Easy Homemade Vanilla Pudding

                 One of my favorite desserts as a kid was pudding.  It was one of the staples of dessert for me at my grandparents' house.  Actually my grandmother didn't make it from scratch when I was a kid.  I guess by that time, plenty of companies were putting out the refrigerated snack packs of pudding.  Nonetheless, those pudding snacks tasted great to my young taste buds.

Butternut Squash Coconut Soup

                      Butternut squash is still abundant in the supermarket.  It is an inexpensive vegetable as well, so it is a great go to food when you are looking to stretch your budget dollars.  I am also always looking for no meat meals for the week and it does create a satisfying meal.   The color is pretty too, and that can help with picky people.

Dill Pickle Dip

                        There was a fund raiser recently for the school my girls get dance lessons at.  It was one where if you purchased a food product some of the proceeds would go to fund the dance team.  One of the items in the catalog was for a dill pickle dip seasoning pouch.  It actually peaked my interest.  Here's why: you know when you go to a deli or any sandwich shop that serves you pickles with your sandwich, you usually get potato chips(crisps) served along side.  Then the juice from the pickles seeps onto the chip and then the chip tastes so much better.  Just me?  Gosh I hope not, because then this post will be totally pointless.  Ok, just remembered that a chip company made dill pickle flavored potato chips, so it's not just me.  Whew, I feel better now!

                           I couldn't wait to go home and make my own dill pickle dip from scratch. 

Balsamic Vinaigrette

                 What makes a salad come together?  The dressing of course!  Without dressing you just have some vegetables without guidance.  Dressings can give life to those mixed greens.

                  I also use dressings for other uses like marinades or toppings for sandwiches.  I of course stopped buying store bought dressings eons ago.  Why?  Due to the fact that one of the first ingredients is high fructose corn syrup.  Plus, making dressing is easy.  Throw the ingredients in a blender and within a minute you have your own fresh dressing that you should not have any guilt of putting in your own or your kids' bodies.

                   Here is a dressing that I think is similar to the one served at TGI Fridays, if you are familiar to that establishment.

Ingredients

1. 1 Cup olive oil
2. 1/3 Cup balsamic vinegar
3. 1/4 Cup honey
4. 1 clove of garlic
5. 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
6. 1/4 tsp salt

Just put all of these ingredients in a blender and blend.

You now have a dressing that works for salad, a marinade, etc.

I recently used it to top a baguette sandwich that had roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella cheese that I had toasted.

Chewy Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

                      Whenever I bake cookies, they mostly end up including chocolate chips.  This tends to disgruntle my 11 year old.  Although she likes chocolate, loves chocolate actually, according to her they do not belong in cookies.  I do beg to differ, but I do need to satisfy her cookie need every once in a while to be fair. 

                       I created these cookies with her in mind.  She loves coconut so I wanted to make a coconut cookie.  I use rolled oats in the ingredients to add some whole grain.  I also use some applesauce to substitute for all butter.  This cuts down on some fat.  Of course there is sugar in these so I will not say they are healthy and go ahead and have about 10 in a sitting, you'll be fine.  I believe in moderation, so a couple with some milk will appease your sweet craving.

Baked Egg Rolls

               We are headed towards the end of a school year here.  I have been making sure that my kids are fulfilling all of the yearly requirements for my state.  I realized I have neglected this blog with all the goings on.  We have added more activities, like gymnastics, so that has taken from my time.  We also added two new puppies to our mix.  Crate training has been a joy.  So, these are some reasons why I haven't been posting as much.

              With that out of the way, I have an egg roll recipe to share. I bought on a whim, egg roll wrappers at the supermarket.  They had been sitting in my fridge for a couple of weeks.  I realized that I needed to do something with them before they spoiled.  I just didn't want to deep fry the wrappers.  I think I wanted to come up with something creative to do with them, but alas I realized that most of the time simple is the best way to go.

              Since I had a head of cabbage that didn't want to be turned into cole slaw, (yes, it told me), I realized it would find a good home in a wrapper.    (This is what happens when you deal with 4 kids and 5 pets everyday.)  Oh, I didn't mention we have 2 birds also did I?

Sea Shell Craft

              How many of you in the Northern Hemisphere are as tired of the winter as I am?  I think it has been cold since October.  I am so ready for some warm weather, which I was hoping to get early since the groundhog said that it would be an early spring.

              Since it seems as if old man winter wants to hang around for quite a while more, (snow storm on the way), how about trying to bring the beach home?  I want to share a craft that we learned to do on a beach vacation last year.  It is fun for all ages.  Even my 2 year old enjoyed participating, with minimum mess I might add.