Tasty Tuesday -- Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

Thanksgiving is just 2 days away! I am THANKFUL its not at my house this year! Yeah! If you are looking for a crowd pleasing, light and refreshing snack or fruit dish, I suggest this Tasty Tuesday dish:

Fruit Salsa
Found on Allrecipes.com

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced

8 ounces raspberries

1 pound strawberries, diced

2 Tbls white sugar

1 Tbls brown sugar

3 Tbls fruit preserves, any flavor
 
Cinnamon Chips
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray 2 Tbls cinnamon sugar

Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees. 
In a large bowl,  mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes. 

Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray. 

Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

I am still mastering the art of crispy chips, so if you've found the trick, please fill me in!
 
Serve this alongside the other appetizers or side dishes on the Thanksgiving table! Heck, make it all year round--its super easy and always a hit!

For a printable version of the recipe, please click here.

 

Tasty Tuesday--Old Fashion Caramel Corn

Remember awhile back when I made S'more Popcorn? The base of the recipe called for caramel corn. Well, I made the caramel corn but failed to take pictures of the process. BAD BLOGGER!! Anyways, over the weekend, I finally made a batch. YUM. Enjoy!

Old Fashion Caramel Corn
From my mom's kitchen

Ingredients
5-6 Quarts of Popcorn
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. oleo (aka butter)
1/2 c. ligh t corn syrup
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda

Directions
Bring all ingredients, except for popcorn AND Baking Soda, to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add baking soda and stir. Remove from heat. Pour over popcorn in a large roasting pan. Stir to cover all popcorn completely. Bake at 250 degrees for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Stays fresh in air-tight container for about 5 days...if it lasts that long! For a printable recipe, click HERE.

Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday - S'more Popcorn

Summertime is the perfect time to enjoy a campfire and s'mores! But, if you want to enjoy the taste of s'mores without the campfire--this treat I'm sharing with you is worth making. S'mores are one of my favorite treats and if you've followed me for long, you know popcorn is the top snack of choice! Here is my recipe of THE BEST POPCORN EVER. Seriously, it is!
This recipe starts with caramel corn. Now, if I was THE BEST BLOGGER EVER, I would have taken pictures of just my caramel corn. But I didn't. So that blog post will come later. I know I should do this in order, but as a working mom, I'm not sure when I'll get around to making the caramel corn again and well, I needed to share this recipe with you! So, start with your favorite caramel corn recipe or grap some at the store. Mix in the other ingredients, drizzle with chocolate and BAM--you've got an addicting snack!

S'mores Popcorn
adapted from Your Homebased Mom

Ingredients
One batch of Caramel Corn (recipe coming soon!)
2-3 c. mini marshmallows
2-3 c. Golden Grahams
1/2 pkg. Milk Chocolate Chips

In a large bowl, combine the already prepared Caramel Corn, marshmallows and Golden Grahams. Sprinkle in about 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Spread onto waxed paper on your counter. Melt the rest of the chocolate chips and drizzle over the mix. Let chocolate set. Store in an airtight container if you need to, but I'm certain this will be gone in a snap!

For a printable recipe, please click here.

Tasty Tuesday - Strawberry Bruschetta

I love strawberries. I love bruschetta. So why not put them together? This is perfect for summer gatherings. It's simple, light and fresh. I prepared these for the Zac Brown Concert we attended with our friends a few weeks ago, but they would make a perfect snack, light lunch or appetizer for any occassion. I found this recipe over at Annie's Eats--you should check out the blog, she has some fantastic recipes over there!

Strawberry Bruschetta
adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients
1 c. strawberries, diced
1 Tbls. sugar (1/2 packet of Truvia)
1 Baguette, sliced on an angle
4 oz. Goat Cheese (I didn't use all of the cheese)
1 Tbls. Olive Oil
2 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 c. Fresh Basil, minced
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Directions
Combine the strawberries an sugar and let rest for about 30 minutes. Place your baguette slices on a cooking sheet, spray with cooking spray and slightly toast them in the oven. I suggest 350 for a few minutes. It just firmed up the bread enough to hold all the juices in. Next, spread a thin layer goat cheese on the bread. Top each piece of bread with a spoonful of strawberries. Drizzle with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. Finish off with basil and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!

For a printable version, click here.

Tasty Tuesday--Baseball Rice Krispie Treats

Baseball season is beginning! I made these last year for Carson's team--HUGE HIT! And they are super simple to do!

Grab your favorite Rice Krispie treat recipe and instead of putting it into a 9x13 pan, put them into muffin tins (be certain to spray with cooking spray or rub with butter!). Let them set to cool. While they are cooling, melt white chocolate in a double boiler (or your preferred method). Remove Rice Krispie "Balls" from the muffin tin and dip the top into the white chocolate. Let them set on a cooling rack to harden. (You can choose to double dip them in the white chocolate for a thicker, frosted look!) When they are set, take a red frosting decorator pouch (or use your own homemade frosting and pipe it) and draw the baseball stitching on the Rice Krispie! Tada! Super easy, tasty and KID APPROVED!

 
I have a fun idea for this years team--but you'll have to wait to see those! Be a pal and share this via Facebook, Twitter, G+ or Pinterest! Have a great day!

Tasty Tuesday--"Take 5" Pretzel Sticks

Happy Tuesday! Hope this week is off to a great start! It's cold and windy here in Northern Illinois! I'm so over winter! Today I am featuring a very popular sweet treat that I took to a Super Bowl party. It really was a "duh" moment when I realized that I never thought to put this combination together before. Originally I was planning on bringing chocolate dipped pretzel sticks because I know the kids like them, but when I was grabbing the pretzel rods out of the pantry, a bag of caramels appeared and the lightbulb went off!! I love Take 5 candy bars--they have every bit of goodness in them--sweet, salty, crunchy! YUM! So, why not make Take 5 Pretzel sticks? Thought it was worth a try and OMG--seriously, they are delicious. I dunno about you, but I've never had them before, never heard of them before--so if they are out there and I was blinded, so sorry--this was a new discovery for me and I'm glad it happened!

So, here is the quick and easy low down on how to make these bad boys! Melt your caramels according to the package instructions (I used an entire bagged of wrapped caramels). Pour the caramel into a tall, heat proof glass (this is a trick to get the caramel on as much as the pretzel as possible!!). Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and spray with cooking spray (caramel sticks to waxed paper!). Dip pretzel rod into the caramel and let drip over glass. Place on the cookie sheet. Continue until the caramel is gone or you run out of pretzels. (Side note: you may need to reheat the caramel during this process, try not to overcook the caramel--low setting, for only a few seconds at a time)

Chop a handul of peanuts to sprinkle on the finished pretzel rod and set aside. Once the caramel is set, melt chocolates. I used 1 bag of chocolate chips. Pour the chocolate into a tall, heat proof glass. Dip the caramel dipped pretzel rods into the chocolate. Let chocolate drip off into the glass. Replace the pretzel back to the waxed paper and sprinkle with the chopped nuts. Let set. I covered mine and put them in the garage to firm up quicker. I couldn't wait for them to set to taste the ooey, gooey goodness I created!

Here it is:

Take 5 Pretzel Sticks

Ingredients
1 bag of pretzel rods
1 bag of wrapped caramels, unwrapped
1 bag of chocolate chips
handful of peanuts, chopped

Instructions
Melt caramel per instructions on bag. Pour the caramel into a tall, heat proof glass  Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and spray with cooking spray . Dip pretzel rod into the caramel and let drip over glass. Place on the cookie sheet. Continue until the caramel is gone or you run out of pretzels. (Side note: you may need to reheat the caramel during this process, try not to overcook the caramel--low setting, for only a few seconds at a time)

Once the caramel is set, melt chocolates. I used 1 bag of chocolate chips. Pour the chocolate into a tall, heat proof glass. Dip the caramel dipped pretzel rods into the chocolate. Let chocolate drip off into the glass. Replace the pretzel back to the waxed paper and sprinkle with the chopped nuts. Let set.

So, who's with me--are Take 5's one of your favorites?


Cindy
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Tasty Tuesday--Chex Pumpkin Pie Crunch

It's almost Thanksgiving--a day to give Thanks for all the blessings in our lives and GOBBLE till we WOBBLE! I'm excited to share this recipe with you because it is easy and a crowd-pleaser! I'm a working mother who has limited time, but I enjoy cooking and baking and do it whenever I get the chance! This comes together in less than 10 minutes! That's fast! And just like my Awesome Cinnamon Pretzels I featured last week, these would also be cute all wrapped up and gifted to your favorite neighbor or friend! I will be sharing these at the inlaws Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday!

Chex Pumpkin Pie Crunch

Ingredients
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tbls pumpkin pie spice
1/4 c butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 c Cinnamon Chex cereal
2 c Wheat Chex cereal
2 c Honey Nut Chex cereal
8 oz pecans, roughly chopped
10 oz pretzel sticks

Directions
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice; set aside. In a small microwave-safe dish, microwave butter on HIGH about 30 seconds or until melted. Stir in vanilla. In large microwaveable bowl, mix all cereals, pecans and pretzels. Pour butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly distrubuted. Add sugar and spice mixture and stir until covered.
Microwave uncovered on HIGH for 5 minutes, stirring after every minute. Spread on wax paper until cool. Store in airtight container.

If I don't get a chance to do another post before Thanksgiving--
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Cindy

Tasty Tuesday--Awesome Cinnamon Pretzels

These have got to be one of the easiest and tastiest snack-slash-dessert you will ever try. And they are perfect for holiday giving (packaged up real cute!) or for snacking at your holiday party or for after school snacking or just because they are amazingly awesome! 
If you have 30 minutes, pretzels, oil, cinnamon, sugar and an oven,  YOU CAN MAKE THESE!

 Here is the simple recipe:

Cinnamon Pretzels

16 oz bag pretzels
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Combine everything but the pretzels in a large bowl. Add pretzels and carefully stir. Pour onto a baking sheet. Put into a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Stir twice. Allow to cool (if you can wait), package up for gifting or dig in! Store in sealed container, if they last long enough for you to store!

I packaged up these for my friends that visited over the weekend! I got the small plastic paint cans at the Dollar Section at Target. I made a cute little tag to attach!

Hope you have a great Tuesday! Visit me over on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Stop back again soon!

Cindy 

Sweet & Salty Falltime Mix

Fall is my favorite time of year! You get to pull out your comfy sweaters, go to the apple orchard, carve pumpkins and watch the scenery change. I remember making "leaf houses" when I was a kid! Too bad we don't have a lot of full grown trees yet for my kids to do the same!
Fall is also a great time to snack! I mean there are football games, bonfires, etc...and I've got the perfect go-to falltime snack! It's quick and easy to put together and is ALWAYS a hit!
Take dry roasted peanuts, m-n-m's, candy corn and Bugles and mix them together. That's it! Put in as much of each as you'd like--or add in some of your other favorite things--like raisins, dried cranberries or pretzels.
I put this little baggie together for the kids to give to their teachers today! I got the tags from here and printed them off, cut them in a circle, punched a hole and tied it up with bakers twine.

What's your favorite falltime snack?

Cindy 
Wonderful Food Wednesday at @ Home Take 2.
Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple.
Linky Party, Pity Party #106 at Thirty Handmade Days.
Strut Your Stuff at Six Sisters' Stuff.