Sweet and Spicy Monkey: kids

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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Dreamy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Dip

It's all about the food....'bout the food...'bout the food this month as December is the season for parties. You have Christmas parties for work, Christmas parties with family and friends, another Christmas party with your other friends, and the Christmas party with your neighbors. And that's just the Christmas parties. Then there's the New Years Eve parties and New Years parties.

You'll not only need food for main courses, but you'll need appetizers, chips and dips, and drink ideas. Plus you'll need food for the kids while you're out doing "grown up stuff".

This dip is perfect for any of the above. Plus it's quick and easy to make and you probably have all the ingredients in your cupboards right now.

It's also quite versatile. You can serve it with anything from graham crackers, pretzels, chocolate or vanilla wafers to banana chips and plantain chips. Trust me, I tried them all, for the sake of saving you from having to do all the hard work, of course.

I'll just dance a little more this season to help burn off the calories. Ha, if you saw me dance you wouldn't have let me taste test my dip with all the different dippers {chuckle}. Remember that Seinfeld episode where Elaine dances....

Feel free to try it with your own likings and let me know what combinations you serve it up with.

Dreamy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Dip

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 Tablespoons honey

Directions

In a medium sized mixing bowl, add cream cheese and peanut butter, blending together until creamy.

Mix in cinnamon and honey throughout mixture. Mixture will be thick like a cookie dough.

Refrigerate in an air tight container until ready to serve. Can be stored refrigerated up to one week.

Serve in a bowl with side of pretzels, wafers, banana chips, plantains, or Annie's cocoa and vanilla gluten free bunny crackers, as pictured in the photos.

*Helpful Hints*

- Can also use whipped cream cheese, low-fat or fat-free cream cheese, or Neufchatel cheese, room temperature.

Disclaimer ~ I do not represent Peanut Butter & Co., nor did I receive any monies for this post. I just love their Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter and found it delicious in this recipe.

All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.

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Shared with: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends #61, Munching Mondays #73

Thursday, October 23, 2014

S'mores Candy Corn Marshmallow Treats (aka Marshmallow Gremlins)

I can’t remember the last time I made rice crispy treats, that sticky, crispy, sweet marshmallowey (yep, that is a word in my kitchen {smile}) goodness I loved when I was a kid. So when I saw these candy corn marshmallows at my local grocery store, I just knew I had to make some.

Since it had been years from the last time I made marshmallow treats, I forgot how messy the whole making process was! Melted marshmallow sticks to E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! Even the pot and spoons I used to make it. Yes, I used two spoons because the marshmallow was a big blob on one spoon and the other spoon was used to help get the marshmallow off the other spoon, which really wasn’t much help at all! So there I was in my kitchen, laughing like some crazy lady with two spoons full of marshmallow treats!

I really wish you could have been there because you would have been laughing at me! Sorry, no photos of that as my hands were also covered in marshmallow treats. Now I know why kids love making these!

After I got all the marshmallow off my hands and the spoons and into the pan, I finally got smart and sprayed my hands with a little bit of nonstick coconut spray. This worked great as I used my hands to help flatten the top of the marshmallow treats into the pan. I might remember this little trick for the spoons when I make these again {wink}.*

The result are these beautiful orange marshmallow treats sprinkled with S’mores candy corn. Don’t they just look spooktacular!

I like to refer to them as marshmallow gremlins, after the scene in my kitchen when I was creating them {smile}.

S’mores Candy Corn Marshmallow Treats (aka Marshmallow Gremlins)

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons butter

1- 14 ounce package of Candy Corn Marshmallows

6 cups crispy rice cereal

1 package S’mores candy corns

Directions

Prepare 11" x 8" pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray and wiping off excess with clean paper towel. You can also use butter or margarine if preferred. Set aside.

Over low heat, melt butter in a large sauce pan.

After butter has melted, add marshmallows and cook over Low heat until thoroughly melted.

Remove from heat and stir in crispy rice cereal. Making sure all cereal is covered with marshmallow.

Place in prepared pan and press down with hands. * See above for tips.*

Sprinkle S’mores candy corns over the top.

Let cool before serving.

Cut into squares and enjoy!

Store in airtight container.

Original recipe ~ The Original Rice Crispies Treats

*Helpful Hints*

- You might want to spray nonstick cooking spray on utensils used after the cooking process. Of course, you won't have as much fun as I did when making them!

- These would also be great for Thanksgiving treats with their orange coloring and the S'mores candy corns.

- All measurements are US

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Friday, October 17, 2014

Sweet & Salty Snack Mix + Giveaway

I’ve recently teamed up with Annie's Homegrown to become a #teamannies Brand Ambassador. I just love these products as they incorporate healthy eating into our lifestyles. They use organic products which are free of artificial flavors, coloring, and preservatives. And y’all know I try to keep my eating healthy, except for the sweets, but hey, baby steps for me {smile}.

I think they also must have heard that I cannot (for the life of me) make homemade macaroni & cheese and maybe felt a little sorry for me. Because in my care package, they sent me three boxes of Annie’s mac & cheese! Oh, I’m a happy girl! I can whip up a mean box of mac & cheese!

My Annie's care package

I also got some of their cheddar snack mix which combines their infamous bunny cheese crackers and pretzels...Yum! Now I know what you're thinking..."I want one of these care packages too", because if I were you, I would be thinking that right now {wink}.

Well, today must be your lucky day because Annie's is letting me host a give away where one lucky winner will receive:

3 boxes of Annie's Mac & Cheese
2 boxes of Annie's snacks
Annie's Homegrown Coupons
a chino bag (very cool and handy!)
and a Team Annie's spork (who doesn't love a spork?)

All you have to do is follow the rules listed below in the Rafflecopter Give Away and enter by leaving your answer to the following question, "How do you incorporate Annie's Homegrown ingredients into your meals?" in my comment section below. Make sure you get credit for answering the question by marking the appropriate box in the Rafflecopter section. Giveaway ends October 24, 2014 so hurry up and enter and let your friends know too. And be sure to check back for results following closing date. This giveaway is currently only open to U.S. residents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So I got to thinking, why not add a little sweetness to my cheddar bunnies and pretzels? Oh yea, the perfect blending of a little bit of sweet and a little bit of salty. The perfect combination to help satisfy my monster sweet tooth cravings!

My intention was to keep it healthy with coconut chips, dried mangos, banana chips, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds. But the little devil on my shoulder threw in a bag of Reese’s pieces and candy corn M&M’s when I wasn’t looking. Much to my surprise when I got back home from the store and found them in my grocery bag.

But that little devil sure had the right idea because this trail mix is unquestionably delicious! Satisfying any sweet and salty cravings you might have.

Plus, you can feel good about this snack mix because Annie’s products are made with organic ingredients and you’re the one making it, giving you the option of how much and what to put into it. So you can regulate the sweets, but still have a little taste to satisfy your cravings.

Happy snacking and Good Luck to all who enter the Giveaway!

Sweet & Salty Snack Mix

Serving size - 2 and 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup Annie's Cheddar Snack mix of cheddar bunnies and pretzels

1/4 cup banana chips

1/4 cup dried mango

1/4 cup roasted & salted pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup Reese's pieces

1/4 cup Candy Corn M&M's

12 strips of coconut strips, broken into bite size pieces

Directions

Add all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Enjoy!

*Helpful Hints*

- I cut my mango pieces into smaller bite size portions.

- can divide up and place into sandwich bags for individual snacks to take on the go.

- All measurements are US

Join #teamannies ~ a fun social community where fans share their love for Annie's and get special access to Annie's world. Click here to Join Team Annie's.

Disclaimer - #spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between my blog and Annie's Homegrown. This could include Annie's providing me with content, product, access or other forms of payment.

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Thursday, July 10, 2014

Double Stuff Oreo Pancakes

I love pancakes! I especially love the weekends because those are my cheat days which means I can have my pancakes! All week long I’m thinking of sweet, sinful ways to prepare my pancakes. Oh yea, I LOVE my pancakes!

And then I saw it….a recipe for Double Stuff Oreo pancakes by Christin Mahrlig at Spicy Southern Kitchen. Not only did it look all creamy and chocolatey, like an Oreo, but it was rather simple to make too. Which is my kind of recipe because who wants to slave over a hot stove in the morning after you just wake up? Not this girl!

I even simplified it more by just adding cocoa powder to my favorite gluten-free pancake mix. Yes, I kept them healthy still {smile}. By simplifying that step, I even limited the time it now takes to sit down and enjoy this wickedly delicious, hot & creamy, chocolatey mess!

You will thank me for it later {wink}.

So enough of the talk because I know you’re just staring at the photos, drool dripping onto your keyboard as you hurry up and scroll down to the recipe. So here ya go, Series 4 of the Ultimate Chocolate Lover's Breakfast….

Double Stuff Oreo Pancakes

Pancake Ingredients

1 cup of pancake mix (I use my gluten-free Bisquick pancake mix)

1 egg

1 cup milk (your choice, I find buttermilk makes a light fluffy pancake as does coconut milk)

2 Tablespoons sunflower oil

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened

1 cup crushed Oreos

Oreo Cream Filling Ingredients

1 and ½ cup cold heavy cream

3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and ½ cup crushed Oreos

Directions for Oreo Cream Filling

Place cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into large mixing bowl. Using either a stand or hand mixer, gently fold ingredients together until powdered sugar is blended.

Once all ingredients are blended, whip ingredients together until cream becomes thick and peaks when spatula removed after being placed in cream.

Fold in crushed Oreos and place in refrigerator while you prepare pancakes.

Directions for pancakes

Prepare large skillet by coating with your choice of oil or non-stick spray. Set aside.

Prepare pancake mix as directed on box, adding in cocoa powder. Mix until blended.

Fold in crushed Oreos.

Place skillet on medium heat and let warm up. Pour pancake mix into skillet and cook until batter bubbles. Flip pancake over and cook until done. Place on plate and let cool.

To prepare stack

Place a pancake on the plate, apply a generous amount of Oreo cream filling and spread evenly over pancake. Repeat process to desired level.

Top with remaining Oreo cream filling, an Oreo cookie, and chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

You’re Welcome!!

*Helpful Hints*

- One 14.3 ounce package of Oreos will be enough to make these, including some taste testing of the Oreos while preparing.

- Oreo cream filling can be prepared the night before so you have even less to do in the morning before you eat these.

- if you want round pancakes, you might have to use a spatula to even out the batter after pouring into the pan because of the Oreo cookie lumps.

- recipe for chocolate syrup can be found here.

- All measurements are US

All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.