HOMEMADE POP-TARTS

Do your kids love pop- tarts? Mine do. I never buy them because I think they are very expensive and I don’t love all the added sugars and preservatives in them.

I recently learned an easy way to make your own pop-tarts at home and they are delish! In just a few easy steps you can whip these up at home and know exactly what’s in them too. This is also an easy “cooking” activity to do with kids. It’s very beginner level so your kids can help too!

You’ll need:

• pre made pie crusts

• strawberry preserves (we used organic strawberry preserves from Costco)

• frosting & sprinkles if you desire

Take crusts out of packaging and let sit at room temperature for 15-20 min making it easier to roll out and fill. Roll one dough out, and fill with strawberry filling. Place the other dough on top, and press slightly around it with your fingers to seal the edges.

You’ll want to take a pizza cutter and then begin to cut your pop-tarts into rectangles or squares. Using a fork seam the edges together to get that pop-tart look.

Bake in oven according to pie crust directions.

Take them out of the oven, allow them to cool. Then frost and decorate as you desire. I left some without sprinkles since my husband doesn’t like them. The kids loved these, they devoured them immediately.

Enjoy! Let me know if you make these. You could change the fruit filling and make something different each time.

Mini Berry Trifle Push Pops!

For the 4th of July BBQ we hosted I wanted to make a fun but simple dessert for everyone. I've had these push up pop containers that I've used from time to time and decided they'd be perfect and fun to make a mini version of a trifle dessert. 

I like things to be easy and simple. This could not be more simple to make. Here's what you'll need:

- Berries (I choose blueberries & strawberries to go with a color theme for the 4th)

- Whipped Cream

- Angel food cake or pound cake

Cut your cake into small cubes, cube your strawberries as well. You'll want them small enough to fit in the container but big enough so you can see the color. 

Assemble them by putting some cake at the bottom, berries, whipped cream, then repeat till the containers are full. You may need to push the cake down a bit to repeat the pattern. 

What do you think? Aren't they so cute and festive!!!?

Buy the push up pop containers here. Also the book 'Push Up Pops' by Courtney Whitmore is a great cook book and source. 

*affiliate links used. 

Vanilla Bean Pizzelle with Vanilla Heavy Cream.

This post is brought to you by Fly Joy, all opinions are my own. Thank you for helping support brands who make this blog happen. 

This month's micro adventure campaign for FlyJoy was inspired by creating an ethnic cooking adventure at home. I was excited about this theme, because who doesn't love food? We do around this house! Thinking about what I wanted to high light this month, I knew dessert needed to be apart of it. 

FlyJoy sent us the most delicious Dutch caramel wafer cookies, my family couldn't get enough of them! They ate the whole bag in just a few days. I knew I wanted to use them in my dessert. 

I headed to World Market to find some yummy supplies for my dessert. I found these Pizzelle Italian waffle cookies and got the flavor "dulce de leche." I also picked up another bag of Dutch caramel cookies. I found a small bottle of vanilla syrup, I knew that would be a nice touch to use in my heavy cream I was making. 

I also picked up some vanilla bean ice cream from the store to complete my dessert. 

I placed the Pizzelle on a plate then topped it with the ice cream, and then topped that with one of the Dutch cookies. See where I'm going with this? Lots of sweet yummy goodness all stacked on top of each other. 

Then I whipped up some homemade whipped cream, using heavy whipping cream and added some of the vanilla syrup to it, to give it more sweetness and flavor. 

I brewed some coffee and added the syrup and cream to that as well. I love the look of a contrast between the coffee and heavy cream, so so good! 

This was such a yummy treat for my family, they loved it! So simple and easy to make as well. Let me know if you try this one, I know you'll love it! 

What are some of your favorite foods or desserts to make that are inspired by other countries? 

---

EAT | Beef Stroganoff

This is a great go-to comfort food recipe, and double bonus most of the cooking is done in your crockpot! I love simple meals like this for my family. Here's what you'll need:

2 pounds beef stew meat

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup

1 cup beef broth

12 oz. egg noodles cooked and drained

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Place the meat, onion, garlic, soup and broth into your slow cooker, stir and combine. Cook on low for 6 hours and until beef is cooked safely through. Serve over warm noodles, use parsley to garnish. 

That's it so simple! This recipe was adapted from Chef Yoland of KRAFT Magazine. I omitted the mushrooms and sour cream. You can add those in optional if you'd like. 

---

Check out Getting Started With Thai: Pantry Staples for Thai Cooking

by Foodie Editor at Mode

White Chicken Chili

This has been one of my favorite go to meals for these winter months! I've been making it a lot and my family loves it to. 

What You'll Need:

3 chicken breasts

2 can chicken stock

4 cups water

2 cans great northern beans

1 Jar Salsa Verde (12-18 oz)

Handful of cilantro

Avocados

Tortialla chips

In a crock pot place your chicken and an inch or two of the chicken stock (save the rest of the stock for your soup.) Cook on low for 4-6 hours. When chicken is cooked take out and shred all the chicken. 

In a large stock pot place shredded chicken, rest of the chicken stock, beans and salsa verde. Bring to a boil. Stir. 

Let boil for 10-15 minutes. 

Place in soup bowls and garnish with cilantro, chips and avocado. I load my soup up with all these things, if you'd like to add more add to your own liking. 

It's delish! Let me know if you try this recipe and how you like it!