip cut off
Instructions
- Put cream cheese, monterey jack cheese, spices, hot sauce and chives in a medium bowl. Mix.
- Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or until cream cheese has set.
- Make 3 balls in varying sizes. Roll balls in the shredded parmesan cheese. Place on a platter. Secure with a wooden skewer cut to the height of the snowman.
- Decorate with peppercorns, licorice, wafer sticks, and dried cherries.
Notes
If you want to make it tropical put brown sugar or crushed graham crackers on the plate for "sand." Serve with crackers.
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Elegant, simple, delicious, and quick – put this yummy dessert together in no time at all, pop it in the freezer for a few hours, and impress your family and friends at your next simple celebration!
Frozen Crème Fraîche Dessert
Servings 4
Equipment
- 4 - 3 1/2 inch shallow ramekins
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 cup crème fraîche
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup cinnamon schnapps*
Instructions
- Place sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and lemon zest in a medium bowl.
- Wisk until thick and pale.
- Fold in crème fraîche.
- Distribute mixture among the 4 ramekins.
- Freeze for 2-3 hours.
- While mixture is in the freezer, soak the blueberries in the schnapps.*
- Before serving, place the blueberry mixture on top of the ramekins.
Notes
*If you are serving this to children, eliminate the cinnamon schnapps.
Here is a super easy, quick recipe to do with your children or grandchildren. Let them pick which fruits to use, set up their “skewer station,” and watch them delight in creating this healthy, colorful snack!
Fresh Fruit Skewers
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 container strawberries cut bite-size
- 1 fresh pineapple cut bite-size
- 1/2 seedless watermelon cut bit-size
- 1 container raspberries or blackberries
- 8 wooden skewers
Instructions
- Alternating fruit, place them on a skewer -it's that easy!
Fundido is a Spanish term for “molten.” In this recipe, it refers to the gooey melted goodness of mozzarella cheese. We originally posted this dish with mushrooms in the ingredients, however, when Vicki suggested it to her granddaughter, she nixed the idea. No problem! Nana just recreated the recipe to make it more kid-friendly. Gather your family around the table and let everyone dig in!
Sausage and Sun-dried Tomato Fundido
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil divided
- 2 mild Italian sausages can also use chorizo
- 3/4 cup green onions sliced
- 3 chipotlé chiles in adobo, seeds removed and sliced
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes sliced
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella chopped
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme chopped
- 12 small flour street tortillas warmed
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Sauté sausage until cooked. Drain on a paper towel.
- Wipe out skillet and heat remaining olive oil over medium heat.
- Add green onions and cook for about 4 minutes, until soft.
- Add chilés, sun-dried tomatoes and sausage. Stir until warm for about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Add mixture to an ovenproof bowl. Top mixture with cheeses and sprinkle with pepper.
- Place in the oven for about 15 minutes or until cheese melts.
- Remove from oven and top with thyme.
- Serve in the center of the table with warm tortillas.
Notes
This meal goes great with fresh fruit as it helps to cut the richness of the cheese. Kids will love putting together some fruit skewers to serve alongside.
Vicki’s granddaughter, Claire, enjoys helping in the kitchen. She was over for the night and it was decided that she got to help plan the menu which started with dessert (of course). Claire immediately shouted out, “banana splits!!” That was a bit of a shock because Vicki hadn’t made one since she helped her dad make them, many years ago.
Here is a recipe the kids will love putting together.
Banana Splits
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 3 pints your favorite ice cream flavors
- 4 bananas
- 1 can whipping cream
- 1/2 cup raspberries or blueberries
- 1/3 cup toffee chips
Instructions
- Peel and slice bananas and place in 4 bowls.
- Place berries on top of bananas.
- Place 1 scoop of each type of ice cream on top of berries - or whatever ice cream your child wants.
- This is the best part. Let your child squirt the cream on top. Add the toffee chips. You can use real whip cream that you beat yourself, but your child won't have as much fun!!
Notes
Vicki said her dad sometimes put a little peanut butter on the bananas which was always a fun "surprise". You can use chocolate or peanut butter chips instead of the toffee chips.
This is the perfect recipe for the young chefs in your family! These ice-cream sandwiches need to freeze for an hour, so make sure the kiddos know they will have to wait a bit before digging in.
Chocolate Wafer Ice-Cream Sandwiches
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 12 thin chocolate wafer cookies
- 1 container Oreo cookie ice cream
- 1/4 cup sprinkles their favorite colors
Instructions
- Lay 6 cookies on a small sheet pan you can fit in the freezer.
- Let the ice cream soften a bit for easier handling.
- Put one scoop of ice cream on each cookie and top with another cookie.
- Put sprinkles in a shallow bowl.
- Roll the sides of the cookie in the sprinkles and freeze for at least an hour.
Impress your family and friends with this yummy dessert. The BEST part – it takes under 5 minutes to assemble. This is also a great recipe to make with your kids!
Coconut Macaroons with Dark Chocolate Drizzle
Servings 12
Calories 101kcal
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites from large eggs
- 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 1 ounce dark chocolate from a chocolate bar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Put the egg whites in a medium bowl and slightly beat with a fork.
- Add the coconut, sugar and vanilla to the egg whites and mix with fingers that you have moistened with water for easier handling.
- Form a heaping tablespoon of the batter into a ball and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. This will make 12 macaroons.
- Bake cookies for about 15-20 minutes until they are lightly browned on the top. Put on a rack to cool.
- Once the cookies have cooled, microwave the chocolate for about 20 seconds. Check and see how melted the chocolate looks. Microwave in 20 second increments until chocolate is the desired consistency. Stir the chocolate and drizzle over the macaroons with a fork.
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Let’s get the kids in the kitchen to join in our simple celebrations. We have a new category on our home page called, “Simple for Kids”. We will tag some old recipes that are kid-friendly and will post new ones from time to time. This recipe is an easy start to cooking together with your children or grandchildren. And … what a delicious start it is!
Cinnamon Sugar Rolls
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 1 puff pastry sheet thawed
- 4 Tbsp butter divided
- 1 ½ Tbsp cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/8 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Pastry & Filling
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Roll out pastry into a square and enlarge
- Melt 2 Tbsp butter and spread over the top of the pastry.
- Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the butter.
- Roll up pastry and cut into 8 rolls.
- Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet several inches apart. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Icing
- Soften the remaining butter and add cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
- Mix until smooth and ice the rolls while hot.
Notes
This recipe is perfect for using up scraps of puff pastry you have leftover from another recipe.
This make-ahead ice cream dessert is a fabulous dish that feeds a crowd!
Ice Cream Sundae Cake
Servings 30
Calories 292kcal
Ingredients
- 24 ice cream sandwiches
- 1 container 16 ounce whipped topping
- 1 jar 12 ounce fudge ice cream topping
- 1 jar 12 ounce caramel ice cream topping
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts optional
- Cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
- Place 12 (or as many that fit) ice cream sandwiches on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Top with 1/3 of the container of whipped topping.
- Next top with 1/2 jar of caramel and fudge toppings.
- Add remaining ice cream sandwiches.
- Top with 1/3 more of the whipped topping and remaining caramel and fudge.
- Put in the freezer to set for about an hour.
- Top with remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with nuts (if using) and dust with cocoa powder.
- Put in freezer for 2-3 hours before serving.
Notes
Leftovers? Just put back in the freezer (lasts a few months) and re-serve.
Here’s a crowd pleasing dip that will have you two-stepping right out of the kitchen!
Two-Step Mexican Dip
Servings 10
Calories 119kcal
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 can 15 oz black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can 15 oz shoepeg corn drained
- 3 scallions chopped
- 2 Tbsp cilantro minced
- 1/2 jalapeño pepper deseeded and minced
- 3 ounces feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Step One - Whisk the sugar, vinegar and oil in a large bowl.
- Step Two - Add the black beans, corn, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño and cheese and mix well. Chill until serving time.
Notes
Serve with "scoop" style multi-grain tortilla chips. Thanks, Jen Keatinge, for the recipe!
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