Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts

Monday, October 27, 2014

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

We made a stop at one of our favorite local places to get produce, Farmer John's in Leesburg, VA.  We had a list of things we needed for the week.  Zucchini wasn't on the list but they looked OH SO GOOD!  I picked up a couple and quickly came up with some ideas including this yummy bread.  My kids don't like anything green were extremely happy to eat this even though the flakes of zucchini peeked through the deliciousness.

Ingredients:
  • 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 2 teaspoons of Cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ginger
  • 1 Cup of White Sugar
  • 1 Cup of Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Cup of Brown Sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • 2 teaspoons of Vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 -3 Cups of Grated Zucchini (skin on)
  • 1/2  cup of mini chocolate chips

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.  In a separate large bowl cream together with electric mixer the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and vegetable oil.  Next, fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.  Pour batter into two greased loaf pans.  Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes.
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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Brownie Batter Dip

A few months ago I was at a party at a friend's house and she served this fabulous chocolate dip that I new I just HAD to make!  It is so much more than just chocolate, when I learned that the recipe name was Brownie Batter Dip I wanted to lick the entire bowl!!!  My friend served it with graham crackers, strawberries, and marshmallows I have also dipped pretzels, pound cake, and nilla wafers in it.  The recipe is from Life in the Lofthouse blog.  I didn't change the ingredients, but I did reduce the amount of each of the ingredients by half to make a smaller batch.  I was making this for a small group so I did not need the large amount that the full recipe makes.

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz of Cream Cheese
  • 2 Tablespoons of Butter
  • 1 1/4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Milk
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Flour
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon of Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
  • Mini Chocolate Chips for Garnish (optional)
Cream together butter and cream cheese using an electric mixer.  Add in remaining ingredients (except chocolate chips) and mix.  Place in bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.  


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Blueberry Crumble Bars

This past summer I picked LOTS of blueberries.  I froze some so that we would have them throughout the winter.  We use them in all sorts of things like muffins, yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, cheesecake, smoothies, and many others.  These bars are easy and SO delicious.  You can eat them alone or serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 Cups of Flour
  • 3/4 Cups of Sugar
  • 1/8 Cup Lemon Juice
  • 1 Pint Blueberries
  • 1/8 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 2 teaspoons Corn Starch
  • 1 Stick Cold Butter
  • 1 Egg
Makes 12 bars

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a bowl combine the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Cut the butter into cubes and add to mixing bowl.  Add egg.  Using a fork or a pastry blender, combine the ingredients until they become a crumbly mixture.  Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8 baking dish.  Firmly press 1/2 of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the dish.  In a separate bowl, combine blueberries, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.  Toss to coat the berries.  Place the blueberry mixture on top of the pressed dough.  Cover with remaining crumble.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Cool completely and then cut into bars.

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Monday, November 25, 2013

Rolo Cookies

Although this recipe is not my own, it is one that I have made several times.  I originally got the recipe from Six Sisters Stuff.  I didn't change anything, but I have never been able to get more than about 24 cookies from a batch.  I usually use two boxes of cake mix and a bag of Rolos and I get about 50 cookies which was just enough for my family to snack on and to pass some along.  Today I made this for the teacher pot luck lunch at my son's school.  

Ingredients:
  • Box of Devils Food Cake Mix
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 24 Rolos
  • Powdered Sugar
Makes about 2 Dozen Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine eggs and oil.  Then add in cake mix.  The first time I made these I used my electric hand mixer and the batter was so thick that my mixer had a tough time with it.  It was much easier to mix it my hand.  Next take a scoop of batter a little smaller than the size of a ping pong ball and press a Rolo inside.  Make sure that the dough covers the entire piece of candy.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake for 7-8 minutes.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and ENJOY!
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Saturday, November 16, 2013

Be Our Guest Review


Be Our Guest is the newest Table Service Restaurant to open inside of Disney's Magic Kingdom.  It is located in the new Fantasyland inside of the Beast's Castle.  There are three dining rooms:  the West Wing, Belle's Library, and the two-story Ballroom.  The restaurant is open as a Quick Service restaurant for Lunch and then at 4:30 pm it switched to a table service restaurant.  Reservations are recommended and due to the newness and high demand of this restaurant the reservations are very difficult to get.  If you are staying at the Disney Resort you can make dining reservations at 180 days prior to arrival.

We didn't book our latest trip to Disney World very far in advance so I didn't have the ability to jump on at 180 days out and try to snag one of the very few dining reservations available.  I had checked a few different times for reservations, but had no luck.  About a week before we were scheduled to arrive I decided to check one more time.  To my amazement there was two time slots available.  I selected 5:00 pm.  My children like to eat dinner early and I figured that we could just grab a Mickey pretzel if we got hungry later.

We arrived at the Beast's Castle about 5 minutes before our reservation.  Stroller parking is available just before the bridge to the castle and is very convenient.  We checked in and they gave us a pager and told us to wait on the bridge.  It was a very pretty view with lots to look at.  The detail is amazing.  The stain glass windows were beautiful.
We only waited a few minutes before our pager started to buzz and blink.  They greeted us with "Bonjour" and escorted us to our table.  We were seated in the Main Ballroom right next to the window.  The window gave the illusion that it was snowing outside which completely amazed my kids.  We were all in awe over the decor and grandness of the restaurant.  It was quite large, but was not loud or crowded.  Besides the snow, the giant chandeliers and ceiling were my favorite part of the main ball room.
I had looked over the menu before we arrived because I wanted to make sure that the French cuisine was a good match for my family.  Our server politely greeted us and took our drink order.  He also told us that Be Our Guest is the only place in Magic Kingdom where you can get an adult beverage.  He then let us look over the wine and beer list.  We chose not to get an adult beverage, it had been a long day and I really just needed some caffeine if I was going to make it to Wishes Fireworks.  When he came back, I explained to him that my children were very picky and he gave us suggestions for both us and the children.  He didn't tell us to avoid the children's meatloaf, but he did name the kids' options and told us we should pick from the the first suggestions.  We all smiled and took the hint.  So even though we didn't personally order the meatloaf, I feel I should pass along that info just in case your server is not as honest.  Here is a link to the dinner menu.

As I said before, my kids are picky.  Both of my kids ordered the same thing- Grilled Chicken Breast with macaroni, marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese.  Both of them got the sauce and cheese on the side.  One kid ate the macaroni with a little sauce on it and the other ate the macaroni with the cheese sprinkled on top.  Both of the kids like the chicken.  The kids' meals both came with a side of broccoli.  My oldest actually tried it!! For the FIRST time EVER he ate broccoli.  He said it was okay, but the fact that he even tried it made the ENTIRE meal a HUGE success for me!  If you can't tell, I was VERY proud.

There were a couple of items on the menu that Scott and I were interested in, but we both went with the server's recommendation of Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops.  It was very good.  The shrimp and scallops were amazing, but I wasn't crazy about the puff pastry that it was served in.  The menu also describes it as served in a creamy lobster sauce, that is not the way I would have described it.  Frankly, I am not sure how to describe it, but it was not creamy in taste or color.  However, you describe it the shrimp and scallops were great, I just felt that it would have been better served with rice or potatoes.

The kids' meals all come with dessert and my husband and I couldn't pass it up.  The options on the dessert cart all looked fantastic!!!
Our server brought the cart right to the table, explained each one, and let us choose are favorite.  My husband chose the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake, my youngest chose the Triple Chocolate Cupcake and the rest of us chose the "Grey Stuff" and it's delicious!
The Grey Stuff is now permanently on the menu, before you could only get it for special occasions.  The Grey Stuff was really good, but the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake was OH SO GOOD!  I will get it for sure next time.

After dinner you are welcomed to look around the restaurant and other dining rooms.  The picture to the right is in Belle's Library.  I don't have any pictures but the West Wing is a dimly lit, mysterious room where the rose can be found.

 A couple times during dinner the Beast was formally introduced and made a grand entrance as he walks through all of the dining rooms.  When you are all finished with your meal you can meet the Beast and take a few pictures.  These pictures are not available for direct purchase but can be loaded onto your photopass or Magic Band.  The picture below was taken with our camera FREE of charge.
Disney lists this restaurant as $$ meaning the entrees are from 14.99 to 29.99 for adults, however, there is a steak on the menu that is $32.99.  Our waiter did tell us that the steak is the #1 seller on the menu.  I am not sure if that is because it is so delicious or because it is the most "normal" thing on the menu.  We did not use the dining plan for this trip, we purchased the Tables in Wonderland discount card (I will explain more on that in another post).  The card saves you 20% on your entire check. Our original total was $89.38 to $71.50.  This was our most expensive meal of the trip.  The ambiance, theme, food, and service all contributed to it being well worth the cost.  

People have been asking me two questions 1. Will I go back? and 2. Will I get the same food again?  Yes, I will go back but not right away.  I have lots of places that I want to dine.  My entree was good enough to get again, but not good enough to go there for specifically.  I am sure that the kids would get the same thing again.  The desserts were all good (yes, I tasted all the ones that we ordered), and I would definitely get the Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcake again.  I might even try to get one to go!!!

When we left it was dark outside and I took this photo of Beast's Castle all lit up.  

Our family of 4 ate there in November of 2013

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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Crock Pot Apple Sauce

Fall is the perfect time to pick apples.  I like to bake a variety of things with the apples we pick, but I LOVE to make applesauce.  My grandma often made homemade applesauce and I always looked forward to eating it.  This recipe is so simple and the perfect addition to any meal.  I love the balance of sweet and tart apples so feel free to mix up the variety of apples you use.  And remember applesauce is just as good warm as it is cold.  I make a double batch of this and freeze a little more than half to use throughout the winter.

Ingredients:
  • About 6 lbs or 12 Apples (I used Gala Apples)
  • 3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 3/4 Cup Apple Juice
  • 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar (you can start with less and add more after you taste it)
Peel and slice apples.  Place them in the crock pot with cinnamon, apple juice and brown sugar.  Cook on low for about 8 hours.  Stir to mush into applesauce.  I like my apple sauce a little chunky, but you could also you a potato masher to eliminate more of the chunks.  
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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Oatmeal Raisinet Cookies

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I have made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and I have made oatmeal raisin cookies so I thought I would combine the two!  I love soft oatmeal cookies and these were perfect!  I got the recipe from the Quaker Oats package (I left out the salt) and just subbed Raisinets for the raisins.  Best.  Cookies.  EVER!  


Ingredients:
  • 3 Cups Quick Oats
  • 1/2 Cup (1 stick) plus 6 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 Cup Raisinets
Makes About 4 dozen cookies

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla, beat well.  In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon, mix well.  Pour flour mixture into sugar mixture and mix well.  Add oats and rasinets, mix well.  Place dough onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.
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Monday, August 26, 2013

Brownie Cookie Cups

A few weekends ago, we went to a family picnic and one of our cousins (Jason) made these. They were so yummy I decided that Nathan and I would make them to take camping with us.  Nathan LOVES to make brownies so he was definitely in for helping me.   I exchanged a couple of text messages with Jason about how to make them and 30 minutes later we had our dessert all ready to go!  They were a huge hit!  I am glad that there were other people there to help eat them otherwise I would have eaten them ALL!

Ingredients:
  • 1 Box (9x13 size)  Brownie Mix- prepared but not baked
  • Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough- prepared but not baked.  I used the tub kind that was already prepared.  
Makes about 18 treats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare brownie mix as directed on the box then pour into a well greased cup cake pan.  If you pour them not quite half full you should make about 18.  
Drop a large dollop of cookie dough into each brownie.
Bake for about 23-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let them cool then loosen edges with butter knife and gently remove from the pan.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Blueberry Cheesecake

It has been almost two weeks since we went blueberry picking and we are still eating the fruits of our labor!  I can't believe how fresh they still are.  (HAHA!  Yes I wrote this over a month ago... I am very behind!)  When I buy blueberries at the grocery store they usually only last a few days so I am quite impressed with the ones we picked fresh.  I guess that means that at the berries we buy at the grocery store take a long time to get there.  We picked these at Eagletree Farm in Leesburg and they never spray them with anything so they are perfect to eat right from the bush.  We have just a few fresh ones remaining, but lots in the freezer.

Ingredients:
  • 3 1/2 Tablespoons of butter
  • 1 1/4 Cups of Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 1 (8 oz) package of Cream Cheese
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla
  • 6 oz of Blueberry Preserves (I used homemade)
  • 3/4 Cup Fresh Blueberries
  • 6 Tablespoons Sugar
Serves 8

Melt butter in microwave.  Mix with graham cracker crumbs and press into bottom of pie plate.  Put in fridge until ready to use.  
Evenly spread layer of Blueberry Preserves on top of graham layer.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy.  Next add in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Continue beating until ingredients are well blended.  
Evenly top jam layer with fresh blueberries
Pour cream cheese mixture over blueberries and bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.  Cheesecake will puff up slightly and turn a light golden color.  Cool completely before serving.  Store in fridge.
We have made lots of yummy treats with our blueberries this year.  Check out some of them below

Blueberry Muffin Tops


Frozen Blueberry Cheesecake Bites

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Banana Blueberry Bread

Banana bread is DEFINITELY a favorite around here.  Sometimes I even throw is chocolate chips.  My go to recipe isn't exactly healthy so I needed to put a little spin on it.  

Bananas are always on my grocery list, sometimes my kiddos eat one every day and sometimes they will go almost a week with out one.  Having very ripe bananas is the perfect excuse to make a yummy loaf of bread!


Ingredients:
  • 2 Ripe Bananas (about a cup mashed)
  • 3/4 Cup Blueberries
  • 1 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 3 TablespoonsVegetable Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
  • 3/4 Cup Quick Oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.  In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.  
Take 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture and toss with the blueberries to coat them.
In separate bowl, beat the eggs.  Add in mashed banana and vegetable oil.
Pour into flour mixture and mix until well combined.
Pour half of mixture into greased loaf pan.  Layer on blueberries.  Then pour on remaining batter.
Sprinkle top with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
Bake for 50 minutes.  Serve warm or cool and store covered

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Blueberry Muffin Mousse

We are still reaping the benefits of our blueberry picking (and will be for awhile since I froze a ton of them!)  We have been using them in smoothies, Blueberry Lemonade, in pancakes, and eating them plain.  The good news is they are super good for you and we are not sick of them yet! I had some pound cake in the freezer and decided I would WHIP this up!

Ingredients:
  • 1 Cup plus 3/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 3 +2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Milk
  • 3/4 Cup Fresh Blueberries
  • 2 Tablespoons of Mascarpone
  • 4-5 Slices of Pound Cake
Serves 4

In a medium bowl (so cream doesn't splatter) combine 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar.  Beat with electric mixer on high until peaks form and it turns to whipped cream.  It's almost like magic!  Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
In a separate bowl, smash blueberries with a fork.  Then add the remainder of ingredients and beat with  electric hand mixer until it thickens.  Cut pound cake into cubes and distribute among dessert bowls.  Pour mixture over pound cake.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Top with whipped cream and additional fresh blueberries.  Serve the same day.



Monday, July 8, 2013

Cloud on a Cookie

I love dessert, Okay now that I have admitted it hopefully no one will judge me.  Having company over means I get to make a dessert that serves lots of people because if I make that same dessert for just our family I end up eating more than my fair share.  The cloud part is almost like ice cream so it's perfect for a hot summer evening.  I love that I can make it ahead of time and just keep it in the freezer.  

Ingredients:
  • 1 tube (16.5 oz) Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
  • 1/2 Cup of Caramel Topping
  • 1 (8oz) Container of Cool Whip (thawed)
  • 1 package (3.4 oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding
  • 1/2 Cup Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Toffee Bits
  • 3 Tablespoons Hot Fudge
Serves 16

Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and let stand for about 5 minutes.  This will make the cookie dough easier to work with.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Then spread cookie dough into the bottom of an ungreased 9X13 inch baking dish.  Bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.  When done, cool completely

    After cookie dough has cooled, spread the caramel topping evenly over the cookie.
    In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of milk and pudding mix for about 2 minutes.
    Then fold in the cool whip.
    Next, stir in the toffee bits.
    Spread the Cool Whip mixture over top of caramel layer.  Cover the baking dish and freeze until firm.
    Remove from freezer.  Heat hot fudge in microwave and then drizzle over the top of Cool Whip layer.  I actually used a butter knife and just kinda splattered it on and it seemed to work better because it didn't go on so thick.  I let it sit for about 10 minutes to make it a little easier to cut.
    Store remaining dessert covered in the freezer.  

    Another one of my favorite desserts is Peanut Butter Pie.  Oh.So.Good.