Homemade Pizza Pops

By in Fall, Homemade, Lunch, Main Dish, Smithfield 7 Comments

My mom used to make homemade pizza pops often when I was in elementary school. I was always so proud that my mom could make something from scratch that all the other mom”s bought at the store. In fact they were my birthday meal request for my 8th birthday party. Poor Mom! She had to whip up a wackload of these puppies to feed an army of little girls. I can still remember how special I felt that day and how proud I was.

I have simplified them a bit from the way my mom made them by rolling out the dough and cutting it into squares (she cut out circles and used a press to seal them together). Although they don”t look quite as purty they are an easy alternative to the store-bought variety.

“Throwing something frozen into your child”s lunchbox is a great way to beat the morning rush. It also means that you won”t have to worry about food going bad because the frozen item will slowly thaw throughout the morning and help to keep any other food cool.

When deciding what items you want to freeze for school lunches it”s important to keep in mind how they reheat in the microwave. You don”t want to send something in your child”s lunch that will just become a gloppy unappetizing mess once the lunch hour hits.“

Get some freezer lunch ideas and the recipe for these Deluxe Pizza Pops on Smithfield.com.

Update: The post is no longer active on Smithfield. But, I don”t want you to miss out so here”s the recipe!

Homemade Pizza Pops

These are Deluxe Pizza Pops but you can swap out ingredients to suite your family.

  • 1/2 cup chopped ham

  • 1/2 cup chopped pepperoni

  • 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

  • 1/4 cup sliced black olives

  • 1 cup grated cheese

  • 1/2 cup pizza sauce

  • 1 (14 oz) package pizza dough

Mix together ham, pepperoni, pepper, olives, cheese and pizza sauce in a large bowl until well combined. Set aside.

Roll pizza dough into a 10×20 inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise creating two long strips 5×20 inches. Cut each strip into 4 creating a total of 8 (5 inch) squares.

Divide filling among squares. Brush 2 adjacent edges of squares with water, bring opposites side across filling to seal into a triangle shape (make sure it is sealed well so that no filling will escape). Using your hands, maneuver the filling in the sealed triangles to spread evenly throughout the pocket.

Place pizza pops on a parchment lined baking tray. With a sharp knife, poke three holes in the top of each pop to allow the steam to escape (this will keep the sides from bursting). Bake at 400ºF for 15 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbling through holes.

Cool to room temperature before transferring to resealable plastic bags and storing in the freezer.

Makes: 8 pizza pops

 

Make Ahead Babysitter Meals

By in Life, Smithfield 5 Comments

I”m over at Smithfield today sharing tips and ideas for planning a meal that your babysitter can make. Hopefully it will help to inspire some date nights. ;)

From the post:

“When your preparing for a babysitter to come and watch your kids over dinner it”s important to plan ahead for what your children will eat so that the babysitter doesn”t have to scrounge around at the last minute. Keep in mind:

  • Most babysitters are young teenage girls who probably haven”t done a lot of cooking in their lives, so you will most likely need to get most of the work done ahead of time.

  • Keep things simple so that there is minimal work for the babysitter to do. If you have trouble cooking with the kids running around your feet imagine how much harder it will be for them.

  • Make sure you have something that you know your children will love so you don”t have to worry about the babysitter trying to force feed your kids.

Below I have listed two different ways to tackle the meal planning dilemma along with some ideas of what to serve.“

Read more on Smithfield.com

Zucchini Carrot Cake with Maple-Brown Sugar Frosting

By in Cakes, Fall, Sweets 20 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

zucchini carrot cake Banner

First of all I want to thank you all so much for your sweet comments last week on my Blogversary post. It really made me wish that each and every one of you could win the giveaway. Unfortunately it cannot be so and I had to pick only one lucky winner.

I considered writing out each persons name and drawing out of a box but I didn’t want to be held personally responsible for anybody’s dashed dreams. So instead, I assigned each entry with a number and ran the numbers through random.org. So, you can take up your quarrel with them. :)

I know you would all love to know if you won so I will cut to the chase. The winner of the giveaway and a $60 gift certificate to csn stores is… CookTeen! Congratulations!! You’ll be getting an e-mail from me shortly. ;)

For the rest of you, I have made cake.

Moist and spicy Zucchini Carrot Cake smothered in a dreamy layer of Cream Cheese Frosting with a hint of maple and brown sugar. To be exact. Feel a little better now?

I have been a long time fan of Carrot Cake and to me it’s just not the same without a Cream Cheese Frosting. The fact that this recipe has zucchini in it, is what originally piqued my interest. Zucchini means moist. And, moist means delicious.

The headiness of the spices and the deep flavours of maple and brown sugar makes this the perfect cake to enjoy that fall produce.

P.S. I got the poll working for Colorful Mondays so make sure to head over and vote for the next weeks color (and submit your tomato reds for next monday)!

One year ago: All About Eggs, Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Zucchini Carrot Cake with Maple-Brown Sugar Frosting

Zucchini Carrot Cake

adapted from TasteofHome

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  1. Beat sugar and eggs until frothy. Whisk in canola oil.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a separate bowl. Beat into egg mixture until well combined.
  3. Fold in carrots, zucchini and walnuts.
  4. Pour into 2 greased 8 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  5. Let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting.
Maple-Brown Sugar Frosting
  • 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  1. Cream together cream cheese, butter and brown sugar. Beat in maple syrup and vanilla until well blended. Spread onto cooled cake.

* This has a very light maple and brown sugar flavour. Feel free to add more of either to suite your taste.

Print Recipe

One Year Blogversary Giveaway

By in Life

Kitchen Simplicity is one year old today. I can hardly believe it! I”m so thankful to all of my lovely readers for making this blog what it is. Without you it would merely be a catalog of all my favourite recipes and I would be very lonely in my kitchen endeavors.

When csn stores contacted me about doing a giveaway I thought it was perfect timing. What a wonderful way to give back to my readers and reward them for the wonderful way they have treated me over the last year. CSN stores is offering one of my lovely readers a one-time-use $60 gift certificate to spend in any of their online stores. I think my first stop would be Le Creuset because they have such gorgeous products and I have been drooling over them for a long time.

The one sad part in this is that the contest is only open to US and Canadian residence. Trust me I know how much that sucks, but the stores only ship to those two countries. Although, if you”re like me and have a wonderful mother that lives in one of those two countries feel free to enter the contest and send the gift certificate to her. :)

Just to make it a little more interesting you have up to four chances to win:

  1. Leave a comment on this post

  2. Tweet about this post (including link) on twitter (make sure to mention @CheriNeufeld so that I know you did!)

  3. Spread the news on Facebook and/or “like” the Kitchen Simplicity Facebook page (leave a comment to let me know).

  4. Mention the giveaway on your blog (and put the link in the comments section)

The giveaway will end Sunday, September 12 at 12:00 pm (CEST) and the winner will be announced Monday, September 13th. Please check back to receive your prize!

The other exciting thing? Now that I have been posting for a year I get to add this fun little tidbit to my posts:

One year ago: Strawberry Nectarine Popsicles!

Thanks again everyone for your support over this past year! You”re all winners in my book. Best of luck to all of you.

Now head over to csn and start ogling your prize. ;)

Quick & Easy Jam Fritters

By in Fall, Kids, Pastries, Sweets 10 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Quick & Easy Jam Fritters

I know that technically it”s still summer but it”s really beginning to feel a lot like fall here and I”m more then ready. Over the last week I have begun to feel a lot better and the cold crisp air is breathing new life into me. I”m ready for a new season and a new start in this pregnancy. Bring on the cravings! :)

Doughnuts are something that my family loves. My mother-in-law makes one mean glazed doughnut and I love it! My problem is finding time to make the dough, roll it out, cut it out and deep fry it. They”re definitely worth the effort but I”m hard pressed to find the time with an antsy two year old.

That”s why these jam filled fritters make me a happy woman. You simply whip up a tasty muffin batter, drop it into hot oil, pipe it full of strawberry jam and dust it in icing sugar. Bliss. I”m already thinking of different ways to fry up this spice infused batter. I think some chopped apples would turn these into some pretty fine apple fritters.

These would be a great way to end the first week of school. You can have the fritters all ready for when the kids come home, then they can help fill them with jam and dust them in icing sugar. I”m sure they won”t complain and few will probably disappear on their way to the serving tray.

Quick & Easy Jam Fritters

adapted from Sugar

  • 1 1/2 cups milk

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar

  • 2/3 cup canola oil

  • 2 eggs

  • 3 1/2 cups flour

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • canola oil, for deep frying

  • 1/2 cup jam

  • icing sugar, for dusting

  1. Make batter: Mix together milk, vanilla, sugar, oil and eggs. Set aside. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and cinnamon. Stir into milk mixture.

  2. To Fry: Heat oil to 350ºF or until water spits when a small drop is added to the oil. Drop the batter by tablespoon amounts into the hot oil and fry until golden and cooked through, flipping halfway through cooking time. Remove from pot and drain on paper towels.

  3. To Fill: Using a skewer or toothpick poke a hole in the side of a fritter and twirl it around inside to create some space in the centre. Place jam in an icing bag with a small round tip. Insert tip into hole and fill fritters with jam.

  4. To serve: Toss fritters in icing sugar and serve immediately. Best served four hours after being made or re-heated from frozen.

Makes: 2.5-3 dozen fritters

*This makes quite a large batch so I froze them before dusting in icing sugar. That way when we”re in the mood for some doughnuts we just have to zap them in the microwave and toss them in icing sugar.

Print Recipe

Guacamole Turkey Wraps for the Lunch Box

By in Kids, Lunch, Smithfield 5 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Guacamole-Turkey-Wraps

This time of year has always inspired me. There’s an excitement in the air, almost tangible in the crisp weather that’s making it’s appearance when the sun goes down.

When I was younger I looked forward to going back to school because it meant I got to see my friends every day. Plus I was a little bit of a nerd and enjoyed learning, for the most part.

At 2, I don’t need to start thinking about school time for my son just yet, but I still get that feeling of excitement as others gear up for the year ahead. Planning school lunches is a big part of that preparation and I’m hoping to help relieve some stress with these Guacamole Turkey Wraps.

“School lunches can feel like a chore for both the parent that makes them and the child that feels like they’re eating the same thing day in and day out. Coming up with new and exciting things to put in your child’s lunchbox can get a little stressful. Especially when your trying to work out the best way to pack in nutrition while guaranteeing that your child won’t just trade it for something else.

Wraps are a great way to break out of the normal sandwich routine so that your children feel they’re getting a special treat. Meanwhile, you can be happy knowing they’re getting the same nutrition, sometimes more…”

Read more and get the recipe on Smithfield.com

Update: The post is no longer active on Smithfield. But, I don’t want you to miss out so here’s the recipe!

Guacamole Turkey Wraps

Some good add-ins: green onions, sliced black olives, chopped canned jalepenos, bell peppers, cheese, salsa, shredded carrots

  • 1, 8 inch flour tortilla
  • 1/4 cup guacamole*
  • 4 slices sliced deli turkey
  • 1/2 cup chopped lettuce

Spread guacamole onto half of tortilla. Layer on turkey and lettuce. Fold in top and bottom. Roll up starting at the filled side. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper for the lunchbox.

Serves: 1

*Guacamole
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 medium sized ripe tomato, seeded and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Peel and mash avocados. Stir in remaining ingredients. Put into a sealable container. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole so that there is no air in between (this helps to keep it from browning). Seal container closed. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to blend flavors. Season with additional salt, pepper and lime juice if necessary.

Makes enough for 6-8 wraps.

 
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