Recipes Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Over The Top Mommy

Recipes

Easy To Make Cupcake “Sundaes” For Your Easter Brunch

March 16, 2016 / Food, Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweeterEaster #CollectiveBias Easter is arriving a little early this year and I couldn’t be more excited about it! I love all of the pops of colors and festive treats you find in stores this time of year, especially in the Easter section. It’s so fun for me to shop for special goodies to fill Easter baskets and I enjoy planning our annual Easter family brunch, from the tablescape to the menu. I made a special trip to Walmart the other day to grab a bunch of the things I’ll need for Easter. On the Seasonal aisle I discovered M&M’s® Easter Sundae! These delicious candies have a white center, surrounded by milk chocolate and are only available for a limited time, exclusively at Walmart. The bag includes hot pink ones! They’re my favorite color! Not only will they be perfect for Easter baskets, but I also used them in my Cupcake “Sundaes” recipe which will be part of the dessert bar at our family’s Easter Sunday brunch. I tossed an 8oz bag of the M&M’s® Easter Sundae into my cart, along some other goodies for Easter including:

a Starburst® Original Jellybeans
a 12oz DOVE® Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny (for that “wow” factor!)
a 4.5oz DOVE® Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny
a couple of Skittles® $1 eggs
a Hubba Bubba® $1 Bubble Tape, for good “measure”, of course.
a package of plastic carrot-shaped eggs (to fill with candies)
some green “grass” for the baskets
an adorable white wicker Easter basket with lavender accents

Some other Easter basket fillers you can also find at Walmart (not pictured) include:

23.5oz Easter Mixed Brand Chocolates (package includes SNICKERS®, DOVE®, M&M’s®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, 3 Musketeers®)
11oz Easter M&M’s® Milk Chocolate
Skittles® $1 tube

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make Cupcake “Sundaes”:

one package of your favorite cake mix
one container of white frosting
one package of M&M’s® Easter Sundae chocolate candies (or any variety of M&M’s®)
rainbow sprinkles
treat cups to bake the cupcakes in
some colorful plastic spoons

Simple Instructions for Preparation of the Cupcake “Sundaes”

Preheat your oven to the temperature recommended on the cake mix package.
Mix together the cake mix as directed.
Prepare a cookie sheet with the treat cups on it that you’ll be baking your cupcakes in.
Pour mix into each treat cup, filling about 1/3 full. I highly recommend using a measuring cup with a spout to pour. (to avoid messy edges)
Bake as directed on box, watching them carefully until you see they’re slightly golden.
Allow cupcakes to completely cool down.
Frost each cupcake, making it look about as full as a sundae would be.
Sprinkle each one with an ample amount of sprinkles. Remember, you can never have too many sprinkles!
Top each sundae with “a cherry”! (a.k.a. an M&M’s® Easter Sundae candy)
Serve with a colorful spoon already in the “sundae” and enjoy!

If you haven’t cruised down Walmart’s Seasonal aisle for Easter supplies yet, you should “hop to it” soon.

What kind of candy and treats will you be filling baskets with this year? Do you have any fun recipes that you like to make for Easter? Share with me in the comments!

Heart-Shaped Hand Pies Filled with Chocolate and M&M’s® Strawberry

February 1, 2016 / Food, Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SendSweetness #CollectiveBias

Valentine’s Day is my most favorite holiday of the year! Forget the roses, I get most excited about all of the sentimental things like giving Valentine cards! Also, I don’t know about you but I can never get enough of Valentine treats! This year, I found these M&M’s® Strawberry at Walmart, just in time for the Valentine season! They’re light pink, hot pink, and red! I love M&M’s® and get a little giddy whenever I get to try new flavors. I like to go all out on Valentine’s Day and what most excites me most about the day is getting to celebrate love and friendship with not only my family, but also with my students and coworkers at work! For our Valentine’s Day celebration at work, I try to bring something special for close friends who may not have “a special Valentine” at home to shower them with surprises. It’s nice to let them know that someone is thinking of them on a day that’s so heavily focused on love and friendship. There’s one particular friend at work that I wanted to buy something extra special for because she lives alone and has no one who buys gifts or cards for her anymore. So, I got her a DOVE® Milk Chocolate Truffle heart tin. On the Valentine’s aisle, I also found some American Greetings® Valentine’s cards that will be perfect to give to some of my other coworkers.I love to create fun recipes for holidays and I decided to bake some heart-shaped Valentine hand pies, filled with chocolate and M&M’s® Strawberry! Just wait until you taste this M&M’s® flavor! They are delicious!I’m obsessed with anything cute and small that you can easily grab to snack on, so I was excited to make hand pies for Valentine’s Day treats to “hand out” out to others. I had to make a batch to test out for myself first though. They were so delicious and pair well with coffee or milk! They were also so simple to make and another “plus” about hand pies is there are no utensils required! I can’t wait to bring them along to work with me for our Valentine’s celebration, along with my other goodies! My co-workers are sure lucky to have me, don’t you think?

Follow this recipe to make a batch of your own: These are the ingredients and supplies you’ll need:

1 box of store-bought pie crust (they usually come 2 in a box)
1 jar of chocolate spread of your choice
1 bag of M&M’s® Strawberry
1 egg (just the egg white)
flour (to spread out on the cutting board or countertop)
1 lollipop stick
parchment paper (for baking)

Instructions for preparing the hand pies:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly flour the bread board or countertop where you’ll be working. Next, roll out the pie crust.
Use a heart cookie cutter to cut out two hearts for each hand pie that you’re making.
Cover your baking sheet with parchment paper and set the bottom heart pie piece on the baking sheet. Leave ample space between each one.
Spoon a small amount of the chocolate spread into the center of each heart. Don’t use too much because it will squeeze and leak out when you bake them.
Place 2 or 3 M&M’s® strawberry candies on top of the chocolate spread inside of the pie.
Place the top piece of heart-shaped pie crust dough on top and gently push edges together with your fingers.
Use the end of a lollipop stick (or something similar) to seal the edges. Use the stick to push in all around the heart.
Brush the top of each pie very lightly with egg whites.
Place into oven and bake for 9-12 minutes. I suggest keeping a close eye on them so they don’t burn.
When they look golden brown, remove them from the oven and place on a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do you celebrate with your friends and/or coworkers, as well as your own family? Hopefully your Valentine’s celebration this year will include M&M’s® Strawberry, too!

Right now, you can save $1.00 on ANY TWO (2) M&M’s(R) Brand Chocolate Candies, 8oz or larger. Click here to grab the coupon.

Easy To Make Star Wars™ Mini Donuts

December 8, 2015 / Food, Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AwakenYourTastebuds #CollectiveBias

Easy-to-make-Star-Wars-Mini-Donuts-Cover

I don’t think there’s a dad out there who isn’t excited for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens to hit theaters on December 17th! I know my own husband and daughter can’t wait. I love that they spend time talking about their mutual enthusiasm for Star Wars™ and that it isn’t a gender specific topic. The trilogy was a big part of my own childhood and it’s very exciting that my daughter’s generation will also have the thrill of Star Wars™ as it continues.

The other day, when I was grocery shopping at Walmart, I spotted Star Wars™Cereal on the cereal aisle! I also found the coordinating Star Wars™ Go-Gurt in the dairy section! I tossed both items into my basket and headed home to make a batch of special Star Wars™ mini donuts for my husband and my daughter to enjoy with their breakfast. How fun is that?

My daughter loves to sort out her cereals when they contain more than one kind of cereal in the box. In this case, she likes to separate the “regular cereal” from the little marshmallows. I’ll admit, I immediately reached into the box and ate a few of the marshmallows, myself. They are so yummy I decided to use some of the little marshmallows as toppers on my mini donuts for this recipe. It’s hard to resist a donut, especially when it has marshmallows on top!

I was really excited about how my mini donuts turned out. I hope my husband and daughter have a fun little Star Wars™breakfast together!

For the donut batter:

2 cups packaged cookie mix, dry
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vinegar

For the icing:

1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 teaspoon milk
your choice of toppings (I’m using marshmallows from the Star Wars™Darth Vader Cereal.)

I’m putting these time savers and tips before the recipe instructions because I know I sometimes jump into recipes without reading to the bottom. These tips are honestly valuable and I learned some of them from doing the wrong way the first time around on this recipe.

I used a package of store bought dry cookie mix in this recipe. I don’t call it “cheating”, I just call it being a smart mom who likes to save time. I chose a package of sugar cookie mix, but you could probably use any flavor or variety.
Most donut batter recipes call for buttermilk. Since I didn’t want to buy a whole container of buttermilk and waste the leftovers, I just whipped up a buttermilk substitute with milk and vinegar. (see recipe instructions).
When your batter is ready to put into the mini donut pan, it is SO much easier to stick it into a ziploc bag and cut the tip off, before pouring it in. (a baker’s bag with a tip would also work). It’s also important that you DON’T overfill each one because your donuts won’t look like donuts.
Before frosting your mini donuts, allow them to cool down completely. Oh and I give you permission to eat the ones that aren’t “usable”, meaning the ones that didn’t hold the perfect donut shape. I wouldn’t want them to go to waste.

Donut Batter Preparation

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees
Spray mini donut pan with vegetable oil and set aside.
Mix milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside for a minimum of 5 minutes to allow curdling.
In a separate bowl, combine cookie mix and baking soda. Add in the egg, butter, and vegetable oil and mix well.
Place donut batter into pastry bag or sealable plastic bag and cut a tiny hole in the end. (you could also use a tip for this.)
Fill each section of the mini donut baking pan. I recommend only filling each one half way or less. DO NOT OVERFILL.
Place pan in oven and bake 4-6 minutes or until golden. You’ll want to keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.
Remove donuts from oven and place on rack to completely cool down before frosting them.

Frosting Preparation

Place wax paper underneath cooling rack where you’ll place donuts after frosting. This will catch the dripping frosting.
Have your toppings nearby and ready to go.
Combine powdered sugar and milk in a bowl. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk. The frosting will thicken quickly, so continue stirring after every few donuts.
Dip the top of each donut into the bowl and move in a circular motion until it’s frosted to your liking.
Place back onto the cooling rack and apply toppings to each donut immediately before the frosting hardens.
Keep donuts in an airtight container, so they’ll stay fresh, if you’re not serving them immediately.

Well, I hope the recipe was easy for you to follow and simple to make. Is your family as excited about the big release weekend as ours is? Leave a comment and tell me how you show your love for the greatest movie series in the galaxy in your home!

(Almost) Better Than Christmas M&M’s® White Peppermint Cookies and DIY Snowman Glasses

November 16, 2015 / Food, Let's Eat!, Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeintheFun #CollectiveBias

I think my most favorite time of the year is when the holidays arrive. I’ll admit, it’s a little ridiculous that signs of the holidays seem to show up earlier and earlier each year in the stores, but I’m 100% Ok with it! The Christmas season would be year-round thing if I were in charge! It’s such a wonderful time of the year to enjoy doing special things with my daughter like watching our favorite Christmas movies, working on festive crafts, and baking up some favorite holiday cookies in the kitchen! I am so lucky to have a daughter who enjoys doing these things as much as I do! I get excited to see which special variety of M&M’s® I’m going to find in the holiday candy section at Walmart each year. The other day, I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw bags of M&M’s® White Peppermint and M&M’s® Hot Chocolate chocolate candies on the shelf on the holiday candy aisle.I did a fist pump before tossing both bags into my shopping cart, along with a bag of M&M’s® Holiday Milk Chocolate candies, which I also found on that aisle. I couldn’t resist adding a Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix and Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting to my cart either, which I found on a holiday display in the center aisle. Last, but not least, I grabbed a gallon of Great Value Milk. In our home, you can’t have cookies without milk! Now I was ready to bake up some holiday fun at home!

Anything peppermint is my Kryptonite, especially these candies! I love all things peppermint and it was time to kick of the holiday baking season with a batch of (Almost) Better Than Christmas M&M’s® White Peppermint Cookies! They are delicious and don’t take too long to prepare.

Hey, as long as we’re talking about the holidays, go enter the #BakeintheFun Sweepstakes for a chance to win a KitchenAid® Mixer!

Holiday #BakeInTheFun

So…while I was busy baking in the kitchen, my daughter decided to make some easy (yet adorable) Snowman Milk Glasses for us to use later on for our cookies & milk. She had seen a similar idea on Pinterest, using clear glass coffee mugs. So, when I was out shopping, I picked up some glass drinking glasses, perfect for her project. All you need to make your own holiday glasses are: whatever type of drinking glass you prefer (wine glasses would be cute too) and permanent markers. You may also want to keep a pack of baby wipes handy, for mistakes.

She first sketched out a couple of snowman faces on paper. She then drew a different one on each of our glasses, deciding to make one a snowman and the other a snow woman.

I poured some of the milk I’d purchased at Walmart into each glass, creating a complete snowman look and they were ready to use. (It’s important to note that the marker will wash off when you wash the glasses.)

Milk, cookies, and a holiday movie! What a fun way to spend the afternoon together!

Did you know that each year, food banks in our country provide for hungry children and families in need? In numbers that translates to more than 46. 5 Americans and about one in every six children who rely on Feeding America food banks each year. One of the most requested food items is milk, but on average, food banks are only able to provide the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person per year. That’s because while Americans are generous with canned and dry goods, many don’t think to donate milk because it’s perishable.

This year, The Great American Milk Drive will deliver a gallon of milk to a family in need in YOUR local community for each small donation received at pourmilklove.com. Also, with every purchase of 2 bags of M&M’s® at Walmart (9.4 oz bags or larger), up to a gallon of milk will be donated to the drive. Click here for a coupon good for towards the purchase of ANY TWO (2) M&M’s® Chocolate Candies, (8 oz or larger).

(Almost) Better Than Christmas M&M’s® White Peppermint Cookies Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 container Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting (you’ll be using the sprinkles that are on the top portion of the container)
1 9,9 oz bag of M&M’s® White Peppermint chocolate candies

Cookie Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. (This is my best kept baking secret.)
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating them in after each one is added.
Beat in the flour mixture gradually.
Mix in the chocolate chips and M&M’s® White Peppermint with a spoon.
Add in the sprinkles from the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting. (set some extra aside)
*This is an extra step. I like to wrap my cookie dough in plastic and stick it in the refrigerator for about 10-20 minutes. (You can skip this step if you’d like to).
Spoon generous portions of the cookie dough onto the parchment paper-covered baking sheet. (They’re supposed to be pretty giant.)
Bake 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add a few more pieces of each candy plus some more sprinkles on the top of each cookie. This will help them to bake while staying visible in the cookie.
Bake 3-5 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.

Won’t you consider joining Feeding America in The Great American Milk Drive, the first-ever national program to help deliver highly desired and nutrient-rich gallons of milk to hungry families who need it most. Log onto milklife.com/give to learn about the need for more nutritious foods in America’s food banks and see how your small donation can make a big impact.

Be sure to check out more delicious holiday baking recipes, including these M&M’s® Holiday Snowflake Cookies which includes Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix in the recipe. I’d love to hear what your favorite holiday recipe is? Leave a comment below!

Who are YOU going to BOO This Year? I’m BOO’ing the Teachers! (Plus “Monster” Cookies Recipe) #BOOItForward

October 6, 2015 / Crafts & DIY, Food, Holiday Fun, Printables, Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BOOItForward #CollectiveBias

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. I can’t say that the weather cools down much here in Southern California but you DO start to see pumpkins and Halloween decorations all around. It’s one of my favorite holidays of the year and I get so excited to kick off the Halloween season by BOO’ing people at the beginning of October.

If you aren’t familiar with the modern-day tradition of BOO’ing, it’s really fun and easy to do. You just put together a little anonymous Halloween surprise for someone and deliver it. The surprise usually consists of some type of treats in a cute Halloween bucket, basket, or even gift bag. You also include a BOO sign and instructions so that whoever you BOO, can BOO someone too! (Hey, that rhymes!)

I found all of the items I needed for my BOO’ing at Walmart. On the Seasonal aisle, I found giant Mars Chocolate Mix Fun Size bag of assorted candies, including M&M’s®, TWIX®, and SNICKERS®.

On the soft drinks aisle, I grabbed a couple of 6-packs of special Halloween “Mini Monster” cans of Sunkist® and 7UP®. They’re adorable with little monsters on them! l also found the ingredients I needed to make my “Monster” Cookies. (It’s a special Halloween cookie recipe we make every year using M&M’s® and TWIX®).

In past years, we’ve BOO’d neighbors on our street, friends who live close by, and even relatives who live in our same town. This year I think I’ll do some BOO’ing at my school. I teach first grade and I know of some teachers who would appreciate a little BOO surprise on their desk one morning. ( I know I would!) Teachers are really easy to please and love almost anything.

I decided to make little BOO kits with some snacks and mini cans that my teacher friends could enjoy during their break time. I also baked up a fresh batch of my “Monster” Cookies to include in each BOO’ing kit! (see below for recipe)

Here are the items I used for my BOO’ing kits:

assorted chocolates from
“Mini Monster” cans of 7UP® & Sunkist®
black and white polka dotted paper straws
black and white striped washi tape
googly eyes
regular tape
decorative black and orange plastic patterned popcorn boxes
cellophane bags
decorative ribbon
Mouthwatering “Monster” Cookies

Since I purchased Halloween “mini monster” cans of Sunkist® and 7UP® for my BOO’ing kits, I cut down some cute paper straws a little and used washi tape to attach them to the cans. It makes an adorable presentation.

I also used some big googly eyes on the popcorn boxes to make them look a little cuter. You could use glue or even tape to attach them.

After I baked my cookies and let them cool, I stacked up a few and put them into a cellophane bag and tied it with a festive Halloween ribbon. My “Monster” Cookies are pretty big so only a few fit in each bag.

It was fun to put the BOO’ing kits together. First, I filled the bottom of each popcorn box with the candies. Then, I placed a Halloween “Mini Monster” can inside, then I filled it to the top with more candy. I set the tied up cellophane bag of cookies on top of the box (I told you they were giant cookies!) and placed the “We’ve Been BOO’d” printables” next to each surprise on each of the teachers’ desks!

I don’t know about you, but I get as giddy as a first grader when it comes to leaving surprises like this! I couldn’t wait for them to discover they’d been BOO’d!

To make BOO’ing easier, MARS has provided a free “We’ve Been BOO’d” sign that you can print out and use with your BOO’ing kit. Just click here to download yours and print.

After you print out the pages:

Cut out the “We’ve been BOO’d” sign.
Fold the “You’ve been BOO’d” greeting card (page 2) and tape openings together.
Include the card (and sign if you don’t want to remain anonymous) when you BOO someone!

Look how cute these turned out! It’s so much fun to BOO at work! Having a “We’ve Been BOO’d” sign on the classroom door is really fun, too!

Here’s my recipe for “Monster” Cookies. It’s fairly simple to prepare and the cookies turn out delicious every time.

“Monster” Cookie Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
10-12 Fun Size Twix Bars, chopped
8-10 Fun Size packs of M&M’s®
1 package of candy eyeballs

“Monster” Cookie Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. (This is my best kept baking secret.)
Chop up approximately 1/2 cup Twix bars and set aside.
Measure out 1/2 cup M&M’s and also set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating them in after each one is added.
Beat in the flour mixture gradually.
Mix in the Twix and M&Ms with a wooden spoon.
Spoon generous portions of the cookie dough onto the parchment paper-covered baking sheet. (They’re supposed to be pretty giant.)
Bake 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add a few more pieces of each candy plus 1-3 candy eyeballs on the top of each cookie. This will help them to bake while staying visible in the cookie.
Bake 3-5 more minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.

Right now, you can save $2.00 on on ONE (1) 6pk 8oz Cans or TWO (2) 2L and 2 bags of Mars® Candy at Walmart. Click here for coupons. Also, don’t forget to enter the Boo It Forward Sweepstakes! #booitforwardsweepstakes

So are you ready to go out and BOO someone now? I hope I’ve inspired you to “BOO It Forward”!

Yummy Mummy Dogs That Kids Will LOVE: Hotel Transylvania 2 Style! #HotelT2

September 21, 2015 / Entertainment, Food, Movies, Recipes

We LOVED Hotel Transylvania and all of the fun characters and monsters in it and are so excited about the upcoming release of Hotel Transylvania 2 in theaters on September 25! If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, watch this:

“The Drac Pac” is made up of an all-star cast, including Adam Sandler (Dracula), Selena Gomez (Mavis), Steve Buscemi (Wayne), Kevin James (Frank), Andy Samberg (Johnny), and many more! I just know it’s going to be a hilarious film the entire family will enjoy seeing together.

The Drac pack is back for an all-new monster comedy adventure in Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 2! Everything seems to be changing for the better at HotelTransylvania… Dracula’s rigid monster-only hotel policy has finally relaxed, opening up its doors to human guests. But behind closed coffins, Drac is worried that his adorable half-human, half-vampire grandson, Dennis, isn’t showing signs of being a vampire.

So while Mavis is busy visiting her human in-laws with Johnny – and in for a major cultural shock of her own – “Vampa” Drac enlists his friends Frank, Murray, Wayne and Griffin to put Dennis through a “monster-in-training” boot camp. But little do they know that Drac’s grumpy and very old, old, old school dad Vlad is about to pay a family visit to the hotel. And when Vlad finds out that his great-grandson is not a pure blood – and humans are now welcome at Hotel Transylvania – things are going to get batty!

La sinopsis en Español:

¡Drácula y su grupo de amigos están de regreso para una nueva comedia de aventuras monstruosas en la película de Sony Pictures Animation Hotel Transylvania 2! Parece que todo está cambiando para mejor en el Hotel Transylvania… La estricta política de Drácula de admitir solo monstruos en el hotel finalmente se ha relajado y el hotel ahora abre sus puertas a huéspedes humanos. Pero detrás de los ataúdes cerrados, Drac está preocupado porque Dennis, su adorable nieto mitad humano, mitad vampiro, no demuestra ningún indicio de ser vampiro. Por esa razón, mientras Mavis está muy ocupada visitando a sus suegros humanos junto a Johnny –y enfrentando su propio gran shock cultural– el “abuelito vampiro” Drac recluta a sus amigos Frank, Murray, Wayne y Griffin para que Dennis asista a un “campamento de entrenamiento para monstruos”. Lo que no se imaginan es que Vlad, el gruñón y muy, muy, muy tradicional padre de Drac, está a punto de llegar al hotel para una visita familiar. Y cuando Vlad descubre que su bisnieto no es un vampiro de sangre pura y que, para colmo, ahora se aceptan humanos en el Hotel Transylvania, ¡las cosas se saldrán de control!

It’s hard to pick just one favorite character from the Drac Pac but we love Murray! He’s the mummy and we think he’s adorable. Murray was my inspiration the other day when I was trying to come up with a creative lunch. I’ll call this recipe “Murray Mummy Dogs”. It’s one of the easiest meals to throw together and is a guaranteed winner with kids every time! (I know this because I’ve made it twice this week!)

Here’s what you’ll need to make Murray Mummy Dogs:

1 pack of your favorite brand of hot dogs (I prefer to use all-beef)
1 container of ready-made crescent dough (you can find this in the refrigerated section)
ketchup

Preparing the Murray Mummy Dogs:

Preheat your oven ahead of time (per the temperature recommended on the crescent package)
Cover your baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.
Cut hot dogs into halves.
Open crescent dough and slice into strips.
Take each halved hot dog and wrap pieces around and around to make it look like a mummy. I don’t make the layer too thick so it’ll bake all the way through.
When all hot dogs are wrapped, stick into your oven and bake for about 7 minutes. (keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.)
Remove Mummy Dogs from the oven and serve with ketchup! Depending on the age of your kids, you could even call the ketchup, “blood”. (We mostly stick to non-scary in our home.)

If you ending making these, come back and tell me how long they lasted on your dining table? My daughter ate them up in a flash!

So, are YOU excited to see Hotel Transylvania 2? Who’s YOUR favorite character in the Drac Back?

Find Hotel Transylvania 2 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Movie and promotional pictures featured in this post are property of Sony Pictures.

“Mommy Time in a Mason Jar” Parfait! My New Favorite Indulgence With DOVE® Fruit!

March 4, 2015 / Food, Let's Eat!, Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are 100% my own. #LoveDoveFruits #CollectiveBias

I’m a mom, a very busy mom. I’d say that I spend most of my time doing everything but worrying about myself. Yep, I fully admit that I’m guilty of not doing much for myself on most days! I sometimes feel like I wear about 100 different hats…all of them invisible, of course! The running around usually starts around 5 am and doesn’t stop until I fall into bed, well after 10 pm! Honestly, I’m OK with this though, or I should say I’ve always been OK with this until now. I feel like it’s just what most moms do, but and I’m ready to put a stop to it!

I can’t say that I’ll stop doing all of what I do, because I know I wont, but I am learning to take a little time for me now! I’m learning the importance of “me time”. It’s just a small window each day. It doesn’t even happen every day, but I’m trying to make it happen for myself on most days. One of my challenges is that I get so wrapped up in what I’m doing, I forget to eat throughout the day. This usually results with me shoving not-so-great food choices into my face because I’ve gone too long without eating, I’m now trying to make a conscious effort to change my eating habits though and incorporate better-for-me snacks into my day.

I NEED to share one of my new snacking favorites with you! Have you tried DOVE® Fruit yet? This delicious combination of real fruit (cherries, blueberries, and cranberries) dipped in silky smooth DOVE® Dark Chocolate, combines the wellness benefits of dark chocolate with fruit.

The first time I found these in the grocery section of Walmart, I ripped open the bag as soon as I got to my car because I was dying to try them! I also ate the entire bag! Do you see why I needed to share with you? Oh my goodness, they are soooo yummy! My daughter loves them too! I now carry around a couple of bags in my purse, just in case I need to grab a quick snack.

I recently started incorporating DOVE® Fruit into one of my snacks at home that I like to call “Mommy Time in a Mason Jar“! I just mix vanilla Greek yogurt with granola because the smooth and crunchy textures mixed together are delicious. Adding some of the DOVE® Fruit, makes it all taste even better! They are great to have pre-made in your fridge so you can just grab one when you get home from work and school!

Look at how simple the recipe is:

Ingredients:

1 32 oz. container Vanilla Greek Yogurt
1 12 oz. bag of your favorite granola (I prefer the kind with almonds in it)
1 bag of DOVE® Fruit (I used blueberry for this recipe)

Preparation instructions:

In a mason jar, spoon a bottom layer of yogurt in the bottom, about an inch thick.
Top layer of yogurt, with a layer of your favorite granola.
Drop a couple of DOVE® Fruit on top of granola layer.
Repeat all 3 steps until your Mason jar is filled to right below the lip.
Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for later.

How delicious does that all look? After I’ve made my “Mommy Time in a Mason Jar Parfait”, I like to take it out on our back patio and enjoy the sunset. Isn’t this a beautiful view? It truly is relaxing…even if it just lasts a couple of minutes before I hear “MOOOOOMMMMMYYYYY!” again!

Walmart carries all 3 varieties of DOVE® Fruit. (cherries, blueberries, and cranberries). As I mentioned before, I found mine on the end of an aisle in the grocery section.

Do you take time for yourself each day? Comment below with something that you do for YOU!

See more great DOVE® Fruit recipe ideas on the DOVE® Fruit social hub. You can also download a coupon to save on your DOVE® purchase, here.

Celebrate This Valentine’s Day With M&M’s® Red Velvet and Chocolate Pie Pops!

January 30, 2015 / Celebrations, Food, Holiday Fun, Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #RedVelvetLove #CollectiveBias

Valentine’s Day is my absolute favorite holiday of the year! It always seems like everyone is happy and you can feel the love and friendship in the air! I loved it as a little girl, I love it as a 1st grade teacher and I love it as a mom, especially as a “girl mom”. My daughter embraces my need to be “that mom”! You know, the one who always sends something cute for the class on just about every holiday? (OK maybe I don’t on Groundhog Day)

This year, my daughter will be bringing the cutest & yummiest treats to school for her classmates at their Valentine’s celebration. I’m sending M&M’s® Red Velvet and chocolate pie pops! Yep, you read that correctly! M&M’s® Red Velvet exist!

If you’re as excited to try them as I was when I first saw them, then you should make a quick trip out to Walmart today to grab a bag of your own!

The M&M’s® Red Velvet are so delicious in this recipe. These pie pops definitely have a cute factor about them! They are honestly so easy to make! I like that it’s a kid-friendly recipe too because my daughter loves to spend time with me in the kitchen.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:

1 box of store-bought pie crust (they usually come 2 in a box)
1 jar of chocolate spread of your choice
1 bag M&M’s® Red Velvet
1 egg, just the egg white
flour (to spread out on the counter)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
Lightly flour countertop and roll out pie crust. Use a large biscuit cutter to cut out pairs of circles.
Use small heart cookie cutter to cut out one heart for each pop that you’re making.
Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set bottom circle pieces on cookie sheet, leaving ample space between each one.
Gently push a lollipop stick into the center of each pie circle.
Spoon in some of the chocolate spread into the center of each pop. Don’t use too much to avoid it squeezing out.
Place 3 M&M’s® Red Velvet candies on top of the chocolate spread.
Set top circle of dough on top and lightly push edges together with your fingers.
Use the end of a lollipop stick to seal edges of entire pie pop.
Brush each pie pop lightly with egg white. Place hearts on each pop and brush egg white on them as well.
Place into oven and bake for 9-12 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they don’t burn.
When they’re golden brown, remove them from the oven and allow to cool.

You will most likely be overwhelmed by how amazing they smell to the point where you’ll want to bite right into one as it’s coming out of the oven! Allow them to cool down for at least 5 minutes.

For Valentine’s Day, I’m going to wrap each pie pop in a plastic bag, add some M&M’s® Milk Chocolate candies inside the bag, and tie it up with colorful tulle. The M&M’s® almost look like confetti inside the bag, don’t you think?

I found everything I needed to make this recipe at Walmart, which makes it so easy for a busy mom like me!

Do YOU love Valentine’s Day as much as I do? What’s YOUR favorite way to celebrate friendship and love on Valentine’s Day?

For more M&M’s® Red Velvet inspiration, be sure to visit the Red Velvet Love Recipes page. Join the #RedVelvetLove Pinterest Party taking place at http://www.pinterest.com/SoFabChats/ on Saturday, January 31 at 12:00pm ET for your chance at winning a $1000 Walmart gift card!
See more great M&M’s® Red Velvet recipe and party ideas at myconfectioncorner.com/valentines-day where you can also download a coupon to save on your M&M’s® purchase.

Score Big on Game Day with Cheez-It and Chocolate Dipped “Football” Strawberries!

January 26, 2015 / Celebrations, Food, Parties, Recipes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are 100% my own. #BigGameSnacks #CollectiveBias

The Big Game Day is approaching quickly! It’s almost party time! I’m going to let you in on a little secret here…I don’t really worry about who’s playing in the game or who even wins it! Don’t get me wrong, football is fun to watch and all, but my real priorities on that day usually include:

watching the hilarious commercials
catching up on the latest gossip with my girlfriends who come to our Big Game Day party
enjoying lots of good food at the party

Hey, I know what’s important! I love any excuse to throw a party that involves food and this is one occasion that requires some major snacks! We usually order pizza or cook up some hamburgers at half-time so I like to set out simple types of things on the food table such as veggies, popcorn, chips & dips and some sweets for guests to grab during the game.

When I was out shopping for our Big Game Day party, I picked up a box of Original Cheddar Cheez-It Grooves crackers and a bag of new Cheddar Cheese Cheez-It Crunch’d. As you can tell, we are big Cheez-It lovers in our house.

The Cheez-It Grooves definitely live up to the description on the box: best of Cheez-It and a chip in one!‘. Cheez-It is dedicated to using only 100% real cheese which is baked into every delicious cracker. I’m going to set them out next to some veggies and ranch dip for the party.

They are delicious!

I never knew the cheddar cheese Cheez-It Crunch’d existed! They’re new and just appeared on store shelves last week. Crunch’d is Cheez-It’s first-ever crunchy puff made with 100% real cheese. I was dying to try them immediately so I opened up the bag as soon as I got to the car! I’m not the only one who does that, right? They are so good by themselves! For our party I plan on throwing them into a big bowl along with mini pretzels, buttered popcorn and some chocolate candies. It requires very little time and is a great mix, combining the salty with the sweet in a bowl.

I like to put something into the bowl that guests can use as a scoop and set out cute little cups to scoop the mix into. This eliminates “little hands” in the bowl that everyone is taking from.

I’m a pretty big fan of sweets so I also decided to make these adorable chocolate dipped “football” strawberries for the table. They’re very simple to prepare and Emi even helped me do the white piping. (She did an awesome job!) I’d suggest making a double batch since they probably won’t last very long on the table.

Ingredients:

1 lb strawberries, rinsed and dried
1 bag of brown chocolate candy melts
1 bag of white candy melts
vegetable oil (you won’t need much)

Preparation:

Prepare your work area by putting some parchment paper down on the countertop. This is where the strawberries will be drying after they’re dipped.
Place the brown candy melts into a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Take out and stir. (They won’t be very melted yet.) Heat for an additional 30 seconds and stir again. Add a tiny bit of vegetable oil to the bowl and mix in. The oil just helps to make your mixture a little bit smoother. Let the mixture settle for about a minute before starting to dip the strawberries.
Dip each strawberry into the bowl, slowly turning it by its stem. Then use a spoon to cover the strawberry with the chocolate up to a fairly high point, trying to stay even all the way around the strawberry. Remove from the bowl and set onto parchment paper to dry.
After the chocolate has completely dried (I stick mine into the fridge), prepare the white candy melts exactly like you did the chocolate ones. Transfer the white mixture into a piping bag (you can use a plastic sandwich bag) with the tiniest tip and pipe on the white football accents. If you make a mistake, you can quickly scrape off the white melt with a toothpick since it won’t be dry yet. Again, wait until thoroughly dry before serving.

It was really fun for my daughter to get in the kitchen and help me with these! She’s got a pretty stead hand for piping!

I found everything I needed to make my Big Game Snacks at Walmart! Both of the Cheez-It products were on the end of an aisle so I could just grab and toss them into my basket!

I think my snack table is all ready to go for the Big Game with all of the necessities! Can you think of anything I might be missing?